Steven Banks weasels out of the DHS

 

NY Post

The embattled head of the city’s sprawling network of social and homeless services, Steve Banks, has ended his pursuit of a position in Mayor-elect Eric Adams’ administration and will depart at the end of the year, he announced Monday.

The longtime lawyer’s decision to leave municipal service and return to the courtroom comes after a slew of newspaper investigations and city reviews exposed significant shortcomings and wrongdoing at key nonprofit shelter providers.

“Steve Banks is a skilled and accomplished public servant, who has navigated complex government problems to find essential solutions on behalf of New Yorkers,” Adams said in a statement. “I wish him well in his new endeavor.”

Might as well leave this here too.

NY Post

At least a dozen homeless people — each a “different shade of crazy” — have colonized the historic Manhattan Bridge colonnade, terrifying residents and besmirching the century-old neoclassical structure with shanties, tarps and tents.

Nearby businesses and residents told The Post their new neighbors are not only a blight near the 111-year-old span once hailed as the gateway to the Big Apple — they’re dangerous too, throwing things when jostled, stealing, and even pooping al fresco.

“Every day’s a problem,” said Zhong Yi Wang, 53, who manages his family’s restaurant, Jisu on Canal Street, where he said three bamboo plants — which cost $800 a pop — recently disappeared.

Bridge denizens often urinate on his door, bang on his window, and even barge inside to scream at him, he said.

Urine isn’t the worst of it, according to a woman who works at the nearby Mahayana Temple.

“Somebody pooped in front of the temple,” said the woman, who only have her first name, Cindy. “And when we talk to them, they just will throw things on you and do all kinds of strange things.”

“It’s not so safe,” she continued outside the Buddhist house of worship. “They will try to punch you or kick you, you have to run away.”

Even other homeless people avoid the area now.

The livin' ain't easy but the rent is free

From the NY Post:

Crafty hobos are turning the Manhattan Bridge into a veritable shantytown, complete with elaborate plywood shacks that are truly “must see to believe.”

One of the coffin-sized living spaces — which have been built into the bridge frame near the Manhattan entrance — is secured with a flimsy bike lock and bolted to a metal beam by its inhabitant.

The pods are built into the underside of the upper deck, below car traffic but above the subway and bike lanes.

To reach his makeshift studio, the bridge dweller — a stocky, neatly dressed Chinese man in his 40s — climbs a chain-link fence to a nook above the bike lane, witnesses said.

He unlocks the red bike lock with a key, slides a plank of wood back like a door and crawls in.

Several yards away, another vagrant spends his nights in a similarly rustic abode, sleeping on a roll-out mat and stashing belongings in a red tote bag.

His bathroom is a milk jug, his decor a scrap from a magazine.

The 10-by-1¹/₂-foot shacks are cramped, but the rent-free homes sure beat the cost of living legit in neighborhoods nearby — like Brooklyn’s trendy DUMBO, so named for its location “down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass.”

The owner mentioned in this article says the cops destroyed his first shanty, so he had no choice but to build here.

Saying no to East River bridge tolls

(QUEENS, NY) Senator Tony Avella was joined yesterday by Assemblyman David Weprin, the Queens Civic Congress, and the Queens Chamber of Commerce at a press conference announcing legislation Avella will be introducing in the State Senate that would prohibit the installation of tolls on any bridges controlled and operated by the City of New York, which include the East River bridges.

The imposition of tolls on the East River bridges, including the Willis Avenue, Third Avenue, Queensborough, Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridges is not a revenue generating option that the residents of this city should be forced to endure. Such tolls would place an unfair burden upon Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, and Manhattan residents who would be forced to pay to travel between the Boroughs. Given the always increasing cost of living in the City and with constant bus and subways fare hikes, city residents are in no position to again face another huge increase in their daily living expenses.

Avella stated, “Despite the ever present need for additional revenue, the imposition of tolls on the East River Bridges is not an acceptable revenue generating option. Adding tolls to any of these bridges would have a devastating effect on working and middle class families and small businesses. Everyone agrees that we need to address traffic congestion problems throughout the city, but the first step has to be improving mass transit. That is why I will be introducing legislation to prohibit putting tolls on these bridges.”

Assemblyman David I. Weprin, (D-Fresh Meadows) stated. "I am proud to join my colleagues and the community to support Senator Avella's legislation which would ban tolls on the East River Bridges. The addition of tolls on the East River Bridges would take away much needed income from working families and local businesses. There are other ways we can raise revenue without financially burdening workers who have to commute to work to support their households."

“Any plan to impose tolls on the East River Bridges is merely another revenue generating plan, not a traffic-reducing plan. It should be the responsibility of the leaders of the city to find ways of increasing revenues without placing the fiscal burden upon those who can least afford it,” concluded Avella.

Bicyclists need babysitters

From the Daily News:

Safety officers installed on three city bridges to keep the peace between cyclists and pedestrians will cost taxpayers about $80,000 a month, officials said Tuesday.

The program, which started Monday and is slated to end Nov.26 - but could return in the spring - has drawn mixed reviews from bridge users and advocates.

The $38-an-hour "pedestrian managers" have been assigned to the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges and told to educate users about the rules of the road. The workers, employed by Sam Schwartz Engineering, can't give out tickets or physically interfere, they said.

At the Manhattan Bridge, they are stationed at on-ramps to make sure cyclists and pedestrians use their designated sides.

On the Brooklyn Bridge, they took up position on the white line separating the two narrow lanes, trying to stop tourists from blindly walking into fast-moving bikes.

From CBS New York:

Two Hunter College professors have produced a study that shows roughly 1,000 pedestrians are struck by bicycle riders each year state-wide. Half of those are in New York City.

The authors of the study only counted pedestrians who were hospitalized after being struck. The authors believe, therefore, more than 1,000 people in New York are hit by bicycles each year.

The study didn’t count the number of bicyclists who were injured.

Bridge biking still a menace

From the Daily News:

Nine days ago, we published an open letter to Sadik-Khan pointing out what was going on. That provoked uproar among cycling activists who contended that we had labored under a misimpression and invited us to visit again.

We did so and discovered that Sadik-Khan had sent staff to the bridge to prevent cyclists from entering the walkway. Her office said that such vigilance is common. Hmmm, we thought, and returned unannounced.

During the evening rush of 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, at least 74 bikers zipped along the pedestrian side of the bridge, which, due to the presence of construction sheds, is narrowed to less than 50 inches in places.

At the peak of the evening commute, at 5:45, about 40 bikers invaded the pedestrian lane, overwhelming the dozen or so walkers.

The transgressors were young and old, tourists from Asia and hipsters from Bushwick. They were united in breaking the rules and nearly doubled the number of pedestrians who used their own lane during the entire 90-minute period.

We asked a biker why he violated posted signs. He answered, "It's easier," than using the DOT-mandated route that will be in place until construction is complete, probably in January.

Oh, and it turns out those polls that showed NYers are overwhelmingly in favor of bike lanes were bogus.