COMMUNITY MAGAZINE May 2008

92 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE “Across New York State, people have been crying out that they can not afford their medications, that they have had to sacrifice meals in order to pay for their pills. In this day and and age, in the Empire State, this should not be the case,” said Senator Golden. In a separate healthcare initiative, Senator golden lead Senate passage of legislation to protect nurses from assault on the job by stiffening the penalty for “assault, in an attempt to prevent the performance of duty,” a crime estimated at to impact 500,000 individuals annually. Seeking Access to Public School Facilities With yeshivas often have trouble getting access to unused public school auditoriums, libraries, gyms, and other assembly halls, Council Member Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) ques- tioned the Department of Education what resources were being made available to non-public schools during off hours and suggested better access to public school facilities. “Space in the city is limited, so areas where community groups can get together need to be properly utilized,” said Felder. “Schools are often empty after school hours. Let’s see what we can do to make sure the community can benefit from this unused resource.” Waterfalls in New York City? Starting in mid-July, New York City will be flanked by four man-made waterfalls designed by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. Running from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and lit after sunset, the waterfalls have been designed to protect water quality and aquatic life, according to the city. The installation continues through October 2008, and is expected to generate $55 mil- lion in tourist dollars. TLC Cars Must Go Green By 2009 Black livery cars with TLC plates coming into service after the beginning of 2009 will be required to be capable of getting 25 miles to the gallon after the Taxi and Limousine Commission passed the regulation in a unanimous vote. New cars coming into service after January 1, 2010, will be required to reach 30 miles per gallon. Most black cars currently reach about 12 to 15 miles per gallon, officials said. In order to expedite the transition to greater fuel efficiency for the entire livery fleet, which now numbers about 23,000, the proposal also sets a requirement for black car retirement through 2013. Airport Scanners That See Through Clothing? A body scanner which allows security screeners to peer beneath a passenger’s clothing to detect concealed weapons was installed in JFK last month. About the size of a revolv- ing door, the machine uses low-energy elec- tromagnetic millimeter waves to produce a computerized image of a traveler’s entire body in about 60 seconds. But although the Transportation Security Administration officials say the procedure is less invasive than a physical frisk for knives, bombs, or guns, there has been some concern among modest travelers that the black and white, three-dimensional scans reveal in too much detail the shape and form of scanned subjects. Security experts predict that body scans will eventually replace metal detectors, but for now the body scan machines are being used selectively. CM *Alternate Side Parking: For snow and other emergencies call 311 to get an update of parking rules for a particular day **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 disruption of on-time household collection service. Recycling : Residents who are normally scheduled for recycling collection 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. Occasion Day Date Alternate* Side Parking Garbage** Collection Parking Rules Banks & Government Observance Thurs May 1 Suspended Normal Normal Open Memorial Day Mon May 26 Suspended Suspended Holiday Closed Shavuot: First/Second Day Mon- Tues June 9-10 Suspended Normal Normal Open Waterfall on the Brooklyn side of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge Waterfall off Governor’s Island, which lies just off Manhattan’s southern tip. Digital render- ing showing the cascade off Manhattan’s Pier 35 . Waterfall set to be built between Piers 4 and 5 in Brooklyn. CENSORED New York City Municipal Schedule