The city agreed to change the headache-causing alternate-side parking rules for Riverdale residents, cutting the number of street-sweeping days in half. And Staten Island express-bus riders found out that a possible $2.50 fare hike will be, at most, $1.25, compliments of the mayor.
Both Riverdale and Staten Island heavily favored Bloomberg in his contentious 2005 race against Fernando Ferrer.
Break For Mayor’s Strongholds
Two of Mayor Bloomberg’s crucial voting bases got some transit-related relief this month, just as his controversial campaign for a third term heats up.
The city agreed to change the headache-causing alternate-side parking rules for Riverdale residents, cutting the number of street-sweeping days in half. And Staten Island express-bus riders found out that a possible $2.50 fare hike will be, at most, $1.25, compliments of the mayor.
Both Riverdale and Staten Island heavily favored Bloomberg in his contentious 2005 race against Fernando Ferrer.
“He needs to be sure people aren’t angry at city government in this current economic climate with an election upcoming,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause, New York. “He doesn’t want to tick people off.”
In 2005, Bloomberg obliterated his opponent on Staten Island with more than 60,000 of about 90,000 ballots going his way.
Riverdale and its nearby neighborhoods, on the other hand, were some of the only Bronx areas where Bloomberg was able to eke out a win in the same election.
Anthony Cassino, the former chairman of Community Board 8 representing Riverdale, said the board submitted its alternate-side parking proposal to the city about a year ago and before talk of Bloomberg’s third run.
The parking change is also being considered for Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene and Boerum Hill, the city Department of Sanitation said. Those Brooklyn neighborhoods also favored Bloomberg in the past election.
Menachem
Crown Heights does not get such bonuses because it has not political voting power. Crown Heights residents are simply not voters, and this is a shame. The only way for Crown Heights to “count” is to have a real political operation, one where
1. door-to-door registration and yeshiva registration is conducted EFFECTIVELY.
2. a Crown Heights political committee is formed with REAL MEMBERS and REAL PROGRAMS.
Here’s the background on this: Sperlin created a “political action committee,” but it is just him and his friends. It CAN be an effective operation if Sperlin stops keeping it as his one man show. Rubashkin made an effort to do something (and he helped turn out a very high vote for Bloomberg in 2005), but no matter what happens, Rubashkin is history and can NEVER AGAIN be a power in the community. Plain and simply.
NOBODY has stepped up to do ANYTHING except Sperlin and Sugar. Since Sugar is not interested in elective politics (at least not yet), Sperlin, simply by longevity and his stamina in not going away, deserves a chance to do something.
But he has to do it like a mentsch. 2009 is a new political year. Sperlin, the ball is in your court.