BINGHAMTON - Adopting a child, using a public restroom, even obtaining a passport can be more difficult for people who don’t present themselves as their born gender.

Despite state laws banning discrimination based on sex, gender, race and religion, there are no such protections for transgender New Yorkers.

A Binghamton councilman is looking to change that for residents of his city.

“This community prides itself on being fair and just,” said Sean Massey, D-5th District, “and if there are people that are being left out of that, then we need to provide them with protections.”

The council is considering a comprehensive human rights law, guarding residents against discrimination in employment, housing, credit, education and public accommodations. The law would add protections for transgender residents, who are not mentioned in state or federal anti-discrimination laws. So far, similar laws have been passed in New York City, Albany, Rochester, Ithaca, Buffalo, Suffolk County and Tompkins County.

The Binghamton Human Rights Act also would create a city human rights commission, which would oversee discrimination cases.

This new so-called human rights commission (let’s call it what it is: the transgender gestapo) would unconstitutionally be empowered to hear cases and make binding decisions with the full power of a court. They could also choose to “direct aggrieved parties to the proper state and federal agencies.”

Here is the comment I left on the article at the P&SB website:

This is the kind of garbage hard left socialists push when they gain power, as has the Citizen Action Council (formerly known as the Binghamton City Council). No longer is wrong wrong and right right. Now the most extreme perversions are relabled as a “rights” and “choices”. And if you disagree with said rights? They’re going to “refer aggrieved parties to the proper state and federal agencies.” Translation: They’ll throw you in jail if you dare to disagree with them. Welcome to the Obamanation. And get used to it.

My take: If you’re a MAN, go to the gents. If you’re a WOMAN, go to the ladies room. And if you’re so screwed up you don’t know what you are: DON’T ADOPT a kid and screw them up too.

Think this kind of garbage will only happen in “the liberal northeast”? When/if Obama is elected, this kind of extreme social engineering will spread over the entire country. The night is coming, and I fear it will be a long one.

Technorati Tags: Binghamton City Council, Sean Massey, transgender, human rights, perversion

Ryan is mouthing the typical response when a liberal’s continued political power (re-election) is threatened…something along the lines of, “We didn’t mean we would do it right now–we’re only looking at the issue. No decision has been made.” Right. This ploy is used to lull the angry hordes into submission before the ax falls. The landlords of Binghamton recognize it for what it is–a LIE–and are staying vigilant. According to one landlord, Ellie Farfaglia,

“This administration can’t be trusted,” Farfaglia said. “We are not waiting for the ax to come down on our heads.” (Press & Sun-Bulletin, May 20)

But don’t shed any tears for the good mayor and his merry band of socialists who are out to rob from the evil rich landlords to give to themselves (that is, to their socialist programs that keep people voting for them). Ryanhood is using reassessments to steal his money now–nevermind waiting for an 80% increase in the tax rate. They’ve figured out they can reassess properties and grab the money now! The city has just sent out 452 change-of-assessment notices, many of them to landlords who rent to Binghamton University students. Such clever people these socialists.

It’s good to see people like the mom-and-pop landlords of Binghamton who aren’t going to take this socialist administration’s garbage sitting down. Methinks Mayor Ryanhood and the merry Citizen Action gang better enjoy their first term running the city. I seriously doubt they’ll get a second term.

Technorati Tags: Binghamton, Matt Ryan, Binghamton City Council, property taxes, landlord

Read about it here: Binghamton wavers on tax change for landlords

Stay tuned for more updates!

UPDATE: After posting this, I came across this little piece from Fox 40 News: Mayor Says Tax Hike Vote a Misunderstanding. Read it and laugh…then cry that this nincompoop is our mayor.

Technorati Tags: Binghamton, Matt Ryan, Binghamton City Council, landlord, property taxes

Some landlords are facing an 80 percent increase in property taxes after city council on Monday unanimously backed legislation that would force them to pay the same rate as commercial property owners.

The bill, to be filed later this week in the state Assembly by Donna A. Lupardo, D-Endwell, would make only owner- occupied housing eligible for the city’s lower homestead property tax rate.

Currently, residential properties pay the city’s homestead tax rate — $16.90 per $1,000 assessed value. Commercial properties are charged $30.24 per $1,000 assessed value.

Rental properties with fewer than four units, including those owned by limited liability corporations, local landlords and out-of-towners, are now charged under the lower homestead rate. The change would force all landlords not living in their properties to pay the higher property tax rate.

Is Mayor Matt Ryan and the Citizen Action Council (formerly known as the Binghamton City Council) so utterly stupid they don’t know what will happen to housing in Binghamton if they do this??? Astonishing just how dumb the desire to steal other people’s money–and the desire to punish those who achieve–will make you. This is somehow fair or just? By whose measure? This group is out of control.

Here’s the thoughts of our brilliant mayor:

Mayor Matthew T. Ryan said before the meeting that he was in support of the change.

“These are commercial enterprises, and they should be taxed as commercial enterprises,” the mayor said.

You think there’s been a reduction in population in Binghamton recently? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. This group is ruining Binghamton faster than even I thought possible.

Technorati Tags: Binghamton, Matt Ryan, Binghamton City Council, landlord, property taxes

Yes dear citizens of Binghamton, your already extremely high water bill, up about 250% in the past 11 years by my calculations, is going up another 30% this year, and an additional 10% next year. A lot of pain now, ahead of election-time, a little pain later closer to election-time, so hopefully you forget all about this particular shenanigan. Why are the rates going up? As previously reported on this blog, the excuses offered are because Binghamton is losing population, meaning fewer “entities” to pay the bills, and because “the price of chemicals is going up.” Do you think maybe Binghamton is losing population because of higher taxes and fees? Nah, that’s makes too much sense.

Oh, and the geniuses who are raising the rates figured out how to raise them 43% instead of the original 42% they first floated to the public! By raising them 30% this year and 10% next year (that’s 10% of what will be the new 30% higher rates), the end result is your rates are going up by 43% total. Such clever people we have running our city.

Read the standard Press & Sun-Bulletin defense here:
City raises water rates 30% for ‘08

Technorati Tags: Binghamton,   Mayor Matt Ryan,   Binghamton City Council,   municipal water rates

Yes dear readers, people (like this author) are moving out of the City of Binghamton in droves precisely because the people who run it are 100% clueless and are ruining it. Don’t worry, your faithful observer of all things Greater Binghamton isn’t going far–off to a local municipality that is not Binghamton, but close enough to keep an eye on things.

The latest evidence of mismanagement from Mayor Ryan and the Citizen Action Council (formerly known as the Binghamton City Council) is to raise our already VERY HIGH water rates by 42%! Why? Because we have less population and prices are rising for chemicals. This kind of logic computes only for socialist nitwits. Instead of doing the hard work of getting the water department under control and figuring out how to pay for overruns by cutting costs elsewhere, they will just pass it on to the already overburdened taxpayers of the city. What happens? More people move out–a vicious cycle.

Hey, you voted for them. Now you’re getting what you deserve.

Read more about it in today’s Press & Sun-Bulletin:
Costs, population loss drive city’s water rate increase
(Notice how the article euphemizes taxpaying households and businesses by calling them “entities”.)

Technorati Tags: Binghamton, Mayor Matt Ryan, Binghamton City Council, municipal water rates

As we feared, the Gang of Seven (council members) do not have a voice of their own but instead seem to all share the same brain. They are Citizen Action clones. Citizen Action is the far-left socialist group dedicated to winning elections by snookering people on the lower end of the economic scale and then draining taxpayers’ pockets and transferring the wealth (to repay their voters) when they assume office. Their views are about as close to Marxism as you can get without being called a Communist.

But I digress. Last night Binghamton City Council voted to approve $9.4 million in bonding (that is, borrowing money we don’t have and amortizing it over a generation so taxpayers and their children have to pay it back) for items like road and bridge repairs, sewer line repairs, parks, software upgrades, and oh, $200,000 for GPS (global position system) units for City vehicles. We don’t want City workers to get lost going from Court Street to Front Street. Last night’s vote doesn’t mean the City will borrow the full $9.4 million–this is the credit line Council is willing to grant our obtuse mayor.

Of course, the Gang of Seven found a compulsion to waste taxpayer’s time by taking a symbolic vote (7-0 in favor) on a resolution encouraging Congress to impeach Bush & Cheney. These are the brainiac far-left Democrats (all seven of them) you’ve elected to office folks. Instead of doing the tough work of the City–figuring out how to repair roads and bridges and sewers without further raising taxes or going into debt for future generations–they hurry to vote on borrowing money so they can spend their time on frivolous nonsense like impeachment that is NOT part of their responsibility as council members.

I’d like to float of the idea of impeaching Mayor Ryan and the Gang of Seven. They’ve already shown they can’t properly govern. Too bad we don’t have a recall provision. We now have to wait until the next election cycle to flush these people out of City government. Maybe it’s a good thing we’re borrowing to repair the sewer lines.

Technorati Tags: Binghamton, Matt Ryan, Binghamton City Council, Citizen Action, impeachment