Straphanger Sexually Assaulted
A straphanger was sexually assaulted with the attack starting in the subway. Here is a brief article about it courtesy of the New York Post:
By JAMIE SCHRAM
July 4, 2007 — A drifter was busted after sweeping a 21-year-old woman who had passed out drunk off the subway and carrying her to a SoHo vestibule where he sexually assaulted her, police said yesterday.
Jasiri Walloe, 32, was arrested early Friday after the brazen assault, cops said.
Walloe found the victim passed out on a bench at 5 a.m. at the Brooklyn Bridge station, police said. He allegedly began kissing and fondling the intoxicated woman.
When a No. 6 train pulled in, Walloe scooped her up and carried her aboard. Walloe took her off the train at Spring Street, cops said.
Another rider grew suspicious and followed the two off the train. Walloe took the woman into a vestibule at 214 Mulberry St. where he removed her shorts and underwear, police said. He then fondled and molested her, waking her up, police said. Walloe allegedly began to bolt, but was caught a short distance away by police who had been called by the witness.
He is charged with kidnapping and sexual abuse.
What has happened to this country when you can’t even pass out in a train station at 5am & not be assaulted!
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The Great 6 Train Puke & Debate
The night of June 30th turned out to be quite interesting. The plan was to head to Penn Station & hop the LIRR out to see my best friend Tricia. I was running late as usual but felt confident I’d make it to Penn Station on time. However the start to the commute was quite interesting!
I had planned on walking down to Parkchester to hop the 6. However I looked at the time & thought there is a chance I might miss this train. I say this because I have noticed a good portion of the 6 trains will shave off 1-3 minutes from the time they are scheduled to arrive. Based on my average walk time, I would have easily beat the scheduled arrival. However if this train shaved, I was screwed.
So I decided to catch a cab & take it to 138th St – 3rd Ave. I figured I would easily catch the prior train to the one I chose not to walk to. When the cab was driving on the highway, I saw the prior 6 train leaving Whitlock Ave. & heading towards Hunts Point Ave. I’m happy as I’m sure I’d easily beat the 6 to 138th St. – 3rd Ave.
However this was not to be as I missed that train by seconds! I was baffled that I missed it to be honest with you. If I had to bet, I would have pushed all in that I would have made it. My downfall ended up being my own lack of memory in relation to main entrances. I totally forgot that the main entrance to that station is not the 138th St. – 3rd Ave. one. I told the cab to drop me off right near that entrance.
I ended up passing the main entrance at 138th St. & Alexander Ave. Since I needed to buy a Metrocard, I had to walk back to the main entrance. So as I head downstairs & race to the MVM, I hear the train pulling in. I purchased my Metrocard as fast as humanly possible. By time I got it & started towards the staircase, it had closed its doors. Needless to say I was not thrilled at spending $10 to catch the train I could have made for free at Parkchester. It could be worse, I could have missed both which would not have been good!
The strike of midnight is not far off as I ride the 6 train downtown. I’m having a mental debate about where I should get off to head to Penn Station. You see, I was rushing to make it to Penn Station as I had to catch a specific train. I was on my way out to the island to see my best friend Tricia. Her phone was dead & it would be a pain to reach her if I missed this train. Plus I do not want to wait another hour for the next one.
The debate boiled down to either of 2 choices. Either I get off at 51 St. & take the E to Penn Station. My other option was to get off at 33rd St. & hop a cab across town. In the end, 33rd St. won the debate. My thinking was I could not guarantee what time the E would show up. I was running short on time, combined with forgetting my E schedule, I felt the cab was the best option.
However before I got off at 33rd St., something happened on the ride down. I was sitting down & rocking out to some music on my mp3 player. The train had a light crowd who all looked ready & eager to get to their destinations. I saw a guy sitting in the corner who kept to himself & seemed normal. Nothing stood out about his actions until he was about to get off.
When we were approaching 86th St., I noticed this same man starting to look anxious to get off. The behavior did seem odd considering he was totally calm prior to that point. When the train platformed & the doors opened, he hurried off the train.
I noticed he started looking wildly in both directions & he sped off towards the actual exit. I thought that was the end of him until I saw one last shot of the man. As the train pulled out of 86th St., I saw the man slouched over a garbage receptacle. He was puking his brains out. For the brief time I & everyone else saw him, he puked out quite a lot. Who knows how long he was there for.
Thankfully we got out of there & I was free to continue with the aforementioned debate.
- Pigs On The LIRR
- Odd Behavior
- Riding & Thinking……
- Man Dies After Being Shoved At Penn Station
- All Over……
Will The Hemmerdinger Era Ever Come To Be?
Joseph N. Mondello came out on June 19th, & pretty much said not so fast! The State GOP Chairman threatened to start a through investigation into Gov. Spitzer’s nomination for MTA Chairman. Here is a press release about it courtesy of the New York Republican State Committee:
ALBANY, NY (06/19/07; 1551)(readMedia)– Republican State Chairman Joseph N. Mondello today questioned Governor Spitzer’s decision to nominate real estate mogul and campaign supporter Dale Hemmerdinger to chair the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and called for a thorough review of Mr. Hemmerdinger’s credentials and the process by which he was chosen for nomination.
“Last week, Dale Hemmerdinger opened his home to host a big money fundraiser for Governor Spitzer. This week, the Governor is nominating him to head the MTA when his mass transit experience appears to be limited to suggesting fee increases on hard working New Yorkers,” said Chairman Mondello. “Governor Spitzer appears to have instituted a brazen ‘pay to play’ culture in Albany that is disappointing and shocking to the people of New York State.”
Chairman Mondello called for a thorough and extensive review of Mr. Hemmerdinger’s qualifications for MTA Chairman. Mr. Hemmerdinger’s involvement with mass transit seems limited to his call for MTA fee hikes as Chair of the Citizens’ Budget Commission. Chairman Mondello also called for an investigation to determine if Mr. Hemmerdinger’s campaign support was linked to his proposed appointment.
“The MTA is a large, complex organization that needs an experienced professional, not simply a political supporter who fills the Governor’s pockets with campaign cash,” said Chairman Mondello. “Hard working New Yorkers who rely on mass transit do not need a wealthy campaign financier whose prime object is to dip into their wallets with increased fees any more than they need a Governor who seemingly trades critical government positions for campaign funds.”
Now here is an opinion about this situation courtesy of Second Ave Sagas:
When last we visted with H. Dale Hemmerdinger, he had just been nominated for the MTA chair position. Signing off last night, I figured that his nomination would sail through the confirmation process. Well, color me wrong.
The State GOP is threatening a thorough investigation into Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s appointee due to Hemmerdinger’s close ties with the Democratic party in New York. He and his wife are major Democratic donors and are buddies with the Spitzers.
“Last week, Dale Hemmerdinger opened his home to host a big money fund raiser for Governor Spitzer. This week, the Governor is nominating him to head the MTA when his mass transit experience appears to be limited to suggesting fee increases on hard working New Yorkers,” State GOP Chairman Joseph N. Mondello said in a statement. “Governor Spitzer appears to have instituted a brazen ‘pay to play’ culture in Albany that is disappointing and shocking to the people of New York State.”
Mondello noted that Hemmerdinger had been a lead fund raiser for the Spitzer campaign and wondered if the appointment served as political payback. He also questioned Hemmerdinger’s transportation experience, noting that Hemmerdinger’s lone run-in with public transit was as head of the MTA’s Citizens’ Budget Commission.
This reeks, of course, of politics. Clearly, Spitzer would appoint an ally to head up an agency that he would like to act as a friendly body in the New York political arena, and Mondello knows that as well as anyone else. There is also no small amount of irony in a GOP leader criticizing the Democrats for engaging in “pay to play” politics in Albany. Pot, meet kettle.
Furthermore, Hemmerdinger is the perfect person to head up the MTA as its chair. With CEO Elliot “Lee” Sander firmly entrenched as the transportation policy guru at the Authority, the MTA doesn’t need another transit wonk in a position of leadership. Rather, they need a successful businessman with financial acumen to guide the Authority through what promises to be a few tumultuous fiscal years.
The Republicans will spoil for a fight. But it’s a waste of everyone’s time. Hemmerdinger is a great choice for the job; just approve him.
Sounds like things are going to get very interesting! One does have to scratch their head at the timing of the nomination though. As much as I like Spitzer, it does not look good. How can you explain their being a big party hosted by Hemmerdinger & days letter a huge nomination? One would think the party was just an excuse to seal the deal.
Has any Governor had this much drama in his first few months of office? Every time I turn around Spitzer is in the news & it hasn’t been that good. I do hope he gets it together though as I am a big fan of his!
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Do We Want Yet Another Real Estate Mogul?
On June 18, Gov. Spitzer announced his nomination to replace Peter Kalikow as MTA Chairman. His nomination went to H. Dale Hemmerdinger, the president of Atco Properties & Management. Here is a detailed article about the nomination courtesy of the Daily News:
Gov. Spitzer may replace MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow with another real estate mogul – a financial backer of Democrats who once headed the nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission.
Dale Hemmerdinger is a leading candidate for the position, sources said.
Spitzer’s appointment must be approved by the state Senate, which heads home for the summer next week at the close of the current session.
Former Gov. Pataki appointed Kalikow, who has agreed to step aside so Spitzer can choose his own leadership for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the largest mass transportation system in North America.
Hemmerdinger is the president of Atco Properties and Management, which owns and manages more than 2 million square feet of residential, commercial, industrial and retail space.
While he was chairman of the Citizens Budget Commission the group made recommendations on how to balance the MTA’s budget, including higher fares for riders and more tolls and fees for motorists.
Hemmerdinger’s wife has given $40,000 to Spitzer campaign committees since 2000, and the governor’s wife hosted a Democratic Party fund-raiser at the Hemmerdingers’ Central Park South penthouse in May.
For most of his tenure, Kalikow wielded substantial power, making key policy and strategic decisions, and was the public face of the authority.
MTA officials have said the next chairman’s role will be more limited due to legislative reforms enacted in 2005 redefining the roles of chairman and executive director.
Still, the chairman oversees monthly meetings of the board, and the board must approve budgets, including possible fare hikes, labor contracts and other business and policy matters.
Here is another article about the nomination courtesy of the NY Times:
Gov. Eliot Spitzer has nominated H. Dale Hemmerdinger, a real estate executive, to be the next chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, succeeding Peter S. Kalikow.
The chairman’s job is far less powerful than it was under Mr. Spitzer’s predecessor, Gov. George E. Pataki, because the governor has reorganized the authority’s leadership to provide for a strong full-time chief executive and executive director.
That executive, Elliot G. Sander, a transportation policy expert, just issued this statement supporting the nomination of Mr. Hemmerdinger:
Dale’s background in business, civic life and as former chair of the Citizens Budget Commission make him an excellent candidate to lead the board in its oversight of the M.T.A. I look forward to working with Dale and the entire M.T.A. board as we continue to tackle some tough challenges and implement a new vision for our transportation network.
Although Mr. Sander, who is known as Lee, remains in charge of the M.T.A., Mr. Hemmerdinger is expected to play an important role in running board meetings and working closely to generate public support for Mr. Sander’s decisions.
I’m all for a change from the Kalikow reign of terror. However my concern over this nomination is the fear of things not straying far from the status quo. Does the MTA really need another real estate tycoon running the show?
I always felt the job should be held by someone in touch with the needs of the riding community. I find it hard to believe that a real estate mogul is the type of person that matches that description. I don’t want to say that Dale will fail at his job if he gets it (The nomination still needs to be approved by the NY State Assembly). I’m just overly cautious about this nomination & will watch the new chairman closely.
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Subway Report Cards…… Hmm Sound Familiar?
On May 15, MTA NYC Transit President Howard H. Roberts Jr. announced his intentions to create a riders’ report card. Here is an article talking about his intentions courtesy of the NY Times:
Griping about subway service is practically a vocation for many New Yorkers. Yet it often goes hand in hand with the conviction that no matter how much they complain, no one is ever likely to listen.
But now the man who runs the city’s subways and buses says that he actually wants to hear their complaints. Howard H. Roberts Jr., appointed last month as president of New York City Transit, said yesterday that one of his first major initiatives would be a system of rider report cards for subways and buses.
Riders on each line will be asked to grade different aspects of service, including the cleanliness of cars and stations, safety and the responsiveness of employees.
He said he would also ask riders to list the three things that they thought most need to be improved.
“I want to know what passengers want,” Mr. Roberts said yesterday during a wide-ranging interview that touched on topics as diverse as dirty subway cars and his affinity for the poetry of Robert Frost.
“I think too often people sit around in offices like this and say, ‘O.K., I know better than the customer what it is they want and so this is what we’re going to do.’ I want the customer to drive the priorities.”
The first report cards could appear this summer on the No. 7 line, Mr. Roberts said. He envisions cards that would be handed out to riders as they exit stations, and which they could fill out and mail in at no cost.
By the fall, he said, he hopes to bring the report cards to every line in the system, and bus lines as well.
Mr. Roberts said that he did not expect to be able to respond with a single solution that would work for all lines.
“It may very well be that different subway lines in the city will have different priorities,” he said. “If it’s cleanliness on the 6 line and it’s security on the A line, those are the things that have to be my first priorities on their lines.”
Mr. Roberts declined to say how he would fill out one of the report cards, but he had his own complaints about cleanliness. He said that he too often found cars that were dirty and full of trash when riding the subway to work as early as 4:30 a.m.
Mr. Roberts had been on the job less than two weeks when Daniel Boggs, a track worker, was struck and killed by a No. 3 train near Columbus Circle on April 24. Five days later, Marvin Franklin, another track worker, was struck and killed by a G train at a station in Brooklyn.
Mr. Roberts, as transit chiefs have in the past, promptly began a comprehensive safety review. But he did it in a very visible partnership with Roger Toussaint, the president of Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union.
That cooperation has contrasted with the tense relations between labor and management that prevailed in recent years at the agency.
To a large extent, the tone had already been set by Elliot G. Sander, the executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, who hired Mr. Roberts to succeed Lawrence G. Reuter, who retired.
But in choosing Mr. Roberts, Mr. Sander knew that he was hiring someone with a history of getting along with labor leaders — a history that had not always worked out well for Mr. Roberts.
This is Mr. Roberts’s second stint at the transit agency, and he is now in the unusual position of having been hired to run an organization where he was once fired. He first came to work there in 1981, as vice president for finance and then as the vice president in charge of buses.
He was fired in 1986. Mr. Roberts said that it was a result of his closeness to the labor unions.
Mr. Roberts, who is 67, went on to work at Citibank, where he said he first saw customer report cards used to improve service.
He worked from 1989 to 1997 at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, the transit system for the Philadelphia area, where he used similar report cards.
Mr. Roberts’s formative years were spent in the Army. He graduated from West Point and then served for 20 years, retiring as a colonel.
Mr. Roberts said that the Army taught him about honor and duty; then he handed a reporter a sheet of paper with the final stanza of a Robert Frost poem, “Two Tramps in Mud Time.” The poem is a meditation on the things a person does out of necessity and the things he does because he chooses to, and Mr. Roberts said he planned to have the stanza posted on his office wall.
The poem says, in part: “My object in living is to unite/My avocation and my vocation/As my two eyes make one in sight.”
“That sort of describes why this job means as much to me as it does,” Mr. Roberts said. “Very few of us get to combine our vocation and our avocations and very few of us get to play for mortal stakes, and soldiers and doctors and leaders of transportation organizations and a very few other people do that.”
When I heard about this report card, the first question I asked myself is does this plan sound familiar? Why yes it does, it is pretty much the same concept that the Straphangers Campaign has executed for the last # of years.
I must say this was not the only question that came to mind though. The next question I asked myself is why are the report cards being handed out to straphangers as they exit the station? I think the cards should be handed to straphangers as they enter the system.
In my opinion you would get a better response from the program. Many would be inclined to read it as they are waiting or riding the subway. The odds say that by handing them out to people exiting the system, it is more likely to get thrown away. There are so many distractions for people that this card would get lost in the shuffle. I wonder if Howard & Co. thought about that when they were brainstorming!
In the end I still would like to know one thing. Why make a big deal about your idea when it is pretty much a knockoff of an already well known idea? I can’t answer that question for you but if I ever speak with Howard, I’ll be sure to ask!
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