This is the face of a soulless monster

He hates us for our freedoms.

Meet Dick Cheney, a country unto himself, the all-powerful Vice president who claims with a straight face to be his own fourth branch of the federal government.

Bond. 3rd and Bond.

The Gowanus Lounge reports on a new development slated for 3rd Street and Bond Street in the Gowanus section.

From what I've heard, the developers plans for the site are for low-rise townhouses that would fit contextually with the neighborhood. A business in the footprint is said to be relocating to Red Hook, which is still in the neighborhood, more or less.

So far, so good. However, it's worth noting that this developer put up J Condo in DUMBO . . . so we'll have to keep our eyes open.

2,197 Signers Demand Enhanced F&V Service to Brooklyn

Well I'll be damned. Almost 2,200 signatures on the petition as of 10:25 Friday morning. And new write-ups in the Brooklyn Paper and the Daily News, though the news got the facts a bit mixed up. Nevertheless, it's good that Jen at Kensington Brooklyn gets some credit, as she has been pushing this issue hard.

A nice new round-up over at SecondAvenueSagas on the coverage. Ben rightly notes that the Brooklyn Paper's Ariella Cohen did a great job of covering the issue. And who's that handsome devil in the picture?

Spread the word and tell your friends, neighbors, and bitter enemies, because I'll be printing out the petitions and handing them out at the MTA Board meeting next Wednesday, June 27th. The Culver Viaduct rehabilitation is on the agenda, which provides an opportunity to address the issue. With a two minute speaking limit, your signatures will matter more than my words.

UPDATE:
Streetsblog has picked up the petition as well.

Downtown Brooklyn Partnership Supports F Express, Congestion pricing

I had heard from Crain's that the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership endorsed the Enhanced F&V Petition. (which, by the way, is up to 2,096 signatures)

The Brooklyn Eagle has a story out today that DBP has endorsed congestion pricing as well as a number of transit enhancements, including free street transfers, restored express service on the F line, and more local service.

All of these enhancements would be good for New York.

Obama: Scooter Deserves Jail

A week or so ago, Obama '08 General Counsel Bob Bauer posted a destestable piece of jackassery over at the Huffington Post, "The Progressive Case for a Libby Pardon". The reasoning is so poor as to defy logic and all recent history, and has been ably addressed elsewhere, so I won't even get into it. It did inspire me to write an angry letter to the Obama campaign, expressing my sore disappointment that a member of his team was pushing this tripe. I received this response:

Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting Obama for America (OFA) about the recent personal blog post written by OFA’s outside counsel, Bob Bauer, regarding the Lewis "Scooter" Libby case. We appreciate hearing from you.

Senator Obama opposes a pardon and strongly believes that Libby should be held accountable for his actions, including serving jail time. Mr. Bauer was speaking on his own behalf and his views do not represent Senator Obama's or the campaign's.

Thank you again for contacting us.

Sincerely,

Obama for America

Good to hear.

Holy Jeebus: Bloomberg Bolts the GOP

Wow. I didn't see that coming, as bad as a fit as Bloomberg's policies and the national GOP's are.

I thought Bloomberg would throw his hat in the ring for 2008, but now I'm just flabbergasted. No idea where he's going with this.

To paraphrase Clark Griswold: I couldn't be more surprised if I woke up with my head sewn to the carpet.

Metro Covers the F&V Express Petition

First page photo and lede, and big article on page four. Things are heating up now.

Come on, MTA, make this happen. Investments in transit pay off in increased quality of life for everybody. Let's find the money and get this done. make NYC a better place to work, live, and move.