Talk Bronx New York

Ruben Diaz Jr. will present his achievements and goals for the Bronx in his first State of the Borough speech.

 Taking on development, jobs, living wages, gun violence - and a snowstorm - Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will present his achievements and goals for the Bronx today in his first State of the Borough speech.

Key among his goals, says his office, will be a new plan to develop the Kingsbridge Armory, after he and others led the fight to kill a plan for a mall there.

A thousand invited guests at the Evander Childs High School campus are expected to hear Diaz announce a task force to develop new ideas for the cavernous, white-elephant armory’s future, such as manufacturing and recreation.

Diaz was pilloried by Mayor Bloomberg and construction unions for pushing the City Council to kill the plan for the heavily subsidized mall, over his insistence retailers there pay “a living wage” to workers - $10 an hour with benefits, or $11.50 without benefits.

He is expected today to again raise the issue of living wages for projects receiving heavy city subsidies and tax breaks, and announce he has partnered with Bronx City Council members Anabel Palma and Oliver Koppell on legislation requiring that developers who receive taxpayer help make their project pay workers a living wage.

The borough president also is expected to announce a long-held dream of former borough presidents and business leaders - to bring a quality hotel to the Bronx, working with developers and the New York Hotel Trade Council to identify sites, and generate interest from hotel operators.

Former Borough President Fernando Ferrer had a master plan calling for a hotel as part of a Yankee Village near Yankee Stadium. The new Gateway Center Mall near there has been viewed as a possible site. Some have suggested a hotel near Fordham University, with the Bronx Zoo, New York Botanical Garden and Arthur Avenue as nearby draws. Read more..

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The mayor, along with Bronx State Senator Jeff Klein, held a press conference in Morris Park this morning to announced the introduction of a state law that would make it illegal to carry guns while drunk.

The “drunk guns” law would work much like the state’s drunk driving laws, which make it illegal to drive a vehicle if your blood-alcohol level is above .08 percent. A violation would be considered a class-A misdemeanor offense and punishments could include a year in jail and/or a $10,000 fine. It could also lead to the revocation of gun licenses.

“Guns and alcohol are a deadly mix,” said Senator Klein, in a statement sent out after the announcement. “The time is now for us to get serious about penalties for those who chose to carry a gun while intoxicated.” Read more..

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Gov. Paterson Thursday joined a growing chorus saying the upcoming trial of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should be moved.

 As protests grow louder over holding the 9/11 trial in lower Manhattan, a Long Island congressman introduced a bill Thursday that would keep the prosecution out of civilian courts.

Republican Peter King’s bill would prohibit the use of Justice Department funds to try Guantanamo detainees in civilian courts.

“On top of having to provide security for three or four years, we’re talking about an area that is already congested and will have to be closed off,” King said. “It’s bad for traffic and business.”

The Obama administration announced last month that alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others would be tried in Manhattan Federal Court.

The move angered many business leaders, who argue it would cripple real estate and commerce in the area, and frightened downtown residents.

King called the plan “one of the worst decisions ever made by any president” and insisted Mohammed should be tried by the military.

Mayor Bloomberg, who first supported the plan, reversed himself Wednesday and said it would be glad to see it moved somewhere else.

Gov. Paterson said Thursday there needs to be “some suitable alternatives that would fall within the court’s jurisdiction but for the public at large would be a better place to hold the actual trial.” Read more..

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Gov. David Paterson insisted the $750 million in scheduled payments to schools and local governments that will be withheld tomorrow are not a “cut” or an “impoundment.”

“The state has run out of money,” Paterson declared. “…We think we are well within the bounds of legal authority.”

NYSUT is reviewing its legal options.

Paterson defended his actions in a Plattsburgh Press-Republican OpEd.

One in five legislators have staffers who do double-duty as their campaign treasurers - an arrangement good government advocates warn could present a conflict of interest.

“Albany’s entrenched pay-to-play culture doesn’t get much more naked than this,” the DN says.

The relationship between the governor and the Legislature is so bad that Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson is refusing to attend formal events with Paterson.

Tired of living on the 32-30 knife’s edge, Senate Democrats are negotiating to make Republicans committee chairs in hopes of improving relations with the minority.

The MTA unveils its new austerity budget this morning, and drastic service cuts are expected.

Paterson said his “hands are tied” when it comes to the MTA because the state has no money.

Andrea Peyser thinks Eliot Spitzer, “whose cast-iron ego will outlast the cockroaches in a nuclear war,” has a good shot at success if he tried for a 2010 comeback.

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum was once so close to ex-state Comptroller Alan Hevesi that she hired three people close to him, including one of his sons.

Chris Smith marvels at the “indomitability” of New York’s elected officials, writing: “They refuse to go away, even when the law, the voters, or sanity says they should.

The state’s system of juvenile prisons is so riddled with problems the agency overseeing them wants all but the most dangerous of youthful offenders to stay out of them.

The Post likes the idea of letting AG Andrew Cuomo have subpoena power to go after corrupt state lawmakers.

Cindy Adams is standing by her story about Paterson saying he wanted to piss “on” the Legislature.

It’s D-Day for the Kingsbridge Armory project, and so far things are not looking good.

Jordan Moss says Bronx officials can “proudly cross the finish line or meekly toss the keys back to Mayor Bloomberg.” Read more..

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Oh, the humiliation!

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter suited up in Yankee pinstripes yesterday after his team was routed by the Bronx Bombers in the World Series — although it was for a good cause.

Nutter’s shirt bore No. 55 — in honor of Series MVP Hideki Matsui — when he painted some hallways at IS 131 in The Bronx. The paint job at the Soundview school was the price Nutter paid for losing his World Series bet with Mayor Bloomberg.

“I wish we were doing this in Philadelphia,” said the disappointed Phillies fanatic as he took a break from slathering green paint on the school’s walls.

Mayor Bloomberg was also wearing a Yankee jersey — No. 27, signifying the Bombers’ 27th world championship.

“I’m looking forward to having Mayor Nutter here next year, painting another school,” he said.

Afterward, the mayors autographed their jerseys and gave them to school Principal Ed Leotta. Read more..

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