Mayor Bloomberg Cover-Up E. Village Water Main Breaks Sewage Infrastruct...

St. Vincent's Trauma Exercise

A Mass Civilian Trauma Exercise was held outside St. Vincent’s Hospital.

One of the participants at last night's "mass civilian trauma exercise" at St. Vincent' Hospital asked, "Where is Christine Quinn ?"

As part of the "mass civilian trauma exercise," many participants wore surgical masks and paper signs around their neck. The signs indicated what accidents, diseases, or emergencies they "have." Then, the "sick" participants "waited" for emergency medical treatment on the sidewalks outside St. Vincent's. No emergency help ever came, precisely because there is no longer a hospital in the Lower West Side. Some participants did not "make it." After the "mass civilian trauma exercise" came to an end, team of "survivors" marched to Grace Church, 86 Fourth Avenue, Tuttle Hall, to ask for help from Jason Mansfield, the chair of CB2's Environmental, Public Safety & Public Health Committee.

Jason Mansfield #OccupyCB2

You are invited to participate in the enactment of a mass civilian trauma exercise on the sidewalk outside St. Vincent's Hospital.

Watch this YouTube documentary for background information about the controversial Rudin condo conversion plan for St. Vincent's Hospital :

Join community members as they plan to organise a field hospital on the sidewalks, form into make-shift blood donation lines, visualise what it would look like to set up alternative decontamination showers, help each other to tie on surgical masks to protect each other from air-bourne particles, and finally to think through what steps would need to be taken to request provisional mass casualty tents.

Some of the participants will ''not make it,'' because there is no Level 1 Trauma Center below 14th Street. And it probably takes ambulances over 30 minutes to respond to the Lower West Side of Manhattan, and then it would probably take another 30 minutes for ambulances to drive through busy cross-town traffic to any of the hospitals on the East Side. The ''survivors'' will have to figure out what to do with the “injured” participants.

Then, a team of survivors will walk over to Grace Church, 86 Fourth Ave., Tuttle Hall, to ask for help from Jason Mansfield, the chair of Manhattan Community Board 2's Environment, Public Safety & Public Health Committee. Community Board 2 is about to approve the rezoning of St. Vincent's to allow the billionaire Rudin Family to convert the hospital into luxury condos. Community residents hope that this civilian trauma exercise will educate and mobilise the public to stop CB2 from approving the dangerous Rudin condo conversion plan for St. Vincent's Hospital.

The community's goal is to keep the real estate zoning intact, to attract new hospital investors to restore a full-service hospital at the former site of St. Vincent's.

2011 10 17 RE ACT OccupyCB2 Flyer
2011-10-17 Stop the Rezoning of St. Vincent's Hospital Flyer #OccupyCB2

Bloomberg Tech Deal Waste Continues

The New York Times exposes another failed tech deal under the Bloomberg administration's mismanagement of large taxpayer-financed tech deals.

The New York Times reporter David Halbfinger spoke with Brian Lehrer from WNYC about Mr. Halbfinger's recent article about the New York City Automated Personnel System (NYCAPS) and the problems with the Bloomberg administration's wildly over-budget personnel tracking system. Nine years after work began, the Bloomberg administration has spent $363 million on the NYCAPS tech deal — and the work is far from done.

Bigot Bell - Episode 3 - Discrimination Policies Violate Our Values

Bigot Bell - Episode 3 - Discrimination Policies Violate Our Values

Members of #ConnectingRainbows release Episode 3 of #BigotBell YouTube Campaign against #Yum!Brands and #TacoBell.

Women Pepper-Sprayed by NYPD

Peaceful Female Protesters Penned on the Sidewalk and Pepper-sprayed by the NYPD in a Show of Excessive Force.

Is City Council Speaker Christine Quinn going to denounce the NYPD for their use of excessive force against unarmed women ?

Troy Davis Protest NYC

Video of the flashmob protest one day after the execution of Troy Davis, a man believed to be innocent of the crimes charged against him. Protesters were harassed by NYPD, pushed and shoved, and one protester was peeled away from the crowd, shoved the floor, and arrested.

Is Mayor Michael Bloomberg sanctioning this kind of behaviour by the NYPD ? What is City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's opinion about the NYPD's use of weapons and vehicles against passionate citizen assembly in protest of the death penalty ? Activists worry that Mayor Bloomberg will again resort to mass arrests, the same way he wholesale violated due process and civil liberties during the 2004 Republican National Convention.

Sarge Shriver is Rolling in his Grave

Melanie Meyers, a real estate partner at the former law firm of Sarge Shriver, makes part of her case in this excerpt of her FAR Rezoning presentation before Manhattan Community Board 2 on behalf of the billionaire Rudin Family. Ms. Meyers is lobbying, on behalf of William Rudin, to demolish many of the buildings that comprise the St. Vincent's Hospital campus, so that Mr. Rudin may build luxury condos in the heart of the West Village.

Decades ago, Greenwich Village survived plans by Robert Moses to demolish a wide swath across the Village as part of his foolish plan to construct a cross-town highway to the East Side. Now comes Mr. Rudin, with his heartless desires to gut the core of the Village and replace it with more useless luxury condos.

During Troy Davis Protest, NYPD Use of Excessive Force

NEW YORK CITY (22 Sept 2011) -- At a passionate, yet peaceful flashmob protest and march, activists against the death penalty demonstrated yesterday in New York City one day after the execution of Troy Davis, a man believed to be innocent of the charges that lead to his execution. In this exclusive video, watch as how officers from the New York City Police Department carried weapons, used excessive force, and made at least one violent arrest during yesterday's demonstration.

At The Riverside Church, A Covenant To End DOMA

Invitation to Wedding and Covenant to End DOMA at The Riverside Church (Fundraiser)

On Sunday, October 30, 2011, TJ Williams and Brad Hover are to be married at The Riverside Church in New York City in a ceremony, which will include a prayer -- calling on President Barak Obama to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) before the end of his second term in office.  TJ and Brad are calling this special prayer a Covenant to End DOMA. 

"My partner and I started planning our wedding before we even knew that marriage equality would be made legal in New York State. But we had faith that the laws would be changed in our endless effort towards achieving equality," said TJ Williams.

To raise money for the wedding and for the Covenant to End Doma, TJ has released the above YouTube fundraiser video. TJ and Brad need your help to gather leaders and speakers and others for a civil rights event, where President Obama will be asked to covenant with our nation's communities and its leaders to end DOMA before the end of his second term. All donations will be used for this service and for purposes of community-building around social justice.

Under the discrimination of DOMA, no state is required to acknowledge the legal same-sex marriages, even if they are legal in other states.  Participants in the Covenant to End DOMA are also hoping that this event will spur a conversation that would encourage unity between the African American community and the LGBT community, as we face the 2012 election year. 

Best Buy Was Price Gouging On Dasani Water Before Hurricane Irene Slammed Into New Jersey

As hurricane Irene bears down on the Jersey Shore, the Best Buy in Howell, NJ has taken it upon themselves sell cases of Dasani water for $40.56.

Best Buy Was Price Gouging On Dasani Water Before Hurricane Irene Slammed Into New Jersey

From theCHIVE :

At a time when it’s so important for these seaside communities to come together to help each other out (maybe even lower the price on water, eh), it’s disappointing to see a massive corporation like Best Buy not only assume zero social responsibility, but also go the extra mile to make a buck by selling bulk cases of water at the single bottle price during an emergency.

So I put it to you, Chivers. Is this ethical?

UPDATE #1: I just called Best Buy and spoke to one employee and a manager to confirm the photo. Both refused to answer my questions and told me I had to call corporate offices. My response was, ‘All you have to do is deny that you are doing this. It’s that simple.’
Neither party denied it. Instead I was rudely directed to corporate and then they hung up on me.

UPDATE #2: The manager of the Best Buy has responded and said, “… Sunday August 28th 2011, we will (be) price matching any local supermarket’s price for cases of water if they are needed for one day only as a gesture of good will.”

(One of the DJs for New Jersey 101.5 sent this photo to theCHIVE.)

Horse Carriages Work During Hurricane Irene Under Inhumane Weather Conditions

A horse-drawn carriage makes an illegal U-turn in the middle of a busy Midtown Manhattan street, on wet and slippery pavement no less, on a day when 370,000 people were ordered to evacuation flood zones in New York City.

Carriage Horses Working Despite New York City Shut Down #Hurricane #Irene

New York (27 August 2011) -- An hour ago, the government integrity watchdog and animal rights activist Donny Moss released the following statement by social media :

In spite of the evacuations, transportation shut down, the Mayor's plea to stay off the streets, and a law which states that carriages cannot work during "slippery conditions," carriage drivers worked all day. How does the ASPCA, which collects money in the name of helping the horses, allow this ? This industry is enabled and empowered by Christine Quinn, who has killed all bills to take these horses out of harm's way.

Animal rights activists have long complained that Ms. Quinn, the City Council Speaker, has no integrity at her core, and all of her talk about animal rights (much like all of her policies) are accompanied by touches of a legislative sleight-of-hand.

In a related e-mail newsletter to other animal rights activists, Mr. Moss remarked :

Dear animal advocate:

Several hours ago, portions of New York City were evacuated for the first time in history, and the largest public transportation system in the country was shut down due to Hurricane Irene. With conditions deteriorating, Mayor Michael Bloomberg implored New Yorkers to stay home for our own safety and so that emergency vehicles can easily navigate the streets. Downpours occurred throughout the day.

In spite of all of the above, and the law which clearly states that carriage operators cannot work during "ice, heavy rain or other slippery conditions," dozens of horse-drawn carriage operators were working as of 4:30 p.m. If history repeats itself, the horses will be forced to make the long, treacherous trip through the streets of midtown back to the "stables" when the storm intensifies.

As usual, the ASPCA, which collects an untold amount of money from donors in the name of helping the carriage horses, allowed the carriage drivers to leave the stables this morning and to work all day in the wet streets in spite of the law.

The ASPCA, which was founded to protect the carriage horses, continues to stand by and watch as the carriage operators to break the law. They mock -- instead of support -- the advocates who are working tirelessly to take the horses out of harm's way. And they continue to refuse to use their substantial clout, power and resources to shut this industry down, in spite of their own stance that horse-drawn carriages should be banned from NYC.

The horse-drawn carriage industry is also enabled -- if not empowered -- by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has blocked all efforts to take these horses out of Midtown, killing bills in committee before they see the light of day. In fact, Quinn has killed every meaningful animal protection bill introduced at City Hall since she became Speaker in 2006.

Following are pictures of horses working in the rain at about 3:00 p.m. today. Please share this information with your friends who donate money to animal organizations and/or who vote in NYC.

Thank you.
Donny Moss

Many restaurants were closed across New York City due to the dangerous weather conditions, but carriage horses were still being forced to work under inhumane street conditions.

Officials of the MTA New York City Subway ordered the nation's largest mass transit system to be closed at noon today, due to the dangerous wind and rain conditions in connection with Hurricane Irene, but Donny Moss reported that horses were still pulling carriages at 4:30 p.m. under dangerous street conditions.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed an evacuation order that demanded that approximately 370,000 people leave dangerous flood zones due to Hurricane Irene ; under these conditions, horse-drawn carriages were still working.

While businesses were closed and employees making preparations for Hurricane Irene, horses were lined up to pull unsuspecting tourists through dangerous Midtown traffic.

Riders were carrying umbrellas to protect them from the rain and wind, but horses were left to work completely exposed to the elements. Where is the humanity in this ?

A carriage driver holds up an umbrella to protect himself from the rain and wind, but the tired horse trudges through the elements as the city prepares for Hurricane Irene.

In a burst of rain from the outer bands of Hurricane Irene, a carriage driver uses an umbrella for himself, but he offers no protection from the elements to his horse.

A carriage driver wears a raincoat in a rainstorm from one of the outer bands of Hurricane Irene, as unsuspecting tourists are being driven through dangerous weather conditions. Meanwhile, the horse is being forced to work under inhumane conditions where everybody else is protected from the weather, but for the horse.

Still yet other carriage horse drivers are protected from the rain and wind by giant umbrellas, but there is no protection offered to the horses from the stormy weather arriving in New York from the outer bands of Hurricane Irene.

Hurricane Irene Penis Streaking [NSFW]

Weather Channel Live Report : Hurricane Irene Penis Streaking

Naked Man Bravely Shows Penis to Irene, Weather Channel [NSFW]

Read more about the Weather Channel/Hurricane Irene penis flasher on The Village Voice.

Quinn NYPD Raid Eagle

Is Christine Quinn going to hold the NYPD accountable for raiding the Eagle on the very night when marriage equality became law ? What kind of an LGBT leader is she, if she does not fight for our LGBT civil rights ? Join our Facebook page : Gays Against Christine Quinn.

Christine Quinn Mini-Me

Christine Quinn Uses City Council Funds (aka Taxpayer Money) to Reward Political Bosses

After City Council Speaker Christine Quinn got fluffed by NYTimes reporter David W. Chen, now comes Michael Powell, a columnist for the Gray Lady, who pulls back the curtain on Speaker Quinn's slush fund-tinged campaign for mayor.

Mr. Powell reports that Ms. Quinn was appointed Speaker of the City Council after she "charmed" political bosses from Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. At her coronation ceremony, she put Vito Lopez, the notorious Brooklyn political boss (who is the target of several ethical and corruption investigations) in the front row. Speaker Quinn has also scratched Mr. Vito's back in exchange for his political support. "The fates have smiled on Mr. Lopez’s social-service empire, the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council ; this year the Council sent more than $4 million its way," reported the NYTimes.

In a statement posted Facebook, a government integrity watchdog activist questioned why the latest NYTimes article stops short of probing the status of the federal investigation into Speaker Quinn's slush fund scandal.

"Instead of reporting on Quinn's criminal activity, the NY Times merely raises questions about her ethics and leadership: "But there are questions to be asked about her leadership, and not all cheery." Is it a fear of Bloomberg that prevents the Times from reporting on the well-documented budget and campaign corruption ?" Donny Moss posted on the social network.

This is how the NYTimes article ends :

Last year, a Council majority favored mandatory sick days for New Yorkers with less than a week of vacation. The mayor opposed it. Ms. Quinn killed it.

Some suggest that she has gotten lost in the game, that she can no longer recall the questions she once asked as an advocate. That sounds too definitive. Her arc is not done.

She affects nonchalance when described as a mayoral puppet: “You can call me Mini-Me. I don’t really care.”

The rub is that voters might care a lot.