Toll Rebate Fight & Civil Liberties Do Not Mix
One of the sub-battles in the proposed doomsday scenario that has not gotten much publicity is the fight by some Queens communities to starve off the elimination of the toll rebate program on the Cross Bay Bridge. Residents & community leaders have done things from civil disobedience to protests with the intention of showing they are serious about saving this toll rebate.
Now comes the next chapter which could come in the form a lawsuit for of all things, violating the First Amendment. Brendan Brosh of the New York Daily News has more in this report:
A SOUTHERN Queens community is trying to enlist the help of a civil liberties group in its fight against a proposal to abolish a decade-old toll rebate program on the Cross Bay Bridge.
In a creative legal strategy, community leaders in Broad Channel and Rockaway say that removing the rebate violates locals’ First Amendment rights, provisions of the state Constitution and the City Charter.
“We have to pay a tax, in the form of a toll, to travel within our own community,” said Community Board 14 member Michael Tubridy, who wrote a letter to the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Broad Channel and Rockaway drivers with E-ZPasses are charged $1.03 for crossing the bridge. It is then immediately remitted in a rebate. The program was put in place in 1998 after nearly three decades of protests.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has proposed rescinding the rebate to alleviate recent budget woes. The agency estimates it could save $3.6 million a year if the rebate is removed.
Click here for the complete report.
I understand the complaints of these residents & local leaders who feel it would be unfair to have to pay to travel within their own borough. For many in these communities, driving is the only source of legitimate transportation available considering the subpar bus & subway service in the area. Unlike some, I am not foolish or idiotic enough to truly believe that driving is a luxury for most drivers. However even with saying that, I feel suing based on violations of the First Amendment is quite the stretch.
I honestly do not see what legitimate ground they could stand on if this case were to be presented. I am sorry but bringing religion in as a way to fight this off is beyond ludicrous. When I read things like this, I find it hard to support their cause as I feel my intelligence is being insulted. If I were them, I would seek a more legitimate angle to focus on in their fight to save the toll rebate.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Crazy Woman Bites Bus Driver
Growing up with a father & grandfather (dad’s side) that were MTA New York City Transit bus drivers, I know how crazy the job can be. If I was not hearing or realizing that through their eyes, I was through many operators I’m friendly with. So I can’t say I am surprised at this next story which features a crazy woman biting a bus driver. The story took place on an uptown bound M104 as a crazy woman bit into a driver. Erica Pearson & Jotham Sederstrom of the New York Daily News have the complete story:
A veteran MTA bus driver was bitten on the forearm by an out-of-control female passenger Wednesday as he drove his packed M104 bus during rush hour in Manhattan.
Peter Williams, 42, was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital as a safety precaution after the woman gnawed into his arm as the bus headed north on Broadway at W. 79th St. just after 3 p.m.
“A woman had given him a problem on the bus,” said MTA spokesman Charles Seaton. “He got up to tell the dispatcher and when he rose from his seat the woman bit him.”
Shelia Bolar, 49, was charged with second-degree assault after the enraged Queens woman became hysterical on the crowded bus before sinking her teeth in Williams.
Click here for the complete story.
Well it is nice to know that the bus driver was okay. However in the bigger scheme of things, something needs to be done to better protect bus drivers. I feel that they clearly have the most dangerous job of all MTA employees who deal with the public on a regular basis. They have the least amount of protection from the passengers they are responsible for. A driver should not have to worry about being bit or attacked when he or she has the major responsibility of bring passengers safely from “Point A” to “Point B”.
Hopefully this crazy woman is prosecuted to the fullest intent of the law to show that crimes against bus drivers or any other MTA employees for that matter will not be tolerated!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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NYC Comptroller Editorial On Access A Ride
Millions of commuters in the tri-state area know about the nightmare of service cuts & fare increases that might become our reality. No group of riders might have it as bad as those who depend on Access A Ride. The latest proposal calls for one way rides to go up to $5 which is an increase of 150%. The burden that this would put on those who depend on Access A Ride was not lost on New York City Comptroller & 2009 NYC Democratic Mayor hopeful William C. Thompson. He wrote an editorial for the New York Daily News:
‘Placing a greater burden on the disabled is unfair.’
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has just announced that it intends to charge up to $5 each way to people with disabilities who rely on its Access-A-Ride service for transportation. That’s a 150% increase – bringing the cost of a round-trip to work, school or the doctor to as much as $10 a day.
But unlike the 23% increase proposed for subways and buses – which is likewise inequitable – the Access-A-Ride hike can be stopped right now by Mayor Bloomberg, who has the power because of a contract the city signed 15 years ago with the MTA.
Run by the MTA, Access-A-Ride is a federally mandated program that is intended to serve individuals who cannot use the buses or subways because of disability.
Just as our city could not function if mainstream mass transit was taken away, disabled New Yorkers have few, if any, alternative transportation options to Access-A-Ride, which is an essential lifeline for them.
If the fare goes to $10 round-trip, people with disabilities will be hurt badly, imperiling employment or school, possibly forcing them to give up food or other essentials so they can afford their rides or, conversely, skipping medical appointments to pay for other necessities.
In 1993, when the Access-A-Ride program was transferred from the city Department of Transportation to the MTA, city leaders were deeply concerned about keeping the service affordable for a population that is among our city’s most economically disadvantaged.
For that reason, then-Mayor Dinkins negotiated a contract with the MTA that set the cost of a trip on Access-A-Ride equal to the one-way base fare on mass transit – currently $2. The contract says that the MTA cannot change the terms of the deal without the written permission of the mayor.
Click here for the complete editorial.
Well it is nice to see William step up for riders who have the hardest time getting around our city. While some might question his motives as nothing more than P.R. work, I feel his concern is genuine. He comes across as a straight shooter.
However if I were him, I would not depend on Mayor Bloomberg doing the right thing & putting a stop to such an increase. If any one politician or human in general is a hard nosed dollars & sense person, it is Michael Bloomberg. While he might not feel it is the right thing to do, the almighty bottom line is what would influence his decision. For the sake of those who depend on Access A Ride, lets hope they do not get hit with such a heavy increase.
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Downtown Alliance Statement On Proposed Service Cuts
Well let the updates begin…….
I will be starting off with a press release which was sent to me via e-mail from The Downtown Alliance on Jan. 20th. The statement is in regards to the MTA’s proposed service cuts that would affect Downtown Manhattan. Here is a sample of the 3 page statement:
On behalf of the Lower Manhattan business and residential communities, the Alliance for Downtown New York urges the Metropolitan Transit Authority to rethink its proposed reductions in Lower Manhattan subway and bus service. These cuts are short-sighted and threaten Downtown’s long-term economic health.
Transportation is the key to Lower Manhattan’s past, present and future. Fourteen subway lines, 33 local and express bus routes, multiple ferries, bikeways, a heliport and the PATH — no part of New York City is more connected to the entire metropolitan area, and our future as the international capital of finance and commerce – now redefining what it means to be a central business district with a thriving residential and tourist population – depends on it.
Lower Manhattan’s one square mile is home to 318,000 employees and close to 57,000 residents, and last year hosted 6 million tourists. In 2007, subway ridership was 86 million, total ridership was 123 million and average daily ridership was 338,000. This mass transit network is the lifeblood of Lower Manhattan; In fact, many of the district’s larger employers say that access to mass transit is the reason they started, stayed or relocated in Lower Manhattan, and it’s a huge plus for residents and visitors as well.
The Bowling Green station saw an increase of 11%, and through September 2008, ridership at Fulton St./Broadway Nassau station – which serves ELEVEN subway lines, including the overcrowded A, E and 4, 5 lines and is the 10th busiest station in New York City with 19 million riders in 2007 – experienced a 7% increase over the same period in 2007. The Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall station, which serves New York City’s civic center, also saw similar increases in ridership over the past year.
The MTA’s plans will ensure that even more people have to wait for multiple trains to pass before they board, and when they do, the trains will be even more crowded than they are now. As bad as this situation will be, the proposed service changes will create far more troubling ramifications for Lower Manhattan’s future. Consider just a few MTA proposals and their consequences:
• No M6 buses down Broadway to major retailers like J&R Music World and Century 21 or international tourist destinations like the National Museum of the American Indian and the Sports Museum of America.
• No W service at all, further complicating the commute of commercial tenants on Water Street heading to Western Queens.
• No late night N service south of Chambers, isolating this growing residential part of our community.
• No more M15 buses to City Hall. Ever.
• Weekend changes on bus lines and night changes on subway lines that will adversely impact Lower Manhattan’s residents and tourists, the two populations that have experienced the strongest growth since September 11th.
• Suspending the M22 during the weekends, which will eliminate a crucial connection between Battery Park City (and its major tourist attractions), City Hall, the Financial District and Chinatown.
Downtown needs the Fulton Transit Center, and we need it now. This cost-effective and energy-efficient project will create 4,000 construction-related jobs and is ready to go. Hundreds of millions of public dollars have already been spent on the below-grade aspects of the project; when will work begin on the above-grade portion, so essential to Lower Manhattan’s commercial, residential and tourist populations?
Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg recently requested billions of dollars in federal stimulus aid package proposed by President-Elect Obama for State and City transportation projects. The Fulton Transit Center should be at the top of any list: shovel-ready, “green” and a lynchpin of the future of America’s iconic live/work community, Lower Manhattan.
Click here to view or download the entire report (.doc).
I applaud the Downtown Alliance for taking a stance against the proposed service cuts that would affect Downtown Manhattan. They make some excellent points in their 3 page statement. However with saying that, I have to question one of the bullet points mentioned which regarded the M6 & reaching such locations such as J&R Music World.
If you are going to make your battle points, it would be wise to choose them wisely. As much as I do not want to see service cuts become a reality, touting the “Save The M6” rallying cry falls on deaf ears in my opinion. The entire route is covered by multiple subway lines. If people really need to get to J&R among other destinations, they have a plethora of choices.
I also question the angle used on defending the saving of the 
. Do they have actual numbers to back up their worry of how many Water Street commercial tenants depend on the to get to Queens? I assume they do not since no numbers were mentioned for that point. I would have played up the positives of the which include it being a good supplement to the N & providing crowding relief for the 
. Once again, I feel the strengths behind your arguments must stand out.
In the end, I feel the alliance could have done a better job of highlighting the main justifications for being against the service cuts that would affect downtown Manhattan. They will get an A for effort though!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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NYC Transit Supervisor Suspected Of Fraud
During these tough economic times, stories such as this do not sit well with people. The story I am referring to is of the alleged billing & kickback scheme involving a NYC Transit supervisor named Jacqueline Jackson Cutler & AJI Records Retrieval. The scheme allegedly revolved around Jacqueline inflating the bills submitted by AJI Records Retrieval & sharing in the difference. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more in this report:
An NYC Transit supervisor allegedly “living large” with luxury cars and five flat-screen televisions in her house is suspected of looting the cash-strapped agency with a bogus billing and kickback scheme, the Daily News has learned.
The MTA inspector general and the Brooklyn district attorney’s office are investigating whether Jacqueline Jackson, 50, inflated bills submitted by a Brooklyn company and then shared in the ill-gotten gains, law enforcement sources said.
The scope of the suspected fraud isn’t yet known but the early signs are alarming, sources said.
NYC Transit is believed to have used the company, AJI Records Retrieval, to do pre-trial tasks for at least a decade, paying the firm about $1.5 million, sources said.
NYC Transit yesterday suspended Jackson, NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges said, hours after authorities executed several search warrants in connection with the burgeoning probe.
Jackson earned $83,000 a year as director of legal support for the tort division in NYC Transit’s legal department.
Click here for the complete report.
The very next day, Pete reported about how authorities were investigating a tip received which accused Jacqueline of shredding documents just days before her home was searched. He has more in this report:
Authorities are investigating a tip that a transit manager suspected of fraud shredded documents days before detectives raided her home, the Daily News has learned.
The News reported Wednesday that the MTA inspector general and Brooklyn district attorney’s office carried out court-authorized searches of Jacqueline Jackson’s Brooklyn home and sealed her NYC Transit office Tuesday morning.
After the raids, investigators received a tip alleging a large number of documents from Jackson’s office were shredded last week at Jackson’s direction, a law enforcement source said.
The source said investigators were seeking to confirm the documents’ destruction, identify their content and determine their relevance – if any – to the probe.
Click here for the complete report.
This kind of behavior is absolutely disgusting & punishment must be swift & fierce if these allegations are true. The fact that she was having documents shredded just days before her house was searched does not look good for her prospects of being innocent. I know that you are innocent until proven guilty but it is hard to ignore such an occurrence.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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