Op-Ed: Livery Cab Expansion Bill Is A Bunch Of Bull
Governor Cuomo signed into law this week a bill that will create a new class of metered taxis that service the outerboroughs and upper Manhattan. We decided to check in with Arthur Borko, Sheepshead...
View ArticleOp-Ed: Mayor’s Critics Think He’s A Super-Sized Soda Jerk
BETWEEN THE LINES: Somewhere in TV heaven, Brooklyn icon Ralph Kramden is so annoyed and likely supports the legions of angry New Yorkers, who are upset over Mayor Bloomberg’s latest proposal, that...
View ArticleOp-Ed: Kiddie Graduation Song Swap Is Dumb — Hate Mail Is Dumber
BETWEEN THE LINES: The decision by city schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott to defend replacing an ultra-patriotic song with one about teen romance for a kindergarten graduation at a Coney Island school...
View ArticleOp-Ed: What The Huck Did They Do To The Mark Twain Classic?
“There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches.” ― Ray Bradbury BETWEEN THE LINES: About 18 months ago, a debate took place at a Canarsie...
View ArticleDo All Our Guns Make Us Any Safer?
BETWEEN THE LINES: When I wrote my first column about gun violence in the wake of the fatal Columbine shootings years ago, I knew it wouldn’t be the last. Similar incidents happened before and were...
View ArticleOp-Ed: Southern Brooklyn Mourns “Die Hipster,” Our Valiant Digital Defender...
I always thought it was so trite to begin a post, essay, or any piece of writing with the definition of a word but, as an homage to the anonymous everyman who spoke for so many of us Southern...
View ArticleOp-Ed: My Personal Experiences With Ed Koch
Of all the elected officials I have known personally — with the exception of former Congressman Stephen Solarz for whom I once performed an internship during his first term as assemblyman for the 45th...
View ArticleHow Will The MTA Spend Its New-Found Money?
THE COMMUTE: Governor Andrew Cuomo, who I once said was “not a friend of public transit“ after he cut MTA funding, now has increased MTA funding by $358 million in the 2013/14 fiscal year budget. The...
View ArticleOp-Ed: Congressional Cowards Need To Bite The Bullet
BETWEEN THE LINES: What we have in Congress — to paraphrase the iconic line from “Cool Hand Luke” — is a failure to legislate. That was quite evident last week after the Senate failed to expand...
View ArticleDemanding Transit Accountability: Can Someone Please Explain How $358 Million...
THE COMMUTE: This can only happen in government. Governor Andrew Cuomo announces that he is making $358 million more available for the MTA in next year’s operating budget. The following week, the MTA...
View ArticleLet’s Talk Subway And Bus Signage
THE COMMUTE: Last week we discussed DOT street and parking signage. In January we mentioned the lack of clarity of the subway fare signs at the station agent booths. What about the rest of the MTA...
View ArticleThe Need for Better Signage
THE COMMUTE: Last May we discussed subway and bus signage and DOT parking and street signage. In 2011, I wrote about confusing airport signage. Today I will discuss other problems with signage....
View ArticleMore Problems With Signage
THE COMMUTE: Last week I described my harrowing trip home from a Broadway play due to detours and inadequate road signage. This week I had a similar experience returning from a play on the Upper East...
View ArticleMTA Long Range Planning: Part 1 Of 2
THE COMMUTE: Most of what the MTA does such as day-to-day operations does not make the news. Keeping the system running each day, as imperfect as it is, is a monumental task and the MTA does not...
View ArticleMTA Long Range Planning: Part 2 of 2
THE COMMUTE: Last week in Part 1, I briefly summarized the MTA’s “Looking Ahead: A Context for the Next Twenty Year Needs Assessment” and stated that the MTA’s reaction to changing needs is...
View ArticleStreet Co-Naming Is Out Of Control
THE COMMUTE: Every time we look around, a new street is co-named. Often, we have no idea who the individual was. Okay, if it is for Police Officer X, or Firefighter Y, we can conclude they died in the...
View ArticleMTA Offers Few Solutions To Fix Problems Affecting Local Bus Routes: Part 1 Of 2
THE COMMUTE: Last August, I critiqued the 23-page MTA planning outline, entitled “Looking Ahead.” Last week, the MTA released the full report — a 142-page “MTA Twenty-Year Capital Needs Assessment...
View ArticleMTA Offers Few Solutions To Fix Problems Affecting Local Bus Routes: Part 2 Of 2
THE COMMUTE: Last week, we discussed the MTA’s recent attempts to fix problems with the local bus system such as newly-designed routes that suffer from the same problems plaguing the rest of the...
View ArticleService Diversification On The Brighton Line
THE COMMUTE: Allan Rosen is on vacation and asked me to fill in this week. My name is John Rozankowski, Ph.D. and I am a long-time community activist with a keen interest in mass transit issues. I am...
View ArticleThis Past Week In Transit News
THE COMMUTE: I thank Dr. John Rozankowski for filling in for me last week as I enjoyed a week away from New York City and the internet in the Adirondacks. I was limited to the television for accessing...
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