Walk This Way: In Praise of Pedestrian Plazas

With more than 8 million people living in New York City it’s no wonder we can’t walk down the street without getting pushed, shoved, or stepped on by one of our fellow citizens. There are too few moments in the day when we can just think and observe, so spaces that promote such intervals of personal time should be valued.

The pedestrian plazas that line Broadway from Times Square to Herald Square provide a place to stop and catch your breath, sip your coffee, or just marvel at the whirling blur of traffic that separates you from the next street corner. But most importantly they improve pedestrian safety and beautify the city.

The Broadway plazas are sections of the street that have been painted beige and are lined on one side by a vibrant green bicycle lane. They stretch across two traffic-lane-lengths of space, past where the crosswalk would be, and continue right up to the edge of the sidewalk. The plazas are aesthetically pleasing because they look very much like a typical outdoor patio, with large potted plants, tables with umbrellas, and black stackable chairs.

Pedestrian plazas are also known as pedestrian islands or refugee islands. They are used by many cities and are typically constructed near particularly wide streets that require more than one traffic signal cycle to get across.

According to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles there were 15,701 pedestrian / motor vehicle accidents in 2007. Pedestrian plazas increase the visibility of pedestrian crossings prompting motorists to slow down.

According to the National Pedestrian Safety Campaign, of the 5,000 pedestrians killed each year nationwide, 23 percent were 65 or older.  Pedestrian plazas allow slower or elderly persons to wait for traffic to subside before continuing to walk across busy streets, which also promotes safety.

The Broadway plazas opened in August and are part of Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to  “enhance public life and create a more livable city.” The goal is to have every New Yorker live within a short distance of a park or other public space. The city plans to build four new plazas per year.

“You just put orange cones down in New York City and people will use (the space),” Department of Transportation Commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, told USA Today. “People vote with their feet and their coffee cups. Broadway and Madison Square were instant successes even before the concrete was dry.”

Indeed, business owners have praised the spaces, saying that they have improved foot traffic in the area and increased sales during this tough economic time. “It’s a good idea,” said Martha Chisholm, the assistant manager of Godiva Chocolatier (1460 Broadway). “People sit out there and eat lunch and when they want some chocolate they come right into Godiva and they shop more.” Others are not thrilled with the location. “It’s not like it’s overlooking a park,” said New Yorker, Jaqueline Diaz. “Who would want to relax right here?”

Motorists, meanwhile, gripe that the plazas are causing a traffic nightmare, forcing four lanes of traffic into two lanes. Further, there is concern that the space would be abandoned during winter. DOT Commissioner, Sadik-Khan, however, assures that the plazas will be used year-round and claims that traffic congestion has not increased.

On rainy days, the plazas are completely empty and with winter rapidly approaching, it remains to be seen whether the DOT’s optimism will disappear under a mountain of snow and slush. But New Yorkers never cease to amaze and I have a feeling I’ll be seeing plenty of them gathered on the public islands, holding containers of hot chocolate with their mitten-covered hands, and laughing about how in the summertime the space wasn’t so slippery.

Going Gaga Over The Fame

For those about to dance, Lady GaGa salutes you.

The 22-year-old diva is well known for her over the top live performances, platinum blonde wigs, and skin tight vinyl outfits, but with the release of her debut album, The Fame, it is clear that Lady GaGa’s music will now be taking center stage.

Most dance albums use dense musical layers and hummingbird hyper tempos to mask the singer’s weak voice, but The Fame does not rely on such audio trickery. Lady GaGa’s vocals combine the strength of Christina Aguilera with the coy sexuality of Gwen Stefani. The rhythms are clear and sharp with just the right amount of bass.

As the title indicates, the unifying theme of the album is fame. Although GaGa may not have reached the heights of Britney or Christina, she still can belt out an anthem for the jet set. Her tune “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich,” with its lyrics: “Our hair is perfect / While were all getting shit wrecked / It’s automatic, honey / But we got no money” beautifully conjures up images of over the top decadence.

GaGa masterfully blends clever yet trashy images over infectious disco pop beats – like in the song “Love Game” when she declares “Let’s have some fun, this beat is sick/I want to take a ride on your disco stick.”

GaGa’s unique lyrics greatly enhance the simplicity of her subject matter. The new single “Poker Face” is a perfect example. It compares a relationship with games of chance like Russian Roulette, Poker, and Texas Hold’em. The lyrics reveal: “Russian Roulette is not the same without a gun / And baby when it’s love if it’s not rough it isn’t fun.”

The best song on the album, however, is “Starstruck” which features southern Florida rappers Flo Rida & Space Cowboy. The song uses a computer-altered effect on the vocals to make them sound electronic, a technique made famous by French techno pioneers Daft Punk. The lyrics are captivating and irresistible: “Starstruck, baby could you blow my heart up?”

Stefania Gabriella Germanotta, better known as Lady GaGa, got her stage name from the Queen song “Radio Gaga” and cites Freddie Mercury as a major musical influence. She grew up on New York’s lower East Side and made her way through the club scene bringing her unique sound to the people while writing songs for The Pussycat Dolls and New Kids on the Block, before landing a record contract with Interscope in 2007.

“I learned how to fail and then figure out who I was as a singer and performer,” Lady GaGa states in her website bio. “And, now, I’m just trying to change the world one sequin at a time.”

The Fame is a great album and all the tracks should be dance classics just don’t expect to find any deep revelations about life’s mysteries. Lady GaGa keeps it simple – dancing, boys, shopping, and love – and what’s wrong with that?

Reverend Billy Fought the Law and the Law Won

Rev. Billy, clad in his usual minister’s garb, was arrested at a protest rally in Union Square last summer, for using a megaphone to shout the 1st amendment at police officers. They warned him that he was disturbing the peace and his behavior constituted harassment, so when he continued to declare: “We have the right to peaceably assemble,” he was arrested. The charges were later dropped and Billy walked away a free man, but the question remains, How much of our speech in actually free?

A Youtube video of the incident reveals a somber Billy being handcuffed as his wife Savitri D. watched in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she told officers. “What’s this for?” Another onlooker asked, “Why are they arresting him? He’s not doing anything. He’s just talking.”

For decades protests have been a significant tool in ending injustice. The civil rights movement, women’s liberation, and gay rights movement were all made possible through peaceable assembly. How can we expect that progress to continue if activists like Rev. Billy are silenced?

After the Union Square arrest, Rev. Billy was held in a detention complex for 20 hours. Shockingly, medical attendants wanted to move him to a cell for mental patients, even though Billy’s behavior hardly qualified him as insane.

Billy’s lawyer, Norman Siegel rightfully pointed out that in order for conduct to be considered harassment, it must have “no legitimate purpose” besides threats, intimidation or “coercive utterances.” Clearly Rev. Billy’s remarks did not qualify under that definition because what could be a more legitimate place to recite the 1st amendment than at a protest rally.

Further, in Schneider v. State (1939), the Supreme Court ruled that streets and sidewalks were “natural and proper places for the dissemination of information and opinion and keeping those places available for that purpose was vital to the maintenance of democratic institutions.”

Rev. Billy is not a real preacher but a character created by performance artist and activist William Talen as a way to effectively deliver his anti-consumerism message. He and his mock church, the Church of Stop Shopping, have staged protests against retailers such as Disney, Wal Mart, and Starbucks. They believe that these big retail giants are destroying the mom and pop businesses that make up the fiber of our nation. Rev. Billy also crusades against the “shopocalypse” an apocalypse of shopping every Christmas that leads consumers into enormous debt.

The idea that a man in his late fifties with a dyed blonde pompadour and a personality that is best described as Jimmy Swaggart meets Elvis, would expect to be taken seriously might seem ludicrous to most people, but many activists resort to unconventional methods to get their point across. Take, for example, Dan Glass, the leader of Plane Stupid, a group that is against airport expansion. While at a Downing Street reception, he super-glued his hand to the sleeve of UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and he wasn’t arrested. To the contrary, Brown called the act of peaceful protest “minor” and “very lighthearted.” Glass was even allowed to stay at the event for an additional 40 minutes.

This past September, Rev. Billy and one other protester were arrested when his congregation gathered in Union Square Park to protest plans to turn the north end pavilion into a fancy eatery. They firmly believed the city was being deceptive when they stated that the privatization of the public area would provide money to build a playground, when in reality the restaurant was taking space away from children.

The group remained behind the police barricades that separated the public portion of the park from the private portion (where a Harvest in the Square gala dinner was being held). The marchers wore chef outfits, chanted, gave out fliers, and banged pots and pans together, all while Rev. Billy yelled “keep the public parks public, children.”

The Church of Stop Shopping was well within its rights and they cannot be banned from commenting on public issues. For as we learn from the landmark case of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, “Our constitution reflects a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.”

Perhaps it is not Rev. Billy’s actions but rather his reputation as a troublemaker that gets police dander up. After all, he has been banned from all 12,440 Starbucks locations, for repeatedly entering the establishments and disrupting business in order to protest how the coffeemaker’s profits go largely to its CEO, Howard Shultz, while bean harvesters remain impoverished.

Rev. Billy’s message is admirable, but more importantly it promotes thought, debate, and discussion. It is his duty as an American to express his opinion without fear of being imprisoned for as John F. Kennedy once said: “A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”

Water ‘falls’ Flat

Dozens of trees and shrubs surrounding the River Café, a waterfront establishment near the Brooklyn Bridge, are turning brown and it isn’t the result of an early autumn.

They are slowly dying from being pelted by the salt-water spray of a nearby man-made waterfall, one of four that were added to the New York skyline at the beginning of the summer.

“The waterfalls are not even a really good looking thing,” said Xavier Rodriguez, the assistant manager of the River Café. “It’s just metal. It’s not even covered.”

Indeed, this harmful and unnecessary “art” is far from aesthetically pleasing. The iron towers would look like ordinary scaffolding if not for the water exploding out of them. They hardly compare to the majestic beauty one would encounter at a natural waterfall.

The structures, known collectively as The Waterfall Project, are the brainchild of Danish artist, Olafur Eliasson. They were heavily promoted by Mayor Bloomberg as an exciting new way to generate economic activity and are expected to bring in $55 million dollars in revenue.

If, Mayor Bloomberg wanted to increase tourism then the city should have placed the waterfalls in areas that are deficient in visitors. Instead, the troublesome towers are located in places that are already teaming with tourists – underneath the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, adjacent to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, north of the Manhattan Bridge, and near Governor’s Island.

The waterfalls gush 35,000 gallons of water from the East River per minute.
Salt suppresses plant growth by interrupting the photosynthesis process leaving plants looking burnt and brittle. According to a study by the University of Wyoming department of plant, soil, and insect sciences, prolonged exposure to salt can stunt plant growth and kill tissue.

Rodriguez said the River Café has lost 20 plants and four large trees, thus far. In addition, the saltwater has been short circuiting some of the establishment’s decorative lights, covering the windows in an unattractive, sticky film, and slowly rusting the roof.

The River Café is not alone.

After the Brooklyn Heights Association complained that the salt was killing plants near the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, the city reduced the waterfalls operating hours by half (from 101 hours to 49 hours per week).

In an effort to further rectify the situation the Parks Department has deployed workers to rinse tree leaves and roots several times a day.

But neither of these plans really solves the problem.

“It really doesn’t matter if the hours have been cut in half,” said Rodriguez as he pointed to the waterfall from a salt stained window inside the River Café. The floor covered in rust and sprinkled with salt granules the size of large sesame seeds. “The problem is when it’s windy we get hit with all that water. It could be for one hour or it could be for ten minutes.”

Calls and emails to the mayor’s press office were not returned; however, the city’s official statement on the NYC Waterfalls website indicates: “The Parks Department has advised that with proper care any potential adverse effects can be limited. The Public Art Fund and the Parks Department will continue to monitor the condition of the affected trees.”

Meanwhile, the River Café’s owner has sent several letters to the city in an effort recoup some of the half million dollars in damages, but has not received a response.

“Across a bridge, over a river and into a dream”– was the slogan of the River Café but now post cards on each table declare: “Please pardon our appearance. The garden and windows at the River Café have been badly damaged by The Waterfall Project.”

“It’s sad that a nice thing is becoming a harmful situation,” said Peter Thristino, owner of Pete’s Downtown, and eatery located across the street from the River Café.
“They should have thought of doing things differently. They could do other things to draw people down here.”

In fact, The Waterfalls Project is leaving many New Yorkers scratching their heads.

“This is a tourist area,” said Robert Mados, a vendor who sells cold, bottled water, to sun-beaten passersby on Pier 16 overlooking the Southstreet Seaport. “People are going to come down here whether the waterfalls are here or not.”

Next time a large outdoor attraction is to be constructed the City should consult residents and businesses near the proposed locations. Tourism is important but so are lives of everyday New Yorkers and they should come first.

Baby Backlash

Young career-oriented professionals who have chosen personal freedom over family life should not be punished or made to feel like their time is more expendable and their lives less significant. Sadly, singles and childless couples are facing discrimination as those with families are offered tax breaks, increased health benefits, and more time off.

Having children is a choice, just like not having children is a choice. Employees with families should not get preferential treatment or expect leniency just because they have kids. Didn’t they understand that they would have to make sacrifices when they decided to conceive?

In her book, “Baby Boon: How Family-Friendly America Cheats the Childless,” author Elinor Burkett calls family-friendly policies a “politically correct way for affluent baby boomers to milk the system for more cash and personal indulgences.”

The concept of family-friendly benefits began in the 1980s as employers sought ways to accommodate their increasingly diverse workforce and many women found themselves taking care of children and elderly parents.

But times have changed. Today, 44 percent of American workers are unmarried and 65 percent of American workers do not have a child under the age of 18 living at home.

A 2006 survey by the U.S. Census Bureau found that one in every five women in the United States remains childless for their entire lives. That’s 10 percent more than it was 30 years ago. Further, women with more education have fewer children and have them later in life. The highest current fertility rate is among women with a graduate or professional degree.

“Solo singles feel they are being shortchanged to the tune of $5,000 or more per year when you take benefits compensation into account,” said Thomas F. Coleman, executive director of Unmarried America, a nonprofit advocacy group. “Workers without children wonder why they have to work holidays or do overtime just because they do not have kids.”

Joan Williams, author of the book “Unbending Gender: Why Family and Work Conflict and What to Do About It,” feels the source of the family-friendly backlash stems from secrecy. Williams believes that employers should have a program in which all employees may apply for benefits or time off for any reason. “End the special deals,” she told Workforce Management, an industry publication. “Open the process to everyone who is qualified and can make a business case for it, and the resentment and stigma will evaporate.”

Mike Imel, an employee at a local Cochella County, California hospital found himself the victim of a different type of singles discrimination. His employer would not allow him to add his girlfriend to his insurance policy because they aren’t married.

He couldn’t even file for a domestic partnership like gay couples in the state are now permitted to do.
“Before the gay marriage law was enacted, I understood the situation,” he said. “But when they told me that gay couples had two options and I didn’t have any, I really felt discriminated against and frustrated.”

Imel feels believes it is unfair to force people into marriage just so they can get insurance benefits. Both he and his girlfriend had been married previously and divorced and they didn’t want to go through that experience again. Imel has written letters to the ACLU and contacted his local representatives, but so far he hasn’t made any progress. However, he plans to continue to fight.

Employers must take stock of their businesses and evaluate the needs of their employees. They must ask for feedback either through focus groups or anonymous surveys to find out what changes are needed. Finally, employers must realize that having a work/life balance is essential to the happiness of all employees regardless of whether that life includes a spouse or children.

Where Could They Bee?

Veteran beekeepers and bee enthusiasts gathered at Wave Hill, a public garden and cultural center, in the Bronx for Urban Beekeeping Day. They discussed honey, hives, and horticulture, but most of the buzz was about a recent and mysterious bee shortage.

Over the last year, U.S. beekeepers have lost significant portions of their honeybee colonies to the new phenomena known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The bees leave the hive to pollinate but never return. Scientists speculate that the cause may be some kind of disease, parasite, or pesticide, but urban beekeepers disagree. They blame stress and malnutrition for the disappearance and fear that if bee health isn’t placed before profit, the result will be catastrophic.

Pollination is a multimillion-dollar business in the U.S. Crop growers transport beehives on tractor-trailers to plantations where they are spread out and only pollinate one type of plant.

“Those are the people who are loosing their bees,” said Chris Harp, an organic beekeeper, bee doctor, and teacher who has 18 years of experience working with honeybees and currently cares for more than 200 hundred hives. “I’m not losing my bees and my students aren’t loosing their bees to Colony Collapse Disorder because our girls are getting a diverse diet as they develop.”

Harp also said that the increasingly common practice of adding artificial elements like plastic honeycombs to beehives places unnecessary stress on the bees causing them to be more susceptible to disease and parasites.

“We are taking away what is natural and making it mechanical,” he explained. “We have to seriously respect the bees and their instinct instead of manipulating their environment into what is easier for us.”

Some beekeepers prefer artificial honeycombs because they save time and the bees can start producing honey right away. But the plastic inhibits their communication process or “waggle dance” that they use to tell other bees where to collect pollen, nectar, and water and can in turn impair their internal navigation system.

Jim Fischer, a veteran beekeeper and scientist, who writes for Bee Culture and American Bee Journal hasn’t seen sufficient evidence to convince him that CCD is caused by parasites, a virus, or mismanagement.

“It would be great to blame the beekeeper for his own problem, but that doesn’t fly,” he said. “So many different beekeepers using so many widely different management practices have had the same problem.”

Fischer is sure that whatever causes CCD affects the bee’s brain, causing them to feel disorientated or sick.

When bees are sick or dying they fly as far away from the hive in order to avoid infecting the rest of the colony. That also contributes to the mystery surrounding CCD because scientists can’t find the dead bees in order to examine them.

The honeybee is an essential part of our nation’s agriculture. Not only do they produce honey, which is rich in vitamins and minerals, but they also pollinate more than 90 different varieties of flowering plants, that accounts for one third of our diet. Not to mention that bee’s wax is used to make everything from candles to lip balm.

More than 65 visitors attended Urban Beekeeping Day. They learned how to start a hive, where to obtain equipment, and how to meet the challenges facing today’s beekeeper. They also learned about the endless hours of enjoyment and satisfaction that one can derive from beekeeping.

“Entering the hive is a completely sensuous experience – the humming of the bees, the taste of the honey, the feel of a bee sting – everything is there. It’s a completely natural experience,” said Roger Repohl, who teaches beekeeping workshops at Wave Hill and maintains several community hives. “It’s wonderful to see the bees working so hard at their various tasks.”

Although there were no live bees present during Urban Beekeeping Day, there was plenty of honey and honey tasting.

“It’s good,” said two-year old Nora Brown, after swallowing a big spoonful of the sticky golden syrup.

Her father, Benton Brown, had received a hive starter kit as a father’s day gift and was anxious to learn more about this unique hobby. “I was worried that it was going to be time consuming, but that doesn’t seem to be the case,” he said. “I’m excited. I can’t wait to get started.”

Wave Hill offers other bee-related events throughout the year including a Spring Hive Inspection on May 16 where visitors can wear traditional beekeeper garb and learn safety techniques as they peek inside the Wave Hill hives, home to 50,000 honeybees.

“People are becoming more interested in community gardening and where our food comes from,” said Courtney White, the director of education and public programs at Wave Hill. “Colony Collapse Disorder is on peoples’ radar and people are paying attention.”

German’s No Longer Choose Wurst Diet

[Werner Lehner, owner of the German restaurant, Zum Stammtisch]

Photo: AnnMarie Costella

In Germany, people have dropped their sausages and lowered their beers steins in favor of good health. Interestingly, the trend has carried over to Ridgewood, Queens, where restaurant, bar, and deli owners say their German customers are also opting for lighter beverages and cuisine.

Butcher, Rudy Drautch and his family have been in the meat business since he was nine years old. They run Karl Ehmer delicatessen on Myrtle Avenue and carry a wide variety of German meats, cheeses, chocolates, and beer. He said the trend towards lighter products has been steadily increasing over the last ten years.

“Everything has gotten leaner,” he explained. “They [the meats] have little or no nitrates and are low in sodium.” In addition, many companies are producing chicken and turkey bratwursts that have 84 percent fewer calories and 88 percent less fat than their beef and pork counterparts. While most of his customers are making the change, there are a few, including Drautch himself, that refuse to go along. “I love taste,” he declared. “There is nothing that beats a pork bratwurst.”

Some attribute Germany’s shift towards health to the popularity of organic foods and stricter government guidelines for nutritional labels to ensure accuracy. Even beer sales have reached their lowest point in fifteen years. The German Brewers Association blames the decline on a shift towards lighter flavors and non-alcoholic beverages.

On Saturday afternoon, only a few customers were perched on the bar stools at Celtic Gasthaus, a popular Queens pub. “I prefer Amstel and Guinness,” said bartender, Barry Quinn, as he wiped the carelessly spilled beer off the counter with a rag. “We have Warsteiner, but not many people try it.”

Owner, Oliver Connelly agreed. “The sale of German beer has definitely decreased,” he said. “At first we didn’t even carry American brands like Budweiser, but now Budweiser outsells Becks, three to one.”

Photo: AnnMarie Costella

Less than a mile away is Zum Stammtisch (The Family Table), one of only two surviving German restaurants in the neighborhood. Moose heads and cuckoo clocks line the walls and waitresses in traditional Bavarian garb serve Wienerschnitzel, Sauerbraten, Hausgemachte Suelze, and other German favorites to a diverse clientele. Since 1972, this neighborhood fixture has delighted diners.

Recently, owner Werner Lehner, noticed that many customers were asking for leaner meats and fish, so he added salmon, flounder, and shrimp to the menu. “The older German clientele are becoming a little more health conscious,” he said. “This is not the type of place that people come to everyday. It’s more of a treat.”

While the new additions to the menu are very popular, the restaurant’s best seller is still Jagersnitzel, a breaded veal cutlet with a hunter mushroom sauce. Lehner was also quick to point out that not all German food is heavy and calorie laden. “There is this misconception that Germans are these big, fat, guys in lederhosen and it’s really not that way,” he said. “It’s not fair to generalize. For the most part, Germans are fit.”

Super Tuesday: Barack or Hillary?

Photo: AnnMarie Costella

Gladys Maldonado debated her decision even as she approached the polling station at the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council in Glendale, Queens In the end she cast her ballot in favor of Barack Obama, a candidate that she felt she could trust.

“I believe every word that comes out of that man’s mouth,” she stated firmly. “When he says something, he stands by it and he does it.”

Maldonado, 21, a proud Democrat, has voted in every local election since she turned 18. She is an avid watcher of CNN and enjoys having political discussions with her boyfriend, who is also an Obama supporter.

The Iraq war and the fate of the economy weighed heavily on the mind of this young Lehman college student but her primary concern was healthcare. “I am at an age now where I am going to get kicked off my mom’s health insurance,” she said. “I think Obama will provide very good low-cost health insurance for everybody.”

Maldonado had also considered voting for Hillary Clinton because of her universal health care plan, but said that the senator’s frequent inconsistencies and strong reliance on her husband’s political record tarnished her image.

“She took credit for everything that was good about her husband’s presidential career and none of what was bad,” she said. “As a senator she’s done great things for New York, but you can’t flip-flop on issues when you are the president of an entire nation.”

Maldonado hopes that more young people will vote and take an active role in politics. “Ten years from now we are the ones that are going to be making all the decisions. Stand your ground now and stick to it,” she said. “I vote and I voice my grievances. If you don’t vote, you don’t have any right to complain about the way things are going.”

Photo: AnnMarie Costella

Stephanie Hernandez wondered how she would pay for health insurance now that she is no longer covered under her parents’ plan. One thing she was certain of, however, was her choice in this election.

“I think Hillary Clinton really represents the people of this country,” she said. “She is adamant about universal healthcare and getting problems solved.”

Hernandez, 23 recently graduated from Lehman College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. She was up early this morning helping voters at the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council in Glendale, Queens where she has worked as a Spanish interpreter during the past three election seasons.

Hernandez and her family have been active Democrats for as long as she could remember. Immigration, the cost of living, and free speech, were among her concerns today. “Even though some of their ideas are the same, I have never really been interested in anything Obama has to say,” she indicated. “I think Hillary is a stronger candidate.”

Hernandez was also pleased to see former President Bill Clinton out on the campaign trail supporting his wife. “I think Bill would help Hillary in the White House because he has experience. I’m sure she helped him when he was in office,” Hernandez explained. “Behind every great man is a great woman.”

Hernandez said that most of the voters she encountered during the day were middle-aged or older and only one person had been a first-time voter. She offered some advice for young people as they head to the polls. “Weigh all your options,” she said. “Find what seems to match what you believe in best and go for it.”

YU Panel Stresses Importance of Presidential Ethics

The next President of the United States will lie. He will deceive the public. His personal affairs will be dissected before our glaring eyes. And this president won’t be the first. Throughout history, even the most respected national leaders have faced ethical and character problems. These are the issues that were at the heart of a Yeshiva University symposium held at the Jewish History Museum in Manhattan yesterday.

The symposium’s basic theme was simple: Take these issues seriously, but give the president a break. “The most important thing to remember is that whoever is running for president is just a human being,” said Professor J. Patrick Dobel, who specializes in public affairs and political science at the University of Washington. “We can ask a lot of them and they will ask a lot of themselves, but in the end they are mortals and they will make mistakes.”

Dobel along with a panel of other experts at the discussion entitled “Ethics and Character in the U.S. Presidency,” used historical and philosophical references along with Jewish religious teachings to explain the relevance of caring, honesty and prudence, asserting that these issues should no longer be a secondary standard by which candidates are judged.

Joanne Ciulla, author of several books on ethics and a professor at the University of Richmond, emphasized the importance of a president “being there” during times of crisis. “99 percent of life is showing up,” she said, quoting Woody Allen. “Watching when leaders show up tells you about the way they view their moral obligations.”

However, Ciulla, also explained physical presence alone is not enough to anchor the success of a political leader as is illustrated by former New York Mayor and Presidential hopeful Rudolph Guliani, whose constant references to his role after 9/11 became the subject of media satire.

Norman Lamm, the former president of Yeshiva University, used Talmudic teachings to discuss lies and deception. Although he stated that the torah explicitly forbids lying, he conceded that it is impossible for everyone to tell the truth all the time.

“No human being is sinless,” he said. “Lying is alright in certain cases like in defense of your community, their life, and their security and for domestic peace between husband and wife.”

The Center For Ethics at Yeshiva University, which hosted the daylong event, will have similar discussions throughout the year in order to “enable and ennoble” the public. “Bloggers, biographers, and pundits dig into the past private lives of all these candidates,” said Dr. Adrienne Asch, the director of the Center. “Organizations of fact checkers report candidate distortions, errors and falsifications. The Center for Ethics steps back to offer wisdom, depth and insight into what qualities we desire in our next president.”

Fear of the Flush

For most of us automatic flushing toilets are the sanitary answer to touching icky, germ laden, toilet bowl handles in public restrooms. However, they can also be annoying. They’re loud and some of them have delicate sensors that are triggered by the slightest movement, causing the toilet to flush repeatedly.

Photo: Google Images

It may come as no surprise then that many children are scared of the modern bowls and now frustrated parents must find alternative restrooms for their toddlers to plant their bottoms.

I suppose the fear of toilets can be traced back to potty training. The experience itself can be traumatic for youngsters who often fall in and experience an icy dip. Then there are the unanswered questions. Where does the deposit go? Will I get sent there too if I don’t get up fast enough? If stuff goes down, can it come back up as well?

We all recall hearing stories about alligators in the sewers and just recently a woman in New Jersey found a snake in her toilet.

Scary stuff.

But fear not, there are solutions.

Some companies are making portable devices to block the sensors while large amusement parks like Disneyland list the restrooms on their property that do no have the automatic flush feature.

And if all else fails….

“If it was an emergency, I’d cover his ears,” said one parent.