Politics of New York City - Assignment Example

Politics of New York New York is one of the famous places in the world.  The signifies economic progress and development that providesa good modeling for other regions even those outside the United States.  This success can be attributed to the political system of New York City in the midst of various challenges that it had to face in the course of history.    1.  Explaining some concepts        “Term Limits” Term limits refers to the restricted period a person can serve in an office where he/she was elected. In the US, this is normally found in the presidential and semi-presidential systems. Term limits proves to be a method of controlling the potential development of any autocratic government. However, term limits can either be used to the advantage or the disadvantage of the citizens. In the city of New York, the term limit for the city mayor that has been previously set at two consecutive terms with each term running for 4 years. Last year, the City Council made a decision and voted for the extension of the term limit for the mayor and other positions in the office for three consecutive terms. While it was met with negative reactions, the law on term limits was passed and changed. Now, only time will tell if a particular leader’s extended term limit will be used to impose more developments for the city or it will be used to satisfy his or her individual interests.        “Broken Windows”        Broken Windows is a theory stating that the signs of a disorder, like graffiti (often referred to as vandalism), dirty streets, and broken windows can motivate the criminal minds. It further means that not only graffiti and other minor crimes will be encouraged but also more serious ones like robbery, murder, gang wars, and rape. Because of this theoretical claim, the minor signs of the disorder were removed in some states so as to help decrease the rate of serious crimes from taking place.        The city of New York in particular has experienced a high rate of violence since the mid 1980s. George L. Kelling was a witness to the awful situation of the transit authority when he was consultant to the New York City Transit Authority in 1985. He was among the first ones who implemented the new measures by cleaning out graffiti on the walls. The vandals disappeared in the long run. The Mayor of the city also carried out the same method and police enforcers made strict measures against subway fare evasions, public drinkers, and other law breakers. The rates of serious crimes fell significantly since then.         “New York City’s ‘Grid’ Plan of 1811” The Grid Plan of 1811 highlights New York’ planners effort to veer away from what is simply beautiful to what is useful and practical in terms of the city’s streets and divisions. This became the model of other regions in the country in the years that followed. It used to be that the standard for city planning was based on European arrangements as a consequence of their goal of imperialism. Fortunately, this has changed and the grid plan became one in which the symbolism of the leadership structures were emphasized. To reiterate the separation of authority between the executive and legislative authorities for instance, the White House has been placed on the opposite end of the Capitol façade. More importantly, the streets were set up in such a way that they are so well-organized enough to show a sense of unity and interconnectedness in them. The distance between blocks was also made shorter allowing for the different areas to link with each other. The New York City’s Grid Plan of 1811 actually provided the preparation for the city’s full bloom as a bustling metropolitan center where various industries flourish.          2. Reflections on some questions 1. Drawing upon Robert Caro’s biography of Robert Moses, The Power Broker, explain what Robert Moses’ sources of power were. He was able to plan and develop vast public projects in the New York Metropolitan Region. What do you think was Moses’ legacy? Use specific examples from the Caro book.         Robert Moses, according to Robert Caro’s biography, was the most powerful man in the history of New York.  His trail mirrors the incredible accumulation of power, which has been a hidden story of the shaping (and mis-shaping) of New York for the past half-century.   The book is an ideal multidimensional portrait of an extraordinary man who was deprived of power within the normal framework of the democratic process, but he later on stepped outside such framework and shaped the great city of New York.        Moses entered adulthood as an idealist (Caro page 25) who sought to reform New York City’s civil service system (Caro page 895).  In the 1930s, he became increasingly well-known in New York City and was independently wealthy so he had the time and money to make many friends among the elitist set.  At the time many did not know that he had stolen his brother’s inheritance.        He became acquainted with Al Smith, a politician who became governor of big apple.  Moses was assigned many commissions, such as the construction of some parks and, and he performed such duties superbly.  With his extensive knowledge of both law and engineering, he soon became the go-to man when the time came to draft new bills.  He had projects planned and ready, and he had great public acceptance.  He never held a publicly-elected post, but many of those who did went to him for advice.        Moses constructed his own empire and was held in fear--his dossiers could disgorge the dark secret of anyone who opposed him. As a dictator, Moses was believed by the newspapers and the public as above deals.  This is because of the "Triborough", or the government having records that were closed to the public. He had direct pressure on banks, labor unions, and every citys political and economic institutions, even the press and the Church. He held power in the state for 44 years, however, in spite of his self-centered leadership, Moses was able to create his legacies.        From 1924 to 1968, Moses got successful state civil works, counting the seven bridges in the city (Caro, 698), and the tunnels underneath East River (Caro page 515). He had also built 416-mile parkways and over 600 playgrounds (Caro page 374). However, the ambitious Moses destroyed neighborhoods and dislocated thousands of people for building up his expressways (Caro page 918). Moses was "Americas greatest builder”, as he was the shaper of the greatest city in the New World. Moses used his power to sell bonds, build roads, collect tolls and put the money back in to new projects.        Today, there are engineers planning for huge building projects for the people in the lower Manhattan. This is preparation for the Olympic bid. There are some people saying that leaders of the city can consider Moses methods, which were apparently effective. This is entails one indispensable legacy of Moses as a leader- his system. 2. Drawing upon readings, identify the major governmental, civic, and private sector actors involved in the current efforts to redevelop the World Trade Center Site. What conflicts have emerged regarding the future uses that will occur on the World Trade Center site?        The rebuilding of the World Trade Center site in New York City, New York, USA has been the subject of controversy over the past years.  On the 14th of September, 2001, President George W. Bush visited the site and gave assurances for its rebuilding.  New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani also expressed promises of building the tower soon after the attacks.  Larry Silverstein, the leaseholder of the World Trade Center at the time of the attack also pledged to rebuild the site, stating “It would be the tragedy of tragedies not to rebuild this part of New York.  It would give the terrorists the victory they seek.”         The rebuilding process was not without controversy.  Initially, some groups including some survivors of the 9/11 attacks were against rebuilding the site, instead calling out for the site to be made a memorial to those lost on that fateful day.  The rebuild did push through, but a memorial was also included in the plans for the new site.         The parties currently involved in overseeing the reconstruction are the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), the Port Authority, Larry Silverstein, Studio Daniel Libeskind, and various assisting groups under federal assistance.           The LMDC is responsible for handling communications with local communities, businesses, the City of New York, and relatives of survivors of the 9/11 attacks (the Survivors’ Network).         The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, or Port Authority for short, is the owner of the land upon which the World Trade Center site sits.  Conflicts with Larry Silverstein on ownership of the proposed building rose.         Larry Silverstein is the leaseholder of the World Trade Center.  Upon his acquisition of the lease, he had the buildings insured for a total of USD 3.55 billion per occurrence.  After the attacks, insurance battles were fought over whether the attack on the Twin Towers was to be considered as one or two occurrences.  Some of the 24 insurance companies insuring the building were made to pay the their policy’s face value, while others were judged subject to “two occurrences” and were forced to go with double face value.  The potential payout was capped at USD 4.577 billion for buildings 1, 2, 4, and 5.         Studio Daniel Libeskind won the design contract in February of 2003.  Even the design selection process was rife with intrigue.  Days before the final selection, Mr. Silverstein wrote the LMDC stating his dissatisfaction with the finalists’ designs, and that he had already chosen Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill as his master planner, which had withdrawn from the design competition earlier.         Some of the other options for the site included rebuilding according to the original design, and clearing the site to implement the pre-World Trade Center traffic grid.  Neither was seriously considered.  Today, the speed or lack thereof, of the reconstruction process has met with criticism.  The fortified base of 1 World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, was criticized as dull, alienating, and reflective of paranoia -- counteractive to the symbolism in the name “Freedom Tower”.   3. How has the power of the mayor of New York City, the borough presidents, and city council changed over the past century? Identify the key powers of the mayor, the city council, and the public advocate in the governance of the city.         Each government official plays their specific roles and performs their duties in an effort to bring about the desired development in the area assigned to them. While they have a certain amount of independence, they still function as a integrative whole in which each contribution becomes an important gauge of organizational success.        The mayor is primarily responsible for the executive branch of city functioning, the city council handles legislation while the public advocate for the city of New York handles the people’s complaints and the investigation of problems with the local government.  From preparing the city budget to appointing the different commissioners and board members to coordinating emergency services, the mayor is a powerful figure of New York’s functioning, as he or she takes a hands-on approach to getting things done.          The city council, on the other hand, strives primarily to propose and approve bills after lengthy scrutiny and debating. Passing a bill requires much proper thought, and the city council’s sole job is to make sure that these bills are sound and beneficial to the people that compose the general public of New York.         However, the local government makes mistakes in its own right. And the public advocate for the city of New York tackles these problems head-on: taking the complaints and problems of the general public, filtering and screening them for priority and urgency, and eventually launching an investigation and probable solution for these problems is the task of the public advocate.         At the start of the 20th century, the ‘age of gilded barons’ was still in effect: where government officials were second-fiddle to the financial tycoons that held the real power in New York City. However, the combination of massive immigration and the Great Depression had ended the vast influence of financial tycoons in the city’s politics; effectively putting the power back into the hands of the local government. Since then, the mayor and other subsequent government officials had more real executive and legislative clout than before.          On a different note, the city council has had a tumultuous time in the 80’s: numerous changes were introduced, with the final dot being expansion of the council’s duties to include substantial authority over the municipal budget, zoning, land use and franchising when the number of council members were raised from 35 to 51 in 1989. This is aside from the legislative powers they were already granted in the first place.         The borough presidents, on the other hand, had lost most of its power with the abolishment of the Board of Estimates in 1990. This was due to the lack of proportionate voting power by boroughs of varying populations, and led to the borough presidents served more a ceremonial purpose than a real political one.    4. You have been appointed to advise the next mayor of New York City. Prepare a brief memo outlining the key challenges facing New York City in the next four years and what policies you would advise the mayor to emphasize to deal with these challenges and issues.  The specific problems of governance in New York City can only be truly understood by those who can comprehend the intricate web of political, legal, financial and social machinations of the city. However, there are quite a few visible challenges that can have a lasting effect if not handled appropriately:  Recovering from the Financial Crisis is the first order of business that New York City must prioritize. Money is the fuel that drives the heart of any major city, and stable financial institutions will be able to channel that fuel to the different parts of New York City.   The author admits that he has limited financial understanding of the causes and solutions to the financial crisis, but then clearing this ignorance becomes the solution: the financial sector’s mysterious functioning must be clearly understood and made transparent in order to prevent such financial collapses (as was brought about by subprime mortgaging) from happening again.   Thus, a policy must be made to create a legal entity that not only carefully scrutinizes the business of money for legal loopholes, but will also handle researching the potential implications of any and all financial schemes to the economy as a whole.    High Living Costs in the City is another concern that has to be tackled in the long run. New York is one of the best urban cities in the USA, but living in the city has a literally steep price to pay, but the schism between the rich and the poor living standards will only serve to raise crime rates in the city.  Policies that can create affordable housing, inexpensive food and basic city services can then be drawn up. Providing a venue for lower and middle class individuals to preserve their money allows them to live comfortably; without feeling discriminated or ignored by the city’s government.   The Garbage Problem With the closure of the Fresh Kills dump, New York City’s garbage expenses have drastically increased from $658 million dollars to about $1.25 billion dollars: double the original amount of money spent.   The excess $600 million dollars spent could be used somewhere more productive, like infrastructure or government projects. Thus, drafting policies on waste reduction, management and disposal can help alleviate the problem in the long run. How these policies will be implemented, as well as their intricacies, will have to be the subject of serious analysis and scrutiny before they can be finalized. Read More