SHIPS OF SHAME Ships of Shame As of last ...
As of last Wednesday, one week after the deadly Staten Island ferry accident, a total of four lawsuits had already been filed against the city and various other involved parties. Three of the lawsuits are seeking $10 million in damages, the fourth $25 million.
It should come as no surprise, living as we are in Litigious Land, when the lawsuits start cropping up after something like this. Nor should the other hundred or more suits that will be filed in the coming weeks and months come as any surprise. There are cases, of course?and this is one of them?in which some lawsuits are absolutely justified. Ten people died and several others lost limbs as a result of what appears at this point to be negligence on the part of the ferry's captain and co-captain.
But are these lawsuits coming from the seriously injured or the families of the deceased? Well, one $500 million wrongful death suit is in the works, but when it comes to these first few, the suits from those victims who got right on top of things, the answer is "not exactly."
The first lawsuit filed, a mere three days after the accident, is seeking $10 million on behalf of a mother and son who were among the passengers that day. Dinah Washington, 28, and her seven-year-old son Jalil are claiming "head to toe" injuries as a result of the crash?though the finger she used to dial the lawyer's number right away didn't seem to be affected at all.
We're particularly keen on suit number two, however, filed on the Monday after the accident. Joseph LaBarbara is suing the captain, the co-captain and the city for $25 million, citing a boo-boo on his knee and a few bad nights' sleep afterwards. "I haven't slept a good night's sleep since last Wednesday," he told NY1 after filing his suit. "I'm reliving this thing on a daily basis, every single day since last Wednesday."
You mean all five days there, Joey? And you're only asking for a paltry $25 million?
We weren't on the ferry that day. We read the accounts of those who were and it was clearly a nightmarish event?the sort of thing no one would ever want, nor should have to experience. The fact that it was apparently the result of human error only makes it worse. We can understand the anger of those who lived through it?especially those who lost friends and family members. But to immediately turn around in the days afterwards and transform it into an opportunity to use your victimhood (in the form of "psychological damage" and "lost work") in order to make a few quick bucks turns a tragic accident into something even uglier.
Attention consumers: Assistance requested
Holy shit?the thing works! The mayor's office this week reported that since March 9, New York's 311 line has received more than 3.16 million calls from the city's upright citizen's brigade?an average of 20,000 questions and complaints a day. And 95 percent of calls, boasts the mayor, are answered by a "Citizen Service Specialist"?a real person?in five seconds or less. (Less believably, he also claims that as of October 27, 95 percent of 311 complaints have been "closed.")
What are people calling about? In descending order: noise, landlord maintenance or heating, CFC/Freon removal, blocked driveway, traffic signal defect and open or leaking fire hydrant. Mostly NYPD and DOS business.
Now the mayor has announced another reason to call 311, something very dear to his cyborg public policy heart: Reporting failures from your mobile phone provider.
Bloomberg's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications this week announced a program to solicit, collect and map cellphone "dead spots" submitted by New Yorkers who call 311 or visit nyc.gov. The effort is part of the city's decision to start monitoring New York area wireless carriers to determine if they are abiding by newly adopted industry guidelines for consumer services. Not exactly evil stuff, but not exactly a response to our biggest infrastructure problems either.
"Cell phone 'dead spots' are frustrating and too common in this city," said the Information Age Mayor. "Now, whenever New Yorkers encounter one, they can dial 311 to report it. As cellphone use has increased dramatically, it is even more important to identify areas in the city that may be prone to problems. This program will undoubtedly help the industry improve service and help consumers make more informed purchasing decisions."
Two questions: Since when is it the city government's job to help "consumer's make more informed purchasing decisions"? And when will we be invited to demand government action on neighborhood potholes and air pollution?
Hey Kid?you got a license for that?
We can all rest a little easier this Friday knowing that the NYPD is on the job, protecting us all from witches and ghosts and various other imps.
It was announced this weekend that security citywide would be beefed up on Halloween. Not, as is usually the case on holidays, out of fear of some imminent and heinous terrorist activity, but rather in an attempt to "prevent any holiday mischief." Still, pity the wise-ass in the Bin Laden mask.
Would-be toilet paper scoundrels, egg-lobbers or window-soapers have been given fair warning: If they're caught partaking in any of your traditional Halloween hijinx, the NYPD will be watching?and ready to crack down on all that pre-9/11 holiday tradition.
Extra patrols will be stationed at schools on Friday, as well as along those routes to and from schools and local subway and bus stops. Extra patrol units will also be cruising the streets, keeping a sharp eye out for any potential youthful exuberance.
So parents, before anyone gets into something they can't get themselves out of, please warn your children beforehand. This Halloween there is to be no toilet paper, no eggs, no silly string, no hurling unwanted fruit "treat" back at the home of the citizen who handed it out, no raised voices, no running, no jumping out from behind bushes and yelling a-booga-booga-booga!, no doorbell ditching, no knocking on neighbors doors and asking for candy, no bobbing for apples, no bothering hospital X-ray technicians to check for razor blades and pins.
And for godsakes, no going outside while wearing masks, heavy makeup or costumes of any kind. Such disguises could just as easily be donned by bank robbers, muggers, rapists and terrorists. We wouldn't want our law enforcement officials making any unfortunate mistakes this Friday.
Better that we just stay inside, lock the doors, draw the blinds, think pleasant sunny thoughts and pray that this fiendish night end soon. Leave the candy to the folks making time-and-a-half in those perfect Village People costumes.
No matter how much some of us may dream of living in a world that contains the occasional super-evil genius criminal mastermind?a Dr. No or Hannibal Lecter to cheer on every once in awhile?when you get right down to it, most of your run-of-the-mill thieves and hoodlums and murderers simply aren't that bright.
Take, for instance, the case of 17-year-old Clive Laroc of East Flatbush. On the morning of Sun., Oct. 19, he went to police with a gunshot wound and a story about some guy who attacked him on the street in an effort to "steal his shoes." It didn't take officers long to determine that the impetuous Laroc had actually shot himself by accident with a gun he shouldn't have been carrying in the first place. He's now facing weapons possession charges?and some stitches.
The night before that, cops responded to an alarm at the Jou Jou Jewelry store in East Harlem. There they found 16-year-old Farj Zaibak, a store employee and nephew of the owner. He'd been beaten and strapped to a chair with packing tape. The store had been robbed of cash, jewelry and cellphones.
The teen gave police a description of the four men who carried out the deed. He was also able to tell them that the men had sped away in a black Mercedes. His description must've been pretty good, because it wasn't long before cops pulled over a black Mercedes containing four men, gobs of jewelry, a bunch of cash, numerous cellphones?and the store's surveillance tape.
Giving police that accurate description was Zaibak's first stupid mistake. His second was suddenly not being able to identify his assailants after they were arrested. It really shouldn't've been all that hard, given that they were friends of his.
Cops raised a collective eyebrow, and soon thereafter Zaibak cracked, admitting that he was in on the plot. Good thing he confessed straightaway, considering the surveillance tape probably wouldn't have helped his case much.
A pair of would-be criminal masterminds must've been mighty proud of themselves on the morning of Mon., Oct. 20. Their plan, after all, was foolproof. A work of pure genius, just like what you'd see in the movies. Yup, pretty proud of themselves indeed, until about ten minutes after Kyrie Baum grabbed the bag containing more than $7 million in cash and checks from two hospital security guards about to make a deposit at a bank on 69th St. It must've been right about that time?10 minutes after the grab?that Baum and his partner realized that they'd only thought the plan through about halfway.
What was supposed to happen: At about 2:30 p.m., Baum would snatch the bag and hightail it up to 71st St., where his partner, Orneth South, would be waiting on a motorcycle, engines running. They would then speed off to?well, who knows? Mexico, maybe, cackling all the way.
What they didn't count on, however, was the traffic. Traffic only made worse by a police roadblock set up on the southbound FDR.
They tried for a little while (and in a comical fashion) to hoist the motorcycle over the divider into the northbound lanes, but that didn't work. So they took off running. That didn't work, either.