Wallet Swipe
A Bronx woman reported that someone swiped the wallet out of her purse at the No. 1 subway station on Broadway and West 66th Street. Police said that while the 59-year-old woman refilled her MetroCard at a machine June 4 at 8:30 a.m., her purse had been left open, hanging off her left shoulder. She told police that a man was hovering in the area. The victim said she realized that her wallet was missing while she was at a nearby coffee shop. The cards were not used.
In Wake of Subway Stabbing, Concerns About Crime on Public Transit
In a blast from the not-so-fondly-remembered past, violent gang activity spilled out of Central Park into Manhattan subway stations last week, with one of the teens involved in the altercation getting stabbed.
According to the New York Post, the trouble began when one gang confronted another in Central Park. One group fled, heading down into the subway station at West 72nd Street and Central Park West and jumping the turnstiles. Read more
Four Arrested for Subway Stabbing
Four people were arrested and charged with gang assault for an April 20 stabbing on a train along the Central Park West subway line. The victim, a 21-year-old Brooklyn man, told police he was at the West 72nd Street stop, at Central Park West, when a group of teens surrounded him. He said the group accused him of being involved with one of the attacker’s girlfriend. The victim said he was sucker punched in the head and stabbed in the back with a knife. Jeramy Gil, 19, Antonio Singh, 18, and two female minors, 17 and 15, were arrested for the attack.
The Woman Behind Subway Abortion Ads
The “Abortion Changes You” campaign, running since early March, has added a little controversy to straphangers’ commutes, with New York Times columnist Susan Dominus calling the effort “propaganda masquerading as therapy.”
The ads, which feature a serious young woman and direct viewers to a website (abortionchangesyou.com), are the work of Michaelene Fredenburg, a Wisconsin-born mother of two who now lives in San Diego. Read more
Renovated 96th Street Station Open to Straphangers
“I got a monthly. Here I go,” said State Sen. Bill Perkins, pulling his MetroCard out of his wallet inside the new expansion of the West 96th Street station.
Straphangers wiggled through a throng of MTA officials, elected representatives and press to access the new 96th Street station house—an above-ground entrance to the No. 1, 2 and 3 trains that sits on the Broadway median, between West 95th and 96th streets. Read more
Armed Robbery in Subway Shop
Three men robbed the Subway sandwich shop at 33 West End Ave. and West 61st Street. Police said that Feb. 26 at 8:40 p.m., three men entered the shop. While one acted as the lookout, two men shoved an employee in the backroom with another worker. One of the intruders pulled out a gun and asked for the keys to the register. After getting the keys, the thieves tied up the two employees. Police said the suspects made off with $1,500. One employee was able to free himself and called 911.
Bus Routes Spared, But Service Cuts Possible
New York City Transit released a new plan for service cuts Jan. 21, with the goal of saving $77.6 million. Upper West Side residents will bear less of the pain they would have endured under the old plan, proposed in December 2009. In the revised cuts, the M10 bus line that runs on Central Park West was saved from elimination. Overnight service through Central Park on the M79 and M96 bus lines, along with the M104, which runs along Broadway, were saved as well.
Here’s how the revised cuts will affect West Side buses and subways.
WORRIES OVER COLUMBUS SQ. CONSTRUCTION
Park West Village residents near the Columbus Square development met with Department of Buildings officials earlier this month to discuss safety in the area.
The Dec. 3 meeting, held at Second Presbyterian Church on Central Park West and West 96th Street, was organized after an Oct. 8 crane malfunction caused a counterweight to crash through a pedestrian sidewalk. There were no fatalities or injuries, but the crane accident rankled residents who were already angered by the history of safety incidents at the West 97th Street development.
“How can we be sure construction will be safe for residents in surrounding communities?” said Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, who co-hosted the event. “This is an opportunity to have a dialogue.”
The buildings department officials told the crowd of 50 that two more cranes will be used in construction of Columbus Square, at 795 and 805 Columbus Ave.
To protect against future accidents, Donald Ranshte, director of comm-unity affairs at the Department of Buildings, said that pedestrians need to be prohibited from using the walkway while a crane is hoisting a load. Though there are flagmen on construction sites to keep pedestrians out of harm’s way, Ranshte told the crowd to report unsafe situations.
“We like to try and enforce it, but if you see it, you might want to call 311,” Ranshte said.
One resident asked about crane inspections to prevent future accidents. But Michael Alacha, assistant commissioner for engineering and emergency operations, noted that there are annual inspections and daily maintenance.
“Mechanical failure could not have been predicted,” Alacha said.
Paul Bunten, head of the community group Westsiders for Public Participation, felt that nearby residents are not equipped to enforce the law and said he was still concerned about the construction site.
“We still don’t have a solution from this meeting,” Bunten said afterward.
MTA CUTS TO WS STATIONS
West Side subway stations are about to get a little lonelier for straphangers. The MTA, which has targeted stations for staff cutbacks, has detailed proposed changes that will reduce the number of subway employees.
“The plan to reduce staffing in subway station and to eliminate some secondary full-time agent booths is a part of New York City Transit’s larger cost-saving efforts,” wrote Howard Roberts, Jr., president of New York City Transit, in a letter to Council Member Gale Brewer.
The staff cuts are expected to take about six years to complete, according to the letter.
Express stops along the No. 2 and 3 train lines will have fewer station customer assistants. The Broadway entrance to the Columbus Circle station, at West 59th Street, will have reduced booth agent service hours—between 3:20 p.m. and 10:40 p.m.—and automated access the rest of the day.
A part-time station customer assistant at the West 72nd Street and Broadway express stop will be eliminated at the 71st Street entrance.
The West 94th Street entrance to the 96th Street express station will only have part-time booth-agent service, between 6:20 a.m. and 1:40 p.m.
Similar cuts will be made on local stops along the 1 line. The 66th Street Lincoln Center subway stop will lose two part-time station customer assistants at the Columbus Avenue kiosk and northbound platform on the Broadway side. On the 79th Street local 1 train stop, a full-time station customer assistant will be cut on the northbound side of the tracks. The West 86th Street station will lose two full-time station customer assistants and have part-time booth agent service on weekday mornings and late afternoons.
Lunch on the Go
Maryam Boddie (left) and Benita Campos breastfeed their babies on a downtown A train as part of the annual Breastfeeding Subway Caravan, organized by East Side State Sen. Liz Krueger and the New York City Breastfeeding Promotion Leadership Committee. The caravan celebrated the passage of Krueger’s Breastfeeding Bill of Rights, which is now awaiting the governor’s signature. The legislation codifies mothers’ right to breastfeed into a single, concise document, and bans commercial interests from influencing new mothers’ choice to breastfeed. Photo by Andrew Schwartz
