Community Magazine June 2009

Life in the Big City Liberty’s Crown Reopens The crown of the Statue of Liberty will be open on July 4 for visitors, for the first time since it was closed after the 9/11 terror attacks. A fire safety and emergency evacuation study report recommends only eight people enter at a time for five min- utes of viewing. About 240 people a day could safely make the trip. It will reopen for two years, and then close again for safety modifications for two years. Visitors will be allowed up the 168 steps to the crown in groups, accompanied by a guide. The crown doesn’t meet fire codes, which require two separate sets of exit stairs. There is not sufficient room within the statue for both staircases, and an external stairway would adversely impact the monument. Con Ed to Increase Prices Con Ed plans to increase their rates in May 2010, adding about $6.50, or 8 percent, to a typical residential customer’s $83.60 monthly bill. A second proposal would increase rates even further, boosting the same bill by $8, or 9.6 percent. Con Ed wants similar rate hikes in 2011 and 2012 to help improve its infrastructure and pay off lenders who finance its transformers, cables and other equipment. The request comes soon after the May 1st price hike. The portion of the cash that Con Ed keeps for its own expenses would increase by almost 17 percent. E-ZPass for Trains and Busses? TheMetropolitanTransportation Authority is considering an upgrade to the MetroCard system according to outgoing MTA CEO Elliot Sander. Instead of swiping MetroCards, riders would wave or tap a smart card at select turn- stiles at 30 stations around the city as early as 2011 the resigning CEO said on his last day on the job last month. Like E-ZPass, the fare would be deducted from the rider’s account, which could be automatically replenished by a bank or credit card account. Eventually, the same card be used for subways, buses and commuter trains. Your Very Own Parking Permit? Proposed legislation would allow the city and individual neigh- borhoods to decide whether they want residential permits which would enable residents to have priority on the scarce supply of parking spaces in many areas. The proposal would cover 80% of residential neighborhood streets, and exclude commercial strips. The bill is sponsored by State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assemblywoman Joan Millman, both of whom represent Brooklyn Heights. But the plan may not be enough to solve the parking problems there. A study three years ago by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership found permits weren’t feasible because there was less than one spot in Brooklyn Heights for every four registered cars in the area. However, the current plan proposes that permits would have to be purchased and the revenue would go to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to fund city buses and subways. Part of the strategy is the hope that through the increased funding for mass transit in the area, the car population may be reduced. The legislation is scheduled to be voted on next month. Security Gets Stylish at NYSE The New York Stock Exchange in lower Manhattan is now protected by a unique, high-tech system of stylish revolving bar- ricades that replace the unsightly wooden police barricades that have protected the area since 9/11. The technology is the same as that used in revolving restaurants and on Broadway stages that spin 3-foot-tall blockades into various positions to allow emergency vehicles through or stop traffic. The area around the exchange is only open to pedestrians and emergency vehicles. The barriers, positioned on Broad and Beaver streets, are fastened to a circular platform embedded in the ground and paved over with cobble- stones, and moves to the open or closed position at the direction of a guard. The project was funded with $4.4 million in federal grants obtained from the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.  ”  118 Community magazine