Joby Jacob, Ph.D.

A Visit to the Historic Free Synagogue of Flushing

2016-04-03T16:47:00.003-07:00

The Free Synagogue of Flushing will be 100 years old next year. It is a spectacular building that I've passed many times. But today my friend Todd Goldman invited me for a peek inside. See this Google Photos Album for all the photos I took today.

"Steal" These Ideas to Improve Transportation in Council District 23

2015-07-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

In my previous two posts, I looked at improving bicycling and parks in Council District 23. Today, I'd like to focus on improving the transportation in the district. This is one of the most difficult problems to solve, since the district is completely devoid of subway access. Access to rapid or commuter transit is through a bus/subway transfer, MTA Bus Company express bus service, or the nearby LIRR Bayside and LIRR Queens Village stations.

Improve Rapid Transit Throughout the City So The Area Benefits Long Term

as the population of the NY Metro region has exploded, the stress on transit and commuter railroads has reached a peak

Advocate for a 2nd Avenue subway that allows future expansion to Queens:

phase 3 and 4 of the 2nd Ave Subway

could be connected to

Phases of the Second Avenue Subway

Done right, the Second Ave Subway can serve as the backbone for a new subway to Queens.

Advocate for the Queens Super Express:

Queens Super-Express

The 1968, Super Express proposal bit.ly/1mnkwDn

Advocate for the Lower Manhattan-Atlantic Terminal-Jamaica-JFK Rail Link as an opportunity to help develop downtown Jamaica:

JFK Rail Link

Link JFK, Jamaica, Downtown Brooklyn and Financial District.

Advocate for 24/7 City Ticket fares on LIRR:

Improve Express Bus Service

Build Dedicated Bus Lanes on Queens Boulevard:

Build a 34th Street Busway:

dedicated busway, which was first proposed by the DoT in 2008

Unfortunately, local opposition in Manhattan killed the proposal

Parts of 34th St would have been closed to cars (NYC DOT)

Parts of 34th St would have had a dedicated bus lane (NYC DOT)

Improve Local Bus Service:

Redesign Bus Service to Queens Community College:

Bus service to and from Queens Community College is too complicated - the busses that serve the campus (Q27, Q30) have to make complicated turns to serve the campus (see the image below) and the bus stop dedicated to facilitating loading/unloading of passengers is to the periphery of the campus. There are three problems with this: (1) all those turns slow down the busses; (2) it's inequitable - students who use public transportation are left on the periphery of the campus while those who drive are much closer to their classes; and (3) it is not the fastest way to load and unload passengers. Recently, the city began a complete reconstruction of the Fordham bus plaza in the Bronx to address very similar concerns. Done right, a bus plaza would speed up service, reduce the inequity between drivers and those who take transport, and beautify the campus and/or neighborhood.

Screencap from MTA Queens Bus Map

Fund a Study to Examine Effectiveness of Staggered Starts:

Corey Bearak

Fund a Study to Improve Bus/Subway Transfers by allowing the Q46 to pick-up and drop off at the old Union Turnpike Underpass:

the Q74 and Q46 to pick up and drop off passengers at the old subway entrances where Union Turnpike passes under Queens Blvd

"Steal" These Ideas to Improve Parks in Council District 23

2015-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I examined ways to make bicycling in District 23 safer and more enjoyable and I also invited the candidates for District 23 to "steal" these ideas.

Today, I'd like to look at what can be done to improve the parks in the district. I have to say, if you live in District 23, you're probably here for the parks or for the schools - or both. District 23 is defined by two large parks: Alley Pond Park and Cunningham Park. I don't know if it’s true, but a representative of a neighboring district once told me that District 23 has the most parkland per resident of any council district in the city. Cunningham Park already has a great (and very effective) advocacy organization—Friends of Cunningham—so I am going to keep my comments limited to the other parks.

Improve access to the ‘Upper Alley’: If you live in Glen Oaks or Floral Park and want to walk or ride your bike to the Soccer fields, Adventure Course or Picnic Area of the Upper Alley you really can’t. (There is a backway using the Motor Parkway - but you'd have to know your way around the park trails to do so). The access road to the park takes you under the Grand Central Parkway and up a fairly sizeable ramp - there’s no sidewalk or bike lane here. And quite frankly, it’s a shame that this is how you are welcomed to one of New York City's premier parks. Ideally, any improvement will connect the pedestrian and bicycle paths in both the upper and lower Alley.

There's no sidewalks at the entrance to the Upper Alley Pond Park.
(Credit: Google Streetview)

Restore the Alley Pond Overlook: Alley Pond Park has an overlook that is entirely covered in thorns and the pedestrian path to the overlook is in terrible shape. Assuming you find the pathway up and brave the bramble you're presented with a beautiful view looking south into Queens Village. The Parks department needs to clear the overgrowth and restore the overlook. Funds will need to be allocated to restore the pathway up to the overlook.
Study Restoring the Alley Pond Pedestrian Paths - Alley Pond Park had a very beautiful partially-paved pedestrian path that would take you from the “Upper Alley” to West Alley Road and 233rd Street, along the Cross Island Parkway, but it has fallen into disrepair.

I believe that was once a park bench along the Cross Island Parkway Greenway

Study Restoring the Bridle Paths: There are a set of Bridle Paths along the Grand Central Parkway that lead from Cunningham to the Potamogeton Pond Park in Hollis Hills - but they once extended to Alley Pond Park. The paths could be restored with proper lighting and paving as a pedestrian and bicyclists trail that makes getting to Alley Pond Park easier for folks who live in Queens Village and Hollis.

"Steal" These Ideas to Improve Bicycling in Council District 23

2015-06-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

Barry

Ali

Big Capital Projects: The following projects have the potential to greatly improve the quality of life for District 23 residents.

Make Funding the Motor Parkway East Proposal a Priority:

Motor Parkway East project

40 mile Motor Parkway Trail project in Nassau

Work With NYC Department of Transportation to Plan and Build The Southern Queens Greenway:

Southern Queens Greenway

Improve Access to Joe Michael’s Mile:

Quick fixes: The following fixes can be made rapidly in the district and would cost relatively less money than the big capital projects.

Install more bike parking in the district:

Complete The 73rd Avenue Bike Lane:

Extend the 73rd Avenue Bike Lane east 1.6 miles to 230th Street: The extension of the lanes would provide a backup route for the Motor Parkway when the park is closed after dark and during times when the snow has not yet been cleared on the path.
Install Wayfinding Signs at 199th St: Signs would indicate that cyclists could turn south to access the Motor Parkway at 75th Avenue & 199th Street.

At 73rd Avenue & 199th Street the bike lane ends abruptly

Improve the experience of Getting to the Cunningham Mountain Biking Trails:

Improve The Safety of People Who Use The Motor Parkway in Fresh Meadows:

Paint a crosswalk and install a sidewalk bulb-out at 75th Avenue & 199th Street: (see the crossing as it is now on the right) would tremendously improve visibility for pedestrians and cyclists entering and leaving the Motor Parkway. Sidewalk bulb-outs push the sidewalk into the parking area and make crossing pedestrians more visible to drivers (see the pic on the bottom right). It would also be a beautiful entrance to Fresh Meadows.

Work With the Parks Department To Redesign the Trail between the Clearview Expressway and Francis Lewis Blvd: Currently, the trail narrows west of the Clearview‡. The trail is too close to the softball fields, and runners and cyclists often have to contend with spectators and children walking unawares onto the trail. This can be dangerous for all. Widening the path, moving the softball fields a few yards north and west or moving the trail south to connect with the remains of the old Motor Parkway roadbed are all ways to improve safety and the park experience for all. ‡(If you're interested, this is because the when the Clearview was built, it cut the Motor Parkway in two; the section east of the Clearview remained as a trail, but west, they had to reroute under the Clearview. The western section is still there, but is no longer used as a trail.)

The 75th Ave/199th St Motor Parkway Exit

(From: Google Street View)

A bulb out / mid-block crossing in San Francisco.

(From SF Better Streets)

nstall Trail Maps & Wayfinding signs:

Greenway sign indicating nearby shopping & restaurants

A Greenway Trail Map
(From Ohio Bikeways)

Paint New Bike Routes:

Plan & paint a new North/South Bike Route: There are several ways to go east/west in district 23, but only Winchester and Commonwealth allow safe north/south pathways. That means you have travel far to the east to go south, a bike lane on either Francis Lewis Boulevard through Cunningham Park would allow faster north/south travel. Additionally, a bike lane on Bell Boulevard (or alternatively, on Corporal Kennedy & Oceania) would allow more to come and enjoy Bayside without using a car - perhaps relieving some of the parking congestion in the area.
Plan & paint new bike routes in Queens Village: There are a lot of ways to get around North of Union Turnpike but south of Union there aren’t very many bike lanes. For example, a 90th Ave Bike Lane between Braddock Avenue and Francis Lewis Boulevard would provide a great east/west bike route

Biking, Parks & Public Transportation in City Council District 23

2015-06-29T13:34:00.001-07:00

Recently, Mark Weprin, the councilman for NYC Council District 23, resigned. In September, the Democrats will hold a special primary election for the seat. Thus far, there are four candidates: Bob Friedrich, Barry Grodenchik, Rebecca Lynch, & Ali Najmi, (alphabetically by last name). While I'm not going to use this space to endorse one candidate or the other, I'd like to focus on areas where things in District 23 could be improved. I invite the candidates to feel free to “steal” any of my ideas! In the course of the next three posts, I'd like to examine ways to improve:

Fracking: What You Need to Know

2011-07-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

Recently, I tweeted about the French instituting a fracking ban while Governor Cuomo partially lifted New York’s ban. What is fracking you might ask? Properly known as hydraulic fracturing it is a process whereby a hole is bored into subterranean layers of shale (a sedimentary rock) and an undisclosed mixture of water and chemicals is injected at high pressures to crack the shale open and release the natural gas.

By US Environmental Protection Agency [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The process of fracking is highly controversial, and was featured at length in the 2010 documentary Gasland (IMDB). The release of chemicals which naturally occur in hydrocarbon deposits is a potential source of water contamination. These chemicals include volatile organic compounds which can potentially cause kidney damage and benzene which is a carcinogen. Additionally, there is concern that the chemicals used for fracking might leach into the water table as well. The level of exposure to these chemicals in areas which have been fracked has not yet been quantified and it is not known to what extent leaching may occur.

An examination of the map of major shale deposits in the United States shows 3 major shale gas deposits in the Appalachian Mountains between the Mohawk River Valley and northern Kentucky. One of these, the Marcellus Shale formation is estimated to hold up to 14 trillion cubic meters (TCM) of natural gas. To put that in perspective currently the US consumes 646 TCM of natural gas per day and produces 593 TCM of natural gas per day. Dr Gary Lash of SUNY Fredonia estimates that only 10% (or 1.4 TCM) of these deposits are recoverable using current techniques.

About half of New York City's drinking water comes from the Catskills watershed which lies above the Marcellus formation. Any fracking which threatened the drinking water of 8 million New Yorkers and the reserve drinking water of 2.8 million Nassau and Suffolk county residents is a political non starter. Predictably, early reports seem to indicate that Cuomo will not allow fracking in the NYC or Syracuse watersheds or within 500 feet of a drinking water source. Thus it appears the new rules will lead to the development of fracking in the western third of the state.

So what do I think about fracking? First off, clean potable water is a precious resource, more precious than energy. After all, you need water to live. Fracking has been utilized for many years in other states and in time cleaner and more environmentally sound techniques will be developed. New York should consider allowing fracking when such techniques have been perfected, not now.

Hemophilia Cured in Mice

2011-06-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

Gene therapy involves substituting or introducing a therapeutic gene to replace or accompany the defective one. Many previous attempts at gene therapy have utilized retroviruses, however the main pitfall of retroviruses is that scientists cannot control where the therapeutic gene will be inserted. This is a huge drawback as the therapeutic gene might be inserted in a potentially useful or necessary part of the genome, which could lead to even more genetic mutation.

by ICSident (CC License) via Wikimedia

Recently, a team of scientists led by Dr Holmes and Dr High used a zinc finger nuclease to repair hemophilia in mice. Zinc finger nucleases don’t actually exist in nature and are engineered from a fusion of a Zinc finger domain and a nuclease. Zinc Finger domains are typically found in transcription factors (proteins which help to control the rate of transcription of RNA from DNA) because they recognize and interact with very specific sections of DNA. Nucleases on the other hand as their name implies are involved in cutting the Nucleic acids.

Typically, scientists have used the ZFNs to specifically induce a double stranded break in the DNA, this in turn recruits the DNA repair mechanisms. The Holmes/High team co-delivered a gene targeting vector which allowed them to replace the broken hemophilia gene with a good one. This is amazing, and raises the possibility of targeted gene-editing as a therapy for genetic diseases.

Cellulosic Ethanol, One Step Closer to Practical

2011-06-18T23:50:00.000-07:00

The fermentation of the natural sugars (and starches) in grains and grapes yields beer and wine, and this has remained essentially unchanged for almost 10,000 years. Distilling these products yields pure ethanol.

An E-85 (85% Ethanol Fuel Pump)

By Mariordo Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Recently, there's been much ado about Ethanol subsidies in Congress. Corn producers are very keen on keeping these subsidies intact, of course. However, utilizing a good portion of our food grain for fuel production probably isn't a long term solution as it will serve to increase food prices.

In the production of our food crops, we have several tons of secondary material - such as corn stalks, which essentially go to waste. This material, is indigestible by yeast because it mostly consists of lignin. Furthermore, plants like switchgrass cannot be used for large scale ethanol production because most of the carbohydrate it contains is in lignin. (Switchgrass can grow on land unfit for food production making it an ideal biofuel crop.)

For many years, scientists have been trying to develop methods of breaking down lignin to produce fermentable sugars. Fungi which can break down lignins have been known for a quarter century, but scientists have been unable to develop that into an industrial technology. Recently, however, a potentially revolutionary discovery was made. The soil bacterium Rhodococcus jostii was discovered to contain a gene (dypB) which has lignin peroxidase activity. Bacterial genes are inherently easier to manipulate than fungal genes

In their discussion, the authors state that they suspect that they have identified just one of a host of enzymes which make lignin digestion possible. In the future, scientists may be able to engineer a bacteria which overexpresses these genes and that might lead to industrial scale production of cellulosic ethanol.

Major Advancement in Hydrogen Production

2011-06-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

Recently, I read about two major scientific advancements in the field of alternative fuels. The first involved the production of hydrogen, and the other is a major breakthrough in the production of cellulosic Ethanol. In this post, I’ll talk about the hydrogen production breakthrough.

Hydrogen Filling Station, Iceland.

By Jóhann Heiðar Árnason (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

Others have already demonstrated “artificial photosynthesis” where light is used to cleave water into hydrogen from oxygen. A so called hydrogen economy would be ideal because its main byproduct would be the production of water vapor as opposed to carbon dioxide or particulate pollution. Artificial photosynthesis would allow for the cheap production of hydrogen and is one part of many missing parts in converting into a hydrogen based economy. (Other problems include how to store hydrogen effectively, how to transport it and how to retrofit the existing infrastructure, including gas stations and cars.)

One of the major drawbacks with producing hydrogen from water is up till recently, these processes required fresh water. Unfortunately, we live in an era where there are many competing demands for an increasingly limited supply of fresh water. An increasing human population, the challenges of feeding that population and improving standards of living have all increased demands for fresh water. The ability to use relatively unlimited supplies of sea water would reduce growing pressures on fresh water supplies.

A team led by Dr Daniel Nocera of MIT previously showed that they could utilize a Cobalt-Phosphate (Co-Pi) catalyst to function similarly to the Oxygen Evolving Complex of plants, and that they could use this in both fresh and sea water. Furthermore the deposition of Co-Pi on various semiconductor materials increases the efficiency of the system.

Silicon is one of the most abundant elements on earth, and as anyone with a solar panel on their roof can tell you, silicon is effective at absorbing light energy. In fact, the artificial leaf has shown that silicon immersed in water and exposed to sunlight will split water. However, until recently the main problem with using silicon to split water has been that the very oxygen released by water splitting would react with the silicon and over time the silicon would lose its effectiveness.

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr Nocera reports that by combining the CoPi catalyst and a silicon based solar cell he was able to make hydrogen and reduce silicon oxidation using sea water. The next challenge is to scale this up. Dr Nocera has previously announced a deal with the Indian mega corporation Tata Group to build a large proof of concept reactor.

An Interdisciplinary Discussion on Climate Change

2011-06-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

Recently I attended “Climate Change, Science and Society: A Multidisciplinary Discussion” hosted by the New York Academy of Sciences and arranged by Wiley WIRES Climate Change.

By Victor Korniyenko (From Wiki.) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The speakers were: Stephen Rose, an economist with the Electric Power Research Institute , Lauren Chamblis of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station a science communications specialist and a former journalist, and David Rind, a NASA/GISS climate scientist emeritus. The interdisciplinary aspect of the talk was unique and this talk was well worth attending
.

The climate scientist David Rind, spoke about climate change in a way I hadn’t considered before. New models are now predicting an increase in temperature of 4 degrees. That may not seem like much he said, “But global temperatures were only 4 degrees lower when there was a 3 kilometer thick glacier where we sit right now” (downtown Manhattan). Interestingly, he first showed the early models which showed areas of increased/decreased precipitation and areas of increased/decreased evaporation. Then he showed a revamped model which combined these two data sets to give a drought prediction model. A four degree increase in global temperature showed a world engulfed by drought conditions by 2100, clearly beyond society’s ability to provide for itself.

I’ve seen many predictions that dealt with climate change in terms of potential economic change - flooded and abandoned cities, lost ways of life etc. However, Steven Roses’s presentation was the first time a talk really boiled down the approaches to climate change in an economist's terms. Obviously, no one intends to release greenhouse gases; rather, we produce these gases as a result of our primary economic activities – i.e. traveling or making widgets. Economists separate the activities (or intentions) and the unintended consequences (or the externalities) which can be either positive or negative. So for an economist the production of greenhouse gasses, aerosol or particulate pollution, and eventual global climate change are externalities which are a consequence of our economic activities. It’s helpful to separate what we want to do (which is get where we want to go and make the widgets and gizmos) from the greenhouse gases that they produce. That is, we want to maximize the good while reducing the bad - none of us want to return to the preindustrial world. I always find how economists approach a problem particularly fascinating which is why I enjoyed reading Freakonomics.

Later in his talk, Steven presented a number of statistical climate forecast models that were compared to examine the effects of a global strategy to reduce greenhouse gases. Essentially, the models predict that if all nations agreed to limit the production of greenhouse gasses then there is still time to avert a climatic catastrophe. However, all the models are in agreement that if policies aren’t implemented soon then more drastic changes will need to be made. Furthermore, and perhaps more disturbingly, if the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) don’t participate, any hope of changing global CO2 levels is infeasible. Yet, the BRIC countries are unanimous in their desire to hold off any greenhouse emissions treaties. To them it’s an issue of fairness - the west after all was able to pollute with impunity for more than a hundred years. Of course, it doesn’t really matter what’s fair or not. If temperatures rise as much as predicted, it will adversely affect all four countries. This of course is a very timely discussion given the current rancor about developing countries cutting back on CO2 emissions at the current talks to extend the Kyoto protocol.

Lauren Chamblis, spoke about how scientists must communicate more effectively about climate change, and how the public is not as antagonistic towards climate science as is commonly believed, and that people honestly would like to do something about climate change. This is a fact well worth remembering given the trouble Mitt Romney seems to have gotten into for suggesting he was for combating global warming.

We know much about global climate change and yet there is so much more we don’t know and it is what we don’t know that will undoubtedly influence the accuracy of climate models. However, there are two things to keep in mind here. As Steven said in economic terms, the longer we wait to see how bad this thing will be the more drastic the changes we will need to make in our lives and societies to stave off the worst global climate change. Essentially, we are taking less drastic options off the table with each passing year. Secondly, thus far every climate model out there has widely underestimated the effect of climate change on the Antarctic and arctic ice sheets, so clearly there is way more going on here, but what we know so far seems to indicate that things are getting real worse real fast.