Media Links

March 16, 2011

March 15, 2011

  • Actions Nationwide Back America’s Workers and the American Dream
    Source: AFL-CIO NOW! blog
    Over the weekend, more than 100,000 people jammed into the square surrounding the Wisconsin state Capitol Saturday for an all-day series of rallies that sent a message to Republican legislators and Gov. Scott Walker that the assault on working people will not stand and their struggle is far from over. Meanwhile, several organizations are joining together to hold rallies nationwide tomorrow as part of the Defend the American Dream event to defend public services and the workers that deliver them. Find out about an action near you.
  • President of New York City Central Labor Council Quits
    Source: NY Times
    Jack Ahern, who submitted his resignation as president of the New York City Central Labor Council, had been under fire for months.
  • Regulated vs. Unregulated Rents, According to Shelly Silver
    Source: NY Observer
    New York's rent regulation laws are set to expire June 15, which affects over a million apartments in New York City. As the politically charged debate in Albany heats up, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has released a report with the snazzy title "The New Housing Emergency."
  • New 34th St. plan dodges plaza heat
    Source:
    It's Take 2 for 34th Street's planned overhaul. City transportation chief Janette Sadik-Khan yesterday officially pitched her department's latest rendition of the bus-friendly project, after an earlier plan sparked fierce opposition from community residents and elected officials.
  • The Battle For Long Island Bus
    Source: Mobilizing the Region

    With the failure of Nassau County and the MTA to reach an agreement to adequately fund Long Island Bus, efforts to save the system have continued to ramp up. This morning, advocates distributed thousands of fliers at major Nassau County transit hubs. The fliers urged bus riders and local businesses to call County Executive Ed Mangano and Gov. Andrew Cuomo and “fight back” against plans to cut 25 of 48 bus routes and 18% of Able-Ride paratransit service. On TSTC’s website, New York residents can sign a petition in support of the system, join a Facebook page to receive further updates, and learn more about the cuts and how to contact the key decisionmakers:
  • Revealing the Soul of the MetroCard
    Source: City Room / NY Times
    Sloan Fine Art on the Lower East Side will feature an exhibition of MetroCards turned into works of art.
  • Wis. Democrats Nearly Halfway to Recall Signature Goal
    Source: AFL-CIO NOW! Blog

    Wisconsin Democrats have collected more than 56,000 signatures in two weeks to hold recall elections of eight Republican state senators who backed cutting out public employees’ freedom to bargain for a better life. That’s 45 percent of the total needed and supporters still have at least six weeks before the deadline.  

    As Greg Sargent writes in today’s Washington Post, this quick success is a sign that the Republican tactic of using a procedural maneuver to rig a vote on the measure has only increased the momentum for recalls and is a sure sign the issue is not over.

    After a massive rally of more than 100,000 this past weekend in Madison and reports that money is coming in at a fast clip for the recall drive, the signs are clear that working people are enthusiastic and determined to take back their state from the corporate interests.      

    Read Sargent’s report here.
  • No NJ Transit fare hikes this year
    Source: Times of Trenton
    NJ Transit riders thankfully won't face another increase after last year's 25 percent fare hike. Gov. Christie's budget proposal calls for a $139 million or 10 percent increase in transportation funding. This includes his Transportation Capital Plan and also allows for improving bus service, mostly in North Jersey.
  • APWU, USPS reach tentative agreement on a new contract
    Source: APWU
  • 2 Die in Bus Crash on New Jersey Turnpike
    Source: NY Times
    The bus, which the police said was operated by Super Luxury Tours of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., was traveling from New York City’s Chinatown to Philadelphia.
  • NFL, NFLPA Were Not Even Close To A Labor Deal
    Source: Associated Press
    George Atallah said in a conference call with reporters Monday: "The perception is that we were really, really close. The reality is: We really, really weren't."
  • Public Advocate de Blasio Declares War On NYC Slumlords
    Source: WCBS 2

    There’s a new housing scam to report. Bad landlords, reportedly lining their pockets with taxpayer dough for housing the formerly homeless -- but in deplorable conditions.
  • Squashed guy a sloshed guy: MTA
    Source: NY Post
    The man who became pinned between a subway platform extender and a train in the Union Square station last year -- and survived -- was intoxicated, according to a final MTA incident report.
  • PBA pension shock
    Source: NY Post
    Financial giant Blackstone Group may have been blackballed out of handling a $150 million city police pension-fund investment because of resentment over an executive's comment that government retirement benefits are "too generous," The Post has learned.
  • Kosciuszko Bridge Project Enters Final Design Phase!
    Source:
    Following seven years of alternatives analysis, environmental studies and extensive partnering with community groups and stakeholders, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approved the New York State Department of Transportation's (NYSDOT) selection of Alternative BR-5 for a new Kosciuszko Bridge in its March 9, 2009 Record of Decision and granted authorization to proceed with Final Design. The Project Team has been working to complete key initial phases of the Final Design which would lay the groundwork to develop and complete the detailed design of the new bridge structure.

March 14, 2011

  • New 34th St. Traffic Plan Gives Cars Just 2 Lanes
    Source: NY Times
    Cars and trucks on 34th Street in Manhattan would be squeezed into two lanes — one moving east, the other west — with a bus-only lane on either side, under a revised plan for the thoroughfare to be unveiled by the Bloomberg administration on Monday.

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