analysis

A Guide for Zombie Hunters: How to Deal with these Vacant Properties (not flesh-eating deadwalkers)

I live next door to a zombie, and I worry that trouble is coming this summer. The zombie is a single family residence with three bedrooms and about 1,700 square feet of living space. The owner defaulted on the mortgage a couple years ago, and before he moved to Texas, he offered the house up …

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First the Questionable Reduced Assessment, now an Illegal STAR EXEMPTION: Mayor Uses Influence over Assessor to Save Thousands in Local Taxes

On February 5, I published an article on the bridge explaining how Mayor Rich David quietly and questionably secured a nearly 30% reduction of his downtown property tax bill. Mayor Rich David is now saving thousands in local property taxes because, in 2018, the City Assessor—a position the Mayor oversees and appoints—used a questionable “informal …

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Broome County is Killing Me

By Bill Martin It has become far too common: another person denied medical care at the Broome County Jail, and this time with gruesome and deadly consequences. Today’s epitaph is written for Rob Card, a local carpenter, artist, and family man who was sent to the jail for violating probation on a minor drug charge. …

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Lawmakers Reintroduce the New York Health Act

Advocates Celebrate Inclusion of Long-Term Care and Support Services The bill is now amended to include long-term care and support services, making it the most comprehensive, progressive, state-level universal healthcare bill in the country Albany, NY—Advocates celebrated the reintroduction of the New York Health Act [A.5248, S.3577] yesterday, calling attention to its highly-anticipated revision to …

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How I Found Out Mayor David Secretly Cut His Property Tax Bill by 27%

Having worked at City Hall for almost eight years prior to the current administration, I remain friends or friendly with dozens of city employees: in the Police and Fire Departments, over at the “Rock” (our endearing term for the DPW facility), in every division of Public Works, and in Planning and Development. Often, I receive …

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Protect Abortion Rights Says New Poll

A research firm has found that the age old split about abortion disappears when you ask the right questions. (And Trump’s Supreme Court doesn’t hurt) the truth is most people don’t want protections for abortion access to go away.  Read more here. https://view.publitas.com/perryundem-research-communication/perryundem-report-on-public-opinion-toward-abortion/page/2

If We Can Run, We Can Win

Public Financing of elections gives all of us a chance to run a competitive race for elected offices. The campaign to get there in New York is called Fair Elections. We have a chance this year but we all have to push to get this done. State Senate Speaker, Andrea Stewart Cousins has been a …

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