A few months back, Runnin' Scared covered what seems to be the biggest conundrum of the Big Apple: the fact that rents are higher than ever (averaging a solid $3,418 a month) yet no one is leaving the island. Actually, recent years have shown a huge increase in Manhattan newcomers, raising the question of whether the island will go the way of Venice.More >>

Sam Levin

Mayor Mike Bloomberg takes questions today at Google's headquarters in Manhattan.

Today, City Comptroller John Liu and Mayor Mike Bloomberg talked about the actual one percent of New York City. And unsurprisingly, they differ in their views on how the wealthiest top percent of New Yorkers impact the city's economy.

Liu, who is expected to run for mayor in 2013, released a report today on income disparity in the city, finding that the top one percent of income tax filers receive one-third of all city personal income -- a share which his office says is nearly twice the national average. The report, called "Income Inequality in New York City," -- drawing on Occupy Wall Street rhetoric -- found that nationally, the top one percent accounts for 16.9 percent of income, while in New York, the richest percent account for 32.5 percent of reported income in 2009 (which is the most recent data available from the state).

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Sam Levin

From left to right, Google CEO Larry Page, Cornell President David Skorton, Technion's Director Craig Gotsman, and Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Move aside, Silicon Valley! Or, you know, watch your back. New York City is trying to compete with the tech-y town to be the tech center of the universe -- and Google is helping.

(FYI: New York City is still second to Silicon Valley, but it's trying!)

Today, Mayor Mike Bloomberg joined Google CEO Larry Page and Cornell President David Skorton to announce that Google will be doing something outside of its typical scope of activities: providing space for a temporary university campus in New York City.

As a central part of its Applied Sciences initiative -- aimed at attracting industry jobs and startups and expanding the Big Apple as a tech hub -- the city is building a campus on Roosevelt Island for CornellNYC Tech, an engineering and applied science campus that will be run by Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

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Recession? What recession?

This morning, the Post reported that the city's most expensive parking spot is now on sale at 66 E. 11th Street in a tiny private garage. The location lies within a $38.8 million loft owned by developer Moran Fareed and includes a shower that shoots vitamin-C-and-aloe infused water at your face.

And its price tag: one million smackers.

The article quotes Robert Knackel, head of Massey Knackel, as saying, "The reality of New York City is that people are willing to pay more for a parking spot than the average person in the country pays for a house." That's a bold statement to make so, here at Runnin' Scared, we have seven tips to make that reality come true. Here are some One Percent loopholes so you can park your 2002 Toyota Camry in style:

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MTA train

The Long Island Rail Road isn't just fraught with fraud: Looks like the MTA's plan to hook up the LIRR to Grand Central Terminal might be delayed a third time, the New York Post reports.

What this means? The long-awaited, $7 billion connection wouldn't be complete until 2019, four years after the originally planned date.

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Sam Levin

New "Citi Bikes" unveiled at City Hall today.

The city will officially launch its bike share program in July -- and Mayor Bloomberg might actually give one a ride...at least once. But that's only so that if someone asks him how it is, he'll be able to respond.

"I will certainly pay and ride one," the mayor told reporters this morning, standing in front of the new bicycles. "Am I going to do it often? Probably not. But I will certainly do it right away...so that I can say I did it."

That way, the mayor said, if someone asks him what it's like, he can describe his experience. You hear that folks? He's just a regular guy like us.

When a reporter later suggested that maybe he wanted to give one a try right there and then, Bloomberg declined: "I gotta get myself a helmet first."

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Forget NYU2031; the Manhattan Borough President has another bone to pick. And this one involves public transportation, both above and underground.More >>

And now for even more reasons to be skeptical about the alleged economic recovery: Unemployment is down, but a smaller share of Americans are in the labor force and many have just given up on trying to find work.

The newest Bureau of Labor Statistics data came out this morning, and the April jobs numbers ain't great.

Yes, the U.S. did add 115,000 jobs, bringing down unemployment .1 points, from 8.2 to 8.1 percent.

But -- and isn't there always a but? -- fewer people are in the workforce.

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America might have had a lot more in common with Sweden than IKEA furniture and H&M clothing, according to new research.

Two economists now say that the Founding Fathers' nation was "more egalitarian than anywhere else in the measurable world," reports Reuters (via New York Times.)

Hm. This sounds rather strange, considering that Colonial America had arguably the most inegalitarian institution ever -- slavery. Some researchers insist, however, they have financial data to back up claims that the U.S. was "a great country for the 99 percent, particularly compared with the folks back in the old country."

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via Facebook

One Occupy Wall Street group is taking May Day to places that probably don't get a lot of protests -- the Lower East Side's nightclubs.

Tonight, a faction of OWS called the Musicians Solidarity Council hopes to draw attention to the common practice of clubs bringing in musicians without actually paying them by protesting inside a few venues.

"It's really important to recognize that musicians are workers. Musicians are part of the 99 percent," Matt Plummer, a musician who is part of the council, told the Voice this morning. "I've played in clubs...that are clearly bringing in a lot of money...but we finish the night with a couple dollars a person."

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