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The city’s Department of Information, Technology and Telecommunications yesterday approved Verizon's application to sell television over its new fiber optic network.
311 Line Adding More Operators
Tracking City Workers Costs Millions
The cost of a controversial tracking system for city employees has quietly ballooned to $410 million and is still climbing. CityTime, a tracking and payroll system after 10 years and more than $400 million covers just 15,000 employees at 26 agencies.
A Newfangled Way to Count the Trees in the Park
Probe of Phone Cards Sought
Queens Councilmember Eric Gioia is demanding an investigation of prepaid phone card companies, claiming they swindle customers, particularly immigrants.
Mobile Phones
New York State Department of Public Service
NYCwireless
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
The New York Software Industry Association (NYSIA)
NYSERNet
The Fund for the City of New York's Center on Municipal Government Performance
United States Department of Commerce
Preliminary Mayor's Management Report
Engineer Finds Steam Pipe Was Flawed
High-Tech in New York
Clean Technology and Jobs
by A. Michael Noll
Interconnecting the Network of Networks
by Eli M. Noam
Principles of Modern Communications Technology
by A. Michael Noll
Public Television in America
by Eli Noam & Jens Walterman
The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo
by Saskia Sassen
Rising Heating Costs
by Marcus Banks
November 2005
This year New Yorkers will face sharp rises in home heating costs, and while there is some government assistance available to individuals of low income, it is likely that the great majority of those eligible will never receive it.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita significantly damaged oil-refining capacity in the Gulf Coast, and oil prices climbed to more than $70 a barrel in late August. What this means for the average New Yorker who uses home heating oil, according to Senator Charles Schumer, is an increase of some $450 in heating costs over last year.
Many New Yorkers use natural gas to heat their homes, and the major hub for transporting natural gas to the Northeast is also located in the Gulf Coast region -- which is why the average New Yorker using natural gas will see a price rise that is even higher, at some $473.
Federal Efforts To Reduce Heating Costs
Northeastern senators of both parties have called upon the Department of Energy to release heating oil from the Northeast Heating Oil Reserve . President Bill Clinton established the reserve in 2000 in order “to reduce the risks presented by home heating oil shortages”. As of early November the department has refused this request, arguing that the situation is not serious enough to justify tapping into the reserve.
Another idea that has gained the support of Democrats as well as typically tax-averse Republicans, is to impose a "windfall tax" on oil companies . All of the major companies posted record profits in the third quarter of 2005, at the same time that many consumers faced record-high gasoline prices. Some proceeds from this tax would help poor and elderly Americans pay their heating bills.
The oil companies argue that their profits are not disproportionate, and that a windfall tax would reduce their incentive to locate new sources of energy. They have a powerful ally in President George W. Bush, who is opposed to the idea.
Individual Assistance With Heating Bills
Regardless of how the political skirmishes are resolved, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) will help individuals pay their heating bills. This is the primary federal program for this purpose, and it took effect in New York State on November 1, 2005, though it is not yet clear how much money will be available. (For fiscal year 2005, New York State received $235.6 million in such funds.)
In New York City, these funds are administered by the city's Human Resources Administration. Individuals can receive assistance whether they pay their heating costs directly or if these costs are included in their rent. Eligibility is based on an individual or family’s monthly income, and the program provides both regular and emergency benefits of up to $400 a year. The city estimates that it provides almost 440,000 grants each year, for a total of about $31 million.
The National Fuel Funds Network, an umbrella group for 250 organizations nationwide (including in New York City, the HeartShare Neighborhood Heating Fund) that raise donations to help people with their heating costs, estimate that only 15 percent of individuals eligible for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program actually receive assistance. Marcus Banks is a librarian at the New York University School of Medicine.Other Related Articles:
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