Council Speaker Christine Quinn announces the legislation Friday at City Hall. Credit: William Alatriste

Thousands of companies in New York City will soon be required to give their employees paid sick leave.

Under a deal announced by Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s office Thursday evening, companies with 20 or more employees will be required to offer five paid sick days beginning April 1, 2014. On Oct. 1, 2015, it will expand to include companies with 15 or more workers. 

“We have a good, strong and sensible piece of legislation that recognizes the needs of everyday New Yorkers and the realities that our struggling small businesses face,” Quinn said in a statement.

She said the 2014 start date gives businesses extra time to recover before absorbing the extra costs.

The bill also ensures the requirement will only go into effect if the economy continues to improve, according to Quinn’s office.

Enforcement will be complaint driven, according to the speaker’s office, and handled by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The maximum fine will be $2,500.

Quinn had blocked a vote on the paid sick leave bill for three years, arguing that it would hurt the city’s economy. She drew criticism from her fellow mayoral contenders, her colleagues in the City Council and activists, including feminist Gloria Steinem.

Under the bill, companies that have fewer than 15 employees will be forced to offer unpaid days off to sick workers. Companies will be legally forbidden from firing employees for taking sick time off, paid or unpaid.

Advocates had originally wanted a bill that would apply to companies with five or more employees. Despite the compromises made, the deal is a victory for labor unions and liberal activists who have long rallied for it. They say the legislation will affect one million workers who until now could not take time off out of fear that they would lose pay or their job.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed Friday he will veto the bill.

“It is crucial that we continue doing everything we can to allow businesses to grow,” he said. “While this compromise version of the bill is better than previous iterations, it will still hurt small businesses and stifle job creation.”

There is expected to be enough votes in the City Council to override the veto.

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If a quartet of state senators gets its way, then lever voting machines will replace electronic ones. Credit: Getty Images

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling for old-fashioned lever voting machines to replace electronic ballot scanners.

The lever voting machines had been used successfully in the city for over 100 years, according to state Sens. Martin J. Golden and Andrew Lanza, both Republicans, and Simcha Felder and Diane Savino, both Democrats. But things have not gone smoothly since the Board of Elections switched to electronic voting in 2010, the senators alleged.

“These new-fangled voting machines are a disaster,” Felder said in a statement. “Seniors can’t see the ballot text, voters are confused about how to fill out the ballot, and election day in New York City has become synonymous with chaos and dysfunction.”

Under a bill that the four introduced Friday, the Board of Elections would be authorized to conduct local elections, such as this year’s mayor’s race, using lever voting machines. Federal elections in 2014 would still have to be done with electronic voting.

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“It’s wasteful and duplicative,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne told Metro exclusively. “No police department in America has more oversight than the NYPD.”

A bill that would establish an inspector general who would review and judge the NYPD’s practices has garnered hefty support from city officials, including Speaker Christine Quinn.

As it waits to be heard by the city’s Public Safety Committee, independent organizations, like the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law, have joined the ranks of those supporting the idea that the NYPD should enlist an inspector general, similar to the LAPD.

“We are focused on policing policies rather than individual incidents,” Faiza Patel of the Brennan Center for Justice said. “An inspector general would be uniquely positioned to study these policies from inside the police department and provide a neutral evaluation of their effectiveness and legality.”

The Bloomberg administration and the NYPD have been routinely vocal about their opposition to the bill, insisting the department already has plenty of oversight, including five district attorneys, the New York State Attorney General and the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

“Internally, the NYPD devotes about the same number of personnel to oversight as it does to counter-terrorism — approximately  1,000 — with the nation’s most robust and effective Internal Affairs Bureau, as well as inspectional units throughout the department,” Browne fired back.

Advocates of an inspector general cite recent firestorms over tactics like stop-and-frisk and Muslim surveillance as reasons more monitoring of practices is vital within the NYPD and that the mechanisms in place aren’t nearly enough.

“I have never seen the NYPD go to a D.A. and ask them about a policy. The I.G. would allow that interaction to take place,” said John Eterno, a retired NYPD captain and professor at Molloy College. “Even the FBI is overseen with an I.G., so I see no reason why the NYPD thinks itself somehow higher and mightier that it would not simply adhere to democratic principals that would require some sort of oversight.”

Who would it be?

If the proposed bill is ultimately passed, a candidate for inspector general would be appointed by the mayor.

In her proposal, Faiza Patel and her co-author, Andrew Sullivan, wrote that the ideal candidate for inspector general is someone who can establish credibility by being viewed as a neutral party within the NYPD and the community.  

“I’d probably start by looking at lawyers who have a background in working with law enforcement,” Patel said. “I would look for someone of stature, so that he or she can maintain independence. Ideally, the inspector general would be someone who could command the respect of both the police and civil society.”

Robert Gangi, director of the Police Reform Organizing Project at the Urban Justice Center, recommended the proposed inspector general be someone with a law enforcement background.

“The main thing that person needs is integrity, someone who is going to be aggressive,” Gangi said. “More importantly, they have serious concerns about consequences in police practices.”

Truly independent?

While the idea of an inspector general has apparent overwhelming support, some experts have raised concerns about the bill that will go before the Public Safety Committee.

The legislation calls for the city council speaker, public safety chair and the civil rights chair to suggest candidates for an inspector general to the mayor. However, those recommendations are non-binding and the mayor would ultimately appoint the inspector general.

“We have skepticism of whether the agency and person in charge can be truly independent,” Robert Gangi, director of the Police Reform Organizing Project at the Urban Justice Center, said. “They are accountable to the same person the NYPD would be accountable to.”

Stefan Ringel, spokesman for Councilman Jumaane Williams, who sponsored the bill, said the inspector general would serve seven years, a term that would span multiple mayorships.

“We are open to other suggestions and amendments for how the process could work,” Ringel said. “We have written the bill in such a way that it will be able to accomplish oversight while legally permissible within city charter.”

Current NYPD oversight

• Five district attorneys
• Two United States Attorneys
• New York State Attorney General
• Civilian Complaint Review Board
• Mayor’s Commission on Police Corruption

Advocates of an inspector general fire back that these offices don’t adequately review policies and practices within the NYPD.

“U.S. Attorneys, District Attorneys, State attorneys general, civilian boards and internal affairs departments are typical of large police departments across the country,” Patel said. “Moreover, these mechanisms are triggered by particular cases — they do not proactively review the usefulness and legality of police policies and practices in the way that an inspector general would.”

She added, “The Mayor’s Commission does look at policy issues, but focuses only on corruption and has very little authority.”

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State Assemblyman Ronald Dancer introduced the “Snookiville” Law, which would require reality TV crews to foot the bill for additional police officers necessarily for public safety during filming. In addition, the proposed legislation gives cities the right to license and regulate filming.

Dancer cited the state’s popularity among reality shows as the reason for proposing the bill. “Jersey Shore,” “Real Housewives of New Jersey,” and “Cake Boss” were also filmed in the state.

“These shows can attract crowds, which can benefit local businesses and challenge a community’s resources,” Dancer said, according to the New York Post. “This bill will permit local officials to make sure taxpayers don’t get ‘Snook’-ered or public safety is compromised when reality stars such as Snooki or J-Woww come to town.”

The bill’s namesake, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, is one of “Jersey Shore’s” wildest stars. She recently had a baby with fiance Jionni LaValle. The hit show chronicling the cast’s partying ways in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, will kick off its final season on  Oct. 4.

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Robert Pattinson is reportedly selling the Los Angeles mansion he shared with Kristen Stewart, according to Us Weekly. The “Twilight” star is looking to unload the property because “he said there are too many memories,” a source says. But while he may be dropping the property, Pattinson isn’t necessarily through with Stewart, despite her infidelity. “Rob doesn’t hate her and he’s not mad,” the source says. “He just doesn’t get why she did it. He loves her and thinks about her constantly.”

While Katie Holmes will reportedly be getting $4.8 million in child support payments until Suri Cruise turns 18, the little girl herself stands to fare much better from her parents’ divorce, according to Radar Online, as Holmes reportedly insisted that Tom Cruise set up a trust fund for Suri as part of the settlement. “Katie wanted the trust fund put in place for Suri so that their daughter will be able to tap into after she turns 18,” a source says. “Katie has absolutely no access to the money and didn’t want to. It’s a sizable trust fund, but Suri won’t be able to fully legally claim it until she is in her 30s. Tom had no problem with the request and planned on doing it for Suri anyway.”

Taylor Swift has spent her summer dating Conor Kennedy, the 18-year-old grandson of Bobby Kennedy, and she’s reportedly so smitten with him that she can’t stand for them to be apart. Swift recently returned to Nashville for work and, barely a week later, flew Kennedy down on a private jet to join her because she “missed Conor so much,” according to Page Six. “He’s been with her ever since, and his family doesn’t know when he’ll be back,” a source says. “Things have become so serious between them so fast that no one in Hyannis Port would be surprised if they eloped.”

Oprah Winfrey has retained her spot atop Forbes magazine’s list of highest paid celebrities, pulling in a reported $165 million between May 2011 and May 2012. That’s $125 million less than she made the previous year, but still enough to help her beat out Michael Bay, who comes in at No. 2 with $160 million. Steven Spielberg is third with $130 million, Jerry Bruckheimer is fourth with $115 million and Dr. Dre rounds out the top five with $110 million.

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Zuckerberg has been traipsing through Italy with new bride Priscilla Chan, trying to fly below the radar as they see the country’s tourist sites. However, that proved to be an impossible feat after a tourist spotted the starry-eyed couple gazing up at the Sistine Chapel, and tweeted a photo of them, exposing their honeymoon location to the world.

It didn’t take long before their every move got picked up by the media, and now the couple is the center of attention for their lack of tipping at two restaurants.

Servers at Nonna Betta, a Roman Jewish restaurant in Rome, told Corriere della Sera newspaper that Zuckerberg and Chan spent 32 Euros (the equivalent of about 40 dollars) on a lunch of deep-friend artichokes, fried pumpkin flowers and stuffed ravioli, bottled water and tea. Zuckerberg paid the bill, but declined to leave any gratuity. And workers at the restaurant were quick to point out that it wasn’t because he didn’t enjoy the meal.

“I asked him ‘how was it?’ and he said ‘very good’”, the owner, who gave only his first name, Umberto, told the Italian newspaper. “I had gone up to him and said ‘Are you …?’ and he said ‘Yes’.”

Zuckerberg and Chan also didn’t leave a tip after a meal the night before at another Roman restaurant, Pierluigi.

Why is it that Zuckerberg and Chan aren’t tipping their Italian servers? While tipping is not as common in Italy as it is in the United States, it is generally acceptable to leave between 5 and 10 percent. Perhaps Zuckerberg thought he was already paying for a tip through a servizio (service charge), which is often seen on restaurant checks in Italy. However, a photo of the bill from Nonna Betta, posted by The Telegraph, shows that a servizio was not included.

Maybe, with Facebook’s IPO troubles, Zuckerberg’s just trying to cut down on expenses?

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MTA Chairman Joe Lhota joined union representatives, transit advocates and politicians at Grand Central Station to decry proposed federal cuts to mass transit funding.

The group says a Republican federal transportation bill presented late last week in the House will cut $1.7 billion to New York state mass transit funding, the lion’s share being cut from the MTA. Those cuts, the group said, would have a devastating affect on New York City commuters.

“This bill would hit the MTA hard,” said Lhota. “It would raise fares. It would rob the MTA of investments we count on every year.”

Even the Transport Workers Union, currently in a bitter contract dispute with the MTA, stood alongside Lhota.

“We stand with the MTA on this issue,” said TWU member Marvin Holland.

New York Rep. Joe Crowley said the MTA would not have the proper funding to maintain the rails and service customers, should the bill pass.

“With these cuts the MTA will have a harder time planning and funding capital projects,” said Crowley. “Commuters in and around the city … will see longer delays, slower trains, and decaying stations.”

Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg chimed in to blast the bill.

“The lifeblood of New York City is our buses, subways and commuter rails,” said Bloomberg. “Eight million people take mass transit every day in New York which helps to cut traffic, reduce pollution, spur our economy and improve public health.”

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New Jersey, home of hopeless romantic Governor Chris Christie, is quite close to a new law that would make it easier to get married in the A.C. — just add alcohol!

It would also expedite the divorce process — just add sobriety!

The bill, which has been passed by both houses of the New Jersey legislature, would nix a 72-hour waiting period for obtaining marriage or civil union licenses, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Nothing like instant gratification when making a horrible decision.

The new bill also proposes the fee for obtaining a marriage or civil union license be increased from $28 to $60 — a steep jump, but given that you’ve probably already gambled away most of your savings while blacked-out drunk by the time you decide to get married in Atlantic City anyway, we’re guessing the extra $32 isn’t likely to be the one thing that makes you stop and realize that it’s the worst idea ever.

Long live love!

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Big Blue flawlessly executed a bend-but-don’t-break defense to corral the high-tempo Buffalo offense, while the offense used all of its passing resources to counter their anemic run game.

Eli Manning was highly efficient (21-of-32 for 292 yards) in hitting seven different targets. Hakeem Nicks led all Big Blue receivers with 96 yards on four catches, but was complemented by tight end Jake Ballard’s five receptions for 81 yards. The little-known Ballad has quickly become a nice safety resource for Manning, as he’s grabbed a stranglehold on the No. 1 tight end option.   

The Giants (4-2) were able to squeak out the win when Corey Webster registered his second interception of the game. The veteran corner played lockdown defense on Buffalo’s No. 1 option, wideout Stevie Johnson, as his second pick of Ryan Fitzpatrick with 4:02 remaining and Buffalo driving, ignited the eventual game-winning drive. 

Webster, who hadn’t had a pick all season coming into the game, was relieved afterwards to slow down such a potent Bills offense. But Webster said Big Blue’s defense has yet to put it all together.   

“We gave up a couple of big plays early in the game and we strive to not give up big plays,” Webster said. “When the time came we wanted to do something to get those back and we had an opportunity to make some turnovers and get our hands on the ball.”

Bills star running back Fred Jackson was confident that Buffalo’s penultimate drive was going to be the game winner.

“We just didn’t execute the way we wanted to and that’s on all of us,” Jackson said of the ill-fated drive that ended in an interception. “We just didn’t finish, didn’t execute, but I can’t take anything away from them, that’s a good football team … we feel like we left one out there today. But they made a play when they had to and they got the victory.”       

Ahmad Bradshaw finally generated some rushing offense, as he had a 30-yard run on the final drive. Bradshaw started off slowly, but finished strong as he tallied 104 yards and three rushing touchdowns.

He acknowledged his slow start — and overall slump — but was grateful to finally make a positive difference.   

“Anytime I have a chance [to] put the team on my back [by] making plays, I plan to do [it]. They gave me a shot to take advantage of it,” said Bradshaw, a week after publicly criticizing left tackle William Beatty for his spotty play. “My hat goes off to the guys up front. I depend on those guys. They did a heck of a job. We worked hard all week and were successful because of that.”   

Lawrence Tynes capped off the drive with a go-ahead 23-yard field goal with 1:32 remaining. The eventual game-winning drive went 76 yards in nine plays, spanning 2:30.         

New York’s defense did the rest of the work as they stymied Buffalo (4-2) on their last-gasp effort when Jason Pierre-Paul batted away a Fitzpatrick pass on fourth-and-five from Buffalo’s 25-yard line. Big Blue’s defense overall was admirable considering they were banged up and facing a Bills’ offensive unit that came in averaging 32 points per game. The Giants defense sacked Fitzpatrick three times and didn’t allow a 100-yard receiver.   

It was a total team effort, said Pierre-Paul, who had a sack that brought his season total to 7.5 — second in the NFL.    

“We had to put pressure on him,” Pierre-Paul said. “He’s a quick pass guy so we had to come up with a gameplan to put pressure on him and make him move out of the pocket. We also practiced all week on getting our hands up and that’s what I did in the last minute when I knocked the ball down.”    

Left guard David Diehl was appreciative of the total team win. He said this was just the type of team performance the team can use moving forward. Also, mainstays like Justin Tuck, Chris Snee and Brandon Jacobs figure to return in two weeks — and also the possibility that Prince Amukamara will be arriving soon.   

“It’s great because the way things have been going it has been tough sledding,” Diehl said. “Heading into this game we knew what we had to do. We knew we had to get the running game going. It’s a credit to everyone … it’s an awesome feeling [to get to 4-2].”  

Follow Giants beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

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