"The Federal Reserve and the Bush administration believe the threat of defaults by A.I.G. on a lot of unregulated derivative contracts creates a national emergency. It’s too bad they didn’t think of that when they were opposing any efforts to regulate those markets. That would have been interfering with free enterprise. This move, somehow, is not."

This is from the blog of the New York Times chief financial guy. A) how weird is it that he agrees with me? B) how come when I say it im a crazy leftist who doesnt understand the economy?

*sigh*

http://www.bronxcb8.org/index.php?menuoption=about

Community Board 8 in the bronx has a great website

more info on cb1

http://www.billburg.com/community/board.cfm




There are 59 Community Boards in the City of New York. Brooklyn has 18 and Williamsburg is in Community Board 1 which is the area bounded by Flushing Avenue, north to Newton Creek and the Brooklyn-Queens borderline.

Community Board 1 (CB1) is made up of a group of volunteers (no more than 50 persons) who live, work or have other interests in the area, plus the City Council members serving any part of the area. Like a town hall, public meetings of CB1 are a place where interested citizens discuss community issues, monitor government performance, and advise city agencies on neighborhood matters.

All meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month at:

The Swinging Sixties Senior Center
211 Ainslee Street
(corner of Manhattan Avenue)

email to community board 1

Hello,

I am a junior at NYU. My concentration is in documentary film and politics. I am currently doing research for a film I hope to make on local government and community engagement. I want to explore how crucial such things were to American history (Tocqueville described local engagement as our defining trait), why such engagement is disappearing, and of course, I hope to look at people like yourselves, who still make time for this important task.

I was hoping that you might be able to put me in touch with some people that I might talk to about these things. At this stage, I am still trying to understand fully the work of the community board-- what are its major goals, issues, obstacles?-- and also the individual personalities which make up each board.

Any and all help would be deeply appreciated.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns.


Hopefully I hear back from them...