Vincent Abate may have a Brooklyn playground named after him – but even as he approaches 90, he’s not ready rest on his laurels. The longtime chairman of Williamsburg/Greenpoint Community Board 1, who has seen great change in his lifetime, plans to keep fighting to preserve affordable housing in the ever-transforming neighborhoods.
Marlene Peralta reports.
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The Center on Media, Crime & Justice and CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice hosted the Third Annual Harry F. Guggenheim Symposium on Crime in America Dec. 3-4. This year’s theme, “Crime, Justice and Politics: Looking Ahead To 2008,” brought together politicians, educators, journalists and law enforcement officials to discuss crime and crime statistics – and how they’ll play a part in the upcoming presidential elections.
For video reports on the conference, click here.
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Saving a few hundred dollars on heating oil is no small thing for a single mother of three scraping by on a social worker’s salary. Thanks to a Citgo Corporation heating oil discount program, Camille Pow has stashed away some much-needed cash the last two winters.
“I got a deduction of $26 to $30 every month last year, which means $300 more you can look for in your pocket,” said Pow, 45, who rents one of the 1,250 apartments owned by Mount Hope Housing Company, which receives a 40 percent discount on oil from Citgo, then passes the savings on to tenants through rent breaks.
Now the two-year-old program could potentially benefit Pow and other low and moderate-income residents of the 32-building complex in ways they never expected.
City Hall was bombarded with phone calls, letters and e-mails generated by an Internet campaign aimed at stopping the 22nd annual United American Muslim Day Parade along Madison Avenue, city officials said. More »
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 RADIO REPORT: While the city and union bickered over how many cabbies participated in the recent two-day taxi strike, the Punjabi Deli, a popular drivers’ hangout in the East Village, was feeling the effects of the walkout. Manager Gurjinder Singh (left) said his business was down 50 percent, Brigid Bergin reports in this piece featured on WNYC Radio. |
In the city that never sleeps, 311 gets about 1,000 noise complaints a night, ranging from barking dogs to music-blaring bars.
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TV REPORT: Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal to charge drivers entering Manhattan south of 86th Street $8 a day faces a long road to approval. Jego Armstrong reports on the controversial congestion pricing plan, which pits motorists against environmentalists. |
…MEANWHILE, SMALL BUSINESSES FEAR BIG LOSSES By CAROLYN NARDIELLO
NYCity News Service
A few times a week, Joshua Bienstock loads his black, four-door Dodge Neon with a box full of binders, a power-point projector, a briefcase and a laptop.
He then drives his sedan, whose odometer has long clicked past 145,000 miles, from Queens into Manhattan to teach dispute resolution seminars and conduct labor-training classes for city union members.
The commute from Forest Hills that now takes him 25 minutes would take more than an hour and a half by mass transit, and with all those materials, “It would be virtually impossible,” he explained.
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His father and grandfather were city cops. His Uncle Walter was a City Council member. His beloved first cousin, Fire Battalion Chief John Moran, died on 9/11.
For Congressman Joe Crowley, public service runs in the family.
“I grew up in a family that was a powerful inspiration,” he said.
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