MTA TO RAISE FARES
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority unanimously voted to raise fares on the city’s trains, buses, bridges and tunnels last Wednesday, Dec. 19. The new rates, which will go into effect in March, include a 25-cent increase on base subway and bus fares (up to $2.50), an $8 spike on 30-day MetroCards (to $112) and an extra $1 for a seven day pass (to $30).

Bridge and tunnel tolls all will increase, many by 53 cents to $5.33 for E-ZPass holders and by $1 to $7.50 for cash users. Metro-North and Long Island Railroad fares, which vary by time and distance, will go up on average 8.19 to 9.31 percent per ticket.

The bonus on pay-per-ride MetroCards also will decrease to 5 percent from 7 percent. A bonus will be applied to purchases of $5 or more, however, instead of the current $10 minimum.

To determine the fare changes, MTA accepted feedback from customers on four different proposals for increases earlier in the year. The price hike is the authority’s fourth in five years, and it is expected to generate $450 million annually.

CITY SEEKS TO EXTEND EAST RIVER FERRY SERVICE
Major Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and NYC Economic Development Corp. President Seth Pinsky announced their search for a long-term operator for the East River Ferry service. Launched in June 2011, the ferry this year already surpassed its projected 1.3 million passengers for the entirety of its three-year pilot program.

According to Bloomberg, “We now have the opportunity to build upon this success and sustain this essential part of our transportation vision well into the future. Expanding transportation options along the waterfront will better serve communities and spur new housing and economic development.”

A major success of this service was proven in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, in that it was one of the first forms of mass transportation that got back on its feet.

“This ferry has not only proved to be a reliable and efficient form of transportation in a time of crisis, but New Yorkers also really love taking it the rest of the year,” Quinn said.

BillyBey Ferry Co. operated the ferry for the pilot program, which will expire in June 2014. The new Request for Proposals seeks an operator to maintain, improve and possibly expand this system for the following five years. Responses to the request will be collected through March 2013.

KRUEGER ENDORSES LAPPIN FOR BOROUGH PRESIDENT
Last week, state Sen. Liz Krueger has announced her endorsement of Jessica Lappin in the Democratic primary of Manhattan borough president for next year. Krueger, who noted that she had worked with Lappin for almost 10 years, said she had no doubt about Lappin’s ability to lead and make a difference.

“She shares my commitment to reform and has a proven record getting results for all New Yorkers,” Krueger said, listing results such as limited power of big money, three new Manhattan waterfronts, regulation of crisis pregnancy centers and the building of additional schools.

Lappin, in turn, praised Krueger for her tenacity. “I am equal parts excited and honored to have Liz’s support in my campaign for borough president,” she said. “No one has done more to advance the cause of reform and good government in New York over the past decade than she has.”

RED HOOK WORKERS STAFF NEW FAIRWAY IN KIPS BAY
Workers from the Hurricane Sandy-ravaged branch of Fairway Market in Red Hook relocated to Manhattan last week to staff the company’s newly opened grocery store in Kips Bay. The Red Hook branch, which is right on the water in Brooklyn, remains temporarily closed, and the company has been working to place workers in its other locations and provide free shuttle services to transport them there. The new 40,119-square-foot branch, located in the Kips Bay Shopping Center at 550 Second Ave. (at East 30th Street), is the market’s fourth Manhattan store, and 12th overall. The market has opened nine of its locations in the past six years.

A tree blocks two lanes of traffic on Bedford Avenue at Avenue T in Brooklyn.

Their offices were flooded, their phones were down and the power has been out, but that hasn’t stopped lawmakers in Zone A from helping their constituents.

Congressional District 12, Carolyn Maloney vs. Chris Wight

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney

In this race for Congress, our endorsement goes to Democratic incumbent and prolific legislator U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney. Maloney has consistently delivered federal funding and services to her district, championing the Second Avenue Subway and other capital projects, working hard on the 9/11 Zadroga bill to grant healthcare to those affected by the terrorist attacks, and pushing against the Republican onslaught on women’s rights at the national level. While her Republican opponent Christ Wight has said that he is pro-choice, he doesn’t have a platform for promoting continued access to abortion and reproductive healthcare. Wight also toes the Republican line on cutting taxes and said that he would focus more on reducing corporate taxes than bringing federal dollars into the state and the district, which we believe would hurt, not help, the Upper East Side.

Senate District 28, Liz Krueger vs. David Garland

Sen. Liz Krueger

David Garland, a Republican and Independence Party candidate, presented a strong campaign with well-developed ideas for the Upper East Side. Garland, who speaks six languages and works at a management consultant for Fortune 500 companies, is a fiscal conservative, advocating for better use of tax incentives at the state level as well as reducing taxes for small businesses and corporations to keep them in New York. He also is a social libertarian, supporting gay marriage and reproductive and abortion rights. He is running, however, against a very strong opponent in State Senator Liz Krueger, and our endorsement goes to her in this race. Krueger has been a consistent champion of women’s rights as well as a powerful force in the Senate, as she serves as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee and could become the chair if her party takes the majority. She consistently provides excellent constituent services while diving into the weeds of budgets and complicated legislative issues, like the Reproductive Health Act that would move the state’s reproductive health laws from the penal to the civil code. While we support Sen. Krueger in this race, we hope to see David Garland continue in politics and would have considered endorsing him against a weaker Democratic candidate.

Senate District 31, Adriano Espaillat vs. Martin Chicon

We are declining to endorse either candidate in this race. While Republican Martin Chicon argued that he would be able to better serve the district as part of the (currently) majority party in the Senate and said that he would bring development and transit improvements to the district, we were not completely convinced that he would be the best representative for the Upper West Side’s heavily Democratic and liberal constituency. We are unable to endorse his opponent, incumbent Sen. Adriano Espaillat, however, since he did not make himself available for an endorsement interview.

Assembly District 76, Micah Kellner vs. Mike Zumbluskas

Assembly Member Micah Kellner

Democratic incumbent Micah Kellner presented a compelling case for promoting his reelection, specifically with an eye toward his advocacy on behalf of creating a new middle school in the district and his work against the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station. He also is supportive of raising the minimum wage as well as creating an angel investor tax credit, similar to what other states have implemented successfully, to keep tech innovators in New York. He is a strong opponent of hydrofracking in the state and said that he will continue to push to prevent or restrict it. His opponent, Mike Zumbluskas, is an Independent candidate running on the Republican line, and while he presented some ideas similar to Kellner, his emphasis on reducing taxes and challenging the Democratic majority in the Assembly were not strong enough reasons for voters to choose him. Despite the widely circulated rumor that he will be running for city council in 2013 (which he would neither confirm nor deny), we endorse Kellner in this race.

Assembly District 73, Dan Quart vs. David Casavis 

Assembly Member Dan Quart

In this race, we endorse the freshman incumbent Assemblyman Dan Quart. After winning the seat just over a year ago in a special election, Quart is running for a full term with a focus on improving the state and city’s energy policies and improving access to quality education on the Upper East Side. While we wish that Quart had presented a slightly stronger case for voters to return him to Albany, we also recognize that he’s only had a year in the job and we look forward to seeing what he can do if he wins reelection and had a full term to develop some of his positions and advance his ideas, especially in promoting green energy. His Republican opponent, David Casavis, who ran for Manhattan Borough President against Scott Stringer in 2009, presented little in the way of specific plans to help his district and almost no indication of the type of legislation he would pass, aside from opposing Democrats.

Assembly District 65, Sheldon Silver vs. Wave Chan 

Assembly Speaker Sheldon SIlver

While we wish that there were a stronger challenger running against all-powerful Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, our endorsement in this race still goes to him. Especially in light of his botched handling of the Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal, many argue that Silver’s iron-clad hold over the Assembly could use a shake-up, but the Tea Party Republican candidate Wave Chan isn’t the person to do that. Silver remains popular in his district and does advocate for his constituents’ needs, while Chan could only present vague ideas about severely cutting corporate taxes and encouraging new housing development without clear plans as to how he would specifically help the Lower East Side. He also would be a poor fit for a district with an active LGBT population, as he does not support gay marriage, only civil unions.

The Central Park Conservancy responded, assuring the public that the raccoons are a natural part of the park’s ecosystem and not to be automatically feared. The group estimates the population of raccoons hovers around 500.

Doug Blonsky, the CEO of the Conservancy and the Central Park administrator, assured Brewer in a letter that there haven’t been any confirmed reports of rabies in the raccoon population, and that seeing them out in the daytime is likely more a symptom of bad habits of the people who feed them than of a disease.

“We are also at a time of year when young raccoons are being extricated from nests by parents, so we are seeing an increasing number of raccoons during the day right now who are looking for homes,” Blonsky said in the letter. “Food is probably more important than shelter in these warm months, so they will go the easiest route to a snack.”

He said that while odd behavior in racoons—irregular gait, lethargy, looking disoriented—should be reported to a park worker on sight, the best way to handle raccoons is to give them a wide berth and don’t feed them, even if they stand with their adorable little paws outstretched.

Urgent Care Grand Opening
New York Doctors Urgent Care is celebrating its grand opening at a new location at 205 Lexington Ave. (at the corner of East 32nd Street) on Thursday, Sept. 13, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Local residents are invited to tour the new facility, meet the staff and share appetizers and refreshments. To RSVP, email Susan Nock at snock@newyorkdoctorsurgentcare.com or call 212-684-4700.

Krueger Hosts Event for Immigrants
State Sen. Liz Krueger, along with Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, is sponsoring an event called “Immigrants Connect” on Monday, Sept. 16, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the American Red Cross, 520 W. 49th St. The event will provide information on services available for immigrants who own or are interested in starting their own businesses, citizenship and naturalization processes, and health and government resources available. The event is also sponsored by the Housing Conservation Coordinators and the New York State Department of Labor.

Hunter College Writing Center Announces Fall Lineup
The Hunter College Writing Center offers free lectures and book talks this fall at their 695 Park Ave. location. Joyce Carol Oates will give talks on Oct. 9 and Nov. 27; Daniel Rose will give the annual Jack Burstyn Memorial Lecture on Oct. 16, and Sidney Offit will speak on “The Life and Work of Kurt Vonnegut,” on Oct. 22. Gay Talese will deliver the first Elizabeth Strong-Cuevas Lecture on Nov. 5. All book talks and receptions are at 7 p.m., and refreshments will be served. The Writing Center will also be offering their standard professional courses, led this semester by Daphne Merkin and The New Yorker’s Patricia Marx, who will give master classes in comedy and memoir writing. New course offerings include “Writing and Selling Personal Essays,” with Nancy Kelton and “Editing for Self-Editors,” with Beena Kamlani. Space is limited at all events; register at www.hunter.cuny.edu/thewritingcenter-ce, or call 212-772-4292.

Hydrofracking site in Lancaster, Penn.

By Megan Bungeroth & Mayara Guimaraes

The debate over hydrofracking has been raging in New York for years, and it may be coming to a head this year as Gov. Andrew Cuomo contemplates allowing the controversial drilling technique in the state for the first time.

The state currently has a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, but the governor has recently indicated that he would be open to allowing the process in certain areas of the state near the border with Pennsylvania, where fracking is already underway.

Fracking is a process used to extract natural gas from shale rock. Large volumes of water, chemicals and sand or ceramic beads are pumped into rock at high pressures, fracturing it and releasing the gas deposits that can then be piped to the surface. It’s a process that has been in practice in the oil and gas mining industries for decades, but a surge in natural gas production in recent years has put the latest hydrofracking methods into the national spotlight, and many New Yorkers don’t like what they’re seeing.

“While I understand the economic arguments in favor, those arguments do not take into account the potential costs—both economic and environmental—associated with fracking,” said State Sen. Liz Krueger. She’s been a vocal opponent of fracking in the state, as have many of her Upper East Side constituents.

“The experience of other states with ground and surface water contamination and well blowouts, concerns about the contents of fracking fluids and the significant damage to existing infrastructure that could result from allowing fracking are simply too great,” she said.
Problems in other states—contaminated drinking water being the gravest among them—have made New Yorkers especially cautious about allowing the process at home. The potential benefits, however, are what have been swaying some upstate lawmakers and landowners to lobby to allow fracking. Aside from the royalties offered to landowners in economically depressed areas of the state where farming has fallen by the wayside, allowing fracking has the potential to create jobs and tax revenue.

There’s also a large U.S. supply of natural gas, which burns cleaner than coal or oil. “You have to look at what’s available and what’s viable,” said Alan Herbst, a principal with Utilis Advisory Group, a New York-based oil and gas industry consulting company that has worked with many clients on fracking for natural gas.

“This checks off a lot of boxes. It’s clean, it’s cheap, it’s domestically available. Is it the perfect solution? Maybe not. But it’s something that’s been developed and it will lead up toward energy independence,” he said.

Some argue that energy companies should be investing in alternative fuels instead of pushing for more fracking.

“We’ve known that we need clean, renewable energy for a sustainable planet for a long time. But now, fracking and other extreme extractions are putting us in a precarious position because they’re giving us more fossil fuels at a very high price to our precious water, climate, ecosystems and environment,” said Elizabeth Kelley, a volunteer with the local anti-fracking group United For Action.
“They are delaying renewable energy development and they are taking climate change to the brink.”

Herbst said that while the industry and the state should be looking at other forms of fuel as well as large-scale energy conservation, natural gas will continue to be a big part of the United State’s energy plan for the foreseeable future.

“You can’t be against everything,” Herbst said. “You just can’t produce the power you need with solar and wind. It’s too expensive and it’s not what you call baseload—you can’t rely on it 24 hours a day.”

Upper East Side Assembly Member Micah Kellner has acknowledged the potential benefits of accessing the state’s natural gas reserves but urged the state to hold off until a thorough review can be completed.

“You are not talking about drilling for oil in places that have been used to drilling,” Kellner said. “We are talking about drilling in places throughout New York State—some of the last untouched land in the Northeast—that have never been disturbed.”

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is taking all of these factors into account as it conducts a Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) on hydrofracking—essentially a report on the potential impacts—and considers the 79,700 comments it has received from the public over two separate comment periods. The report should be completed by the end of the year.

The DEC recently came under scrutiny from several local lawmakers, including State Sens. Krueger and Tom Duane, for releasing some information about their study to the gas industry before making it public. Emily DeSantis, DEC’s spokeswoman, defended that decision.
“DEC has regularly and routinely met with environmental groups, industry, local government representatives and other stakeholders as it develops the final SGEIS for high-volume hydraulic fracturing,” DeSantis wrote in an email.

“Under the State Administrative Procedures Act, state agencies are required to assess the impacts of the regulatory action on the regulated entity. Agencies cannot gather this data without holding meetings and engaging in other forms of communication with the regulated community prior to proposing the regulation. Nothing in the regulations changed as a result,” she said.

Opponents of fracking argue that even strict regulations might not be enough to sufficiently protect the state’s water supply, and that the industry will find a way to get around the regulations regardless. Gas companies are seeking to drill the Marcellus Shale, the rock formation under which most of the region’s natural gas deposits sit. It also encompasses the watershed region in the Catskills from which New York gets most of its fresh water, and many argue that in order to protect the water supply, the state needs to maintain the outright moratorium on fracking that is currently in place.

Daniele Gerard, president of the Upper West Side’s Three Parks Independent Democrats, said there should be a hard line to protect the state’s water. “Water is a precious natural resource. We shouldn’t be injecting it with poisonous chemicals to obtain yet another fossil fuel. Energy companies should be using readily available technology to move wholesale to renewable energy and conservation measures,” she said.

The DEC won’t say what factors they are weighing in crafting their recommendations on hydrofracking, citing the ongoing scientific studies, but DeSantis did say that “if high-volume hydraulic fracturing moves forward in New York, it will do so with the strictest standards in the nation.”

That alone may be enough to keep the industry at bay, some argue, as other states open up for hydrofracking with more lax regulations.

“Given the intense interest and degree of concern expressed to date…it’s difficult to imagine that those restrictions would ever be relaxed regardless of pressure from industry,” said Telisport Putsavage, an environmental and energy law attorney with Sullivan & Worcester and former assistant counsel at the DEC.

“There are multiple shale formations and hydraulic fracturing opportunities in the United States, and I believe industry will ultimately gravitate toward the areas where resistance and regulation is less extensive, rather than continue to fight against what will most likely be the strictest regulatory regimen in the country.”

Fracking explained. Illustration courtesy of Wiki Commons.

The Cuomo administration has hinted it may allow hydrofracking to move forward only in municipalities that express support for the procedure, and this week Gov. Andrew Cuomo explicitly said that “home rule” should be a factor in deciding where to allow it. But the technology is such that drilling for natural gas in some locations and not in others doesn’t make sense, several lawmakers argued yesterday. “You may have a town that says no, but if the town next to it says yes … well, it’s horizontal hydrofracking we’re talking about,” State Sen. Tony Avella, an outspoken opponent of the controversial practice, said at a rally on the steps of City Hall. “The pipes are going to go a long distance underground and we’ll have contaminated water seeping into the water supply of a town that never wanted it.” State Sen. Liz Krueger said that polluted water from a single source could contaminate crops and livestock, which would in turn spread through the state. “If one county does it, it can contaminate other counties,” she said. “We are all one when it comes to this issue and we are all interdependent, literally and figuratively.”

10. Capital Tonight ‏@CapitalTonight
Today’s time warp, courtesy of Sen. Marty Golden.

9. Senator Liz Krueger ‏@LizKrueger
NY’s women need #fairpay, not posture lessons. Still can’t believe this really happened!

8. Andrew Gounardes ‏@agounardes
Marty Golden doesn’t get it. He’d rather teach women to walk like models than pass the Fair Pay Act

7. NARAL Pro-Choice NY ‏@ProChoiceNY
We may make 77 cents to every $1, but don’t worry ladies – @SenMartyGolden will help fix your posture.

6. Rita Meade ‏@ScrewyDecimal
This is my neighborhood. This is my (current) state senator. THIS is why we have to vote, ladies. Get him outta here.

5. katie honan ‏@katie_honan
sen. marty golden to announce new “MRS Degree Scholarship” for constituents who decide to attend college to find a husband.

4. Travis Tubbs ‏@TravisTubbs
Why no equal pay, ladies? You’re not lady-like enough. No worries. There’s a class for that! *facepalm*

3. Henry Stewart ‏@henrycstewart
Hey ladies, Marty Golden wants to teach you how to walk up and down stairs ELEGANTLY, b/c that’s how you get a job!

2. Indecision ‏@indecision
Ladies, having trouble finding a job? One State Senator’s office is here to help and it’s not sexist at all!

1. Colin Campbell ‏@BKcolin
@morninggloria aaaaaaaand canceled!

To read more from City & State click here.

By Alan S. Chartock

With Chief Justice John Roberts supporting the congressional right to pass the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), the politics of health care rises to the top of the list in New York state. Let there be no mistake about it: Politics in New York can get very dirty, especially when big money is involved. We had better be careful.

State Sen. Pedro Espada serves as a perfect example of the toxic mixture of health care, politics and money. His Soundview Health Center clinic is now closed, thanks to his political corruption. First he raised people’s expectations about health care, then he crashed them.

New York is certainly not the only state where politics can get dirty—it’s just the way the game is too often played. When you are a state senator, you are powerful. When you are a corrupt state senator, not only are you powerful, you can put your dirty hand into the pot and take money that should go to people who need it a lot more than you do.

We have seen it time and again. When dirty politicians like Carl Kruger get to vote, that vote and that influence become toxic. A system that allows this kind of thing—in health care or any other area—is poison.

In New York, a lot of influence is doled out to individual senators. In order to put together a winning coalition that can rule the political roost, a leader has to find the votes to make a majority. When the Democrats got their chance, they needed Espada so much that they gave him enormous power. When the Republicans had to put together a winning coalition, they likewise gave the corrupt Kruger enormous power in order to get him on board. When people wanted something from him, they went to his bagman, Richard Lipsky, who put in the order, not unlike a waitress at the local greasy spoon.

When President Barack Obama, as part of his health care legislation, asked that states establish “exchanges” where people could buy their health care insurance, state Senate Republicans balked. As a result, instead of having a state law establishing the exchange, Gov. Andrew Cuomo established the exchange in New York by executive order. The last thing that Republicans, taking cues from the national party of the same name, were going to do was to help Obama win re-election with his signature heath care program.

The problem is, things are going to get complicated. The same political influences that allowed Espada and Kruger to do their dirty work will undoubtedly show their faces in this complicated exchange system. The more complicated it is, the more points of access there will be for the few rotten apple politicians who give a bad name to all their colleagues. We will need to police the new system—and that’s easier said than done. In my mind’s eye, I see some politicians drooling over the potential opportunities here.

The question, of course, is one of political will. If we truly want to make the new system corruption-free, we will be able to. In the past, however, we have been known to present crooks with opportunities. Our mistake was that we should have extended a single payer system, like Medicare, to all Americans. After all, that system works and we know it.

Of course, there are crooks who try to game that system, but it has by and large been highly successful and uncomplicated. Now the powers that be are insisting that the insurance companies get their greedy hands into the mix, hence the complicated exchange system.
Once again, the foxes have been put in charge of the hen house. As Pete Seeger wrote in “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” “When will we ever learn?”

Alan S. Chartock is president and CEO of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio and an executive publisher at The Legislative Gazette.

EAST SIDE LAWMAKERS PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF PREGNANT WORKERS
Last week, Upper East Side Rep. Carolyn Maloney joined three Democratic co-sponsors in introducing new federal legislation that would protect pregnant women against unfair job discrimination.

Maloney joined fellow New York City Rep. Jerrold Nadler and two others in presenting the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The bill is supported by 119 advocacy groups from across the nation and has 63 original cosigners. The law would require employers to give reasonable working accommodations for pregnant women and prevent employers from forcing these women onto leave, paid or not, when a reasonable adjustment can be made to their workload.
The bill will also relinquish hiring discrimination toward women who are pregnant and in need of certain accommodations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.

“Women need to work during pregnancy and must not be penalized in the workplace for choosing to have a child,” Maloney said. “The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act will give women the tools they need to fight ‘maternal profiling’ on the job.”

The bill follows the introduction of a similar measure at the state level from State Sen. Liz Krueger.
“When pregnant women cannot be provided reasonable accommodations at their workplace, they lose wages and opportunities for advancement, their newborns are disadvantaged and both their employers and the economy as a whole suffer unnecessary losses,” Krueger said.

The sponsors of the national bill cite recent examples of pregnant women losing their jobs after asking for minor accommodations, like carrying a water bottle or help with certain physical tasks, as the impetus for creating the protections.

UES RAPIST CONVICTED
Last summer, the Upper East Side was terrorized by several different perpetrators of sexual assaults, and early last week, a man arrested for two of those crimes pleaded guilty to rape and sexual abuse.

Jason Quinones, 22, who was 21 at the time of the attacks, admitted to raping a woman in her East 90th Street home last August. He climbed through the window of her ground floor apartment at 4:30 a.m. while she slept, grabbed her cell phone to keep her from calling the police and raped her.

Quinones was arrested several days later based on DNA evidence left at the scene, and was later charged with another sexual assault that had taken place in July on East 83rd Street. He told prosecutors that he approached his first victim from behind in her building and forced her into her apartment, where he pushed her onto a couch and sexually abused her.

District Attorney Cyrus Vance admonished Quinones for committing “atrocious sex crimes.”

“In both cases, he saw a chance to sexually assault a woman while she was vulnerable, and both times, he took it,” Vance said.

Quinones is scheduled to be sentenced June 20 and could face up to 25 years for the class B felony rape conviction, as well as up to 7 years for the sexual abuse conviction.

MORE DELAYS FOR EAST SIDE ACCESS
The Long Island Railroad is subject to delays and shuttle use, but if customers want to make use of the proposed Grand Central Terminal, they will have to invest in time travel.

Last week, MTA chairman Joe Lhota explained that the tunnel may not be completed until 2019—six years after the proposed completion date. An official from the MTA stated that construction is underway around the active tracks in Sunnyside, Queens, where Amtrak, LIRR and NJ Transit operate trains.

Lhota said the engineers and workers who are tunneling underground in Queens have encountered serious issues that will set back the construction of the connection.

The project was originally supposed to be finished in 2013, but a change in contractors, loose ground in Queens and aneed to keep trains running to meet the demands of a traveling workforce have repeatedly pushed back the completion date.

SLA HITS EAST SIDE RESTAURANT WHERE  IT HURTS
Local activists are finding creative ways to push back against rogue food delivery cyclists who flout the laws and endanger pedestrians. After the community rallied against the liquor license application for an Upper East Side Chinese restaurant because it allowed its delivery men to ride illegal motorized bikes, the State Liquor Authority denied the establishment’s application.

The New York Post reported on the hearing in Albany last week for Adam’s Chinese Restaurant (which does business as  Vicky’s Cottage) on East 91st Street, noting that this is the first time that the SLA has denied a license based on non-alcohol-related issues. When owner Denny Dong told the SLA that he couldn’t control what his delivery men did after they left the restaurant, they didn’t take kindly to the suggestion that he wasn’t responsible for his own workers.

“What else don’t you have control over, your employees selling to underage people?” an SLA official asked, according to the Post. “If you can’t control your employees, we can’t grant a license.”

Community Board 8 has been trying to get the restaurant to comply with traffic laws and prohibit its deliver workers from reckless driving and riding electric bikes, and members have been mulling ways to convince restaurants that the community is serious about cracking down on dangerous biking—a sentiment that the SLA is clearly backing.

Big Brother wants your Facebook password. A spate of complaints regarding companies requiring applicants and employees to divulge login information for social media accounts has forced the hand of state Sen. Liz Krueger, who introduced legislation recently that would ban such practices. Krueger cited the obvious privacy concerns as well as liability issues for employers as the primary catalysts for the bill.

“Companies might think it’s fine for them to ask for the login information, but in fact you may be creating a legal minefield for the employers themselves,” said Krueger. “All of this ties into the new world that we’re living in. Now everything is online, so it becomes normal.”

Part of the problem, Krueger said, is that we have not figured out rules and etiquette for new technologies. A Facebook user herself, she is not blind to its merits, such as keeping in touch with her nieces and nephews, but she makes sure that what she and they are posting is appropriate.

Nonetheless, Krueger said she sees no justification for companies requesting social media logins when there are myriad ways for companies to do background checks.

“If a company tries to screen you for your employability they can crosscheck you in a million different ways,” said Krueger. “I don’t think we should be going the next step where a company can say, ‘Give me all of your passwords so I can hire or fire you.’ ”

The bill, titled S. 6938, would make it illegal for employers to demand an employee’s or applicant’s personal login credentials or password.

Krueger mentioned that she expects the bill to receive bipartisan support in the Senate, and that several of her Republican colleagues have already reached out to her.

Maryland is the only other state with similar legislation, which passed unanimously in the Senate, and received only 10 “no” votes in the House. Krueger envisions a scenario where many states draft similar bills, driving the issue of Internet privacy to the forefront of the national consciousness. She mentioned that Sen. Chuck Schumer has already launched an investigation into the issue, in hopes of setting a federal standard for Internet privacy.

“An excellent way to move forward and to get national attention on new issues is to watch what state legislatures are grappling with,” she said. “I would argue the states are the laboratories for much legislation that eventually becomes federal law. I think that’s a healthy model for advancing issues.”