Archive for January, 2008

Vallone, NYPD propose repeal of Enlightenment, modern science

Published
by
Jon
on January 21, 2008
in Hazards, NYPD and dousing fires with gasoline
. 0 Comments

In a proposal that we first thought had been written by The Onion, City Council member Peter F. Vallone, Jr., at the behest of the New York City Police Department, has proposed  legislation which, t use the description of Ellie Engler, of the United Federation of Teachers, would be the equivalent of

“universally requiring permits for atmospheric, biological, chemical and radiological detectors places an undue burden on personnel conducting routine construction-related activities in New York City.”

See Sewell Chan’s excellent post in the Times’s municipal blog, The City Room.

The proposal would criminalize the unlicensed possession of equipment which detects or measures indicators of a biological, chemical or radiological attack. (Editor’s note: we’re trying to get a copy of the proposed legislation. But, unless Councilman Vallone has been seriously misquoted by the Times and the Voice - this is in fact what’s on the table).

Cryptome/Eyeball Series on Buckeye pipelines

Published
by
Jon
on January 20, 2008
in Energy, Fire, Pipelines, pipeline issues and underground systems
. 0 Comments

[Originally posted at  Popular Logistics]

Anyone interested in the issues discussed at  is likely to find Cryptome.org an - and its affiliated sites - invaluable resources. One of - The Eyeball Series - treats “Eyeball” as a verb rather than as a noun - and provides visual information - some declassified, some acquired as open-sour cematerial. Our recent piece about New Jersey’s Peach Bottom nuclear power plant relied on the Eyeball Seriea. Here is one recent posting in the Eyeball-Series sites we think you might want to see.

The JFK Airport Fuel tanks, acquired in June, 2007;

AP PhotoHome News Tribune.Mark R. Sullivan .jpg Continue reading ‘Cryptome/Eyeball Series on Buckeye pipelines’

Here’s the Rub

Published
by
Jon
on January 6, 2008
in Brooklyn Blogs and Neighbors doing cool things
. 0 Comments

By Todd Colby, poet, “Here’s The Rub:”

Here’s the Rub

Trees don’t look heavy
but they are heavy
and here’s the rub:
you have to cut them down
in order to weigh them
I envision you interpreting
this as a call to arms
the axe is ready
it is very shiny and there
is special grip stuff on the handle
a chain saw is full of fuel
and the souped-up
scale is ready too.
What’s remarkable is
is my head
which is just aching to be shaved
down the hall is a woman –
a little crazy but inspired –
go to her
she has a rubber stamp
alphabet set and she leaves
notes on the trees in the park
with their approximate weight
and degree of their ability
to have poems written about them
(for example: “THIS TREE WEIGHS
APPROXIMATELY 10,000 LBS
ACCORDING TO MY CALCULATIONS
WHICH I CAN EXPLAIN LATER. DEGREE
OF THIS TREE’S ABLITY TO HAVE A POEM
WRITTEN ABOUT IT: 32 %).
She shaved my head
while I was in bed.

More at his blog, Todd Colby’s Glee Farm.

City Skip: lovely subway photographs

Published
by
Jon
on January 5, 2008
in Uncategorized, subways, transportation and underground systems
. 0 Comments

This was on the City Skip Blog:

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City Skip is the name of a blog - and while it seems to be the nom de plume of one person, it’s also the name of a group of some sort. The sort of conspiracy in which people get to attached to old things just because they’re beautiful and awe-inspiring, even when something more profitable can be built there; the sort of people that think public spaces should be for anyone.

She/he/they do take wonderful photos of New York and some of its contents. Worth a look.

At funeral, Mayor Giuliani calls cop a “hero;” in court proceedings, city claims officer caused his own death

Published
by
Jon
on January 2, 2008
in NYPD
. 0 Comments

We hold police officers to high standards of conduct - not least being truthful about bad outcomes that arise from their work. Part of the bargain ought to be that, in return, the government be equally frank towards police officers - and a high level of care in training and equipping them.

As a citizen, I think it’s difficult to demand high standards of conduct from the police when their employer - the City - treats them shabbily.

When Officer John M. Kelly crashed his police car during a chase on Staten Island in 2000, thousands of officers attended his funeral, where Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani declared: “John Kelly is a hero. Nobody can take that away.”

Officer Kelly’s wife, Patricia M. Kelly, a police officer herself before retiring in 2000, has been trying for years to show that her husband’s supervisors knowingly sent him on patrol in an unsuitable car, something the department denies.

city lawyers have argued that Officer Kelly caused his own death

Her lawyers have obtained documents showing that highway officers had reported steering problems in the model and a similar one.

In stark contrast to the mayor’s words at the funeral, city lawyers have argued that Officer Kelly caused his own death by driving recklessly and failing to use his seat belt. After years of litigation, Ms. Kelly has been denied in her efforts to question all the officers who had evaluated the cars.

Officer John Kelly patrolled the north shore of Staten Island for an auto larceny unit. He won high marks for his driving skills, vehicle maintenance, career potential and general demeanor.

“Officer Kelly reserves his action until he has assessed the situation completely,” his supervisors wrote in a year-end review for 1999. “He considers all aspects and develops a sound judgment of the situation.”

Still, there was friction between the extended family and the department. Mrs. Kelly’s sister, Virginia Duffy, joined a broad federal lawsuit accusing the department of sexual harassment and retaliation. The city eventually settled those claims for about $1.85 million awarded to six current or former officers.

On the afternoon of July 17, 2000, Officer John Kelly was assigned to patrol for traffic offenders. Alone in his car, an unmarked 1999 Chevy Lumina, he called in the license plate of a passing motorcycle, learned it had been stolen and gave chase. On Gulf Avenue in the Bloomfield section, he veered into a utility pole. Officer Kelly, 31, was pronounced dead within hours.

The motorcycle driver, Guido Tritto, now 51, was charged with manslaughter. He pleaded guilty to attempted assault on an officer for causing the accident.

At Our Lady Star of the Sea, Mayor Giuliani, Police Commissioner Howard Safir and the police union president, Patrick J. Lynch, led a crowd of thousands to mourn Officer Kelly. Mr. Safir spoke of an officer “loved and respected by his other family, the New York City Police Department.”

- snip -

The front-wheel drive 1999 Chevrolet Lumina that Officer Kelly was driving had been bought from a dealer in Long Island City, according to court documents.

A lawyer for Mrs. Kelly, Bernadette Panzella, obtained documents showing that the Police Department’s highway officers had tested the Lumina and a similar model, the Impala, in 1999. The reviewers described the cars as unsuitable for highway patrol, noting poor steering and acceleration.

In court documents, city lawyers denied the accusations of wrongful death. Officer Kelly knew the risks of his job, they wrote, and his death was “caused in whole or in part by culpable conduct of decedent and plaintiff.” They said, for example, that he had not been wearing a seat belt, and that any defects in the car were visible and should have been obvious to him.

In court, the case moved slowly. At a hearing in January, Ms. Panzella sought additional city documents and the right to question all the officers who had written the vehicle evaluations, according to a transcript. The judge overseeing the case, Thomas P. Aliotta, rejected her requests in October.

The wrongful death suit itself has yet to go to trial.

Michael Brick, “After Eulogies, Years of Litigation for Police Widow,” The New York Times,December 13th 2007.

Solar Boats - up to 60 passengers and 11 knots in Europe; NYC ferry service suspended

Published
by
Jon
on January 2, 2008
in solar, transportation and water
. 0 Comments

The Swiss Firm MW Line makes solar boats that are ferrying people around lakes and rivers in Switzerland, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The only backup power, apparently, is on-shore charging from the grid. They’re also the shipbuilder for the PlanetSolar project which plans to have a solar-only craft in the water ready for a two-person, 120-day around-the-world trip in 2009. bateau-vectoriel.png

isoview1.jpg

And here’s a gallery of the boats they’ve been producing:

z-08.jpg
z-01.jpg
26.jpg
23.jpg
22.jpg
21.jpg
11.jpg
09.jpg
05.jpg
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The New York Times reported today that New York Water Taxi, the only operator of Queens/Manhattan and Brooklyn/Manhattan ferry service has cancelled service for the winter - largely because of fuel price increases. A ferry powered by photovoltaic cells wouldn’t be directly affected, if at all, by petroleum price increases.

FDNY: Rope device saves firefighters life — amNY.com

Published
by
Jon
on January 1, 2008
in Fire and NYFD
. 0 Comments

Good news from one of our local fire companies, Ladder 102:

From A.M N.Y./Newsday:

Nearly three years after two New York City firefighters jumped from a burning building and plunged to their deaths, a 24-year FDNY veteran Monday became the first to use a widely hailed safety device to escape from a Brooklyn house fire that almost engulfed him. Raymond Pollard, 50, of Brooklyn, rappelled away from searing flames that had trapped him near a fourth-floor window of an apartment building on Willoughby Avenue, fire officials said. The fire was reported at 3:41 a.m. Pollard drove the second unit to arrive at the scene, Ladder Company 102 from Bedford Avenue.

Within 10 minutes, officials said, Pollard broke three fourth-floor windows facing the street and entered the building to look for occupants.

When he moved to the hallway, fire surged up the stairway and over his head, blocking his exit. He moved to the next room, where the fire forced him to retreat to the window.

“Just as the fire was blowing over his head, he took the hook out and jammed it into the windowsill” said Stephen Raynis, safety command battalion chief.

Pollard rappelled two feet below the ledge and firefighters slid a bucket ladder towards him and lowered him to safety, Raynis said.

Around 5:50 a.m., the roof collapsed onto the fourth floor.

Continue reading ‘FDNY: Rope device saves firefighters life — amNY.com’

“On It!”: Con Ed’s year - what’s Con Ed on?

Published
by
Jon
on January 1, 2008
in Con Edison
. 0 Comments

Please note that this post omits any discussion of power outages.

July 18th: Steam pipe explosion kills one near Grand Central Terminal;


in the first four months of 2007, Con Ed found stray voltage at 1,500 sites

October 8th: gas leak causes explosion in Harlem;

December: Con Ed subcontractor is accused of stealing from customers’ homes;

November 22nd: Queens woman killed in gas main explosion after calling to report leak and by the Fire Department that it was safe to return to her house;

Con Ed’s problems with stray voltage causing injury and death to people and dogs go back at least as far as 1997, when Philip Vanaria was severely shocked using a payphone in the West Village; still when Jodie Lane was killed while walking her dogs in the East Village in 2004 (Con Ed paid Lane’s family $7.2 million); in May, it was reported that because Con Ed was unable to make repairs immediately, it was hiring livery cabs - sometimes with sleeping drivers - to “guard” the sites.

We think that two inferences can fairly be drawn from this record:

  • Whatever regulatory efforts are being made - they don’t seem sufficient;
  • We can use all the conservation efforts we can manage;
  • the more clean, renewable, locally produced power - the better
  • Perhaps the inspection/compliance system needs to be community-based. If stray voltage is conspicuous enough to occasionally kill dogs (essentially barefooted), and people (through shoes) - detecting stray voltage with testing equipment should be a teachable skill.

United Nations headquarters complied with New York fire code - during Eisenhower Administration

Published
by
Jon
on January 1, 2008
in Code enforcement
. 0 Comments

But not since the Eisenhower Administration. Now, 55 years later, Marjorie Bloomberg Tiven - the mayor’s sister and the city’s chief of diplomatic protocol, has persuaded the United Nations to do the right thing:

In January, the city’s Fire Department found 866 violations of the fire code. By October, less than 20 percent of the violations had been addressed. (Because of concerns about possible terrorist attacks, Ms. Tiven will not be more specific about the violations.)

The U.N. took 9 months to allow a fire inspection

In an Oct. 30 letter, drafted by Ms. Tiven’s office and signed by the mayor, the city demanded that the United Nations provide proof of, among other things, a fire safety plan, additional smoke detectors, and resolution of the remainder of the 866 violations by early next year.

“If the United Nations does not adhere to these deadlines,” Mayor Bloomberg said, “the city will be forced to direct the cessation of all public school visits to the United Nations.”

“The mayor has been patient,” Ms. Tiven said, “but he can’t be patient forever. The city is going to do the right thing.”

Continue reading ‘United Nations headquarters complied with New York fire code - during Eisenhower Administration’

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