So there

Having sauntered out last Thursday to view the always hilarious A Fish Called Wanda, I apologize for my tardy documentation of this experience. But hopefully, it comes just in time to convince you to make it out this Thursday for a screening of Dr. No.

The Brooklyn Bridge film series (Movies with a View) is far more chill and pleasant than Bryant Park. Skip the midtownies and come out to DUMBO for a lovely view of the sun setting behind the downtown skyline and a lot more space.

And maybe also some free-loving dads who found the weather just a tad too hot to spare us all from this view.

Or sit alongside fellow New Yorker readers for whom no lighting situation is too dim.

Watch out for the eager Parks Department Officers who will take away your bottle of wine/sixpack of beer. But don’t worry, you can pick it up at the alcohol table later.

FREE BIKE PARKING PROVIDED BY TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES.

Just minutes ago, I was getting into the subway at Union Square when something pretty funny happened. It was rush hour and people were scurrying, but I was hot and tired and not really in the mood to put up a fight. The entrance I went in had only one functioning turnstile and there was a large group of people, obviously together, who were heading out with large bags and suitcases. I knew this meant that the L train has just come and gone and there was really no rush, so I stepped to the side and let about 10 people go through. When the last one was barely out of the way, this girl cut in front of me and started to go in even though I was clearly waiting before her. I didn

Holy crap. Is it me, or was this a particularly violent weekend here in the good ol

And speaking of old school, its nice to see that 8 years after leaving Williamsburg, the L is still as screwed up as ever. Sat at 6th Street for 15 minutes with oodles of confused people and no train in sight, until a beleaguered transit worker wearing way too much gear finally got around to mentioning that there was no service between 8th St and Union Square. Got my transfer, walked east and beat the 14 bus to Union Sq. Spelunked the 13 levels downward and just barely made a Bklyn-bound train, which skipped 3rd Street for no announced reason. Pulled into Bedford, and the train decided that would be a good place to go out of service. Many minutes and two completely unintelligible announcements later, I jumped on a train on the Manhattan-bound side and hoped all the signs were lying. Fortunately they were.

Grand total time – 14th & 6th to Lorimer Street – 1 hour 15 minutes. As my Dad is fond of saying, this’ll be a great town if t hey ever finish building it.

At least I had Midlake to keep me company. Now I’m hip to all the perils of making kingfish pies.

On the way home from work today I witnessed my first searches at the subway entrance at 50th and B’way. I saw the end of one man’s search as they were taking him up the steps in handcuffs. Two officers at the bottom of the stairs were processing evidence and placing a small bag of marijuana into a larger evidence bag.
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Good to be back home in the N-to-the-Y-to-the-C, just in time for the repeal of the 4th Amendment. Here’s Dana, throwing the goat Lorimer-style in her current (and my old) hood. Check out the cops in the background, taking part in our latest round of Security Theater. Hope they don’t start asking us to take off our shoes in the subway. Ick.

I intended this to be a comment on Dana’s post but it just got too long.

Here’s a statement by the New York Civil Liberties Union:

NYCLU Calls Decision To Conduct Random Searches Of Individuals On New York’s Subways Unconstitutional
July 21, 2005 — The New York Civil Liberties Union announced today that it is troubled by the NYPD announcement that it will begin random searches of bags and packages carried by people entering the city’s subways. The NYCLU believes such searches are unconstitutional and will do little to provide safety for the millions of people who ride public transportation every day. NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman issued this statement:

“All New Yorkers rely upon public transportation and we all want them to be safe and secure as we go about our daily activities. We are entitled to move freely around the city without being worried about being searched by police.

The NYPD can and should investigate any suspicious activity, but the Fourth Amendment prohibits police from conducting searches where there is no suspicion of criminal activity. One of the dangers of random searches is that they can invite the possibility of racial, ethnic or religious profiling. The plan is not workable and will not make New Yorkers more secure but will inconvenience them as police go about finding a needle in a haystack.”

I think she has a good point here. Especially the criminal activity thing and of course the racial profiling concern.

In addition, something my boyfriend mentioned to me, the scope of this measure is not being limited. The NYPD has not said, we’re gonna start searching now and stop when, for example, the “threat level” goes down a notch, or whatever. In effect, this searching introduces a layer of anxiety and uneasiness about moving around in public. And obviously we have witnessed how effectively a fearful population can be horded into supporting just about anything.

Apparently, only backpacks and large bags are getting searched. They’re not looking at handbags or purses, etc. (Cause they couldn’t hold a bomb.) This sort of reminds me of the take-off-your-shoes measure at the airport which was only introduced because of that dumb-ass shoe-”bomber”. It appears that U.S. “homeland security” policies are quite reactionary and ineffective.

I know I’m not saying much that hasn’t been said before but thanks for bearing with me. This kind of shit is rather upsetting to me. And perhaps I’m not the only one that feels most uncomfortable/unsafe around police officers. Is that their intended effect?