Hurricane Sandy

She's a comin'! If you need to get more info about how this will impact NYC, go to the Office of Emergency Management for more info.

Transit Happenings

Well, here's some rare good news out of the MTA. 

As any NYC resident knows, getting to and from LaGuardia airport is only slightly less painful than getting a cavity filled without Novocaine. There's no direct subway route or "air train" like at JFK so either you're doomed to overpaying for a cab or taking one of the very, very, miserably slow buses that go there.

But that's going to change.

This week the MTA announced the creation of three new super-fast buses to LaGuardia under the designation Select Bus Service -- or SBS. They will have limited stops, curbside payment, and will go to and from currently under served parts of the Bronx and Queens. This should cut down the travel time via bus to LaGuardia significantly and be a lot less costly than a cab.

It's not the same as building a subway line but at least it's something.

Talking about the subway, there was a strange happening underground there this week. One Rick Springfield, 1980s rock star one-hit wonder extraordinaire, was see performing his big hit "Jessie's Girl" with a bunch of folks there. Who would have guessed? As silly a song as it is, it's a great song to belt out when loaded at a karaoke bar (not that I would know) and, of course, it's memorialized in the classic movie "Boogie Nights." 

Only in New York, kids. Or possible LA. 

Meet the New Parks Boss

Interesting profile about the new Commissioner for the Department of Parks and Recreation. She's only going to have 15 months on the job and is hoping to make the most of them.

Let's wish her luck. 

The Parks Department may seem like a quiet, not that important city agency but it is, in fact, a small empire. There are over 1700 parks in this city along with 500 community gardens and 14 miles of beaches. There are also a large number of public pools and recreation centers spread out among the five boroughs and all this real estate and personnel add up to a little city in and of itself. Heck, the Parks Department is so big that it even has its own flag!

As important as the mayor is in this town, once you appreciate how big things like the parks and police departments are, as well as the school and library system, you come to realize how powerful the commissioners and heads of these departments are. They are little czars unto themselves and, unlike the mayor, they don't have to be elected to wield power. 

How cool. 

Espada Era Ends

Pedro Espada, one of the most loathsome men to have ever served in New York City and State government, is finally going to jail. This is a great thing and long overdue.

Some of you may not know who he is and, hopefully, he will be forgotten soon. Espada was a NYC City Councilmen and then a NYS Senator who used his various offices to enrich himself and his family. He also ran a healthcare clinic in the South Bronx that he plundered so that he and his family could live high on the hog.

He became a big figure three years ago when this nominal "Democrat" and another loser State Senator voted to caucus with the State Senate Republicans. This threw the legislature into turmoil for over a month and made the state into a laughingstock (tells you a lot about the Republican party in this state that they'd do business with a criminal like Espada -- they are basically no better than him).

Anyway, Espada was defeated for re-election two years ago and then indicted for fraud. He was found guilty, was trying to appeal but I guess he saw reason and finally agreed to plead guilty. Looks like he'll be in the pokey for a very long time. 

Pedro, we knew you too long and you won't be missed. 

Tribute to old-school Manhattan Public Access TV!

Classic Mr NYC

About four years ago I blogged about George Plimpton, the great Renaissance Man and NYC icon who died almost ten years ago.

If you'd like, go back and read about a real NYC original. 

Corporate City Redux

Last year I blogged about how NYC is increasingly becoming a corporate city -- a city ruled by and for the very rich. Of course, NYC has always been a "corporate city" since it has long been the capital for corporate America, with many great national and international businesses headquartered here. But there used to be a division between the corporate world in NYC and how the city government was actually run. 

The corporate/private enterprise world didn't control our government, didn't have power over our land-use, our public schools, even our parks. 

But now it does: charter schools are replacing public schools, parks are being run less by the parks department and more by private foundations -- and the city is turning over huge swaths of our public lands to corporations. 

Look at this week's New York magazine for proof. There are two huge articles -- one a huge new super-expensive luxury apartment building (that is primarily for people who don't even really live in NYC) and another on Hudson Yards which will be the biggest, most expensive private development in our city's history. 

This is radical. And totally out of character with NYC's history. 

It's very depressing and scary to think about how this wonderful, great city -- a place where "our poor huddled masses" used to come in search of a better life is being turned into a place where only the rich are welcomed and can survive. It's still a great city, still great place to live but, if we continue down the road of the corporate city, will we still be so?