Chinatown buses. Discount buses. Curbside buses. These are all terms that refer to the rapid rise of cheap, private bus transportation. Here in New York, there are a number of companies transporting customers to nearby or mid-range cities like Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Boston; longer-range trips to places like Rochester, Philadelphia, and Richmond; and local entertainment or retail destinations such as Woodbury Common Outlets in Central Valley, NY or Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. The latter was in the spotlight in March of 2011 after a horrendous crash sliced a World Wide Travel coach bus left 14 dead. The cause of the crash was ultimately blamed on the driver falling asleep at the wheel. This brings to question whether the driver rested while passengers were at the casino. The background of the driver itself was sketchy- he had previously been in jail twice, once for manslaughter and once for stealing over $80,000 from the Police Athletic League.

This incident was the catalyst for government concern over safety and regulation of the fast-growing discount bus industry. I was browsing NYTimes’ Twitter feed yesterday when I came across their latest article on safety in discount buses: High Fatality Rate Found for Low-Cost Buses by Michael M. Grynbaum. This article was spurred by the National Safety Transportation Board’s release of its Executive Report of Curbside Motorcoach Safety on Monday, October 31, 2011.

The executive report released some of its key findings:
-Lower cost buses had less accidents, but these accidents were more likely to be fatal than in accidents with traditional carriers
-Lower cost buses were more likely to have citations related to driver fatigue and training

The challenges that were identified:
-Language: Many drivers and companies do not speak or write in English, posing a challenge for communication with inspectors. This challenge also makes it difficult to monitor logbooks.
-Inspection: The nature of the curbside bus stops can impair an inspector’s ability to monitor a bus company’s practices. It may also be difficult to board the bus. It is also difficult if not impossible to perform surprise inspections since these are normally limited to the beginning or end of a trip.
-Reincarnation: Bus companies that have been cited often continue to run under a different name or subsidary. For example, the owner of World Wide Buses, which was responsible for the horrendous bus accident in the Bronx, continues to run privates buses through two other companies.

For me, this issue hits very close to home. I usually ride such a discount bus at least once every two months, often to commute to Washington, D.C. to visit family. What price are consumers like me really paying for an affordable trip? Is it possible for our government to regulate and enforce our safety on these buses? So far, it seems like the National Transportation Safety Board’s report has raised more questions than answers.

How involved have you been and what type of things have you done for the protest?

I have been in and out of Occupy Wall Street since its beginning, and that’s one of the great things about this action and this space it has created. Because of the dedication of those willing to sleep on any given night, I can come and go from time to time, and know that it will still be there and vibrant. In that sense, I am not an active member of the occupation, but a supporter and a participant. I have spent time in the space, attended General Assemblies, participated in Jewish holiday services on Yom Kippur and Simchat Torah, marched in solidarity and off-sight rallies, helped protect the space from eviction, and wrote a piece about the meaning of our “occupied” spaces-“Sites Speak Louder Than Words: The Symbolic Language of Our Targets.“

What do you think are some misconceptions or general points about the protest that you’d like to clarify?

Well, I think one important thing to keep in mind is that more than anything else, Occupy Wall Street is a space in which a movement is growing, rather than a movement that’s occupying a space. Right now, it consists of four elements: a space we have claimed for ourselves; a shared critique of the current political economy; a democratic decision-making process; and some ineffable quality, that you can only grasp if you’re there participating in the actions. It seems to be on its way to becoming a movement, but that is a process.

Why do you think OWS is worth supporting?

Occupy Wall Street is worth supporting for two reasons: it is shining a light on many of the underlying inequities in our systems of governing and commerce, and it is open-ended and can become anything we want it to be. There is a space and a process to get involved and have your say in what this thing becomes.

Why would you encourage someone on the fence to get involved?

If you are on the fence, I would first encourage you just to go to Zuccotti Park. Many people have told me they are waiting to go- either they want to go for a particular event, or they just don’t know what they would do if they got there. Just go, take in the atmosphere, think critically about what is (and just as importantly what is not) happening there, and then decide if and how you want to get involved. But first go, and look around with an open mind.

What is one memory or anecdote you have from the protest that you’d like to share?

So far, my favorite memory of Occupy Wall Street was the end of the Yom Kippur service there, when the Rabbi, finishing his sermon, encouraged anyone who wanted to to make a pledge of something they committed to doing in the coming year. The pledges ranged from the relatively simple (“I will call my mother”) to the complex (“I will work to end capitalism”), with a whole lot between. After repeating these pledges back to the collective congregation, anyone who wanted to take on that pledge shouted in unison, “Aleinu,” Hebrew for “it is our duty.” It was a powerful moment.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I would like to say that for whatever its shortcomings and faults, the most amazing thing about Occupy Wall Street is that it ever happened, and its greatest strength is that it’s still happening. I hope to see it grow and improve, and win.

A lot of people out there think that Occupy Wall Street protestors are anarchists. While we are creating somewhat of a state of anarchy, would you like to explain what “winning” means for the OWS movement?

Two things. First of all, I can’t speak for OWS and define victory. Some people say we have already won, in shifting the narrative in this country towards issues of economic inequality and access to public space. Others say we will win when we influence public policy in a direction that favors the working and middle classes over the rich. Still others are working towards a more revolutionary transformation of our political and economic systems. So victory is defined on a number of scales, and people are working on all of those scales at once. Second, a lot of OWS protesters are anarchists! I hope when people think about anarchism now they will think of what they see happening on Wall Street, because whether or not we fly a black flag or agree on an analysis of capital and the state, it’s an excellent example of contemporary anarchist practice.

Thanks, Sam!

The General Assembly
I attended the OWS General Assembly in Zuccotti Park/Liberty Square/Liberty Plaza on Monday, October 24th 2011. This was the first time I was able to see the much-talked-about “Consensus Process” used by the OWS movement. It is a very interesting process. There are mediators who have to be on their feet and make sure everyone is on-topic and have to work to bring the session back to focus if someone is off-topic. Below is the embedded YouTube video I shot of the General Assembly process for an idea of how it works but it is nothing like going in person and checking it out so if you get the chance I strongly encourage you to do so! As of right now, General Assemblies at OWS in Zuccotti Park are ASL-interpreted on Mondays.

The Video: ASL-Interpreted Video of the Consensus Process, 10/24/2011

OWS, Viral Videos & Accessibility
While doing research on the OWS, I was able to find a lot of videos, some well-made and others more rough cuts of vlogs or events- unfortunately, I haven’t yet found any that are subtitled! But there is some good news! When I reached out to Meerkat Media, the producers of “Consensus” a great, well-made video- they were really nice and said they were already in the process of transcribing it and were excited that I had contacted them- the newly subtitled video will be ready soon! In the meanwhile, you can see “Consensus” – it’s been uploaded with subtitles now.

My Thoughts on the General Assembly & the Process
Before I start, I want to say I was very impressed by how hard the facilitators and other members worked to make the meeting effective and at how it really was an effective consensus process. That being said, I did notice some things that were not the most efficient and am going to write some of my observations. However, I have not been attending previous meetings so I haven’t had the chance to really see how they have evolved and streamlined their processed. From what I can see on Twitter it seems like it is a constantly evolving process.

First of all, and this is minor in the scheme of things- I have some gripes about their “sign language.” The sign for process is something that, in ASL we would never pick for any kind of formal or informal use. I’ll say it quickly- it doesn’t look good if a sign you picked means vagina in ASL. I plan to talk with someone at Zuccotti Park to give my feedback on the signs. As for the other signs, they’re OK I guess. I wish I could get more feedback/suggestions from other deaf people on what they think should be the signs. I think the Agree, Sort of Agree and Don’t agree are all right, if a little intensive on the fingers. They’re very similar to the ASL “Upplause” sign and the spatial use of down for disagree, up for agree and middle for sort of do work with ASL rules and concepts. We point down when we say downstairs, and up when we say upstairs. I’m definitely interested in getting more input from other deaf people on the sign language adopted by OWS.

As for the process, this was my very first General Assembly. It was long- we had a long, heated discussion about drummer’s hours at the park, followed by another long and heated discussion about paying $500 a month for a reduced-rate “heavy-use” PO box and package receipt services. I think this is still a steal since they get about 500 boxes a day. Yes, you heard me- a DAY. While I enjoy hearing all the details of what goes into something- that’s just the part of me that likes to know how things work, not everyone does. Especially not at their first General Assembly or at their first visit to the park. That got Robyn and I talking- Robyn has a lot of experience in marketing and she made some great points.

1. Separate the explanation with the actual meeting to increase productivity: The first 15-20 minutes or even 30 minutes should be used for a pre-meeting session, geared to those who are not as familiar with OWS or are new to the movement. The goal will be bringing in more supporters.
2. Focus on potential new members/supporters: During this time, you can do a lot of things- explain the sign language and facilitation process involved in meetings. Say thank you, new members for coming.
3. Close the Deal: You could even have ambassadors to stand up and state why they are involved, and then be available to connect with prospective new supporters during the time between the pre-meeting and the actual meeting. “It’s all about marketing, then closing the sale,” Robyn said. I’ll have to agree, some simple changes could recruit or bring into the fold new supporters that might otherwise feel overwhelmed and not know where to start getting involved.

That being said, I was still immensely impressed. I really liked how the process utilized a “Stack” tool, where during certain sessions (the question/clarification period, the comment period, and the amendment period) people could put their names on the stack list and then would be called to speak. I look forward to my next General Assembly and seeing how they’re continuing to evolve and streamline the process!

Thanks for reading!

To get a better idea of Occupy Wall Street, I’ve visited Zuccotti Park and plan to go back again for a community rally. I’ve also started talking to people I know who know much more about OWS than I do. I was able to contact a classmate of mine, Sam Stein, who is also pursuing his Masters in Urban Planning at Hunter College. Though he is quick to point out that he is not as heavily involved as some of his friends, Sam has been a regular supporter of the movement and has written a blog talking about the meaning of space. Sam was able to refer me to some great resources- I’ll be outlining them below. I’ll also follow up this blog with an interview with Sam and possibly some other people who are involved in the movement in different capacities.

On September 30th, 2011, the Occupy Wall Street in New York City released its’ first official release, a declaration of the occupation of NYC. You can check out the original press release: First Official Release from Occupy Wall Street. In this press release, there is a consensus of what the movement is against, the 1% that continues to make decisions that adversely affect us, in the name of making a profit. The release then goes on to list different examples, such as the practice of illegal foreclosures; monopolization of a food supply, resulting in an unhealthy food system; educational debt; and the use of police and military force to prevent freedom of speech. The list goes on, and they also specify that it is not all-inclusive. This list really puts together all of the things that are wrong with our society but they don’t stop there- they end the release with a call of action:

“We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square [the original name of Zuccotti Park], urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!”

Sam also pointed me to this comprehensive blog: “In Front and Center: Critical Voices in the 99%” and recommended two posts written by Manissa McCleave Maharawal. The first, “So Real It Hurts: Notes from Occupy Wall Street,” walks us through the author’s initial trepidations about the movement and why she ultimately decided to become a participant. I can’t stress enough that you should read through the entire post yourself, it’s extremely well-written and poignant. One particular paragraph stuck out for me:

“This is important because I think this is what Occupy Wall Street is right now: less of a movement and more of a space. It is a space in which people who feel a similar frustration with the world as it is and as it has been, are coming together and thinking about ways to recreate this world. For some people this is the first time they have thought about how the world needs to be recreated. But some of us have been thinking about this for a while now. Does this mean that those of us who have been thinking about it for a while now should discredit this movement? No. It just means that there is a lot of learning going on down there and that there is a lot of teaching to be done.”

For me, this one paragraph explains so much more than all of the newspaper articles or news channels have been able to convey. The media, from my opinion, has been trying to address/label the movement through op-eds and “professional” opinion. We should be moving beyond deciding what label to slap on it- instead, we should be trying to understand what the movement stands for.

In the second blog post, “Not an Ending, a Beginning: Notes on Occupy Wall Street,” Manissa continues to wrestle with what OWS is, and how to move from being a “space” to a more concrete movement while acknowledging that it is this very quality that may be its greatest strength. Below is an excerpt from the blog, though I encourage you to read it in its entirety via the link below or the list of links I provide at the end of this blog:

“And in part this is the point: that OWS is such a challenge to the state because it is, in many ways, functioning by itself. It is governing itself, it is feeding itself, it is making art, making music, reading a book, sitting on the steps and talking to friends, it is taking care of itself. This is radically different than a march or a rally, which have ending points.”

Lastly, for a better understanding of the much-talked-about consensus process adopted by the OWS movement in NYC, check out the YouTube video Consensus. I haven’t been able to understand it in its entirety as it isn’t subtitled but I’m trying to get in touch with the producers to get this great, well-made video subtitled so it is accessible for those who are deaf or hard of hearing- please let me know if you know who I can contact to make this happen. Thanks for reading, and leave your comments below!

References:

Charsan’s Blog. Visiting Zuccotti Park: http://charsan.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/visiting-zuccotti-park/

Meerkat Media. Consensus video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dtD8RnGaRQ&feature=player_embedded

Occupy Wall Street. First Official Release: http://occupywallst.org/forum/first-official-release-from-occupy-wall-street/

Maharawal, Manissa McCleave. So Real it Hurts: http://infrontandcenter.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/so-real-it-hurts-notes-on-occupy-wall-street/

Maharawal, Manissa McCleave. Not an Ending, a Beginning: http://infrontandcenter.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/not-an-ending-a-beginning-more-notes-on-occupy-wall-street/

Before I go on with my blog, I want to explain that this blog post is not so much about giving my opinion as it is really about presenting you, the reader with the information and the images that I had the benefit of taking because I live in New York City so you can make your own conclusions. Please share your thoughts, questions or comments in the comments section below. Also, if you are in the area- I happened to run into someone who volunteers for OWS- he informed me that the weekly town hall meetings on Mondays in Zuccotti Park are sign language interpreted.

I have spent a couple of hours over the last few weeks trying to figure out just what the Occupy Wall Street Movement is and quite frankly, for the first two weeks I think that no one really knew- other than getting out there and finally having a voice and the platform for saying hey, something’s wrong here.

There is a standard message- the little guys versus the big kahunas. The 1% versus the 99%, “the American people.” It is a peaceful leaderless national movement. I’ve had a hard time really understanding the motive behind the movement. Initially, they made it clear that they are not a political organization and do not have demands. Up to that point, the goal seemed to be to continue to gain international attention with two goals: to recruit more protesters and to continue to be heard and possibly influence political decision-making.

It is still early on, and the movement is quite young so it will be very interesting to see what direction it moves in- will some clear leaders start to arise? Will the movement begin to make some demands?

I personally agree with most of their arguments; there are not many people in the U.S. who can deny that there are serious problems here and world-wide, and that a small percentage of people have made decisions that continue to adversely impact the rest of us. Movements have cropped up nation-wide; there is now an Occupy Chicago, Occupy San Francisco and Occupy College movement among others. Though I still feel like a bystander and don’t quite feel involved in the movement, I think we can all agree that something is broken- on so many levels of American society, we are under-performing. Our k-12 education is experiencing low performance levels while simultaneously facing severe under-staffing with the economic “downturn”- though perhaps we should start to refer to it as a gently sloped plateau at this point. Jobs are not being created- both the new workforce and the old workforce are having a hard time finding work. Perhaps the movement is the first step in creating a more reactive society- to identifying a problem and making our politicians accountable. Wait, we’re targeting Wall Street right? Well, I feel fortunate to live right by the largest movement- Occupy Wall Street.

I just stopped by Zuccotti Park for the first time today and it was quite an interesting experience- it was fascinating to see how settled and organized they were. There were screen printing booths so people could bring apparel to print with “Occupy Wall Street,” a haircutting station, a composting area, a sleeping bag station, and so on. Here are a few pictures from my visit, courtesy of Robyn Girard.

The view on the edge of Zuccotti Park, where booths, workstations and signage abounds

The screenprinting station- a strategically placed station where people lined up to get their apparel inked with “Occupy Wall Street”

The view from outside of the park- you can see all of the barriers set up. There are also police officers set up at each corner.

The composting/recycling center

A close-up of the composting/recycling center

Thanks for looking!

Red Hook is a unique area in New York because of several factors. First of all, it is largely underserved by the subway system, giving it a unique type of isolation from the rest of New York. Residents there rely on buses, bicycles, cars or their own two feet to get around. Secondly, it is a combination of residential and manufacturing and is one of the few areas in New York that is actually creating manufacturing jobs, which is amazing during a time in which manufacturing is declining all over the U.S. because these jobs are being outsourced. The Navy Yard is the gem of the manufacturing bubble here in Red Hook- though realistically NYC is losing more manufacturing jobs than it is gaining.

Red Hook is a typical waterfront neighborhood in terms of manufacturing use and the existence of some really derelict buildings. What makes it different is the existence of a local artist’s community and a mix of residential and (actually operating!) manufacturing uses- the whole time I was walking around, it did not feel like I was in New York City. It felt more like a small manufacturing town on the water, somewhere in the Northeast. It is also to a unique demographic- it’s home to die-hard cyclists, to several minority groups- particularly Chinese and Chinese-American immigrants and Latino immigrants.

One of the many cyclists I saw during my visit

I rode the B65 bus from Crown Heights to where the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens and Red Hook transect and walked to Smith Street, to where Brooklyn General is located. I was absolutely impressed with this great store and will be back! This shop offers knitting and sewing accessories as well as yarn and fabric. And oh, do they have yarn! Here I encountered a selection of yummy yarn that is unlike that of any other Local Yarn Shop (LYS) I’ve gone to. There are some of the luxury yarn staples such as Noro, Frog Tree, Alchemy and Rowan yarns but they also have harder-to-find European yarns such as Schoppel Wool, Schulana, and Raumagarn. I didn’t buy any yarn but I was able to get some needles I’d needed for awhile and scored the last of a great type of button they had for sale- I’ll be posting the finished product soon.

After drooling over luxury yarn, it was time to get down to Red Hook. My fellow explorer Robyn, and I navigated onto Van Brunt Street and followed this path south. Here’s what we discovered:

Gowanus Nursery looks like a great neighborhood gardening center! I really love their signage and branding- that alone makes me want to buy from them.

Interesting architecture
I haven’t had a chance to look up what kind of architectural heritage the area has but from what I can see the buildings are funky- to me it looks like 50’s type of low-rise block buildings. Here’s a picture of two of the buildings I saw:

Street Art
I found this awesome wall of art, and Robyn was kind enough to model.

Baked!
This is a famous bakery around these parts- apparently it’s Oprah’s favorite bakery? Anyhow, don’t let its understated ambience fool you- the coconut macaroon I got rocked my socks.

Local Artisan Shops
I had seen Foxy and Winston before at the great Renegade Craft Fair and wanted to stop by but by the time I got here, it was past 5 and the shop as well as the adjacent Tiburon were closed. It’s too bad because they look cute!

Red Hook Community Farm
I have a lot to say about this great community endeavor that is run by Added Value and supported by Heifer International (one of it’s supporters) so I’ll leave it for another post. In a nutshell, this is a community garden with a paid stewardship program for local youth; a seasonal Community Supported Agricultural (CSA) program with discounts for low-income members; and a farmer’s market. Unfortunately, it was closed for the day when we stopped by but I plan to visit another time! If you’re interested in urban community farms or urban gardening, check out their website at: http://www.added-value.org/the-farms.

By the time we passed Added Value, the self-guided tour was coming to an end. I couldn’t have timed it better- we got to the Erie Basin Park just as the sun was setting so it was gorgeous. The Erie Basin Park is a waterfront walkway/pier with some informational signage, sculptures and relics of its past. The Erie Basin was this enormous “bathtub” that was built in 1864 to repair ships- it was actually still in use when Ikea came in It’s also home to a water taxi route that runs between Manhattan and Ikea.

I should have mentioned before now that Ikea is located right by the Erie Basin Park- in fact, the Erie Basin was covered up to make room for Ikea’s parking lot, which is often empty. I’m not going to delve into this issue with more detail but as much as I like Ikea for for my cheap, basic household organizational and furniture needs, they could have (and should have) figured out a way to leave Erie Basin and other historical details of the former working dock intact.

Robyn and I at Erie Basin Park

Thanks for reading!

There are two main things that are great about this cowl:

1. It is a really great framework for making a gorgeous cowl- you can easily modify it to fit different needle sizes, yarn, colors, and even stitches, though this basic ribbed concept makes it elegantly simple.

2. It has a great story! Basically, my girlfriend Robyn found this great cashmere cowl on sale at Banana Republic a few years ago and was so thrilled with it that she wore it on a daily basis. One day she visited her mom in D.C. for Christmas, where a lovely orange wool-eater cat named Ian ate her cowl. The once-lovely cowl was now full of holes.

She e-mailed me, distraught and sent me photos. The cowl was on sale because it was being discontinued- she tried to find another one but couldn’t. I was out of town visiting my family for the holidays as well, so on my flight back home, I designed and furiously knit my version of that cowl in the terminal, on the plane, on the train and on the subway and had a finished product (ends weaved in!) by the time I arrived home. Even though it wasn’t made of cashmere, she loved it! A few differences between her original cowl and my cowl are: the original cowl was wider and longer- the softer cashmere made this possible (I tried this with regular acrylic and it didn’t turn out as well); the original cowl used bulky yarn, whereas I used acrylic.

Comments about the stitching:

I thought it was cool how the original cowl played with variations in ribbing stitches and color- it started and ended with a short sequence of small ribbing while the majority of the piece was in a much chunkier ribbed pattern. In my cowl, I made one end of the smaller ribbing a bit longer and added more repeats of color on one side than the other just for fun. I’ve tried to show some pictures of the stitches and the variation in color length- if I did it again (and I might!), I’d probably make sure there was a tighter gauge so that the variation in stitches is more obvious.

Basically, with this cowl, anything goes! I’m excited to see what kind of cowls will be made based on this template. Here’s the pattern for the version I made:

Materials:

-Size 8 16″ circular needles

-1 stitch marker

-Less than 1 ball of your MC

-Less than 1/2 a ball of your CC

Pattern:

Cast on 81 stitches in your CC; you will use this color less than your MC

Rows 1-2: K1P1 Ribbing Pattern to end of row

Rows 3- 6 (or 4 rows): k3p3 ribbed pattern

Row 7: Switch to MC and continue in k3p3 ribbed pattern

Continue in this pattern with the MC until the piece measures approximately 6.5″ or your preferred height to switch colors

Switch to CC and continue knitting in the k3p3 ribbed pattern for approximately 5 rows

Knit in the k1p1 ribbing pattern for 3 rows

At the time of cast-off, my piece measured 8″ in height.

Thanks for looking! I hope you’ve found this template fun and useful!

After a night’s sleep there is a definitive feeling of a completely overcast sky, it’s almost hard to imagine the sun coming out again. The windows are perpetually beaded with the water droplets that are constantly beating against them. The wind has definitely picked up. Now is when people should be concerned about power outages. The trees are being beat up by the strong winds. Authorities have also said that more trees may fall than usual because of how wet and rainy it has been the past few weeks. The already drenched ground may not give the trees a strong foundation to stay put. One tree that is visible from the back of my apartment has a branch that looks weighed down, and is just a few inches above the power line there. Irene made landfall in New Jersey for the second time at 5:35 am, and New York City officials estimate that the epicenter of the storm will strike New York City at around 10 or 10:30 am. So, it’s about to get MUCH more interesting.