A for-hire vehicle committee was dissolved to punish a city lawmaker who said the City Council is "controlled by the homosexual community," and Amazon is breaking up with New York City.

Here's what else you may have missed in New York politics this week:

NYC COUNCIL SPEAKER: 'HOMOPHOBE' BRONX LAWMAKER SHOULD RESIGN

(City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, left, said Monday that Bronx Councilman Rubén Díaz Sr. should resign for making incendiary remarks about the gay community).

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said Monday that one of his members, Bronx Councilman Rubén Díaz Sr., is "a homophobe" who should resign after he said in a radio interview that the council is "controlled by the homosexual community."

What's the fallout been?

Many City Council members and other elected officials have also called on the councilman to resign, although he has refused to do so.

The council on Wednesday dissolved a for-hire vehicle committee that was created for Díaz. 45 members voted to end the Committee on For-Hire Vehicles, which was in charge of regulating the taxi industry and chaired by the Bronx lawmaker.

Regulation of the taxi industry is expected to go back to the Transportation Committee. That committee's chair is Manhattan Councilman Ydanis Rodríguez, who is running for Public Advocate with the endorsement of Díaz.

NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE HOLDS FIRST SEXUAL HARASSMENT HEARING IN 27 YEARS

 

After months of public pressure, the state legislature on Wednesday held its first hearing on sexual harassment in more than 25 years, with some giving emotional testimony on facing harassment while working for the legislature.

"Since leaving, I have suffered from PTSD, depression, and anxiety," former legislative aide Chloe Rivera said. "Employees should never be forced to choose between their privacy and their rights, or the rights of other workers, to [have a] safe and harassment-free workplace."

An eye towards new legislation:

Last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders negotiated a new sexual harassment policy for the state. Cuomo has frequently referred to the new law as "the strongest sexual harassment law in the nation," but four men privately negotiated the policy.

For almost a year now, victims of sexual harassment have been pushing to have their testimony heard in public, with an eye toward drafting new legislation. It's unclear what new legislation, if any, the testimony may lead to. Cuomo said in a radio interview that he will sign any bills both houses of the legislature pass to improve the sexual harassment laws.

CITY COUNCIL TO TAKE UP BILLS TO CRACK DOWN ON DRIVERS WHO ABUSE PARKING PLACARDS

(It's a problem across New York City: Drivers abusing city-issued placards to put their cars in certain no parking zones. Now, the City Council is aiming to pass legislation to crack down on violators).

The City Council speaker announced this week that lawmakers will take up five bills to crack down on drivers abusing city-issued placards to put their cars in certain no parking zones.

The parking placards allow their users to park in designated zones. But drivers often put them on their dashboards to park just about anywhere, often without any consequences, because traffic agents are reluctant to issue tickets to other city workers.

What does the legislation call for?

The measures would require traffic agents to:

  • Conduct at least 50 enforcement sweeps each week targeting parking placard abusers.
  • Call for the towing of any vehicle with a placard blocking a sidewalk, crosswalk, fire hydrant, bike lane, or bus lane.

In addition, drivers assigned to official city vehicles no longer would able to use placards to park in a bike lane, bus lane, crosswalk, sidewalk, or by a fire hydrant except in emergencies.

JUDGE: DE BLASIO HAS GROUNDS TO MOVE HORSE CARRIAGES INTO CENTRAL PARK

(Horse-drawn carriages will soon have to start hoofing it somewhere else).

A Manhattan judge on Wednesday ruled in favor of de Blasio's push to reign in the horse carriage industry by banning carriages from waiting for passengers outside Central Park. The judge said shifting the boarding area for passengers to five locations within the park falls within the city transportation department's power to regulate the roadways.

What are supporters — of the plan and the industry — saying?

The carriage drivers say the plan will hurt business because the horses will be moved out of public view.

Animal rights advocates, meanwhile, hailed the ruling. "Carriage horses will be subject to less heat and humidity throughout the summer and will no longer have to contend with cars and their exhaust traveling right next to them," said an animal rights group known as NYCLASS, which has been a big de Blasio donor.

The plan was set to take effect Friday, but it was delayed because of construction. The city parks department said horse-drawn carriages will move into the park once the work is complete.

AMAZON CANCELS PLANS FOR A MAJOR CAMPUS IN QUEENS

(Amazon this week canceled plans to build a major campus in Queens, a deal hailed as the biggest economic boon in the history of New York).

Amazon abruptly dropped plans Thursday to locate a campus for its new headquarters in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens.

Why did the deal fall through?

The company cited months of opposition from local politicians. The deal — which Cuomo and de Blasio brokered after competing against more than 200 other metropolitan areas across the continent — was expected to create 25,000 jobs in New York over 10 years.

But critics took issue with the deal including billions of dollars in tax incentives for one of the richest companies in the world, and complained about Amazon's stance on unions. Some Long Island City residents also feared that the company's arrival would drive up rents and other costs and further strain local transit.

 

Proponents of the project, including Cuomo and de Blasio, said for every $1 Amazon received in incentives, the city and state would have received $9 in return.

 

Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.

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