Matthew Schuerman

New York, NY —

The Independent Budget Office says the Atlantic Yards arena will end up costing the city more than it will receive in tax revenues. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reoprts.

REPORTER: The analysis by the Independent Budget Office shows the city will spend $40 million more than it will ...

New York, NY —

The September 11th terrorist attack eight years ago is considered the most recorded event in history and the future museum at the World Trade Center site wants as many of those videos and photos as possible. On the new website, "www.911history.org," the National September ...

New designs for the Atlantic Yards arena--the first 'official' ones since Frank Gehry left the project in June--came out today. Here's our report:

Since a picture's worth a thousand words, we reproduce one here. It's by Ellerbe Becket and SHoP Architects:

New York, NY —

Developer Bruce Ratner has released new renderings for a Nets basketball arena in Brooklyn. They're the first official ones released since architect Frank Gehry was dropped in June. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman has more.

REPORTER: The new design looks a bit like a race car with alternating ...

New York, NY —

There aren't any wavy titanium steel panels in the latest plan for a basketball arena in Brooklyn. Barclays Arena Version 3.0 is a lot simpler, with alternating bands of steel and glass, and a lot less expensive than the original one by architect Frank Gehry. ...

No fewer than seven Democrats are running for an open City Council seat in Brooklyn. Its current occupant, David Yassky, is running for city comptroller. All the candidates are generally anti-development, which is the biggest issue in the area. So they are trying to distinguish themselves in other ways.

Map of District 33

The 33rd City Council district stretches from the shores of Greenpoint down through Williamsburg and into the heart of brownstone Brooklyn. Its voters turn out in relatively large numbers, even in off-presidential years.

WOMAN: Good Morning

SECOND WOMAN: Hi.

SIMON: Good morning.

The district's older residents are among the most politically active.

SIMON: There you go.

That's why Jo Anne Simon showed up outside the Cobble Hill Cinemas one morning for a special showing of a movie for seniors.

SIMON: Here's your ticket.

Simon got invited by the local assemblywoman, Joan Millman, who sponsored the movie. Millman was the one who discovered Simon when she was head of the Boerum Hilll Association years ago. Millman encouraged Simon to become the Democratic state committeewoman from the area, which she's been for the past five years.

SIMON: I you know have something of an advantage in that I know a lot of people anyway.

For her day job, Simon's a lawyer specializing in the rights of the disabled.

WOMAN: We hope you get in.

SIMON: Thank you.

WOMAN: We're going to do our best, you know.

She's raised more money than any other candidate in the race, most of it coming from voters inside the district.

SIMON: It's about time somebody from the neighborhoods got elected. You know, a lot of people run because they've been involved in politics or worked for a political official .

That's a dig at her two main rivals, Evan Thies and Steve Levin, who are still in their 20s. Simon is 56. She moved to Brooklyn in 1981, which is about when Thies and Levin were learning to walk and talk in New Hampshire and New Jersey, respectively.

The 33rd District covers Greenpoint, parts of Williamsburg, Vinegar Hill, Dumbo, Brooklyn Heights, part of downtown Brooklyn, Boerum Hill, Gowanus and northern Park Slope.

Map of District 33

New York, NY —

No fewer than seven Democrats are running for an open city council seat in Brooklyn. Its current occupant, David Yassky, is running for city comptroller.

All the candidates are generally anti-development, which is the biggest issue in the area. So they are trying to distinguish themselves ...

New York, NY —

The developer of a new shopping mall at the former Bronx Terminal Market has not met a goal to award half its construction contracts to local firms. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman has more.

REPORTER: The Related Companies agreed to try award 50 percent of all construction contracts ...

New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg is making light rail part of his campaign platform for re-election, saying streetcars can plug transportation holes along the city's waterfront. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman has more.

REPORTER: Until now, the Bloomberg administration has acted indifferently towards trolleys. Six years ago, city workers pulled up ...

New York, NY —

Arbitration may not solve the standoff at ground zero between developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority. As WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reports, new details came out during a city council hearing yesterday.

REPORTER: Silverstein contends the Port Authority has a moral obligation to guarantee loans he ...

New York, NY —

Service on the 1 Train in upper Manhattan probably won't return to normal until this weekend. Officials say it'll take that long to repair the 181st Street station, where part of a ceiling collapsed on Sunday. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman has more. REPORTER: Local politicians say ...

New York, NY —

Two years ago today, a fire at the Deutsche Bank building killed two fire fighters while contractors were dismantling the tower. Work resumed on the tower last year but it's still not finished. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman brings us up to date.

REPORTER: It was just earlier ...

New York, NY —

HOST: New York City Transit began installing emergency exits in all of the city’s subway stations four years ago. They allow people to leave quickly in the event of a terrorist attack or other emergency. But they, and the ear-splitting alarm they set off, have ...

The “panic bars” on emergency exits in subway stations are supposed to be used only in emergencies. But their use, and the alarms they set off, have become just another fact of daily life in New York City. Take our poll, and let us know what you think by adding your thoughts in the comments section below.

[poll=5]

New York City Transit began installing emergency exits in all of the city’s subway stations four years ago. They allow people to leave quickly in the event of a terrorist attack or other emergency. But they, and the ear-splitting alarm they set off, have become part of the daily routine for many straphangers.

There are three kinds of people in New York: “Trailblazers” like Kasia Reterska, who push through the emergency exits with a clear conscience.

"Quite frankly when I’m leaving the subway it’s always an emergency because I need to get home," says Reterska.

Others, like Max Clark, who might be called “Pragmatists”.

"I never open them myself, but if they are open, I will perpetuate them for a while," says Clark.

And “Moralists” like Nicki Garcia, who think going through violates their principles.

"You know I did it once. Just once," says Garcia.

And what happened?

"Nothing," says Garcia. "No, I didn’t push the gate myself. I followed the crowd through."

She followed the crowd through an already open gate—but she felt bad about it.

"Because it says emergency gate. Um, you know. It’s not an emergency to leave here."

The emergency exits, and the “panic bars” that riders push to open them, allow the subway system to conform to a new state building code. Politicians lobbied for them, especially after the London Subway bombings made it clear straphangers needed a faster way to get out.

"People are not using them for the purposes they were originally intended," says Andrew Albert.

Andrew Albert is the transit riders representative to the MTA board, which oversees New York City Transit. He’s standing near the exit on the 79th street platform on the Number 1 line.

"People are leaving and there’s a high wheel to leave and a lot of people don’t want to wait in line for using the high wheel. As you can hear, they are using the emergency exits. Was that an emergency? I don‘t think so."

Station agents can turn off the alarm on exits they can see from their booths. But not exits they can’t see. And the MTA’s eliminating more and more booths and replacing them with automated turnstiles and panic bars. Albert says New York City Transit should add more turnstiles so people won’t be tempted to push the bar, and also do a better job educating riders.

New York, NY —

Transit workers will receive an 11-percent pay raise over the next three years.

That's the decision of a three-member arbitration panel. The MTA and the Transport Workers Union took the dispute to arbitration earlier this year, after they failed to agree on a new contract.

The interim ...

New York, NY —

The MTA says it needs $25.6 billion for capital improvements over the next five years. That's a 14 percent increase over the amount it allocated for the current capital plan. The MTA says the new funds will finish the first leg of the Second Avenue ...

New York, NY —

Saturday's helicopter crash has prompted calls to ban helicopter tours over the Hudson River. While no decision has been made on those flights, WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reports that sightseeing tours will stop using the West Side heliport next year, for an entirely different reason.

REPORTER: The ...

New York, NY —

The head of a large carpenters' union, and nine other officials have been indicted for receiving approximately $1 million in bribes from contractors. In exchange, federal prosecutors say the officials allowed contractors to pay less than union wages, and avoid contributions to union pension funds. ...

New York, NY —

Back in May two governors, one mayor, and developer Larry Silverstein held a summit at Gracie Mansion to work out their differences.

BLOOMBERG: We cannot allow this not to get done. And we're not going to negotiate in public. we're not going to sit there and ...