Daily Archives: March 8, 2018

Experts say no easy fix for transit woes

State Senator Brad Hoylman (Photos by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

State Senators Brad Hoylman and Liz Krueger attempted to tackle the city’s current transportation crisis with a panel of experts at CUNY’s Graduate Center last Thursday, discussing the need for improvements to bus service in the city, proposals for congestion pricing and holding the MTA accountable.

Nick Sifuentes, executive director for Tri-State Transportation Campaign and a member of the Bus Turnaround Coalition, advocated for improvements to bus service as a means of improving transit in the city.

“Bus improvements are faster and cheaper to implement than subway improvements,” he said, pointing to a plan known as Transit Signal Priority, which would signal traffic lights to stay green longer so buses can get through intersections and speed up their routes.

Continue reading →

Police Watch: Man accused of threats, Pregnant woman assaulted

MAN ACCUSED OF MAKING THREATS AT CLUB
Police arrested 35-year-old Adam Torres for alleged weapons possession, menacing and harassment in front of 39 West 21st Street last Sunday at 4:05 a.m. Police responded to the location because of a call about a man with a gun. The victim said that Torres threatened to kill the staff and patrons at a nearby nightclub and she told police that she was in fear for her and her patron’s safety. Police said that Torres was in possession of an ice pick when he was arrested. No further information was available about which nightclub the incident occurred in.

PREGNANT WOMAN ASSAULTED NEAR UNION SQUARE
Police recently arrested 23-year-old Jennifer Kryzinski for an alleged assault that took place at the corner of East 18th Street and Broadway last Thursday at 1 p.m. Police said that Kryzinski and the victim, who is pregnant, got into an argument that turned into a physical fight and the suspect allegedly pushed the victim into a rock and threw her to the ground, causing pain to her stomach. Police said that Kryzinski and the victim were friends. Kryzinski was arrested at the 13th precinct later the same day at 2:32 p.m.

MEN ARRESTED FOR FIGHT IN UNION SQUARE
Police arrested 36-year-old Elsayed Elshafy and 58-year-old Robert Romero for allegedly assaulting each other in front of 10 Union Square East last Thursday at 7:03 p.m. Romero called the police to report an incident that had happened the previous night and said that he and Elshafy got into an argument that turned into a physical fight. Romero said that when he was attempting to walk away, Elshafy hit him in the back of the head with a pipe, causing cuts and bruises. Romero allegedly swung a shopping cart at Elshafy, causing shoulder pain and cuts.
Police said that Romero was transported to Bellevue Hospital for treatment but Elshafy refused medical assistance. A number of businesses reside at the incident location and police did not have further information about where specifically the fight occurred.

Continue reading →

Letters to the editor, Mar. 8

Cartoon by Jim Meadows

Albany Republicans blocking gun regs

Last week, the Senate Democratic Conference announced a legislative package to combat gun violence and protect New Yorkers. I am proud to be part of a group of Senate leaders standing up to the corporate gun lobby, and we have offered a series of common sense bills to address the repeated tragedies caused by gun violence. We brought four of these bills to the floor of the Senate as “hostile amendments” – and every Republican Senator voted no on each proposal.

To quote leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, “The madness must stop. We need to get serious about gun safety and we need to take real action.”

Studies have proven that states with stronger firearm safety laws, like New York, have fewer gun-caused deaths. Unfortunately, NY Republicans are taking their lead from their extremist Washington allies and for years have refused to move any common sense gun laws.

Continue reading →