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NEW YORK — Councilwoman Jessica Lappin has introduced a bill which she says will help bring the “farm-to-table” concept to students throughout the city by fostering the development of school gardens.

“New York City kids know how to navigate the subway system, but many have no idea where their food comes from,” Lappin said in an interview today.   

The “farm-to-table” concept aims to educate people about how meats and grains are grown and then processed into the food that ends up in their meals.  

Lappin’s bill, which she introduced at yesterday’s stated Council meeting and will go through the committee on education that she sits on, would establish a new interagency school gardens “team” within the mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability.

The team would consist of the commissioners of Buildings, Education, Environmental Protection, Health and Parks, as well as the chairperson of City Planning.

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Fairway Market in Red Hook, Brooklyn, was flooded during Hurricane Sandy two weeks ago. The store's general manager gives a tour of the space now that the floodwaters are gone, and talks about future plans for the store.

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An examination by The Times shows that the Long Island Power Authority -- which serves the Rockaways -- has repeatedly failed to plan for extreme weather. Gov. Cuomo has established a commission to investigate how utilities across the state responded to Sandy. The head of LIPA resigned yesterday.

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In many pockets throughout the city, the effects of Sandy are still being felt. It could be weeks before damaged hospitals reopen, but Mayor Bloomberg $500 million emergency plan for those hospitals and also public schools. Out of the city's 1,750 schools, 37 remain shuttered. Public housing residents who still have no power will receive a rent credit for their time without services, but not until January. Rockaway is still a demolition zone and mold is becoming a large concern. The city is launching "one-stop restoration centers" that will provide recovery services and disaster relief. The extra money Gov. Cuomo requested from the federal government is far from definite.

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Officials have been meeting with the real estate industry in an effort to pair vacant apartments with those displaced by storm damage.

Half of those still without power in the city, some 35,000 residents, live in public housing. Residents and public officials have panned the housing authority's response to the storm. The tenants will be eligible for rent credits for the days they've been without power.

The Long Island Power Authority told hundreds of powerless Rockaway residents they would need to hire a licensed city electrician to inspect their homes before LIPA could restore power. Con Ed said Wednesday's nor’easter knocked out power to 55,000 customers in New York City and Westchester. And LIPA blamed 60,000 new outages on the storm.

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Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the city would begin rationing gas for the first time since the 1970s, in response to fuel shortages caused by Hurricane Sandy. Drivers with cars with license plates ending in odd numbers or that end in a letter or other character will be able to fill up on odd-numbered days. Cars with plates ending in even numbers get their turn on even-numbered days. The odd-even rationing system begins today, Nov. 9, with odd-numbered plates. "Drivers are still facing long lines. Frustrations are only growing," Bloomberg said at a news conference at City Hall yesterday.

More stories:

Sandy Troubles Won't Stop Con Ed From Seeking Rate Hike (Associated Press)

Gov Says Sandy Could Cost NY $33 Billion (Associated Press)

Coney Island Group Launches With Focus On Sandy Cleanup (NY Post)

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Calls to Reform Election Board


After an election day marred by failing voting machines, ballot shortages, packed polling places, confusion over where to vote and officials turning away voters a number of city officials are calling for a major revamp of the City Board of Election. The process would not be simple as the current system is part of state law. Currently the City BOE is run by both political parties. Changing that would likely require action from Albany and possibly a constitutional amendment. â€śI think the real answer here is: We should reform this system,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the New York Times. “It should not be two parties and county leaders picking their buddies to supervise the basis of our citizenship. We don’t have a system for the 21st century. It’s just a disgrace.” Who should actually control the BOE is subject of much debate. 




In the Press...

More Students Return to Classrooms (NY Times)

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Yesterday’s election saw long lines, jammed ballot scanners and shortages of affidavit ballots. Few voters used shuttle buses to get to substitute polling sites. Scanners were broken at polling sites in Gramercy Park and Park Slope. Two of three emergency sites in Coney Island opened over two hours late. Some poll workers at sites had no idea that people could vote using affidavit ballots, and the city printed up only 250 per election district. According to unofficial results, the state Senate is now tied, but thousands of absentee ballots still need to be counted in very close races. Even if the Democrats win a majority, a number of Democrats say they'll back Republican leadership. Meanwhile, embattled Assemblyman Vito Lopez won re-election with 89 percent of the vote despite the scandal swirling around him.

In the Press...

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Voters across the city were faced multiple hour waits to cast their ballots, broken machines, missing pens, missing ballots and a great deal of misinformation. Some voters waited on line for over three hours. Valerie Vazquez spokeswoman for the NYC BOE issued this statement in response to questions from Gotham Gazette about the BOE's performance: 

The Board of Elections of the City of New York faced many challenges this election year, particularly in the wake of last week’s Hurricane Sandy. Due to damage from the storm, we had to combine or move several poll sites throughout all five boroughs. Late yesterday, one day before the election, Governor Cuomo signed an Executive Order that allowed voters displaced by the hurricane to vote via affidavit ballot. Additionally, this was also the first time that many voters used the new voting machines we introduced two years ago. All presented challenges to this election and we worked diligently to communicate these changes to New York voters and our poll workers, many of those without electricity. We know that some voters experienced long lines here in New York -- much like voters across the United States -- as is common with high voter turnout associated with a presidential election. We would like to thank both the State and City offices for all their help with preparations for Election Day, the poll site workers for their hard work, and the voters for their patience.

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The city’s Board of Elections moved 66 polling sites, many to supersites that consolidate multiple poll sites into one location. Shuttle buses running every 15 minutes will ferry voters to and from polling places in three areas hit particularly hard by the storm. The MTA is also providing voter shuttles. for people in the Rockaways, Staten Island and Coney Island whose polling places were damaged in the storm. Voters in the city can cast affidavit ballots at any polling site, but if they vote in a different district than where they're registered, the can't vote for legislative races other than the U.S. Senate. The GOP has accused the board of playing politics with relocating polling places in Queens, saying it will make it harder for Republican Eric Ulrich to get his supporters to the polls.

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Between 20,000 and 40,000 were left homeless in the city by Sandy. About half of those are public-housing residents. The 115,000 people in the Rockaways remain without power, as do thousands more in Red Hook and Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn, and New Dorp Beach on Staten Island. A cold snap is making this particularly problematic. Also, a nor’easter with 35-45mph sustained winds is likely to hit on Wednesday night, possibly bringing moderate flooding in areas already impacted by extreme flooding from Sandy.

Although the majority of the subway system is reopened, rail switch and signal failures will continue. It could also take several months to restore the A train to the Rockaways.

Fifty-nine polling places will be affected, and Mayor Bloomberg expresses little confidence the Board of Elections will manage it very well. The board still hasn't appointed an executive director and their Manhattan headquarters had no power all week. Those who can't get to their polling places may to go to the Board of Election's borough offices and vote until 5 p.m. today.

The city had been inundated with people dropping off goods, so officials and other groups are suggesting they give money, and possibly coats, instead. Dozens of buildings near the water’s edge, especially in the financial district, are weeks or months away from reopening. The fuel shortage could last for several more days. Currently 27 percent of gas stations in the area are empty. Major crime dropped significantly in the storm's wake, but burglaries saw a 3 percent increase. Generators, heaters, and other supplies for the canceled marathon remained unused in Central Park. More than 100 New York City public schools will remain closed today.

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Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that the New York City Marathon is cancelled The move follows mounting backlash to holding the Marathon while recovery efforts from Hurricane Sandy are still underway. Here is his statement:

The Marathon has been an integral part of New York City’s life for 40 years and is an event tens of thousands of New Yorkers participate in and millions more watch. While holding the race would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort, it is clear that it has become the source of controversy and division. The marathon has always brought our city together and inspired us with stories of courage and determination. We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, and so we have decided to cancel it. We cannot allow a controversy over an athletic event – even one as meaningful as this – to distract attention away from all the critically important work that is being done to recover from the storm and get our city back on track. The New York Road Runners will have additional information in the days ahead for participants.”

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City Comptroller John Liu has issued this statement on his support of holding the New York City Marathon this weekend: 

Earlier this week, I stated support for keeping the New York City Marathon, which is a huge economic generator for the City, on schedule assuming that the City’s infrastructure would be able to support the race and New Yorkers’ safety can be ensured.  Unfortunately, it has become apparent over the last couple of days that there are still large parts of the City where recovery efforts are falling short, where fellow New Yorkers remain hungry and cold, and where there is now more and more looting. As I have traveled throughout the boroughs since Sandy struck, it has become clear that the Marathon would compromise the City’s ability to protect and provide for the residents most affected by the hurricane. Recovery efforts must come before the Marathon and it's time to re-evaluate whether the resources needed for the Marathon can really be spared on Sunday.”

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Julie Menin have both come out against holding the marathon this weekend. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has defended it. 

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Gas Shortages As Recovery Continues

The slow, heart-wrenching reveal of Hurricane Sandy's devastating impact on the city continued yesterday.

So far, there were 40 confirmed deaths in the city related to Sandy, according to The New York Times. The bodies of two young boys, who had been swept from their mother's arms during flooding on Staten Island, were among those found yesterday.

A half-million residents were still without power in their homes, though city officials were saying that electricity likely would be restored in lower Manhattan by Saturday.

And residents relying on gas-powered generators found no relief at the pumps, where fuel was running short at stations and long lines left many frustrated. Gas stations also reported their own power problems.

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Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Julie Menin who is expected to run for Manhattan Borough President in 2013 have both joined the chorus of voices decrying Mayor Michael Bloomberg's decison to hold the New York City Marathon despite the fact that a great number of city residents are still without, power, food, water and the ability to get to work.

Bloomberg has defended the decision saying that police and other city workers will be available because there will be no work-week traffic to contend with. â€śThis city is a city where we have to go on,” he said.

Here is Stringer's statement: 

First of all, I want to thank Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Cuomo for their strong leadership in helping our City recover from a devastating storm. And I certainly understand and respect the mayor’s desire to show that we are a resilient City.

But New York has experienced a tragedy of historic proportions. New Yorkers in Staten Island, the Rockaways, Coney Island and Lower Manhattan are struggling to keep body and soul together, deprived of basic essentials as temperatures drop.

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In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the issue of climate change was the major deciding factor in Mayor Michael Bloomberg's endorsement of President Barack Obama today. After detailing in an op-ed for Bloomberg View what the city has done to battle the climate change that he says is responsible for harasher weather patterns, Bloomberg wrote:

We need leadership from the White House -- and over the past four years, President Barack Obama has taken major steps to reduce our carbon consumption, including setting higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks. His administration also has adopted tighter controls on mercury emissions, which will help to close the dirtiest coal power plants (an effort I have supported through my philanthropy), which are estimated to kill 13,000 Americans a year.

Bloomberg, an independent who has funneled millions of dollars to Republicans in New York State, laid out his reasoning for losing faith in Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

I believe Mitt Romney is a good and decent man, and he would bring valuable business experience to the Oval Office. He understands that America was built on the promise of equal opportunity, not equal results. In the past he has also taken sensible positions on immigration, illegal guns, abortion rights and health care. But he has reversed course on all of them, and is even running against the health-care model he signed into law in Massachusetts.

If the 1994 or 2003 version of Mitt Romney were running for president, I may well have voted for him because, like so many other independents, I have found the past four years to be, in a word, disappointing.

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Today's Lead Stories...

Partial Transit Restored, Free Rides


Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a traffic emergency for today and Friday making mass transit free for those using the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's busses and trains. "The service in many cases is limited, the service in many cases will be crowded," Cuomo said at a late night press conference in the city. The move came afterimmense gridlock Wednesday. City busses were jammed with commuters and gas lines stretched for over half a mile. Commuters who wish to drive into the city will have to car pool. The entire transportation infrastructure has yet to be restored with flooding still impeding some routes but partial service has been restored. Check out the MTA's post-storm stubway map




In the Press...

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This is a map of the post-storm subway service, released by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority:

Service is estimated to resume at 6 a.m. tomorrow.

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Here is an update from Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Metropolitan Transportation Authority restorations that will start tomorrow morning: 

 

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced when limited subway, Metro North, and LIRR service will resume.

The following is an up-to-date service status list of the MTA operating agencies including New York City Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North and Bridges and Tunnels.

NYCT SUBWAY SERVICE:
EFFECTIVE TOMORROW MORNING PRIOR TO RUSH HOUR

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A civil rights organization is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to monitor the general election in Queens County after the city announced it would not provide Bengali-language ballots as required under federal law.

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund announced today that it had submitted a letter to the DOJ requesting that monitors be deployed to oversee voting in six states, including New York.

AALDEF has been at the forefront of underscoring the failure of the city's Board of Election to adhere to federal law requiring language assistance for Asian voters in Queens.

The BOE says it has a plan to provide translators and some materials in Bengali for the general election on Nov. 6. But it blames technical problems with the voting machines for being unable to provide ballots translated into Bengali.

"Although the Board of Elections has offered to provide translated sample ballots, comparing a Bengali ballot to an English ballot is cumbersome for voters," AALDEF attorney Glenn D. Magpantay said in his letter to the DOJ.  "The use of translated sample ballots is a new and completely untested procedure in New York City. Moreover, there is little assurance that such translated sample ballots will even be at poll sites for Bengali-speaking voters to access."

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