New Voting Machines Prove To Be Waste Of Time And Money

By on May 16, 2013  Featured story, News
May 162013
 
Image source: Joe Shlabotnik via Flickr.

An oldie but a goodie (Image source: Joe Shlabotnik via Flickr).

If you were one of the people who got stuck in long lines last election day, then you already know that the Board of Election’s new electronic voting scanners suck. The machines, which the public was told were as “easy as 1-2-3,” instead had many voters counting the hours they had to stand in line at polling stations across the city.

Now, while your humble blogger is no expert on voting technology, my own layman’s observations last November led me to believe that the BOE had essentially turned the following two step process:

  1. Wait on line to find your name on a list.
  2. Wait on line at booth and vote.

into [at least] a three step process:

  1. Wait to find your name.
  2. Wait on line to vote.
  3. Wait on yet another line and scan vote – which for many people included the additional step of waiting for a BOE employee to help scan their ballots.

But wait, it gets even better. Click here for more, including why the BOE’s new voting machines won’t work in this year’s mayoral race…

Mayoral Hopeful Sal Albanese Unveils Ambitious Transit Plan, Secures Union Support

By on February 26, 2013  Featured story, Traffic & Transit
Feb 262013
 
Image source: salalbanese2013.com.

Image source: salalbanese2013.com.

Shortly after securing the endorsement of the union that represents most New York City MTA workers, Democrat mayoral candidate and Bay Ridge resident Sal Albanese unveiled a transit plan he says will fund improvements to the city’s roadways and public transportation system, as well as make them more equitable for all New Yorkers.

Albanese’s “Faster, Fairer, and Fully-Funded” plan calls for city control of mass transit, 20 new Select Bus routes by 2018, investments in subway infrastructure, and a new tolling system that his campaign claims would raise as much as $1 billion in revenue. It also makes bicyclist and pedestrian safety a priority, citing vehicular fatalities as “one of the invisible public health crises in our city.” Continue reading »

Vendy Awards Name Food Cart Vendor Most Heroic, Despite Alleged Illegality

By on August 22, 2012  Business
Aug 222012
 

The last time we checked in on the 5th Avenue food cart battle, elected officials including Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and City Councilman Vincent Gentile had begun to weigh in. Then Brooklyn Paper’s Will Bredderman reported the news that Sammy Kassen – who doesn’t actually have a vendor permit, was renting his Middle Eastern Halal Cart from the permit holder which, according to city law, is illegal.

But that didn’t stop the Vendy Awards – an annual rundown of the best mobile food vendors in NYC, from naming Kassen the “Most Heroic Vendor” of 2012 for defending his turf from an alliance of brick and mortar businesses organized by Lone Star Bar owner Tony Gentile [no relation to Councilman Gentile] called Save Our Streets. Continue reading »

De Blasio Weighs In On Food Carts, Calls For Greater Regulation

By on May 16, 2012  Politics
May 162012
 

Public advocate and mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio weighed in on the 5th Avenue food cart fight during a recent meeting of the Bay Ridge Democrats – stating that the carts are hurting restaurants on the strip and may have to go, writes Will Bredderman for Brooklyn Daily.

“The fact is right now that the weight of regulation falls on our traditional businesses,” de Blasio reportedly told Bredderman as he exited the meeting. “We need to be careful in regards to where we allow food vendors to be placed.” Continue reading »