Free Republic

It seems like a rerun -– but maybe this time, people will have learned their lesson. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Chairman Joe Lhota aren’t getting along too well these days. Lhota, who ran on the Republican ticket for mayor four years ago and was unfortunately defeated by de Blasio, is now again challenging de Blasio on a new quality of life issue -- subway garbage, which has become such a problem that it caused a major subway track fire last week, resulting in many injuries and awful transit delays. (There...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ripped his former colleague, Hillary Clinton, over her election loss to President Donald Trump and her subsequent efforts to explain why she lost. “When you lose to somebody who has 40 percent popularity, you don’t blame other things—Comey, Russia—you blame yourself,” Schumer told The Washington Post. “So what did we do wrong? People didn’t know what we stood for, just that we were against Trump. And still believe that.” Schumer’s comments—referring to Clinton blaming Russian meddling and the former FBI director for her loss to Trump—come as Democrats are trying to re-brand ahead of the...

A new bill introduced in New York City Council Thursday addresses the need for an urban agriculture plan that doesn’t fall through the cracks of the city’s zoning and building regulations, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bill, introduced by Councilman Rafael Espinal and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and assigned to the Land Use Committee, also raises the possibility of an office of urban agriculture. If a New York City farm bill seems surprising, you may also be surprised to know that NYC has the country’s largest urban agriculture system, including community gardens, rooftop farms and greenhouses. The city’s...

The Trump administration on Thursday announced it is pouring $500 million into the production of glass pharmaceutical packaging as part of the president's "Made in America" week. President Donald Trump met with representatives of Merck, Pfizer and Corning in the Roosevelt Room of the White House to announce the initiative. He said the investment would create nearly 1,000 jobs "quickly." "This initiative will bring a key industry to our shores that for too long has been dominated by foreign countries," he said. "We're moving more and more companies back into the United States, and they're doing more and more of...

Since May, dozens of illegal immigrants have been arrested and deported from Saratoga Springs, raising concerns about how increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement action could impact the busy horse racing season. At a town hall meeting on Monday, Saratoga Mayor Joanne Yepsen made it clear that the city's police force would not be initiating or participating in ICE deportation efforts. The declaration was met with applause, WTEN-TV reported.

NEW YORK (AP) — The roar of the engine was replaced by a furious whirring as the future of motorsports came to Brooklyn. Formula E took over part of the waterfront neighborhood of Red Hook on Sunday, the second of two race days for the Qualcomm New York City ePrix. The Formula One-style, open-wheel cars reach speeds of 140 mph but only about 80 decibels, compared with 130 decibels for the cars with combustion engines. Instead of screaming down the straightaways the way F1 cars do, FE cars buzz like giant, steal hummingbirds. And they run clean and green....

Queens’ only casino will be building brand new amenities for the over 10 million annual visitors to Resorts World Casino New York City in South Ozone Park as they broke ground on a $400 million expansion project on Thursday, July 13. Excitement was in the air as members of Resorts World, including President Scott Molina, and elected officials from across the borough gathered outside the casino located at 110-00 Rockaway Blvd., for the honorary groundbreaking ceremony commemorating the expansion that will bring a 400-room four-star hotel, four new dining outlets including a signature restaurant concept by a celebrity chef, new...

The city Conflicts of Interest Board gave Mayor de Blasio the green light for a free trip to Germany because it achieved a “city purpose” — of opposing President Trump, a spokesman said Monday. An email from the conflicts board’s lawyer, sent at 10 p.m. Friday — more than a day after de Blasio flew to Germany — said the board approved his itinerary based on a rule that allows acceptance of travel-related gifts if “the trip is for a city purpose and therefore could properly be paid for with city funds.”

Vatican City, Jul 11, 2017 / 11:25 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday Pope Francis appointed Fr. Andrew Bellisario, C.M., as Bishop of Juneau, and Auxiliary Bishop Nelson Perez as Bishop of Cleveland. Bishop Perez, 56, has been Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre since 2012. He succeeds Bishop Richard Lennon, who resigned in December 2016 at the age of 69 due to health reasons. Fr. Bellisario, 60, a member of the Congregation of the Mission and rector of Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral in Anchorage, succeeds Bishop Edward Burns, who was installed as Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas in February.

A vacant dairy plant in Batavia is being re-purposed and will result in millions of dollars of investment in that facility and more than 200 jobs. That announcement was made by Governor Andrew Cuomo Tuesday when he visited the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park. The dairy company HP Hood is buying the plant previously operated by the Muller-Quaker venture a couple of years ago, and Hood will use the plant to make extended shelf-life dairy products. Cuomo credits state and Genesee County economic development officials for being persistent in trying to find a new use for the plant. “They have taken...

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Cops once again turned their backs on Mayor de Blasio at a police funeral. Scores of officers who assembled for assassinated police officer Miosotis Familia on Tuesday showed Hizzoner their backs during the mayor’s eulogy — a move reminiscent of the funeral for slain officer Wenjian Liu in 2015. --SNIP-- The protest comes after de Blasio skipped town for Germany Thursday — the day after Familia was assassinated by cop-hating gunman Alexander Bonds.

Remember when New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hopped on a jet and took off to Germany right when the city was in mourning over the assassination of yet another police officer? To say that this was a political misstep is the definition of an understatement, but the fallout of that stunt isn’t quite over yet. Some people are raising the awkward question of precisely who paid for that little public relations disaster. As you could probably have guessed without my telling you, it was the taxpayers of New York City. But fear not, citizens! The New York City...

Mayor de Blasio made a surprise departure from New York City yesterday—just one day after the assassination of NYPD officer Miosotis Familia while she guarded a violence-plagued Bronx corner—in order to attend anti-capitalist protests in Hamburg, site of the G-20 summit. A few hours after de Blasio’s plane departed, a train derailed in Penn Station, where extensive track work is scheduled to begin this weekend. It was the third derailment at Penn since March; the incidents have become so commonplace that New Jersey Transit commuters reportedly showed little surprise when their train car slid off the track. The mayor has...

It is a tale of two New Yorkers. Donald Trump goes to Germany to defend Western civilization and promote economic growth. Bill de Blasio goes to Germany to throw verbal Molotov cocktails and promote socialism. One is the leader of the free world, the other is a great pretender. The mayor was in full Putz mode as he abandoned his City Hall post to join the anarchists, socialists and violent leftists trying to disrupt the G-20 summit. In the history of low moments in New York politics, de Blasio’s stunt stands out. His decision to join an international rabble marked...

President Trump and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio were both overseas this week, within a few miles of each other. In fact, the President and the mayor were in Hamburg, Germany for the same exact event. Yet the contrast could not be starker. After a very successful trip to Poland, President Trump is tending to state business of the highest order at the G-20 summit in Hamburg. Despite the countless violent, rogue and lawless protesters, the President is moving our country’s agenda forward at the summit, as he temporarily leaves behind an America that is in far better...

On Thursday, July 5, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, with no advance notice to the public he serves, jetted off to Hamburg, Germany, to attend the G-20 Summit, where heads of state and leaders or representatives from worldwide organizations and entities meet to discuss global imperatives. The mayor is not there to participate in the open dialogue between more than 20 participating countries and scores of international organizations and invited guests. He is to be the keynote speaker for an event called Hamburg Shows Attitude, which is described as a protest really for “democracy and human rights.” He...

The governor of New York suddenly looks like the kind of take-no-prisoners pol his party needs. With one catch. NEW YORK — The scene is unfolding in the shabby headquarters of the Hotel Trades Council just off Times Square in the late spring of 2017, but it’s not hard to imagine the speech somewhere in the Rust Belt in 2020, with a Democratic nominee trying to reclaim the Upper Midwest for his party. “The truth is the middle class is under attack. The working families are under attack,” Andrew Cuomo bellows, his tough-guy accent coming in a little thick. “Middle-class...

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio has been locked up since June 5 when Judge Stephen Aronson sent her to jail upon her rejection of a plea deal. Aronson sentenced her Thursday to 60 days in jail plus three years of probation and six months with an ankle monitor....She was jailed in June after skipping a court-ordered test and taking an extended vacation in Thailand.

The Better Angels organization (better-angels.org) is currently seeking Trump supporters to join non-Trump supporters for a weekend of facilitated conversation, refreshments, music and fellowship as part of its “One America” National Bus Tour. The project, which will take place in Ithaca (venue TBA) the weekend of Friday, July 14 and Saturday, July 15, seeks to help bridge the divide between citizens on the political left and right. “It is necessary that we have an equal number of ‘red’ Americans and ‘blue’ Americans participate in the gathering and so far our ‘blue’ numbers are too high.” said Dana LaCroix, one of...