A Beautiful Governor

July 24, 2009

And by that I mean a beautiful island. Namely, Governors Island which sits, serenely, off the bottom tip of another island, Manhattan. An island so named, because when the Brits took over from the Dutch in 1674 (after a 10-year period of back-and-forth control), they did so for the “benefit and accommodation of His Majesty's Governors.” Never mind for the benefit of the original people who lived in the area - the Native Americans of Manahatas. The Dutch, efficient (and greedy) businessman that they were, had already purchased the island (which the Native Americans called Pagganck) for "two ax heads, a string of beads, and a handful of nails." It wasn't until 110 years later in 1784, however, that the island officially received its current name: Governors Island. Over the years, the isle served a mostly military purpose. Given its strategic location, forts were built that served to keep the British from even attempting to take New York during the War of 1812. If you're interested in more history than that you can go to the Island's website here.

Now for the real purpose of this post. Wow! This is a fabulous place! It's one of our city's new parks that will offer one a fantastic view and appreciation of our grand and magnificent harbor. Open Fridays and weekends form May 30th to October 11th , one can board a free ferry at the foot of Whitehall Street (just east of the Staten Island Ferry terminal ). You can board the ferry on foot or on bike but, happily, not by car. And you can rent a bike or a 4-wheeled bike-buggy on the island. On Fridays, bike rentals are even free but get there early as they go fast.

This place is a magical gem with a new and spectacular view at every turn in the road that one uses to circumnavigate the island. Here there are concerts, a sand "beach" (no swimming), free kayaks, art exhibits, cafes and food concessions and the most marvelous picnic locations, complete with sprawling lawns, lovely old shade trees, tables, benches and glorious hammocks! Then again, you can picnic in Nolan Park in the center of the island. A lovely oasis of towering London plane trees on each side of the center common are bordered with 19th century Victorian frame houses, used by the officers who inhabited this place once upon a time. Set up your picnic right on one of the porches and relax in the shade of the trees. If you want to avoid crazy crowds, you're probably better off on a Friday than a weekend.

Stacey and I started out on Friday morning. We mounted our bikes and headed for the Brooklyn Bridge, about three miles from our home in Prospect Heights. Though we've ridden over the bridge countless times, it's still a thrill. The views of lower Manhattan, the East River, the poetic structure of the bridge itself are always inspring.

(Note: You can click on any photo to see it larger). Stacey leads the way as we biked across the Brooklyn Bridge - awe-inspiring visit in its own right. Destination - Governors Island.

Biking the Brooklyn Bridge is a trip back to the late 1800's - a gargantuan stone structure that has stood the test of time. Just a few years later, the Williamsburg Bridge was constructed all of steel.

Midway across the bridge we stop to view our destination - that verdant island on the horizon in the middle of the harbor The large construction site just below is a future section of the miles-long Brooklyn Bridge Park that is being built along the East River.

We biked down Broadway and reached the ferry which is free and runs every hour on the hour (island bound).

"All 'board!"

"Are there sharks in the water? Can you ride a bike over there? Where are the bikes? What would happen if we fell in the water here?" And a hundred other questions.

A view off the port side of the ferry with a view up the East River to the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges.

Leaving Manhattan behind.

When you finish the short ferry ride and exit the ferry, it feels a bit like you're immigrants, newly-arrived at Ellis Island. People pour off the boat, on foot and bike, and look around, puzzled about what to do and where to go. Maps are available and friendly staff are all about to answer your queries.

"OK, we're here. Now what?"

After a stop in the bathroom, Stacey and I set off to explore the island. A bike path beckoned to the left and off we went. This appeared to be the circumferential road. We wanted to make a loop - several miles around - to see the views it afforded. Then we'd check out a bit of the island's interior. The park is still a work in progress - much of it is off bounds as old Coast Guard buildings and facilities are renovated and made accessible to the public. But already the park incorporates a large expanse of recreational space including the 2.2 mile "Great Promenade" which we were setting off on our bikes.

A view across the harbor and up the East River. Benches and picnc spots abound on the Great Promenade that rings the island.

Say, that's cool! These 4-wheeled, 4-person bike buggies are for rent - free on Fridays - for those of you who don't know how to balance on two wheels.

You're in for a treat when you come around the southern tip of the island. (Remember to click any photo for a larger version).

As we continue around the island, an awesome view of Manhattan.


Stacey rounds the northwest corner of the island at Castle Williams which protected the city from British invasion in 1812.

We finished our ride with an brief exploration of the center of the island. Here we discovered more charm: Colonel's Row and Nolan's Park - both lined with 19th century officers' homes and the Parade Grounds, a vast expanse of lawn. There's also a public school that served the children of Coast Guard service personnel and a movie theater that was showing a scary summer thriller. All these are free for you to enter and explore.

Colonel's Row, in the center of the island, with tree-shaded walkways, beautiful old houses and plenty of room for picnics or exploring.

Whoa! A giant ship appears and docks across Buttermilk Channel in Brooklyn. The scale and scope of the harbor is enormous when viewed from this location.

We stopped at the Water Taxi sand beach (one of several throughout the city). This is equipped with, yes, sand and picnic tables. Adjacent is a hot dog stand where we stopped for a frank and a ice cold one before boarding the ferry back to Manhattan.

Nolan Park, surrounded by 19th century homes. One can sit on a porch and relax of have a picnic.

The Water Taxi sand "beach," with picnic tables, food concession and a palm tree.

It was a perfect few hours. The day had threatened rain with ominous clouds as we started out but, as seems to happen lately, had turned into a clear blue sky with puffy white clouds. We promised to return to explore some more. This is a great NYC destination that you should put on the top of your list for things to do and see in our city. See you on the bike path! - Matt

P.S. To see all my photos of Governors Island, click here for a SLIDE SHOW or here to visit the PHOTO GALLERY.

Rolling Through Manhattan On A Mission For Peace

May 16, 2009

Like the old civil rights song goes, I woke up this morning with my mind set on, well, PEACE. And not just peace but biking for peace. The reason being: today was the third annual NYC-United For Peace and Justice Pedal For Peace bike ride. This was the third time I've ridden in this delightful, family-friendly fundraising bike ride. The ride has two goals: raise money for the important work that UFPJ organizes year round: the struggle to end the wars that are the legacy of the Bush administration and that are impediment to solving the dire problems confronting our country: a declining economy, increasing joblessness and loss of homes, lack of decent health care for millions of Americans ... and so on. The other reason: we just want to have some fun. And we did!

The day threatened to be a repeat of last year's ride which was a drencher. But though the clouds hung over us till the very end (when the sun suddenly appeared) the rain stayed away. That was not a bad thing - the somewhat cool day made biking a perspiration-free pleasure.

Here's my bike - bedecked for the Pedal For Peace bike ride.

The threat of rain, however, did frighten people - enough so that the ride this year was a bit smaller than usual. Never mind. It was small but still very spirited. We gathered at the north end of Central Park and prepared our bicycles with signs calling for peace and funding for our communities instead of warfare. People were in good spirits and itching to get on their bikes and pedal. Soon enough, Leslie Kielson , of NYC-UFPJ , gave us some last minute instructions. A marshal then gave us some tips to ensure a safe ride and off we went, out of the park and north through Harlem.

Coming or going, the message's the same: No more money for war!

This is really a lovely little ride as it take one through interesting parts of our city that you might not ever get to see: lovely streets in Harlem, then up into hilly Washington Heights where the old geology of our city is still very visible in the form of giant boulders of Manhattan schist looming on the side of steep streets. And then a stop for a snack, half way through the 15 miles, at historic High Bridge Park with fabulous views over the Harlem River far below us and out over the Bronx to the east. Historic because the High Bridge is the borough's oldest bridge connecting it to the mainland (yes, the Bronx is on the mainland!) It was not only a bridge but an incredible, early public works project of enormous magnitude as it is also an enormous aqueduct that brought fresh water from the pristine Catskill mountains to the faucets, sinks and tubs of the metropolis a hundred or so miles away.

Getting ready to leave the park and venture northward.

Out of Central Park and heading north through Harlem.

We reach our snack stop - historic High Bridge Park in Manhattan. High Bridge is visible way below on the right.

After some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and refreshing cold water, we got back on our steel steeds and headed back downtown. But the route now took us down the west side of Manhattan, along the Hudson on elegant Riverside Drive - beautiful! For a map of the route just CLICK HERE.

Cruising down Riverside Drive on our way back to the start point.

All along our ride, from beginning to end, we shouted out to passers-by the purpose of our ride. We were greeted with applause, shouts of approval and V-signs of peace. That was a particularly rewarding part of the ride, know that people who voted for Obama under the slogan "Yes we can!" were now saying to Congress and the President - "Yes we must!" Must end these wars that are robbing us of the ability to fix our economy and meet the urgent needs of our citizens.

I'm looking forward to next year's ride. I hope that you'll join us next time! It's fun and very worthwhile.

And here we all are - at High Bridge. A small group with a very large spirit! What a great sight!

To see all my photos just CLICK HERE.

A final comment: I'd like to share with you my feelings of deep gratitude. Therefore, this post is dedicated to all my friends and family who donated to my bike ride. I raised $1407.00 which goes to further the important work of NYC-United For Peace & Justice who are working so hard to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to bring our troops home - safe and alive, and to direct those funds to be used for rebuilding our country instead of for warfare and occupation. Thank you all so much!

And, by the way, if you haven't yet donated it's not too late! Just CLICK HERE to give right now. It's painless and easy and you'll be doing a good thing for our country and for our planet.

The End Of America Comes To Flatbush

Some 60 Brooklynites filed into the cavernous auditorium of P.S. 139 in Flatbush to see an important new film, The End Of America. The film paints a detailed and chilling picture of the Bush gang's assault on our constitutional rights and liberties.

The story of the film showing in Brooklyn is a tale in and of itself. In the planning for the event the NYC Department of Education (DOE) refused to issue a permit citing the "controversial" nature of the film. (One may well ask what is controversial about our Constitution and the protections it offers our citizens.) However, a request for help, made to the NYCLU's Legal Director, Arthur Eisenberg, resulted in a quick retreat by the DOE and the permit was issued.

The film showing was initiated by a new group that is establishing itself in the Flatbush neighborhoods surrounding Cortelyou Road and Coney Island Avenue: Flatbush For Peace. Co-sponsors included a representation of the diverse neighborhood: the Council Of People's Organizations (COPO), which serves the South Asian community and the Haitian Enlightenment Literacy Project (HELP) as well as Brooklyn's large and active peace organization, Brooklyn For Peace.

Sam Koprak, active in organizing Flatbush For Peace, introduced the film. The End Of America claims that under Bush our country was headed for dictatorship and draws strong parallels with Nazi Germany by documenting the ten steps that have been used by authoritarian regimes throughout history to erode and eventually destroy civil liberties.

In the film, Wolf examines each of these ten steps, One comes away with a realization that democracy and human rights are frail things indeed and when methodically abused can quickly disappear. This is particularly true when you have a citizenry that is purposely kept uninformed and uneducated (think Fox News, CNN, the networks, our schools, etc.) about the history, the significance and the life and death struggles that ensued to win independence from the British monarchy and that forged our constitution and its enshrining of human rights and liberties.

Sam Koprak, of the newly-formed Flatbush For Peace, convenes the meeting at PS 139.

The ten points, documented in the film, are --

1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy.
2. Create a prison system outside the rule of law.
3. Set up an internal surveillance system.
4. Develop a thug caste.
5. Harass citizens' groups.
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release.
7. Target key individuals.
8. Control the press.
9. Equate dissent with treason.
10.Suspend the rule of law.

Within each of these points, Wolf discusses the similarities between events that transpired in Nazi Germany and elsewhere with what Bush and Cheney were conniving at here. Thus is her book and the film an urgent wake-up call to those who cherish and would maintain our hard-fought civil liberties.

Naomi Wolf - ten easy steps to fascism.

Naomi Wolf taking questions after the film showing.

After the film, the author was joined by Arthur Eisenberg, Legal Director of the NYCLU, (who, as I mentioned earlier was instrumental in persuading the DOE to issue its permit for use of the school), to field questions from the audience. Eisenberg gave an informative history of the use of repression in our country during the Civil War and Word War I and then discussed the case of Jose Padilla. Padilla, a U.S. citizen, was declared an enemy combatant by Bush who cited his powers as Commander In Chief. This was a drastic departure from an established American legal precedent called the Milligan decision which decreed civilian supremacy over military authority. By using the Commander In Chief title to justify his action stripping citizen Padilla of his constitutional rights, Eisenberg said, Bush was declaring that his military authority allowed him to be above the law, thus setting a very dangerous precedent.

Arthur Eisenberg, Legal Director of the NYCLU, gave a chilling description of the government's abuse of U.S. citizen, José Padilla.

The meeting ended after 9:00 pm and we came away with a new appreciation of the dangers that had been brought to our country by eight long years of Bush's contempt for democracy and the rule of law. There was, I thought, a new determination to ensure that these actions be rolled back and a further awareness that unless those responsible for the heinous crimes committed, such as torture, kidnapping and wiretapping, be brought to justice. How else would we be able to prevent them from being enacted all over again in the future? Some in the present administration have asked us "not to look backward but to concentrate on the future." To which we must answer that we cannot go forward in peace and freedom without learning from and dealing with the past. After the Nazi crimes of the 30's and 40's, U.S. policy and indeed, all of human kind, decreed that those responsible for crimes against humanity must be brought to justice and punished. Why have we abandoned that outlook now?

Naomi Wolf's book is available for purchase here.
Naomi Wolf's website can be visted here.
And the film on DVD can be purchased here.

Naomi Wolf's book - The End Of America.

To see a SLIDE SHOW of all my photos from last night's event click here.

Or for a PHOTO GALLERY instead, click here.

Marching Against The War and Against Spending For War

New York City - Apr 5, 2009

Given the seriousness of the times we live in it should have been a million people in the streets of my city yesterday demanding change.

Why a million marching? Because we're witness to bailouts for banker/criminals but no bailouts for the people who are losing their homes by the thousands a day. Because obscene multi-million dollar bonuses are handed to the very crooks who brought us what might be the new Great Depression but nothing for the almost 700,000 newly-jobless in March.

And while we're at it, here's a sobering statistic: since Reagan inhabited the White House there have been some seven million industrial jobs scrapped. Disappeared. Shipped abroad where super-profits can be made while factories are closed in our home towns and cities. The latest crisis is the net result, the end game, of that stinking an decadent process of de-industrialization brought to us by those great patriots: the U.S. Senate and Congress, our past presidents and the corporate bosses who run this country. Free Trade has been their mantra as they foisted their NAFTAs and other get-rich-quick trade deals on Americans and then shipped the jobs to low wage countries leaving a vast and rusty wasteland in their wake. The Great American Dream has become a nightmare as decent, union jobs that gave dignity and a decent standard of living to millions of American families have been lost forever.

So it should have been millions marching in the streets of our cities today as they are marching around the world to protest the great unfairness that haunts society: unfairness in that the very ones who brought us to this crisis seem to be the ones who are being rewarded even as they are blamed for the stinking mess they've created! Something is drastically wrong with this picture. And that must be set right in the months ahead.

Our new President has inherited this terrible mess which has been made so much more terribly worse over the last eight years by the bandits and thieves that ran our country into the ground. It wasn't just greed on Wall Street as much as it was greed coupled with a Bush-wacking government that intentionally looked the other way, or even lent a helping hands to the bankers, as the crimes were being perpetrated.

Grover Norquist, one of the leading ideologues of the Neo-Con movement and a prime architect of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy once said:

"I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub."

And that was precisely what Bush and his gang did for eight years. They packed government agencies and departments with corporate lackeys who then proceeded to eviscerate regulations and undo laws designed to safeguard Americans in every aspect of their lives: the protection of our environment and nature, the safety of our food and medicines, the right of American workers to a safe workplace, the maintenance of our health standards, the right of women to control their bodies and the maintenance of our democracy and constitutional liberties.

Then they launched an illegal war based on outright lies so the oil companies could occupy and control a country known to possess the second largest oil reserves in the world. Over 4,000 young soldiers have lost their lives in that illegal adventure. Countless Iraqi citizens were wounded, made homeless or killed and their country destroyed. While the war raged, the Bush and Cheney crony corporations such as Halliburton and Blackwater (and dozens more) emptied our Treasury with no-bid contracts handed out without oversight or control, profiting on the blood of our troops and of the tragic and poor citizens of Iraq.

Just as the corporate bandits have not been punished so has the Bush administration been allowed to retire without any restitution for the terrible crimes they committed: they sullied and dragged our Constitution into the mud of illegal arrests and detentions, rendition (kidnapping) and torture.
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This is the terrible legacy of the Bush years. And this destructive regime was finally retired by the American people in November of last year. President Obama has promised to reverse these crimes and, to a large extent, he has begun to do exactly that. But the forces that brought us to ruination are still alive and well. Though defeated in November, they are wealthy and strong - many still inhabit the halls of Congress and live in the corporate board rooms throughout our country and will do their best to restore the previous direction taken under Bush. We need to counter them with the loud voice of protest and continued demands for changes not yet fulfilled.

Yesterday, thousands marched in New York. They were in high spirits and filled with high expectations that the "Yes, we can" hopes of yesterday's elections will be turned into a "Yes we did!" reality in the months and years ahead.

Brooklyn For Peace was well represented.

Thousands marched on Wall Street - the symbol of all that's wrong in our country.

Were you there? You can still do your part by calling your Congress member at (800) 828-0498 and the White House at(202) 456-1111.

President Obama has said that he wants to hear from the American people who elected him. So it is entirely appropriate, indeed necessary, to tell him:

"End the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bring all our troops home now - safe and alive.
Negotiate don't escalate!
Cut the Pentagon war budget in order to fix the economy and build a new society based on peace not war, human needs not greed."

The good folks from Fort Greene Peace were there.

If you want to see a slideshow of
all of yesterday's photos, just CLICK HERE.

I'm Marching For Peace Today.

Apr 4, 2009

I'm marching today in New York City. I'm marching against the continued war in Iraq and against an escalated war in Afghanistan.

Here's why.

I celebrated (like most Americans) the election of our new President. And I breathed a huge sigh of relief at the end of our national nightmare - the bad dream that was the ugly and frightening reality of the Bush regime. I worked for that election. Stacey and I spent a day in Philadelphia to help determine, in some small way, the outcome in the swing state of Pennsylvania.

With the election of Barack Obama, Americans were saying that they had had enough! Enough of war. Enough of the racism that had divided our land for so long. Enough! They wanted to restore our country's image in the eyes of the world. They voted to turn it in a different direction than Bush and his gang had taken it. They wanted to, it seemed to me, begin directing our national treasure toward meeting the dire needs of our people: for universal health care, for a revitalized system of education, for affordable housing.

The election took place with the war and occupation of Iraq raging in the background. That was, perhaps, the single most important and glaring difference between the candidacies of Obama and McCain. Obama wanted to end that tragic and immoral episode in our nation's history not only because it was wrong but because it was robbing our country of any possible solution to the economic crisis that was stalking the land. McCain, on the other hand, wanted to press on in Bush's endless "war on terror."

Brooklynites mark the death of the 3,000th U.S soldier and the countless Iraqis who died in that war. Today, the count is well over 4,0000 and the war continues.

Today, sadly, the war in Iraq is far from over. Though he promised to begin the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the very day he would take office at the rate of one division per month, still, as of today, virtually none have returned home. And even at the end of President Obama's stated withdrawal, 50,000 U.S. troops will remain in that country - rebranded as "advisers" by a Pentagon that insists on keeping a toehold in that oil-rich country.

Then there is Afghanistan. The so-called "good" war; the war that some insisted should have been fought in the first place after the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. According to press reports, Mr. Obama, ignoring the advice of his Vice-President not to get involved in a morass that history has shown it to be, has seemingly sided with his generals who, stupidly and blindly, see a military solution to the deteriorating situation in that country and, beyond, to Pakistan.

This escalation in Afghanistan will be, in the prediction of many, a tragic mistake. It brings to mind the tragic history of the Johnson administration which had made plans for a War On Poverty and a Great Society only to find them obliterated by the skyrocketing costs of the the Vietnam war. The question raised then was whether we could have both "guns and butter. The answer that history supplied was an emphatic "NO."

There is no military solution to be imposed in Afghanistan. As Obama, himself, told us during the campaign, negotiation not endless war is the way forward. But if that's so, why allow the generals to send another 24,000 U.S. troops to a conflict that we are already losing? Sending more troops is a slippery slope that has a motive force and a driving logic all its own. And it's counter-productive: A recent BBC and ABC poll showed that 70% of Afghans are opposed to an increase in U.S. troops. Instead of overcoming our enemy, an escalation, with its increase in misery and death for the beleaguered population, will only serve to strenghten the Taliban and Al Queda by driving new recruits their way.

These wars will continue to rob our country of the funds we need to solve the problems that are overwhelming us: increasing joblessness, lack of decent and affordable housing, a school sytem in dire need of resources and a health care system that is the disgrace of the industrialized world. Just as LBJ's Great Society foundered on the funds usurped for the Vietnam War, so surely will Obama's grand and much-needed reforms collapse on the continuation of the Iraq and Afghanistan debacles.

Martin Luther King said it far more eloquently than I could ever write when, in 1967, he parted company from the other civil rights leaders to bravely stand on principle in opposition to the war in Vietnam. In his famous "Beyond Vietnam" speech on April 4th of that year in New York's Riverside Church he said:

"Now, it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read Vietnam. It can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over. So it is that those of us who are yet determined that America will be are led down the path of protest and dissent, working for the health of our land."

That is why I march today. I want to guarantee that the most progressive president this country has ever seen is successful in turning our country around and leading us to a new society that values its people more than its material things, or as Dr. King so profoundly said in 1967 "we need to rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society."
(Dr. King's entire speech is reprinted here.)

If you're in New York, you can join the march by gathering on White Street (2 blocks south of Canal Street) between Broadway and Lafayette at 11 am. One of Dr. King's associates and a pioneer of our civil rights movement, Rev. James Lawson, will be walking with us. I suspect that Dr. King would have been marchng for peace today as well.

A Day That Will Go Down In History

Nov 4, 2008

Election Day, 2008. This will be one to remember. The day we turned our country around and saved our world. I really believe that. Don't get me wrong. I don't believe that Barack Obama is our saviour. No I don't. He's a great candidate but he's not perfect and I never believed that he was. For example, it's a little frightening that he wants to leave Iraq (Yes!) only to step up the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan (No! - yet another quagmire in the making and how the hell you gonna save the economy, give our people health care and decent schools, invest in alternative forms of energy -- all that while you're waging a new war in Afghanistan?? Get real!) And his health care plan, while far better than McCain's (if McCain actually has one)doesn't go nearly far enough - truth be told we need Single Payer Health Care like most of the rest of the industrialized world.

No, Obama, as good as he is and as progressive as most of his program is, is not a saviour. But here's what is true about a vote for Obama -- It's the people stupid! That's right - it's the fabulous and unprecedented movement of our people - Black, brown, white and united - that has surrounded and propelled his campaign - Therein is the promise of great things to come.

The fight will begin tomorrow because the Right, defeated and disgraced, is not going away any time soon. You can rest assured that they will be doing their dirty best (as only they know how) to demean Barack Obama for the next four years; to lay down as many obstacles as they can possibly find; to bring phony charges against him (as they did to Bill Clinton for years) to the extent that they can. But I believe that the movement of people that has been born in this historic campaign can be the bulwark of opposition to that mean-spirited force and push our country in the direction that it must go if we are all to survive and prosper in the years ahead.

So here's what we must do - We must find our voices. We must organize. We must let the Democrats, newly-empowered, know what we want. And we must not relax until we win what is needed to set our country on a new course of progress.

~~~

We awoke at 6 a.m. this morning, dressed and walked outside. Already we knew something was up. People were streaming down our usually quiet street. When we arrived at P.S. 9, two blocks away, the line was enormous. It stretched from the school entrance on Underhill Avenue, half a block south to the corner of St. Marks Place and then half-way down St. Marks. Wow!

It took us just over an hour to vote! A word to the wise: know your Assembly District and Election District before you get on line- you'll save yourself some time inside by not having to have a poll worker look it up for you via your address. Our neighborhood had one of the highest concentrations of Obama voters in the primary so it was no surprise. But the excitement, the determination of voters, the energy were all palpable standing on that line. I suspect that this will be duplicated throughout the country even in so-called Red states. That is why I can optimistically write this post today, before any results are in. I know that we are on the cusp of great and exciting times over the next four years.

Go Obama! We will be the wind behind your back. We will push you on to greatness if you listen to our voices for change!

P.S. One last thing - if you're a NY State voter - you can make your Obama vote even more meaningful by pulling the lever on ROW E - the Working Families party. This serves notice that your vote should not be taken for granted and that it's a vote for an end to the war and against any new wars. It's a vote that says you expect and demand a change in priorities away from war spending to spending for jobs, schools, health care and affordable housing and that you want a bailout not for the greedy banks and stock firms but for working folk. Voting on Row E, thus, stands out from all the other votes for Obama yet still goes into the same total count for your candidate! Thanks - Matt

It took us an hour to vote. The line stretched around P.S. 9 on Underhill Avenue around the corner of St. Mark's Place and way down the block. Unprecedented. It was 6:30 a.m.

Parents brought their children along to share in the history of today's vote.

Swinging on the scaffolding while daddy waited on long lines to vote.

Occupying your time while waiting on line to vote.

Yes! Omigod- even the NY Post! Wassup with that?

A Day In Philly - Working For Change

November 1, 2008

As this historic election loomed closer it became clear that every last vote would count. The Republicans, master of filthy tricks (dirty is too clean a word), would spare nothing and have spared nothing in trying to hold on to power for another four years. I flip-flop (pardon the expression) between elation and depression. One minute I believe that there'll be a landslide - that the polls, showing Barack Obama to be somewhat ahead are wrong. They're surely not counting all the kids with cellphones (you can't poll an unlisted number, right?) who are out there and going to vote. And, I reason, there's deep, deep disappointment and anger in the land that the pollsters are not reading and that this will volcanically erupt on Tuesday in an outpouring of determination to change the country's direction. Halevai!

The next minute anxiety sets in - Fox network and the GOP have so poisoned the atmosphere that people are confused. So confused that too many of them will be fearful of voting for Obama The Unknown and will elect McSame - proving, once again, that you can fool enough people over and over again, actually convincing them to vote against their very own self interests. Not to mention the Republicans' well-known techniques of voter suppression of which they are masters.

A visit to a swing state like Pennsylvania to volunteer for the Obama campaign was meant to elevate the positive side of my outlook. And it did! Seeing the number of volunteers (in person) involved in this historic campaign is exhilarating. Young people have been fired up by the millions. We saw this not only in the volunteers who are predominantly young but in our visits to houses where, time and again, older people might answer the door but would reference their support for Obama to the influence of their children or grandchildren.

One woman who I engaged in discussion, confused by the claims of McCain that Obama would increase her taxes, asked me if I believed what Obama was saying. I told her I wouldn't have driven down from New York to spend my Saturday in a Philadelphia suburb if I thought that he was an impostor. To which she shouted inwards to some interior room behind her - "Christine, who should I vote for?" "Obama!" came the reply from a youthful and exuberant voice. "That's my daughter. She wants me to vote for Obama and I probably will." This theme repeated itself in several of the houses I visited. Young people, I believe, are the vanguard of huge change that's coming to our country. Not imbued with the racism and cynicism of many of their oldsters they look at Obama and see a positive symbol of change, honesty and compassion. When they look at his McCain/Palin they feel they're looking at the past. A past based on anger, division, distortion and selfishness. That bodes well for our country's future and, likewise, our world.

We arrived at the Obama campaign office to find crowds of people signing up for the day's work. This was just one of many offices in and around Philadelphia and throughout the state.

This campaign worker had the presidential race all buttoned up.


Checking out the campaign packets before training.

Mark Dowd, the regional coordinator, trained us. He gave us instructions for the work we'd be doing for the rest of the day.

One of many New Yorkers who came down to Northeast Philadelphia for the Saturday before Election Day.

We came to Philadelphia on the urging of my friend Diane who had been there several times before and who has been working the phone banks up in New York as well. We drove down in two cars, leaving New York around 7:00 a.m. After training by a campaign worker, we drove to our assigned neighborhood and, following the lists supplied in our packet, knocked on the doors of identified Obama supporters. The idea at this late date was to get out the vote on the coming Tuesday. Many people were not home on a Saturday morning - out, I suppose, doing their family chores of shopping and schlepping. But those we did speak to were friendly and receptive. Most stated their intention to vote for Obama. Some wanted their privacy and didn't want to share their choice with strangers at their door. One heavily tattooed man, working on his car in his garage, told me he had had it with Bush and would never vote Republican again. It was an exciting day of meeting different folk with whom we normally do not rub elbows. That was an education indeed and one I highly recommend.

Lunch was at one o'clock at a neighborhood institution, the Mayfair Diner. Just why it was an institution we couldn't really figure out. The food was mediocre (although very inexpensive). But right across Frankford Avenue was a Philadelphia pretzel factory (the city is famous for its soft, twisted pretzels which one slathers with spicy mustard - a non-nutritious but very enjoyable treat). We had several for dessert.

In the afternoon, we headed out again. In the morning, if no one was home, the canvasser would check off "1st pass." So the afternoon campaigners would hit those addresses again for a second attempt at talking to someone at that address. We were impressed at the very high level of organization in evidence. Sometimes, it seemed, they were over-organized. The morning's route had us covering the same addresses as a team of AFT/UFT (the teachers union) campaigners who we met on our streets. But the feeling of camaraderie and good cheer was high as we exchanged chit-chat with the teachers, gathering on the lovely tree-lined streets of our assigned neighborhood.

Jane and Stacey knocking on doors. Our job today was to visit known Obama supporters to guarantee they vote on the coming Tuesday.

The campaign office was located in the Mayfair neighborhood of NE Philly. This famous old diner took the name of the neighborhood. Famous it was, but great, um, not.

Our friend Jane perusing the lunch menu at the Mayfair Diner.

Across from the diner was a pretzel outlet. We had some of those great Philadelphia pretzels, topped with spicy brown mustard. Yum!

Pretzels for dessert after a disappointing lunch at the Mayfair Diner.

After a day's work of knocking on doors in Northeast Philly, we returned to the office with our clipboards and lists. These young people were hanging out on the sidewalk shmoozing.

Driving back to New York through the Holland tunnel.

We headed back to New York Saturday night, tired but excited by the days' work. We were looking forward to dancing in the streets on Tuesday night (keeping our fingers crossed and having faith in the American people to do the right thing). We'd been boosted in our belief that next Tuesday was momentous and would be seen as one of the most important dates in our country's history. Halevai!

A Bike Ride To The Battery - Courtesy Of IKEA.

Sep 2, 2008

A new park has risen in Brooklyn. But unlike the old days when parks were the creations of cities and governments on behalf of their citizens, this park comes to our borough on the back of private enterprise. Ikea, the giant furniture chain, has come to Brooklyn and put itself down on the edge of the harbor. Ikea has placed its enormous blue and yellow box on land that once fronted the largest man-made harbor in the country, the Erie Basin. Since the demise of the historic and once-bustling Brooklyn waterfront, that land and the piers and structures that lined its shores entered a long period of decay. Abandoned by the ships that once carried grain and product from American farms and factories to the markets of Europe and beyond, the Brooklyn waterfront became a decrepit and crumbling shoreline, devoid of activity. Hulking wrecks of piers and warehouses have, for decades now, lined its once-proud shores. Neighborhoods died as well, inhabited only by the poorest of the poor.

Now Brooklyn is undergoing a massive renaissance as vast swathes of its territory are transformed (perhapds "demolished" is a more accurate term) and replaced with luxury condos and hi-rise apartment houses for upper income folk. Manhattan has beoam the borough for the very wealthy set and so waves of people have moved across the river to more "affordable" locales. And the developers saw dollars to be made. Thus does Ikea come to down-and-out-for-decades Red Hook.

It's a commentary on 30 tragic years of conservative rule that new parks today have to be given to us by corporations (as a payback of sorts for very generous tax breaks from City Hall). But with three trillion dollar wars, cities don't have money for such things as waterfront parks (or schools or public hospitals for that matter) as tax dollars have taken a one-way trip to the Pentagon and war-profiting corporations. A recent article in the New York Times documented that fact. In a portrait of New Haven, the reporter showed that many localities now depend on wealthy corporations to undertake major improvements to their cities. In New Haven it's Yale. In New York it's Ikea. But the trend is clear and it's called privatization. The question is - who's calling the tune and deciding what gets built and where? When its corporate money you can be sure that there are interests beyond those of the public that hold sway. So it is with waterfront parks and so it is with un-needed stadiums and sun-blocking high rises in the backyard of beautful and historic brownstone communities.

However, a beautiful park it is. Ikea has done a great job - a pedestrian/bike path wanders about a mile or so along the Red Hook waterfront. Signs explain the history of this once-busy port as a massive parking lot now lies where once giant shipyards stood. Here and there they have left standing some of the detritus of a former civilization - giant cranes hover overhead, painted a dull but dramatic navy gray; giant gears and mechanisms from some sort of portside machinery lie frozen in time below them. Maritime grasses and lovely flowers have been planted in abundance and in Ikea's spare and modern style, benches and chairs are placed along the length of the promenade. The view - a fabulous panorama of New York harbor - Governor's Island, the distant Port of Newark (that helped kill the Brooklyn ports), the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline all compete for your attention. And by the way, this has to be the greatest sunset viewing location in all of Brooklyn!

And the fantatic kicker to all this is that you can bike out to Red Hook and then board, gratis, a NYC Water Taxi for a trip across the harbor to Wall Street. Bikes are welcome on board and you don't even have to shop at Ikea!

So on a beautiful end-of-summer Tuesday, my friend Ed and I pedaled over the Ikea for a free taxi ride to Manhattan.

Ed calls for me and we set off for Red Hook by bike.

Red Hook is separated from Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill by the giant, hulking Gowanus Expressway.

Wow - what a view. Prime waterfront land for a furniture store. Hey! But we got a nice park out of it, right?

Fabulous views of our city's harbor abound. Here, old cranes from yesteryear are hover above you as the promenade wends its way along the old port. In the distance, the Statue of Liberty.

The ferry boards at Ikea and takes you to lower Manhattan.

The ride across the harbor is breathtaking. As you leave the shelter of Erie Basin, views of the remote Manhattan skyline stand in contrast to the rotting decay of the abandoned piers and structures of the Brooklyn waterfront. Then, quickly, you pass Governor's Island, the Statue of Liberty, and Downtown Brooklyn with its new high rises. Approaching the Wall Street pier where we would debark, other boats pass by and helicopters hover overhead and lower New York's gleaming skyscrapers tower above set off against a brilliant blue sky. Further up the East River, the Brooklyn Bridge spans the horizon and I thought that this is truly one of the great panoramas to be enjoyed anywhere.

Leaving Brooklyn, the Manhattan skyline competes with the rotting decay of Brooklyn's moribune waterfront.

There's the statue!

Fabulous views of Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey!

We pass some of the last few working piers on Brooklyn's waterfront - a shadow of their former self.

A good opportunity for photos.

Looking up the East River - the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge beyond it.

We reach our destination - the Wall Street pier and lower Manhattan.