Results tagged “verizon”

A Queens man is suing Verizon for employing a repairman who assaulted him in December 2008 at his Sunnyside apartment. Aubrey Isakson says he became suspicious when the worker, Robert Benjamin, wanted to access his apartment, because Verizon had told him that wouldn't be necessary. When Isakson asked to see some identification, Benjamin went berserk, slapping his ID card in his face, saying, "You want to know my name? Here's my name." According to Isakson, Benjamin then punched him repeatedly, breaking his glasses, and squeezed him around the neck, pressing him up against the wall: "He's prepared to kill me. That's all I could think of." Isakson broke free and scrambled downstairs, fracturing his ankle along the way. Benjamin, who had been chasing Isakson, was subdued by a neighbor and arrested, but the Queens DA agreed to dismiss the case if Benjamin stayed out of trouble for six months. A spokesperson for Verizon tells the Post, "In the months since this incident, his conduct has been blameless. As a result, we will not take further action." The kicker? Two days after the fight, Verizon's technical service department called Isakson to say they fixed the problem and didn't actually need to send their skull-cracking repairman in the first place!

Okay so we're all familiar with the Verizon eyesore on the banks of the East River, and the fact that it's hate-fuel for those who have to look at it from Brooklyn, but now the company is taking it to the streets, and likely annoying even more of the city. Their never-ending "network is always with you" campaign was filming earlier over near 7th Street and 1st Avenue. Did you see hundreds of red shirts clogging up the East Village today? Can you see them now?

Newsday has a story on the record-keeping and security troubles at the NY State Office of Children and Family Services. A report from the State Inspector General offered this example: An Oakdale man, along with a teenage daughter, had been accused of abusing a younger daughter. The charges were unsubstantiated, but, according to the report, he contacted Verizon, claiming he was a state employee and asked to see the log of calls to the abuse hotline. "The [Verizon] employee sent the phone numbers to the man's AOL e-mail address because, she told state investigators, he told her his New York State e-mail address was 'broken.'" The report adds that the man "demanded cash from state officials in return for destroying the phone records." The man said he never pretended to be a state employee, adding, "It wasn't extortion. I said I'd like to have some kind of settlement for libeling and slandering our family's name."

There's nothing quite like walking hand in hand with the one you love on the Brooklyn Promenade, gazing across the East River into Manhattan, watching the sunset, and remembering you have to pay your Verizon bill. The Brooklyn Paper reports that one man is so angry about the glowing Verizon logo affixed to the equally uninspired building, that he's "vowing to ramp up the fight." Brooklyn Heights newcomer Richard Brown, "who now spends significant time on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade with a new significant other, said he first noticed the 'unsightly blemish' as he and his lady were enjoying a sunset a few weeks ago." Ever since, the sign, housed at 375 Pearl Street, has become the Moby Dick to his Ahab.

Verizon won't have to worry about 65,000 workers striking, as it came to an agreement with two unions on a new 3-year contract with a total of 10.5% in wage increases and changes to retirement benefits. While the sides negotiated past its original deadline last week, recently, labors leaders were unhappy with talks, setting a new deadline of 12:01 a.m. today. The Communications Workers of America said it was a "breakthrough agreement" that "provides a framework for growth at Verizon and a good standard of living with careers for our members." The International Brotherhood of Electrial Workers cited how it protects former employees, too--one big part is that Verizon will still to "pay 100 percent of current workers’ and retirees’ health premiums."

Unions are putting the pressure back on Verizon to come to a new labor agreement by midnight tomorrow or else the communications giant will be facing a walkout next week from 65,000-plus workers. The original deadline for a new contract came and went last weekend with the Communications Workers Union agreeing to hold off on a strike. But labor leaders accuse Verizon of "dragging its feet" on the last few sticking points and gathered at picket lines yesterday in Downtown Manhattan, Garden City and Port Jefferson. Verizon reps were surprised by the new deadline, saying they had been "making good progress at the bargaining table."

Verizon and the unions representing 65,000 workers are trying to avert a strike, as they have continued contract discussions, even though the contract ended at 12:01 a.m. yesterday. The Communications Workers union, representing 50,000 workers, said there was "progress" on issues like health coverage and job security provisions, but added, "Significant additional bargaining still lies ahead before a settlement is possible." Verizon is probably eager to settle things, given that it now has the green light to offer cable TV to NYers.

Verizon has entered the cable TV game today, providing an alternative to Time Warner and Cablevision in select neighborhoods. For $94.99, the current promotional deal for FiOS includes unlimited local and long-distance phone service, an Internet connection of 20 megabits per second and a television package that includes 100 high-definition channels. But according to the Times, the company’s expansion could be hindered by some 65,000 Verizon workers who are threatening to strike for higher wages, caps on health care payments and limits on outsourcing jobs.

Making good on a campaign promise, State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (pictured) has put pressure on three major Internet service providers to shut down online groups that share child pornography. Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner have each agreed to cut off access to websites and bulletin boards disseminating the illicit images, with a special emphasis on Usenet, one of the oldest computer network communications systems that uses no central server.

There's a new game coming to town for cable subscribers who have been yoked to Time-Warner Cable or Cablevision out of necessity. New York City has finally struck a deal with Verizon to provide competing cable services throughout the five boroughs.

Last week a group of concerned Bay Ridge parents and local officials held a rally and picket line outside a neighborhood Verizon Wireless retailer. The group was demanding the company remove the cell phone receivers installed on a rooftop near P.S. 185; they say the receivers emit dangerously high radiofrequency (RF) emissions and should not be placed near schools. They are also calling for legislation limiting where the receivers can be installed.

By now you've probably run into one of the curbside nitrogen tanks in the city. Not too long ago we got an email inquiring about them, a reader wanted to know about "the random nitrogen tanks everywhere at the corner of city blocks. They are always bubbling and oozing out. Are they dangerous?"