Talk Bronx New York

Scorching Heat Blankets East Coast

Scorching heat and stifling humidity gripped much of the East Coast on Monday, with the National Weather Service issuing heat advisories as temperatures approached 100 degrees in many areas.

The heat wave is expected to last into Tuesday and prompted officials in Philadelphia and Connecticut to send students in public and parochial schools home early both days and cancel evening programs, The Associated Press reported. The heat caused power failures that interrupted some subway service in New York.

The New York City Office of Emergency Management said it was opening cooling centers for people who do not have air conditioning, and other cities are making similar arrangements. Officials urged relatives and neighbors to check in on elderly, housebound people, who are most in danger during hot spells.

The hot weather extended from New England down through the Middle Atlantic states into the Carolinas.

Weather officials said heat waves are not just uncomfortable, they are dangerous. “Heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer,” the weather service said. “On average, more than 1,500 people in the U.S. die each year from excessive heat.”

That is more than the deaths attributed to tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and lightning combined, the agency said.

In New York City, service on the F and G subway lines in Brooklyn was disrupted during Monday’s rush hour by power failures on the subway signals. Officials of New York City Transit said generators were being sent to the affected areas so service could be resumed.

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Corporate Volunteers to Fight Climate Change in the Bronx

A quaint community garden in New York—dedicated in part to growing food for the hungry—is about to become a small part of a big $100 million effort to fight climate change around the world.

On June 11 nearly 30 employees from HSBC, the world’s largest bank, will abandon their offices for one day to help revitalize Bissel Gardens, a unique green urban space covering five blocks in the heart of the Bronx. The project is one component of the largest known employee program on climate change spearheaded by Earthwatch—a major partner in the five-year HSBC Climate Partnership that launched last year.

Earthwatch is partnering with New York Cares, New York City’s leading volunteer organization, to develop and manage the volunteer projects at Bissel Gardens, where volunteers will “green up the space” using sustainable gardening methods.

“The motivation to make lasting change starts when the employees get their hands dirty and see up close how climate change affects the natural world,” said David Morse, Corporate Fellowship Manager at Earthwatch.

“We are excited to work with a class act like New York Cares to make a difference in a special place like Bissel Gardens and bring even more people together to make a positive change in the world—which is what Earthwatch is all about.”

At the event, volunteers will learn about ways to reduce their carbon footprint, and that of New York City. “We’ve developed projects that will enable HSBC volunteers to enhance the native habitat of Bissel Gardens, now and for the future,” said Jennifer Goldschein, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at New York Cares. “We’re delighted that our long-standing relationship with HSBC in New York City includes ongoing projects such as today’s efforts, in partnership with Earthwatch, at Bissel Gardens.”

Bissel Gardens is one of 17 volunteering projects Earthwatch has set up around North America for this summer. Others will take place at the Lower East Side Ecology Center in Manhattan, in Buffalo, Chicago and Vancouver. To date, more than 1000 volunteers have contributed in excess of 2,600 hours of volunteer work to various projects in North America.

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Fare Hike Likely To Pull MTA From Shambles

Mayor Bloomberg warned Friday that straphangers could face another fare hike next year - and said the city is broke and can’t help.

The mayor also said the MTA’s construction plan is in “shambles,” and he slammed state lawmakers for sinking his congestion pricing plan - which would have raised transit money.

“I think there is a very good likelihood that we are going to have to face the issue of a fare increase or something else,” Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show. “The city doesn’t have any money to give. We are out of money.”

The Daily News reported Friday that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s projected 2009 operating budget deficit has ballooned.

Part of the problem is the tanking economy resulting in dramatically declining revenues the authority gets from fees on certain real estate transactions.

The state Legislature and Gov. Paterson also slashed funds the MTA was anticipating from one account.

Although fares went up in March, the mayor said there are bargains for riders. Senior citizens pay half fare and unlimited-ride passes reduce the per-trip cost. One acquaintance, the mayor said, pays about 46 cents a trip.

Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign, who has criticized the state and city for what he sees as inadequate financial support, said the mayor “should be proposing ways to prevent a fare hike for the second year in a row, rather than falsely lecturing riders that they are already getting a bargain.”

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who helped defeat the pricing plan and voted against fully funding the MTA’s 2008 operating budget, said the Assembly took a “courageous” stand.

It passed a slight tax increase on millionaires to raise transit funds. Gov. Paterson and Senate Republicans opposed the plan and it died.

Brodsky said he will preside over an emergency Assembly committee hearing next week on the MTA’s fiscal crises.

SOURCE: NYDailyNews.com

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