Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Gridlock Spreads From Albany to NYC | If you're currently job hunting and you figured that if all else fails you could always end up working for the city, you may need to come up with a new backup plan. The stalemate in Albany has led Mayor Bloomberg to resort to "drastic measures" and impose a city-wide hiring freeze. The move has already led to the postponement of tomorrow's graduation of 250 NYPD recruits, and a long list of other hires will now be put off, including the recruitment of 150 firefighters and 34 emergency 911 operators. It also means 151 traffic agents won't get hired anytime soon, although we're guessing car owners won't be complaining very much about that. [WCBS]

WNBC Helicopter Grounded | New York has never had the same car chase culture of LA. But if you were hoping the day would come when you'd be able turn on the TV at any moment of the day and watch felons flee the scene of a crime from a news helicopter overhead, don't get your hopes up. After dumping many of its human assets over the past few months, WNBC has announced it plans to save cash by getting rid of NewsChopper 4. [NYDN]

Say Hello to the $2.50 Fare | Get your extra quarters ready: The MTA board voted 12 to 1 this morning in favor of raising subway and bus fares from $2 to $2.50 per ride, even though the agency also plans to carry out a round of service cuts and shut down certain bus routes and extend the length of wait time between trains. On the bright side, if you were one of the unfortunate souls to lose your job this week, this news shouldn't faze you much, since you won't have to worry about commuting from now on. [NYDN]

Free WiFi Gets Axed | Say goodbye to free WiFi in Central Park. The service has become the latest casualty of the recession, now that city officials say they can no longer afford the expense of maintaining the network without any a sponsor willing to foot the bill. On the upside, you probably won't notice its absence for a while, since there aren't too many people sitting in Central Park with their laptops out in the middle of winter. [Crain's]

MTA Plans to Slash Service | The board of the MTA will meet today to unveil a set of cutbacks designed to address next year's estimated $1.2 billion budget shortfall. What can you look forward to? Among other things, the end of the W and Z lines, 1,500 fewer MTA employees, and longer gaps between trains at midday and between two and five in the morning. [NYDN, NYT]

Bloomberg Will Have to Sacrifice Some of His Own | Mayor Bloomberg's plan to slash the city's budget will require cuts at all local agencies. It also means he's going to have to cut 23 people from his own staff if he expects to comply with his own order on "maximum allowable headcounts." If you work at City Hall and the mayor asks you to step out of the bullpen and into his glass conference room, well, don't say we didn't warn you! [NYP] 

No Yogurt and Orange Juice for You! | More bad news today for the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis. After suffering the embarassment of having senior partner Fred Tanne's STD test results laid bare for all to see earlier this week, employees were informed today that Tropicana orange juice, cereal, and yogurt has been cut from the firm's free breakfast menu. We'll assume the change has more to do with budget cuts and less to do with an aversion to sharing orange juice containers with a guy who has herpes, but we'll leave that up to you to decide. [Above the Law]

Bloomberg Cans 3,000 | Michael Bloomberg has revealed how he plans to slice $1.5 billion from the city's budget this year and next. Some 3,000 city employees are going to be losing their jobs, he's rescinding the 7 percent property tax cut, and he's also suspending those annual $400 property tax rebate checks. [NYT]

Bloomberg Cans 3,000 | Michael Bloomberg has revealed how he plans to slice $1.5 billion from the city's budget this year and next. Some 3,000 city employees are going to be losing their jobs, he's rescinding the 7 percent property tax cut, and he's also suspending those annual $400 property tax rebate checks. [NYT]

Condé Gets Nasty | Condé Nast publishers and editors have been instructed by the powers-that-be to cut both their staffs and budgets by five percent immediately. Also, to the 29 faithful subscribers to Men's Vogue, please be advised the magazine may be closed down in the near future. [NYO]