From left: David Paterson and Tom Duane

A group of local activists held a rally today, urging Governor David Paterson to sign a bill that would ensure people living with HIV/AIDS relying on rental assistance would pay no more than 30 percent of their income for housing. The bill, introduced by Assembly member Deborah Glick and State Senator Tom Duane, the latter of whom attended the rally, would affect all individuals enrolled in the HIV/AIDS Services Administration’s housing assistance program. Currently, some of the program’s enrollee’s pay upwards of 70 percent of their income toward their rent, according to pro-bill activists. Paterson vetoed the legislation in September, but had promised to reintroduce the bill at a latter date. Thus far, activists say, Paterson has failed to reintroduce the bill in his agenda. TRD

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Governor Paterson

Governor David Paterson has announced the consolidation of all state housing agencies into one, single organization known as the New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Under the new umbrella organization, the state housing officials will be divided into three categories: finance and development, housing preservation and community renewal. In addition to streamlining the state’s regulatory housing groups, Paterson said he made the decision to consolidate the agencies in response to the state’s $9 billion budget deficit. “[The new organization] will increase transparency and efficiencies and strengthen our ability to improve the quality of life from one end of New York to the other,” Paterson said. TRD

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Governor Paterson

Governor David Paterson signed legislation into effect today requiring landlords to disclose any history of bedbug activity in a building to possible tenants. The move comes on the heels of an increasing number of bedbug complaint calls to 311 in New York City — 11,000 such calls were made last year, compared to just 537 in 2004. The “Bedbug Disclosure Act” was sponsored by New York State Assembly member Linda Rosenthal, whose district includes the Upper West Side and portions of Hell’s Kitchen. Rosenthal said that the legislation is key to helping city residents avoid an increasingly prevalent problem. “New York City tenants have been living in fear of bedbugs,” Rosenthal said. “Nothing is more horrifying than signing a lease after a lengthy apartment search, only to discover that your new apartment is bedbug-infested.” New York City has seen several high-profile locations succumb to infestation in recent weeks, including the Empire State Building and the AMC movie theater in Times Square. TRD

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While Mohammed Rauf’s Islamic Society of New York quickly became an epicenter of Islamic life on the Upper East Side when it opened in 1991, Rauf’s son Feisal Abdul Rauf is drawing an equal amount of attention with his own proposed Islamic Community Center, the Park51 project, decried by opponents as the “Ground Zero mosque.” Indeed, plans to build the Islamic center in the Cordoba House — a former Financial District Burlington Coat Factory — has drawn a firestorm of controversy among religious leaders and conservative politicians. But an equally vehement sector of the population — including a group of so-called “9/11 families” who lost family members during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center — have spoken out in support of the proposal. In this video from MSNBC, political commentator Keith Olbermann takes aim at the Islamic center’s opponents. In the meantime, Governor David Paterson announced plans today to meet with the project’s developers, after publicly suggesting that the project be moved elsewhere.

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A radioactive waste storage facility at 261 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg may have to find a new home soon, pending Governor David Paterson’s approval of a piece legislation that has already been passed by the state Senate and Assembly, according to the Brooklyn Eagle. The legislation would restrict where hazardous waste facilities can be installed, prohibiting them from being set up within 1,500 feet of a school. The facility at 261 Kent Avenue sits within that distance to a local elementary school, P.S. 83. The potential new law comes after years of lobbying by community groups to remove the facility from the neighborhood, according to Luis Garden Acosta, founder of El Puente, a local advocacy organization. “With Governor Paterson’s support, we look forward to ‘Toxic Free School Zones’ across New York state,” Acosta said. [Brooklyn Eagle]

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After Governor David Paterson’s ill-fated selection of the Aqueduct Entertainment Group to operate the Aqueduct racino in Queens, state officials are once again soliciting bids from potential developers, according to the Observer. The selection of AEG drew considerable ire from the state officials and the public, as accusations of favoritism and unfair political connections cropped up almost immediately after Paterson’s winter announcement. [more]

A coalition of construction trade groups has filed suit against the state, in response to Governor David Paterson’s decision to suspend infrastructure improvement payments, according to Crain’s. The group, which includes the General Contractors Association, the Construction Industry Council and the Associated General Contractors of New York, is represented by former New York Lieutenant Governor Al DelBello, who said Paterson’s edict casts a gloomy outlook for these groups. “There are no assurances that the contract workers [are] going to be paid,” DelBello said. “But if they stop work, they’re in breach of their contract. It’s an unconscionable position they’re been put in.”

A package of state foreclosure legislation that will enforce broad protections for troubled homeowners is set to take effect April 15. The new laws aim to crack down on loan modification scams, extend the number of days banks are required to give notice before foreclosing on a home and demand that banks provide upkeep on foreclosed homes to avoid degradation of property values. The bills, which were signed into law last December, are also designed to help homeowners who did not take out subprime mortgages but, nonetheless, face foreclosure. “A lot of innocent bystanders were impacted by [the] subprime crisis,” State Senator Jeff Klein said. “These are people who played by the rules and paid their mortgages on time.”

From left: Jay-Z and Rev. Floyd Flake

Rev. Floyd Flake and rapper Jay-Z have each withdrawn themselves from Aqueduct Entertainment Group amid ongoing federal and state investigations into the group’s controversial and surprise selection as the developer for the new Aqueduct racino in Queens. Flake had just a 0.6 percent stake in AEG, worth $625,000, but his involvement had come under close scrutiny in recent weeks as documents related to his affiliated groups were subpoenaed in the federal probe. “Unfortunately, my ongoing participation in Aqueduct Entertainment has become a distraction that has taken me and my attention away from the community projects I created and nurtured,” Flake said in a statement. Jay-Z had a 2 percent stake in the project through Gain Global Investments Network. The departure of two of AEG’s most high-profile players came yesterday just after the group announced that it would pay the state $300 million by March 31 and break ground as soon as possible. According to sources, the deadline for AEG to submit all of its applications to the state was Tuesday at noon. Still, speculation is growing that the deal is falling apart and that Governor David Paterson is mulling over whether to cancel it within days. [Crain’s]

Amid an increasingly divisive probe into the state’s selection of Aqueduct Entertainment Group for the new Queens racino, State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is reportedly having second thoughts about giving the deal his blessing. Silver, who initially had favored SL Green in the bidding process, may refuse to sign a “memorandum of understanding,” which is the legal agreement required to finalize the contract, the Post reported. “The speaker is leaving open the possibility that he won’t sign, depending on what new information emerges, on what the investigations find,” a source said. Silver ultimately caved to Governor Paterson and state Senate Democratic leader John Sampson in agreeing to back AEG for the slots deal, but insisted that the group pay additional state licensing fees upfront and that its top leaders and investors undergo criminal background checks. AEG partner Darryl Greene of the Darman Group then recused himself from the project because of a past criminal conviction. Earlier this week, documents released from Paterson’s office showed that AEG’s original bid for the project would have generated the least revenue for the state out of all the bidders. After the bidders were asked to revise their proposals, AEG’s bid ranked first in terms of state revenue. [Post]