Con Ed pays ’em to sit on grates

Livery drivers making a bundle to guard dangerous city hot spots

Con Edison has come up with a bizarre way to protect the public from stray-voltage hot spots throughout the city – it’s hiring livery cab drivers to guard them until crews can fix the problem.

The dark cars and their drivers sit next to a roped-off area around the clock for days, with a placard explaining their mission.

“A stray voltage hazard was discovered here,” the card says. “The coned/taped off area contains an extremely dangerous electrified object or structure.

Mayor Bloomberg wants to do a ‘Tikkun Olam’ – Promotes Clean-Air plan

New York, NY — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, speaking in forceful and personal terms, went yesterday to a neighborhood plagued by high asthma rates to argue for his sweeping plan to reduce the city’s air pollution, which includes a surcharge for vehicles entering congested sections of Manhattan.

Proposed Water Bill Increase Is Criticized

Queens, NY — Officials and city residents yesterday criticized a proposed 11.5 percent increase in city water and sewer bills.

In the first of five public hearings scheduled to take place over three days, speakers told the New York City Water Board, which sets the rates for the city, that the increase would hurt working families, especially those on fixed incomes. “The senior citizens are going to be in trouble,” Nancy DiCroce, 76, of Howard Beach, said at the meeting, which was held at the city’s Department of Environmental Protection office in Flushing.

Bloomberg Proposes $8 Tolls for NYC Drivers

Click Here to watch a newscast of this event

New York, NY — For years, the concept of charging motorists to drive into Manhattan’s busiest areas has been batted around as a way to reduce congestion and pollution, but many said it would never happen because of significant opposition.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has argued both sides of the issue, saying just months ago: “I don’t know that I’m a fan.” But after studying the idea and weighing the perceived benefits _ less traffic and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue _ the mayor has proposed that the city give it a try.

Hikind seeks to locate owner of Tefillin found in JFK

Brooklyn, NY — When Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) was recently contacted by a constituent about tracking down a set of tefillin lost at JFK airport, Hikind was informed by NYPD that they had in their possession another lost tallis bag which held two sets of tefillin and are embroidered with the name in Hebrew: “Aaron Tzvi Hakohen Katz.”

Nasty NE’ Expected Sunday Into Monday

New York City and surrounding areas braced Saturday for a wallop from a winter storm well into what was supposed to be spring.

A flood watch was in effect for New York City, Long Island and some northern suburbs as the National Weather Service predicted 2 to 4 inches of rain and wind gusts up to 50 mph, meteorologist John Koch said Saturday morning. Snow and sleet were possible inland, he said.

COP’S TIX BLITZ HITS 9 CARS IN 5 MINUTES

Brooklyn, NY — Residents of a quiet Brooklyn block were up in arms yesterday after a cop plastered their cars with nine parking tickets in five minutes.

A quick-handed officer from the 70th Precinct unleashed his ticket-writing fury between 8:10 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. Saturday on East 23rd Street between Farragut Road and Foster Avenue in Flatbush.

All the parking citations claimed that motorists were in violation of Code 74, improper display of license plates. The nine cars all had car-dealership license-plate holders, but the holders didn’t appear to obscure the numbers on inspection by a Post reporter.

M.T.A. Seeks Designs for Cameras to Be Installed Inside Subway Cars

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has asked two subway car manufacturers to come up with designs for digital security cameras that could be installed inside the cars, officials said yesterday.

Images from the cameras could be used in criminal investigations and could also help investigators in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

Michael Lombardi, senior vice president for subways of New York City Transit, said the authority had asked Kawasaki and Alstom, the two companies that are producing the latest model of subway car, known as the R160, to propose ways to add security cameras to the cars. The request was made within the last two months.

B’klyn Developers Fear Exclusionary Zones & Tax Abatement Changes

Will boom-town Brooklyn see some relief from development in the near future?

At a recent round table focusing on real estate topics, developers expressed concern about changes to the city’s tax abatement policy for new construction, contending that proposed restrictions and the extension of the borough’s exclusionary zone will make it harder for them to do business, despite the hot real estate market across the borough.

Indeed, Sara Mirski, of Boymelgreen Developers, acknowledged to the group gathered at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street, that her company, concerned about the enlarged exclusionary zone in Brooklyn, had not purchased property for development for about two years.

Other Cities Race Ahead of New York on Fire Technology

Six years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, New York City is said to be lagging behind other cities in creating technology to aid firefighters to safely do their jobs.

Since the attacks, the city’s Fire Department has built a state-of-the-art command center in Brooklyn and is installing Global Positioning System units in fire trucks, but a lack of “pre-planning” is putting first-responders in danger, according to some department officials and outside experts.

Bloomberg Backtracks on Parking Tickets

The Mayor on the John Gambling Show this past Friday

1010WINS: Bloomberg: ‘Deal With It’, Council Members ‘Angry’, Mayor’s Apology.

Click Here for NY1’s newscast of this event

A day after telling New Yorkers to stop “griping” over parking tickets issued to snowbound cars, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg issued a rare apology and promised to waive all tickets handed out today and Thursday for alternate-side-of-the-street parking violations.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience to people, but you know you have to make decisions and each of these storms is different,” Mr. Bloomberg said in his weekly radio program on WABC-AM.

Starrett City Draws $1B Bid From Developer

Berkshire LLC submitted by far the highest bid — more than $1 billion — for the 5,881-unit Brooklyn housing complex Starrett City, according to two sources familiar the deal. Last night, work on finalizing the deal extended late into the evening.

Billionaire developer Lev Leviev controls Berkshire LLC. Also a diamond trader, Mr. Leviev is a former partner of active New York developer Shaya Boymelgreen and the owner of Africa Israel Investments, a publicly traded company.

New York may ban iPods while crossing city streets

New Yorkers who heedlessly cross city streets while listening to their Apple iPod or fumbling with other electronics devices, such as cell phones, may soon face a hefty fine from the city.

According to both NBC and the Associated Press, New York State Senator Carl Kruger is expected to introduce legislation today that would impose a $100 fine for people who continue to use their electronics gadgets — such as iPods, Blackberries, and video games — while crossing the street.

Orthodox Teenagers Indicted in Hate Crime

A New York grand jury indicted five Orthodox Jewish teenagers in a hate crime.

Shlomi Bitton, Yossi Friedman, Benjamin Wasserman and two juveniles were charged with second-degree gang assault and third-degree menacing, according to a statement issued Thursday by Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes and reported in Newsday.

Mayor Bloomberg And NYCHA Chairman Hernandez Announce That Section 8 Voucher List Will Open For First Time In Twelve Years

As City Prepares for Fifth Annual Homeless Street Count Tonight, Mayor Announces 22,000 New Vouchers Will Increase Access to Affordable Housing

Click Here to watch the Mayors press conference

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chairman Tino Hernandez today announced the availability of 22,000 new Section 8 housing vouchers for very low-income families seeking affordable housing in New York City. Because of the availability of new vouchers, NYCHA’s Section 8 voucher waiting list will reopen for the first time in 12 years. Individuals and families who secure Section 8 vouchers can seek housing in a neighborhood of their choice from any private landlord who accepts the vouchers. The Mayor also announced that 3,000 of these vouchers will be targeted specifically to households at risk of homelessness. With a voucher, qualified families pay 30% of their income toward the Fair Market Rent set by the federal government; NYCHA pays the remainder directly to the private landlord. The announcement was made at the Queens Section 8 Applications Office in Corona as the Department of Homeless Services and the City of New York prepares for the fifth annual Homeless Street Count tonight.