By Marlene Naanes

MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot Sander at a news conference Thursday responded to three angry riders who aired their despair about fare hikes and service cuts in an amNewYork cover story. (Read it after the jump.)

The riders Tom, Kevin and Alex told the MTA that service cuts would mean reverting to the 1970s, and a fare hike is inevitable because the agency never listens to riders.

“Let me say to Kevin and to Tom and to Alex…these cuts and the hike are anathema to us,” Sander said. “It is not what we want to do.”

Sander spoke to the riders after he proposed a 23 percent fare hike next spring and “very severe” cuts in subway and bus service at an MTA board meeting. He noted the hike and cuts would be necessary to close a $1.2 billion gap in the agency’s budget unless proposals from the Ravitch Commission, a governor appointed body charged with finding funding for the MTA, were approved by Albany.

“I would urge Kevin, Tom and Alex to urge their elected officials…to implement the recommendations of the Ravitch Commission…so we can prevent these cuts and service hikes,” Sander said.

Continue reading "MTA chief reacts to amNewYork cover story" »

Twenty five years ago tonight, New Yorkers who turned on Channel 7 were treated to one of the most-hyped media events of the 1980s: "The Day After." The TV movie depicted what millions of Americans grew up fearing: The terrifying transformation of the Cold War into a very hot, nuclear war, with the inevitable destruction of civilization as we know it.

It's difficult to convey today just how much hysteria surrounded this movie in the fall of 1983. The buildup was tremendous: News stories, think pieces in magazines, and worried school principals dispatching letters to parents urging them to take care in how they handled the viewing of the film.

As part of our weekly Throwback Thursday feature, we figured we'd take you there. Fuzzmemories on YouTube has posted every commercial break from the historic airing of "The Day After," along with news briefs that give you some insight into the heated discussion surrounding the film. What's more, he has included a complete episode of ABC News' "Viewpoint," a live telecast shown after the movie with notables such as Carl Sagan and Robert McNamara discussing the Cold War and the film's implications with a studio audience. Not to be missed.

Embedded above is the actual attack segment. Click HERE to see the commercials and the episode of "Viewpoint."

To get in the spirit of the anniversary, we offer some words of warning: Parental discretion advised.

-- Rolando Pujol

This guy should have brought more quarters. Trying a “flying jump tackle” on a snack machine is never a good idea.

Radio host Curtis Sliwa founded what became The Guardian Angels in 1979.

Just how bad were the bad old days?

It was like dawn of the dead. It was like zombies roaming around, dope fiends, drug dealers…vulturizing the city. The Bronx was burning. People were fleeing. We are nowhere near that situation. Back then you felt, particularly if you worked the graveyard shift, when the sun went down the thugs ruled everything on the ground. You felt like you were wearing pork chop pants going into a cage of Doberman pitchers.

What do you miss about that era in New York?

Absolutely nothing. Some people say, “Oh I wish we had the old Times Square.” I say if you want that, go to Camden, go to Detroit. You want some of that old time crime, sleaze and slime?

In what way, if any, do you see the city's quality of life eroding?

There are more homeless people. You have some squeegee posses out there. The subways are just a moving caravan of people trying to shake you down for money.

When the Wall Street crisis is over, how different a place will New York be?

It all depends on who’s the shot caller, who’s the mayor. If it’s a weak mayor…we’d be back to the old days in no time. You need somebody who understands public safety is do or die for the city. If you haven’t guaranteed public safety, the tourists aren’t going to come. If you have crime, they [Wall Street] abandon ship, and now they don’t need to be in the city…because the whole world is virtual now.

1978, 2008: Which year would you rather live in and why?

2008 without question. You can actually in 2008 close your eyes sometimes and not worry that your neck will be slit ear to ear. Whereas in 1978…arson...gang violence…you couldn’t close your eyes. At anytime people could come out of the woodwork. You don’t have that feeling now. It’s more relaxed.

-- Marlene Naanes

By Marlene Naanes

The writing may be literally on the walls.

Graffiti arrests and incidents are rising and many are concerned that this, and other quality-of-life crimes, will increase next year with fewer police on the streets.

“The officers we have are focused on serious crime … and as a result quality-of-life crimes are up,” said City Councilman Peter Vallone (D-Queens), chair of the council’s public safety committee.

Continue reading "amNY series, day two: Little things mean a lot" »

With the economy in free fall, amNewYork examines how the budget crisis might impact the city's quality of life. This is day two of a three-day series. Read the first-day installments: Preventing a 70s decline, Breslin Q&A, and Henican column.

By Marlene Naanes

Murder, rape, and robbery citywide are up slightly this year, and while it’s impossible to say what’s driving the increases, residents in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn have a theory: It’s the economy, stupid.

“This neighborhood has really gentrified really rapidly, and coupled with the economy, crime has gone up,” said Michael Jester, 27, who has witnessed violent robberies and has a friend who was beaten for her iPod, cell phone and purse. “I feel there’s a real tension in the past year. They seem to be getting a lot more brazen in the middle of the day.”

Experts will tell you that a tanking economy does not necessarily mean crime rates will soar, and said it’s too soon to draw a correlation this early into the economic crisis.

Still, observers note that crime remains at historic lows, and there is little reason to believe we are at the start of a precipitous safety decline. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to combat city deficits by cutting a police academy class next year undoubtedly will be felt on the streets.

Continue reading "amNY series, day two: Keeping an eye on crime" »

Children enjoy a crisp fall day in Cobble Hill this weekend. CLICK HERE FOR 27 MORE PHOTOS OF COBBLE HILL ON AMNY'S FLICKR STREAM. (Photos: Phil S. Kropoth)

By Miranda Siegel
Special to amNewYork

As one of the components of BoCoCa, a name dreamed up by brokers to describe the ritzy patch of wine bars, stylish boutiques and gift shops in northwest Brooklyn, Cobble Hill blends rather seamlessly into neighbors Carroll Gardens and Boerum Hill.

As well, the plentiful retail options and packs of yoga-glow moms pushing expensive baby strollers draw inevitable comparisons to that other pretty enclave across the Gowanus Canal, Park Slope.

But Cobble Hill is smaller and more intimate, especially east of Court Street where the noise and fuss gives way to peaceful little streets, gardens with wrought-iron fences and pre-Civil War era townhouses.

“It's a great place to get lost in,” Frank Baldaro said. “Incredibly romantic surroundings, and the architecture has a sort of Dickensian flavor to it.”

Continue reading "City Living: Cobble Hill" »

Kerbstone brokers engaged in a frenzied and disorganized form of trading
on the street in the 19th century. (Museum of American Finance)

By Garett Sloane

A retrospective on the history of trading on Wall Street — the latest exhibit at the Museum of American Finance — is supposed to give visitors a look at how much has changed, but just as striking is how much has stayed the same.

The exhibit “Trading on the Street,” which opens today, shows how trading has evolved from chaotic curbside auctions of the late 18th century through the time of ticker tape and telegraph until today’s digital age. It also offers a glimpse into past panics that are eerily reminiscent of today’s current troubles.

Continue reading "Museum of American Finance takes trip through Wall Street's trading past" »

By Jason Fink

The City Council voted today to put the lower back into the Lower East Side, approving zoning changes that would limit building heights on most blocks to eight stories.

“Today we take the first step in preserving the low-scale nature of our historic community,” said Councilwoman Rosie Mendez (D-Manhattan), who represents most of the area.

The rezoned area — 111 blocks bounded roughly by 13th Street to the north, Grand and Delancy streets to the south, the Bowery to the west and Avenue D to the east — has seen a surge in development in recent years.

Advocates for the plan argued that high-rise construction, exemplified by the 20-story Hotel on Rivington, threatened the character of the neighborhood.

“Up until the economic downturn we were facing a plethora of out of place, out of context high-rises,” said Councilman Alan Gerson (D-Manhattan), who represents part of the area.

Continue reading "Building height limits approved for Lower East Side, East Village" »

By V.L. Hendrickson
Special to amNewYork

Once known to gourmets only as the home of Fairway’s biggest store, an area known as West Harlem Piers is emerging as a culinary hotspot. “We now have a restaurant row,” a long-time West Harlem resident and activist, Savonna Bailey-McClain, says. “We have choices.” The restaurants inhabit the once-empty warehouses on 12th Avenue from 125th Street to 133rd Street, near the new West Harlem Waterfront Park and the Cotton Club. Water taxi service, retail stores, and another restaurant (for which a bidding war is currently taking place) are all planned for the area. The cuisine at these restaurants ranges from Latin-inspired seafood to barbecue to authentic Italian, offering it up with live music, spacious dining rooms, and valet parking.

Photo: RJ Mickelson

Continue reading "A restaurant row emerges in Harlem" »

By Emily Ranager

Nov. 20, Beaujolais Nouveau: The third Thursday in November traditionally marks the release of Beaujolais Nouveau, a fruity red wine made from Gamay grapes and produced in France. Join other wine lovers and uncork a bottle at Jules Bistro, where there will be complementary appetizers, dinner specials from the Beaujolais region and live jazz from 8:30 to 11 pm. All attendees will be entered to win two round-trip business class tickets to Paris. 65 St. Marks Place, 212-420-0998.

Continue reading "Calling all foodies: This week’s dining events" »

Now, no matter where you live, you have no excuse not to party on the Upper West Side. From now until January 1, the uptown outpost of Villlage Pourhouse (932 Amsterdam Avenue between 108th and 109th streets) will match up to $25 in cab fare with a bar tab. If you are downtown and crave a change of scenery, just hop in a cab, and be sure to ask the driver for a receipt. Once you arrive, the bartender will start your tab with a credit for the same amount as your fare.

First this broadcast reporter answers his cell phone during a live interview, then he proceeds to destroy a record-breaking tower of blocks.

Here in tough-times New York, all of us have to cut back where we can.

So when I landed the other night at JFK, I didn’t head straight for the taxi line. I was alone. I was traveling light, just an over-the-shoulder carry-on. Did I really need a $45 taxi ride — plus toll and tip — when I could jump on the $5 MTA AirTrain to Howard Beach, then grab the A train home?

It was my first time on the AirTrain, and I have to say: What it lacked in charm, it made up in efficiency. Clean, shiny and hushed, a perfect emblem for easy-money, pre-9/11 financing in New York.

The subway was another story.

Continue reading "Henican: Too many signs of a scarier New York" »

Jimmy Breslin is an iconic New York journalist. The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist has covered everything from sports to civil rights. Breslin, now 78, worked for several newspapers, including Newsday and the New York Daily News.

amNewYork discussed the current economic crisis and how its effect on New York might compare to the tough times the city endured in the 1970s.

Is the city heading in the same direction it went in the ’70s?

You didn’t have the [expletive] kids from Washington Heights getting killed in a war with Iraq. That’s the first thing.

You’ve got unemployment. … You just had three big auto companies going broke. Banks folding. Who ever heard of a bank bouncing? Checks did, but the banks never did. It was nothing like this. You could go get a loan in the ’70s. You can’t get a loan today. You can’t do anything.

Everybody’s going broke. … That’s why this is worse than anything we’ve had.

Continue reading "Breslin Q&A: 'Everybody's going broke'" »

With the economy in free fall, amNewYork examines how the budget crisis might impact the city's quality of life. This is the first of a three-day series

By Rolando Pujol

Could this be 1974 all over again?

That’s not quite as crazy as it sounds. A number of troubling indicators has some New Yorkers worried about a 1970s rerun, and most of the problems disturbingly predate the recent Wall Street meltdown.

Crime has flared up in certain neighborhoods, shelters report a record number of newly homeless families and complaints about graffiti have soared. The big wild card, of course