Thomas Kontogiannis: Queens Sleaziest Businessman?

I've been reading about this character ever since the Duke Cunningham scandal broke, and for the life of me, I can't figure out what role this shadowy figure plays that he's constantly getting get-out-of-jail-free cards from the Feds.

Something stinks here, badly. It's time to eliminate covert operations from our governments toolbox altogether.

Troll the archives at WarandPiece and TPMmuckraker for more on this slippery fellow. How does he manage to stay out of the headlines of every New York paper? Not one investigative journalist for a NY paper or news program, as far as I know, has done an expose on this guy.

Photo from the Queens Press, from an unrelated story where Kontogiannis plead guilty in a local bribery case . . . which involved nearly $5 million swindled from the city . . . and NO ONE went to jail. What gives?

ADDED:
This April 2006 article from the San Diego Union-Tribune is an excellent source of reporting on Kontogiannis' checkered past.

Exciting Times for Transit Planning in New York City

The prospect of bringing back the F express seems to have captured the imaginations of many, which has been very gratifying. Thousands of people are eager for a better, faster, more comprehensive mass transit system.

Credit where due, the PlaNYC proposals have stimulated people's way of thinking about transit and our city. The voices in the wilderness for the past several decades have suddenly been handed a megaphone. Suddenly it seems we're taking a fresh look at the way New York gets around, and open to making big changes for the better. I'm excited about what's going on in this city today.

Here are some other proposals that are under consideration:

• Connecting the BDFV & 6 trains at Broadway-Lafayette
• Pedestrian and bike lanes on the Verrazano Bridge
• Demolishing the Gowanus Expressway after building a tunnel along the seawall - a pet project you'll here lots more about here at FirstandCourt
• Building the Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel to get truck traffic off our streets and highways; trucks are destructive to infrastructure, pollute our air, and dangerous to others sharing the roadspace; a freight tunnel from New Jersey to Sunset Park would allow the movement of millions of tons of freight east of the Hudson without trucks.

Those are some of the things that get me excited about the future. We need the type of dedicated, responsible leadership that will make these proposals a reality.

Joint Press Conference: DeBlasio, Felder, Recchia . . . Reilly?

Today's press conference was a great success. In addition to the Councilmen, Gene Russianoff was there representing the Straphangers Campaign and Paul White was there on behalf of Transportation Alternatives. NY1, News 12, and WNYC were all there, plus the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and NY Metro, both of whom covered this story right out the gate.

Jen at KensingtonBrooklyn has some good shots up on her blog (and great picture resolution, I am jealous) so go check out her site . . .

It was an honor to be in such great company today. Community activism can be a wonderful thing.

F/V Petition Delivered: End of Act I

Success! This morning I presented to the MTA Board several copies of the petition including the first 2,449 signatures. The 5th floor meeting room was packed, with all chairs taken and a few people standing.

The best moment of the meeting occurred about halfway through. Board Member Andrew B. Albert, whom I've never met, took a moment to express support the F&V petition.

Paraphrase:
Albert: I'd like to second what Mr. Reilly said about restoring the F express train in Brooklyn.
Kalikow: Was this something that was always intended when the express was shut for repairs originally?
Albert: Yes it was, but after the horrible fire we had at the Bergen Street station, it was put on the shelf.
Eliot Sander: We're looking into it.

News 12 conducted an interview with me after the meeting, which I assume will air tonight or sometime this week. Thank you News 12, for the interest.

After the meeting, I had chance to speak briefly with Board Member Norman Seabrook. The bottom line: our pleas are not falling on deaf ears.

Today was a good day. We still have Acts II and III ahead of us. How it ends is all that matters.

NYT: Water Is Wet, Subway System Bursting At Seams

As I waited 10 minutes for a crowded F train at rush hour this morning, I passed the time with a revelatory article in the NYT Metro section: Some Subways Found Packed Past Capacity.

The article has an accompanying graphic, however, that is of questionable accuracy. It lists the F train at 100% of track capacity . . . which is only true if you ignore the unused express tracks lying between the local tracks through Brooklyn.

The Times article does highlight THE key issue facing New York City today: our underfunded transit infrastructure is at the breaking point. At some point, NY will either buck up and fund the system properly, or face another exodus of people and wealth as the quality of life plunges.

The desire for change is palpable; I put a petition for better service on the F&V online, and nearly 2500 people signed on in under two weeks! People want better transit options. We need dedicated streams of funding for transit, and a re-imagining of the system that looks at the historical inefficiencies left behind by the disjointed history of subway construction and brings the system to a level of service better than any city in the world.

Demand it! I'll be delivering the petition to the MTA Board tomorrow morning at 9:30 sharp. The meeting is open to public comment, but you must arrive by 9:00 to sign up.

New York City: Beyond the Automobile

I've written a lot about the F&V train lately, and clearly as a Carroll Gardens resident it's an issue near to my heart. But restoring the F express and extending the V out to Brooklyn is just one example of the investments we as New Yorkers can and must make in our transit infrastructure to keep this city on an upward trajectory.

The rise of the automobile was a devastating blow to this city, among others. For 50 years, scarcely any additional resources were put towards developing our transit systems, as countless billions were spent building and rebuilding thousands of miles of space hogging, environmentally disastrous highways and additional lanes on local streets.

Pedestrian flow is the life of this city. How conducive to community is it to cross a six-lane through street to see your neighbors? Or to cross under a dark, noisy and crumbling structure like the Gowanus Expressway to get to a park? Or to look out your window and see a Cross-Bronx Expressway or the BQE gouging its way through your neighborhood like a deep, painful scar?

One of the beautiful things about New York is that millions of our inhabitants can get by without ever owning a car. Without an expansive, 24 hour transit system this would be impossible. It follows that the greater the transit coverage, and the more frequent and rapid the service, the more people will travel the rails and buses, and get out of their cars.

After 50 years of favoring the automobile and truck, it's time for New York to invest in transit for people and for freight, to take back pieces of the road infrastructure for open space, and remember that a thriving city centers around people and places, not cars.

Red Hook Ballfields Vendors: Benepe Responds

I wrote a letter to Adrian Benepe to voice my concern over the potential removal of the delicious treats I walk a mile to get on weekends. He was good enough to reply, and I think the positive pressure exerted by the community and elected officials is making a difference:

June 22, 2007

Dear Constituent:

Thank you for your email regarding the food vendors at Red Hook Park in Brooklyn.

The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation has been issuing "Temporary Use Authorizations" to two separate groups to operate a food market at the ballfields in Red Hook Park. We began the process a few years ago in an effort to legalize the vendors at Red Hook, helping them become a permanent fixture in the neighborhood, and the park users have benefited from their presence. They enhance and diversify the Red Hook neighborhood, and particularly our ballfields, by serving great food at reasonable prices. Unfortunately, once it became clear that the Red Hook markets would regularly be open for more than 29 days a year, we could no longer legally renew their temporary permits without opening up the concession to the public solicitation process.

I would, however, like to correct a common misperception that we are offering the site to the "highest bidder." In order to comply with the concession regulations in the New York City Charter, we will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP). This will allow Parks to evaluate proposals based on qualitative criteria such as operating experience and planned operations. We plan on releasing a RFP shortly for the operation of vending markets at the various ballfields at Red Hook Park; the term of the license will be six years. This process will give the selected vendors the permanence and regularity that they deserve.

We have received positive feedback regarding the Red Hook vending markets and we look forward to the active participation of the existing vending groups at Red Hook in the proposal process.

I appreciate your taking the time to write.

Sincerely,

Adrian Benepe
Commissioner

Now I want a pupusa and some plantains to go with.