Free Republic

New rules issued by the Bloomberg administration allow minority- and women-owned businesses to circumvent the system for awarding small city contracts -- an advantage denied white-owned firms, The Post has learned. In a memo issued July 15, the mayor's Office of Contract Services told city agencies they could no longer solicit vendors to bid on small contracts -- defined as between $5,000 and $100,000 -- unless they're certified as at least 51 percent minority- or female-owned. That means that even longtime vendors won't be able to sell goods and services to the city in that price range if the owner...

More than $2,000 a month for day care. Some of the highest phone bills in the country. Jam-packed, 50-plus-minute commutes to work. You knew it was tough to live in New York City — but this tough? A new report shows just how ugly — and expensive — New York City can be, especially for the middle class, squeezed by skyrocketing living costs and stagnant wages. The study, released Thursday by the Center for an Urban Future, shows that New York City is hands-down the most expensive place to live in the country. Among the findings: A New Yorker would...

NEW YORK — A man grabbed two cordless power saws off a subway station workbench and went on a rampage Thursday, swinging the saws at riders and slicing open a man's chest before running away, police said. The 64-year-old victim, whose name was not released, was hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Police were searching for the suspect, described by witnesses as a thin man in his 30s, who had earrings in both ears and was possibly carrying a teddy bear. The attack occurred before dawn at a subway station a few blocks south of Columbia University. Wielding a saw...