Hey NY, Get Ready for the new Subway Fare Hike we have been dreading for many months and now changing as of this Sunday, June 28th. Yes, I know…this is a recession, we shouldn’t be raising prices but it’s happening. The decision and new hike fares are now set for 2009 and I don’t know for how long before the next fare hike comes along for us New Yorkers to dread. So definitely buy your last old fare MetroCards before Sunday, but don’t stock up on the old fare MetroCards. There’s an expiration date on keeping old MetroCard fares otherwise you loose the value of the card. Here is the new information: From $2, the fare will now go up to $2.25 per ride for Subways, NYCT Bus, MTA Bus, LI Bus & Staten Island Railway. Round-trip Fares will go from $4 to $4.50. Unlimited Ride Metro Cards will go from $7.50 to $8.25 for 1-Day Unlimited, from $25 to $27 for the 7-Day Unlimited, from $47 to $51.50 for the 14-Day Unlimited and from $81 to $89 for the 30-Day Unlimited. Express Bus Fares will go from $5 to $5.50 per ride. The 7-Day Unlimited ride for the Express Bus will go from $41 to $45. MetroCards Purchased Before June 28th Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard Cards purchased prior to June 28th can still be used. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on June 28, 2009, the higher fare will be deducted from your Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard. Unlimited Ride MetroCard To get the full value of a 1-Day, 7-Day, 14-Day or 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard or the 7-day Express Bus Plus MetroCard purchased prior to June 28th you must begin using the card on or before July 6th. If you buy a 1-Day Fun Pass before June 28th, it must be activated by July 6th and it expires on July 6th. If you buy a 7-Day Unlimited before June 28th, it must be activated by July 6th and it expires on July 12th. If you buy a 14-Day Unlimited before June 28th, it must be activated by July 6th and it expires on July 19th. If you buy a 30-Day Unlimited before June 28th, it must be activated by July 6th and it expires on August 4th. If you buy a 7-Day Express Bus Plus before June 28th, it must be activated by July 6th and it expires on July 12th. For more information on new fares for MTA Transit, Metro North, LI Railroad, Bridges and Tolls, visit http://www.mta.info/mta/09/#umc

 

 

 

 

American Airlines Passengers Face Third Day Of Cancellations

Air travelers face a third day of frustration today as American Airlines cancels hundreds more flights.

www.xplanefreeware.net
“American says it has canceled 900 flights nationwide for today, including 50 flights into and out of the three New York City area airports. At this hour, 37 outbound flights from LaGuardia have been cancelled. However, unlike yesterday, it appears more people called ahead, as the lines are minimal. Passengers waited hours to speak to ticket agents yesterday.”

“Federal regulators called for re-inspections of American’s 300 MD-80 planes — to look for faulty wiring that could cause fires. The groundings have affected an estimated 250,000 passengers. In addition to American Airlines cancellations, Delta has announced the grounding of about six flights today and Alaska Airlines the canceling of about a dozen flights for re-inspections.”
In response to all these cancellations, New York Senator Charles Schumer released the following statement:

“Though the safety implications are serious, the resulting chaos may have been avoidable. The [Federation Aviation Administration] and the airlines need to come up with a plan so this rash of cancellations doesn’t happen again.”

Better to be safe than sorry, but that’s just my opinion

NY1 News

A bit of London living has now hopped the pond and made it's way to New York City. In London, this was a plan to reduce traffic into the city by charging drivers to enter the city. Their plan has been successful for them but many of the London locals have not been happy with it. And now the same is about to happen to New York.

Mayor Bloomberg's plan has barely passed by the city council which will now urge politicians of Albany to make it a law. Drivers will be charged to enter manhattan below 60th street. Cars will be charged $8 and trucks will be charged $21, Monday thru Friday from 6am to 6pm.

The general idea behind this plan is to reduce traffic within our city streets and will also promote cleaner air within our city. The budget plans for this will also help the MTA provide better transportation to the city. However, this has many locals concerned and worried that the MTA will cheat New Yorkers and will not make proper use of the budget and many are asking what this can do for their wallets and for their businesses. Many are asking if they will get charged if they already live in the zone pricing area, others are concerned what this can cost people living in Brooklyn and Queens that rely on driving into the city as a way of commuting. This also raises the questions of how this will affect middle-class and income sensitive New Yorkers.

As a native New Yorker, I feel that this plan is not in the best interest of the city. This can discourage many outer-borough commuters and can discourage any tourists that are taking in a road trip travel. I also wonder what's going to happen if I take a cab within the city, will my cab driver charge me an extra $8 to go downtown on top of the already raised meter prices? I think businesses will feel this pain if not now, maybe later on down the roads if this plan gets established. I think there is always going to be traffic and the city is always going to be chaos. That's the city life and that's always going to be in NY. Before you know it, there's going to be too many people walking the streets of NYC. What then? We'll be charged to walk a few blocks?

How do other people feel about this new plan? If you are a visitor, do you think this will work? If you are a local, can this plan benefit us at all? Definitely sound off your pros and cons about this new plan.

Unfortunately, we knew it was coming.  A bill passed on December 19th by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (a.k.a. the MTA) was put into effect this past Sunday, March 2nd.  While the base fee of $2.00 per individual subway ride remains the same, the monthly cost of a Metrocard is now to $81, upped by a $5 increase.  A weekly Metrocard is now up a dollar to $25.  Also, there will be a new 14-day Metrocard offered at $47. 

   Image provided by:  villagevoice.com

Why the increase in fares?  According to the New York Times in their Dec. 19th article addressing the issue , “…because it{the M.T.A.} faces looming multibillion-dollar deficits. For the last several years, the authority has benefited from a windfall in real estate taxes, but the slowing of the housing market has slowed down even as the authority faces rising costs for four key expansion projects: the new Second Avenue subway line, the East Side Access project to link the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal, the West Side extension of the No. 7 subway line and the completion of the Fulton Street Transit Center in Lower Manhattan”.

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A bummer? Absolutely… but a seemingly necessary bummer.

-Stefanie Botelho

Image provided by: Mediabistro.com MTA has contacted Albany on behalf of their $30 billion plan for the city. This is their 5 year plan in regards to all the congestion in New York City. I must admit, the congestion is getting a bit out of hand. "The MTA hopes much of the funding for the $29.5 billion improvements to the city's transit system will come from drivers through the congestion pricing scheme now being considered by state lawmakers." Imagine, paying to get into the City during rush hours? London has the same system, but I really don't know how New Yorkers feel about this. On the MTA's wish list: - Renovation of 44 subways - Computer driven trains on the # 7 line and some E and F lines - Extension of Metro North to Penn Station - 2nd phase of 2nd ave. subway line Prices for trains and buses are set to go up on March 2nd.

A Greyhound bus traveling to PA met with an accident that injured 41 when it flipped over. "The bus en route to Toronto was traveling on Interstate 380 about 13 miles southeast of Scranton when it flipped." Two of the passengers were treated in Scranton while the 29 others will checked and released. We are thankful that it wasn't fatal.

livegreenstlouis.files.wordpress.com nymag.com





Yes! Which came first? Chickens or Traffic? Well, on the BQE this morning, it was the chickens. After a tractor trailer overturned this morning, drivers were actually dealing with both the chickens and the traffic. "The rig, carrying a cargo of live chickens, overturned near the Flushing Avenue exit on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway at about 2:30 a.m., spilling a flock of feathered friends onto the road. " Some of the little chicken were harmed, some killed and some were caught. The highway was closed for several hours and traffic even backed up all the way to the Manhattan Bridge. What can I say? There is never a quiet day in New York City!

Image provided by: www.weblogs.amny.com Good news "7 Train" users, Service from Times Square to Flushing and vice versa has now been resumed; two weeks ahead of schedule. "Express service has been suspended since January 11th, because of major track and signal work. The MTA says the work was able to be completed ahead of time because of good weather. " -think24seven

The ever popular Triborough Bridge is all set to receive a new name. It is going to be called the "Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge." Governor Spitzer plans to announce the bridges' name change at the State of the State address on Wednesday. "Kennedy, a former attorney general who served as a New York Senator until his death, was a national leader on civil rights" Operated by the MTA, the Triborough Bridge opened in 1936. The three spans of the bridge stretch three and a half miles, connecting East Harlem to the Bronx and Queens. - think24seven

When in New York, there are lots of ways to get around; subways, buses, ferries, water taxis, cabs, petty cabs, and classically; by foot. However, sometimes we like to take occasional cabs especially when going to and from the airport. It's a good thing there's Super Shuttle. They will get you to and from any destination in a flash and for an amazing price. Have a lot of luggage? No worries, Super Shuttle is big enough to handle it. One day, I was on my way to the airport when my original cab did not show up (or it was taking long). I decided to call Super Shuttle. I always see them around, but at this point I had never used them. They were there in record time, took me to the airport with enough time to make my flight. I walked into JFK whispering to myself, "thank god for Super Shuttle." Super Shuttle is not just a New York thing. They have numerous locations with special group rates. You can even make, cancel, or confirm reservations on-line. If you are going to all the major airports in NYC, then Super Shuttle is your way to go: JFK (John F. Kennedy International Airport) EWR (Newark International Airport) LGA (LaGuardia Airport) Visit supershuttle for more information. - think24seven

Think 1636- can you? Well, that was when the Dutch settled in Brooklyn. They were farmers of course and back then, there was only New York (Manhattan) and Brooklyn. The population of Brooklyn was about 397,000 and growing; fast. It was the fastest growing city in the US at the time.

The Brooklyn bridge; the most majestic suspension bridge ever built, confirms a fascination that people all over the world is just mesmerized by its construction. According to Times online, Walt Whitman visited the near-completed bridge in 1878 and said, "the best, most effective medicine my soul has yet partaken – the grandest physical habitat and surroundings of land and water the globe affords – namely, Manhattan island and Brooklyn, which the future shall join in one city – city of superb democracy, amid superb surroundings."

See it for yourself, take the 'C' train to High Street/Brooklyn Bridge. Ascend upon radiance, grace, beauty and style. Now, the Brooklyn Bridge is amongst one of the most noted neighborhoods in New York City. Stop for pizza, or just to take a stroll, you will find that it's very relaxing, to bask in the beauty of something that is as extraordinary as the Brooklyn Bridge.

Now, the bridge still stands for the same thing it did 200 years ago; the connection between two very prominent cities. Not to mention, that the DUMBO section of Brooklyn (down under the Manhattan bridge overpass) has been named the City's 90th historic district.

To read more:

Dumbo, Landmark status!

somahpersaud

Today I took the bus to the train, as usual. It’s part of my morning routine. When I got to the 179th street station, I was sad to discover that there were “switch problems” at 36th street. Now, what exactly does “switch problem” mean?

• It means that there will be hundreds of people waiting at each stop to get on an already packed train.

• It means that people will start fighting and pushing and yelling to get to where they want to be.

• It also means that you will be late to your destination.

I think that trains are a great invention, but I can’t help but feel like the MTA is not trying its hardest. Let’s face it. There are thousands of people that take the trains each day, and to be honest, I have witnessed some awful things on the train; but that is not enough to make me give up. I don’t even think they disinfect the train poles when they are cleaning. Actually, I know they don’t because there are a number of times that the trains pull into the 179th street station and they clean the floors, take the garbage out, but they don’t wipe down the poles or the seats. I have even seen roaches in the ‘F’ train; disgusting. Think of all the germs that are growing, manifesting, multiplying each day and that is why my friends, germ gel is a good thing to carry with you at all times. For $2 each way from millions of people, I think they can afford to at least wipe the poles at least once a day. I can’t say that I have a solution, because I don’t; but sometimes it really gets frustrating.

Leaving your house on time does not mean that you will get to work on time, especially if you are a native New Yorker.

somahpersaud

I can’t believe there’s no article about “Saigon grill”, which is the best Vietnamese restaurant in the city! There are a variety of dishes that suits every taste bud. My favorite dishes in the restaurant are No. 25 and 45, Vietnamese noodle, which is called “Pho bo”, and a dish of small pieces of beef steak with sauce and salad (unfortunately, I can’t remember the dish’s name of No.45). You have two choices for the size of the noodle you’d like, regular and large. I usually go there with my friend, so “One large Pho bo and the beef steak” or “Two regular Pho bos and the steak” was perfect.

There are three condiments on each table. One of them is hot sliced pepper; Jalapeño. I like hot and spicy food very much. For that reason, I am crazy about the Jalapeño! If you are also into spicy food, I’m sure you won’t be able to keep yourself away from it.
The sauce on the steak is sweet and sour. I really wonder how they make it and what ingredients they use. The meats are so soft, that when you put them into your mouth, they melt! It’s no exaggeration to say that I go there from New jersey just to taste the steak.


The mood is comfortable and relaxed. It’s good for not only a couple and friends but a family with children as well. They have many big tables for large groups and also a bar, so you don’t need to make a line to wait if the place is crowded. They have two venues around Uptown and the Union Square area. Their website is unavailable for the moment, but you can still call 212-875-9072.



Kim Hyo Ryeong (Korea)