People With Disabilities Complain About Access-a-Ride Inabilities

In a new city Council report, dozens of disabled riders stated that customer service was poor, bordering on rude and occasionally even dangerous. An estimated 12,000 disabled New Yorkers use Access-a-Ride every weekday. MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin said the MTA was committed to “fair and equitable transportation service” for all riders. Whether or not that leads to service improvements or reduces the service level to that which over one million MTA riders get remains to be seen.

Hostage Crisis Continues In Manhattan

It began on December 22, 2003, though only a handful suspected it at the time. On that day, we welcomed Isiah as the next savior of the Knickerbockers franchise. A little over four years later, the Knicks are 9-26 with the 3rd worst record in the NBA. Their excessive team payroll is among the worst in the NBA as well. Isiah Thomas remains team President and Coach. He's still preaching though about the good times ahead. Ownership seems unlikely to make an obvious change anytime soon. Let’s be honest. There’s no reason or hope to expect the imminent release of diehard Knick fans trapped inside the torture cell known as "Madison Square Garden."

To someone who began following the Knicks in the late 1960’s when the team had Reed, DeBusschere, Bradley, Frazier and Barnett, this year’s group is hardly worth mentioning in the same sentence. To be fair, perhaps it’s not the players' fault. After all, they were brought here by the team’s savior ... the one who’s turned out to be nothing more than another false prophet. Marv Albert screamed “YESSSSSSS!” in his old broadcast days. Does anyone doubt when he watches a Knicks’ "boredcast" now he's shouting, “NOOOOOOO!” at the television? Luckily for him, he’s no longer a prisoner in the Garden. He’s free of the routine pain and suffering. Too bad we all can't be freed.

For my last shot at the buzzer, I loosely translate the line of a "Sonny and Cher" song to now read ... “And the beatings go on.” That new song line should be played loudly after each new loss. Maybe someday, they'll hear it in the owner's box.

The Price Of NYC Politics May Be Going Up

According to several reports and depending on which story you believe, Mayor Mike Bloomberg is 1)considering, 2)not considering, a run for the White House in 2008. If he decides to become a presidential candidate ... and wins the election, New York’s famous bargain hunters will have a real dilemma on their hands. Where will they ever find a new mayor to accept Mike’s $1.00 annual salary?

New York City Has Become A Winter Wonder-Where-Is-It-Land

Remember when November’s and December’s here were filled with snow that seemed to be on the ground until February? Remember when winter’s here were really cold? If you do, you must have a very long memory. Reminisce about those days and you show your age ... maybe you're displaying some “snow on the roof” too. New York City hasn’t had many cold, snowy winters for a long, long time. Those who joined the NYC Department of Sanitation thirty years ago to collect great overtime by plowing and shoveling our snowy streets never got rich off their paychecks.

Perhaps global warming is to blame. Perhaps not. Let scientists and meteorologists debate the issue. The temperature is expected to hit 50 degrees today in Central Park. That’s 50 degrees … not 5 degrees. I'm glad. I’m older now with some “snow on the roof.” I don’t miss the cold or snow like I would were I still a kid. My apologies to the polar bears in the local zoos and our sanitation workers but, “Hooray for global warming!”

Prediction: “Rats 1 City 0”

Did you know we have a new “Rat Czar” in town? That’s right! Bobby Corrigan, a national expert on pest control was recently hired to run the rats out of the Big Apple (The Pied Piper was apparently out of town on business). His hiring is part of a new rat offensive. The last rat war, in case you lost track, was several years ago. We lost. This one however comes after a yearlong study which concluded that New York City has too many rats. No surprise to any city resident or local pest control expert who didn’t need a study to know that! The strategy this time? City health inspectors armed with handheld computers are cataloging signs of rat life and notating conditions which help them to thrive here. That's laughable. Whatever happened to the tried and true concept of more pesticides and fewer food resources?

Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden stated, “there is no quick fix.” Health Commissioner, if we really need handheld computers to help lower the rat population, your quote couldn’t be any truer.

Knicks Reality TV?

The controversy about the New York Knicks hiring actors to parade themselves as “Knick fans” in a series of new MSG television commercials seems to have been resolved. The actors when questioned confirmed they were in fact "Garden groupies" who truly love our boys in blue and orange. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction! Perhaps the real question that should have been asked was … why didn’t the casting agency put out a call for stuntmen instead of actors? After all, no actors could properly display the pain and suffering that true Knick fans have endured for all these years. A guy used to getting bloodied and broken is what’s needed for that role!

Take The “C Trains” To Complain

Subway riders who took the time to complete their “New York City Transit Rider Report Cards” (maybe during a “slight delay” on their train ride) overwhelming graded the system with C’s and C-minuses. Schoolchildren know that while C-grades are passing, they should strive to do much better. Yet, NYC Transit President Howard Roberts said “if we can move from a C-minus to a C, then I will be satisfied… Moving from that baseline is the important thing.” Can you imagine if your child said the same thing at report card time??? Makes me wonder how someone (see above) would perform on that new TV game show on FOX – Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Yet, who’s really less intelligent? A government official for making that absurd remark … or New Yorkers for not punishing city bosses for poor performance.