By Joseph Leo

The confetti flew high at the theater at Madison Square Garden Thursday morning, as the NYPD held its spring 2019 graduation ceremony bringing 457 new officers onto the force.

In this class, 47 are military veterans. It is the biggest class since last July, when 726 graduates entered the department.

Christopher Messina, academy graduate and fourth-generation police officer

These new officers are joining the New York City Police Department at a time when, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio, the crime rate is the lowest since the 1950’s.

“The last time the crime rate was this low, the Dodgers were playing at Ebbets Field,” de Blasio said.

“This is the class that literally that has gotten the best training in the history of this department . . . to places that we’ve never been before.”

Commissioner James P. O’Neil said, “Our work has never been more meaningful.”

Both the mayor and commissioner stated impactful the work of police officers is to the city. O’Neil sought to sooth the spirits of civil servants who will have difficult experiences ahead of them, and to make them happy and proud.

“You will have some bad days, truthfully, but you will have many more good than bad days,” O’Neil said.

Class valedictorian Christopher Messina, who is a fourth generation NYPD officer and among 124 officers who have family members in the department, gave thanks to his father who was his main reason he decided to pursue the NYPD.

“My dad has said countless times, ‘I’ve never worked a day in my life.’” Messina gave a reason why his father felt that way. “When you’re a part of something bigger than yourself, it makes it easy.”

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By Austin Santiago

The future of flight in New York and New Jersey is a bright one, according to Port Authority Executive Director Richard Cotton.

On Thursday, Cotton issued an official progress report of the Port Authority’s project to renovate the city’s airports and usher them into the twenty-first century.

Credit: Austin Santiago, courtesy, Port Authority

“Today’s discussion is not about planning, it’s about moving forward,” said Cotton, as he revealed the major renovations coming to the major New York and New Jersey airports.

One of these renovations comes in the form of a railway system that would connect directly to LaGuardia airport. “LaGuardia is the only major East Coast airport without a rail connection,” Cotton said. “The new air train would go from midtown to LaGuardia in 30 minutes or less.”

As for the airport itself, Cotton presented photos of a brand new concourse at Terminal B. The new concourse will be 250,000 square feet, hold 18 gates, as well as various concessions, and two airline lounges.

As for JFK, that historic airport has fallen on hard times in recent years, its once high reputation having diminished quite a bit, according to Cotton.

“JFK is ranked 69th out of the 100 busiest airports in the U.S.,” he said. “Our goal is to bring JFK into the twenty first century, and the top ten.”

In order to make that happen, JFK will finally make use of one of its long abandoned terminals. The TWA flight center was opened in 1962, but closed in 2001 because it could not support the size of modern aircrafts. Although the terminal got stuck in time, it will not stay that way for long, according to Cotton. Cotton spoke at an event hosted by the Association for a Better New York, held at The Mezzanine, on Broadway in Manhattan.

Port Authority Executive Director Richard Cotton. Credit: Austin Santiago

The Port Authority on Thursday revealed images for the TWA hotel, which is set to open on May 15. Not only will the new hotel increase public interest, but several changes to outdated terminals within the airport will increase productivity.

“These changes will increase JFK’s capacity by 15 million passengers,” Cotton said.

In New Jersey, Newark International airport is also due for a face lift, as three new terminals are planned to be added by 2022.

Although the major airports were the focal points of Thursday’s presentation, Cotton emphasized that the Port Authority is looking to improve more than just the airports. He said he wanted to transform the entire travel experience. A new emphasis on the customer experience includes free and fast WiFi, family friendly services and amenities, and even food delivery directly to airport gates.

After a presentation of groundbreaking innovations, Cotton reaffirmed the Port Authority’s primary ambition.

“Our goal is to transform our airports, and our customer service to best in class.”

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By Jada May

The bright and colorful Channel Garden brightens the surrounding area, even on a gloomy day like Thursday at Rockefeller Center. The tourist attraction has a new installation for Easter, a 20-foot bird’s nest and large blue eggs that children can go inside and play with.

Credit: Jada May

The section is small with amazingly green soft grass and gold birds over the nest, adding to the beautiful scenery. Although it’s surrounded by buildings and stores, the garden still brings a sense of peace and nature for those wanting to escape reality for a moment.

The unique and beautiful garden is part of a tradition of celebrating Easter in the biggest and brightest way possible. Every season, the garden displays exotic plants with gushy designs. The garden brings tons of tourists adding it to the list of many things they have seen in the Big Apple.

A family of four from Brazil stood around on Thursday morning with their professional-looking camera, taking pictures of their children playing on the life-size eggs. Although there was a bit of a language barrier, the mother (Rauma) was able to give her opinion to this English-speaking reporter.

Credit: Jada May

“This is a beautiful place, and my kids like it a lot.”

The area doesn’t only attract tourists. Those who work the area also like to stop by. A woman named Maribel Cruz took pictures on her way to work nearby. “It’s prettier around this time because of the flowers, and the fountains are normally on when it’s warmer,” she said. “Sometimes they’ll put cute rubber ducks inside of them.”

Rockefeller Center was created by John D. Rockefeller (1839 – 1937), the founder of Standard Oil. He was the richest man in American during his era and he wanted to create a “city within a city,” which was Rockefeller Center. By 1940, the Channel Garden came into Rockefeller Center and it became a place where New Yorkers would congregate.

Not much has changed over the decades. Well, not a lot. There are many more tourists in these recent years. They join New Yorkers coming to look at the constantly changing garden to see what’s new and take in the ambiance.

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By Alfonsina Venegas

On August 2018, a UN committee heard that up to one million Uighur Muslims and other Muslims groups were being detained in the western Xinjiang region of China, where they ‘re said to be undergoing “re-education” programs. As the situation of millions of Chinese Muslims -detained in places that resemble concentration camps- is uncertain, the Council on Foreign Relations organized a lecture on the subject last Thursday.

Invited to participate on the panel were: Ms Gay J. McDoughall, Vice Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, James A. Millward, Professor of Intersocietal History at Georgetown University, and Nury A. Turkel, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Uyghur Human Rights Project. Presiding the panel was Calvin Sims, President and Chief Executive Officer at International House.

James Millward started the discussion by saying:

It’s important to remember that this whole issue with the Uighurs and how they stay into the People’s Republic of China goes back to the 18th century, when this territory of Xinjiang was brought under the control of Beijing. Millward said that throughout the 20th century, The PRC never dealt with the issue of ethnic differences. He asserts that since decades, the government of China have been nervous about their own system of dealing with ethnic diversity, which he believes, is superficially modeled after that of the Soviets.

“Particularly since 2008-2009 when there were very serious riots in Tibet and the Uighur region, there were great concerns that maybe the system was actually reinforcing ethnic differences rather than paving the way for a stable future in China”, Millward said.

More recently with Xi  Jinping coming to power… he’s trying to institute a new kind of “state call” in which he plays on Communist values and traditions…a lot is centered on this notion of a uniformed Chinese ethnicity, meant as a Pan-Chinese identity that includes all of the other groups.”

Millward mentions the invention of techniques and technology of state control reaching a new level in China. He said that in 2016 a new high tech surveillance system was put in place in the Xinjiang region to keep Muslims a and their activities under investigation. China’s president is really trying to unify Chinese identity, Millward says, and the cultural differences become a serious problem in the minds of Beijing. In this sense, the Ughirs are seen as a source of instability by the Chinese government.

Ms McDoughall, a member of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said:

“For whatever reasons there was not a lot of attention to this issue until the UN Committee on Racial Discrimination I sat on, last year. We had a regular periodic review of China and its policies, laws on ethnic and racial discrimination and  I came across this issue. The was a murmur of shock going through the audience. China sent a very large delegation. We are deeply concerned; we received numerous and credible reports that, in the name of combating religious extremism and maintaining social stability , the state party, China, has turned the Uighur autonomous region into something that resembles a massive internment camp that is operating in secrecy. Then you have the constant surveillance in the streets.”

Nury A. Turkel said:

“This is the not the first time that the Uighur people suffer the systematic repression in China, but this one is very different because it has a very strong racist character. In the past, for example, during the the Cultural Revolution, intellectuals were sent to raise pigs like the way that they do it (in a similar way) converting  mosques into something else, locking up large number of intellectuals, but his time they are attacking the very existence of the national identity of the people. China has always…….. that they have done this for security purposes, but when you look at the people that they lock up you will be amazed. We have world known scholars, stage performers, athletes poets, social business elites, medical doctors, some of them model citizens in the past promoted by the Chinese government, now, they are also gone. And one of them actually got imposed the death penalty. So do you really achieve social stability or national security by locking up renowned scholars that you promoted once upon a time?”

After the panel, many guests wanted to ask a myriad of questions to the panelists. Unfortunately, time went out most questions remained unanswered.

Thursday’s event was in commemoration of the late Arthur C. Helton as a Memorial Lecture in his name.

Arthur C. Helton was Director of Peace and Conflict Studies and senior fellow for Refugee Studies and preventive Action at CFR.  He died in the 2003 Canal Hotel bombing while he was in Baghdad to assess humanitarian conditions in Iraq.

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By Maya Dower-Johnson

The New York City Council Committee held a Housing and Buildings hearing on Thursday at City Hall, seeking out necessary information about the operation and safety of all elevators in the city.

The committee is looking to bring up any and all parallels between general public elevators and NYCHA elevators, in order to remedy and eradicate all problems, so as to better service New Yorkers who rely on elevators every day.

Many members of the committee have noticed the many inconsistencies with regulating general public elevators and NYCHA elevators as a whole. There is also a distinct difference in the training between NYCHA workers and those at the Department of Buildings (DOB), which often leaves NYCHA so far down the ladder, in terms of being able to detect and solve problems before and as they happen. There is a desperate need for standardizing the training for NYCHA workers, to match that of the DOB.

“There needs to be some standardization of those trainings,” said the Chair of the Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings, Robert Cornegy. “Even if they’re being trained on another track, maybe there should be an opportunity to standardize that training so that potentially the hundreds of thousands of NYCHA residents aren’t getting a less service because they’re not trained in the same DOB way.”

Although elevators are put through thorough inspections every single year by the DOB’s 51 inspectors, they are still often found to not be running correctly which, at times, leaves passengers injured and afraid.

When someone files a complaint to 3-1-1 for a general public elevator, a DOB inspector is sent out to investigate the issue usually within 24 hours. However, since NYCHA has its own complaint hotline and 3-1-1 is not involved, the DOB is very unlikely to come and it could be days later before the necessary party is finally contacted.

The system that the DOB has in place is not a very trustworthy one for New Yorkers who depend on elevators that are a part of NYCHA since “the city has an understanding with NYCHA that’s been in place for quite some time, and that’s that NYCHA is responsible for, their own elevators,” said Assistant Commissioner of External Affairs Patrick Wehle.

Another issue that needs to be investigated is the extent of verification of the elevator maintenance logs located in private properties, as well as NYCHA.

“Are those logs being verified by DOB?” asked Councilman Mark Gjonaj.

The response was that there is no oversight for private properties, only if there’s a complaint that triggers the DOB causing them to have to inspect the location. At this time, they will then verify that the logs are being maintained.

Lastly, being that we’ve been living in the twenty-first century and are well up to speed on the latest technology, elevator modernization is inevitable. The question that remains is when will it happen.

“Modernizations, unfortunately, can take quite a bit of time,” said Wehle. “Part of the reason why is that modernization often requires new parts, and new parts need to be fabricated outside of the city and it takes time to build these parts and install these parts.”

Throughout the questioning, the assistant commissioner failed to respond with a clear answer several times when the committee addressed possible issues with NYCHA elevators. These questions are to be included in a follow-up hearing in the near future.

We have so many elevators in the city, general public as well as private. “The important thing is that they be maintained properly,” said Wehle.

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By Carolann Lowe

On Thursday, members of the New York Campaign Finance Board (CFB) held a session titled “Promises and Reality” at New York Law School, informing the audience about rules and regulations regarding campaigns.

The New York City Campaign Finance Board aims to encourages citizens to be involved in city elections and run for office, despite their financial status. The idea is to assure, as best they can, that there be no corruption in city campaigns. The tool is the city’s matching funds program.

 

Left to right, Jerry Goldfeder, Special Counsel for Stroock & Stroock; Bethany Perskie, Deputy General Counsel, CFB; Chisun Lee, Brennan Center for Justice; Amy Loprest, Executive Director, CFB; Frederick Schaeffer, CFB Chair. Credit: Carolann Lowe

The program provides public funds to City Council candidates, using an $8 to $1 matching rate for the first $175 contributed by a city resident. This means that a ten dollar contribution by a city resident is worth ninety dollars to a qualifying candidate.

The CFB discussed the many rules and regulations related to penalties and required disclosure statements that must be enforced if a City Council candidate misuses the funds provided to run a campaign. Campaigns are required to document the fair market value of goods and services they’ve purchased. If a candidate misuses funds, the candidate can be forced to appear at a hearing before the board and prove expenditure limits were not exceeded.

Special Counsel Jerry Goldfeder, who was also once a City Council candidate, proposed to the CFB that there should be more monitoring in relation to assuring that candidates comply with the law during campaigns – as opposed to after election. He also proposed that candidates frequently communicate with their liaisons to avoid penalization for minor financial mistakes. As someone who previously ran for City Council, Goldfeder said he empathized with candidates who find CFB regulations to be rather difficult.

However, he sad that the establishing of disclosure report deadlines “helps to avoid favoritism of a particular candidate by the CFB and takes out subjective components.” He added, “They make it very difficult because all these regulations. I’m going to have to spend a lot of money to make sure everything is done which in of itself is a real problem. I tell my clients, ‘You have a liaison, speak to your liaison as much as you can.’ The default is that they will be penalized, not because of fraud but due to their mistakes and because of deadlines.”

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By Alexander Parisel

Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, Executive Director of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, announced Thursday that a coalition of Catholic and labor leaders will visit Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to observe the challenges people are experiencing there and understand why they are emigrating to the United States.

Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, speaking. Credit: Alexander Parisel

“We know the global issues, but we’re going to learn things that are surprising and hopefully what we learn can impact what we’re doing here,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan will be joined by the Archbishop of New York, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, as well as New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli  and the head of the Re

tail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, Stuart Appelbaum.

“We’re leaving the day after Easter, which is Passover,” said Appelbaum. “This is significant because Passover was a story of migration as well.”

The hope of the delegation is to learn, on the ground, what is happening in the so-called Northern Triangle, and understand the push factors and also somehow bring together families that were separated at the border.

Last year around 400 children were separated from their parents and reunited with help from Catholic Charities, it was said at the gathering on Thursday.

“They are pretty much, I can’t say every one of the full 400, but they are back with their families, thanks be to God,” said Sullivan.

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Left, Spinaosarus; right, Tyrannosaurus rex. Credit: Salamat Ellams

Rob Pedini, Safari narrator. Credit: Salamat Ellams

Parasaurolophus. Credit: Salamat Ellams

Then there’s Spinosaurus. Spinosaurus is one of a kind. “Its fossil was first discovered in North America about 112 million years ago,” Pedini said. He said the Spinosaurus was the longest dinosaur in the history of dinosaurs, which is to say not the longest living, but longest as in from head to tail.

“They stay in the bottom of rivers and swamps collecting fish very much like crocodiles,” Pedini said.

Left, right, Male and female Kosmoceratops. Credit: Salamat Ellams

Kosmoceratops is a dinosaurs with elaborate horns. It strutted the earth 84 millions years ago,  in what became the United States. Paleontologists think it horns weren’t sturdy enough for defense, but instead were used by females to attract male Kosmoceratops.

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By Tywanna Webb

This Thursday, the New York City Department of Transportation heard testimony on a proposed rule which would allow Access-A-Ride vans to use bus lanes.

“We are pleased with the fact that you have proposed regulations that will allow many Access-A-Ride riders to get around the city more quickly and efficiently,” said disability advocate Valerie Joseph. Joseph spoke on behalf of the Brooklyn Center for the Independence of the Disabled (BCID) and the Access-A-Ride Reform Group (ARG).

Credit: Tywanna Webb

ARG initially proposed the implementation of this rule in September 2017 as a way to improve accessibility for disabled New Yorkers.

“Non-NYC Transit vehicles are allowed to use bus lanes. Why not us?” Joseph asked, referring to the current bus lane rules.

Currently, bus lanes are reserved for all buses and emergency vehicles. This includes MTA buses, school buses and private buses, such as tour buses and chartered buses.

Shane Anderson, with the Center for Independence of the Disabled, gave testimony about his personal experiences with Access-A-Ride.

“It is unsafe for me to use mass transit at times,” he said. “However, I often risk using our largely inaccessible subway system rather than Access-A-Ride.” Anderson said he often arrives at his destination late when relying on the service.

The proposed rule could help improve travel time for users because bus lanes typically have far less traffic.

While advocates are grateful that DOT has proposed this change, they question why it will only apply to the Access-A-Ride vans. The Access-A-Ride sedans will not benefit from the implementation of this new rule.

“You are only taking on a piece of the puzzle,” said Ruth Lowenkron, a member of New York Lawyers for Public Interest’s Disability Justice Program. “We proposed that all Access-A-Ride vehicles be allowed to use the bus lanes.”

Eric Beaton, Deputy Commissioner of Transportation Planning and Management, agreed to review the distinction between Access-A-Ride vans and sedans within nine months.

“We see this as an issue of equal rights and we see the failure to provide equal access to fast transportation as discrimination,” Lowenkron said.

Last month, disability advocates celebrated a win against the MTA for lack of elevator accessibility. A federal judge ruled that the MTA violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it failed to install an elevator during the 2014 renovation of a Bronx subway station.

Thursday’s public hearing was held at the Department of Transportation headquarters in Manhattan’s Financial District. The new rule is expected to go into effect within 30 days.

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By Jada May

Bright and early on Thursday, City Councilmember Mark Levine spoke at the Workmen’s Circle Breakfast with Ann Toback, discussing issues such as immigration, healthcare, and the need to care about everyone in America.

Levine, who represents a district in upper Manhattan, spoke about health care and focused on undocumented immigrants. Levine wants all immigrants to have health insurance including those who are undocumented. In worst case scenarios, immigrants who are not medically covered wait until they are gravely ill before going to the hospital, often to the emergency room. Luckily for undocumented immigrants, in New York City hospital emergency rooms can’t turn down anyone who is in medical need.

But there is no promise of long-term of help after the emergency is dealt with. Prevention is important, Levine said. He says undocumented immigrants should have primary doctors to help them become and stay healthy.

Working with his colleagues, Levine is putting together an legislation that will build a program to reach every immigrant in New York City.

The Green Light NY: Driving Together campaign is to help give everyone driving licenses in New York, regardless of immigration status. There are currently 750,000 immigrants in New York State without documentation who are unable to apply for a driver license. Driving is such a necessity for everyone, including undocumented immigrants, who sometimes don’t have a choice but to get behind the wheel, and so they do so illegally.

Unfortunately, a lot of undocumented people get caught driving without an license and get sent to detention centers, often separated from their families. The Green Light NY campaign would help put an end to that issue. “If that don’t sound like an sensible policy, not to mention it’s a human benefits for someone who can now drive, then I don’t know what is.” Levine said that will bring millions of dollars in revenue to the state and yield other benefits also, such as slightly lowering car insurance for all drivers.

Levine also touched on the latest health crisis of the measles in the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn. This is the worst outbreak for New York state in three decades, he pointed out. “We are averaging four cases a day, entirely children,” he said. Regarding those who are not permitting their children to be vaccinated, Levine said, “They are buying into conspiracies of what have been proven repeatedly a safe vaccine.” Luckily there have been no reports on fatalities from the 285 reported cases.

Workmen’s Circle was started by progressive-minded Jewish immigrants in 1900. Today they work for all Americans and fight for dignity, economic rights of immigrants, fairness in labor practices and decent health care for all.

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