Senator Schumer with Markos Moulitsas and contributing editor brownsox of Daily Kos.

We haven’t seen any “Summer of Hope” press releases announcing the Cops vs. Cops NYPD Boxing at Beer Island tonight. We only saw the sign hung at the Coney beer drinking establishment announcing the event. The last such event was a Summer of Hope “Beer Brawl” in late July. Details of tonights big cop fight are on the sign.

There are a lot of opportunities to watch Barack Obama’s historic speech accepting the Democratic Nomination tonight. We won’t steal the thunder of someone else’s hard work compiling a list of bars that will be showing the speech. We’ll simply steer you over there to check out the list.–Breukland

Our Senior Senator just visited the Big Tent here in Denver. Chuck Schumer just left after spending about half an hour mixing with the crowd. He took a number of questions, some friendly, some less so. Video later today.

More pics on the flip...

Chuck with Markos.

Chuck chatting with bloggers. Many of the folks in this picture are contributing editors at DailyKos.

Here is part four of Mark Gorton's essay, "Smart Para-Transit: A New Vision for Urban Transportation."

The Smart Para-Transit system I have described would be capable of replacing many of the automobile trips in the New York area. However, by itself, it would be insufficient to completely replace the need to own a car for many New Yorkers. If Smart Para-Transit were paired with a car sharing program, most all driving scenarios would be covered, and this system would eliminate the need for car ownership for all but the most driving-intense New Yorkers. Zipcar is an example of a private car sharing service.

The interface between the car sharing system and the customer would be the same as with the Smart Para-Transit system. The user would simply go to a website or a cell phone and enter what sort of vehicle they would like and the length of time they need the vehicle. The user would then be told the location of a nearby vehicle that meets their needs. A premium service that drops the car at the customer’s door could even be provided at an extra cost.

For example, if a family wanted to travel up to the Finger Lakes region for a week, Smart Para-Transit would be a very costly way to meet their travel needs. But by taking an available car from the car sharing pool, the family would have a vehicle that met their needs for as long as they need it. Freight hauling vehicles could also be made available for sharing for times when people need to move large objects.

Many New Yorkers own cars but only use them infrequently. Yet these cars need to be stored all the remaining time. As a result, New York has an enormous parking shortage. Parked cars are not in use, yet they take up precious public space. Chronic parking shortages leads to cruising for parking which results in extra congestion, pollution, noise, and increased danger for children and senior citizens. In addition, parked cars take up valuable space that can be used for non-transportation purposes such as kids playing, benches, flea markets, outdoor cafés, etc. Car sharing allows each car to be kept in service a much higher percentage of the time, and as a result, fewer cars are necessary to serve the same number of trips.

Fewer cars mean less demand for parking, and a smarter use of scarce public space. By creating a system that makes more optimal use of the vehicles in the system, New York would receive an enormous spatial dividend that would allow a whole host of public activities to flourish.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Download the full essay
  

Yesterday, we posted a BoCoCa Parents email from a parent upset about what she called “filth” and broken toys at NY City Explorers, a play space for kids at 388 Atlantic Avenue. One of the owners responded, so it’s only appropriate to post what she has to say:

Thank you so much for your feedback about our Atlantic Avenue playspace. Keyanna and I welcome all comments and suggestions from our customers and take them very seriously. We opened on Atlantic Avenue last November and are incredibly grateful that we opened our doors in a neighborhood where families support the services that we offer and come out to enjoy our space. We aspire to be a warm, welcoming place where families can play safely, make new friends, and enjoy a fun and laid-back environment. We green-clean daily and have all carpets and upholstery professionally cleaned on a regular schedule. To keep our hardwood floors spiffy, we mop daily (or more depending upon the customer traffic) and sweep as often as needed throughout the day.

Though I was on maternity-leave during your visit to our play space, I ensure you that the conditions that you described in your email in no way reflect the standards that Keyanna and I have set for our space. I have children as well as you do and know how important cleanliness is to keep germs at bay and keep children healthy. Our entire staff also takes pride in the space and have been briefed on your concerns.

I encourage you to come back and give our space a try. Should you decide that our space and services are not a good fit for your family, I will happily offer you a refund for your play pack.
Again, both Keyanna and I thank you for voicing your concerns and helping us to make our playspace the best for our customers. Feel free to call us or come in to introduce yourself. I’m here most days for a few hours from 10am until early afternoon. I am either the calm woman with a baby girl in a Maya Wrap or Ergo sitting near or at the front desk or the frantic woman rushing outside trying to convince the meter maids on Atlantic to refrain from giving me my 27th parking ticket.

Filthy or not? In any case, the entire place is closed from August 31-September 6 for renovation.

The MTA has taken its share of criticism from the community for not informing people in advance of asbestos work. Yesterday, it actually circulated, via the office of Council Member Bill de Blasio, and advance notice about “manhole abatement” work that will take place at the Fourth Avenue F Station after Labor Day. We assume that “manhole abatement” is a euphemism for work that includes asbestos removal. The work will start on Fourth Avenue at 9PM on Tuesday, September 2 and will take place through September 24. Work is scheduled from 9PM to 5:30AM.

Here’s the email that went out yesterday:

This e-mail is to inform you of an upcoming manhole abatement project which MTA NYC Transit will perform near the 4th Avenue F station in Brooklyn. There are 6 manholes that we will start to abate on Tuesday night, September 2 at 9:00 p.m….The manholes start at the north end of the 4th Avenue station and follow the subway tunnel to 6th Avenue.

The schedule will run from September 2 until September 24. We will work Monday through Friday, 9:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. and all NYC safety and health codes will be adhered to. Most of the work will be from the street, but a couple of manholes will be done from subway because there is no street access.

The email is from Andrew Inglesby, Assistant Director of Government & Community Relations for New York City Transit.

Here's a dispatch from one of New York's little-known pedestrian-only streets. Residents of Inwood may see a decade of lobbying pay off over the next year, as the city last week announced the upcoming rehabilitation of the hazardous 215th Step-Street, a block-long staircase connecting Broadway to residential blocks at the northern tip of the neighborhood, along with Isham Park and Inwood Hill Park.

Hilly Northern Manhattan is dotted with step-streets in varying stages of repair, as are the Bronx and areas of Staten Island and Brooklyn. As explained by Forgotten New York, step-streets "were placed on hills that were too steep to build a road, yet in a rare concession to pedestrians, it was determined to allow them access to the streets denied to motor transportation."

Step-streets are maintained by DOT. According to Mark Levine, chair of Community Board 12's Traffic and Transportation Committee (and likely challenger to Denny Farrell for Robert Jackson's term-limited City Council seat), Northern Manhattanites have been asking the city to rebuild the 215th staircase since at least 1999. Writes Levine on his blog:

The stairs have crumbled and cracked with age. Landings have poor drainage and routinely flood, creating hazardous conditions which only worsen in winter when the pools of water turn to ice. Many of the pre-WWII era lamps are broken, leaving stretches of the steps in darkness at night. Hand railings are only partially usable.

Calls for repairs were renewed last year when an Inwood woman tripped on a hole in the stairs, cutting her legs and face. She was carried away by ambulance.

On Monday, August 18, DOT officials joined Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat at the foot of the staircase to announce the reconstruction project, which Espaillat's office tells Streetsblog will be completed next year -- though Levine notes a similar photo op took place in 2005.

Photo: Brad Aaron

Herewith a selection of music available for one’s listening pleasure today through the end of the Labor Day Weekend:

Thursday 8/28/08
Southpaw: Hot Peas & Butta- DJ’s Cash Money & Skeme Richards (Funk/Soul) -$7, 9:00pm

Friday 8/29/08
South Street Seaport: Oneida, Endless Boogie, & Special Guest (Indie) –Free!!, 7:00pm

Saturday 8/30/08
Union Hall: Live Band Karaoke w/ Bunny England & The New Originals (Sounds like whatever you want it to sound like)- Free!!, 8:30pm

Sunday 8/31/08
The Yard: Sunday Best: Metro Area, Justin Carter, Eamon Harkin, and Doug Singer (DJ’s)- $8, 3:00pm

–Dan Bennis

Last night saw what might one day qualify as an historic moment in transportation circles, as vice presidential candidate Joe Biden used the "A"-word during his speech to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. From a transcript of Biden's address, via CNN:

You know, John McCain is my friend. And I know you hear that phrase used all the time in politics. I mean it. John McCain is my friend.

We've traveled the world together. It's a friendship that goes beyond politics. And the personal courage and heroism demonstrated by John still amazes me.

But I profoundly disagree with the direction John wants to take this country, from Afghanistan to Iraq, from Amtrak to veterans.

Meanwhile, earlier in the week, a panel of Democratic pols and economists seemed to agree that new investment in American infrastructure -- including freight and commuter rail -- is sorely needed, but came up short on the subject of funding. Roll Call reports:

They all expressed the need for a private-public partnership, but the question of where to raise federal funding caused anxiety among the elected officials.

One key issue was that the current system for infrastructure funding, implemented in the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, relies on gas taxes for revenue. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) called any attempt by Congress to raise the gas tax “dead on arrival.”

But Gov. Ed Rendell (D-Pa.) said that with or without the gas tax something had to be done to bridge the funding gap, noting that the $1.6 trillion cited by the ASCE report would only cover maintenance, not new projects.

“When I became governor I had to raise $2.4 billion in taxes,” Rendell said. “When re-election came around — people aren’t stupid — one incumbent lost and she voted against the tax increase.

“This is the time we have to challenge the American people. Folks, you get what you pay for.”

Photo: Associated Press via CNN