Angry OnStar Customers Count Down To Shutdown

SAN JOSE, CA — The network that launched the U.S. wireless industry with brick-sized — and brick-heavy — cell phones 24 years ago will switch off in most of the country next year, leaving a surprising number of users in the lurch.

Older OnStar systems for cars, home alarms and up to a million cell phones will lose service starting in February under a 2002 federal decision that allows carriers to switch the spectrum over from analog to digital technologies, which would use it more efficiently.

Board Approves Subway and Bus Fare Increase

NEW YORK, NY — After an unusually vigorous and spirited debate, the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted at 10:50 a.m. today to raise fares on subways, buses and commuter railroads and tolls on bridges and tunnels.

The M.T.A. chairman, H. Dale Hemmerdinger, called the vote “an important step in putting the transit system on a sound financial system.”

Yeshiva Aide gets Ticket at Phantom Stop

Moshe Zenwirth has been waiting since June for a bus that hasn’t come – and likely never will.

The Borough Park yeshiva administrator was slapped with a $115 ticket after he parked at a “bus stop” on 51st St. – even though the closest bus route is one block north.

Since the June 13 fine was issued, Zenwirth, 34, has appealed the decision, but has been stymied by two city administrative law judges, most recently in October.

‘ROUGHEST’ FINEST – Gripes Soar Under Mike

NEW YORK, NY — Despite a leadership style that has spared Mayor Bloomberg the scorn heaped on his predecessor for aggressive police tactics, the NYPD was hit with more allegations of wrongdoing in the last two years than at any time during the Rudy Giuliani years, a Post analysis has found.

“Giuliani had a reputation for being real hard, but the data belie that,” said Doug Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College. “The data seem to suggest that despite the conventional wisdom, Giuliani’s cops were less complained about than Bloomberg’s.”

City Water Customer about to get Hosed Again

NEW YORK, NY — Property owners are about to get a nasty New Year’s surprise from the city – a water rate hike of up to 18 percent.

Acting at the behest of Environmental Protection Commissioner Emily Lloyd, a gloomy Water Board voted unanimously yesterday to set the process in motion that would hike rates by 12 to 18 percent on Jan. 1, the middle of the fiscal year.

In Shift, Fare for the Subway Will Stay at $2

NEW YORK, NY — Gov. Eliot Spitzer abruptly announced yesterday that he was shelving a plan to raise the base subway fare, saying that an unexpected increase in ridership and other revenues have made it unnecessary.

Buildings Department Inspectors Get Spiffy New Uniforms

The city Buildings Department has spent years trying to clean up its image – and now it’s sending its inspectors onto the streets in spiffy new uniforms costing a total of $385,000.

“It’s really all about integrity, showing the world that these guys are out there and watching,” said Robert LiMandri, the department’s first deputy commissioner.

“With any uniform comes a level of respect. We wanted to make sure that people know that we’ve answered a complaint and showed up on a job site,” LiMandri said.

Proposed Fare Hike Would Add to Overall Rise in Living Costs

NEW YORK, NY — No wonder straphangers feel like they can’t get a break.

The MTA says its proposed fare and toll hikes are the equivalent of modest cost-of-living increases.

Con Edison Is Ordered to Return $18 Million to Customers

The New York State Public Service Commission ordered Consolidated Edison today to return $18 million to its customers for failing to provide safe and reliable service in 2006, a year that included a nine-day blackout that began in Long Island City, Queens, and affected 170,000 people. The highly critical decision could affect Con Edison’s request for a substantial increase in electric rates.

“One of the commission’s foremost areas of concern is to ensure that electric distribution systems are safe and reliable,” said the commission’s chairwoman, Patricia L. Acampora. “Con Edison did not meet four targets for systemwide reliability in 2006. As a result of the utility’s failure to meet these important targets, shareholders are directed to provide a credit to ratepayers. Hopefully, this sends a message to Con Edison that they must be diligent in efforts to maintain a reliable network, or they will face financial consequences.”

Getting Religious About Street Parking

Friday was Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, celebrating the triumph of good, represented by Lord Rama, over the forces of evil. It is a holiday that thrills some of my friends. Not that they are Hindus themselves.

The three-day Islamic feasts of Id al-Fitr and Id al-Adha thrill them, too. They aren’t Muslims, either.

They are, in the main, Christians and Jews. Most of them are not the sort to be found in church or synagogue every Sunday or Saturday morning. But they derive enormous satisfaction from holy days like the Feast of the Assumption or from a days-long Jewish festival like Passover.

Steep toll Hike Possible for NJ-NY Crossings

The Port Authority plans to seek a toll hike of at least $2 on its Hudson River crossings and an increase in PATH rail fares after next week’s state legislative elections, The Star-Ledger has learned.

Yeshiva, hospital labeled ‘high-risk’ targets – Congressman secures Homeland Security funds for Brooklyn sites

Is it money to bolster security against possible terrorist attacks or fishing Brooklyn’s non-profit waters for potential mayoral votes?

Either way, Rep. Anthony Weiner last week touted his work in helping 12 Brooklyn non-profit and religious institutions get federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants.

Among the “high-risk” non-profits, according to Weiner, that are receiving federal funds include such vulnerable targets as the Medical Rehabilitation Center in Borough Park.

Hate Crime VS. Jews on Rise in City

NEW YORK CITY, NY — The number of bias crimes against Jews in New York City soared 15 percent this year, with some blaming the spike on last month’s controversial visit from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Through Oct. 7, there were 94 reported hate crimes against Jews – making up almost half of the city’s 209 total bias incidents, NYPD stats show.

Over the same period last year, 82 anti-Jewish crimes were reported.

Lack of Reform from Mayor Bloomberg on City Marshals

NEW YORK, NY — Supermanager Mike Bloomberg has tackled public schools, cleared the smoke out of bars and nudged crime down to historic lows.

But there’s one bunch that’s been a lot tougher to reform: the guys who tow your car for unpaid tickets.

Police Intelligence Chief Is Honored by the ADL

The Anti-Defamation League yesterday honored the NYPD’s commissioner of Intelligence, David Cohen, as the first recipient of an award named after an Italian police chief who saved more than 3,500 lives during the Holocaust. The police chief of Fiurme, Giovanni Palatucci, forged documents and visas that allowed thousands of Jews to escape death in concentration camps during World War II. He was eventually caught and died in the Dachau concentration camp in 1944.

As he received the award, Mr. Cohen compared Fiurme to New York City, noting that Jews from throughout Central Europe had flocked to the Italian city seeking refuge, much like the millions of immigrants who come today.