The conversion of an 85-acre stretch of Brooklyn waterfront from post-industrial decay to pristine park is continuing apace, as bulldozers have begun demolishing the hulking warehouses that have barred access to the East River for years. But a Sierra Club lawsuit could yet stall the long-planned urban renewal project, and outcry from some community groups remains undiminished. more ›

Earlier this year one New Yorker decided to document something we pass by every day: the trash. The website Last Night's Garbage looks at what most of us try to avoid and matches up the photo with some verbal witticisms, knowledge or "deep thoughts." Underneath a photo of a public trash can are the provisions of proposed INT. NO. 110-A. What, never heard of it?:

This bill would amend subdivision (e) of section 16-120 of the Administrative Code to change the term open mesh basket to public litter basket. It will also amend subdivision (f) of section 16-120 of the Administrative Code to increase penalties for a violation of paragraph (e) to $100-$300 for a first offense, $250-$350 for a second offense within any twelve-month period and $350-$400 for a third or subsequent violation within any twelve-month period. The bill would also create a rebuttable presumption that the person whose name or other identifying information is found on the commercial or household waste deposited it in the public litter basket. Section two states that this local law will take effect thirty days after it is enacted into law.

The NYPD decided not to appeal a judge's decision that the NYPD should declassify its surveillance documents from the 2004 RNC, so it has set up a special NYPD RNC Documents website with the documents. Of course, you have to scroll down to the very bottom for a zip file of the 600 pages of documents. And what's above the documents is the NYPD's rather thorough explanation/ defense justifying why it did such extensive surveillance of disparate groups and people, listing various terror incidents between 2001 and the convention as well as other incidents of protest. Here is Police Commissioner Ray Kelly's statement:

“I think a close examination of the documents is going to show that the New York City Police Department did an outstanding job in protecting the City during the Republican National Convention. People wanted to come here and shut down the City, to replicate what happened in Seattle, Montreal and Genoa. We simply didn't let that happen, and I think it'll just underscore the outstanding work of the men and women of the Department. In terms of gathering information, the vast majority of information that was gathered was open-source information. It was gathered from the Internet; these groups that were coming here were advertising what they were going to do — bragging about what they were going to do. It wasn't particularly difficult to get the vast majority of this information.”

ACT UP, Sierra Club, City Council members (Charles Barron, David Weprin, Bill Perkins), Sept. 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, Johnny Cash Bloc, MSNBC, A31 Coalition, NYCLU, NOW, Planned Parenthood, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, Stuyvesant High School Students, Westboro Baptist Church, Indymedia, Democratic National Committee, Coalition of Fire and Police Unions, Grandmothers Against War, Falun Gong, Arab Muslim American Foundation, Time's Up, Billionaires For Bush, United for Peace and Justice, The Surveillance Camera Players, ACLU, Hip Hop Summit Action Network, The Federation of East Village Artists, Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, Restaurant Opportunity Center of New York

Metro has an interview with ESDC chairman Charles Gargano, who says he wants to get "Brooklyn Bridge Park up to a level where work can begin in early ’07." Interestingly enough, a bunch of civic groups and the Sierra Club have joined together and sued to stop construction of Brooklyn Bridge Park over the inclusion of high-end real estate. Originally, the plan was to put 700 condos in to offset some of the park's operating expenses - but then the number of condos went to 900, and now the plan has 1200. The lawsuit claims that the Empire State Development Corporation has been "rewriting" the rules when it comes to planning the park. more ›

Huh. We knew that the main reason that the city switched all 11,000 odd traffic lights and "Walk/Don't Walk" signs was because the LEDs they used were energy efficient. But we didn't realize how much more efficient (90 percent!), nor did we fully realize that it was part of a much larger plan on the part of the City to lead by example in energy efficiency. Not only that, but apparently, according to the grey lady, the plan is working. more ›