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Public Advocate Mark Green

Teach Them to Be The Bravest — Green By MICHAEL O. ALLEN and MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Daily News Staff Writers

By Homepage, New York Daily NewsNo Comments

Friday, May 04, 2001

Public Advocate Mark Green urged the city yesterday to establish educational programs for firefighting at two high schools and two community colleges to increase the number of minority group members in the FDNY.

In a city where minority groups now represent the majority of the population, the Fire Department remains overwhelmingly white and male.

Mark Green at yesterday’s press conference on minorities in the FDNY

In a letter to Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, Green, a Democratic mayoral hopeful, released statistics showing that blacks and Latinos make up 7% of the FDNY, as compared with 40% in Los Angeles’ fire department, 29% in Chicago and 30% in Philadelphia.

In 1999, blacks and Latinos accounted for 22% of those who took the firefighter exam and 18% of those who passed.

Green also said more needs to be done to increase the number of women in the department.

Currently, women represent less than 1% of the FDNY workforce.

The city “needs to create a pipeline of qualified minority and women applicants,” he said.

“The best way to permanently change the applicant pool is … to create at least two citywide high schools for fire sciences and a minimum of two fire science programs at CUNY,” Green added.

Mayor Giuliani’s office had no comment. In another development yesterday, about 30 demonstrators rallied outside FDNY headquarters in downtown Brooklyn to oppose firefighter candidate Police Officer Edward McMellon.

A handful of Muslim firefighters and their supporters oppose the possible hiring of McMellon because he was one of four cops who gunned down unarmed African immigrant Amadou Diallo in his Bronx vestibule in February 1999.

“Why does the fire commissioner want to hire McMellon to become a firefighter and save lives after he took my son’s life?” Diallo’s father, Saikou, said at the rally.

The group also demanded that the department hire a Muslim chaplain. FDNY Islamic Society President Kevin James noted that the agency has two Jewish, two Protestant and three Catholic chaplains, but no Muslims.

May 4, 2001
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Green: Nix Pix-Tix Fix

By Homepage, New York Daily NewsNo Comments

Sunday, September 14, 1997

by MICHAEL O. ALLEN and RICHARD T. PIENCIAK, Daily News Staff Writers

A possible merger of the Loews-Sony and Cineplex Odeon movie chains would violate federal antitrust law and raise ticket prices — already the highest in the nation, Public Advocate Mark Green charged yesterday.

Green said a “new Sony” would account for 42% of the 351 movie screens across the city. He said just two chains — the combined Sony-Cineplex Odeon along with United Artists — would own 67% of screens in the city, with the next closest competitor holding only 8% of the action.

As a result, Green charged at a news conference outside the Sony Lincoln Square Theatres at Broadway and 68th St., prices would surely go up.

“The $15 movie ticket will be coming to a theater near you if the Loews-Sony acquisition of Cineplex Odeon is approved,” Green said.

In a formal petition to Federal Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky, Green contended the merger would represent a “blatant violation” of the Clayton Antitrust Act, which prohibits any acquisition that may “substantially lessen competition” or “tend to create a monopoly.”

Green said he feared such a merger would force independent movie houses to close.

“What big movie studio would sell ‘Forrest Gump 2’ or ‘Terminator 4’ to an independent exhibitor or a small movie chain when the new Sony could dictate price because they have market power?” Green asked.

He warned particularly of a “Manhattan movie monopoly,” because the combined conglomerate would control 61% of screens in the borough, already home to average ticket prices of $8.75.

To assess the impact of the acquisition, Green’s staff checked theaters showing the top 10 grossing films for the weekend ending Aug. 17.

All nine Manhattan theaters showing “Cop Land” were owned by Sony or Cineplex Odeon. Of the nine showing the No. 2 film, “Air Force One,” five would be owned by the “new Sony.”

Officials from the movie chains have confirmed talks regarding the possible merger to industry trade publications, including the Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety.

Original Story Date: 091497

September 14, 1997
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Big Banks Charging Big Bucks

By Homepage, New York Daily NewsNo Comments

January 31, 1997

by MICHAEL O. ALLEN, Daily News Staff Writer

The city’s biggest banks are continuing to take the biggest bite out of depositors’ wallets. Chase Manhattan and Citibank top the list of the most expensive banks in the city, according to a new survey released yesterday by Public Advocate Mark Green and State Sen. Franz Leichter (D-Manhattan).

Chase retained the dubious title of the most expensive bank for fees for checking accounts, money orders and stopping payment on checks, even though it slashed minimum-balance requirements.

The banks offering the best bang for depositors’ bucks are small, neighborhood institutions such as Fourth Federal Savings and Maspeth Federal Savings, the survey showed.

Green said consumers could reap big savings if they comparison-shop for banks the same way they shop for food, clothing and services.

The survey rated banks by gauging how much depositors would gain or lose in one year, based on the most advantageous combination of checking, savings and money market accounts.

A mid-level depositor, defined as someone with bank balances between $800 and $3,000, would come out $100 ahead at Fourth Federal Savings because of interest paid. But at Chase, that same depositor would probably face $130 in annual fees.

“That’s a $230 shift in savings,” Green said. “It’s like getting a salary increase.”

Chase spokesman Ken Herz called the survey “ridiculous,” saying that it failed to include the bank’s self-service checking account, which has a $1,500 minimum-balance requirement.

Herz also criticized the comparison of small banks with few services to large, full-service institutions like Chase that have branches all over the city.

“New Yorkers are smart,” Herz said. “That’s why we have by far more customers than anyone else in the city.”

Chase recently merged with Chemical Bank.

Citibank is the city’s only bank offering home banking and free and unlimited electronic bill payment, said spokeswoman Susan Weeks.

“Our customers are looking at the total value they derive,” she said.

January 31, 1997
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