Engel Promises Support for 9/11 Victims

Congressman Eliot Engel is cosponsoring the “James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2007.” The bill provides for guaranteed medical assistance for anyone who has been injured as a result of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks.

IRS Wants to Give You Money

The Internal Revenue Service is mailing out letters throughout the month of March to over 130 million American households, reminding them to file a 2007 tax return to receive a 2008 economic stimulus payment.

Shining a Light on Information

The Greek philosopher Diogenes walked around Athens in the daytime with a lighted lamp. He said he was looking for an honest man. There are no reports that he ever found one. We can all be excused for feeling like Diogenes while walking along, say, Jerome Avenue up by Van Cortlandt Park.

To the left is a filtration plant construction project where people in charge of large portions of it are accused in a 170-page indictment of taking money in return for hiring particular trucking companies. These latest revelations come on the heels of truly unbelievable cost overruns.

To the right is 213th Street, a block that has long had a serious drug problem. Twenty-two people have been arrested for participating in that trade and four related murders.

While it’s been a bad few weeks for a very small area, with crimes left and right, there is an up side to the situation.

Security Officer Options

As Jennifer DeYoung is absolutely right that “changing union representation can get complicated” [“Fordham Guards Rally for Job Security,” Feb. 21–March 5 issue], please let me clear up two misconceptions about union recognition and job security for the security officers at Fordham University. If a new security contractor replaces Summit Security, they do not have to recognize Allied International Union — particularly if a majority of officers sign cards withdrawing their support for them. Even if Allied had a 10-year contract with Summit, the contract would have no effect at Fordham if the university hired a different security contractor. As for


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Mess of the Month

On a Saturday afternoon, Amy, 3, helps her father Ebelio Veras, the superintendent of 300 E. 201st St., blot out fresh graffiti. Veras said it had just been put there within the hour, and that he touches up the walls of the apartment building every week.  He said he has notified police, who say there is nothing they can do unless they see the writers in the act.

Card Companies Called Out

International calling cards don’t always deliver on their promises of inexpensive telephony, according to a recent study.

Parks Department Surfs Turf Battle

A week after directing park employees to stop using rubber infill in artificial turf fields, city Parks Department officials retracted that decision, explaining that they made a mistake and plan to continue to consider "the newest and most innovative synthetic turf technologies" in future projects.