Sanitation Giving Us Garbage

The Department of Sanitation should clean up its magic act. Making garbage disappear where it never existed is fraud, not efficiency. Comptroller Bill Thompson claims that 31 of 76 lots were spotless when investigated by auditors, yet Sanitation reported they removed 2-16 tons of debris … and the city paid the disposal fees. Sanitation claims that crews sometimes clean “adjoining lots and areas.” It explained the discrepancy as a reporting method which might need adjustment. The Department of Investigation gets to examine this mess next.

Skies To Lighten Over JFK

Recent near-misses at JFK airport have prompted the FAA to examine the airport’s existing operating procedures. Preliminary reports suggest the two recent close calls were caused by communication problems. In a separate announcement, the FAA plans to install new lighting systems in several airports including JFK and LaGuardia. Check the radios too, guys!

Pedicabs Pedal With Virtual Impunity

The City Council passed rickshaw regulations over a year ago yet they’re not being enforced. Ongoing discussions between the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and a pedicab trade group are holding things up. The main debate is the city’s limit of licenses to 325. In the meantime, many pedicabs are doing business without proper driver identification, insurance, seat belts, headlights, tail lights or even set fare structures. Passengers, pedestrians and automobile drivers are all at risk. Accidents have already occurred and people have been injured. Mayor Bloomberg, who wants to green the city, needs to act before there’s more red blood in the streets.

Tear Down This Wall!

The FDNY and the city’s Buildings Department ordered that Manhattan’s Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village stop erecting "pressurized walls" in residential units. It’s thought that these walls create fire hazards for residents and firefighters. Tishman Speyer, the company which owns the 110-building complex, had been converting 1-bedroom apartments into 2-bedrooms by subdividing living rooms. Prices for a 1-bedroom unit start at $2,995 so it’s easy to understand their motivation. The company issued no comment. Their silence may be due to "the pressure of being backed up against their own wall."

NYC Is ATM For Politicians

In this year’s presidential race, 17 of the top 100 donors live in New York City. Each contributed $150,000 or more to races and party committees. 13 of the 17 are listed as decisively Democrat. The Big Apple has always been where the big bucks are. Smart politicians know how to rub elbows with the rich and leave with more than a souvenir t-shirt.

Forget Ferry Feasting For Now

Staten Island Ferry Terminal commuters must wait until 2009 for retail food establishments to open. Hard to believe that the $350 million terminal which opened in 2005 still doesn’t have a place serving quality meals. Fast-food isn't on the menu anytime soon.

Poverty’s %’s Are Pitiful

Government officials claim poverty in New York City is higher than reported. Using an unaccepted formula that calculates additional living expenses, our poverty rate is 23%, not 18.9% as reported by the federal government. No other jurisdiction uses the same measure that we do. Our higher rate does not obtain more state or federal benefits for the poor. What it does do is enable Mayor Bloomberg to reapportion certain city benefits. But more must be done. Regardless of which math calculation is used, the result obtained is too high. I know there will always be “have’s and have not’s.” Nevertheless, the reduction of poverty among the least of us will benefit us all in many ways. The mayor’s remaining time in office is limited (Maybe, depending on daily-developing factors.) and he can only do so much. Who else in government or the private sector has a plan and the courage to wage this fight for all New Yorkers? As it was in the famous 1888 NYC picture "Bandit's Roost," so it will always be, if politicians are allowed to keep smiling for camera-shots instead of taking bold positions on bigger social issues.