City Beat

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Judges Struggling to Get By

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According to the lobbyist who has been fighting for better judicial pay, state judges in New York sometimes makes less money than first-year associates at law firms.

“These attorneys straight out of law school are making more money than them… this has to be a very demoralizing position,” said Steve Kahn, a lawyer who works for the New York State Judicial Association, representing 1,500 judges in the state Supreme Court system.
His organization said state judges in New York make an average salary of $174,000. According to the association, xxxxx

The average state judge makes less money than a SUNY Buffalo Law professor. A judge toils day in and day out with people’s lives on the line, but a teacher dealing with kids earns more. Our judicial system is in peril.

Judges from the District level, all the way up to the Supreme are severely underpaid for their work. In the state of New York, the average Supreme Court Judge makes $174,000 a year. This number has not changed since 1999 even with the rise of costs of living rising each and every year. Since the last pay raise went into effect, judges have lost over one full year of salary to inflation.

New York state judges are the lowest paid in the country (on the cost of living basis), even though the cost of living in New York is much higher than states like Ohio.

Steve Cohn is the current practicing lawyer who spoke in front of the Court of Appeals in Albany last summer to try and get these pay raises put in effect. Mr. Cohn feels that judges are not getting treated fairly and is fighting for their rights. In an interview he said: “These attorneys straight out of law school are making more money than them… this has to be a very demoralizing position.” Mr. Cohn believes he is the voice for the judges since many are afraid that if they speak out they may lose their jobs: “Most don’t think its judicial and are afraid for their futures”.

Mr. Cohn is fighting for an average salary of $192,500 (a $20,000 increase) which adjusts for the cost of living and inflation.

The inequality in this system is quite visible. A new wet behind the ears lawyer makes more than a judge that has been working for over a decade. In a democracy a working judicial system is extremely important. Judges need to have their minds completely set on their work so that they don’t incarcerate an innocent man or take away a rightful man’s home.

According to a presentation to the New York State Compensation Commision compiled by the Coalition of New York state Judicial Association, this is getting near impossible. Many people are choosing not to become judges due to the financial risks and therefore the already serving judges are receiving more and more cases. The judges already serving have their hands full but they just keep receiving more and more cases. The average amount of Trial Court Filings have increased by over a million since 1999 but the amount of judges serving have barely increased by 100. This obviously has to affect the way a judge works.

Most judges are struggling to make ends meet for their families. Many have to work two to three jobs just to make ends meet. Some get creative with this decision; Judge Alan Hanroff of Nassau County became a boat captain. Others have petitioned to become stand up comics and teachers. New York state judges have to follow a very strict set of guidelines, in order for any judge to moonlight as another profession they have to sit in with the New York State Ethics commission.
According to Mr. Cohn, the NYSEC is notoriously biased in not letting judges do other things, because it may distract from their duties.

Justice Charles J. Thomas left the bench at the New York State Supreme Court left the bench this year. He felt he “wasn’t being treated fairly and his rights were being infringed upon”. Hon. Thomas left the bench after 28 years and feels that the system has become purely corrupt. According to Hon. Thomas many justices have left, and feel that a $20,000 a year increases is more than fair.

Hon. Thomas along with many others believes the raise will not come, because the New York State Assembly is trying to tie a pay raise for themselves in with the judges. According to the numbers, the last three times this was taken into court the NYSA would not pass it unless they received upward of an extra $10,000 a year. Of course the representatives refused and so the bill was not passed. Hon. Thomas is very cynical about the way Albany treats the judges saying “they just don’t treat us with respect.

There is hope for the New York State Judge. With Mr. Cahn’s efforts and the work of the NYSJA over the next year judges will receive an extra $5,000 to help compensate for the low pay.

Though it isn’t exactly what they were looking for many believe it is a step in the right direction. With the costs of living getting higher and higher a permanent fix has to be enacted so that our judges don’t make a mistake we won’t soon forget.

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Party your nights away in the Heights

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By Maria Jose Gallardo

When the sun goes down, the streets of Washington Heights fill with revelers from the tri-state area who flock to the neighborhood for a dose of nightlife that reminds them of home.

“I love the Heights. It reminds me of (being) back in the Dominican Republic,” said Katherine Villar, 21, a psychologist student at Brooklyn College.

Along the avenues, cars cruise, with their music playing loudly, and the lights of the nightclubs harmonize with the glow of streetlights.

“The music is high, you feel like you’re just in another world, you forget about everything, you’re just there to have a good time,” said Stephanie Jimenez, 21, a criminal justice student at John Jay College.

This vibrant neighborhood on the northern tip of Manhattan is where many New Yorkers of Hispanic background go to party and re-connect, even for one night, with their home country, not only because of the music but also because of the food and atmosphere.

Many Spanish-speaking immigrants have made of Washington Heights their home. First came Puerto Ricans and Cubans, followed by Dominicans and Mexicans.
“In the Heights you usually see a lot of Spanish people, you can relate to them, you go up to them and start a conversation naturally,” said Villar, a regular visitor of the unique clubs and lounges in Washington Heights.

In fact, the neighborhood is the site for the most diverse representation of Hispanic cuisine, music and dances. You can find a Mexican restaurant with famous tacos and a unique mixture of Japanese sushi with Caribbean’s touches, at Mamasushi.

“It’s called ‘The Spanish Village,’ because you can literally walk from restaurant to restaurant, to lounge to lounge, from club to club, without leaving the area,” said Yaxis Capote, 26.

The dancing – from the Bachata and Meregue to Hip-Hop and Techno – is done at, nightclubs such as Umbrella Nightclub, Morocco and Vin-Tich Lounge.

“They are not as big as your regular nightclubs, but I guess that makes it more intimate and private, it makes you feel more like you hanging out in somebody’s living room rather than being in a big club,” Capote said.

If your preference leans towards a pleasant appetizer with some cocktails followed by a party atmosphere, you can find famous places such as 809 Restaurant and Lounge, Mamajuana Café and Papasito Mexican Grill and Agave Bar located on Dyckman Street.

One characteristic of the nightlife scene in Washington Heights is the competitiveness over what people are wearing. “It’s like a fashion show in other words,” Capote said.

Women usually wear tiny, tight dresses, where their figures are shown. These dresses, which never get even close to their knees, are perfectly accessorized with over the top 5- to 6- inches heels, the more colorful the better. Women are also known for not repeating outfits, because they cannot be seen twice with the same clothes. These women not only worry about their outfits, but also for their hair and nails.

“The hair has to be on point,” said Villar, who every time she parties in the Heights has to go to the hair and nail salon. It’s just part of their routine in order to look their best when they go out.

“We are so competitive with each other, we look at ourselves from head to toe,” Villar added.

On the other hand, most clubs prohibit men from entering if they are wearing sneakers or hats. Men wear dressy pants, button-down shirts and dressy shoes.

“The guys are just too sexy,” Villar said.

People who frequents the “Heights,” according to Capote, “are very eccentric, defiantly like attention, they’re very fashion oriented.”

Jimenez, who comes from a Dominican and Ecuadorian backgrounds, chooses Washington Heights over any other neighborhood to party. “The people they’re classy, you’re not going to party with kids…”

In the Heights, you can also find “hicks,” a term used to describe people from a Dominican background, who dress, speak and act in a particular way. Men usually wear tight jeans or pants, and pointy shoes, which sometimes are made from alligator skin. They use slangs originally from the Dominican Republic. They say hello by saying “KLK,” which simply means how is it going? Or what is going on with you?
Many people argue, that “Hicks” represent those Dominicans who live in the U.S, but want to maintain their Dominican traditions.

“What I mean about hicks I’m not referring to country, I’m referring to the way you talk, there’s a way you express your self, there’s a lot of slang a hick would say like “KLK” “dime aver,” Jimenez said.

After dancing, most people head out to eat, often at the food trucks that gather that time of night. Some serve Venezuelan food, others have Dominican.These trucks are so mandatory to everyone who parties in the Heights that they only open at nighttime.

Nightlife at Washington heights is more than just streets with clubs, as Villar said, “I like to party in Washington heights because the crowd is like a family, people you party within your family is the people you see in the clubs.”

“You know how they say New York is the city that never sleeps, Washington Heights is that little city that never sleep, it never stops partying,” she said.

Ed McGuckin: Bronx Born Wrestler

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Johnpaul Nocerino
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Ed McGuckin remembers his childhood in the Bronx when he and his friends would wrestle on old mattresses in his backyard.That passion for wrestling never left as the 27-year-old McGuckin turned his pro-wrestling dream into a reality.

As a child, McGuckin was always fascinated by the world of professional wrestling. Whether is was staying up late to watch WWF monday night raw or wrestling with childhood friends in his backyard, wrestling had always been a part of his life.

“I wanted to be a wrestler for literally as long as I could remember, some of my earliest memories as a kid were of watching wrestling,” said McGuckin.

McGuckin hangs around the neighborhood, working out at the gym near his house and
drinking at the local pubs. His friends know him as Ed, a guy from the neighborhood, but his fans know him as “Jigsaw”, a high-flying, trash talking masked wrestler.

“It’s hard for me to take him seriously when I see him wrestling,” said Edward Hogarty a childhood friend to McGuckin. “His mask is supposed to be intimidating but I know it’s just Ed under there and it actually makes me laugh, said Hogarty.

McGuckin attributes his passion for wrestling to some of his childhood idols such as the loud and flamboyant “Ultimate Warrior”. “Seeing guys like warrior wrestle would always get me so pumped up as a kid,” said McGuckin. As he got older, McGuckin expanded his wrestling fandom to other forms outside of the WWF such as Lucha Llibre style of Mexico and companies like New Japan Pro Wrestling which enriched his love for the sport. “This was some of the most athletic wrestling I had ever seen and I was hooked,” said McGuckin.

McGuckin began to explore the possibility of becoming a wrestler when he tore his Achilles tendon in high school and was forced to give up playing basketball and football. “ I had always been a huge fan of pro wrestling so the idea of one day stepping foot inside the ring was always in the back of mind, but I always assumed it was a longshot,” said McGuckin.

After his Achilles had healed, basketball and football seasons had already passed and McGuckin was left looking for a new way to stay in shape until the upcoming basketball season. “In an act to just keep active I found a pro wrestling school, at the time it was just for fun and to kill time until I could play basketball again but I became hooked and never played high school sports again, I was fully engulfed in the pro wrestling world,” said McGuckin. After joining “Chikara Wrestling” based in Philadelphia, McGuckin decided to give pro wrestling a real chance as a career.

McGuckin’s wrestling career would then take off as he became “Jigsaw” a name he claims was given to him by wrestling buddy Mike Quackenbush of Chikara Wrestling. “Jigsaw” started gain fans in the underground wrestling world and McGuckin began wrestling for any company that was interested.

Certain rigors come with the life of a professional wrestler. Traveling is obviously one major aspect of professional wrestling that would keep some people from pursuing there dreams. McGuckin has a different approach to the traveling he has done as a wrestler.

“I feel extremely lucky and grateful for this path I’ve chosen because I don’t know if I would have ever left the tri-state area if not for the opportunities wrestling has given me,” said McGuckin. McGuckin has wrestled in 31 states as well as Europe, Mexico and Canada. At the end of November, McGuckin will be embarking on his first voyage to Japan. He is scheduled to spend three weeks in Japan touring with Osaka Pro Wrestling.

As a career, McGuckin has been able to support himself fairly well as a professional wrestler, especially when he wrestled for “Ring of Honor” a more high profile wrestling company. “ I’ve been able to get by financially but there really isn’t a 401K or retirement plan in this business and if you want to survive you need to very smart with the money you make,” said McGuckin. McGuckin also works part time as a personal fitness trainer and was an elevator operator for a private building in Manhattan as he took time off from wrestling this past summer.

Unfortunately, McGuckin understands that he will someday have to give up wrestling. “ I do plan to stop, I love pro wrestling and everything its given me but at the same time no ones body is meant to do this forever, the body breaks down, this business cripples people, I’ve set a plan to make sure I get out before my body tells me I have to get out.” said Mcguckin.

McGuckin now has fans from all over the country and even had his own action figure made. According to McGuckin however, it is the love of the sport that brings all the joy. “Pro wrestling has taken me places around the world I would never thought possible, I met great friends and childhood idols, I love this business because there is simply nothing else like it, every bump and bruise has been rewarded with accomplishments and friendships that I would never give up for anything in the world,” said McGuckin.