Councilman Gentile Calls for Establishment of
Fire Emergency Number
CITY HALL?After errors related to the emergency 911 dispatch system of reporting fires ballooned last month, Councilman Vincent Gentile has requested that a bill be drafted to establish a separate number to facilitate the reporting of those incidents and expedite the FDNY’s response time.
Councilman Gentile called for a bill to be drafted in order to “establish a new 711 phone number for all calls related to fire emergencies that shall be answered and staffed by FDNY dispatchers.”
His request comes on the heels of a November 18 fire in Brooklyn. A father and two sons died in the blaze after the first two 911 calls from neighbors reporting the fire led firefighters to the wrong address, delaying their response time by more than a minute. That was the second incident that day in which firefighters were dispatched to an incorrect address.
In the original emergency dispatch system, discontinued in May 2009, the system was divided into three different agencies: FDNY, EMS and NYPD. The FDNY had five dispatch offices citywide – one in each borough. Now, they’re consolidated within a downtown Brooklyn location, and New York Police Department operators both receive and process information from callers reporting fires and other emergencies to the FDNY. The plan was modified two days after the fatal November 18 fire so that an FDNY dispatcher can be “conferenced” into a 911 conversation so that pertinent information won’t be overlooked.
“When it comes to fires in New York City, we’ve got to do everything we can to have fire companies on the scene as quickly as possible and not a minute later,” Councilman Gentile said. “We need that direct line from callers to FDNY dispatchers so that the right information gets to the right people not a moment too late.
“Fire dispatchers had an intimate knowledge of each borough’s streets and of what sort of equipment was needed for certain fire-related emergencies,” Councilman Gentile added. “Overlooking them as the valuable resource they are is a public safety risk.”
In testimony before the Council’s Fire and Criminal Justice Committee hearing Thursday afternoon, Uniformed Fire Officers Association President Captain Alexander Hagan endorsed the 711 proposal as a “long range solution” to the problems associated with the new Unified Call Taking system (UCT).
“We already have the 911 system for police calls, and during the eight years of the Bloomberg Administration, we have seen a 311 system successfully implemented, and now a 511 call number for transportation questions and answers,” Cpt. Hagan testified. “Frankly, the UFOA, although it sees the value of a call system that gives the caller the timetable for the next train out of town, feels a much higher priority should be placed on the safety of the people who live, work and visit our beautiful city.”
Dena Libner
Communications Director
Office of Councilman Vincent J. Gentile
District Office: 718-748-5200
Legislative Office: 212-788-7363
It’s nice to see the union officials backing the plan.
(btw, apologies for formatting problems on this page… the bayridgistan web-elf has struck again)
]]>…Governor David Paterson’s approval rating is at a dreadful 20% among registered voters in New York State…
…Just 16% of voters statewide believe the State Senate is doing either an excellent or good job in office, and nearly a majority — 48% — thinks the legislative body is performing poorly…
(editor’s note: we’d like to meet that 16% and ask them how much their making off our tax dollars)
…Only 13% of New York State voters approve of the job the Assembly is doing while 47% give the chamber poor marks…
Check out the results of their poll released on 11/23/2009 here or by visiting http://maristpoll.marist.edu/1123-voters-want-change-in-albany/.
One way to create some change is to vote
You can register to vote by clicking here or here. You can also do the slower routes (via phone, mail or in person) by checking out the details offered here from the new york state board of elections.
]]>To hear the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee tell it, two-term Staten Island Democrat Janele Hyer-Spencer is responsible for all the dysfunction [...]]]>
To hear the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee tell it, two-term Staten Island Democrat Janele Hyer-Spencer is responsible for all the dysfunction in New York, from joblessness to soaring energy costs to the state’s overwhelming tax burden…
Unsatisfied with their position as a permanent minority, Assembly Republicans, down to a new membership low, are determined to capitalize on what they believe is an anti-incumbency mood among voters by winning as many seats back from the Democrats next year as they can.
Hyer-Spencer’s response?
Hyer-Spencer said that she will always be a target for Republicans as long as her district represents such a narrow margin between Democratic and Republican voters.
“It could be me or Mother Teresa holding the seat,” she said. “It’s not the person they give a shit about, it’s the seat they want back.”
A rather candid analysis.
Check out the rest of the details, including just how close the last two races for her seat have been, by clicking here or visiting http://www.nycapitolnews.com/news/126/ARTICLE/1596/2009-11-17.html
Perhaps this is the dawn of a grittier Janele Hyer-Spencer–JHS: the Brooklyn Brawla.
We welcome the candor.
]]>Local quotable handshaker, State Senator Marty Golden had the following statement.
“I strongly believe that we must make it a legislative priority to eradicate the presence of violence amongst the youth of our society. Youth violence does nothing more than destroy our families, our schools, and our neighborhoods. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the task force to address the rise in such violence and reverse this trend. We must create opportunities for our youth to get help right away so as to prevent them from falling off of New York’s radar and being lost within society forever.””
For more on the story, check out the wonderful coverage offered on this story at NewsLI.com
]]>From Civ Source, this happy news this morning.
The New York State Senate launched a new website this month, designed to allow citizens to find, share and comment on all legislation being considered by the Senate. The robust search engine behind Open Legislation, its comment capabilities, and its open-source framework is part of a broader effort to make government more open, transparent and accessible government, officials said.
“The launch of the Open Legislation site will move the Senate a step closer to the more inclusive and transparent government New Yorkers deserve,” Senate Majority Conference Leader John L. Sampson said in a statement.
The web tool allows users to search by keywords, and then organize the results by sponsor, committee, recent actions, and recent votes (Although for some reason there seem to be absolutely NO recent votes. Strange considering how they just passed Leandra’s law. Hm...). Users can also leave comments, recommend articles to social networking sites and debate details (where they can be found). Give it a try by visiting http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/ or clicking here.
]]>Check out the full Press Release below
To say that the Bay Ridge GOP Health Care Rally was uneventful and unsuccessful it is an understatement. The event held at John Paul Jones Park, a favorite and ubiquitous meeting location for the Bay Ridge GOP, also going under the guise of the Brooklyn Republican Party, was downright embarrassing, demeaning and even detrimental.
It is embarrassing because the speakers at the “Rally” did not convey any new reasons why people should reject the Obama Health Care Plan, demeaning because the organizers claimed to have emailed 20,000 notices and only about 40 people turned up at a rally that should have attracted hundreds, if not thousands of participants. The rally was also detrimental because not many people would be willing to associate themselves with a Party that does not even know how to organize a rally. I personally feel sorry for the High School student and Dr. Caruana who were used to create credibility for a D. O. A. event that changed and accomplished nothing other that adding insult to injury to our beloved Republican Party.
One question that comes to my mind is where were the 42 Republican District Leaders and the many appointed members of the “Executive Committee”, not to mention the thousands of members of the Brooklyn Republican County Committee?
Perhaps they knew enough to stay away…..
Arnaldo A. Ferraro
Chairman/Founder
Fiorello LaGuardia Republican Organization
]]>New York State today enacted some of the toughest drunk driving laws in the country. The crackdown comes after a pair of horrifying crashes involving mothers and children, as CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor reports.
It’s a nationwide problem, with nearly 12,000 people killed in drunk driving crashes last year – one fatality every 45 minutes.
The New York bill is named after Leandra Rosado, an 11-year-old New York City girl killed in a crash last month after a friend’s mother allegedly drove drunk.
The bill passed through the Assembly, but Malcom Smith threatened to slow it down at the State Senate. In the end, Senate leadership decided Leandra’s Law is a little bigger than politics. The Times Union explains.
The bill, which was passed by the Assembly last night, hit the Senate floor despite yesterday’s suggestion from Temporary President Malcolm Smith that the measure would have to wait until after the deficit package had been hammered out.
“We talked about it with members on both sides of the aisle,” Smith said after the Senate stood at ease. ” … We didn’t want to get this mixed up in the politics of the DRP, and I agreed with that as well. Our intention was to try and do it all at once, but clearly this represents something totally different.”
State Senator Diane Sevino (D- Brooklyn, Staten Isle) spoke in emotional terms about the bill… more from the times union.
Sen. Diane Savino, D-Staten Island/Brooklyn, spoke with a quaver in her voice as she described spending her childhood with two alcoholic parents. “We have an obligation not to turn a blind eye to our family members who are alcoholics or drug addicts,” Savino said.
The father of Leandra Rosado, Lenny Rosado, was in attendance for the emotional 58-0 vote. After it passed, Mr. Rosado received a warm ovation from members of the State Senate. A rare day in Albany to say the least.
UPDATE: Our own State Senator Marty Golden missed the vote for Leandra’s Law. T/h to the Observer.
]]>The internet is a great tool, except for one little flaw. It is saturated with humans and their own personal, unsubstantiated opinions. There once was a time when that opinion might never go any further than the fool’s, who thought it, front porch. It might just be one of those family secrets that everyone knows about and are conscience enough to never mention that topic when that crazy uncle is around. When outsiders would come for a visit, they might have gotten stopped at the door before entering and warned not to mention anything about “the lake.” But now that crazy uncle has a computer with internet access and has a “Creature in the Lake” website that gets over 15-thousand hits a month.
A website about a mythological creature living in a lake is pretty harmless, even if the website was to get a million hits a week. But such fervor over anything can lead to a disastrous outcome, especially when unsubstantiated. That lake might become a mecca for monster hunters who inadvertently destroy an entire ecosystem just to look for something that does not exist. Even when another hypothetical site out there, run by people of science who have studied the lake extensively, rebut such claims with facts and evidence. That website gets 1.1 million hits a week, unfortunately one million are coming from the other website to disprove the scientists using pseudo-science and sketchy information.
But I know, I know, the internet can be quite confusing. So I’ve proposed 3 easy “Internet Rules” to assist you on being more internet savvy.
Internet Rule #1: “Citation Needed”
http://images1.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Citation-Needed-wikipedia-819731_500_271.jpg
Always request sources to back up outlandish claims.
Example:
“Obama administration gives British distiller $3 billion to move from one American territory to another”
Rabble…Rabble…Rabble… As a person of Puerto Rican descent, I am outraged!!! How could Obama do such a thing? I thought he and I were boys? Brother went to Columbia, smoked weed and blew lines with the Puerto Ricans in Washington Heights. Okay, I have no proof of that. But I do have proof that this deal began over a year ago under the Bush Administration and that tax credit actually falls under the TARP program that Mister Bush and Hank Paulson pushed forward.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=amp5wXx35fkc
Internet Rule #2: “Get a Brain! Morans”
http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/scanner/2009/03/01-07/moran.jpg
Don’t listen to the crazies.
Example:
“I have a problem with the states controlling education. The federal government has…no business at all. That’s just way beyond their control; it takes parents even further away from what is and isn’t taught,”
http://onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=669984
What part of “Public Schools” and “Public Education” does she not understand? Regardless I just read the president’s proposed speech and by the time this column gets published he will have read it to the country and OUR CHILDREN!!!!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/
You know what, I’m going to save you the time it would take to read it. The next link pretty much sums it all up in 35 seconds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQT830mo8Mc
Don’t have 35 seconds? Here is a picture.
http://wagist.com/images/political/education.jpg
Internet Rule #3 “Think for yourself”
http://hongki.at/images/typography/3d/think.jpg
There is so much information on this superhighway that it is easy for us to become lost and wander into dangerous territories. One minute we are reading the day’s news the next moment we are being kidnapped by raging lunatics on the Fox news network. I mean those guys can’t be trusted. In fact, do you know what I heard? Now, I’m not saying that he did, but I just cannot prove that he didn’t in fact rape and kill a woman in 1990. There is a rumor going around and even a website, not saying that Glenn Beck raped and killed a woman in 1990.
http://glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com/
Which brings me back to Obama’s evil, socialist, communist, fascist, Marxist, plan to brainwash our children with his pro-life, universal healthcare, greener planet, and global unity using his charm and wicked jump-shot. We need to continue to think for ourselves.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/9/6/776647/-The-Stay-In-School-Conspiracy-Theory
We need to maintain within the facts, study the sources and understand that maybe, just maybe, someone on the internet, on television, in a book, at a church, at the supermarket or in your house is lying to you. Life is in fact a roller coaster full of ups and downs and twists and turns. We were once young like the kid in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XQzQYFYfy8
And there is no need for us to lose that excitement towards the world. I like to keep it as simple as possible and remember some deep words from a great philosopher named Socrates, “As for me, all I know is that I know nothing.”
Enjoy your trip through the tubes.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Obviously, I am not asking the right question. Maybe it is not the world or everyone in general that has a problem, maybe it is just me. Maybe there is something wrong with me? Let me ask the almighty Google, “What the hell is wrong with me?” 66,800,000 results in less than a third of a second. Well that did not help, apparently there are way too many things wrong with me and I really don’t have the time or the energy to fix them so the next logic question to ask was, “What the hell is wrong with you?” 76,600,000 results in half a second.
I knew “You” were much more messed up than “Me.”
But it’s all good. We’ll be okay. You see, with the internet, we finally have a place where we can share and disperse all the little flaws and quirky things that make us unique, delicate snowflakes falling on the tip of the nose of a newborn baby seal–right before it gets clobbered over the head for its pelt.
Today’s column is dedicated to the greatest question ever asked on the internet. A question so universal that it does not even have to be broken down by its well-known acronym, WTF?. That question turned up 5,120,000 results in one-tenth of a second.
This week in WTF? starts off with this little gem. Here’s the headline without alteration, “Dwarf rushed to hospital after gluing his penis to a hoover” and no, it has nothing to do with David Lynch.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-476560/Dwarf-rushed-hospital-gluing-penis-hoover.html
The great thing about the internet is that we can start with that and still not have come close to the pinnacle of WTF? for the week. But we’ll make it there eventually. At just a notch above a Dwarf-getting-his-penis-glued-to-a-vacuum-cleaner-WTF?, is a WTF? from America’s nuttiest super-villain, Señor Dick Cheney.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cheney31-2009aug31,0,7750628.story
Oddly enough, he doesn’t feel that people who make bad decisions or mistakes that cost trillions of dollars and kill thousands of innocent people should be held accountable. I wonder why he would think that. Seriously Dick, for not shutting your mouth you get a WTF?.
In this WTF? video, is that Dick Cheny as a child?
Oh of course it’s not, that robot actually has a soul. And hey speaking of having no soul, did you hear the one about AIG stock being up 264% in August?
http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/27/news/companies/aig_stock/
The next story is a WTF? with a serious message to be learned. You do not get involved in the business between two bears.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/20348401/detail.html
But in lighter news, “When General Motors Co. emerged from bankruptcy, it was freed of obligations for polluted properties at discarded plant sites that will require millions of dollars to clean up.” WTF?
However, that’s not all!!!! “The Fed and U.S. banks would suffer irreparable harm if details of the loan programs were made public, according to the central bank’s senior counsel, Yvonne Mizusawa.” Oh no!!! Meanwhile, I’m stuck with no job or money, this one is a personal WTF?
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a5bjqcBdkB48
Right now, I’m so broke that I wouldn’t mind being the guy in the following link. Maybe I can stand outside of Wall Street with a sign that reads, “Hit me across the face with an eel for 5 bucks.” And then maybe, I could finally see some of that bailout money trickle down.
I really shouldn’t feel so bad. I’m doing quite well for myself. Good thing I’m a nihilist and a minimalist and don’t need food, clothes or soap to live. I require so little to survive that even places like Walmart are unchartered territory for me. Which is a shame, because it seems to be a breeding ground for real-life, walking and talking (sorta) WTF?’s.
http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/
But after rummaging through that last site, I once again had that question pop up in my head, “What is the world coming to?” and it dawned on me. The answer was so clear that I could hardly believe it myself.
The answer was winking pants.
Yes, you read that correctly. Forget about science fiction movies from the past thirty years that used to depict people of the future as thin, tall, and wearing silver one-piece jumpsuits. No, the future is quite the opposite. In the future, expect short, chunky, no-ass having people, wearing winking pants. THAT is what the world is coming to.
http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-who-doesnt-want-their-ass-to-wink/
Until, next time. Don’t get stuck in the tubes.
PS: just one more WTF? to leave you with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsjGTaKQ_1M
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So it is understandable that we have rules, laws and a system to protect the majority of people, who prefer not to be scared to death throughout their daily lives. These rules and laws are implemented using citizens who have been chosen and sworn to uphold these very rules and laws. So why is it, that despite all the dangerous places and situations that I have found myself in, that the only people that I truly fear the most, on this planet, are the ones that are supposed to protect me? I fear the law.
But I should not. We have a Constitution and a system of checks and balance that looks out for the innocent, the poor and the meek. Luckily, we have Supreme Court judges to make sure that this is exactly what happens.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/17/scalia-actual-innocence/
Well in his defense, it is not unconstitutional to kill an innocent person if they were given a trial by a jury of his or her peers, regardless of their innocence. Meh, whatever, that is just one silly Supreme Court judge. He will have a spicy Latina to deal with soon enough. At least the police are still doing their jobs.
http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2009/08/tn_cops_plant_drugs_abuse_susp.php
OKay, to be fair. At some point in that video, the suspect did come in contact with the drugs that the police officer planted on him. Good job guys, next time just do it away from the camera. Or better yet, just make believe that those mints in the suspect’s pants pocket are really crack cocaine rocks. Haha, no that’s just stupid. No one would actually.. Oh.
http://www.wftv.com/irresistible/20435114/detail.html
It’s late August, summertime is running down. Let me just worry about the heat and how I plan on dealing with it by walking through the park and grabbing a cold, fresh lemonade from the cute little 10-year-old trying to make an honest buck. Wait what? Cops got to her too?
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08162009/news/regionalnews/sweet_lemonade_kid_lapped_184770.htm
In defense of our New York City cops, at least they did not Taze her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzHDP3gLDJw
Good job there Sheriff, you just shot a 14-year-old girl through the skull with a Tazer. At least you didn’t Tazer a 76-year-old man riding an antique tractor in a parade.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090812/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_tractor_driver_taser
Okay fine, well at least those officers did not kill an 18-year-old young man in custody.
http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2009/08/17/eighteen-year-old-boy-dies-after-jail-ho
Seriously officers? WTF? And even more seriously, WTF does it take for these police officers to get fired? Apparently, you can plant drugs, put innocent people in jail, Tazer little girls and old men. Hell, you can even abuse loopholes to steal money from tax-payers.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/special-reports/story/455950.html?storylink=mirelated
So, seriously, what does it take to get fired from police enforcement? I bet it has to be something huge and terrible. Something that has cost the lives of at least a hundred people or endangered thousands.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090821/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_deputies_investigated
No wait, I guess they simply have to go out and have a good time.
Yes, yes. Sorry, I’m depressed too now. So I want to leave you with a couple of links that can make your day a bit better. The first one includes a wonderful story by Ed Gavagan. I do not want to spoil it for any of you, so let me just say that it involves the mafia, a brutal stabbing and love.
http://www.themoth.org/index.php?id=4
For those of you who love to waste copious amounts of time on Facebook. I suggest the following link. You should have a good laugh with it.
http://www.yearbookyourself.com/
And finally, 2girls1bike… Totally Safe For Work. Totally ridiculous and awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b36Yi-Pb1wM#t=02m25s
Until the next fix…
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
