The Paw Print

A news publication created by Baruch's College Now high school journalism class

LEANDRO RIBEIRO

Second Avenue Subway Pesters Nearby Residents

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    As Ozan Akipek leaves his apartment, he must twist and turn around construction just to reach his street corner. “It’s annoying, my neighborhood is covered by fencing and machines” states Mr. Akipek. “The construction is right outside my door, and I walk by rats night after night.”

    Mr. Akipek lives in the Upper East Side, on Second Avenue. The recent Second Avenue subway construction has created a maze for him to exit his building.

    One will notice that as they walk through Second Avenue, there is no straight path from point A to point B. They must surpass a tangle of scaffolding, fences, and other obstacles to get where they want to be. Some people also have to dodge rats along the way, because construction has led to a decrease in trash pickup, making room for vermin to invade the streets.

    Pedestrians are not the only agitated residents. “Biking down Second Avenue is so scary” says local bike rider Samuel Leff. “You have cars right next to you on one side, and concrete on the other”. The areas on Second Avenue that have construction have no bike lanes, so cyclists are mixed into traffic. This dangerous scenario can cause a small fall from a bike into tragedy.

    Upper East Siders may not have to deal with the construction much longer, but empty promises have many New Yorkers questioning the most recent deadline of 2016. The MTA is scheduled to open the stations December 30th, 2016, a whopping 87 years after the subway line was originally proposed. The project stopped and started repeatedly for decades until it is now further than it has ever been, but the initial completion date was 2014.

   Daily riders of the Lexington Avenue line like Margaret Rodriguez are looking forward to the Second Avenue line, “I can’t wait… the [six] train is always super crowded going to and from work,” she says. In fact, the six train is part of the most crowded subway line in the nation. Upper East Siders have to decide between crowded trains or what seems like never ending construction on the street, but an end may be in sight.

   The New York Post revealed workers have excavated about 65 percent of the site, and the 96th street station has finished its main site contract work.

   For now, the Second Avenue line continues to be built, and it looks plausible that the 2016 deadline will be completed.

The New York Knicks: Nowhere to Go But Up

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After earning 11 championship rings as an NBA coach, Phil Jackson has confronted a new obstacle, achieving a championship with the New York Knicks as an executive — one of his biggest challenges yet. On Tuesday, March 18th, 2014, the New York Knicks announced Jackson as their new president of Basketball operations.

Jackson, age 68, has thirteen rings, thirteen more than every current Knicks player combined. He will not have much to work with, and has to clean up the team that went 37-45  last season. A poor season for what seemed like a promising roster ended without the Knicks making the playoffs.

Acquiring Jackson was clearly a positive move for the Knicks. He has already made serious changes to this lackluster roster and staff by getting rid of coach Mike Woodson, whose poor coaching made the Knicks miss the playoffs for the first time in three years. To replace Woodson, Jackson hired former point guard Derek Fisher as head coach. Jackson will be taking Fisher under his coaching wing after leading him to five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.

After hiring Fisher, Jackson suggested he wear all five of his rings when first sitting with the Knicks’ ringless best player, Carmelo Anthony. This small detail was one of many tactics used to seal the deal and keep Carmelo on the Knicks. Carmelo is changing and proving himself as a team player, taking $5 million off of his contract to help the Knicks pick up better players and formulate a more solid roster.

The New York Knicks are already looking like a better squad than they were last year, with Jackson making moves to promote chemistry that was certainly lacking last season. Jackson told ESPN he picked up on that, “Watching them play I saw guys that looked at each other like, ‘You didn’t back me up, you weren’t here when I needed help.’ There just wasn’t the right combination or feel (where) it felt like everybody was in sync all the time,” he said.

Jackson traded center Tyson Chandler and point guard Raymond Felton to the Dallas Mavericks. In return for these two, the Knicks obtained guards Jose Calderon, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington, and center Samuel Dalembert. He also acquired two second-round draft picks used to obtain Clean Early and Thanasis Antetokounmpo. Losing one of the most overpaid centers and worst guards in the league for a six solid players was clearly favorable for the Knicks.

Newly hired coach Derek Fisher also has high hopes for the Knicks, stating in a press conference “My opinion is, based on our roster and who we’re going to become, we can compete for playing in the playoffs and playing for a championship in the Eastern Conference…When that happens, putting dates on it, that’s not my job.” Fisher has good reason to feel positive about the Knicks, considering the fact that one of basketball’s most intelligent men is spearheading their operations.

With Phil Jackson’s extensive basketball I.Q. and 13 championships under his belt, the Knicks are bound to be a championship contender in the coming years.