Norwood News reporter Jeanmarie Evelly is Tweeting live from the City Council's contentious hearing on legislation that would require businesses to pay living wages ($10 an hour plus benefits) to workers if their development deal include significant government tax breaks and subsidies. We'll capture all the action here.
Backers of a controversial living wage bill that’s scheduled for a debate in the City Council this afternoon held a spirited rally last night at Harlem’s Riverside Church, where elected officials, union workers and leaders from faith institutions across the city demanded action on the legislation, which has been lingering in the Council for over a year. […]
Parties on both sides of the contentious living wage debate are gearing up for another fight tomorrow, as the City Council is scheduled to hold its second hearing on the bill--this time to consider recent revisions made to the legislation to appease critics and make it more business-friendly.
Supporters of a living wage bill that’s been lingering in the City Council for over a year now are making another effort to revive the lagging legislation, in a drawn-out battle with the Bloomberg administration and business leaders who say it would ultimately kill jobs. Sponsors of the proposed Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, […]
The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, sponsored by Bronx Council Members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma, would require developers of projects receiving taxpayer subsidies of more than $100,000 to pay workers $10 an hour with benefits, or $11.50 without. The bill, which sprang from the living wage fight that derailed a plan to develop the Kingsbridge Armory into a shopping mall, has the support of every Bronx Council member, with the exception of James Vacca, who had said he was waiting for a hearing on the issue before taking a side. “He’s wary of any legislation that might prevent jobs, and I’m not sure he’s convinced,” said Vacca spokesman Bret Nolan Collazzi, in a phone interview after the hearing.
The campaign that would require developers of retail projects receiving taxpayer subsidies to pay a living wage — $10 with benefits and $11.50 without — is heating up as advocates press for an April City Council hearing. Council Speaker Christine Quinn has said she would allow hearings on the bill, which has 29 supporters, including every member of the City Council except for James Vacca of the east Bronx.
Clergy members from the Bronx and across the city led a silent march on City Hall on Nov. 17 to voice their support for the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, or “Living Wage Bill.” The legislation, sponsored by Bronx Council members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma, would require most development projects that receive public funding to pay workers employed there a living wage — $10 an hour with benefits or $11.50 an hour without. The bill was sparked by a contentious debate last December over the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory, when the City Council — backed by a fierce coalition of Bronx advocates and Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. — voted down plans for a shopping mall at the hulking Kingsbridge Road landmark.
New legislation guaranteeing good paying jobs at development projects that receive significant city subsidies is gaining momentum in the City Council. But backers of the bill, including Bronx Councilman Oliver Koppell, say the mayor's office is stacking the deck in opposition to it.
Two Bronx politicians are picking up the torch from the living wage campaign that was at the heart of last year's battle over the Kingsbridge Armory.
City Council Members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma - both of the Bronx -introduced the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act on May 25, a bill that would require most development projects receiving city subsidies to pay workers eventually employed there a living wage - $10 an hour with benefits or $11.50 an hour without.
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