Results tagged “michaelharris”

Mayor Bloomberg's peeved reaction to an errant tape recorder—which was playing while the mayor was about to make remarks about gay marriage legislation—and its owner, disabled reporter Michael Harris (who wasn't able to immediately reach the device because he's confined to a wheelchair) drew a bit of press. The NY Times called it "awkward" (adding that the mayor was "sighing and glowering" at Harris), the Daily News said the mayor "cranky" and the Post characterized Bloomberg's reaction as a "meltdown."

While Governor Paterson's press conference announcing the introduction of same-sex legislation was an monumental landmark event, there was a very awkward moment. Right before Mayor Bloomberg was to speak, some music started playing which made him freak out more than a little.

Drivers from four different companies that operate vehicles for disabled and ill passengers have gone on strike. The 1,500 drivers want a new contract with the bus companies. The union has rejected a settlement with some wage increase and a slight increase in medical benefits twice. And not all drivers wanted to walk off the job - one driver told WCBS 2, "To have use go out on strike right now during the Christmas holiday...

A scary incident at a Penn Station subway station: A woman in a wheelchair rolled into a moving subway. The 50-something woman apparently lost control of her wheelchair; the Post reports that she hit an uptown 2 train "just as it began pulling out, and ricocheted into a pillar." Yikes!

amNewYork's cover story, "Grand Funk Railroad," takes a look at the special scent of subway stations. Subway smells were vividly described as being "rancid excrement" or "rotting garbage and vomit." Smelly subway platforms - and trains - are nothing new, but the New York City Transit Authority is adding 350 more cleaners to help fight the grossness; amNY reports the cleaners will "be able to respond to specific stenches faster."

"The maintenance is terrible,'' said Harris, a coordinator for an advocacy group called the Disabled Riders Coalition. "If you're stuck on a platform with no way to get out, what if there's a fire?''Later, Harris had to transfer to three different trains in order to reach a station that was accessible. Only 55 of the 469 subway stations are wheelchair-accessible. The MTA says it has a "rapid response team" to fix elevators within the first 24 hours of being notified, but the Manahttan Borough President's office issued a report saying that the average elevator are out of service for 13 days. Which we don't think is rapid, even by MTA standards.

Police killed a man who was stabbing his family, including an 18 month old baby. Michael Harris had also beaten his mother with a hammer and stabbed his sister, his sister's boyfriend and their child in a rampage. The wound his 18 month nephew suffered actually severed an artery, but all family members are in stable condition. The Daily News says that Harris had a history of mental illness and was apparently supposed to be taking medication; Harris was reportedly upset that his mother wasn't making dinner. When Harris stabbed his sister again and then lunged for police, the cops fatally shot him. A neighbor says the police did the right thing, telling the Times and probably referring to all over instances of excessive police force, "As many times as they messed up, the police did it right today."