Transit lines are life blood

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Transit Lines are Life Blood
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Recent Stories / February 30, 2006

Week of February 6, 2006

February 10, 2006

Measuring Up?
Mayor Michael Bloomberg released his preliminary Mayor’s Management Report yesterday, giving a statistical look at how well the city is performing. Crime was down, and police responded more quickly to calls of crime in progress. Fire response times, however, increased; so did the actual number of fires. The number of civilian fire fatalities rose. Fewer reports of child abuse were responded to within 24 hours. There were fewer foster children – and fewer new people entering the homeless shelter system. A smaller percentage of high school students graduated in four years, but more stayed in school another year rather than dropping out.

Also: more potholes were fixed; less garbage was recycled; sewer backups were fixed more quickly; more housing construction began and was completed. New Yorkers made more calls to 311 and sued the city more.

The mayor’s summary of the report’s highlights, as well as the entire report, are available on his Web site


February 9, 2006

Police Officer Dies
Police Officer Eric Hernandez, who was shot by another officer at a fast-food restaurant on January 28, died yesterday. According to investigators, Hernandez was off duty when he became involved in a fight with several men at a White Castle in the Bronx. Another officer, responding to the situation, saw Hernandez pointing his gun at a man and ordered him to drop his weapon. The officer then fired when Hernandez refused to drop his gun. The family of Hernandez made the decision to take the 24-year-old officer off life support on Wednesday afternoon. Six men have been charged with assault in connection with the attack that led to Hernandez's death.

February 8, 2006

Yankee Stadium Costs
Even though the New York Yankees have said they will pay for construction of their new stadium, the project could end up costing taxpayers almost half a billion dollars in expenses and lost revenue, according to a new report by Good Jobs New York. The city and state have agreed to pay about $210 million for parking garages and to replace the parkland on which the new stadium, near the existing one, is to be constructed. But the report considered other costs, such as the Yankees not having to pay rent, property taxes or sales taxes on construction materials, to arrive at a total bill to taxpayers of $480 million. Yankee president Randy Levine called the report "false and misleading." The team hopes to start construction May 1.

For more, see Todayís Report and Land Use Links in the News.

February 7, 2006

Federal Budget Cuts
New York City took a big hit from President George W. Bush's new budget, suffering cuts in many city programs. Congressional analysts projected a $30 million cut in the city's Medicare funding, $32 million in first-responder funding, $30 million in anti-poverty programs and $9 million for housing. But the Bush administration proposed an eight percent hike in Homeland Security funding, which could benefit the city since the federal government wants to make funds available to localities based on the likelihood of future attack.

For details, see the Social Services links in the news

February 6, 2006

37 1/2 More Minutes Of Schooling
Starting today, when the new teachers’ contract kicks in, some 350,000 New York City public school students will be spending an extra 37 ˝ minutes four days a week, most of them for tutoring. It is a deal that has some parents outraged for a variety of reasons; for one thing, many students who need the tutoring will not receive it, while some 50,000 high-performing students receive “enrichment” programs. For details, go to the education links in the news.


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