Who are the personalities behind this power grab? Are any not under indictment?? What will it mean for mayoral control of the schools, housing, gay marriage?  With Brian to discuss is Edward-Isaac Dovere, editor of City Hall and The Capitol.

In the wake of the friendly-fire shooting of Officer Omar Edwards, the New York Police Department began showing this 10 year-old diversity training video. Can training prevent racial stereotypes from entering the deadly mix of stressful street confrontations and the use of force? With Brian to discuss this and the Omar Edwards case are John Jay College of Criminal Justice Professor Maki Haberfeld, and retired NYPD police detective Marq Claxton. Maki Haberfeld published the first academic text that covered all phases and aspects of the training of police officers in the United States, in addition to various other books and papers. Marq Claxton, a former spokesperson and co-founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enfrocement Who Care, is also running for Queens' 31st District council seat.

Finally, Brian sat down with New York Times photojournalist Ozier Muhammad for a look back at Black America via photos from Ozier's personal collection. Muhammad's photos of Harlem were recently featured with the launch of the New York Times' visual journalism effort, Lens.

New Video! Aired LIVE on June 3rd, 2009

Check out this week's Brian Lehrer Live web picks, and please post a suggestion for what we should highlight next week!

This week, Norman Oder joins Brian to talk about the recently held state senate oversight hearing for the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn. Norman has been investigating the problematic project since its inception and publishes what he learns on The Atlantic Yards Report.

How is the Obama administration matching up with campaign promises to promote online transparency? With Brian to discuss is Personal Democracy Forum founder Andrew Rasiej.

Finally, this week, Brian discusses the wide and varied schedule of this Summer's outdoor events in NYC with Celebrate Brooklyn Executive Producer Jack Walsh, Rooftop Films founder Mark Elijah Rosenberg, and River to River Festival executive director Jody Kuh.

New Video! Aired LIVE on May 27th, 2009

Check out this week's Brian Lehrer Live web picks, and please post a suggestion for what we should highlight next week!

Joining me via Skype to discuss the nomination of Bronx-born Sonia Sotomayor to the highest court in the land is Dahlia Lithwick, a senior editor at Slate.com, and Jenny Rivera, CUNY School of Law professor and director of CUNY's Center on Latino and Latina Rights and Equality.