Community Magazine March 2003

Toying With a Ban on Play Guns The City Council is moving forward with sweeping legislation aimed at banning the sale and possession of all toy guns - including the water pistols kids shoot in the summer. Current city law prohibits the sale of realistic looking toy guns, but the proposed amendment would extend the ban to the brightly colored and transparent toys that remain legal. The bill was introduced last October, but the recent spate of cop shootings involving toy guns has given it new urgency, lawmakers said. “If you spray-paint a toy gun black, it clearly looks like a real gun,” David Weprin (D- Queens), a sponsor of the law, said yesterday. “Therefore, we’re taking it one step further and basically disallowing any sale of any toy gun in the city of New York.” A penalty of up to $1,000 for retailers is being considered, but no penalty yet for the thornier issue of toy gun possession has been agreed upon. s ” xc *Garbage: Residents who are normally scheduled for collection on the day of a holiday should place their trash out at curbside on the holiday evening for collection. Some residents will experience a dis- ruption of on-time household collection service. Recycling : Residents who are normally scheduled for recycling col- lection on the day of the holiday will not receive service that week. They should place their recyclables out at curbside the following week on their regular day of service. ** For snow and other emergencies call 212 or 718 CALL DOT (225-5368) to get an update of parking rules for a particular day. New York City Parking Schedule Life in the 32 C OMMUNITY M AGAZINE Felder Appointed to Finance Committee Last month at City Hall, Speaker Gifford Miller appointed Council Member Simcha Felder to the prestigious Finance Committee. “I am absolutely delighted that Simcha Felder, the only Council Member who is a CPA, has agreed to sit on the Finance Committee,” says Miller. “We can use his expertise and insight now as we deal with difficult decisions.” Councilman Felder says he sees the appointment as an opportunity to help the City. “I consider it an honor to sit on this committee and do my part to serve the City with all my capacities during these trying times.” Felder now sits on both the Finance and Land Use Committees – the two most esteemed committees in the Council. While the appointment may not be on the same scale as Modechai Hayehudi’s promotion to Viceroy of Persia, it’s nice to see our local Councilman expand his influence. Ticketing the way to $69 million The NYPD plans to hire nearly 1,000 new traffic agents over the next year, to replace those lost through promotion or retirement, and bolster the ranks by 300. The initiative is part of the Mayor’s plan to raise $69 million for the city by issuing an extra 1.7 million parking summonses on top of the 8 million issued annually. While the ticket blitz will not reach full force until all the new officers are in place, sometime in July, drivers already report that parking rules are being enforced more aggressively. In NewYork, officials have noted a 15 percent jump in parking-ticket revenue as a result of a slight increase in the number of tickets issued, the near doubling of some fines and more aggressive collections. City Council Speaker Gifford Miller and City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. recently proposed an amnesty program to help collect unpaid tickets. In Chicago a similar program helped bring parking ticket revenue, from $68 million in 1995, to $140 million in 2002. New York City is currently owed an estimated $600 million from parking violations of which only about $177 million is con- sidered collectible. Councilman Felder and Council Speaker Gifford Miller Date Occasion Garbage * and Recycling Alternate ** Side Parking Parking Rules March 5, Wed Observance As scheduled Suspended Normal March 18, Tues Purim As scheduled Suspended Normal April 17-18, Thurs-Fri Passover: First/Second Day As scheduled Suspended Normal April 17, Thurs Observance As scheduled Suspended Normal April 18, Fri Observance As scheduled Suspended Normal April 23-24, Wed-Thurs Passover: Seventh/Eighth Day As scheduled Suspended Normal April 24, Thurs Observance As scheduled Suspended Normal April 25, Fri Observance As scheduled Suspended Normal