Is it shocking that Mayor Bloomberg may ignore the City Council by refusing to issue the $400 property rebate checks to homeowners? The NY Times calls him "defiant," as he said yesterday "that he had no plans to release the money." And the Post quotes him as saying , " We have no money. I think that's what you have to understand. This is not a legal issue; this is a fiscal issue. " ...

A New York City budget official has conceded that $400 property tax rebates cannot be canceled without City Council approval. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the checks still can't go out -- because "we have no money."

A New York City budget official has conceded that $400 property tax rebates cannot be canceled without City Council approval. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the checks still can't go out -- because "we have no money." Council Speaker Christine Quinn, meanwhile, has vowed to "fight as hard as we can" to get some 600,000 homeowners their rebates.

Supervisors also approved a rebate of $50 from the $75 business license fee.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said a rebate promised to hundreds of thousands of homeowners was ?up in the air.?