Senator Kruger Faces Primary Opposition
Igor Oberman, the man opposing Sen. Kruger in the State Senate 27th District Democratic Primary. Photo courtesy of Mr. Oberman’s campaign website.
For those following transit news for some time, the name Senator Carl Kruger rings an ominous bell. He was part of the group dubbed the “Fare Hike Four” as they notoriously helped create yet another stop-gap solution to the MTA’s funding woes last year.
Mr. Kruger’s name has made headlines again as for the first time in ages, he is facing opposition in the Democratic Primary for the State Senate 27th District. Harold Egeln of The Brooklyn Eagle has more in this report:
A Brighton Beach attorney whose family fled the former Soviet Union in 1981 when he was eight is getting ready to make state Sen. Carl Kruger, in office for 16 years, flee Albany via the ballot box.
“Current politicians have done us severe harm,” charged Igor Oberman on the Friends of Oberman campaign web site with the banner “New Leadership for Our Community.” “They care more about power and special interests than their constituents. But now we have an opportunity to change that.”
Calling himself “a true Democrat,” Oberman is now in the race, his first political foray, for the 27th state Senate district, aiming to unseat Kruger, who calls himself “an independent Democrat.” Oberman cites Kruger’s siding with Republicans in Albany on several issues.
“It’s time for a new choice and a new voice that will represent south Brooklyn with a drive to make a difference for our future,” Oberman declared, citing his community experience. “I’ve gained a grassroots understanding of issues facing ordinary New Yorkers.”
The candidate faces off with Kruger in the Democratic Party primary election on Sept. 14. Kruger went unchallenged in the last few elections.
The district has the largest concentration of Russian-Americans in the city. Oberman’s family fled Russia in 1981 when he was eight. The district that has been his home for three decades covers Bergen Beach, Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Midwood, Mill Basin, Flatbush, Flatlands and Sheepshead Bay.
Oberman, 37, is a personal injury lawyer and an administrative law judge for the Environmental Control Board. Before that, he served as the first Russian-American administrative law judge for the Taxi and Limousine Commission. He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School, Brooklyn College in 1994 and New York Law School in 1997, and is married to Tanya Oberman, an accountant.
Click here for the complete report.
I would like to find out more about Mr. Oberman before I can offer an opinion on his candidacy. I am extremely interested in his public transportation views as well as his ideas to help solve the MTA’s funding woes in Albany. I will keep an eye out on Mr. Oberman as we get closer to the primary later this year.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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David Khoukhachvili Scams The MTA
If you ever hear the name David Khoukhachvili, the first thing that should come to mind is “scammer”. This is according to a report which will appear in today’s New York Daily News, which talks about how he scammed the MTA for a dozen years by using doctored papers to obtain a cheaper rental rate. John Marzulli has more:
A businessman got a great deal on a lease for a garage and restaurant at the MTA’s lower Manhattan headquarters – by allegedly faking the rental papers, the Daily News has learned.
For the last 12 years, David Khoukhachvili has been fooling the agency into thinking he had a legitimate lease for his businesses at 2 Broadway, according to court papers unsealed this week.
When the MTA took over the building in 1998, it assumed the leases of other tenants.
Khoukhachvili is accused of backdating a bogus document to make it look like a basement parking garage and the Bull and Bear restaurant were old tenants.
“Khoukhachvili and others would be assured a long-term and increased stream of profit for the parking garage because the MTA would be stuck with the lease for decades with Khoukhachvili making a low monthly lease payment,” FBI agent George Khouzami said in a affidavit.
The criminal complaint doesn’t estimate how much money the MTA lost out on, but Khoukhachvili was paying $13,000 a month with 3% increases.
An unidentified cooperating witness blew the lid off the scheme.
Click here to read the complete report.
This is extremely disturbing news on many different levels. Besides the obvious angle of how something like this has cost the MTA millions over the last dozen years, one has to wonder how something like this went undetected for so long. Why were measures not in place to avoid such bogus transactions from happening? Since this is the MTA we are talking about, could we really expect this to be just an isolated incident?
The agency needs to seriously go over all of their transactions with a fine tooth comb & make sure nothing of this sort is happening. While it might take some time to do such a thing, it is better to cross this bridge now versus having this outcome repeat itself.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Service Diversions 04-15-10
I have just updated the “Service Diversions” page with the latest information for the weekend & following week (beyond in some cases). LIRR riders, do not forget about the major work affecting the Hempstead & Port Jefferson lines. I suggest you print out a copy of the diversions to carry with you or use your mobile device to access the phone friendly version of Transit Blogger. Have a safe & wonderful weekend!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Bus Depot Security Guard Killed By Drunk Driver
Writing entries about death involving public transportation is never easy & that is once again the case. Earlier this morning, a security guard at the College Point Bus Depot was killed while trying to cross the Whitestone Expressway. Pete Donohue & Jonathan Lemire of the New York Daily News have more:
A security guard working at a Queens bus depot who tried to run across a busy highway was struck and killed by a drunk driver, police said Thursday.
The guard tried to dash across the Whitestone Expwy. in College Point, but was struck by a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, police said.
He was killed instantly.
The driver of the Cobalt, 65-year-old Harley Greenfield, stayed at the scene and refused to take a breathalyzer exam, police sources said.
Greenfield, who lives in Manhattan, was charged with driving while impaired, the sources said.
Further charges could be added.
The guard – whose name is being withheld pending the notification of his family – worked for Summit Security and was contracted to guard the MTA’s College Point depot, transit sources said.
Investigators believe he was walking towards a nearby Burger King when he was struck at 10:45 p.m. Wednesday.
An MTA bus driver witnessed the accident, pulled over along the highway and called for help. Paramedics could not revive the guard.
The bus driver, who said he was traumatized by the scene, then went off-duty, according to transit sources.
Let me first offer my condolences to the friends, family, & co-workers of this yet to be named gentlemen.
As far as the story goes, a slight correction is in order as the article had to have meant he was trying to go to McDonalds. There is no Burger King in that vicinity. I do not condone the actions of Mr. Greenfield if he truly was driving under the influence. If he was, he had zero business being behind the wheel.
However even with saying that, I can’t help but feel this death was caused by the guard himself. Who in their right mind tries to cross a major highway much less one as busy as the Whitestone Expressway?
This highway is always full with cars regardless of the time. No one could honestly expect to have much success trying to cross this highway. Even if Mr. Greenfield was not drunk or even on the road, who is to say a sober driver would not have hit him?
The immediate reaction is to point the finger of blame towards the alleged drunk driver. However I feel the victim should receive just as much, if not more as his actions ultimately caused his demise.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Bus Dispatcher Accused Of Sick Time Fraud
The borough of Staten Island is back in the transit news limelight & once again it is not in a good way. 3 days ago, I wrote an entry on a report in the New York Daily News which said up to 21% of Staten Island bus drivers called in sick this past February before a major storm hits. Today’s report focuses on a MTA Bus dispatcher who is accused of calling in sick for 10 days straight while being in Florida. Pete Donohue (along with Lisa Lucas from Naples, Florida) has more:
A Staten Island bus dispatcher booked a flight to Florida – and then called in sick from the Sunshine State day after day, transit sources said.
Giovanni Bonanno, 62, quickly retired last month, sources said, after NYC Transit officials accused him of lying about his sick time – a practice transit officials say is widespread in some pockets of the workforce.
“This kind of blatant abuse of the system costs the MTA millions of dollars each year and … we will go to whatever lengths necessary to crack down on the minority of our employees who break the rules,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Jeremy Soffin said.
Sick time and leave abuse have been a particular problem on Staten Island, according to transit managers. Transit data reveal that a high percentage of bus division workers there claim to suffer from a chronic ailment, or have a seriously ill member of their immediate family who needs their care.
Over a 10-day stretch starting March 14, Bonanno repeatedly called his Yukon depot prior to his shift, sources said, telling a supervisor he was taking a Family and Medical Leave Act day. The MTA wouldn’t disclose Bonanno’s condition.
The agency investigation determined Bonanno booked a round-trip flight to Florida about a month before he started calling in sick.
Bonanno, who owns property in Florida, didn’t return telephone calls seeking comment. His wife, Marjorie, said her husband did nothing wrong.
Click here to read the complete report.
I think it is safe to say that Staten Island bus drivers are under a full force attack from the MTA & the court of public opinion. I still stand by my sentiment of feeling the attitude towards MTA employees living out of state is ridiculous.
As far as this case is concerned, I will hold off on passing final judgment until all the facts come out. I am curious as to what methods were used to find out he booked a vacation in advance. I wonder if an invasion of privacy came into play on that one. However I will end this by saying, if he really did fake sickness, he should be punished & have to payback any money he made on those days.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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