Mayor De BLasio Has Another Scandal: Speedgate

Let's add them up: Snowgate; Findlaytergate; now Speedgate....

This is not a good sign, nor is Bill's arrogance in thinking that media will not frown on seeing him run away all the time from answering questions. Do we not remember when Mayor Bloomberg took the cars with sirens away from his Deputy Mayors?? I have re-posted my article on my website about that, below. Bill is sliding backward fast. real fast.

Betsy Combier

The Case Against Carmen Farina

SNOWGATE: First, the Lies, Then The Lies

Swept Under The Rug: Mayor De Blasio's Call To NYPD To Get His Friend Rev. Orlando
Findlayter Out of Jail

De Blasio says ‘I gotta go to the gym,’ walks away from reporters when asked about ‘Speedgate’

LINK

BROOKLYN (PIX11) – Mayor Bill de Blasio remained fairly tight lipped outside his home Friday morning when asked if his driver was in fact driving recklessly through the city.

“I gotta go to the gym,” de Blasio said when asked by PIX11′s Monica Morales if his driver was speeding, just days after the mayor announced his ambitious “Vision Zero” plan, aimed at ending pedestrian homicides. “The NYPD provides security protocol for the drivers. Talk  to them about that. We’re very serious about “Vision Zero,” we’re very committed to it, we’re going to keep moving forward with it.”

De Blasio added that he will be holding a press conference later on Friday, where reporters can ask “all the questions they want.”

Thursday, WCBS released footage of the mayor’s SUV speeding, running through stop signs and not signaling.

The SUV was driven by a member of the NYPD on de Blasio’s security team.

The NYPD released a statement Friday regarding the mayor’s security and transportation:

“The security and transportation for the Mayor are provided by the New York City Police Department.  Police Department personnel assigned to the Mayor’s Security Detail receive specialized training in driving based on maintaining security as well as safety.   At certain times, under certain conditions, this training may include the use of techniques such as maintaining speed with the general flow of traffic, and may sometimes include tactics to safely keep two or more police vehicles together in formation when crossing intersections.  The handling of police vehicles transporting any protectee is determined solely by police personnel based on their specialized training in executive protection and professional judgment.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio's motorcade arriving at City Hall on Monday, February 17

 

Mayor’s entourage faster than cabs: Post radar-gun survey

By Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein

 

Mr. Mayor, taxis are going slower than you!
At the same time de Blasio’s entourage was spotted speeding through Queens, The Post found cabs were treading lightly on the gas last week. This despite the mayor singling out taxis in his “Vision Zero” initiative for street safety.

As a Channel 2 news crew witnessed the mayor’s two-car caravan going 15 mph over the speed limit on Thursday, The Post observed taxis driving south out of Central Park onto Seventh Avenue at speeds below the citywide limit of 30 mph. The highest speed clocked there by The Post was 26 mph.
Over on Park Avenue at 38th Street, most cabs drove from 20 to 27 mph.

On West 57th Street, most of the taxis were going 15 mph to 22 mph — even without heavy traffic.
De Blasio unveiled his plan last week to eliminate traffic deaths. The proposal calls for lowering the city’s speed limit to 25 mph and for rigging yellow cabs with a device to turn off the meter if the driver exceeds the speed limit.

The initiative came about in the wake of seven pedestrian fatalities during the year’s first two weeks.
“It’s also about all of us taking greater responsibility every time we get behind the wheel and every time we step out on the street,” de Blasio said. “Our lives are literally in each other’s hands.”
Yet on Friday, de Blasio and his security detail were jaywalking near his Brooklyn home. And on Thursday, de Blasio’s police-driven SUV was seen blowing through two stop signs, speeding and changing highway lanes without signaling. The mayor’s office referred questions to the NYPD, which defended its drivers and techniques.

Cabbies call the mayor’s crackdown unfair. “Not all accidents can be attributed to taxis,” Robert Omari said.

And taxi driver Abdel Malek Elouazri said cabbies may drive aggressively, but not quickly.
“Speeding, I don’t think so,” he said. “You see the [traffic] light system, you can’t go past 30 mph.”
That’s not to say cabbies never step on it. Along First Avenue at East 42nd Street, where traffic can go through a tunnel to 47th Street, cabs regularly drove over the speed limit, going as fast as 39 mph one night last week, The Post found.
A handful of cabs sped along Central Park South Thursday afternoon, but none went more than 7 mph over the limit. On Riverside Drive, there was some speeding, but not above 40 mph. And the cabs were not speeding ahead of the traffic; many cars were traveling over the limit as well.

 

 

14 Department of Education Employees Have Cars With Police Sirens, Until Friday, February 20, 2004
Parentadvocates.org

LINK

Deputy Mayor Carol Robles-Roman was caught by CBS TV crews speeding to work at the Office of Legal Affairs from her home in Riverdale, and using the police siren on her city-owned car.

The GOTHAMist:
Lights (and Sirens) Out for a Deputy Mayor

Deputy Mayor Carol Robles-Roman, who advises Mayor Bloomberg on legal matters, had been abusing the lights and sirens on her cars to get to work faster, and after a local TV station reported this, they will now be stripped from her car. WCBS had been following Robles-Roman from Riverdale to her Manhattan offices, using the lights and sirens to drive onto the shoulder of the Henry Hudson Parkway. When the TV crew confronted her, Roble-Roman said, "I'm not a firefighter, and I'm not a police officer so I can't tell you I'm going to put out a fire."
The Post pointed out that the Mayor's office has a "no-siren policy" just to cut through traffic, and Mayor himself typically take the subway to work. But that is the beauty of living in Manhattan versus Riverdale.

CBS:

Feb 17, 2004 8:17 am US/Eastern
NEW YORK (CBS) Sirens and flashing lights atop a city official's car will be removed after CBS 2 recorded her improperly using them to beat traffic on her way to work.

Deputy Mayor Carol Robles-Roman acknowledged last week that she had merely been driving to meetings when her chauffeur-driven sedan was taped rushing through traffic lights with its sirens screaming. The episode was recorded by CBS 2, which said Robles-Roman had similarly misused the equipment several times over the last few months.

When confronted by CBS 2's Marcia Kramer, all Robles-Roman could say was, "We're usually going to important meetings, different meetings, I'm not a firefighter and I'm not a police officer so I can't tell you I'm going to put out a fire."

Robles-Roman herself asked to have the sirens and lights removed from the car, said mayoral spokesman Ed Skyler.

The lights and sirens are meant for use only in true emergencies.

Free Republic:

Posted on 02/20/2004 3:21:23 PM PST by nuconvert
NYC Mayor Orders Lights, Sirens Removed From 250 Vehicles
The Associated Press

LINK

NEW YORK (AP) - Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered the lights and sirens removed from more than 250 city vehicles Friday after one of his deputy mayors was caught on video routinely and unnecessarily using the equipment on her official car. Only about 70 civilians in the Bloomberg administration, including the mayor and one of five deputy mayors, will be allowed to keep their lights and sirens.

A week ago, WCBS-TV aired videotape of Deputy Mayor Carol Robles-Roman zipping from work to home in her official car, its lights flashing and siren blaring. Her chauffeur was shown driving on the shoulders of roads to avoid traffic.

Bloomberg ordered an inquiry into which officials truly need the equipment.

"The criteria the mayor used with commissioners was, 'Is this somebody that responds to emergencies as part of their job?'" spokesman Ed Skyler said.

Almost all department heads will lose their lights and sirens, including the schools chancellor, the finance commissioner and the parks commissioner. Among the few who will be allowed to keep the equipment is the sanitation commissioner.

Mayor Bloomberg quickly removed the emergency lights and sirens of more than 255 city officials, including Chancellor Joel Klein and 13 other Department of Education employees. Why did these 14 DOE employees believe that they needed this emergency equipment on their chauffeur-driven city-owned cars?

The New York Times quotes Mr. Hirsch, the medical examiner, as stating that he had used his lights and sirens only once in 15 years, to get to the scene of an airplane crash at La Guardia Airport. "It seemed to me if I had gotten there 10 minutes later, it wouldn't have made a whole lot of difference," he said.

Mr. Hirsch said he rejected the suggestion that it was a coveted status symbol. "If I needed that to define who I am, I better redefine my priorities," he said.

Isn't it far past the time when our education personnel need to redefine their priorities?

SNOWGATE: First, the Lies, Then The Lies

NYC Chancellor Carmen Farina looks a little unhappy as she struggles with her soon-to-be-public anger and frustration with reporters, parents and teachers who will just not stop throwing darts at her for keeping the schools open during the latest snowstorm on February 13, 2014.

Carmen does not like people who expose her inner corruption and arrogance, or who dare to challenge her and not be afraid of the ever-present threats to life and family.

Just wait.

SNOWGATE is only the first scandal.

After Storm, 100% Attendance Is Not 100% Accurate

De Blasio: Keeping New York City schools open was right decision

Kids in NYC Have to Go to School on Thursday, Or Declare Their Own Snow Day

On Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a hazardous travel advisory for Thursday and Friday, warning New Yorkers that the latest round of the never-ending Snowpocalypse will make the morning and evening commute "extremely difficult." "If you do not need to drive, you will help yourself and everyone else by staying off the roads," said De Blasio. "Take mass transit and leave extra time — it will be slow-going for everyone tomorrow." That sounds like the prelude to a school-closing announcement, but the Department of Education said classes are still on for tomorrow – though last time, more than half of all students just didn't show up.

There's only been one snow day so far in De Blasio's New York, and many parents were angry that school remained open during the last big storm. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't," Carmen Farina, the New York City Schools Chancellor, told ABC New York, adding that many kids only get a hot meal at school, and no one will be home to care for them. "Parents have to go to work. You didn't hear of any businesses in the city of New York closed down. Macy's was open. So if people can go shopping and go to work, then kids can go to school," Farina said.

The federal government has already closed its offices in the D.C. area for Thursday, and on Twitter many are calling for Netflix to make the snow day even sweeter by posting season two of House of Cards a day early. Netflix has yet to respond, but it does seem like something they'd do. In that case, it's going to be a particularly rough day for the many NYC schoolchildren desperate to see what Frank Underwood does next.

NYC Schools Chief Carmen Farina Channels Cathie Black and Keeps All Schools Open During The Blizzard Saying "It's A Beautiful Day" - After all, Macy's is Open

SNOWGATE.

We all remember the short - 3 month - Chancellorship of Cathie Black, right? Let's hope we can remove Carmen Farina in less time.

My 2 cents.

The Case Against Carmen Farina, Former Bloomberg/Diana Lam Partner in Crime

 

A Question For Carmen Farina, NYC Chancellor: Where is the Money?

 

The Carmen Farina Chronicles: NY Times Starts The Carmen Spin

Betsy Combier

oh - here is the NYC DOE announcement on their website:

Chancellor Fariña Announces All Student After-School and PSAL Activities Are Cancelled

 02/13/2014  

Schools Are Open
Due to inclement weather conditions, all student after-school and PSAL activities are cancelled today, Thursday, February 13, 2014. Schools are open. Families with busing questions should contact the Office of Pupil Transportation at 718-392-8855. Parents, as always, should exercise their own judgment with regard to their children. Safety is a top priority for the Department.

and here is a study done by Harvard University which concludes that students do not fall behind when there are snow days:

School administrators may want to be even more aggressive in calling for weather-related closures. A new study conducted by Harvard Kennedy School Assistant Professor Joshua Goodman finds that snow days do not impact student learning. In fact, he finds, keeping schools open during a storm is more detrimental to learning than a closure.

The findings are “consistent with a model in which the central challenge of teaching is coordination of students,” Goodman writes. “With slack time in the schedule, the time lost to closure can be regained. Student absences, however, force teachers to expend time getting students on the same page as their classmates.”

Goodman, a former school teacher, began his study at the behest of the Massachusetts Department of Education, which wanted to know more about the impact of snow days on student achievement. He examined reams of data in grades three through 10 from 2003 to 2010. One conclusion — that snow days are less detrimental to student performance than other absences — can be explained by the fact that school districts typically plan for weather-related disruptions and tack on extra days in the schedule to compensate. They do not, however, typically schedule make-up days for other student absences.

The lesson for administrators might be considered somewhat counterintuitive. “They need to consider the downside when deciding not to declare a snow day during a storm — the fact that many kids will miss school regardless, either because of transportation issues or parental discretion. And because those absences typically aren’t made up in the school calendar, those kids can fall behind.”

Goodman, an assistant professor of public policy, teaches empirical methods and the economics of education. His research interests include labor and public economics, with a particular focus on education policy.

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/01/snow-days-dont-subtract-from-learning/

Cathie Black speaks after being appointed New York City Schools Chancellor while her predecessor
Joel Klein (left) and Mayor Michael Bloomberg look on. The appointment of Black, who had a troubled

three-month tenure, is seen as one of Bloomberg's worst missteps.

 Clueless schools chief: ‘It’s a beautiful day’

By Bob Fredericks and Yoav Gonen

, Feb. 13, 2014

LINK

Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina cluelessly defended the decision to keep schools open during Thursday’s lethal Nor’easter – incredibly saying “it’s a beautiful day out there,” as snow and freezing rain fell outside.

“It has totally stopped snowing. It’s absolutely a beautiful day out there right now,” she said at a morning news conference in Brooklyn with Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Asked to elaborate, Farina said, “Coming down the stairs, the most obvious thing is it stopped snowing. The second thing, it’s getting warmer – which means that theoretically the snow will start melting.”

She also said that because people were out and about, it must be nicer out.

“I guess the other thing, in looking out the window … there’s a lot of people on the streets,” she said before cracking a flippant joke.

“Obviously it’s not as nice as it is where my husband is in South Beach, but it’s a lot better than it was before.” ” she said, as she and de Blasio burst out laughing.

“It’s getting warmer … theoretically, the snow will start melting,” Farina added.

 

De Blasio and Farina then haughtily defended their call Wednesday night at 10:33 p.m. to keep schools open – at the same time forecasters were predicting up to 10 inches of snow in the city.

 “Unlike some cities, we don’t shut down in the face of adversity. I’m going to make decisions based on the information we have,” de Blasio boasted.

“There is the illusion you can have perfect information and perfect decisions,” de Blasio said.

“We made the right decision.”

But their comments did little to mollify parents, teachers and students who took to social media to harshly criticize their decision to keep schools open.

“Why the public school system is open today in these conditions is astounding. Putting the lives of teachers, administrators, and most importantly, children, in danger by telling them to travel in this weather is incomprehensible.



Chancellor Farina and the DOE staff: you have some serious explaining to do,” said James Hong on the Department of Education’s Facebook page, which had hundreds of negative comments.

School attendance was down to 45%, according to the Department of Education.

The mayor also said Farina was spot on when she said earlier that it is important for the schools to be open because for many kids it’s the only place they can get a decent meal — a comment that angered many parents.

“We have a huge number of parents, their kids getting to school means their children will have a good meal, in some cases two meals,” the mayor said. “A lot of parents get frustrated” if school is closed, he said.

“The bottom line is, we made a decision that was right,” de Blasio stubbornly insisted.

“The facts on the ground speak for themselves. Throughout the city public transportation has been running. the precipitation levels were such that we could sustain school opening today. it’s our job to do … it’s out job to make the city function,” he said.

The mayor also took a veiled shot at the National Weather Service, suggesting they low-balled their predictions.

“We don’t second guess the National Weather Service. The low end suggested 2 or 3 inches by this morning. The high end estimate was more problematic, but not enough to close schools,” he said.

The effort was too much for TV personality and weatherman Al Roker, who tweeted a response – from the Olympics in Sochi.

“How dare @NYCMayorsOffice @NYCSchools throw NWS under the school bus. Forecast was on time and on the money,” Roker wrote.

Forecasters had predicted anywhere from 6 to 10 inches of snow for the city – and the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning, the highest level of alert.

Asked how much snow there would have to be before schools were closed, de Blasio replied, “If you guaranteed me a foot of snow between midnight and 6 a.m., I guarantee you schools would be closed.”

Farina also callously declared that students who were absent from school Thursday would not be given a pass for taking the day off.

“At the course of a whole day, you can still get to school,” she said.

The mayor and Farina also pointed out that city students have the entire week off next week, and that they were loath to give them another day off Thursday for fear that students would backslide.

 

NYC Mayor And Schools Chancellor Blasted For Keeping Schools Open During Snow Storm

The Huffington Post  | by  Inae Oh                        

• LINK



 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña came under fire for their decision to keep public schools open amid a heavy snow storm Thursday morning.
During a press conference updating New Yorkers on the city's response, Fariña went as far as to say "it is absolutely a beautiful day out there right now."
The remark prompted raised eyebrows, with many urging de Blasio to take responsibility for what they believed was a poor judgment call. "Today Show" host Al Roker took to Twitter to chide officials:

 

 

 

De Blasio addressed the criticism during the update, saying it's a "different thing to run the city than to give the weather on TV."
The city announced the decision to keep schools open late Wednesday evening.
The city's teachers union was also among the mayor's critics.
"I understand the desire to keep schools open. The only thing that trumps that is safety," United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said in a statement. "Having students, parents and staff traveling in these conditions was unwarranted. It was a mistake to open schools today."