NY Wiki: May 2004 Archives

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May 31, 2004

Bartenders and Patrons

Posted by dc at 08:17 PM | Comments (0)

May 30, 2004

Lower Manhattan transportation projects

Fact Sheet for some of the proposed Lower Manhattan transportation projects, such
as LIRR to lower Manhattan.

Posted by dc at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2004

'Get out of ticket' cards for local VIPs

Each year, police union officials in New York City and in Suffolk and Nassau
counties dole out small plastic cards to political party leaders and other
politically connected VIPs, often with their job titles printed on them.

In Suffolk, for instance, county Democratic Chairman Richard Schaffer gets
stacks of the cards from the Police Benevolent Association. So do Republican
Party Chairwoman Patricia Acampora and Independence Party chief Frank
McKay.

Local police unions have varying explanations of the purpose of the cards. The
PBA chief in Nassau views them merely as "public relations" tools benefiting the
officeholders who pass them out, while the union in New York City encourages
officers to avoid ticketing cardholders. But Schaffer said as far as he knows the
cards have only one purpose: to inoculate the holders against traffic tickets.

THAT'S THE TICKET

Card-carrying benefits
Call it a PR tool or a get-out-of-jail-free card: Each year, local PBAs hand out
stacks to the well-connected

BY J. JIONI PALMER, STAFF WRITER

2004 May 04

Each year, police union officials in New York City and in Suffolk and Nassau
counties dole out small plastic cards to political party leaders and other politically
connected VIPs, often with their job titles printed on them.

"It's one of those unspoken understandings," said Schaffer, who said he doesn't
carry a card and paid a $75 fine last year after receiving a ticket for running a
red light. "I think that the history has been that if you show it to the police officer
then they would give you the courtesy of not writing a ticket - that's my
interpretation."

While Suffolk Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said he is confident his
officers will issue tickets when the situation warrants, he said it is likely that
having the card gives the bearer a better chance of avoiding a ticket. "I'm not
going to say that's not possible or it doesn't happen, it probably does," he said.

Al O'Leary, communications director for the New York City PBA, said the union
urges members to honor the card and not ticket carriers as long as they are not
a danger to others.

"This union encourages its members not to write a ticket over a card," O'Leary
said.

But Monroe Freedman, a distinguished professor of legal ethics at Hofstra
University, described the cards as "a serious abuse of official power."

"It gives special privileges to certain people that others are not going to receive
and that's wrong," Freedman said.

According to interviews with several current and retired police officers in Nassau
and Suffolk, police unions pass out thousands of cards each year - to county
legislators, city council members, police officers' relatives, attorneys and
members of the news media.

There's even a brief drill that holders of PBA cards are instructed to follow when
they are stopped: Hand over the card along with your driver's license, and
casually mention the name of the person who issued you the card, according to
the officers.

Several Newsday staffers have the cards, though the paper's conflict of interest
policy prohibits newsroom employees from "using their position for preferential
treatment or personal gain," said Howard Schneider, Newsday's editor. Merely
accepting a card violates that policy and Schneider said those who have them will
be asked to discard them or return them.

"Being a reporter or photographer is a public trust and we take that seriously,"
Schneider said.

Catherine Mathis, a spokeswoman for The New York Times, said the paper
expects staff members to pay for the ticket if police stop them.

"Reporters ought not be seeking privilege with any institution they cover," she
said.

A spokesman for the New York Post would only say the paper "is given a number
of these cards and they are given to reporters for use in the course of their
work."

A spokesman for the New York Sun did not respond to requests for comment,
and one for the Daily News could not be reached.

Officials of the Suffolk Police Benevolent Association, Suffolk Superior Officers
Association and the Detectives Association did not return calls for comment.

McKay, who serves as both the state and Suffolk Independence leader, said he's
flattered by the PBA's "gesture" and freely doles out his stack of cards to "worthy
people" who will probably never use them.

"I gave some to a pastor and a deacon in a church," he said. "I think it is a show
of respect for people who are active in the community."

Acampora, in contrast, said she does not use or give out the cards.

Suffolk PBA President Jeff Frayler has said in the past that it is union policy to
discourage Suffolk police officers from issuing traffic tickets to fellow officers,
regardless of jurisdiction, and their relatives, out of professional courtesy.

Nassau PBA president Gary DelaRaba said his union has issued PBA cards
continuously since 1928. He said he wasn't sure how many cards were printed
each year or how many different titles they carry.

He said the cards are "a public relations tool" for people to show off. But in no
way are they "get-out-of-jail-free" cards.

"Anybody who has one of mine I expect to follow the law," DelaRaba said. "If you
have a card signed by me, you can identify yourself as a friend of mine if you
run out of gas or get in an accident. But don't think you're going to use that card
to get yourself out of any crimes."

Suffolk Legis. Michael Caracciolo (R-Baiting Hollow), a retired Nassau County
police officer and former union official, said he was surprised at the proliferating
number of PBA cards for privileged people.

Caracciolo said he didn't give drivers bearing PBA cards any special breaks when
he was a patrolman and doubts officers in Suffolk do now.

"In Suffolk, it is not a given - they are very strident in their enforcement of the
law," he said.

Dormer issued a memo reiterating the department's policy of equal enforcement
of traffic laws after a Newsday story last month about the PBA's hands-off stance
toward ticketing police officers or their relatives. Dormer told a graduating class
of new police officers last month that applying the law equally and fairly is the
essence of policing.

"This is what gives you the moral authority on the streets, when you deal with
citizens so you can get respect," he told the 158 rookie cops at their
commencement ceremony at the police academy in Brentwood.

"If anybody, whether inside or outside the police department, tells you not to
enforce certain laws or to give an exemption to certain groups of people, they
are wrong," Dormer said.

Persuasive plastic

Police union cards, which some drivers attempt to use for leniency during traffic
stops, typically are given to officers' family members. Special versions also are
made for the politically connected; these have the recipient's title printed on the
plastic. A sampling of some cards, with the issuer and the

recipient:

Suffolk Police Benevolent Association (For state Independence Party chairman)

Suffolk Police Benevolent Association County (For Democratic Committee chair)

Nassau Superior Of.cers Association (For unspecified recipient)

Nassau Police Benevolent Association (For county legislator)

New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (For attorney)

NOTE: Nassau Police Benevolent Association, Suffolk Detectives Association and
Suffolk Superior Officers Association also issue cards.

Traffic-stop etiquette

Office holders and others may receive stacks of cards, which they hand out at
their discretion. Experts then advise the individual bearer to heed the following
guidelines, though there are no guarantees of leniency.

Sign on back of card exactly as name appears on driver's license. Name of the
person who issued the card also should be written.

After being pulled over, politely acknowledge the violation.

Hand the card to the officer with your driver's license, casually mentioning the
name of the person who handed out the card.

- J. Jioni Palmer

Posted by dc at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2004

New Urbanism at Kings Park downscaled

Developers of the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center downscaled their plans
from a preliminary proposal last week following strong community opposition.

LAMB Acquisitions Llc presented a 140-acre development on Saturday for the
370-acre site, but slashed it to 92 acres on Tuesday. It is now in accordance with
a promise made by Gov. George Pataki and a contract stipulating that for every
acre developed, three acres of open space will be preserved.

"This may not be the best plan," LAMB's consultant Andr�s Duany said, "but the
fact is politically it seems to be the only feasible plan."

KINGS PARK
Redevelopment plan is downscaled
BY THERESA VARGAS, STAFF WRITER

2004 May 13

Developers of the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center downscaled their plans
from a preliminary proposal last week following strong community opposition.

"This may not be the best plan," LAMB's consultant Andr�s Duany said, "but the
fact is politically it seems to be the only feasible plan."

The latest version, not yet filed with the town, was presented to about 1,000
residents Tuesday night, with just as many shouting at Duany as applauding him.

"Call us skeptical," Rick Bienenstein, 47, of Kings Park said. "It is a field of
dreams. They're saying they're going to build this and everyone is going to
come."

About 4,416 new residents will come, according to LAMB's projections.

Plans - sketched over a week of public meetings - call for building 2,053 housing
units, with more than half dedicated to senior housing. There also will be 16
live-work units, featuring apartments on top of shops, and 84 starter apartment
units.

Single-family homes would sit on the outskirts of the development, with retail
and office space leading into the site. A shuttle would circulate from downtown
Kings Park, through the development, to the beach.

"It will be very much an extension of the existing community," Duany said.

But when he compared it to Port Jefferson and Northport, the screaming began.
"That's what we don't want here!" one man shouted, with applause erupting
around him.

They also don't want a mini-city.

"The biggest asset to our town is open space," resident Mike Rosado, 39, said.
"They want to take all this away to make money for their own greedy profit."

Duany said the site "has to be not only profitably developed, but very profitably"
to pay the $40-million cost of cleaning the asbestos-ridden site.

Posted by dc at 11:08 AM | Comments (1)

May 14, 2004

editorial on pedestrianism in Huntington Station

Longislander editorial on pedestrianism in Huntington Station,
2004 May 14.

Where the sidewalk ends� I�ve had my eyes open watching for even the smallest
signs that the sidewalk work in Huntington is beginning. So far, other than a lot of
spray painted hieroglyphics on the pavement that looks more aboriginal than
anything, I can�t say I see anything happening. Which only lends credence to my
original thoughts of a few weeks ago when I hypothesized that the only purpose
of the spray painting was to make merchants think that the sidewalks are
coming. Trust me, I know better than to think that until I see the first brick being
laid.

Portable crosswalks� Sidewalk talk reminds me of a previous obsession I had �
and likewise, in vain � with the crosswalks in Huntington village. I�d all but given
up thinking that it will ever be safe to cross the street in this village, particularly
if, like me, you�re not a sprinter at the peak of her athletic performance. At least
I thought that � until last week. I was watching a phone company truck trundling
down the middle of 25A with a crew on the back popping cones in the road to
direct traffic into one lane. There was this poor woman waiting to cross the street
at the light, but missed her opportunity because the truck was passing by.

Rushing to make the light, she found herself trapped at the midpoint when traffic
from the opposite direction began to move. Frankly, I thought the oncoming
drivers were a little rude, and should have waited the extra eight seconds it
would take for her to complete her trip to the other side. Instead, they started
up, stranding the dear woman in that uncomfortably narrow space on the yellow
line with traffic passing on two fronts. So what did this clever woman do? She
quickly kicked one of the cones that the construction crew had just placed,
sending it sliding in front of the first car in her way. It stopped and waited for her
to pass. As she did, she grabbed the cone by its tip and again set it a few feet
ahead of herself. Traffic waited, she grabbed the cone and left it curbside when
she reached her destination. I was in awe. After all those years of noodling about
crosswalks, griping about politicians and distressing alternately over the
rudeness and stupidity of drivers, this woman had hit upon the ultimate solution:
portable crosswalks!

It might be a little cumbersome, at first, carrying around big
orange traffic cones, but I�m sure the design world would solve things fast
enough. I can see folks whipping lightweight, folding traffic cones out of their
bags and clearing a path through traffic. Or maybe we could leave a stack of
cones at either end of the crosswalk, the way some European communities do
with bicycles. When you need one, pick it up and just put it down when you get
where you�re going.

Posted by dc at 12:26 AM | Comments (0)

May 09, 2004

LIRR from {Jamaica, JFK} to WTC ?

Mr. Pataki proposed a $6 billion plan to build a new tunnel under the East River
that would link Lower Manhattan to Kennedy Airport and Long Island. He said
the new rail link could cut 15 minutes from a Long Islander's commute to
downtown Manhattan and could handle up to 100,000 passengers a day.

The plan would allow riders to get to Lower Manhattan from the airport and the
Jamaica railroad terminal in Queens in a newly designed hybrid vehicle that
would travel on the tracks of the AirTrain and altered tracks of the Long Island
Rail Road. The new train would travel from the airport, through Jamaica and
Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn and then through the new tunnel into Manhattan.

Mr. Pally[*] said that other Long Island railroad projects that should have higher
priority include the East Side Access project, which is scheduled for completion in
2012, and a third track on the railroad's Main Line, which would allow a significant
expansion of service between Bellerose and Hicksville and is supposed to be
completed in 2016. Even longer-range projects like transportation alternatives in
the Nassau Hub, the expansion of Route 347 on the North Shore of Suffolk
County and the building of a new freight tunnel under New York Harbor, which
would reduce truck traffic on Long Island, should take precedence, he added.

"All these projects would impact more people and provide additional options for
Long Islanders," Mr. Pally said. "With the limited amount of state and federal
funding that's out there, these other projects should definitely take priority."

[*] Mitchell H. Pally, the vice president for government affairs at the Long
Island Association.

2004 May 09
Seeing One Tunnel Too Many, By VIVIAN S. TOY

MARK HUDAK is an insurance defense lawyer from Uniondale who travels to Lower
Manhattan at least three times a week for court appearances.

Like many commuters, he has tested different railroad and subway combinations
to try to shave as many minutes as possible from his travel time. His current
favored option takes about 70 minutes and involves changing trains at Jamaica
and switching to a subway at the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic/Flatbush
terminal in Brooklyn.

Even though the last leg of his morning journey is the shortest, he said, "waiting
for the subway is when I consider my work day beginning, because it's the
toughest part of the trip. The rest is more relaxed and predictable."

So, like other commuters destined for Lower Manhattan who were interviewed
last week at the Mineola train station, Mr. Hudak said he welcomed a plan
proposed by Governor Pataki on Wednesday that would finally create a one-seat
ride from Lower Manhattan to Kennedy Airport and the Jamaica terminal of the
Long Island Rail Road.

"Anything that takes us anywhere near downtown without having to switch to a
subway would make perfect sense," Mr. Hudak said. He added, though, that he
would reserve final judgment until he determined how much time and money he
would save from the proposed train link.

Mr. Pataki proposed a $6 billion plan to build a new tunnel under the East River
that would link Lower Manhattan to Kennedy Airport and Long Island. He said the
new rail link could cut 15 minutes from a Long Islander's commute to downtown
Manhattan and could handle up to 100,000 passengers a day.

"Long Islanders as well as Queens and Brooklyn commuters will experience a
more direct and more comfortable trip to Lower Manhattan," Mr. Pataki said. He
said the new link would reduce congestion on subways that carry Long Island
riders from Penn Station or the Atlantic Terminal and would also strengthen the
competitiveness of the airport by giving air travelers a 36-minute connection
from Kennedy to Manhattan.

The proposal is also supported by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but perhaps the
loudest and most persistent lobbyists for the new connection have been
downtown business leaders, who feel that Lower Manhattan has for too long been
at a competitive disadvantage to Midtown because it lacks one-seat access to the
suburbs.

But there has been no corresponding clamor for the rail link from Long Islanders.
Indeed, business leaders, transit advocates and planning experts have
questioned the need for the project, particularly when limited transportation
dollars are needed for other projects they deem more pressing, particularly the
East Side Access plan to connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central
Terminal.

Transit advocates said last week that they were skeptical of the estimate that the
downtown link would cut a commute by 15 minutes, and noted that only those
Long Islanders who are headed to the World Trade Center area, where the train
would stop, would actually achieve those savings. Others who work farther
downtown or uptown would still have to walk or take a subway to get to their
jobs, reducing any time savings.

"The downtown link is not the highest priority for Long Island, from our
perspective," said Mitchell H. Pally, the vice president for government affairs at
the Long Island Association, the Island's largest business group. "We're not
opposed to it, but there are more important projects that we want to make sure
are implemented and finished."

Beverly Dolinsky, executive director of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter's
Council, agreed. "We don't support downtown access because it's very, very
expensive and the case has not been made that enough people would use it and
we're dealing with scarce dollars," she said. The Regional Plan Association, a
nonprofit agency that focuses on 31 counties in New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut, estimated that only 5,000 to 8,000 riders might use the new link
during peak hours, based on current ridership figures. The association did its
analysis prior to the governor's announcement, which relied on recommendations
made in a joint study done by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation,
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority and the city Economic Development Corporation.

"In terms of cost benefit and the number of riders it would benefit, it just doesn't
make sense," Ms. Dolinsky said. "You're going to spend $6 billion for 5,000 riders
at rush hour?" Estimates for the proposed $17 billion Second Avenue subway
anticipate 220,000 riders on its first day.

Mr. Pataki said last week that the Port Authority had already committed $560
million for the downtown rail link and that the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation would also kick in
some funding. There also is an estimated $2.8 billion left from the $21 billion
federal relief package designated for Lower Manhattan after Sept. 11 that could
be tapped.

But opponents of the downtown link fear that the governor ultimately will also
have to seek federal transportation dollars, and the downtown link will then come
in direct competition with other Long Island transportation projects, particularly
given the governor's timetable for the new tunnel. Mr. Pataki said he expected to
begin the formal environmental review process for the downtown rail link this
summer. He said he hoped to see construction begin in 2006 and have service
begin in 2013.

Senator Charles E. Schumer said he supports the idea of a rail link to downtown,
but only if the federal relief package for Lower Manhattan can cover the bulk of
its cost. "I think this is a good idea for downtown and for Long Island, but we
should not use transit bill money to build it," he said. "That money should go to
East Side Access and other transportation projects."

Mr. Pally said that other Long Island railroad projects that should have higher
priority include the East Side Access project, which is scheduled for completion in
2012, and a third track on the railroad's Main Line, which would allow a significant
expansion of service between Bellerose and Hicksville and is supposed to be
completed in 2016. Even longer-range projects like transportation alternatives in
the Nassau Hub, the expansion of Route 347 on the North Shore of Suffolk
County and the building of a new freight tunnel under New York Harbor, which
would reduce truck traffic on Long Island, should take precedence, he added.

Gene Russianoff, staff attorney of the New York Public Interest Research Group
Straphangers Campaign, said the M.T.A. and the federal government would be
hard-pressed to come up with additional funding to help pay the $6 billion price
tag for the downtown rail link. "How do you do that while still progressing the
Second Avenue subway and East Side Access, which in our view are the region's
top priorities?" he asked. "The M.T.A. already has big capital needs to fix and
maintain the existing system and is already challenged to find resources for new
projects."

Jon Orcutt, an associate director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a
nonprofit transit advocacy group, said he was pleased that the governor last
week expressed a clear preference for a new tunnel over proposals to use
existing subway tunnels. "That takes away the political problem of having to
battle subway riders and disrupting their service," he said. "But then it just
becomes another one of these big-ticket projects in search of funding."

He and other transit advocates warned that while planning for East Side Access is
complete, the $6.3 billion needed to finish the project has not yet been secured.
"The Long Island Rail Road's entire network strategy for the 21st century
revolves around it," Mr. Orcutt said. "And it's already unclear how they're going
to pay for it."

Planning for the East Side Access project began about 30 years ago. A two-level
tunnel connecting Manhattan to Queens at 63rd Street was completed in 1989,
but it only extends to Second Avenue in Manhattan and does not connect to
existing rail lines in Queens. The subway system has been using the upper level
of the tunnel for the last decade, but the lower level was intended for the Long
Island Rail Road and has never been used.

John McCarthy, a spokesman for the M.T.A., said work to finally connect the
empty tunnel to the railroad began last winter, including the building of a rail
yard in Long Island City and the opening of a hole in Sunnyside to eventually
complete the tunnel connection. The project involves building 3.5 more miles of
tunnel and a new station that would go beneath the existing Grand Central
concourse. The M.T.A. so far has committed $1.5 billion to the project and M.T.A.
officials hope to have the federal government foot half of the total $6.3 billion
cost.

The Regional Plan Association has long been an advocate for East Side Access,
because some 60,000 Long Island commuters would save up to 22 minutes in
travel time each way once Long Island Rail Road trains can stop at Grand
Central. "It would strengthen the economy of Long Island by making it a much
more attractive place to live for commuters who work in the city," said Jeffrey
Zupan, a transportation expert with the association.

But the group has been more circumspect about the downtown rail link because it
would end at the World Trade Center transportation center, and does not offer
other stops in Lower Manhattan. The group has also recommended that any new
tunnel be connected to the proposed Second Avenue subway, which then could
be extended into Brooklyn. "The tunnel then would have a huge value for people
in Brooklyn who now have very limited options for getting into the East Side of
Manhattan," Mr. Zupan said. "The only way for a new tunnel to make sense is to
connect it to the rest of the system."

Last week, Mr. Pataki stressed that while the proposed downtown link would end
at the World Trade Center Transportation Center, it eventually could be extended
to the Second Avenue subway or other existing subway lines. He and other
proponents for the new tunnel said they did not believe it would compete for
federal dollars with East Side Access or other projects.

"East Side Access is moving ahead as it should," said Carl Weisbrod, president of
the Alliance for Downtown New York. "And the downtown rail link is a project that
complements and supports East Side Access because it will strengthen the Long
Island labor market and the Long Island economy's connection to the New York
City region."

Mr. Weisbrod played down estimates for ridership on the new link that are based
on current commuter statistics. "This is a different kind of transportation project
and you have to view this more as an economic development project," he said.

The estimated 5,000 Long Island commuters who now come into Lower
Manhattan during each peak travel hour "are hardy souls who make a very, very
difficult commute to Lower Manhattan," Mr. Weisbrod said. New Jersey residents,
on the other hand, have a much easier trip and as a result make up 25 percent
of the downtown workforce, he added.

"Long Island ridership will increase dramatically once the opportunity for a much
easier commute is available," he said. "That's why we have to view this project
not just from the viewpoint of how it serves existing riders, but as a way of
creating opportunity for the region as a whole."

Posted by dc at 12:50 PM | Comments (0)

May 07, 2004

Westchester for $545,500

The median sales price for a single family house reached $545,500 in Westchester
last year and has gone up again this year, according to P. Gilbert Mercurio, the
chief executive of the Westchester County Board of Realtors. The median price of a
condo reached $322,500 last year and a cooperative, $130,000. In contrast, in
1993, the median sales price of a house in Westchester was $280,000 while the
median price of a condo was $160,000.

It's too expensive to move back to NY to die, ex-New Yorkers in Florida lament. [NYT]

Posted by dc at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)

May 03, 2004

Huntington Y: NIMBYs

Parking, traffic, and pedestrian issues concern the expansion of the YMCA

at Jackson Avenue.

Residents object to plan
YMCA's proposal to reconfigure its parking lots raises concerns about traffic
and safety

ALFONSO A. CASTILLO, STAFF WRITER
2004 March 24

Per its motto, the YMCA organization builds "strong kids, strong families and
strong communities."

Add to that: strong opposition, at least to a proposed expansion by the
Huntington Y that brought about 100 town residents to a zoning board of appeals
meeting Monday night at Town Hall, just across the street from the facility.

Most came from Jackson Avenue, a residential street of about a dozen homes
abutting the YMCA that will be hardest hit by the proposed 18,600-square-foot
Youth and Family Center expansion. Their chief concern is a plan to reconfigure
the Y's parking lots to eliminate one existing lot and replace it with a new lot
adjacent to Jackson Avenue.

"They have no respect for this property," Jennifer Dworkin, whose home is
closest to the proposed lot, told the board. "Putting a parking lot behind my
house is not going to solve anything."

The plan also makes Jackson Avenue into a cut-through between the Huntington
Cinema Arts Centre and Main Street, potentially routing a rush of cars there each
day.

YMCA officials insist the plan is the best way to address traffic and pedestrian
safety issues. At the hearing, they testified that the current parking situation
forces YMCA users to cross a busy road to enter the building, poses traffic
hazards to drivers exiting onto Main Street and encourages cars to park on
residential streets.

The plan would address the problems and create more parking to go along with
the expanded facilities and programs, the YMCA's Huntington attorney Richard
Gordon said. "The bottom line is that we are in desperate need of space," he
said.

But residents said the proposed design is the worst of many options. Melville
attorney Eugene Barnosky, who represents several residents, said there is no
reason why, with 10 acres of open land, planners would clear trees and put a
parking lot right next to the only homes near the area. "It defies all general
precepts of good planning," Barnosky said.

Further complicating the issue is the zoning board's confusion on exactly what it
is voting on. The case was sent to the zoning board after the town building
department rejected a building permit application last year because the location
was not legally zoned for the project. But YMCA officials now maintain that a
1995 decision legalized the Y's operations there. ZBA chairman Christopher
Modelewski said among the board's options is to send the project back to the
building department.

One thing the board won't do, Modelewski said, is cater to public sentiment, even
in the face of a town hall filled with angry residents. "We decide our cases based
on the rule of law, not on the rule of numbers," he said.

Posted by dc at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)