Author: r.simon

“No, I don’t think that New York City has taken the proper precautions to prepare for another hurricane or superstorm which would measure up to the magnitude of Sandy. Quite honestly, I’m apprehensive about the future of this great metropolis when it comes to standing up against the untimely force of Mother Nature,” Markowicz stated.

She then said, “Shame on Mayor Bill de Blasio for his lackluster campaign to prepare our city for another disaster like Sandy. Shame on him.”

“Yay, you spelled my name right!” she added.

Sitting on a worn-out sandy-colored couch in a brick-walled coffee shop with her legs crossed, Amanda McNamara clasps a mug of steaming hot Earl Grey—two sugars. “Hillary and Trump are the only ones the media cares about. A career criminal and a pig,” she mutters between sips.

Her brows arch as she takes another sip and adds, “Gary Johnson is actually an honest candidate. And he cares about the issues that matter. But you don’t hear about him in the news or see him at the debates. And that’s not fair.”

(TK background of Amanda McNamara–why is she significant?)

Gary Johnson, alongside his running mate Bill Weld, is the third-party Libertarian candidate hoping to secure the presidency in November.

(TK Johnson’s platform. Two-party system, throwing away your vote vs. voting for a candidate in whom you believe. Other third-party candidates.)

McNamara Quotes:

“Because American media portrays the two-party system, a lot of Americans are left uninformed about other choices in the presidential run. Many Americans tend not to do their own research for candidates that they can vote for and just follow whatever is shown on tv which is strictly left wing or right wing.”

“At this point in the game, people are just voting for Hillary because they understand that Trump is not a choice. But that doesn’t mean they have to vote for Hillary. Honestly I think Trump is running for president just to create another big scandal for his popularity and celebrity character that he portrays in the media.”

“By voting for Johnson, you’re not throwing away your vote. Throwing away your vote would be voting for someone you don’t believe in or not voting at all.”

“America was never supposed to be a two-party system. There needs to be more options. If enough people could pull together and support a candidate like Gary Johnson, then we could actually change this country for the better.”

“Neither Hillary nor Trump are fit to be president. They’re both liars and they both are in the game for self-interest. We need a president who can be honest and a good leader for this country.”

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/high-time-marijuana-legalization.html?_r=0

The Times recently published an editorial calling for Congress to repeal the ban on marijuana in the United States. In this editorial piece, the board did an excellent job of backing up the claim that it would be beneficial to society by supporting their stance with numbers of incarceration rates, and potential benefits of repealing the ban. In addition, they invited readers to write in with their opinions on the issue, promising prompt response. Overall, it was an effective piece, though it could have been backed up with more statistics and figures on legalizing marijuana, such as the potential financial benefit that the government could gain from legalization.

Monday night’s debate was the most watched in U.S. history. The nominees of the two major political parties took to the stage to duke it out in an iconic battle of words. But Hillary and Donald are not the only ones running for president. What about the third-party Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson? Do people even know who Gary Johnson is? Does he really even matter in the scope of the election? For this article, I’d like to find that out.

Joseph Re is a recent high school graduate who is known in a small town of Trump supporters as an avid Johnson advocate. He believes Johnson is the most honest of all the candidates, and is the best man for the job of president of the United States. I’d like to profile Joseph and probe him in order to find out what attracts people to third-party candidates, and what makes their support significant. This article will really question the value of a vote, and the value in voting for someone in whom you really believe.

At any given hour of the day, a Manhattan or Brooklyn-bound L train generally looks the same—crowded. The benches are almost always full, the cars are loud with conversation and the platforms are bustling with musicians playing tunes ranging from banjo-plucking folk to synchronized percussion.

Commuters who rely on this train daily in neighborhoods which are largely disconnected from other subway lines, are hoping that they will soon reap the benefits of its closure. Many Brooklyn locals are anticipating that the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s plan to close the L train will actually help them afford to live in trendy areas such as Williamsburg and Bushwick, which have recently grown in popularity.

The subway line, which runs from 14th Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan all the way to Rockaway Parkway in Canarsie, sees over 400,000 riders daily.

Due to extensive damage from Hurricane Sandy back in 2012, the MTA recently announced that the L train will shut down between Manhattan and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg in January 2019 for 18 months so that it can be properly repaired.

Although the MTA’s plan will be highly inconvenient for some, most locals do not plan to relocate to other parts of New York. In fact, many residents are actually expecting to see their rents decrease as a result of the closure.

“I’m really hoping that the L shutting down will help decrease my rent. I can’t imagine people wanting to move to a place where there’s no subway. But as for me, I love this area and I don’t want to live anywhere else,” said Megan Lansky, 32.

“Taking a shuttle bus will definitely suck,” she added. “But commuting sucks in general, so I guess it’s not that bad.”

Lansky currently shares a four-bedroom apartment on the southeast end of Bushwick for a combined total of $2,350 per month.

Stephanie Pearson, 24, agreed with Lansky.

“I hope rent goes down here,” she said. “It makes sense that a remote area would become cheaper. Perhaps, with people moving out because of the shutdown, gentrification could reverse itself.”

Pearson lives on Williamsburg’s east end, in a loft that she shares with five other roommates for a total of $3,000 a month.

In fact, a rent decrease in the affected neighborhoods appears to be statistically likely, according to a rent analysis by FiveThirtyEight. The source claims, “The shutdown should shave about $200 to $450 off the rent of the typical Williamsburg one-bedroom—until the repair work is done, anyway.”

Although residents remain hopeful that their rents will in fact see a sharp decrease in the coming years, they are still left with the problem of getting into Manhattan without the L train. Many neighborhoods along the L line do not have other subway lines available, leaving many commuters wondering how they will be able to substitute for this integral mode of transit.

While Lansky is able to take the J train into Manhattan as an alternative, Pearson is rather isolated from other subway lines.

“Where I live in Williamsburg, the L train is pretty much it. Walking a mile to the J or M really isn’t realistic for my daily commute. I’m hoping the MTA will have shuttle buses, but I can’t say that I’m looking forward to riding one every day,” she said.

She added, “And paying for a daily cab ride to and from the subway plus a monthly unlimited metro card? Are you kidding me?”

This is the reality that many Brooklyn residents will be facing in two years. The question of whether or not it is worth it to pay extra for a lesser commute time will be lingering. But perhaps the MTA will take note of this inconvenience, and consider giving some of these neighborhoods more subway options, especially considering the L train sees some of the highest daily commuter rates in the entire subway system.

Jeffrey Schleider, founder of Miron Properties and a Williamsburg local, commented on the neighborhood’s disconnect from other subway lines, saying, “There’s a larger transportation issue…Hopefully what will come out of this is that they will continue to keep the additional forms of transportation [needed to help during the closure] whether it’s an express bus or express ferry.”

So whether it be a rent decrease, or the MTA ultimately realizing that the most popular neighborhoods in Brooklyn should be a bit more connected to the rest of the subway system, residents are hopeful that some good may eventually come out of the L train shutdown which looms in the near future.

At any given hour of the day, a Manhattan or Brooklyn-bound L train generally looks the same—crowded. The benches are almost always full, the cars are loud with conversation and the platforms are bustling with musicians playing tunes ranging from banjo-plucking folk to synchronized percussion.

The subway line, which runs from 14th Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan all the way to Rockaway Parkway in Canarsie, sees over 400,000 riders daily.

However, due to extensive damage from Hurricane Sandy back in 2012, the MTA has recently announced that the L train will shut down between Manhattan and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg in January 2019 for 18 months so that it can be properly repaired.

The MTA has yet to provide details about alternative transportation services to substitute for this closure.

The announcement has been met with mixed reactions among Brooklyn commuters who rely on the L train daily in neighborhoods which are largely disconnected from other subway lines.

Although the MTA’s plan will be highly inconvenient for some, most locals do not plan to relocate to other parts of New York. In fact, with neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Bushwick growing in popularity, many residents are actually hoping that the L train’s closure will help them afford to live in these trendy areas.

“I’m really hoping that the L shutting down will help decrease my rent. I can’t imagine people wanting to move to a place where there’s no subway. But as for me, I love this area and I don’t want to live anywhere else,” commented Megan Lansky, 32, of East Williamsburg, adding, “Taking a shuttle bus will definitely suck, but commuting sucks in general, so I guess it’s not that bad.”

Stephanie Pearson, a 24-year-old living in Bushwick, agreed with Lansky, saying, “I hope rent goes down here. It makes sense that a remote area would become cheaper. Perhaps, with people moving out because of the shutdown, gentrification could reverse itself.”

In fact, a rent decrease in the effected neighborhoods could actually be possible, according to dnainfo. The news source claims that “rents could plummet…between $200 to $450 for one-bedroom apartments.”

MORE INTERVIEW QUOTES AND RENT INFO TKTKTKTK

The MTA recently announced that the L-train shutdown, originally due in 2017, will not happen until 2019. This will impact hundreds of people who rely on this popular subway line to commute to and from work and school daily. The Canarsie tubes were severely damaged after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and are just now being considered for repair.

For this story, I will interview L-train commuters and get their take on this shutdown and how it will impact their daily commutes. The L train services many parts of Brooklyn that are disconnected from other subway lines, therefore making it very newsworthy. In addition, it is interesting that the MTA is choosing to do repairs to this line seven years after it was damaged by Hurricane Sandy. This poses the larger question of whether New York City is really prepared to deal with natural disasters, and whether or not the city has reliable public transit.

In addition to interviewing commuters, I would also seek comment from an MTA representative. The article in its whole would follow those commuters who will ultimately be impacted by this shutdown, while exploring NYC’s mass transit system as a whole and its reliability.