Saddle Rock mayor attacked after village meeting

  Eyewitness NewsSADDLE ROCK (WABC) -- Police on Long Island are investigating the an apparent politically-motivated assault involving the mayor of a small village.

Saddle Rock Mayor Dan Levy was reportedly attacked by a one-time candidate for public office inside the village hall following the monthly village meeting.

The incident follows a long-standing disagreement between the two, and things got out of control Wednesday night.

Police say 32-year-old Sasha Masri, who lost a race for village trustee last March, confronted Levy and hit him in the face with a set of keys. Authorities say he threw Levy into a bench, fracturing his left shoulder. Levy also suffered cuts to his face.

Masri, who left the scene, was arrested early Thursday morning. He reportedly had narcotics in his possession at the time of his arrest. He faces several charges, including assault and possession of a dangerous weapon.

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Chicago mayor: Court must end teachers' strike

  MICHAEL TARMCHICAGO -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked a state court Monday to force Chicago school teachers back to work and end a weeklong strike he calls illegal.

Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said city attorneys asked the Cook County Circuit Court to force Chicago Teachers Union members off the picket line and back into classrooms.

The request, filed in Circuit Court of Cook County, argues the strike is illegal because state law bars the union from striking on anything but economic issues and that the work stoppage is focused instead on such issues as evaluations, layoffs and recall rights.

The filing also contends the strike presents a danger to public health and safety, partly because thousands of public students rely on school meals for their basic nutrition.

"I will not stand by while the children of Chicago are played as pawns in an internal dispute within a union," Emanuel said Sunday night.

The union and school leaders seemed headed toward a resolution at the end of last week, saying they were optimistic students in the nation's third-largest school district would be back in class by Monday. But teachers uncomfortable with a tentative contract offer decided Sunday to remain on strike, saying they needed more time to review a complicated proposal.

Emanuel fired back, saying he told city attorneys to seek a court order forcing Chicago Teachers Union members back into the classroom.

Teachers on the picket line at Mark T. Skinner West Elementary School on Chicago's near West Side declined to comment before the lawsuit was filed Monday as the possibility of legal action loomed over them.

The strike is the first for the city's teachers in 25 years and has kept 350,000 students out of class, leaving parents to make other plans.

Working mom Dequita Wade said that when the strike started, she sent her son 15 miles away to a cousin's house so he wouldn't be left unsupervised in a neighborhood known for violent crime and gangs. She was hoping the union and district would work things out quickly.

"You had a whole week. This is beginning to be ridiculous," Wade said. "Are they going to keep prolonging things?"

Months of contract negotiations have come down to two main issues central to the debate over the future of education across the United States: teacher evaluations and job security.

Union delegates said they felt uncomfortable approving the contract because they had seen it only in bits. The union will meet again Tuesday, after the end of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.

"There's no trust for our members of the board," Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis told reporters Sunday night. "They're not happy with the agreement. They'd like it to actually be a lot better."

Emanuel showed his frustration at the striking public school teachers in a written statement Sunday night.

"This was a strike of choice and is now a delay of choice that is wrong for our children," Emanuel said.

The strike has shined a spotlight on Emanuel's leadership more than ever, and some experts have suggested the new contract - which features annual pay raises and other benefits - is a win for union.

"I'm hard-pressed to imagine how they could have done much better," said Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "This is a very impressive outcome for the teachers."

With an average salary of $76,000, Chicago teachers are among the highest-paid in the nation, and the contract outline calls for annual raises. But some teachers are upset it did not restore a 4 percent raise Emanuel rescinded last year.

Emanuel pushed for a contract that includes ratcheting up the percentage of evaluations based on student performance, to 35 percent within four years. The union contends that does not take into account outside factors that affect student performance such as poverty and violence.

The union pushed for a policy to give laid-off teachers first dibs on open jobs anywhere in the district, but the city said that would keep principals from hiring the teachers they think are most qualified.

The union has engaged in something of a publicity campaign, telling parents about problems that include a lack of important books and basic supplies.

Some parents said they remain sympathetic to teachers.

"I don't think they're wrong. The things they're asking for are within reason," said Pamela Edwards, who has sent her 16-year-old daughter to one of about 140 schools the district has kept open during the strike to provide meals and supervision.

Others said they understand why teachers are taking their time.

"As much as we want our kids back in school, teachers need to make sure they have dotted all their i's and crossed their t's," said Becky Malone, mother of a second grader and fourth grader, who've been studying at home and going to museums over the last week. "What's the point of going on strike if you don't get everything you need out of it? For parents, it'll be no more of a challenge than it's been in the past week."

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Mayor to stop using heliport on weekends

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Following an Eyewitness News Investigation, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office says he will no longer use the heliport on weekends.

"While the heliport's waiting rooms are closed on weekends and you can't get fuel, we always thought that pilots could still take off and land - a courtesy that it turns out had been extended to Mayors over the years," the mayor's spokesperson Stu Loeser said.

Jim Hoffer reported in a two part investigation that Mayor Bloomberg had been using the heliport during off-hours. Below is the second part of that investigation. You can watch both reports in the video player above.

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Two Billionaires: One, the Mayor of a large city. The other is owner of a huge industrial empire. Both seem to fly by their own set of rules when using the East 34th Street Heliport.

"Helicopter landing before 8:00 a.m.," Amy Sticco said.

Billionaire Ira Rennert's huge helicopter breaks an early morning curfew, it's massive engines and rotor blades whipping up noise and fumes before the heliport's 8:00 a.m. opening.

"It's humongous. And when it lands, it shakes the windows the noise is just unbelievable," Ron Sticco said.

The Sticcos have had it with wealthy helicopter owners violating the noise curfew. In an earlier investigation, we showed how the city's billionaire Mayor repeatedly ignores the weekend curfew. On weekdays, though, it is Rennert's chopper violating the rules and rattling residents.

"30 minutes before the heliport opens," Amy said.

The Sticcos have captured Rennert's helicopter breaking curfew at least 9 times. On video, the silver-haired Billionaire is seen getting into his huge chopper 30 minutes before the heliport opens. Perhaps he's headed to his home in the Hamptons, believed to be the largest residential compound in the nation:

"Invariably, it's before the opening hours of the heliport and the worst part about that it's the loudest helicopter we've seen land on this heliport and the biggest," Amy said.

But back to the other billionaire, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who seems to think the heliport is his own private landing pad, especially on weekends. The Sticcos captured him violating the weekend noise curfew 16 times, often with his girlfriend and dogs along for the ride.

"My understanding, it's not closed on the weekends," Bloomberg said.

How could the Mayor be so misinformed about a city-imposed curfew that's spelled out in the heliport's own chart to pilots.

"I've been using it and I have a lot of things to do. I'm trying like everyone else. The heliport is there. It's available to land and to take off from," Mayor Bloomberg said.

"We've seen him bend rules more than once. This is for his own convenience. It's not for the residents," Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio said.

DeBlasio says the Mayor needs to follow the rules.

"For the mayor to act like he can be held to a different standard whenever it's convenient for him and use the heliport when no one can is ridiculous," he said.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PART 1 OF JIM HOFFER'S INVESTIGATION

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If you have a tip about this or any other issue you'd like investigated, please give our tipline a call at 877-TIP-NEWS. You may also e-mail us at the.investigators@abc.com.

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Mayor considering alcohol crackdown in city

Web produced by Jennifer Matarese, Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- Is it the city's newest groundbreaking health initiative, or is the mayor about to serve up an anti-drinking agenda that already has some critics wondering, when it comes to mayoral crackdowns don't our cups already "runneth over"?

"I really characterize it as the nanny mentality out of control," said Michael Long, NY Conservative Party.

The head of the state's conservative party is highly critical of the city's latest request for ideas from community groups.

They are ideas to improve public health which include reducing the sale of alcohol and the density of some bars and liquor stores in certain neighborhoods.

In Bay Ridge some wonder, didn't we get rid harsh policies about alcohol a long time ago?

"Meddlesome, he's too much with everything, trying to take over everybody's lives, it seems," said Tom Hickey, a Bay Ridge resident.

"I feel if people are going to buy alcohol, they're going to buy alcohol either in their neighborhood or they are going to go another 10 blocks away," said Kathy Mongello, a Mill Basin resident.

But some experts say the mayor has statistics on his side.

For example, between 2003 and 2009, alcohol-related emergency room visits doubled for underage New Yorkers and alcohol is associated with 46% of homicides in the city.

ABC's Dr. Richard Besser is the former head of the CDC.

"So as a community you can say, we want to limit the number of liquor stores. Many places around the country do that, and it's been shown to be effective," Dr. Besser said.

The mayor's office released a statement saying, "We have no intention of shutting down bars or liquor stores. The goal is to generate creative ideas to build on bold initiatives including smoking cessation, reducing excessive drinking, promoting healthy eating and increasing physical activity."

"We kind of look to New York as the cutting edge, of these changes," Dr. Besser said.

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NYC mayor says work on 9/11 museum has stalled

  By DAVID B. CARUSONEW YORK (WABC) -- Work on a planned museum at the World Trade Center has ground to a halt because of a financial dispute, and there is now no possibility it will open on time next year, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday.

The underground museum commemorating victims of the 9/11 attacks was scheduled to open in September on the 11th anniversary of the disaster, a year after the opening of a memorial at the site that has already drawn 1 million visitors.

But in recent months, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation has been fighting with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over who is responsible for paying millions of dollars in infrastructure costs related to the project.

The Port Authority, which owned the trade center and is building the museum, claims that the foundation owes it $300 million. The foundation claims that the authority actually owes it $140 million, because of delays in the project.

The dispute has been simmering for some time, and some details of the work slowdown were reported in November, but Thursday marked the first time that the mayor and other officials have acknowledged that the fight would mean the museum will not open in 2012.

"There is no chance of it being open on time. Work has basically stopped," Bloomberg said. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on a recent radio program that the Port Authority was "on the verge" of suing the foundation, but both the mayor and the Port Authority said Thursday that negotiations over the matter continue.

"I'm sure we are going to work something out with the Port Authority," Bloomberg said. "They've got a difficult budget situation. I'm sympathetic to that."

Despite security hurdles and ongoing construction, tourists from around the world have already made the memorial at the site a regular stop on their visits to New York City. Since it opened to the public Sept. 12, more than 1 million people have visited the memorial plaza, officials said.

The site now draws about 10,000 visitors a day, which would put it on pace to match or exceed the 3.5 million who visit the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building annually.

Tourists - some reverent, some just there to gawk - have long been a staple at ground zero, but until this summer the closest they could get were the high fences that ringed a bustling construction zone where the twin towers once stood.

Negotiating fences and legions of construction workers is still part of any trip to the memorial. All visitors must reserve free tickets in advance and pass through a security screening. But the hurdles haven't stopped people from coming. Memorial officials said visitors have hailed from all 50 states and 120 countries.

Anthoula Katsimatides, a memorial board member whose brother, John, was killed at the trade center, said the attention is welcome.

"It truly touches my heart and reaffirms the importance of this memorial to know a million people have already come here to honor and pay respects to my brother and the thousands of other loved ones who died in the attacks," she said in a written statement.

Visitors to the site today can walk on a tree-covered plaza and see the two massive pools that sit in the footprints of the fallen towers. Each pool is ringed by waterfalls, and a parapet engraved with the names of the nearly 3,000 people who died on 9/11 and in a 1993 bomb attack.

Visitors can also get a close-up look on construction of One World Trade Center, now 90 stories high and on its way to being the nation's tallest building.

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Associated Press writer Samantha Gross contributed to this report.

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Mobsters - Jimmy Walker - New York City's Midnight Mayor

Mayor Reorganizes New York City Schools Again

Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave his State of the City speech recently and included some unexpected changes for the New York City schools that could profoundly change their current operation. Though the pre-speech release noted that his speech would focus on tax cuts, many were caught by surprise on what could be called only his second reorganization of the New York City schools.

The announcement was followed by a prepared public relations campaign of press briefings and New York City schools' chancellor Joel Klein spoke to business leaders the following day. Here are the major points of the mayor's announcement:

o The New York City schools would remain public and under the control of the Department of Education. The department will continue to be responsible for setting educational standards, allocating funds to the New York City schools, and hiring/firing New York City schools' principals.

o Principals will be empowered to control key issues within their New York City schools. They will have more autonomy, beginning with the next school year, managing their individual budgets and staffing, as well as determining the best teaching approach for their individual New York City schools. Principals will be expected to partner with a support organization.

Along with empowerment and more autonomy comes more accountability. An array of measurements will be employed to ensure the principals are succeeding in their New York City schools. Student grades will be accessible to parents, one of the most effective forms of accountability. New York City schools' principals who do well will enjoy additional funding for their schools.

Mayor Bloomberg sees this move of empowerment and accountability as a longtime corporate success tool -- succeed or lose your job. Others worry he may be losing sight of the learning and teaching aspect of education.

o Support organization partnerships will be established for each of the New York City schools. Each support organization comes from a private group, such as nonprofit agencies and colleges/universities. The support organization will provide professional development support to the principal, his teachers and staff. It will help interpret test results and other statistics, as well as identify helpful teaching approaches for the individual New York City schools.

o Four years ago, when the mayor took control of the New York City schools, he created ten regions. Now that they have served their purpose and completed their work, they are being eliminated. The mayor did not address, however, what group or agency would be responsible for the administration of high schools and admissions for middle schools, previously handled by the regions.

o Chancellor Klein has long criticized the New York City schools' tenure policy of three years on the job and a teacher qualifies for tenure, making it difficult to fire ineffective teachers. Under the mayor's new proposal, the tenure standards will become more difficult but not impossible to achieve. He intends to work with the United Federation of Teachers (the teachers' union for the New York City schools), whose consent is required for any major changes in tenure policy. The mayor aims to use tenure to improve teacher quality with salary increases, develop a program for experienced "lead teachers" to mentor others, and a housing bonus for experienced teachers in teaching fields of short supply.

o Lastly, the mayor is looking at changing the New York City schools' funding formula. He wants to fund each child rather than each New York City schools, believing the current policy is extremely complex and unfair. Each of the New York City schools would receive $3,000 to $3,750 per child with additional funding for poverty-level, non-English speaking, special education, and/or low academic performance-level children. There may possibly be extra funding for the gifted and talented children.

Comments and discussions already have commenced from parents, special interest groups, and advisory councils/committees. It is difficult to see how all of the mayor's changes will benefit the New York City schools' students directly. Parents especially have an interest is seeing smaller class sizes and keeping their children from dropping out of school -- none of which was mentioned in the mayor's announcement.

Patricia Hawke is an expert researcher and writer on real estate topics such as economics, credit improvement tips, home selling advice and home buying preparations and education for relocating families. For more information please New York City Schools

Questions Rising Concerning Spending of Funds by the Mayor and the New York City Schools

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City schools Chancellor Joel Klein, together, have made sweeping changes within the New York City schools. Yet, many are questioning their intentions and spending of funds.

Creating smaller class sizes, especially in the elementary grades, has long been a priority of most parents, teachers and advocates in New York City. Many states and cities have passed laws requiring smaller classrooms, such as the state of Florida.

Studies have repeatedly shown that smaller classrooms improve student achievement, reduce teacher attrition, decrease student disciplinary problems, and increase parent involvement. They have proved especially effective for the elementary grades, but smaller classrooms in high schools are believed to reduce dropout rates, as well.

Today, the New York City schools classrooms are the largest ones in the state. The Court of Appeals ruled in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case that class sizes in the New York City schools were too large to provide students their "constitutional right to an adequate education." The public is complaining that the mayor only plans to spend two percent of the money received from the lawsuit toward reducing class sizes within the New York City schools; yet, he plans to spend ten times as much on more school administrators and specialists.

According to the Gotham Gazette, the mayor and Klein are undermining the reduction of classroom size in six major ways:

o Ignoring State Law -- Since 1999, over $500 million has been given to the New York City schools by the state to cut class size. According to an audit released in March by State Comptroller Alan Hevesi, only 20 extra classes in kindergarten through third grade were created as of last year, compared to the 1,586 classes the New York City schools officials said had been formed.

The audit also showed that officials had sharply cut back the number of K-3 classes by almost 900 over the last four years. Classes should now be 19.1 students per class; however, they remain with 65 percent of the students in classes with 21 students or more, and 26 percent in classes with 25 students or more.

o Not Allowing Voters to Decide -- Over 100,000 New Yorkers signed petitions last year to put an amendment on the ballot that would require a minimum of 25 percent of funds owed the New York City schools from the lawsuit be spent on class size reduction. New York City schools officials blocked the proposal, stating it was "improper", since the New York City schools are under the authority of the state and do not have to comply with city laws. Many voters and advocate groups are contesting.

o Fewer New Classroom Seats Are Being Created -- Reporter Leonie Haimson believes the city is in danger of creating more seats in new stadiums than in New York City schools during Bloomberg's administration. The following are the number of new seats added, according to the Mayor's Management Report:

22,267 seats in fiscal year 2003,

12,921 in 2004,

8,631 in 2005,

4,287 in 2006, and

204 thus far, this year.

Yet, all five boroughs are experiencing a development boom in their neighborhoods. In other major cities across the country, developers are being required to provide schools and other community needs as part of their development projects. New York City has no such requirement. Therefore, there are fewer seats with no expectation of more being added, even though development is increasing.

o No School Plans for Governors Island -- When the mayor was elected in 2001, he pledged to put a major high school and university on the island, which has current facilities sitting vacant that once were used as classrooms. According to Gazette sources, no one is discussing a plan for a school in that location, and the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation has been told to maximize the island's profit-making potential. A new high school on the island would have relieved a lot of overcrowding in the other secondary New York City schools.

o More Charter Schools Being Created -- The mayor plans to create up to 100 new charter schools, and the New York City schools capital plan calls for 74 percent of them to be put into existing New York City schools buildings. With new charter schools taking currently used New York City schools classroom space that means more overcrowding and larger classrooms for the New York City schools.

o New Administrative Positions -- The creation of new administrative positions within the New York City schools has exploded since the mayor was elected. The city comptroller found in 2005 that the New York City schools had lost over 2,000 teachers without replacement within two years, further crowding more students into each classroom. The Educational Priorities Panel recently found that the amount of money devoted to instruction had steadily declined during the first four years of the mayor's administration. Meanwhile, the number of new administrative positions has escalated, with only a slight decline in administrators at the district level.

The public's concerns over classroom size are growing, as the mayor and Klein appear to be focusing on other concerns for the New York City schools.

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Patricia has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information on New York City schools visit New York City Schools