Roger Toussaint On The Quickest Way To Unmartyr Yourself

After reaching rock-star status, TWU Local 100 President figures out that the quickest way to come down from the cross is to rail against sensible laws forbidding public servants like police and firemen — and, yes, transit employees — from going on strike:

Roger Toussaint, president of Local 100 of the Transit Workers Union, walked out of jail shortly after 9 a.m. today, after serving less than four full days of what was supposed to be a 10-day sentence for leading an illegal strike in December.

Defiant in brief remarks outside the jail complex in lower Manhattan, he said, “We will not back down” to demands by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to limit pensions and benefits.

Mr. Toussaint was released after his sentence was trimmed to seven days because of good behavior. Following usual jail procedure, the authorities released him on the last working day before the weekend.

Mr. Toussaint denounced the law that prohibits strikes by some public employees. “The Taylor law is a bad law, an unjust law,” he said, “pensions and benefits need to be defended.”

Roger, who the fuck is working on your public relations?

Let’s unpack this for a minute. After being released from jail early — bringing to an abrupt end the schadenfreude felt by millions of stranded commuters — do you:

A) Thank your supporters and vow to carry on the good fight against rapidly shrinking benefits for the workers of this country?

B) Thank your supporters and take the opportunity to reiterate that the Transport Workers Union means business, no matter what wildly inappropriate and unfair actions the Metropolitan Transit Authority takes?

or C) Rail against a 40-year-old law that ensures that public works in the city run smoothly, a law that I imagine most people who aren’t part of the Socialist party probably support?

Of all the things Toussaint chooses to say . . . what a stooge.

Roger, there’s a time and place for bringing up Taylor Law reform. The press conference immediately following your being released from jail early is probably the worst possible time and place!

The Only Two Places Left In The World Where Ballot Box Stuffing Is Acceptable Are Belarus And Zagat

After last year’s successful effort, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Jr. is encouraging Bronx boosters to stuff the Zagat ballot box again:

Following up on last year’s successful push to get more of the borough’s eateries in the renowned guide, which saw 13 additional Bronx restaurants join 12 others from the borough in Zagat’s, Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Jr. is teaming up with the Bronx Tourism Council again for the second annual Zagat Guide campaign.

“We’re just getting the word out again this year to encourage people to vote for their favorite restaurants and get them in the guide,” said Carrion. “More people are checking out our great restaurants because of the Zagat listings. I hope we will increase our presence in the 2007 guide.”

Last year, the BP’s office launched a campaign that saw Alice’s Tea Cup, Bruckner B&G, Dominick’s, El Malecon, El Rancho, El Rey del Marisco, Enzo’s, F&J Pine, Jake’s Steakhouse, Joe’s Place, Le Refuge, Lobster Box, Madison’s, Mario’s, Park Place, Pasquale’s Rigoletto, Piper’s Kilt, Portofino, Riverdale Garden, Roberto’s, Siam Square, Spoto’s, Tosca Café, Umberto’s and Willie’s Steakhouse added to the annual guide to the city’s best restaurants.

“The lack of attention to Bronx eateries is like the elephant in the room that everyone sees, but no one talks about,” said Jake’s Steakhouse general manager James Shelly. “We are ecstatic that the borough president was so aggressive in addressing the problem in a positive matter. It worked. We have worked hard here and people wondered why we were not in the guide. We didn’t have an answer, but now we have made it.”

. . .

In order for that to be further recognized in the next guide due out later this year, Bronxites must step up to the plate and be heard. “It’s up to Bronxites, all New Yorkers and our suburban neighbors who enjoy our great restaurants to cast their votes for their favorite eateries,” said Carrion. “I know I’ll be voting for many places again this year.”

Those Are People Who Died!

The Times breaks down the 1,662 murders in New York City from 2003 to 2005:

The oldest killer was 88; he murdered his wife. The youngest was 9; she stabbed her friend. The women were more than twice as likely as men to murder a current spouse or lover. But once the romance was over, only the men killed their exes. The deadliest day was on July 10, 2004, when eight people died in separate homicides.

Five people eliminated a boss; 10 others murdered co-workers. Males who killed favored firearms, while women and girls chose knives as often as guns. More homicides occurred in Brooklyn than in any other borough. More happened on Saturday. And roughly a third are unsolved.

. . .

Among all the city’s victims, the oldest was 91; she died during a robbery. Whites and Asians, who seldom murdered, were also infrequently killed: Together, they represented 75 or fewer victims each year. Most homicides occurred outdoors. The deadliest hour was 1 to 2 a.m

(See what Jim Carroll has been up to.)

Enforce The Pass-Through And We Can Mainstream That

New Jersey might actually get rid of mandatory full-serve:

There are certain truths about New Jersey that have always seemed to be immutable: It is the most densely populated state. It has the highest property taxes in the country. And it is one of the few places left where you cannot pump your own gasoline.

But if Gov. Jon S. Corzine has his way, drivers may soon be in for a cultural about-face.

Mr. Corzine proposed Thursday that the state lift its self-serve ban as part of a package of transportation proposals on carpooling, mass transit and enforcement, intended to cushion residents from rising gasoline prices. And while he cautioned that his proposal was just a pilot program that would be limited to perhaps three months, he said that self-serve gasoline could save drivers about 5 or 6 cents a gallon, if properly handled.

“We think it’s a responsible thing to do,” he said. “If we can enforce the pass-through and we can mainstream that over a period of time, then it would be permanent and broadly applied throughout the state.”

What exactly does it mean to “enforce the pass-through” and subsequently “mainstreaming” it? No matter — but check out this fool idiot:

The idea does require legislative approval, however, and early reaction was mixed. Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski, a Democrat from Middlesex County who is chairman of the transportation committee, said in a statement, “Telling a motorist that self-serve will save them money at the pump is like telling someone that they could save money on a new home by building it themselves.”

Um, there’s that little issue of paying all of the little men who pump the gas . . . Jackass . . .

Vroom Vroom!

I guess this means a NASCAR track on Staten Island is not exactly a slam dunk:

The first public hearing on the proposed NASCAR racetrack here turned so rowdy last night that police shut it down in less than an hour.

The crowd — which numbered close to 1,000 people jammed into the Petrides Educational Complex auditorium in Sunnyside — was rude and unruly from the beginning, shouting down track developers and elected officials alike.

Emotions ran so strong that one Staten Island track supporter nearly put a borough councilman in a headlock.

“He doesn’t have a right to that mike!” screamed Westerleigh resident and union official Christopher Wallace, as he wrapped his arm around Councilman Andrew Lanza’s shoulders and tried to yank a microphone out of his hand.

Lanza had triggered that reaction by suggesting that track developer International Speedway Corp. (ISC) shipped construction union members from off-Island to support the Bloomfield project, which would provide jobs.

The two stared each other down while the crowd screamed.

The dispute took place less than 30 minutes into what was supposed to be the public’s first chance to air its concerns about the proposed 80,000-seat racetrack to city officials.

. . .

The tipping point of the meeting occurred when Lanza suggested that track supporters came from off-Island, lured by the prospect of construction jobs.

That’s when Wallace, an official with Union Local 20 of the New York District Council of Carpenters, got out of his seat several rows away, started shouting, put his hands on Lanza and tried to wrest the microphone from him.