Marathon Man Bests Mass Transit

Jeremy Olshan clocked 4 hours, 55 minutes in the 2006 ING New York City Marathon. The other day, using seven buses and three subway trains which covered roughly the same route and distance (26.2 miles) of the Marathon, Jeremy required 4 hours, 57 minutes to complete his journey … 2 minutes longer than when he ran! It’s not known if Jeremy has any entrepreneurial ambitions or not. If so, he might consider offering piggyback rides to transit commuters looking to save time.

Papa’s Got A "Recycled" Bag

A new proposal would require stores over 5,000 square feet to setup an in-store recycling program and to sell reusable bags. The bags would have a consumer reminder printed on them such as “Please return this bag to a participating store for recycling.” Recycled bags can then be used to produce new bags and a variety of other products, even furniture. If passed, the new law would affect some 700 food stores and retailers in the city. It still needs final approval from the city council and Mayor Bloomberg.

Years ago, we gave up our use of brown paper bags to save our forests. Paper bags were replaced by plastic ones. Environmentalists now believe it takes years for these plastic bags to biodegrade and that they pollute our soil and water. A more responsible “green” policy here would reduce that danger and the oil needed to make plastic bags by millions of barrels annually. Seems like an environmentally sound idea on many levels.

Other cities around the world have mandated these changes. New York City should too. I believe that swift passage of this bill is … in the bag.

Work Here But Live Where?

Last year, Mayor Bloomberg introduced legislation to permit members of the city’s largest municipal labor union (District Council 37) to work for city government but live in nearby Westchester, Orange, Rockland, Putnam, Nassau or Suffolk counties if they so chose. At present, DC 37’s 175,000 union members must reside within the five boroughs of New York City. Lawmakers have yet to act on the Mayor’s proposal. Many believe instead that city jobs should be given to city residents.

It seems reasonable that a city be able to mandate residency as a condition of employment. In a similar policy, public schools are only open to city children. People who work and live here support the city much more than those making money here and then scramming across city borders to spend their paychecks elsewhere. That’s one argument. On the other hand, it seems unfair for government to demand that its employees setup home in New York City's environs if they and their families can live better nearby.

Tough to choose who is right and who is wrong. Both sides’ arguments have merit. But perhaps it’s just a matter of how the issue is framed that makes the choice difficult.

In the end, workers have freedom and flexibility to work anywhere that their skills allow. If they work here, they do because they’ve determined it’s in their best interests to do so. However, a city cannot move around like an individual. Its borders may be altered a bit over time but basically, its latitude and longitude remain unchanged. A city must do what’s in its best interests to remain vital … and to stay on the map! Therefore, if it can be proven that it’s in New York City’s best interests to have employees be residents, then that must be the only position city politicians and the mayor should support. Many qualified Americans would gladly move here to live in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island or the Bronx if it meant getting a good city job with benefits.

The “I Love New York” theme song should play loudly during all official talks on this matter. It should resonate in the minds of our politicians and city workers. Do what’s best for New York City in this matter and you’ll be doing what’s best for true New Yorkers.

Noose Nonsense

The past few weeks, it’s saddened me to read about hangman’s nooses being found in several places throughout the city. They’re apparently meant to target and intimidate individuals by using a truly dark symbol from American … more correctly perhaps, human history. These are regrettable incidents, rightly condemned by those in authority. More in government should speak out. It’s hoped that the faceless cowards who have no guts for direct communication, do have the sense to see that their messages of hate in New York City are falling on deaf ears and before courageous hearts.

Hey Nostradamus! It’s All About Location, Location, Location!

I just watched a television show on the History Channel. It was on the famous 16^th century French prophet, Nostradamus. Many consider him the greatest “seer” of them all. His prophecies and quatrains have survived and have been studied for nearly 500 years. (I sure hope he was wise enough to secure copyrights to his work!) Most things in the show dealt with the usual topics. Things like the antichrist, end of the world, famine, disasters, war, death, ecological disasters, etc.. The usual Sunday night, pick-me-up kind of stuff. You know.

Regrettably, there was no mention at all about specific Manhattan buildings going co-op. I really want to get in at the “insider price” to make some big dough before they convert … and it has to be before 2012 … which unfortunately is the end of time as we know it. So, he was no help, and my time … make that our time, is running out.

So this evening, I’m seriously questioning his voyeuristic abilities. Nostradamus may have envisioned many future events, but I don’t think he ever witnessed the high price of high-rises on Manhattan’s upper west side in 2007. If so, he would have sailed here and bought all of Manhattan 50 years before the Dutch who saw $24 as a pretty good investment for the place.

Nostradamus … famous prophet … lousy real estate speculator.

Feng Shui Gives Yankees Win Over Mets

Feng shui (pronounced FENG SHUWAY) is the ancient Chinese practice of placing and arranging things in space to achieve the most agreeable harmony with the surrounding environment. Chi (pronounced CHEE) is the life force or spiritual energy within all things. What’s all that have to do with baseball, you ask?

Judith Wendell, a noted feng shui and chi expert declared the new Yankee Stadium superior to that of the Mets’ Citi Field. A variety of tests and “energy vibrations” she felt at each construction site convinced her of that. In other words, better feng shui in the Bronx will give the Yankees better chi than their cross-town rivals. Or, put yet another way … more chi, more wins. Great news for Bombers’ fans!

Both fields are scheduled to open for the start of the 2009 baseball season. Perhaps a new chant will rise up from the crowd to the facade in the Bronx on opening day … “We got chi! We got chi!”

Where There’s Steam ... There’s Something Boiling Below

The cause(s) for Con Edison’s July, 2007 steam pipe explosion has yet to be determined. Whether Con Ed is to blame for inadequate maintenance or whether a city-owned water main (broken a few days prior to the blast) triggered the other pipe to burst, nobody knows. It will be awhile before anything is confirmed. Perhaps, we may never know exactly what led to this tragic event.

I believe there are some things we can safely predict. For example, in the years to come:

1. There will be lawsuits and counter-lawsuits aplenty. Suits on behalf of the two people sadly caught in the blast, Con Ed vs. the city, the city vs. Con Ed and each of the building, store and property owners with damages vs. everybody standing. Maybe others too.
2. All sides will produce “expert” testimony. Each party pointing hired fingers at the other side. Each expert will present reasonably logical arguments while possibly obscuring important facts in the process.
3. Regardless of who wins and who loses, all costs will ultimately be passed onto New York City taxpayers and Con Edison’s customers.
4. More explosions, resulting from the city’s decaying underground infrastructure which is over 100 years old in many places, may be expected.
5. City residents will be generally unsupportive of tax increases to subsidize the “big fix” that’s needed underneath our town.
6. Local politicians won’t adequately address the growing dangers or propose important legislation to counter these threats. Heard any yet?
7. When all is said and done, there will be several additionally rich tort lawyers flashing their $1,000 bills to attract the gorgeous blondes in Bungalow 8.

There once was a time when pedestrians crossing NYC streets need only be cautious not to step behind horses or into an open manhole. Nowadays, horse manure isn’t a big concern. Sidestepping manholes, even those with covers securely in place, may still be a wise precaution. Unless of course you want to risk being launched through the 10th floor window of a skyscraper.

Tread lightly New Yorkers. There's a cauldron of trouble brewing beneath your feet.