Transit Initiatives Are Giving a Boost to Businesses, a Report Says - NYTimes.com

Transit Initiatives Are Giving a Boost to Businesses, a Report Says - NYTimes.com: "In Brooklyn, where a parking area on Pearl Street was converted into a plaza, retail sales have increased 172 percent for neighboring businesses, compared with 18 percent throughout the borough."

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Is the Governor of New York Building a Bridge to Yesterday?

Cuomo’s Crossing – Next American City: " Nearly 300 public meetings and $88 million later, the state had a pretty good idea of what it needed to do — build a bigger bridge with mass transit facilities. Then, with a short press release and a quick news conference, everything changed."

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NYPD Issues More Tickets to Drinking Pedestrians Than Speeding Drivers | Streetsblog New York City

NYPD Issues More Tickets to Drinking Pedestrians Than Speeding Drivers | Streetsblog New York City: "NYPD issued more summonses for open container violations than for speeding in 2011, one of a number of law enforcement oddities revealed through data issued by police and compiled from court records."

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U.S. Taxpayers Are Gouged on Mass Transit Costs - Bloomberg

U.S. Taxpayers Are Gouged on Mass Transit Costs - Bloomberg: "Littlefield also argues that judges in New York routinely side with contractors in disputes with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “In the private sector, if you rob your customer, you will suffer a hit to your reputation and possible losses in the courts,” he said in an interview. “Not so if you rob an agency like the MTA. Then it’s all rights and no responsibilities.”"

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Another good reason why public transit should be fare-free

Harlem teen says she was cuffed, held in MetroCard flap - NY Daily News: "Cops roughed up and handcuffed a Harlem student after mistakenly believing that the 15-year-old was too old to use a student MetroCard, the teen claims.

And now the NYPD has opened an investigation into the allegation, the Daily News has learned.

Alexis Sumpter, 15, wasn’t arrested or given a summons during the July 26 interaction — but she says she was shaken and humiliated by the experience.

“They called me liar,” she remembers. “Then they grabbed me by my arms and flung me up the stairs. I kept saying, I’m only 15 — why are you guys doing this?

“They said they didn’t owe me an explanation,” she said.

"

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#publictransit more than pays for itself in congestion savings

The Urbanophile » Blog Archive » The Cost of Congestion, The Value of Transit: "Obviously New York is far and away the winner with 63 hours of additional delay per peak period auto commuter if its transit system were discontinued. TTI puts the value of an hour of time at $16.30, so this translates into an average of $1026.90 in dollar benefits to each and every auto commuter in greater New York City from transit. That’s not nothing."

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Why we occupy. #ows

Great Recession erased nearly 40% of family wealth - latimes.com: "The Great Recession took such a heavy toll on the economy that the typical American family lost nearly 40% of its wealth from 2007 to 2010, shaving the median net worth to a level not seen since the early 1990s."

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Tax money that was supposed to be for #publictransit was "redirected."

In New York State, Transit Cuts Hit Seniors, Low-Income Residents Hardest – Next American City: "The study also found that while ridership increased, transit system operators have been squeezed by both decreased state and local funding and higher operating costs. Albany has repeatedly redirected funds earmarked for transit, and the only dedicated state funding source for non-MTA systems, the petroleum business tax, has not been raised since 2004. Because the tax does not rise or fall with the price of gas, revenues have stayed relatively flat over the years."

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Occupy Wall Street Supports Quebec Anti-austerity protests

Occupy Wall Street | NYC Protest for World Revolution: "Last week, the government of Quebec passed an emergency law (Loi 78) criminalizing the massive demonstrations and assemblies in an effort to stamp out the strike. The new law restricts demonstrations and orders the closing of some universities. Among other things, organizers must inform police of the route of any demonstration that includes 50 or more people 8 hours before the demonstration. Unions and student federations are threatened with fines of up to $125,000 if someone is prevented from entering an educational institution."

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Stop the oil wars

We Can Have A Better Life

We need a new system that keeps money and jobs in our communities, a system that focuses on local needs. Investment in local businesses brings local jobs. Community banks bring local investment. Local farming brings healthy food. Local energy generation will keep us out of foreign wars for oil and stop global warming. And a strong local community keeps our children and elders safe."