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Brooklyn Responds To Congestion Pricing Plan Free Subway Service Proposed In response to the Congestion Pricing Brooklyn citizens have rallied around demanding less taxes, more control, and free subway access. Hundreds of phone calls and emails have been sent to local assembly members and city council members demanding a real answer to congestion within the city, and the city business core of Midtown, the Financial District and Downtown Brooklyn. Michael Richardson, a resident of Flatbush for 40 years, when discussing the City Council's vote to tax the Brooklyn East River Bridges said, “It's just a money grab and these politicians have been brought off by the Bloomberg administration with pet projects, campain contributions and promised pork. This is just a money grab by the MTA which keeps stealing money from every New Yorker. Instead of the MTA taking money from us for these projects, they should be paying us? Why does the MTA not pay New York City for the rights to run the train? Maybe we need a different organization or a business to take over. If they're worried about congestion, make the subways free. We're paying for them anyway” This sentiment has been stirring even more in the boroughs over the last week as the council voted for the congestion pricing plan over the strenous objections of Brooklyn and Manhattan. In fact, the map of the ovtes shows clearly the breakdown between Manhattan and the Bronx, which voted in favor of the tax plan, and Brooklyn and Queens which voted nearly 2-1 against tolling the outerboroughs. Outlined on the map you can clearly see all the middleclass and working nieghborhoods voted against the tax hikes. And the left over districts had large graft thrown their way to buy votes. Brooklyn is demanding Free Subways. Subways want to be free as an answer to congression. With almost half the traffic into Manhattan originating from the city proper, taxing Brooklyn and Queens for polution problems on Canal Street is unjust punishment. If the MTA gets the blank check the City Council proposes, the promised increased services will just extend the ability of the MTA to control the economy of New York more effectively, giving them a veto over city growth from her until the future. The real answer to congression is free subways, saving nearly every city resident almost $1000 a year, and encouraging outsiders to use the train. Politcal movement has started for the alternative Free Subway congession plan. Members of the City Council are increasing hearing the calls for a Free Subway with Free Bridges for the residents of New York. “We pay for our streets. We pay for our Trains. We pay and pay and pay and make New York the world class town it is. I'll be damned to have to keep paying more to drive my goods in Manhattan Markets just so some fat cats at the MTA can fund their Long Island Railroad extention to Grand Central Station. Let them cut their bloated budget and let our Babylon brothers take a free subway from Penn Station to Park Avenue.” Reply #1 From: nyc taxpayer Date: 04/10/2008 It's spelled "congestion" but I agree with you. The Plan was a tax on the middle-class. Reply #2 From: Larry Date: 04/14/2008 If they really want to do something about congestion, the answer is simple. Get rid of all the yellow cabs. They're among the worst drivers in the world anyway. Doing so would then force many more people to take mass transit. Reply #3 From: Ruben Safir (ruben@mrbrklyn.com) Date: 04/19/2008 Brooklyn Livin' http://www.brooklyn-living.com/kendall_the_crook_must_go_1.html Kendall Stewart Watch Kendall Stewart, the City Council Member from the Flatbush area of Brooklyn around Brooklyn College, and who voted to sell out Brooklyn by voting “Yes” for the congestion pricing tax, seems to be the first council member who can be crossed off the list of active traitors to the borough. Kendall has a swirl of corruption running around him now, which should be no surprise as easy as it was for him to be brought off by the Bloomburg administration for his vote on tolling the East River bridges. The Associated Press and the Tabloids are reporting that two of Kendall's staff members got caught with their hands in the cookie jar in the growing City Council slush fund investigation. A copy f the report can be seen here at http://www.brooklyn-living.com/stewart_kendall_the_crool_part_1_ny_AP.html As it outlines, Kendall's staffers $145,000 PLUS from a “charity” called the Donna Reid Memorial Education Fund which in of itself seems to be nothing more than a shell account for the City Council to deposit money into. Federal authorities can be quotes as saying, "Without transparency and accountability in the budget process, discretionary items are ripe for abuse," Garcia said. "Taxpayer money allocated to fake nonprofit entities, organizations that do not even exist, is even more difficult to trace and more easily diverted for personal gain." Gee, think what we can do with 500,000,000 a year going into the MTA's black hole with the help and over site of the city council, guaranteed by the transportation tax voted for by Kendall. Kendall was quoted as saying, "While I believe in the presumption of innocent until proven guilty I must say that I'm deeply disappointed over the allegations leveled at Mr. Reid and the embarrassment that his actions — right or wrong — have caused me, my hardworking staff and the people of my district,". This guy just doesn't get it. He treats his public office as an object to trade for his own profit purposes. Is that a bit harsh? Well it isn't. Kendall's overt sale of his vote for Congestion Pricing and this money grab by his staff isn't the first corrupt grab to use his office for private profit and corruption at the cost of his constituencies interests. It was reported on January 17th, 2008 that Kendall was subpoenaed about graft in the non-profits by his Chief of Staff Asquith Reid. Yes, the same Reid who established the City Council funded slush fund. “[City Councilman Kendall Stewart, of the 45th district] said Wednesday he was subpoenaed in a federal probe of charities linked to one of his top aides. Stewart said he received a subpoena last week from the Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office but is not a target of the probe. Investigators appear to be looking into nonprofits set up by Stewart's chief of staff, Asquith Reid, a well-known figure in Brooklyn's Caribbean-American political circles. "They're trying to find out how monies are being utilized by the CBOs [community-based organizations]," Stewart said.” Then there was the shooting at Cafe Omar, which is owned by Kendall and in which Kendall refused cooperation with the police. The killing earlier this March is reported here http://pillsbottlesneedles.blogspot.com/2008/03/this-looks-like-wild-wild-west-elijah.html on the local blogs and also archived by Brooklyn-Living at http://www.brooklyn-living.com/kendall_shooting.txt. Kendall's tapes of the night had to be confiscated and his the statements after the shooting outright remarkable. "There were no problems at our place," he said. "We're about a block away from where this happened." Stewart's son Omar, 25, said he was at the club early Saturday and that patrons were well-behaved. "Everybody that came to our establishment had a good time and left in an orderly manner," he said. "We believe that this incident is not a reflection of our club." Say that again? This is Brooklynites your addressing. We're not that stupid. According to the New York Times, Stewart, the tax Brooklyn for living, councilman wants to go into the state Senate, http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/22/a-rough-ride-with-challenges-for-a-brooklyn-state-senator/. Yeah – we trust this guy with the people's business. Time to sweep him out. Run Up to MTA and Transit Extortion Proposals The Call for Free Subways Congestion Pricing Plan and it's impact on Brooklyn Photos of Williamsburg 2006 Photos of Bastille Day in Cobble Hill 2007 Photos of Coney Island Summer of 2007 Never Published Downtown Walking Tour in Brooklyn, New York today! |
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