BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

Source: Jamie Adams via Wikimedia Commons

Although the legislative calender for 2013 is quickly ending, Governor Andrew Cuomo is still trying to sort out the question of bringing legalized gambling to the state. Times Union is reporting that Cuomo is using the remaining 23 legislative days to strike a deal.

While Cuomo is hard at work in trying to sort through a compromise that would bring three casinos to upstate New York, the governor couldn’t guarantee that it would happen.

“[C]asinos are among the most complicated” Cuomo said referring to the legislative measures left on his agenda.

While the governor is delaying the proposed plan of fully legalizing gambling and bringing seven casinos to the state, he still thinks its possible to approve three gambling meccas in upstate New York, with the first one being built in the Catskills.

The governor said Election Day 2014 might be better-suited to put a proposed referendum to allow for up to seven casinos before voters because this year’s biggest race is New York City’s mayoral contest. Since he is advocating for just three upstate casinos to be built in the near term, metropolitan area voters might not bother to vote on a constitutional amendment to legalize gambling outside the city.

“That’s a major problem,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo’s delaying of a full-blown push for legalized gambling probably reflects the mixed public reaction on the issue. Polls have shown that a slim majority of New Yorkers asked are against the idea of building all of the proposed casinos upstate, meaning they want one in the city. The same poll also pointed to a contradiction in people’s feelings as it showed that a majority also do not want a casino in the city.

You see, it’s complicated.

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott. Source: SODAPICS2008 / Flickr

New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott will be the guest speaker at the next Community Education Council (CEC) District 20 meeting, tonight at 6:00 p.m. in Public School 204, 8101 15th Avenue.

The chancellor will discuss student achievement and school finances, as well as the city’s educational goals and priorities. There will be an opportunity for questions from the public.

To learn more, call CEC 20 at (718) 759-3921, email CEC20@schools.nyc.gov, visit CEC 20 on the web or like them on Facebook.

Source: azipaybarah via flickr

In case you didn’t know, political veteran Sal Albanese is running for mayor. Although considered a long shot, SI Live is reporting that Albanese has been put forward a sweeping reform of the city’s transportation system in his bid to capture New York City’s top throne.

Albanese’s ideas center around his vision to create to a quicker and fairer mass transportation system. He also wants to make tolls for the Verrazano-Narrows bridge cheaper. SI Live summarized these proposals:

With commute times to Manhattan from the South Shore of Staten Island topping 90 minutes, the former Brooklyn councilman wants to add 20 more select bus routes citywide, including here.

Albanese also wants to expand ferry service citywide, and that includes a South Shore ferry.

Realizing that such a service is expensive, Albanese said “it’s important to subsidize it,” and would use money generated from his other proposals to fund the initiative.

No matter how much mass transit expands, some areas of the city will remain what he calls “public transit deserts,” with driving being the only viable option. So Albanese wants to restructure the tolling system, expand mass transit and enhance certain highways to get as many cars as possible off the road.

As for the surging cost of the tolls on the Verrazano, which Albanese said was like, “getting mugged without a gun,” the mayoral hopeful put forward a fairer tolling system, which includes creating tolls on East River crossings in an effort to lower tolls all around. Albanese also supports the proposed Verrazano pedestrian pathway.

According to Albanese, Verrazano tolls would be reduced from $15 to $6. 

“Once we lower it, it will stay at that level as long as I’m in office,” SI LIve reported Albanese saying. “Why should Staten Islanders be penalized like they are?”

To achieve the lofty goals set out by Albanese, he first wants to take control of the transportation system from the MTA so that the city has a better understanding of where all the money is going.

Citing that 40 percent of the entire country’s mass transit use occurs in New York, Albanese is also pushing for increased federal spending on mass transportation.

SI Live included a breakdown of the rest of Albanese’s comprehensive reforms:

• Create performance-driven tolling, lowering prices during off-peak periods.

• Significantly reduce tolls on the Verrazano, Gil Hodges, Throgs Neck, Cross Bay, Whitestone and RFK bridges. 

• Implement open tolling systems on the East River bridges, with discounts for vehicles-for-hire and certain commercial vehicles and trucks.

• Eliminate the parking tax rebate south of 86th Street in Manhattan, which rewards car ownership where mass transit is most plentiful.

• Create a surcharge on vehicles-for-hire that travel below 86th Street in Manhattan. 

• Create a mayor’s task force for safer transportation.

• Convert underused street space into pedestrian plazas. 

• Expand bike sharing and the network of protected and shared bike lanes in neighborhoods where demand is high and safe cycling routes are limited.

• Significantly reduce speeding by aggressively lobbying Albany to approve the use of speed cameras around senior centers and schools. 

• Increase NYPD enforcement of sensible traffic laws.

Based on the scope of these reforms, it sounds like Albanese is betting that aggressive transportation reform is what voters want to hear about in the upcoming election.

Source: Facebook

Six months after Superstorm Sandy thrashed Southern Brooklyn, Congressman Michael Grimm stated in an interview that the full recovery has merely just begun, according to a report by the Hill.

In an appearance on CNN’s “Starting Point,” Grimm noted that the Congressional funds approved by Congress late last January are just now reaching the people and communities that need them. Grimm discussed the logistics of why aid is only starting to flow a half a year since Sandy struck.

“$51 billion, that’s a lot of taxpayer money, so obviously the Congress wants to be stewards of their money and make sure that its spent correctly. To do that through a massive city like New York, and a massive state, a lot of things need to be put into place,” he said.

Grimm also stressed that even though the money is finally starting to reach those who need it, that the recovery will be long and especially tough for those who have been waiting.

“There’s a lot of work to be done for not only people like that but for small businesses that are struggling, and if they don’t get their funding soon they will unfortunately close their doors forever.”

Source: The Elp Blog

Alternate Side Parking regulations are suspended for Thursday and Friday, May 2 and 3, for Orthodox Holy Thursday and Orthodox Good Friday.

All other rules, including parking meters, remain in effect.

You can download your own 2013 Alternate Side Parking Suspension calendar — in English, as well as in Chinese, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian or Spanish (all PDFs) — from the NYC DOT’s website.

You know what they say about plans: Man plans and God laughs.

Bensonhurst resident Tina Panariello knows this better than most. She just wanted to be an actress, and set out to realize that dream. But, instead, she embarked on a life journey that took her from stage, to home-business owner, to struggling mom, to acclaimed artist. And now she begins a new life as author and mentor, telling her personal story of career evolution, and the trials and tribulations of living life, owning businesses in New York City, and how an obsessed hobbyist turned pro by mere happenstance – all in her autobiography, Polished: Filing Away At Life’s Truths.

Panariello was 11 years old when her mother chose to move her from her Manhattan home near the East River to Brooklyn, settling down in the Marlboro Projects in 1957. She attended Lafayette High School while she worked as an executive secretary. Eventually, Panariello moved on to get a two-year degree from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Panariello had a career in acting sparked after landing the lead role in Cabaret at Staten Island Community College. Her love of the stage eventually swayed Panariello to go into acting full-time, and she auditioned for roles both on- and off-Broadway. She owned her own children’s theater group and joined the Narrows Community Theater (NCT) for a time, during which she got pregnant with her son, Wayne.

Getting into the nail art industry was something that happened naturally for Panariello. When their son was young, she and her husband had a home jewelry business. Panariello spent her spare time dabbling with the small-canvas art of painting nails, and eventually her jewelry customers noticed the art on her own fingertips and wanted it for themselves. It started out small with several clients who she’d visit in their homes. From there, her business grew. Eventually Panariello decided to open a store called Nail Artistry by Tina, then located on 20th Avenue.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the store. During the late 80’s, the economy crashed, leaving Panariello with a struggling business.

“I almost lost my business. It was horrible. So, I had to make a decision. I had to go find a job,” Panariello said. “Between the salon and the job in Manhattan I was able to put food on the table for my son. That is how I did it. There was no other way.”

Panariello bounced back and eventually moved her business to another store at 2344 86th Street and has been there ever since.

Panariello has accomplished much in her 33 years of nail artistry, including being a nail art educator for OPI, a leading nail polish manufacturer and distributor. She has won several awards for her hand-painted nail art and has gone on to judge competitions.

The job has taken her to some exotic locations.

When Panariello was working in the city, for example, she met a woman who was impressed with her work and offered her an opportunity to teach a class in Puerto Rico. Panariello was flown to San Juan where she did several events, including television appearances. Panariello describes the trip as “the greatest part of her career.”

Source: Thomas Good via Wikimedia Commons

Politicians in New York are looking to break ground by making New York the first state to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21. The New York Daily News is reporting that State Senator Diane Savino, an admitted ex-smoker, is leading the push to make it harder for teenagers to get their hands on tobacco products.

“If I could prevent one kid, one kid from ever developing that habit, this legislation is worth it. We’re going to get this passed and we are going to become a state where you can’t buy cigarettes unless you are over the age of 21,” the Daily News reported Savino saying.

As cigarette prices continue to climb in New York City, politicians are also looking to extend the price hikes state wide to prevent cross county purchases. Savino stressed the importance of these measures.

“Young people will go across the border. All of the cigarette sellers in the other counties said, ‘That’s great! You want to raise the age in New York City, they’ll just come to Nassau, they’ll come to Suffolk, they’ll come to Westchester, they’ll come to Rockland.”

These hard-line tobacco measures also have the backing of Council Speaker and mayoral front-runner Christine Quinn.

As for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is famous for his stern stances on public health issues, he was originally against the proposed bump in the smoking age but changed his mind, according to a report in the New York Post.

“Anything you can do to make it harder for teenagers to get hooked is a great contribution to their lives for the rest of their lives,” he said.

An aide who discussed the issue with the mayor said his only remaining concern was that the smoking age would be higher than the age for joining the military, which is 18.

When it was pointed out that the drinking age here is 21, the matter was settled.

“He signed off on it quickly,” said one source. “It was literally a five-minute conversation.”

Source: NYPD via brooklynews.com

The NYPD are after a thief who snatched a woman’s iPhone on the F Train.

The Brooklyn News reported that the thief, described as black male in his 20s, grabbed the 22-year-old woman’s iPhone from her hands on a Brooklyn-bound F Train, then bolted for an exit at the 18th Avenue stop.

If you have any information regarding the crime, the NYPD urges you to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. You can also submit tips to www.nypdcrimestoppers.com. All calls are kept in strict confidentiality.

Source: crashmaster007 via flickr

When the economy is in bad shape for a long time, people expect crime to increase across the board. It comes as no surprise when gang related violence and robberies surge, but it is startling when strange crimes like animal kidnapping become more common. Such was the ordeal facing Prospect Heights resident Dina Sasson. A New York Daily News report  detailed the ridiculous yet scary situation Sasson found herself in when her dog was kidnapped and held for a $100 ransom.

The trouble started when Disco, Sasson’s 5-year-old Shih Tzu, escaped from Sasson’s mother’s front yard in Midwood two weeks ago. Two women who found the dog called the number on Disco’s collar and demanded a reward, threatening that if they weren’t compensated, Sasson wouldn’t see the dog again.

Fearing that alerting the police would bring harm to her dog, Sasson agreed to meet the kidnappers behind a Shop Rite located on Kings Highway and West 13th street in Gravesend.

“I was frantic,” Sasson told the Daily News. “I gave them the money and then walked away. I just wanted my dog back.”

According to the Daily News, animal kidnapping has been on the rise.

“They either steal dogs to keep for themselves, sell on the black market, give as gifts to others, or hold as ransom until the owners pay them money,” a spokeswoman for the American Kennel Club said.

Nationally, the group recorded 255 thefts in 2010, 444 in 2012, and a nearly 60% rise in the number of cases reported over the first quarter this year, she said.

The lesson here is that animal owners should take extra care in keeping an eye on their pets so that they aren’t forced into similar creepy situations.

Activists were displeased when the Parks Department decided to replace the wooden boardwalk on Coney Island with a cement and plastic one. Now, six months after Superstorm Sandy battered our shores, the New York Post is reporting that residents and business owners are complaining that sand is accumulating on the new boardwalk.

The barrage of sand upon the historic promenade has been so terrible that the city has been forced to assign extra workers to keep shoveling it back on to the beach. Boardwalk preservationists are blaming the new cement base for all the extra sand.

“With cement, there’s nowhere for the sand to fall through. There’s no doubt the new surfaces are causing the sand to pile up like never before…This is what you get when the city decides to make changes without doing a proper environmental review,” Todd Dobrin, president of the Friends of the Boardwalk and a candidate for City Councilman Domenic Recchia’s seat in the 47th District, told the Post.

Residents, including Maureen Masterson, 32, were also angry. While trying to maneuver her two-year-old daughter’s stroller through obstructive piles of sand, the Bensonhurst mother expressed negativity over the situation.

“This is horrible. It’s like Sandy never left,” Masterson told the Post.

The encroaching sand isn’t just bad for people trying to walk on the boardwalk. As sand accumulates, it starts blowing in people’s faces, which the city has been vigorously trying to prevent by wetting the sand down.

Local business owner Dennis Vourderis, co-owner of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, told the Post that the sand has never been worse. It is “even piling up in the amusement district — which still maintains a wooden boardwalk,” he said, blaming the extra sand on Sandy “pushing it closer to the boardwalk and making it ‘finer’ so it blows more freely.”

“This is the worst we’ve seen it,” said Vourderis, who recently put up netting outside Deno’s to block sand from damaging his rides’ motor systems. “We have to shovel all week just to be ready for the weekend.”

For its part, the Parks Department is blaming Mother Nature and isn’t accepting the idea that the new boardwalk has anything to do with all the extra sand.

“Sand will accumulate on a boardwalk without regard to the decking or the foundation,” the Post reported Parks Department spokeswoman Meghan Lalor as saying.