Kings And Pawns In Queens

It’s the best of times. It’s the worst of times. There’s an obvious divide in the city between those with money in their pockets … and those with gaping holes. Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens) believes Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed 5,000 apartment public housing project along the Long Island City waterfront is an opportunity to do more for the middle class and poor. His vision of the plan provides more apartments for middle and lower-income families. Perhaps the recent decline in the stock market ends his argument before it’s raised. The line between all New Yorkers has been narrowed. In this instance, it's probably not a good thing.

School Safety Study Smells After Seven

How many years does it take to review traffic outside our schools? Well, there’s a study in Queens that’s ongoing for seven years! The Department of Transportation took responsibility for an important pedestrian and traffic study back in 2001. It had funding of $2.5 million. To date, only 10% of new schools have been studied. According to New York Councilman Eric Gioia, at this pace, it’ll take another twenty years for DOT to complete their research! He correctly states that traffic patterns and population vary over extended periods of time. Long-term studies have "little to no value" to resolve any immediate dangers for our children. "Little to no value?" Kind of like the DOT and city government personnel who permit things like this to take place during their stewardship.

Digital Meters Don’t Matter

City Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens) wants all homes to have digital devices by 2011 to monitor utilities. He believes they’d offer usage info to cut consumer bills by 10% and enable Con Edison to reduce site inspections and better track outages. I guess “10%” is a nice number, but what conclusions is it based on? Assuming any future usage reduction percentage is next to impossible to calculate without facts. What's more, usage is more likely to rise as customers buy more electronics that require more electricity. Besides, consumers already get usage info ... on their bills. More importantly, people know exactly how much they pay out each month for electricity. What better gauge for New Yorkers is there than that? Likewise, Con Edison should be required to operate more efficiently without new monitoring devices. More importantly, Con Ed must respond to outages faster once meters (of any type) are reading zero. Politicians should lead by innovation and example to reduce energy consumption. Getting New York City residents to subsidize new meters now to register existing information is probably not the best way to do it.

Diplomatic Immunity Shouldn’t Mean Financial Impunity

Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens) wants foreign diplomats to pay up or pay the price. Every NYC politician should support his position. For years, many foreign diplomats have ignored parking tickets and property taxes to the tune of $78 million! Gioia’s demanding they give us our due or face revocation of licenses, towing of cars, electricity shutoff and the like. He wants the federal government to withhold aid to foreign countries who owe New York City money. Why not? New York City is in the midst of another round of budget cuts. The US Supreme Court has ruled that New York City may sue countries that don’t pay property taxes. If the United States government won’t safeguard New Yorkers’ rights, we must take matters into our own hands.