On a daily basis I am reminded that seemingly everyone loves to talk about taxis. Last year between the Daily News, the Post and Times, there were over 2,000 articles mentioning taxis, which transport about a million people a day – yet only about 3,000 articles mentioning subways which transport six-million people a day. Travelers and New Yorkers are clearly disproportionally obsessed with taxis.
Assuming that what people ask me is representative of what’s on … <Read More>
A long-standing feature of American tax policy is the exemption granted to nonprofit organizations, the largest of which is the exemption from local property taxes. The exemption, with origins back to the 18th century, is widespread. Among the 50 states, 17 state constitutions mandate property tax exemptions for charitable organizations, 25 authorize the legislature to give exemptions, and eight do not address the issue. New York State establishes two classes of exemptions for nonprofits: … <Read More>
Under ordinary circumstances the City may not enter into a contract with a vendor when the City finds that the vendor is not responsible because of tax, criminal, financial, ethical or performance reasons. It may not always be in the City’s interests, however, to refuse to deal with the vendor. One option available to the City that allows the City to continue to do business with such a vendor is an Independent Private Sector Inspector … <Read More>
On January 18, 2014, Mark Peters was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigations. Prior to this appointment, Commissioner Peters was a partner at the law firm of Edwards Wildman, and had earlier served as Chief of the Public Integrity Unit from 2001-2004 and as Deputy Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau from 1999-2001 at the New York State Attorney General’s office under Eliot Spitzer. … <Read More>
New Yorkers may start using earned leave time next month. On April 25, 2014, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce hosted a Paid Sick Leave Forum at the Brooklyn Public Library to help explain the City’s newly implemented Earned Sick Time Act, also known as the Paid Sick Leave Law. The forum focused on helping employers understand their responsibilities under the law and ensuring their compliance with the rules. Representatives from the Mayor’s Office and Department … <Read More>
Mayor Bill de Blasio on December 31, 2013, appointed Robert Linn as the Commissioner of the Office of Labor Relations. Linn, a former Director of the Office of Labor Relations under Mayor Edward I. Koch, will lead the City’s team in one of the most important municipal labor negotiations in a generation.