NYC FRANCHISE AND CONCESSION REVIEW COMMITTEE VOTE ON CABLE FRANCHISE 

City Comptroller Liu issued the following statement in response to questions concerning today’s New York City Franchise and Concession Review Committee vote to award cable franchises to Time Warner and Cablevision:

Comptroller John Liu said the following:“Today’s vote provides New Yorkers with increased consumer protections but more can be done, especially when it comes to cable television blackouts. My office recently wrote a letter to the FCC expressing support for additional consumer protections during blackouts, and will
continue our dialogue with all New York City cable providers regarding our concerns. We will also work with the City’s Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications to ensure aggressive enforcement of enhanced consumer protections in our franchise agreements. I also want to acknowledge the years of hard work conducted by the City’s Borough Presidents, who should be commended for making expanded public access a reality.” 

 

DOT APPROVES BAILEY AVENUE TRAFFIC SIGNAL REQUESTED BY KOPPELL

Council Member Oliver Koppell is pleased to announce that the Department of Transportation (DOT) has approved his request for the installation of a traffic signal at Bailey Avenue and West 234^th Street.  A DOT study confirmed Koppell’s contention that vehicles speeding in both directions on Bailey Avenue presented a danger to people trying to cross the avenue.  Installation of the traffic signal is tentatively scheduled to be completed by November 30, 2011.     

 

According to area residents, the large number of children crossing Bailey Avenue at 234^th Street because of the proximity of the Bailey Playground and the Ft. Independence Community Center, located diagonally across the playground, made the installation of a traffic signal essential. 

 

“I am pleased that DOT responded to my concerns about the safety of people, especially children, crossing Bailey Avenue at  234^th Street by agreeing to install a traffic signal at this location,”  Koppell said. 

Bronx Half Marathon

  On Sunday August 28th the Bronx Half Marathon will kick off at 6:30 AM on the Grand Concourse just north of E.161th Street. The half marathon will travel up the Grand Concourse to Bedford Park Blvd West, Goulden Ave (detour around the DEP street closure), to West 205th Street, Paul Ave., Mosholu Parkway, and Southern Blvd, around the Bronx Zoo.

  We were told by NY Roadrunners that the ending point is the Grand Concourse and E.161th Street, and that the entire route has not been ffinalized which would mean that Fordham Road or another cross street would be used to return to the Grand Concourse. 

  Streets listed will be closed from 6:30 AM - 10:30 AM to allow for the Bronx Half Marathon. You can call Mr. Philip Santora at NY Road Runners for more information at 212-423-2211.

SoBRO, DSNY & NYC Small Business Services Present


HOW TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE NYC DEPARTMENT OF SANITATION (DSNY)


What You Will Learn:

• Bid Opportunities with the Department of Sanitation
• What does the Department of Sanitation Buy
• How to Qualify to be a Vendor with the DSNY
• How to Market Your Business Effectively to DSNY
• Contract Compliance and more…

Doing Business with DSNY:

The New York City Department of Sanitation is seeking qualified Minority & Women‐Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) to be their contractors for goods, services and construction. If you are interested in working with them, please contact Mr. Santo Cimino at (917)237‐5349. For additional information, please visit DSNY’s website at www.nyc.gov.

Date: Wednesday August 17, 2011
Time 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Location SoBRO
Adress: 555 Bergen Avenue, 3rd Floor, Bronx, NY 10455

RSVP Evangeline Gelladola (718) 732‐7538 or RSVP to cedevents@sobro.org
For more information about SoBRO’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), upcoming workshops and our M/WBE Program contact us at (718) 292‐3113 or visit www.sobro.org.

Latest Gallop Poll: Congress Stinks

In a poll just released only 24% of Americans say that the congress should be re-elected. This is the lowest percentage of approval since Gallop began polling Americans 20 years ago. The poll also found that little more than 50% favor re-electing their own congressional representative. President Obama came in below a 50% approval rating when the question of his performance was asked.

You can read more here by Celeste Katz of the Daily News.

Morrison Avenue Annual Festival

Saturday August 13th starting at Noon is the annual Morrison Avenue Annual Festival. See the flyer below for more details.

JASA URGES OLDER NEW YORKERS TO BECOME BETTER ADVOCATES

“No one is better able to advocate for our aging population than seniors themselves,” said Aileen Gitelson, CEO of the Jewish Association for Services for the Aged (JASA). To that end, JASA is offering a 10-week program through its Institute for Senior Action (IFSA) for older New Yorkers to learn how to get more involved in the legislative process and be an effective advocate. The program integrates critical aging policy issues with practical grassroots action. Classes focus on a wide variety of subjects including: navigating the federal, state and local legislative processes, public speaking, understanding senior benefits and entitlements, techniques of social action, and much more.

 “The goal of JASA’s Institute for Senior Action is to help older New Yorkers become informed advocates, speaking with authority and clarity on issues that directly affect them,” said Gitelson. To date, more than 750 people have participated in the JASA program.

The course begins Wednesday, September 21. Sessions will be held 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at JASA Cooper Square, 200 East 5^th Street, New York, New York.

To request an application, contact Bola Aribidesi, Project Director, JASA Institute for Senior Action, 212-273-5261; ifsa@jasa.org.

JASA is one of the largest community-based, voluntary social service agencies serving the aged in the United States. Its mission is to sustain and enrich the lives of the aging in the New York metropolitan area so that they can remain in the community with dignity and autonomy. 

Dow Plummets 633 points, Oil falls $5.57 a Barrel

 The Dow Jones fell 633 points to finish the day at 10,811. 

 The price of Crude oil fell $5.57 a barrel to close at $81.31 a barrel for crude oil that is made into gasoline.