Community Magazine November 2009

Midtown Joins Downtown on NYPD TV The City will use $24 million in Homeland Security grants to expand the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative to include Midtown Manhattan. The Lower Manhattan Security Initiative consists of closed- circuit television cameras, license plate readers, and chemical, biological and radiological sensors with the goal of detecting terrorist threats. It includes data from several thousand cameras, a portion of which is provided by private companies in the finance, transportation, and telecommunications industries. The MidtownManhattan Security Initiative will add additional cameras and license plate readers between 30th and 60th Streets from river to river. So far, the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative covers Canal Street to Battery Park from river to river, a 1.7 square mile area that includes the NewYork Stock Exchange, Federal Reserve, Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, World Financial Centers, and World Trade Center memorial site. MTA to Provide Online Project Updates After a scathing report by the Citizens Budget Commission which alleges that the city’s mass transit projects are out of control, MTA chief Jay Walder promised to offer up to date developments on large and small projects on the web. According to a report by Charles Brecher, the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway is over budget by 13 percent; costs for the new South Ferry Terminal have ballooned by 24 percent; and the Fulton Street Transit Center is going to require a whopping 90 percent increase of the original allocation. Additionally Brecher charges that both riders and the agency itself don’t have a real handle on how MTA projects are progressing due to poor reporting. To address the charges, theMTAannounced that before January the MTA website will allow visitors to track the spending and schedule of any project in the agency’s new $28 billion capital plan. The feature“will provide thepublicwithclear, updated information about all of the projects in the upcoming capital program,” saidMTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin. “For the first time, you’ll be able to search by project type, line or station to find out exactly where construction stands, why the work is necessary and whether it is on budget.” That next capital plan will include dozens of station rehabs and will also set money aside for the Smart Card, which will eventually replace the MetroCard. Boating from Bay Ridge? New York’s first environmentally friendly Eco Dock, which is scheduled to arrive at Bay Ridge’s 69th Street pier next year, may turn South Brooklyn into a boating destination and transit hub. The $300,000 plan involves outfitting the fishing wharf with a floating pier rigged to a dock, which would welcome kayakers, boaters, and perhaps a ferry service. “This barge is going to grant day boaters access to Bay Ridge from the East River, and give residents waterfront access for kayaking, boating and more,” said Councilman Vincent Gentile (D–Bay Ridge), who secured the cash to purchase the dock. “Eventually, the ‘Eco Dock’will be a local hub for ferry service, helping commuters get to and from work in Manhattan,” added the councilman. Though the planned dock will be able to accommodate ferries, sea transit service has not yet been organized. In the past, NewYork Water Taxi — which operates a route between Lower Manhattan and the 58th Street pier — has expressed an interest in servicing the 69th Street pier. Radiation Detectors Head for NYC Congress has allocated $20 million to continue building a network of radiation detectors aimed at preventing nuclear or radioactive terrorism in Manhattan. The amount is half of what New York’s House representatives wanted, and $10 million less than the total program budget. Long Island GOP Rep. Pete King sponsored the measure, and criticized the amount as scrimping on the city’s security. Some representatives have questioned whether the program, called Securing the Cities, is being run wisely, while other representatives agreed that at least the money was going where it was most needed, to a high-risk city. Life in the Big City  ”  94 Community magazine