For years Con Ed has been the source of many headaches for New Yorkers. Recently their white and baby blue vans can be seen on the streets becoming ever more increasing in numbers. They are on the streets “repairing” who knows what, and constantly causing traffic and sidewalk obstructions. There were numerous cases of dogs being electrocuted due to exposed wires, left out by careless workers. The street lamps go on and off on random days and are rarely fixed in a timely manner. Their lower east side plant has been the cause of blackouts, fires, manhole explosions, and at one time was the cause of the highest asthma rates in the country. The unfortunate part is that Con Ed almost has a monopoly on the city’s power supply and there is little to be done when it comes to changing their work habits.
Now that the city is filling up with more and more people, as well as bringing in more and more money, Con Ed’s work ethic is going to have to change in order to appease everyone. I am also interested in seeing if they are going to be adjusting to the newly popular “green” mindset.
The tragic loss of two auxiliary police officers Nicholas Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik who were killed on March 14th paved the way for future auxiliaries to not have to work in fear. Police commissioner Ray Kelly announced that auxiliary officers will now be issued bullet proof vests as well as receiving better self defense training. After Pekearo and Marshalik were shot in Greenwich village, the city found out the hard way that the auxiliary force was very under equipped when it came to dealing with violent offenders. The mayor alloted $3.3 million in order to equip the approximately 4500 current officers with vests and offered $617,000 annually to continue to give new auxiliary officers as they join the force. Hopefully these new precautions will help prevent future volunteers from suffering the same unnecessary consequences as their fallen brethren.
New York University for a long time has been a source of frustration for East Village residents. NYU is constantly erecting new buildings and dorms, as well as expanding old ones. The buildings usually do not compliment the surrounding neighborhood, and the only residents occupying them are college students which do not mesh well with families and the elderly. A major complaint among the community is that NYU does what it wants without informing anyone in the neighborhood. A common request is that NYU proposes a long term plan involving their new buildings. Finally with the help of a newly formed task force and an architecture firm to be named later, NYU will project a final plan for it’s long term developments throughout the city, reportedly by May of 2007. For the full story click here.
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