​Yesterday, Runnin' Scared reported that Transportation Alternatives wants the NYPD to give out more speeding tickets, telling City Council that hurried, harried drivers cause unnecessary deaths.

By the group's calculations, more New Yorkers were killed in traffic -- 3,647 -- than
murdered by guns -- 3,558.

Indeed, TA is lobbying the City Council to put an end to dangerous driving, and told the Public Safety Committee on Thursday that cops just don't do enough to prevent people from going over the speed limit.

After the meeting, Juan Martinez (TA's general counsel) told Runnin' Scared: "We need data-driven traffic enforcement policies to figure out what's killing people in traffic."

"There's education that the NYPD can do," he said, pointing to successful anti distracted-driving campaigns. "Really, it comes down to enforcement. Everyone who speeds thinks that they can speed because they wont get a ticket. Once people get a ticket, they won't speed."

And it looks like key Council Members are on board with TA's thinking -- and are continuing the momentum from a recent transportation safety hearing.

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Lander

​Councilmembers Brad Lander and Jumaane Williams want answers.

At a City Council budget oversight hearing today, they grilled NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly about how the department spends money -- specifically when it comes to surveillance and terrorism. But Kelly couldn't really say.

Lander and Williams, along with other council members, want to know exactly what happens to the cops' cash. And they think the best way to oversee the department is by creating an inspector general's office.

"Commissioner Kelly asks us to trust him that NYPD officers are following the law, but he either could not or would not tell us what the NYPD is spending our money on," he said post-hearing.

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​In the age of who-uses-paper-for-anything-ever-anymore, there's one casualty in New York City that has activists from across the five boroughs up in arms: the post offices.

This month, a group of advocates are rallying together to bring attention to the United States Postal Service's plan to potentially shut down post offices throughout the city this year. The growing protest, organized through a newly-formed group called Community Labor United for Postal Jobs and Services, is targeting the Postal Service for planning closures that organizers say will disproportionately impact working class and low-income families in communities of color in the city. USPS, though, says that it is trying to tighten its belt in the face of dire financial challenges across the country and that it is choosing closures based on careful studies and specific criteria.

And last night, the effort got fresh support from Zuccotti Park -- the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly and the OWS labor committee endorsed a plan to demonstrate this month at post offices throughout the city.

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​At Mayor Bloomberg's press conference about public safety today, he announced that crime in the city has been driven down 34 percent in the last 10 years, and that serious crime is down overall this year compared to last year, factoring in a change in the state's definition of felony assault. As of yesterday, the city had 499 murders in 2011, the third fewest since record-keeping began. "If you take a look at the NYPD, the resources that we devote to this size population, it is greater than other places," said Bloomberg. "We have funded the police department and the fire department to get these results."

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The Victoria Harbour Light Show.

​When we think back upon the last few months in the Financial District, one thing we do not think is "Lower Manhattan should have a light show!" Nonetheless, that's what the Economic Development Corporation is after, a lighting initiative that would "transform the experience of [read: too dark/too quiet] Lower Manhattan at night," reports the New York Times. Because not enough tourists are flocking there after business hours. According to the Post, "The Bloomberg administration's goal is to attract tourists, residents, and new businesses and stimulate night life."

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Jocelyn Silver

​Cooper Union held an inauguration ceremony today at noon for new president Jamshed Bharucha. In keeping with the revolutionary trend sweeping NYC, the Cooper Square Community Development Committee and Businessmen's Association staged a rather low-key protest for the struggling St. Mark's Bookshop at the ceremony, asking Cooper Union (their landlord) to lower their rent from $20,000 to $15,000 a month. There were about a dozen committee members present and passing out flyers. A few protestors also sang during the inauguration. Here are the lyrics of their song:

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The former Lukoil on Eighth Avenue between Horatio and West 13th.

​New York City gas stations are fewer and farther between than ever, according to a Crain's article that reports there are just 41 remaining in Manhattan (there were 58 two years ago). There are 835 gas stations distributed throughout the five boroughs, with Manhattan's share counting for less than 5%. What do we blame for the disappearing gas station? The recession, plus ever-increasing costs of real estate and of delivering gasoline (meaning the stations that survive are at peripheral locations, on the edges of the city as opposed to the center, in Midtown).

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​Concerned New Yorkers, an artist collective responsible for "Monty Burns for Mayor" and "Park 51", have launched a new project called I-Call-NY. They've put up flyers around Manhattan asking people to call in and leave a voicemail with a story about their favorite place in the city. Each message is then assembled into a virtual map. We spoke with Concerned New Yorkers Boris Rasin and Kenny Komer to learn more.

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Williamsburg's Nighthawk Cinema, by Ty Cole

​Open House New York, a yearly opportunity for you to creep into the secret, often forbidden or under-acknowledged corners of the city, a/k/a, a celebration of the city's architecture and design, is being held this year on October 15 and 16. With the support of home owners, architects, cultural institutions, volunteers, and the public, the ninth year of the event brings access to hundreds of sites, plus tours, talks, performances, and family and kids activities. Some you have to reserve and pay a nominal ($5) fee for; others (including all the family/kids events) are free.

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Even though the weather is clearly the sweater-kind now, some meanie has quickly cut Olek's crochetwork from the Astor Place cube. Yesterday morning it looked like this, cozy and covered...but shortly thereafter, it was this "deconstructed" look, via @artobserved:

@ArtObserved/TwitPic

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