Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:39:50 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Kayvon Afshari :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Kayvon+Afshari istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/city-amtrak-settle-long-standing-dispute/67998/ Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST Amtrak will pay New York $20 million for failing to speed up its service between Manhattan and Albany, state and Amtrak officials agreed yesterday. After a longstanding legal battle between the national railroad corporation and the state, the two parties have also agreed to jointly invest $10 million to improve the Empire service line, which connects the city to the capital. Improvements could save 2.6 million passenger minutes annually, according to the State Department of Transportation... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/report-income-disparity-between-motorist-mass/67940/ Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST A majority of the motorists who commute into Manhattan earn higher incomes than commuters who use mass transit, according to a new report that gives a boost to Mayor Bloomberg's congestion- pricing proposal. More than a quarter of motorists who drive to work in Manhattan south of 86th Street arrive from New Jersey, according to the New York City Independent Budget Office. Another quarter depart from elsewhere in the state, including 8.2% from Nassau County and 6% from Westchester County. The... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/congestion-pricing-plan-alternatives-are/67839/ Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST With a showdown over Mayor Bloomberg's traffic tax looming, a commission studying his congestion-pricing plan yesterday considered alternatives that could reduce traffic jams on Manhattan's busiest streets without charging motorists. Increasing the cost of on-street metered parking to $4 an hour from $1, raising taxes on garage parking, setting up taxi stands, and reducing the number of government-issued placards were some options laid on the table yesterday. Taxis make up about 30% of vehicle... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/report-paints-bleak-picture-for-ny-blacks/67294/ Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST The financial situation of blacks in New York City is worsening, with their employment rate now below its 2000 levels, according to a report released yesterday Compiled by two nonprofits, the New York City Urban League and Black Equity Alliance, the report examines African Americans' standard of living in 11 categories, including unemployment, housing, health, child well being, criminal justice, and participation on the board of corporations and nonprofits. "What surprised me most was that in... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/metro-north-deal-will-bring-rental-cars-to-train/67240/ Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST A new deal between Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Metro-North Railroad is set to provide New Yorkers with added convenience when leaving Manhattan for five counties north of the city. Under the five-year contract, Enterprise will provide rental cars that are directly available at 23 Metro-North stations and will compensate Metro-North with $40,000 annually, plus 10% of the program's annual revenue. A Metro-North spokesman, Dan Brucker, said there was a market for this service, set to begin next... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/staten-island-slighted-by-facebook/66772/ Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Staten Islanders have been "slighted once again" and reminded of their perceived "forgotten borough" status, according to the president of the Richmond County Young Republicans Club, Anthony Reinhart, because Facebook does not list Staten Island as a town or city. While the social networking Web site does include the Bronx and Brooklyn as well as neighborhoods in Queens, Staten Island residents are left to choose between New York, N.Y., and Staten Island Junction, N.J., when creating events... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/lowest-scoring-schools-principal-sees-a-turnaround/65952/ Tue, 6 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST The principal of the city school rated lowest in report cards released yesterday said new initiatives have started to turn things around for P.S. 47, the American Sign Language School, which integrates hearing-impaired students with children who are not deaf. "Last year was not a great year. There were some fights, and some kids have a low tolerance for one another. But those kids that had problems are no longer in the school; six or seven have been transferred to other schools," the principal... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/m23-m1-buses-singled-out-as-pokey-and-schleppie/65578/ Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST The M23 bus, which runs along 23rd Street between Peter Cooper Village and Chelsea Piers, and the M1, which travels between South Ferry and Harlem mostly along Fifth, Madison, and Park avenues, have received dubious honors: the "Pokey" and "Schleppie" awards. The Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives yesterday named them as New York City's slowest and least reliable buses, respectively. The Straphangers Campaign, which is part of the New York Public Interest Research Group, and... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/real-estate/new-web-site-for-rental-apartments-hold-the-fees/65259/ Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST In the latest move by real estate companies to reach customers by reaching online, the owners of the brokerage firm and management company City Wide Apartments are launching a Web site to list their 2,000 rental apartments fee-free. The site, UrbanSherpaNY.com, is set to go live Friday. "The market has kept information in the hands of brokers and hasn't let it be given to users," a co-founder of Urban Sherpa, Michael Jacobs, said. "I felt like it was time to break down these barriers and make... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/business/verizon-agrees-to-reimburse-1m-to-subscribers/65132/ Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST Following a nine-month investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Verizon Wireless has agreed to reimburse $1 million to some of its subscribers after marketing a wireless Internet plan that fell short of its promises. The company had advertised an Unlimited National Access and Broadband Access plan for $59.99 a month, but when about 13,000 users attempted to take advantage of unrestricted bandwidth, they received letters terminating their service. "When consumers are promised an... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/iranian-dissidents-at-forum-speak-on-ahmadinejad/64730/ Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST A group of Iranian dissidents spoke yesterday about the status of women under President Ahmadinejad at a forum at Fordham Law School, while a prominent Iranian journalist said the dictator was able to present his visits to Columbia University and the United Nations as a public relations victory in Tehran. A television and radio commentator for Voice of America Television, Elahé Sharifpour-Hicks, said Mr. Ahmadinejad was portrayed in Iran as standing up to attempts by the president of Columbia... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/at-ground-zero-exhibit-more-clinton-than-giuliani/64456/ Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST A September 11, 2001 commemorative exhibit of 1,300 photographs at the New-York Historical Society includes only three photos of Mayor Giuliani, but five pictures of President Clinton, prompting some grumbling among fans of the mayor. Some of the photos portray Mr. Clinton at the ground zero site, while none of the pictures of Mr. Giuliani do. A spokeswoman for the Historical Society, Laura Washington, defended the exhibit, saying that of the 4,000 images the institution had to choose from... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/citys-three-airports-have-worst-delays-in-america/63922/ Thu, 4 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST The city's three area airports had the worst rates of flight delays in the nation in August, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, further highlighting the recognized need for change in the airports and the air traffic control system. John F. Kennedy International Airport, La Guardia Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport placed 30, 31, and 32 in arrival delays among the country's 32 major airports. "The skies above New York are more clogged and congested than ever,"... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/city-airports-are-nations-slowest/63906/ Wed, 3 Oct 2007 14:29:03 EST As Columbus Day weekend approaches, travelers will be disheartened to learn that New York City's three area airports had the nation's worst rates of flight delays in August, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Newark Liberty were placed 30, 31, and 32 in arrival delays among the country's 32 major airports. "The skies above New York are more clogged and congested than ever," Senator Schumer said. LaGuardia's on-time... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/mayors-traffic-plan-is-criticized-at-first/63429/ Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST With more than $350 million in federal funding on the line, Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan drew criticism from two of its biggest detractors yesterday at the first meeting of the committee that must approve the plan. The mayor's plan to charge cars $8 and trucks $21 to enter Manhattan south of 86th Street during peak hours already has the support of Governor Spitzer, and it needs the approval of the state Legislature to be considered for federal funding. The 17-member traffic... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/real-estate/grossly-deficient-mitchell-lama-oversight-is/63051/ Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST Oversight of Mitchell-Lama housing developments is "grossly deficient on a broad scale," a report published yesterday said. The review came from the state inspector general's office, which reviewed several housing projects in Manhattan, Roosevelt Island, and Brooklyn between January 2003 and October 2006. The lack of oversight resulted in run down conditions at the buildings, improper approvals of applications, manipulations of waiting lists, and occupancies by unapproved tenants with incomes... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/real-estate/developer-swig-donates-13m-to-playground/63081/ Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST A New York City real estate developer has donated $1.3 million to complete the financing needed to build a park downtown. Kent Swig, whose companies own about 4 million square feet of commercial and residential space in Lower Manhattan, donated the money in honor of his deceased twin brother, Robert Swig. The architectural firm the Rockwell Group is designing Imagination Playground, which will cost $2 million to build. The park "certainly increases livability" in the neighborhood, Mr. Swig said... KAYVON AFSHARI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/transit-unions-ny-local-endorses-edwards/62160/ Fri, 7 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST John Edwards added the Transport Workers Union to his array of organized labor support yesterday, accepting an endorsement from the 34,000-member local from its president, Roger Toussaint, at an event in Midtown. The TWU said the former senator from North Carolina is the Democratic presidential candidate with the best chance of winning the 2008 general election. "Hillary gives Republicans their best shot to keep the White House," the union said in a statement, referring to Senator Clinton, the...