~pperalta

It looks like the pending transit strike in New York is causing all sorts of anxiety among New Yorkers. Today the New York Times reported that no deal had been struck at the end of the current contract; as a result the TWU plans to call a strike with two private bus companies in Queens, Triboro and Jamaica Buses, Inc.. The reason is because these routes have not been taken over by the city yet, thus the Taylor Law does not apply to them. One side effect of this that nobody in the media has mentioned yet (and the first thing that came to mind) is that these buses serve many areas that are not exactly affluent. It is somewhat ironic that this strike would affect primarily working and lower class citizens. Queens residents in the middle class and higher are much more likely to own a car, unlike their Manhattan counterparts.

Yesterday Maria and I got back from a week in New York. We stayed at my sister’s apartment in Kew Garden Hills. We didn’t tell her ahead of time that we were going to show up, so she and her daughter were quite surprised to see us!

Unfortunately, the week that we chose to spend in NY turned out to be one of soggiest on record. Every day was overcast at best, and there were several days of non stop rain. Living in Florida, the rain is not quite so inconvenient since we all use cars to get around, and for the most part parking is plentiful wherever you go. However, pleasant weather is enjoyed much more as a pedestrian than as a driver.

Despite the weather, we did get to enjoy certain venues, one of them being a Broadway show. We picked up a pair of tickets to see Beauty and the Beast at the TKTS booth in Times Square. This was our first Broadway show and I must say that it was a very good performance. Just about everyone on stage needs to have three talents to be successful: acting, singing, and dancing. I think that each of them pulled it off very well.

We also trekked uptown to see the Cloisters at Fort Tyron Park. I really wish the weather was nicer on this day because the park is very nice, and there were some really nice gardens inside of the Cloisters as well. The Cloisters is an extension of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to medieval art. The building looks and feels like a castle, and many of the doorways consist of actual doorways of medieval buildings. The main thing that Maria wanted to see was the Unicorn Tapestries. She had been fascinated by them since childhood and was very much looking forward to seeing them. Looking at them up close, the detail that the weavers were able to achieve was amazing. Although the tapestries are huge, they have the same level of detail as paint on a canvas.

I was looking forward to seeing Massive B spin Dancehall at The City nightclub, and I was not disappointed. We showed up around 12 and the early DJs were spinning some old tunes. Their selection was excellent even if the mixing left something to be desired. An hour or so later the Massive B crew showed up and really woke up the crowd. As is the case with their mix tapes (which I have been listening to for at least 10 years) and their show on Hot 97, the selection and mixing was top notch. They also had Kiprich performing that evening, but the performance was mediocre (and the crowd let him know) so we left a little after he started. The promotional CDs that they gave away were not bad, although the songs were not as new as the literature suggested.

On Thursday evening we hung out with Dario and Frank, two guys that I went to grade school with and grew up with in the Woodside projects. Frank is doing IT, performing installations and administration for a company in NJ. Dario is buying and selling stocks on Wall Street, and also recently started a Hip Hop record label, Firewater Records. So far they have a few artists signed up and a couple of mix tapes, with more on the way.

This trip was my first experience with JetBlue. These were the best coach seats I have ever had by far. There was plenty of legroom and each seat has its own LCD TV with 20+ DirectTV channels to choose from. The trip to JFK from Orlando was very smooth and trouble free. On the way back however, after boarding the plane we sat on the tarmac for 20 to 30 minutes. It turned out that there was engine trouble and we would not be able to fly on that plane. After pulling back up to the jet way, they had us go to another gate. They pulled another jet out of the hanger and sent us on our way. Before takeoff, the flight attendant apologized for the delay and informed us that they would give us $50 off our next trip to compensate (which drew enthusiastic applause from the passengers.) And sure enough, I have the following in my inbox:

Dear Patrick,

Thank you for flying with JetBlue Airways on flight #41 from New York’s JFK on 10/14/05. We regret that we did not operate your flight as scheduled and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience that the maintenance delay may have caused you. As always, our foremost consideration in these cases is the safety of our customers.

As a gesture of apology and goodwill, we have issued each customer on your flight a $50 JetBlue electronic voucher. When you are ready to use your voucher, please call 1-800-JETBLUE with your confirmation number **** for this flight. The voucher is for you and is non-transferable; vouchers are valid for one year and cannot be used as a payment option for online bookings.

We thank you for your understanding, and look forward to a future opportunity to welcome you aboard JetBlue Airways.

Very impressive. I will certainly fly with them again in the future.

Anyone that has ever studied the MTA’s subway map knows that the map is not exactly geographically accurate. Also, it does not show the location of streets in detail, although that would be beyond the scope of the subway map. Bridging the gap is this Google maps hack. This map combines the subway lines with Google maps so that you can type in an address and see exactly where the subway lines and stops are. This is a great tool for anyone that needs to get around in the subway.