Archives for August 2013
These Massive Dark Streets
“Home sweet home” can be defined as a person’s own peaceful place or a releasing of comfort after a heavy day. But what happens if the surroundings don’t make it so “sweet,” when all that is heard outside your steps is a bunch of chaos or being witness to the loss of family members because of gang violence or a bullet hitting the wrong person. Would you be able to feel that comfort you planned on having, or would you be worried about being the next victim of a crime scene?
“The combinations of many different cultures and beliefs would be one of the few issues that make problems in our neighborhood,” says Sylvia, 47, who has lived in Mott Haven for the past 25 Years.
As the community of Mott Haven (South Bronx) has grown and developed, there has been a major change for the neighbors living in the community.
“Throughout the years I have seen violence as a way of fixing issues or problems within the gang activity and the youth,” says Police Police Officer Ramirez. A couple of people predicted the neighborhood would successfully decrease the violence, but others are not sure.
“I am really looking for another place to live because I just can’t be living a neighborhood where me or my kids have to be aware of our surroundings or just wanting to have problems with my son who is only 15 years old,” says a women who prefers to keep her name unknown.
“Does an appearance of how a person is dressed make a start for a brutal beat down?” she added.
Some people in the community think there has to be some type of gang activity when it comes to teenager’s appearance.
Many people can’t rely on being safe around the streets of Mott Haven gang actions.
“I was once included in all those problems. When boys from different hoods would come to my block, my brothers and I would just call for all of us to gather and would just start a big fight in the middle of the streets. We didn’t care who was around but we just had to attack because we had to get our respect,” said Roger. As he grew up he was a witness to a family member getting brutally beaten, which caused him to get into a brutal incident himself. He was only 17 years old. Roger now is 29 and has been on a wheelchair for the past 12 years.
Most of this people being affected by these bad behaviors are gang members themselves, and many in the neighborhood worry that those actions will affect the future generation.
“My friend dropped out of school and is now in the streets all the time with his so called ‘boys.’ I tried so many times talking to him to return to school, but is just a waste of time. Worst of all I think he is using drugs already,” says a young girl who prefers to hide her identity.
The majority of the teens affected are boys who don’t have a good education or are under bad influences. Many also use drugs, and some simply want to drop out of school and go into the business of selling drugs. The massive use of weapons has been a problems this past few months and “hard beating” has gotten the attention of many community members who want to find a way for it to stop.
New Art Installation Revives Wasteland
The Lower East Side Waterfront Alliance (LESWA) has launched “Paths to Pier 42” to revive the wasteland of Pier 42. The partner organizations in LESWA selected five artists in spring of 2013 to design the art installation with public involvement throughout the summer. The five art pieces were installed and displayed after a celebration on July 20th, 2013.
Pier 42, or “Banana Pier” was abandoned when Dole, a fruit company that mainly imported bananas, departed to Delaware. To gentrify the neighborhood, LESWA drafted “A People’s Plan for the East River Waterfront.” “Paths to Pier 42” is the first step of the plan to use art and public involvement to transform wasted Pier 42 into usable public place.
Five proposals were accepted out of 60 submissions. Nana Debois Buhl’s “Do You Remember the Bananas?” Interboro Partners’ “Rest Stop,” Mary Mattingly’s “Triple Islands,” Chat Travieso’s “On a Fence,” and Jennifer Wen Ma’s “Inked Garden”, which were chosen by a jury of six people, assembled by LESWA.
The Livable Island
“I appreciate doing things in public,” says Mattingly, “I was ecstatic with how much [space] I could take up … [The art’s] proximity to the river can expand to a new land,” she added.
Mattingly’s art piece “Triple Island” provides a livable land for the future. It will float on the water, due to the barrels underneath, once the sea level rises in the fall. With the assistance of Rand Weeks and “The Spark” Ray, who major in environmental science, the artwork became a display of sustainable systems. The solar generator inside is able to produce 1.5 kilowatts of energy everyday, equal to the amount of energy two people needed to live daily.
Mattingly hopes the piece will be inspirational, having an impact on people who look at it and helping them consider how to make ecosystems more livable.
Though the deadline for the removal of the art is the end of November, Mattingly hopes to develop the art piece and “give it to whoever wants” it or recycle the materials for new art piece.
The Garden Full of Vitality
“I never worked in New York City,” Ma says. She says her project became the opportunity to “work for community here.”
Ma’s “Inked Garden” was completely black on the first day with the painted cover of Chinese black ink over the living plants. Community members water her garden daily. “As the time passes, the garden will change in two ways — the flowers will blossom and the black garden will be transforming to more green color,” she explains.
It is a spiritual way to show how the life of nature goes. “Each life has a decision to make. They always have choices to either succumb to the stress, or survive thriving under it,” she says.
“Before the winter comes, the plants will be adopted by the communities,” Ma says. She will invite people to ask for the plants.
The Fence for Inclusion
Travieso states, “One of the great things about the project is they wanted us to promote with something that was an initial idea … very much influenced by the community.”
A collaboration with graphic designer Yeju Choi, Travieso’s artwork “On a Fence” seeks to change the chain of fence that separates a bikeway and the Pier 42 site to “something brings people all together” through the creation of an interactive sculpture. One side incorporates signage and color, and inside, there is seating and a playground. This transforms the physical barriers into a place where people can gather and share.
Travieso says that at the end of the art display he hopes to reuse the materials as much as possible or donate them to project like “Paths to Pier 42.”
Looking Forward to the Future
Dylan House, the community design director at Hester Street Collaborative, is leading “Paths to Pier 42” project. He explains that Pier 42 would be a place “to picnic, to do things like in a usual park … and to give visitors more reasons to come”.
According to House, the project was started last year’s summer. He said State Sen. Daniel Squadron and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer provided $14 million to the project and to plan to the future park. Due to Hurricane Sandy, the project has been delayed to this summer. Paths to Pier 42 held a Community Build Day on July 13, a Space Potluck on July 16 and Summer Launch Celebration on July 20.
The art pieces will last until the end of November 2013. House hopes to restore the project for next summer with the same process of “Paths to Pier 42” this year.
Visitors Suggest Improvements for Brooklyn Bridge Park
BBeautiful, architectural and relaxing are the three words people use most frequently to describe Brooklyn Bridge Park. However, both visitors and the park management are seeking improvements.
Brooklyn Bridge Park has summer park survey volunteers collecting information from visitors and tourists. The park also has the volunteers count the number of people entering and exiting. The survey takers have responded positively and given suggestions.
After the shipping business declined, the warehouses and piers mn the waterfront were abandoned. They were demolished in 2008 when the city began the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The park provides various programs for children and adults. For adults, the park offers events in arts, culture, recreation, education and environment. For children, the park presents program,such as family volunteer day, wildlife theater and seining. Children play in the sprinklers, and women sunbathe in swimsuits on the lawn. (For more information, go to brooklynbridgepark.org.)
Every surveyor gets a training session from volunteer coordinator Sarah Ward before asking visitors to fill out the surveys. The surveyor receives a folder that includes survey script, survey, map, park rules and information. The script offers a guide on how to ask people to fill out surveys in a friendly way. Sometimes surveyor and survey taker make a deal. The volunteers helps take a picture of the survey taker and his/her friend, and the survey taker completes the survey.
Most people are willing to fill out the surveys because they like the park. But some people don’t fill them out because they are in a hurry or don’t know much about the park.
Anita Aboulafia said that she appreciated that the park valued her opinion. She suggested that the park put in bike paths and more bike racks.
Corinne Grays was sitting alone on a bench in a shaded area. She needed to take two buses to get to the park. She loved to stay for seven hours to relax and enjoy the park. She recommended the park add more more amenities, such as restaurants and food carts.
Most people are comfortable with the questions in the surveys. However Ronnie B. was outraged by two questions. He felt the questions about household income and level of education were too personal.
“[The park] is not for the middle class, it’s only [for] the rich,” Ronnie B. said. He indicated he liked the neighborhood, but did not have enough money to afford a house there. “[There is a] need for redevelopment [and] rezoning,” said Ronnie.
The reputation of the Brooklyn Bridge Park attracts people from different parts of the world. Meret Siegenthaler, who was visiting from France, said the surveys would help the managers to get an idea of what kind of people are coming to the park so they can develop programs for all park users. She enjoyed sitting on a bench and watching the panorama of the Manhattan skyline.
Hank Forrest and his wife were sitting on a lawn enjoying the landscape. He said that surveys are important for visitors because they allow people to express their opinions. Hank and his wife wishes the park had more trees along the walkway. Hank knew that the park was still developing and wanted to know what plans were for improving the park.
Dan Sharp was sitting on a lawn with his wife and daughter. He said he gets annoyed by the tourists.
Ozlem Bozaci said she did not think the surveys would help the park because she doubted the park administration would take them very seriousl. She suggested dividing paths into three different paths: one for dogs, the second one for cyclists and the third one for people. She said her dissatisfaction about park was the noise came from the Manhattan Bridge’s trains.
Sarah Ward, the volunteer coordinator of Brooklyn Bridge Park said that she s not sure who came up with idea for surveying users. The purpose of the surveys is for the administration of the park to find out how people enjoy the park and which sections of the park users go to the most frequently.
How Will You Spend the $20 in Your Pocket?
“One man’s trash is another man’s come-up.” Many New Yorkers must agree with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ latest hit song, “Thrift Shop,” since New York City is being flooded with thrift shops. Along East 23rd Street, between Lexington Avenue and Second Avenue, there are five thrift shops. These shops, once commonly visited by older people, now attract younger men, women and even teenagers.
So why are thrift shops so popular at the moment? A 26-year-old female explains, “I love it [thrift shops], it’s cheap, you find good deals, you can make clothes and make things … great jewelry and cute dresses … no one else will have what you -well a few people will have what you find in a thrift shop, that’s why I love it.”
Thrift shops often support a charity by selling donated used clothes and household items, such as furniture.
After the song “Thrift Shop” premiered, many more people became curious about thrift shops. Twenty-three-year-old Sasha Smith believes the song by Macklemore definitely got her friends into thrift shopping. “Now my friends, they’re like, ‘let’s go thrift shopping!’” She said.
On the other hand, the song had a negative impact on 16-year-old Parmanand Pheku, who said, “I honestly would never shop in one [thrift shop] due to the overdose of teenagers singing Macklemore’s hit song.”
Not everyone is fond of thrift shops, Michelle, 19 years old, compared hand-me-downs to the used clothes from thrift shops. “If you get a hand-me-down it’s most likely from someone who you know and you’ll feel more comfortable wearing it, if you’re getting something [from a thrift shop] you don’t know the person.”
Alternatively, Alex Tlatelpa from Brooklyn says that he sees “nothing wrong with them … they’re just not for me … I’m not about that life.”
Thrift shops are not for everyone and in the end, the choice of shopping at thrift shops or not is a matter of preference.
Why Does the Gunman Shoot?
When one is informed of tragic events that happen on a world scale one may ask himself thought-provoking questions about how this could happen. Some may say that evil is the creation of God. Another would disagree, likening it to the actuality of dark and cold. But consider this. Acts of violence cannot only be attributed to the absence of God but also to inclinations within the human condition. In other words, the human race has the inclination to do something wrong whether it be to cheat on a test or to go so far as to commit an act of violence. The presence of God is what prevents one from committing a wrong thing.
When arguing the validity of God and Christianity some would say that God created everything. In addition to that, some may even imply that, if God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists. Therefore according to the principal that our actions define who we are then, God is evil.
Coming to this conclusion is logical but the flaws in this logic must be exposed. Liken this to the existence of cold. One may say that cold indeed exists simply based on the reason that they have felt cold. In fact cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in actually the absence of heat. Everybody and every object is susceptible to examination when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes incapable of reaction at that temperature. In actuality heat, on Earth, can never be absent. Rather it can vary in its intensity.
One may also believe darkness exists based on what they have experienced. Once again this empirical evidence is baseless and invalid. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. We can study light , but not darkness. We can use Newton’s prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color.
You cannot measure darkness. How can one know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present.
Now ask yourself does evil exist? Evil in fact does not exist, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of Jah. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith or love that exist just as light and heat do. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no warmth or the darkness that comes when there is no illumination.
The actions of men are those that come from overwhelming inclinations that stem from the human condition. When one does things that seem to defy our nurtured reasoning, that is evidence of the natural inclination of man. Philosophers like Thomas Hobbes and Kongfuzi believed that humans all have a sense of evil within them that must be contained in one way or another. Kongfuzi believed that men should understand the order of respect and mutual respect. He felt that if all men understood those levels of subjugation, evil would have no place and if those who have liberating powers, like fathers and leaders of countries, practiced ultimate benevolence evil would have nowhere to take root.
Thomas Hobbes on the other hand expressed his radical conservativism towards the autocratic subjugation of peoples whether it be brutish or benevolent. To Hobbes all humans were evil and needed to be subject to a higher power. He once said, “The condition of man…is a condition of war of everyone against everyone.” Hobbes implies that men do what they want within the confines of their own material gain. He felt men create a “social contract” between one another so that they may be able to coexist without mutilating one another because that is their natural tendency.
To both of these philosophers of old evil is the constant and goodness is simply a catalyst. However, evil is not the constant. Goodness, kindness and benevolence are the constant but, like heat, vary in intensity. One may ask oneself that if we have this “social contract” why do men kill other men? Well to simply answer, it is the absence of God.
In 2010, America suffered a homicide total of 12,966, 67.5 percent of those homicides were firearm related. This is an ever-so-often occurring issue in America. We hear about these events and then wonder how does God allow these things. Why are they happening? The fear of God is not in the hearts of the men who commit them. They kill for pleasure and even as a quick fix to their own problems. They have disregarded Hobbes’ “social contract” and Kongfuzi’s hierarchy of respects. Evil has outshined the light of goodness.
How can politics solve a problem that is simply more than just crime? This issue is not about how many guns are in the nation. This issue is not about how many bullets are in a clip. This issue is not about some conspiracy to disarm the nation. This issue is an issue within the fabric of humanity and has been and will always be. A man will kill when he feels he wants to. The only way to control this is by regaining the goodness we were born with. We regain it through God.
Lawmakers and Advocates to the Rescue for R Train Riders
With the closure of R train service from Brooklyn to Manhattan, Bay Ridge residents face the prospect of daily headache-inducing transfers onto overcrowded trains. However, lawmakers and activists are making efforts to ease the pains that commuters will feel for the next 14 months.
The Montague Street Tunnel closure for repairs from damage that occurred during Superstorm Sandy will split R train service into two routes, one within Brooklyn and one through Manhattan and Queens, until October 2014. Since the R is the only train that has stops in Bay Ridge, neighborhood commuters need assistance.
The most important transportation addition is the re-opening of the 58th Street Ferry Service from Southwest Brooklyn to Wall Street and Midtown, announced in a recent press release from the offices of Councilman Vincent Gentile and Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The ferry service is being provided by the New York City Economic Development Corp. and will charge riders $2 a ride.
“I am pleased to have worked with the Mayor’s Office, Speaker Quinn and the New York City Economic Development Corp. to make this possible. Having this temporary ferry will ease commutes for those who use the R train, so I encourage people to skip the train crowds and use the ferry which will get you to Wall Street in 15 minutes and then to midtown thereafter,” Councilman Gentile said in the press release.
The MTA also granted the request for an increase in X27 express-bus service from Brooklyn to Downtown Manhattan. According to Straphangers Campaign Coordinator Cate Contino, the number of X27 buses is increasing by 25 percent. However, the cost of the ride will remain at $6 instead of going down to the fare of a local bus, as the working group requested.
These requests and many others that have yet to be fulfilled were made by The Riders Alliance, one of the groups participating in finding solutions. In a letter written in June to Mayor Bloomberg and Tom Prendergast, chairman of the MTA, it requested specific measures to be taken to “accommodate riders during this extraordinary period of construction.” The alliance has since worked with lawmakers and other groups such as the Straphangers Campaign to make some of these requests a reality.
The Riders Alliance also requested an increase in train service on lines that R riders can transfer to such as the D, N, 4, and 5 trains. Although the city has reached its limit on the number of trains that can continually take riders for most routes, Councilman Gentile’s office and Contino both confirmed that the city will add something known as gap trains that wait nearby in case there are delays on certain trains.
The Straphangers alliance is leading the working group in talks with the city on expanding bike-share service in Brooklyn for R train riders. The Riders Alliance also suggested this idea in their letter.
One thing that all parties involved certainly agree on is the necessity of these repairs. Council Member Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., chair of the Finance Committee, said that the MTA was making “needed repairs” on the Montague St. Tunnel in the press release on ferry service. The letter from the Riders Alliance stated members of the organization “fully understand the need for extensive construction to repair damage from Superstorm Sandy.”
“No one disputes these are absolutely necessary repairs,” said Contino. She insisted that completely shutting the tunnel for 14 months was a better solution than the MTA’s alternative of closing the R every weekend until 2017.
Contino also mentioned that the working group was to meet with the MTA again on August 2. The hope is that the MTA, lawmakers, and activists will continue meeting to find more alternatives for R train commuters.
Citi Bike Riders Choose Convenience Over Safety
Citibike in New York City was created to provide convenient and affordable transportation. However, does the program favor convenience over safety?
Apparently so, according to some New Yorkers. Currently, the Citibike stations do not rent helmets since helmets are not required in New York City for people over 13 years old.
“There are some safety concerns. However I think the convenience override the safety concern,” says a Citibike user. “I don’t always know when I will ride the bike, so there will be times when I ride without a helmet.”
Many bike users do not want to carry helmets around with them throughout the day. People want to be able to take out the bikes without all the messy work.
The official Citibike website states that helmets are recommended and that there are two ways to get a helmet. Some helmets are provided at events held by Citibike, where ambassadors answer questions and talk about how Citibike works. The second way would be for bike users to buy their own. Helmets may cost from $30 to $150. For some, this may be a good investment while for others it is simply something they cannot afford.
According to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 70 percent of cyclists killed in 2010 did not wear a helmet. “I think that the safety concern should be addressed because not a lot of people are informed about the risks,” said a New York biker.
Bikers who do not wear helmets are not only responsible for themselves but for other people. “Seeing bikers riding in crowded areas is frightening,” said a bystander. “I know people who have suffered from head injures and it is so not worth it to not wear a helmet.” However, there are some people out there who are still willing to take the chance.
Yogurt Wars in Riverdale
Any New Yorker has probably noticed the spike in self-serve frozen yogurt stores in the city. There seems to be one of these stores on every street, whether it be the well known 16 Handles, or a smaller chain known as Off The Wall. Now, this trend has made its way to Riverdale, a suburban-like town in the Northern Bronx. Last winter, YoBurger opened on Riverdale Avenue, just blocks away from Menchies, which opened on Johnson Avenue in June. Both stores are located on the two main streets in Riverdale, and because they both serve frozen yogurt, an element of competition has been introduced to the sleepy town.
YoBurger is a burger and fries joint, also offering self-serve frozen yogurt at 49 cents per ounce. The restaurant has tables inside as well as benches outside. It plays loud music and seems to appeal to more of a teenage and adult crowd, but families and children can be seen there as well. Although bacon and cheeseburgers are options at YoBurger, according to the website, all of its frozen yogurt is certified as Kosher, a bonus the primarily Jewish neighborhood.
Menchies also offers Kosher frozen yogurt, with over twice the number of flavors YoBurger has. While YoBurger has 6 flavors of fro-yo, Menchies has 14 flavors priced at 56 cents per ounce. Unlike YoBurger, Menchies is a national chain and is able to make non-fat, low-fat, and sugar-free options. This is the first Menchies location to open in the New York City area.
Ajani Skeete, a 16 year old living in Riverdale, is excited about the new openings, but she feels that if Riverdale is going to be more “trendy”, it needs more than just frozen yogurt stores. She says, “The atmosphere at YoBurger is more family oriented and more of a hangout spot, while Menchie’s seems to appeal to children more.” However, she adds that even though Menchies has an impressive number of flavors, she likes that at YoBurger, one can have dinner and desert in the same store. Even though she likes the wider variety of flavors at Menchies, she likes YoBurger better because of how well it goes with a burger.
Dafine Hysaj, an employee at YoBurger says she doesn’t think it has lost business since Menchies opened, since “they can offer real food, like burgers, which Menchies can’t do.” She adds that YoBurger gets less customers during the summer since people go on vacation, but that Menchies doesn’t seem to pose any kind of threat. Sarah, a mother of 2 who goes to YoBurger “on a weekly basis”, adds that even though Menchies has more flavors, she finds the burger joint to be easier, since they have a meal and a dessert, as well as more seating. However, ultimately, she prefers YoBurger over Menchies because it’s a local business, something Riverdale is in “desperate need of”.
Skeete and Sarah both agree that no matter which store one likes better, these additons have made Riverdale a much nicer area and hope that more fun stores will open soon. According to Skeete, “I think there are a lot of families in Riverdale, and eventually the kids grow up and want more to do than to just go to the park. YoBurger and Menchies are both helping to add better activities for us.”
Neighborhood Changes as Barclays Center Moves In
Prospect Heights and Park Slope locals believe the opening of the multipurpose arena, the Barclays Center, has been a key factor in the significant changes in their neighborhoods, especially in restaurant population.
“We were all pretty much expecting the Barclays Center to completely change everything around here. We expected loud, uncontrollable crowds that would be constantly around here, disturbing the peace that you can usually find in this neighborhood,” said Melissa Clark, who lives just three blocks from the center. “But I think most of the worries people had have been proven wrong. If anything it feels as if the center has changed the living in this neighborhood, but in good and bad ways..
Most residents share Clark’s view. A series of interviews found that most locals find the biggest change in the surrounding neighborhood has come in the restaurant population.
“Everyone always really liked the restaurants in this neighborhood even before the Barclays Center moved in, but now that it’s here it feels like there are just a bunch more small cafes, restaurants and even chain restaurants filling up all of the empty spaces,” said John Herrera, a neighbor of Clark’s.
According to locals, in the past year the number of restaurants lining the few blocks up Flatbush Avenue, just south of the Barclays Center has doubled. They also have been going through continuous change. While some places stay for a long time, clearly profiting off the increase in business, others disappear almost as quickly as they came and their place is filled up almost instantly by another organic coffee shop or tasteful eatery.
“The restaurants can be good and bad because there’s more business in the neighborhood, but everything seems a little more crowded and busy which I think some people were afraid of,” commented Rachel Urquhart, a Prospect Heights resident.
The residents also have taken note of the new presence of certain chain establishments, such as the all-famous Starbucks Coffee shop, and the increase in certain eateries, such as burger joints, probably because of the need to cater to the crowds attracted by the Barclays Center.
“It is really convenient having a Starbucks just up the street now, but I think everyone can tell that it gives the neighborhood a totally different feel,” commented Herrera. He, like others who commented on the matter, thinks that the presence of something like Starbucks make it seem that the neighborhood is shifting from its previous loyalty to local independent cafes and coffee shops.
The change hasn’t only been in restaurant population and type. Locals speculate that businesses keep popping up and then disappearing because the rent drives them out, and yet the location continues to attract business owners. Many local Brooklyn newspapers have run articles focusing on the increase of rent after the arrival of the Barclays Center and how that has affected certain shop owners in the surrounding are
The increase in rent causes smaller businesses, which can’t afford the increase in rent, to leave the area and therefore creates space for more chain establishments to move into the neighborhood. Locals have said that the change from small to large businesses in the neighborhood and the new crowds brought by the Barclays Center have created a significantly different atmosphere for those living in the surrounding areas.
“I always felt like this was a very family orientated neighborhood. It was super quiet, and all the local places really felt like local places. I think now there are just more people here coming from all over the place, wanting to see the Barclays Center. Tourists, you know?” said Clark. “And the crowds you get at night after a big show has happened or a game, they are only looking for a bar to drink in after, which is not something we all would have expected to have here before the center moved in.”
Despite the fact that residents claim the neighborhood wasn’t a bar and late night partying scene before the Barclays Center arrived, there has been a clear demand for those venues now that the center is in action. Certain places have been fighting to get liquor licenses that extend later into the night. Community boards have been challenging these attempts because they fear the streets will end up being filled with late night drinkers and partiers. More importantly they also hope to regulate the number of drivers under the influence.