Advocates for sexual assault victims say the high-profile turmoil in the Dominque Strauss-Kahn case reflects some of the obstacles that come up in less-heralded cases.
Next Wednesday, Bronx postal workers will team up with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. to protest the steady stream of Bronx post office closures, including the phasing out of the borough’s processing center. Since the beginning of the year, the United States Postal Service has closed the Crotona and Oak Point post offices. The Van Ness office was also slated to be shut down, but an outcry from residents and elected officials have put that closure on hold for the time being.According to James Perez, a union rep who works at the Bronx processing center on East 149th Street, the USPS has already begun shifting about half of the processing of Bronx mail to Manhattan and is intent on shuttering the center altogether and displacing its 271 workers. (Earlier this year, the USPS said they were contemplating a consolidation plan, but had not implemented it.) Chuck Zlatkin, the legislative director for the New York Area Postal Union, says “there’s nothing good in [these closures] for anyone.”He says eliminating the processing center will not only displace workers (who might go to Manhattan, but also could end up being transferred anywhere within a 50-mile range of New York City), it will delay delivery of mail to the entire borough, hurt local businesses around the plant who won’t have those 271 customers anymore and increase pollution with the increased truck traffic. The rally will begin at 10 a.m. at the recently-closed Oak Point office at 839 E. 149th St.
Big state-wide news is rippling through New York. MTA Chief Jay Walder resigned today to head an even larger international transportation company. Bronx Councilman Jimmy Vacca quickly sent out a statement saying a worthy replacement needs to be installed quickly as the MTA faces enormous challenges.Vacca:“This resignation comes at a crucial time. A year after the worst service cuts in the MTA’s history and yet another fare and toll increase, the most serious challenges for straphangers may still lie ahead. While Chairman Walder deserves credit for taking on many structural issues that previous MTA leaders had delayed for a tomorrow that never came, the MTA continues to face a $250 million operating gap and a capital budget that runs out January 1.
Editor’s note: What did we miss? Send details to bronxnewsnetwork[at]gmail.com.
The office of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has released Chinese and Spanish versions of the Immigrant Rights and Services Manual, according to a press release.The manual provides information on immigration laws designed to protect immigrants, ways to engage with the community through local groups and college aid for undocumented students.”Obtaining comprehensive information like this can be vexing for anyone, but it can be much more so if you are among the nearly 40% of New Yorkers who was born in another country,” Stringer said in a statement.Stringer also announced translations to Russian, Korean, French, and other languages are on the way.You can access the Chinese version here, and here is the Spanish version. A free print copy can be obtained by calling 212-669-8300, or by heading to the Stringer’s website.
Yankees’ Gardner the GreatYankee speedster Brett Gardner has been on an absolute tear since the All Star break, and River Avenue Blues breaks it all down. He’s batting over .500 since the Midsummer classic. Since the start of the 2010 season Gardner been one of the most productive players in all of the majors, with only a handful of players besting his production since then. There’s even been talk of sliding him into the leadoff spot, moving Yankee captain Derek Jeter down in the order. Watch some of the gritty outfielder’s best moments:New Coach For Fordham U’s Baseball TeamFordham University’s storied baseball team just got a new head baseball coach.
The free city newspaper amNY can feel our pain on the public information front. The paper sent FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) requests for the most basic personnel information to 38 city agencies and found that several of them were slow to respond or have not yet fulfilled the request, including the Fire Department, the Department of Education and the Buildings Department. Take a look. Sound familiar, BxNN readers?
(File photo by Rebecca Chao)
Weather: Today’s high of 96, which will really feel more like 104 with the humidity, will be roundly trumped by tomorrow’s high of 101, which will really feel more like the seventh circle of Hades.
We’re told that the segment on our neighborhood crime stat campaign may run tonight on News Channel 4 at 11. We’ll let you know when we know definitively.
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