Silver's Shameless Politicking

It's amazing how some politicians think that New York voters have difficulty thinking for themselves. They call press conferences or distribute statements claiming they know what is best for us on an issue and expect us to fall for their reasoning. The state Assembly leader, Sheldon Silver, thinks we can't recognize what the motives are behind his political maneuvering. He is fighting to halt the renovation of the South Ferry subway station and claims he is concerned about the impact of construction on Battery Park. Oh really? Perhaps he is sincere and the fact that this construction might inconveniently impact his neighborhood isn't a factor. But it's federal money that's paying for the improvement, so it certainly can't be a state budget issue. Back on January 3, 2003, when the state issued a press release praising the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for its plans to restore downtown service, he said, "Fast-track restoration of service on the 1/9 line is great news for everyone who visits, lives, and works downtown and is vital to resurgence of Lower Manhattan and the entire city." As long as all the improvement remained underground, the resurgence of the city meant something to Mr. Silver. Now that the prospects of the big machines coming in and possibly creating traffic and other problems near him, he's shamelessly using the September 11 terror attacks as an excuse for blocking the project. "Expansion of the particular subway entrance and platform would require the dismantling of what is now the temporary memorial to the victims of the World Trade Center, so on that basis, we don't think there's an appropriate plan before us." "Temporary" is the operative word here, so that must mean that the surviving WTC "Sphere" will have to be moved at one time or another. Why not now when this expansion is an improvement that is so long overdue? Anyone who has ever taken the 1/9 Broadway local knows this station's short platform is an accident waiting to happen. Only five cars open to discharge the riders. Even though an announcement is made in English over the subway's PA system and posters in several languages warn the riders that they must move to the first five cars to exit, passengers in the rear still remain seated when the train pulls into the South Ferry station. I can't count the times I've had to alert these riders, mostly tourists, that they have to move up front. Unfortunately, by the time they get to the front, the doors have closed and the train has started moving uptown. Those riders who do understand the announcement rush to the front, moving between several cars while the train is in motion. This is hazardous and it's incredible that no one has fallen through the opening between the cars. When the service was originally restored, the dual street entrance, which used to be in the center of the platform, was replaced by a single stairway and moved to the front of the station. Thousands of Staten Islanders disembark from each ferry and crowd the narrow stairway while the riders exiting the arriving train have to push through them in a rush to catch the next boat. The welcome renovation includes plans to extend the platform to let the entire train fit into the station and will add an additional exit. The city and state approved the $400 million project and the federal government is paying for it, yet Mr. Silver is fighting to stop it. Staten Island's borough president, James Molinaro, has expressed his disappointment with Mr. Silver's veto. He's said, "This is a system that was put in place in 1904 or 1905. It needs refurbishing and the money is there and we should move forward with it." Sheldon Silver is the most powerful Democrat in Albany, but whomever he runs against for re-election will be getting a lot of support from Staten Islanders angered by his self-serving obstruction of a worthy project. Alas, Mr. Silver is not the only politician who thinks voters can't recognize rhetoric and political posturing. Rep. Anthony Weiner, who represents Queens and Brooklyn, charged this week that the Bush administration has declared war on the beaches and shorelines on New York. "There's a new bully on the beach, and he's kicking sand into the face of New York City," he said. "President Bush is starving our beaches of the sand they need to survive." Oh, please. Mr. Bush has been accused of a lot of things but now he's more dangerous than Mother Nature? Beach erosion is a natural transition, but for some strange reason the federal government has been spending billions of dollars resanding the beaches and the question to ask is, why? Mr. Weiner's study showed there is no federal money budgeted for beach erosion studies for beaches in areas of Long Beach, Fire Island, Mattituck, and Montauk Point. Excuse me, but why is the government even paying to restore the beachfronts of multimillion-dollar homes? People who live in homes so close to the water should not expect the taxpayer to pay for their foolish choices, especially when they can afford to make their own restorations. Hmmm. Whatever happened to Democrats against tax breaks for the rich?