The New York City Blog

The Ball Must Come Down But It Should Not Bounce

2012-12-31T18:32:00.001-05:00

As final preparations are put into place to greet 2013, a million people are expected in Times Square tonight. All there and those watching through other media sources will be focused on the work of master rigger, Tony Calvano. He’s the man given the responsibility of dropping the ball at 11:59pm to usher in the new year. Mayor Bloomberg and the Rockettes will push a button to signal Tony to begin the ball’s descent (The mayor always seems to be pushing someone’s button, doesn’t he?). Since 1988, Mr. Calvano and his team have successfully, “dropped the ball” but in a good way. Back then, they did it manually. Now, a computer controls the winch lowering the 12,000-pound, 2,688-piece Waterford Crystal sphere down towards the future. Thanks to all involved in this effort and longstanding New York City tradition. And thanks to all New York City residents for keeping this city, on the ball.

[This is a copyrighted editorial, originally published on http://www.NEWYORKCITYonline.com/NYC-Online/blog.php. We invite you to post your comments on this blog and reply to the comments that other viewers have posted. This piece may be duplicated or printed with permission.]

Royalty Arrives On New Year’s Eve

2011-01-14T23:18:00.004-05:00

At precisely the moment when the Times Square, New Year’s Eve ball dropped to ring in 2011, Princess Avana Andrews was delivered at SUNY Downstate Hospital. She was presented to her loving parents, Helena Ross and Dwayne Andrews. This adorable little "princess" now has the official/unofficial distinction of being the first baby born in New York City in 2011. Just five seconds after Princess arrived; "Baby #2" was born in Coney Island Hospital. No names required for the 2nd place finisher. New York is a tough town, people. Better, our kids learn that lesson right from the moment they’re born than later on the streets.

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[This is a copyrighted editorial, originally published on http://www.NEWYORKCITYonline.com/NYC-Online/blog.php. We invite you to post your comments on this blog and reply to the comments that other viewers have posted. This piece may be duplicated or printed with permission.]

Is Appealing Like Stealing Or Re-Dealing?

2011-01-13T23:33:00.002-05:00

“It doesn’t hurt to try!” Many Big Apple, big-building owners are taking and using that maxim to get huge tax breaks when appealing their city property-tax assessments. In 2010, the city Tax Commission reduced property taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars. As of December 30, 2010, 46,929 property-tax appeals were filed which was the highest total ever. 1,710 homeowners also filed for a review. City officials admit that problems are caused by the year’s lag time in determining a building’s estimated value. David Frankel says that the Finance and the Tax Commission must use different data because of the delay which causes the $$$ discrepancies and the successful number of appeals which lowers the taxes NYC collects. New ideas to correct this problem are being sought… but shouldn’t they already be in place? New Yorkers shouldn’t pay more in taxes than required and should be billed the proper amount without needing to appeal. City officials should act immediately to ensure that residents and real estate giants pay a reasonable amount in a timelier manner.

CUNY Attendance Rises As Economy Sinks

2011-01-12T23:35:00.003-05:00

Spring semester enrollment is way up this year in CUNY schools where tuition is a very modest $5,000 a year. 12,911 freshmen alone will be attending classes. That’s a 48% increase over the 2010 class size of 8,698 students. Transfers from within and without of CUNY are also up about 33%. Better-prepared students (averages greater than 80) are up significantly too. Some see these numbers as proof of CUNY's great price towards a prestigious degree. Others see this as preparing for a lifetime degree over acceptance of expiring unemployment payments in this poor economic environment. CUNY is a better option for many than doing nothing for themselves at all. After all, we have the government seemingly doing nothing for us already.

Flame Deaths Lowest Since 1919

2011-01-11T15:09:00.004-05:00

Death by fire in New York City is at an all-time low. Fire Department Commissioner Sal Cassano reported that 60 people died in 2010 compared to 73 people in 2009. The FDNY should definitely receive a great deal of the praise for the courageous job that they do. Keep in mind that there’s a proposal to close 20 engine companies in the evenings. This, in an effort to save $15 million annually. Let’s hope that city officials keep the emphasis on reducing fire death numbers before making unwise budget cuts that might directly raise their total.

The Tourist Take

2011-01-10T08:57:00.002-05:00

Approximately 47 million visitors flocked to the Big Apple in 2008 spending a whopping $30 billion. Those numbers are up from 46M/$28.9B in 2007 and 43.8M/$24.7B in 2006. Foreign visitors spend about 4 times as much as American citizens. We are the #1 tourist destination in the nation but the good times aren’t expected to last forever. Shifting dollar values and other factors will see to that.

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IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written today about an older New York City news headline. NYCo site delays prevented its publication before now. In an effort to entertain and educate this blog’s devoted viewers, 100’s of older headlines will be posted in chronological order until this blog is discussing current events again. Though some stories may no longer be as relevant as they once were, they remain interesting news items worthy of mention and viewer comments.

[This is a copyrighted editorial, originally published on http://www.NEWYORKCITYonline.com/NYC-Online/blog.php. We invite you to post your comments and reply to others. This piece may be duplicated or printed with permission.]

Carnegie Duchess’s Run May Be Over

2011-01-10T08:50:00.003-05:00

Editta Sherman, a 96-year old tenant received a New York state eviction notice from her NYC abode. Her place is one of the few remaining apartments above Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. She lives in a $530 a month, 800 square foot, rent-controlled flat and has been there for over 50 years. 43 residents were already booted before her. This, as part of Carnegie’s rehab project to convert the building’s space to offices and classrooms. Carnegie staff have offered to find her a superior apartment in the neighborhood and pay the difference in rents for the remainder of her life. Carnegie has the legal right to evict tenants. Editta has a lifetime of memories above Carnegie. Under the circumstances, it’s hoped that Editta will enjoy her next 50 years in a new place that she can happily call, “home.”

Cops Keep 'Copped' Cars

2011-01-10T08:46:00.001-05:00

In 2008, of the 3,062 cars that were impounded for their presence at NYC crimes, only 20 were returned to their owners. In 2007, just 52 of 3,488 cars were returned. New York City became the owner of the cars' pink slips. That's the law. To all you would be lawbreakers out there, know this. If you commit a crime in NYC with a car, chances are your car will get a life sentence… away from you.

Green Coca-Cola

2011-01-10T08:38:00.003-05:00

Coke’s famous red Times Square sign is going green for ecology. The company will pay 10% more to have wind power light it up than plugging it into the wall. Upon Coke’s approval, sponsors of 29 other billboards in New York City decided to go green, too. This new power approach for all 30 signs will somehow prevent the release of 2,056 tons of carbon dioxide annually. That's equivalent to 75 fewer passenger vehicles on the roads, 38 homes converted to wind power for a year or the positive effect of planting 470 acres of trees. It's not known for sure if all of those numbers are accurate, but there's one thing for certain. Coke is now on board drinking Al Gore's Kool-Aid!

Love Letters From Brooklyn

2011-01-10T08:31:00.002-05:00

Williamsburg’s, Jake Bronstein is a 30-year old marketing consultant. Send him your address and he’ll mail you a love letter for free. No relationship required. He tried handing his goodwill notes in Union Square but had no takers. Then, he advertised on his blog zoomdoggle.com and had 1,000 requests for his letter writing services! His success led to problems however because he didn’t budget enough time or postage money for 1,000 people. His witty letters supposedly cheer people up. They'll probably make 1,000 people feel better... much better in fact than his friends who Bronstein asked for writing and financial help when he got overwhelmed.

NYC Pension Funds Failing Us All

2011-01-10T08:28:00.002-05:00

The city’s five pension funds lost $30 billion in 2008. That's about 30% of their value. The law says that the city must kick in funds if they fail to earn a minimum of 8% a year. Guess where that money will be found, taxpayers?

Detour Route By The Devout

2011-01-10T08:00:00.004-05:00

Some angry Hasids, upset with new bike lanes in their neighborhood, are fighting back by signing up. They illegally erected a 4’x8’ detour sign on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to detour traffic along an alternate path to the BQE. The sign was put up on private property but the Department of Transportation didn’t find it kosher. DOT states that only the city can post detour signs. Undeterred, the Hasidics will hand out unofficial literature once the sign is removed. Some believe the issue here stems from the reserved Hasidics seeing many cycling cuties pedaling past, interferring with their traditionally reserved lifestyle. We should all be respectful of our neighbors, but all should be aware that neighborhoods are made up of diverse peoples. Nobody and no one group should take the law into their own hands because of their different views with others.

Stimulus Fairy For Ferry

2011-01-10T07:52:00.006-05:00

New York City Water Taxi (NYCWT) rides the waves between Haverstraw in Rockland County, Yonkers and Lower Manhattan’s Financial District. Only a few thousand passengers travel this private line per month yet the federal government approved $2 million for the wet-cab clipper. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (LMDC) green-lighted this taxpayer-funded grant. Funding will eventually dry up but NYCWT president, Tom Fox says that won’t sink his business. The city recently approved a new route from Riis Park in the Rockaways to the Brooklyn Army Terminal to Pier 11 in Manhattan. To those who can afford to take advantage of this mode of travel, lucky you. To the rest if us, it seems like we're getting soaked.

More New Yorkers Make Less Garbage

2011-01-09T22:43:00.003-05:00

Usually, the more people a city has, the more garbage a city must collect. New York is no usual city though. Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty is puzzled by the stats he sees. Could they be real or garbage? You decide. Between fiscal years 2005-2008, the city’s population grew by up to 50,000 per year but household refuse collection dropped 5.5%. Recycling pickups dropped 7.1%. There are plenty of suggested explanations but nobody can really explain. The city spends about $100 a ton to get rid of residential garbage and roughly $57 a ton to rid itself of recyclables. Whatever the reason/s for the numerical oddities, these trash truths are welcome news to a city with a budget that’s full of garbage and that needs to be recycled to meet our obligations.

Gotham City Crime Stats Deserve Congrats

2011-01-08T16:27:00.003-05:00

In 2008, overall crime numbers in the city dropped for the 18th consecutive year. Not all crimes. Compared to 2007, murder was up 5% and robbery rose by 2%. Rape was down 1% and burglary dropped 6%. All major crime (113,348 cases) was down 4%. Our police are definitely doing more with less manpower and resources. Crime-fighting advances in technology and officer re-assignments were given much credit but most of the praise and thanks should be lavished on the men and women of the NYPD. Individually and together, they bravely maintain the thin blue line between New Yorkers and chaos. Kudos to the cops!

IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written today about an older New York City news headline. NYCo site delays prevented its publication before now. In an effort to entertain and educate this blog’s devoted viewers, 100’s of older headlines will be posted in chronological order until this blog is discussing current events again. Though some stories may no longer be as relevant as they once were, they remain interesting news items worthy of mention and viewer comments.

[This is a copyrighted editorial, originally published on http://www.NEWYORKCITYonline.com/NYC-Online/blog.php. We invite you to post your comments and reply to others. This piece may be duplicated or printed with permission.]

Full-House Family Shelters

2011-01-08T16:22:00.000-05:00

The weak economy has led to a record number of families in city shelters. 9,720 families call one of the city’s protective havens, their “home.” The Coalition for the Homeless released this unfortunate figure. No significant signs of hope on New York City’s horizon but at least the most impoverished among us can find some sort of comfort provided by the rest.

Whitewashing A Weakness

2011-01-07T10:00:00.004-05:00

It used to be that as used, white NYPD police cruisers were painted a dark blue and passed down to other NYC enforcement agencies. These police groups included traffic-enforcement agents, auxiliary police and school-safety agents. Now, these hand-me-down cars will forego the blue “Maaco makeover” and instead receive agency-specific decals on the faded white car bodies. This will give the appearance that there are more police cars on the streets. This plan may deter or delay some crime, but having more cops on the streets will truly reduce crime in New York.

Food Police Need A Busier Diet

2011-01-06T21:11:00.002-05:00

1,000’s of eateries throughout New York City have gone over 18 months without an official inspection. This, despite Health Department guidelines mandating a checkup at least once a year. As inspections fell behind, so did the closings of unsanitary eateries. That puts us all at risk. Now, the city’s 115 inspectors must work overtime to visit every eatery over the next 6 months. That’s approximately 25,500 food establishments to check. To whichever government supervisor permitted this situation to get so out of hand... the Soup Nazi says, "NO SOUP FOR YOU!"

Big Injury Suits Bruise Big Apple

2011-01-06T21:05:00.002-05:00

In fiscal year 2008, $403 million in personal-injury lawsuits was paid out by New York City. That, according to Law Department figures. This represents a 6% increase over the previous year. The largest individual settlement amount was $8.5 million in 2008. On the dim, bright side, only $144 million in tort settlements was paid out by NYC’s Health and Hospitals Corp. which was less than the $151 million paid the previous fiscal year. The top malpractice case settled for a paltry $5 million. $547 million going out NYC's doors can surely make most New Yorkers sick... but certainly not the lawyers who handled the cases.

NYC Gals Bury Guys

2011-01-06T20:59:00.003-05:00

The Health Department reported that NYC girls born in 2006 can expect to live to 81.7-years, whereas baby boys are expected to live to only 75.9-years old. Reasons? Generally speaking, men tend to do more unhealthy things than women which may account for the disparity. New Yorkers continue to live longer than other Americans to an average age of 79. Maybe New Yorkers stick around longer here because it's too expensive to die!

Drug Mule Shielded By Bellevue Band Of Doctors

2011-01-05T11:52:00.002-05:00

A doctor found 14 bags of coke in a patient during emergency surgery. Not 14 liters of Coke. That was 14 bags of cocaine. He reported the illegal drugs to police but refused to provide more details… like the patient’s name and address. He cited “doctor-patient confidentiality.” The NYPD was incensed claiming that the laws don’t protect drug mules. Bellevue hospital officials claim that they “cooperated within the limits of the law.” With no help forthcoming, police did their detective worked and tracked down and arrested the suspect at the hospital. “D-P” confidentiality rules should be reviewed or ended when the public is put at risk by the patient. This guy was no harmless piñata carrying candy.

Tix With Pix

2011-01-05T11:46:00.000-05:00

Bronx Councilman Jimmy Vacca proposed a law that traffic agents should have photographic evidence to support each ticket they write. He believes this will reduce questionable tickets and limit motorist challenges in the court system. Parking meter tickets won’t require a “Kodak moment.” Wouldn’t it be nice to have a photo or video of a politician each time he or she made a bad judgment call or did something illegal that negatively impacted New Yorkers?

Don’t Let Friends Ride Drunk

2011-01-05T09:10:00.002-05:00

Sloshed straphangers account for nearly half of all accidental deaths in the transit system. So says a 13-year study by Columbia University, conducted between 1990-2003. During that time, 145 of 315 people were dead drunk when they died. Of 668 total deaths that Dr. Robyn Gershon studied, 84% were male, 43% were in Manhattan and people between 35-44 were most often the victims. There’s your guide on who not to go drinking with.

School Class Size Matters… So Measure Twice

2011-01-05T00:06:00.002-05:00

The city’s public school system is seeing more kids in the classroom. That, according to the Department of Education. This change occurred despite state money to prevent it from happening. Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters was shocked by their findings. Board of Ed officials claim the numbers are unreliable because students were counted at different times in the school year. It would seem that the two sides need to study up on their ‘rithmetic before sizing up class size.

MetroCard Moneymakers

2011-01-04T10:08:00.003-05:00

Georgette Difini sees free transit in discarded plastic. She scoops up “used” MetroCards at turnstiles and trainstations to search for hidden transportation treasure they might contain. She finds money on 40% of the cards but only nets around $5.00 a week. You have to admire her effort even if the results it produces are slice. Of course, no good idea by a New Yorker (no matter how small) goes without its governmental consequences. NYC Transit Spokesman, Charles Seaton, declared that only allows cash consolidation from five cards is permitted per card. Of course, those rules don’t apply to the MTA. They recover millions each month from expired and unused MetroCard funds. The MTA rides again... but not to our rescue... or Ms. Difini's.