Mayor Bloomberg Announces Software Engineering Program At Bay Ridge High School

By on February 25, 2013  Schools & Libraries
Feb 252013
 
Source: nyc.gov

Source: nyc.gov

Mayor Mike Bloomberg visited Bay Ridge this morning to announce a new pilot for a Software Engineering program. The High School of Telecommunications Arts and Sciences (350 67th Street) is one of 20 schools selected to take part in the pilot, and it was the site of Bloomberg’s announcement.

Bloomberg initially announced the plan to invest in the school system’s computer science program in the State Of The City address. The program is expected to grow to 3,500 students citywide by 2016.

“We know it’s vital to prepare our children to succeed in an increasingly technology-centered economy and the Software Engineering Pilot will help us do just that,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “This groundbreaking program will ensure that more students receive computer science and software engineering instruction so that they can compete for the tech jobs that are increasingly becoming a part of our city’s economy. We’re creating the home-grown workforce our city needs and teaching our students skills that will open up new doors for them and their future.”

As part of the Software Engineering Pilot, the High School of Telecommunications Arts and Sciences will receive comprehensive computer science and software engineering curriculum, and instructors leading the classes will receive teacher training.

The video of the press conference is available at NYC.gov, as is the full text of the press release.

Hurricane Sandy To Cost NYC $19 Billion, NYS $42 Billion

By on November 27, 2012  Featured story, News
Nov 272012
 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Image source: Wikipedia Commons).

At a press conference yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo placed the monetary value of Hurricane Sandy’s damage to New York State at $32 billion. That figure does not include an additional request of over $9 billion in federal funds for future mitigation and prevention efforts, as reported by Michael Gormley for the Associated Press.

“It’s common sense; it’s intelligent,” Cuomo said. “Why don’t you spend some money now to save money in the future? And that’s what prevention and mitigation is.” Continue reading »

No Nonsense Guide To Hurricane Sandy

By on October 29, 2012  Featured story, News
Oct 292012
 

Hurricane Sandy five-day forecast. From Weather Underground.

This story was originally published at 10:30am on October 29, 2012, and was updated throughout the day as new information came in. For aftermath info, see our October 30 post.

Landfall [UPDATED]: Hurricane Sandy is expected to make landfall over southern New Jersey around 8pm Monday night. New York City will feel rain, wind, and storm surge effects for several hours before and after. Rainfall is expected to be deceptively not-like-the-end-of-days – the most dangerous aspects of Sandy will be wind and storm surge, which could reach 11 feet.

Evacuation orders: Mayor Bloomberg’s evacuation order does not impact any Bay Ridge residents. WNYC has compiled this excellent map of the City’s evacuation zones – only the areas in red are under an evacuation letter. Continue reading »

Bloomberg’s Last Tango: City’s annual “Budget Dance” ends on a good note for Bay Ridge

By on June 27, 2012  Featured story, Politics
Jun 272012
 

Image source: digitizedchaos via Flickr.

What has been referred to by a skeptical New York media as the annual “budget dance,”  a choreographed clash which begins every year with Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s threats of austerity – cutting jobs, closing firehouses, the discontinuation of after-school programs, followed by posturing from city council members and program directors, with all roads leading to an inevitable happy ending – ended this week.

As Mayor Bloomberg’s last year in office passes its halfway point, many – in both the press and in politics – are weighing the pros and cons of this yearly ritual. Continue reading »

Gentile To Hold Rally Tonight In Protest Of Mayor’s Cuts To After School Programs

By on May 11, 2012  Schools & Libraries
May 112012
 

City Councilman Vincent Gentile passionately criticized Mayor Bloomberg’s “severe cuts to  Out of School Time (OST) programs for elementary school students” last week – when he referred to the cutbacks in a press release as an “all-out war on children.”

Gentile plans to hold a rally later today, along with parents, teachers, students and community leaders whose lives and jobs will all be affected by Bloomberg’s budget.

The mayor’s current plan would result in the loss of funds for a host of different after school programs – such as OST, as well as the Beacon Program – in schools throughout Community Boards 10 and 11 – which includes the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Dyker Heights.

The rally and press conference are to be held at P.S. 102 the Bay View School [211 72nd Street] at 5 p.m.

Councilman Gentile is urging parents and neighbors to call 311 and write Mayor Bloomberg to let him know exactly how you feel about these cuts. He is also requesting his constituents to send him a copy of any letters written to the mayor.

According to the press release, Gentile will be keeping track of the letters and will arrange their delivery to Mayor Bloomberg, along with an online petition to keep the Beacon program at McKinley active.

Councilman Gentile On OST Cuts: “Bloomberg Is Declaring War On Children!”

By on May 3, 2012  Schools & Libraries
May 032012
 

In a recent press release, Councilman Vincent Gentile criticized Mayor Bloomberg’s “severe cuts to  Out of School Time (OST) programs for elementary school students,” referring to cutbacks to the afterschool/daycare program as an “all-out war on children.” Continue reading »

Sarsour: Screening of Islamophobic Film To Police Officers Part Of A “Larger Pattern Of Religious and Ethnic Bias”

By on January 27, 2012  News
Jan 272012
 

bks_thirdjihad-300x187The director of a Bay Ridge-based Arab-American organization has called on Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to step down over his role in appearing in an anti-Muslim film, having it screened during mandatory counter-terrorism training sessions, and for the program of surveillance aimed at Arab and Muslim communities in New York.

When initially challenged by the Village Voice a year ago, the NYPD first denied that any officer had seen The Third Jihad, a film produced by The Clarion Fund (itself an offshoot of Aish Hatorah, described by Atlantic Monthly columnist Jeffrey Goldberg as “just about the most fundamentalist movement in Judaism today”). The Department eventually admitted that “some” officers had seen it, but it wasn’t until a Freedom Of Information Act request by The Brennan Center For Justice came to fruition did the full impact become known – the film was screened on “continuous loop” to 68 lieutenants, 159 sergeants, 31 detectives and 1,231 patrol officers. Continue reading »