The local paper for Downtown wn HARD CORE < P. 12
WEEK OF NOVEMBER
24-30 2016
COUNCIL PROPOSES TRAFFIC SAFETY IMPROVEMENT BILLS New rules about crossing signals, the Barnes Dance stoplight method and bike studies aim to protect cyclists and pedestrians
Pia, an undocumented immigrant, spoke at the New York University school-wide walk-out on Nov. 16. She stood in the middle of the fountain and smiled while crying as the crowd cheered as she recounted her story. Photo: Diamond Naga Siu
BY MADELEINE THOMPSON
On World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims this past Sunday, family members who have lost loved ones joined advocates for safer streets on a bike ride to raise awareness of the dangers of the road. They gathered in front of City Hall to show their support for the goals of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative and implore that those goals be prioritized. Last Tuesday, five road-related bills that aim to protect cyclists and pedestrians were brought to the City Council’s transportation committee by Council Members Ydanis Rodriguez, Helen Rosenthal, Carlos Menchaca and James Van Bramer. Two of the bills request investigations by city agencies; one by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Parks and Recreation into the costs and benefits associated with installing Citi Bike stations near parks, and one by the DOT into alleviating overcrowding at 10 pedestrian-heavy locations. Two other bills are related to crossing signals. One would force cyclists to obey pedestrian signals at some intersections. The
ACTIVISTS MOBILIZE FOLLOWING ELECTION The challenge, they say, is to remain galvanized, vigilant and supportive of one another BY DIAMOND NAGA SIU
Tears line their cheeks, anger molds their faces and conviction holds them together. Since Nov. 9, hordes of New Yorkers have wielded signs and blocked the streets of Manhattan, yelling chants such as “not my president!” and “hands too small, can’t build wall!” in response to Donald Trump becoming the presidentelect. Photographer Cindy Trinh shoots these protests and rallies for her documentary photo series, Activists of New York, and she said the city has not seen such vigorous activism since Occupy Wall Street. “I think the energy from what I’ve seen in the streets has been very strong and positive and just fresh for a long fight,” said Trinh, whose photo project documents activism and social protest in the city. “I know people that have been activists for a long time and have been involved in this for a long time,
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Fifth Avenue foot traffic. Photo: Kurtis Garbutt, via flickr
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WEEK OF APRIL
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FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE
is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration view,” of a lay point lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He first writes about post, renders and then, in a separatehow he arrived his decision, detailing blog the to Visitors at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want whether they unreally want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereflect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiMan, Arbitration suc in 1985, settling vidual practice
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MANHATTAN'S APARTMENT BOOM, > PROPERTY, P.20
2015
In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services. Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done. Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in owners, the actions policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s give us the first quantitative with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step fixing the problem. of for deTo really make a difference, is a mere formality will have to the work process looking to complete their advocate are the chances course, velopers precinct, but rising rents, -- thanks to a find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout who lives on most vexing problem. said Mildred Angelo,of the Ruppert construction permits gauge what Buildings one said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She Over the past on the is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks. President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever signs Every New Yorker clang, tion Act go as they please. work between some early, tangible small any construction on the weekend, can come and sound: the metal-on-metal or the piercing of progress. For many have no respect.” p.m. and 7 a.m., can’t come of these that the hollow boom, issuance reverse. owners, in business moving The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you as after-hours. soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits
SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVER UCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONSTR NEWS
A glance it: it’s the middle can hardly believe yet construction of the night, and carries on full-tilt. your local police or You can call 311
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for dollars in fees ated millions of and left some resithe city agency, that the application dents convinced
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other would study the feasibility of implementing the Barnes Dance method -- where all lights are red simultaneously and pedestrians going all directions can cross at once — at the city’s 25 most dangerous intersections. (The system is named for Henry Barnes, a traffic engineer who was New York City’s traffic commissioner in the early 1960s.) The fifth piece of legislation would offer additional protection to independent commercial cyclists. Rosenthal, who introduced the Barnes Dance bill, had her district in mind when developing it. At the hearing, she described the intersection of W. 96th Street and West End Avenue as becoming “increasingly congested” and asked the transportation department to explain its hesitation in implementing what she sees as an effective protection. “Having a chance when it’s only people walking and no cars whatsoever works great,” Rosenthal said after the hearing. “My inclination ... is to continue to press DOT on getting this legislation passed.” A transportation department spokesperson said last week that there are currently 89 intersections across the city that use the Barnes Dance. According to a map published this past spring by CUNY Baruch College mathematics student Aleksey Bilogur, 16 of the 25 most
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