CUNY Interactive Journalism

The World Memorial, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about September 11 is flying a large flag across the country. Its journey began in San Diego, on Friday, September 10 and will travel to all 50 states before arriving in New York City on September 11, 2011.

Equipment:

• Flip HD Camera for video footage

• Marantz for interview voices

• Still photography courtesy of World Memorial

• Final Cut Pro 7 for editing

Song:
I Wish You Love
by Rachel Yamagata

By Daniel Prendergast

They have been the bane of New York City drivers and pedestrians for about fifteen years now. Pedicabs – bicycle drawn carriages – have been making congested city streets worse by preying on unknowing tourists who seek a leisurely ride though the city. But while the portly family from Iowa might think it a lark, New Yorkers know that they are little more than pests, and dangerous ones at that.

That’s why City Councilman Dan Garodnick (D-Manhattan) plans to make life a little harder for the already struggling pedicab drivers. The industry has been burdened with regulations over the last year that have forced the once thriving pedis to go legit or get off the road, and Garodnick is trying to take things one step further. Garodnick wants pedicabs to abide by the same parking rules as cars, which would mean no more pedis on the sidewalks or parked haphazardly in no standing and no parking zones.

The push for regulation began in 2007 when the City passed legislation that forced drivers to have licenses and insurance, as well as set safety standards and determine a method for calculating fares. Since then the number of pedicabs on the streets has decreased, making life in and around Midtown a little more bearable. But the pedi problem persists.

Regulation can only do so much. Pedicabs are slow and block the outer lanes of New York’s busiest thoroughfares, causing car and bus traffic to be at the mercy of these sluggish peddlers. This can create all sorts of problems But besides being a minor inconvenience, pedicabs are incredibly unsafe. Pedicab drivers fearlessly merge in and out of traffic while clueless passengers take in the sights.

Some pedicab drivers say the regulations have gone too far and that they are treated unfairly by police. While no one is against their right to make a living, New Yorkers might have sympathy for the suffering drivers if they weren’t so pushy about offering a ride.

Ines Sainz, a beauty-queen-turned-sports-reporter for TV Azteca, is at the center of a sexual harassment investigation against the New York Jets. On September 11, the Mexican journalist was waiting to interview Mark Sanchez in the team’s locker room, surrounded by half-naked players (after she had balls thrown at her during practice). Ines was unpleasantly surprised and taken aback by the jeers and comments the men made about her appearance. She even wrote on her Twitter (in Spanish) that she was “dying of embarrassment” in the presence of “too much masculine hormone.”

After the incident, Sainz headed over to security to inform them of what happened and show video evidence. On Sunday, an NFL board member spoke to Jets manager Mike Tannenbaum about the allegations. By September 13, the issue had been taken on by the NFL. They are currently investigating players and coaches to determine whether or not there will be consequences. So far, Jets coach Rex Ryan and assistant coach Dennis Thurman look like they’re under scrutiny.

Shortly after the harassment claim was made, Ines was unexpectedly appeased with a simple apology by Jets’ owner Woody Johnson. On Monday, she told Spanish-language sport program DeporTV that she never felt offended or at risk while she was at the practice, even though she acknowledged the behavior was out of line.

Sainz, who is no stranger to the spotlight, has also been taking a media beating due to the clothes she decided to wear to the practice. Publications such as the New York Post have made it a point to show provocative pictures of the reporter at work. Commentators are appalled by her fashion choices to the extent of deeming her responsible for the harassment. She tried to defend herself against such accusations by tweeting a picture of the “appropriate” attire she wore on Saturday. It didn’t help that the picture featured revealing skin-tight jeans, an undersized white shirt, and high-heeled boots.

My cousin has a Sex and the City quote application on her Facebook page. It gives her a different pearl of wisdom straight from the illustrious pen of Carrie Bradshaw each day of the week. The passage that is currently on her page says something about relationships living in glass houses and people refusing to settle for anything less than “BUTTERFLIES,” followed by an ellipsis.

While I love her very much and am all for not settling, “I can’t help but wonder” whether my cousin is my least favorite kind of New Yorker—the one suffering from the Golightly/Bradshaw syndrome.

After reading an inspired book review of Sam Wasson’s Fifth Avenue, 5 a.m., “I got to thinking” about a large group of women’s fascination with the “single, fabulous, promiscuous” type and how the false promise of a whimsy, sexy New York life attracts people like my cousin to this city.

Young girls and older girls flock to tours offering pre-paid cosmos and squeeze their way into crazy shoes in the show’s name. They have passion parties and swear by little black dresses. The truth is Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a sad novella. Sex in the city is a problem. Cosmos make you fat.

These fictional women are probably more hollow (and insensitive) than their social stature and taste suggest. Their actions have few or no repercussions. No matter how independent and interesting they might claim to be, they need a man’s validation. Also, “in a city like New York,” Carrie Bradshaw’s writing skills would never be celebrated.

It’s time for a new kind of heroine. Preferably one whose only achievement is not going to the deli in a bra.

By Jonathan Vit

As if rats, roaches and bed bugs weren’t enough to deal with, New Yorkers have a new pest to obsess over, and this one’s the largest yet.

From the Bronx to Brooklyn, raccoons are becoming a particularly visible nuisance, with reports of the pesky procyons (look it up) crashing a block party in Ridgewood, Queens, breaking into a home in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and hanging out poolside in Glendale, Queens.

The New York Times reports on the growing problem, pointing out that raccoon-related 311 calls are up, from 2,155 to 2,410, in the past year. It’s enough to get some residents fired up, with Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan, of Queens, warning that raccoons could become “bed bugs 2.”

Of course, New York isn’t the first city to deal with a raccoon infestation. The furry scavengers are grabbing headlines in Philadelphia too with local media reporting infestations in North Philly, West Kensington and West Philadelphia. Apparently, the four-legged bandits find the city’s trash-strewn alleyways and vacant lots particularly appealing and are eager to call Philadelphia’s more blighted neighborhoods home.

Philadelphia’s response? Tell the residents of West Kensington to buy their own traps and pay to have the animal removed. The Pennsylvania SPCA only traps rabid or injured raccoons free of charge. There’s simply no plan for dealing with healthy raccoons and the animals fall between the city’s bureaucratic gaps.

But without swift action, the increasingly brazen raccoons are in danger of becoming neighborhood institutions, just like the stray cats, wild dogs and feral chickens already calling the city’s streets home.

In New York City, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley thinks she has an answer to the city’s spreading raccoon infestation. The councilwoman’s proposed bill would place the responsibility of trapping — and humanely releasing — raccoons in the hands of the Health Department. Until then, New York, like Philadelphia, only traps sick or injured raccoons.

Need a solution now? Major Fife, of West Philadelphia, has the answer. Apparently, bobcat urine — that’s right, bobcat urine — works wonders. You can buy your own can of wild cat pee here. Or you could just learn to live with the little bandits. Hell, it may even lower your rent (it worked for bed bugs).

New Yorkers walk faster than cars move along the autobahn but a constant flow of rubbernecking, camera-clicking, foot-dragging tourists can make sidewalks in New York more congested than California’s I-5 at rush hour.

Earlier this year, a few New Yorkers, fed up with ambling-out-of-towners, designated separate sidewalk space for natives and visitors. The tourist lane was popular with some locals and even got a nod of approval from Mayor Bloomberg. The lanes were a hoax forged by a theater group but apparently the deep-seated loathing of slow walkers was no act. An August 15 New York Post article even cited slow walkers as a top annoyance among New Yorkers.

But slow walkers are not unique to New York. One blogger in London said meandering morons make his “piss boil.” And to be fair, tourists are not the only violators. Moms, en masse, with baby buggies; the grandma with the utility cart that is bigger than her; or the people who walk in pairs like they are entering the damn ark, stopping you from passing by – they are all guilty parties.

There are multiple Facebook groups dedicated to this gripe, with thousands of members, most wishing slow walkers a slow death – okay, not really. But, according to a French medical study, people over the age of 65, who walk slowly, are more likely to die from cardiovascular related diseases than people who walk faster. Granny had better pick up the pace or she might have to pick up a pacemaker.

Unfortunately, slow movers won’t all croak at once. Slow walkers, especially those planning to visit New York City in the near future, heed this advice. New Yorkers, if you are going to live here, you have to accept the city’s appealing – great food, fashion and Broadway – as well as its appalling – pooping pigeons, mice with moxie and slow traipsing travelers. So the next time a tour bus unloads directly in your path to Starbucks on your 10-minute break, don’t start the third world war, just keep calm and carry on.

by Paul Pedersen

At the end of August, Jane Meyer wrote this fascinating (albeit long) profile on David and Charles Koch for the New Yorker. The piece isn’t incredibly flattering, essentially painting the brothers as the Dick Dastardly and Muttley of modern politics. The gist: the billionaire brothers have conspired to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on right-wing causes, mostly of the environmental variety. The piece also accuses them of funding the Tea Party Movement, and using their organization Americans for Prosperity as a tool for indoctrinating Tea Party activists, which would mean the largest political grassroots movement of our time is essentially being controlled by two men. (It also means the brothers are accessories to these amazing signs and should be given a medal.)

As you might imagine, the brothers aren’t entirely happy with this characterization. In comments to Elaine Lafferty at the Daily Beast, David Koch calls the New Yorker piece “hateful,” and promises to write the magazine a strongly worded letter (though, as the Atlantic points out, the brothers Koch have already released an official statement.) Meanwhile, it looks like the Kochs’ reach might even stretch overseas. The Guardian reports that Americans for Prosperity and the Koch-backed Cato Institute recently co-sponsored an event for the UK’s Taxpayers’ Alliance. The Guardian reports that the Kochs “have spent tens of millions of dollars supporting the Cato Institute,” which the Institute flat-out denies. Still, as Dave Weigel points out at Slate, whether the Guardian is sensationalizing that specific aspect of the story or not is inconsequential; the lineup for the UK event is stacked with American Tea Party players, including Americans for Prosperity’s own Tim Phillips.

On the lighter side, I’ll tell you what the Koch brothers don’t need “tens of millions of dollars” to do: pay real people to pose for photos on their website.

by Brooks Newkirk

New York’s primary elections are only two days away. For New Yorkers, that means there’s only two days left of pesky ad campaigns that clog our mailboxes and takeover the airways. Sure, politicians have an agenda to push (i.e. lower taxes, education reform, etc.), but what about ads for the latest diet fad or anti-aging cream or male enhancement product? That’s serious stuff that we need to know about, but instead we’re getting this:

Republican Carl P. Paladino has come up with a smelly way to let New Yorkers know he’s the best candidate for governor. His new mailers show the faces of Democrats who have faced ethical or legal problems, including U.S. Rep. Charles B. Rangel and Gov. David Patterson, with the tag: “The Stink of Corruption in Albany is Overpowering”. He drills in his point by scenting the mailers with the odor of rotting vegetables.

Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice and State Senator Eric Schneiderman, opponents in the democratic attorney general race, both released new television ads bashing each other. Rice’s ads alluded to Schneiderman being a party-machine and Schneiderman snapped back with TV spots calling Rice a “Democrat only since 2005”.

Bob Friedrich, who’s running against incumbent Queens state Assemblyman David Weprin, is bashed his opponent with new mailer. In his mailer, Friedrich says he doesn’t believe the Park51 mosque belongs at Ground Zero, while Weprin “believes otherwise”.

There’s nothing wrong with ads that are used to inform, but when politicians use them solely to bash their opponents, they can become a pesky problem and the message is totally lost.

By, Chase Lindsay Rosen

New York Fashion Week 2010 might be one of the only things in New York City that has the best and worst reputations, simultaneously for only a week. For those fashion and style aficionados it’s paradise on an island (well, actually a plaza). But, for others it is the ultimate nuisance: an overcrowded city filled with people who flew thousands of miles for a mere glimpse of a D-Lister celebrity or celebrities dying for 7-20 minutes in Jill Stuart, Marc Jacobs or Alexander Wang heaven.

Fashions Night Out was a particular instance of this weeklong obsession with what’s in and what’s out, which caused an exceptional amount of havoc in NYC. For those hailing from SoHo, imagine lines of hundreds of people curling around the narrow blocks and an overload of cell phone flashes and blacked out Suburban’s. Local downtowners were faced with mobs of people hoping to purchase a $25 nail polish from Chanel or snap a picture with the mah-jor stylist Rachel Zoe at the Piperlime Pop Up Store.

For those living in the Lincoln Center area, it’s a whole other story. With Fashion Week happening on the Upper West Side this year, road closures and exceptional traffic are rampant. With school starting, this high society event is a disturbance to not only public transportation and parking, but for those who live in, work around and go to school in the area. With over 70 shows scheduled for this season, make sure to dodge the limousines when crossing the street, leave an extra 20 minutes to grab a cab and try walking on the street to avoid the models walking at a glacial speed in their 8 inch stilettos.

So if you haven’t already, keep you calendars clear and cars parked from September 9^th through September 16^th. The Fashion Gods are (happily) moving in to Lincoln Center and so are it’s followers.  But for those New Yorkers who don’t care who is wearing what try look at this week as an invasive, concentrated and persistent economy boosting pest.

By Tuan Nguyen

The woman looked more and more distraught as the E train approached the World Trade Center station. She had left her seat a couple of stations back and stood forlornly against the door, her eyes hidden by the dark shades. She shook her head, an almost imperceptible sigh escaped her lips. She rushed for the exit when the train stopped.

Sorrows and remembrance  is not the only theme underlining this year’s 9/11 anniversary. The commemoration is overshadowed by fiery disputes over the Mosque near Ground Zero and the plan to burn Quran books by an unknown pastor from Florida – the pastor has actually been propelled to fame worldwide thanks to the media. The New York Times reports that Terry Jones, who has around 50 followers, has agreed to 150 interviews just in July and August. Chris Cuomo from ABC News criticized the media “reckless” on his Twitter for adding fuel to the fire.

Ellis Henican from the AM New York bashed the event “an insincere publicity circus” and questioned its necessity as Donald Trump jumped in with a half-hearted offer to buy the property. AP quotes Wolodymyr Starosolsky, the lawyer for the investor in the real estate partnership of the site, calling Trump’s offer “”a cheap attempt to get publicity and get in the limelight.”

On Op-Ed page of the New York Times Wednesay, Columnist Gail Collins wrote about the “5 percent doctrine.” Says Ms Collins, “there about 5 percent of our population is and always will be totally crazy.” Her advice is “There is nothing you can do about the crazy 5 percent except ask the police to keep an eye on them during large public events, where they sometimes appear carrying machine guns just to make a political point about the Second Amendment.”