New York News: The City Desk

[VelesHomais]

He makes a lot of sense

Bicycles shouldn't be used outside of parks at all or at least they should be subjected to the traffic laws. If they want to support the environment, get an electric car, for ****s sake. What is the most annoying thing on the road? A bicyclist. And on the sidewalk? A bicyclist.

[redbaron_012]

I am posting this here because I love New York and you must know the world was watching you in 2001.......You may already know Japan has had a big earthquake but now their Nuclear reactor has exploded......This is a huge catastrophe and the world should know....even anywhere in the USA.....I don't mean to be rude..but the USA is very insular

[koolkid]

It's called the city desk for a reason. This thread is only for news within or around the city of new york. Of course we are aware of the disaster in case you aren't aware, it's all over the tv news.

[desertpunk]

Fifteen Dead In NY Bus Crash


unimaginable carnage

A tour bus in the Bronx flipped onto its side and slid into a sign post early Saturday morning, killing 15 people. (Thirteen died at the scene and two more died later.) The New York Fire Department said the bus overturned on the southbound side of Interstate 95, and the sign post sliced off the top of the bus along the window line for nearly two-thirds of the vehicle's length. The bus was carrying 31 to 33 passengers. In addition to the 13 confirmed killed, six people were critically injured and another 11 sustained minor injuries.

[desertpunk]

[desertpunk]

NY Times

In Contest for New York’s New Taxis, Turkish Entry, the Karsan, Is Rejected



The Karsan van, with a retractable wheelchair ramp, got a lot of support in Brooklyn when the company promised to build a factory in Sunset Park.
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

Published: May 2, 2011

The Karsan V1, an oblong Turkish van vying to become the exclusive vehicle of the New York City taxi fleet, has features that would make a Crown Victoria weep: London-style jump seats; a moon roof for panoramic views; even a pledge to build the cars in Brooklyn. (The Crown Vic, the fleet’s old mainstay, was made in Canada.) “How can we possibly reject this proposal?” Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn borough president, said at a rally he organized on Sunday to support the van.

The Bloomberg administration is set to present a few reasons why.

The Karsan van has been rejected by the Taxi and Limousine Commission, according to a city official who has been informed of the decision, and who insisted on anonymity because it had not been made public. The rejection came after a review raised concerns about whether the Turkish company, untested in the American market, could reliably execute the high-concept product it had designed.

That leaves the city’s Taxi of Tomorrow competition — which will award a contract for the next decade’s yellow cabs — with two contenders. Both finalists were submitted by more established automakers and are less aesthetically distinct: the Ford Transit Connect and the Nissan NV200 vans. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is expected to announce the selection this week.

Karsan’s bid attracted far more attention than its competitors’, earning international headlines as a stylish new look for the traditional New York cab. Its makers hired Rubenstein Associates, the public relations firm, to supervise a media campaign, and the vehicle attracted strong support by advocates for the disabled because of its retractable wheelchair ramp.

But an analysis commissioned by the city concluded that Karsan would present the “highest risk” to the taxi industry if chosen for the 10-year contract. The report, prepared by an automotive consultant, Ricardo Inc., put it bluntly: While Karsan had demonstrated “the will and technical capability” to build its proposed taxi, the company was “a new manufacturer, with a new manufacturing paradigm, not familiar with the U.S. regulatory framework, with no current sales, service or support infrastructure” in the United States, according to the report, excerpts of which were obtained by The New York Times.

The consultant appeared concerned about whether Karsan, which has rarely tried to design and build a new vehicle from scratch, had “fully evaluated the risks and countermeasures required to ensure that their product will deliver and maintain the same level of maturity as that of their competitors over the life of the contract.”

Jan Nahum, the executive director of Karsan, said in a statement that he was shocked that he had not been directly notified of the decision, and he described the premature release of the report as inappropriate. “Furthermore,” he added, “we were unaware of any such report, and the concerns reportedly raised in it have never been expressed to us.”

Karsan said last month that it was prepared to build a plant in Sunset Park, potentially creating hundreds of jobs. The announcement was hailed by some city politicians, including several who spoke at Mr. Markowitz’s event outside Brooklyn Borough Hall on Sunday.

“Imagine the rebirth of solid, union, middle-income jobs,” Mr. Markowitz said. And Julie Kushner, a United Auto Workers director who also spoke at the rally, said Karsan’s selection would “represent the first auto assembly jobs in the city for decades.”

While Karsan has been eliminated, city officials are said to have encountered drawbacks in all three finalists.

Ford’s submission, for its existing Transit Connect van, was viewed early on as problematic and uninspired, and some taxi officials were taken aback to see the city include the car as a finalist.

At one point, the Ford entry was considered “a fallback” that could be picked if other, more exciting options did not pan out, according to two individuals with direct knowledge of the city’s deliberations who requested anonymity because the discussions were supposed to be private.

City Hall officials would not comment on internal deliberations. But Mayor Bloomberg appeared to allude to Karsan’s perceived problems on his radio program last week.

“You’ve got to look at how much experience companies have had in building cars,” he said on Friday.

Juliet Linderman contributed reporting.

[desertpunk]

Nissan Wins Contest For NYC Cabs

Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s second- biggest carmaker, was chosen to supply New York’s next fleet of yellow taxi cabs, a deal city officials valued at $1 billion over 10 years.



Nissan beat out proposals from two other finalists in the “Taxi of Tomorrow” competition: Ford Motor Co. (F) and Karsan Otomotiv Sanayi & Ticaret AS of Turkey, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today. The automaker’s NV200 minivan will become the new standard, eventually replacing the city’s 13,237-car fleet, which now consists of 16 models.

“It’s going to be the safest and most convenient cab the city has ever had,” Bloomberg said today at a City Hall news conference with Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith and Taxi & Limousine Commissioner David Yassky. “Nissan’s submission, we think, was far and away the best among the three finalists.”

[...]

[desertpunk]

Mayor Bloomberg: If The World Ends Saturday, Parking Rules Will Be Suspended

[Middle-Island]

HE HE Typical dry, deadpan Mike.

[redbaron_012]

Did this guy Rapture to Heaven ? or is he still hanging around Columbus Circle ? I would love to hear an interview with him tomorrow.....It is afternoon 22nd here but still 21st there I guess.


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[desertpunk]

Tornado Watch For NYC Until 8:00pm Tonight

[desertpunk]

Huge Fire In Brooklyn

[desertpunk]

Would you re-elect this guy?

]

[desertpunk]

[VelesHomais]

It's unfortunate that this is the issue that ruined his reputation, not his actual record as an attack dog.

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

It's unfortunate that this is the issue that ruined his reputation, not his actual record as an attack dog.

With this schmuck, I don't think you could have one without the other. Weiner's attack dog antics won him the female following that he exploited for the sake of his perversion. He needs to get out yesterday...

[Middle-Island]

Breach of ethics, or public trust? Don't see this indiscretion on the level of an Edwards, here. I mean, this isn't exactly the Victorian era, is it?

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by Middle-Island

Breach of ethics, or public trust? Don't see this indiscretion on the level of an Edwards, here. I mean, this isn't exactly the Victorian era, is it?

He used his position to insinuate himself with women half his age, lied about it, directed a media witchhunt for supposed hackers and then admitted his own deceit. His own party has been seriously sidetracked and damaged by this.

Weiner Battles For Political Life

[Middle-Island]

These are witch hunts into people's sex lives ... which isn't even sex in this case, by the way. Yes, Weiner's character is damaged (running for mayor is probably out), but bill Clinton survived doing far worse in every category. Just sayin', for perspective.

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by Middle-Island

These are witch hunts into people's sex lives ... which isn't even sex in this case, by the way. Yes, Weiner's character is damaged (running for mayor is probably out), but bill Clinton survived doing far worse in every category. Just sayin', for perspective.

The real damage may be the lost momentum the Democrats had going into this election cycle. Instead of having the Republicans on the run over their medicare plan, we get Anthony Weiner's dick. (now pictured on Gawker)