The local paper for Downtown ntown WHAT’S A MASTERPIECE WORTH?
◄ CITY ARTS, P.12
WEEK OF WEEKAUGUST OF AUG. - SEPT.
29-4 292019
THE BRAWL OVER THE BUSWAY
INSIDE
TRANSPORTATION
Battling about the 14th Street corridor moves into issues of class and race
BRINGING TECH TO SENIORS
BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM
Police and a demonstrator at a July rally protesting the death of Eric Garner. Photo: Margaret Barnsley
‘A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ANGER’ LAW ENFORCEMENT
As rank and file members of the NYPD continue to seethe over the firing of Daniel Pantaleo, it could affect the way they do their jobs BY STUART MARQUES
Police unions cannot legally call for a work slowdown, but the firing of former NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo for his role in the death of Eric Garner could result in fewer arrests, especially for lowlevel misdemeanors. The firing, coupled with police outrage over recent incidents of people dumping buckets of water on officers in various parts of the city -and other disrespectful acts -- has led to increasing anger among rank-and-file cops, law enforcement officials say. “There’s a tremendous amount of anger over the Pantaleo firing and the lack of civility toward police officers,” one source said. “It’s a new era” the source said. “If you’re going to put your hands on someone to make an arrest,
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The fight over the 14th Street busway has boiled down to an issue of class and privilege as transit advocates have painted the opponents of the program as wealthy elites who don’t ride the bus. Before holding a rally in support of the long-awaited bus corridor, which would ban most private vehicles and prioritize bus riders, and against the lawsuit that has been holding it up for over a month, the group Transportation Alternatives released a study that found poor-performing transit disproportionately affects low income people and people of color. As a contrast, at the rally on Aug. 21, speakers said that Arthur Schwartz, the lawyer representing the Chelsea and West Village neighborhood block associations in the suit against the city’s Department of Transportation, was an elite plaintiff who wants to protect his mansion on 12th Street. “Bus riders earn a quarter of what people who live in Chelsea and the West Village earn. There’s a crisis of inequality on our streets,” said Danny Pearlstein, the policy and communications director of Riders Alliance, at Wednesday’s rally before about 25 supporters. “There’s also a crisis of inequality in the halls of our government and the
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A pilot program aims to enhance quality of life for older Roosevelt Island residents. p. 9
SISTERHOOD, FROM MANHATTAN TO ISRAEL A life-changing trip for 19 Jewish mothers p. 8 Community Board 6 member Richard Mintz speaks about riding the M14 bus during a rally advocating for the bus-only corridor that’s being held up in a lawsuit now. Photo: Emily Higginbotham
WHEN EXERCISE BECOMES AN ADDICTION
halls of our legal system, which is why wealthy, powerful people from these neighborhoods have gone into court to waste bus riders’ time.” The study is an analysis of travel pattern data, demographic data and of facility data of areas accessible to the M14 route, and it found that the poorest bus service occurs in areas where median incomes are $10,000 less than the
How much of a good thing is too much? p. 2
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Manhattan median income. The M14 route itself has the secondhighest ridership of any route on the island, carrying about 27,000 riders daily, but moves at an average pace of 4.3 miles per hour — the slowest of any route, according to advocates. In a statement, the city’s comptroller, Scott Stringer, provided
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WHAT IS NYC’S VERSION OF ‘ABBEY ROAD’? A remix of the Beatles’ final album on its 50th anniversary sounds fresh and urgent. p. 13
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