Port Authority Head to Step Down
Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Chris Ward is planning to resign next month, according to media reports. Neither the Port Authority nor the governor’s office confirmed this report as of press deadline.
Ward has served as the executive director of the Port Authority since May 2008. He got the ball rolling on World Trade Center site construction after a review of the project at the beginning of his tenure. His resignation comes amid toll hikes and fiscal troubles at the Port Authority.
He is expected to give up his post in the same month as Jay Walder, chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Walder, who announced his resignation in July, plans to take a job with a transit company in Hong Kong.
Protesters Figuring Out What They Really Want
Occupy Wall Street protesters will shape clear demands the way they do everything else—communally—on Friday.
Giant pieces of paper will lie out along Zuccotti Park’s ground with headings of different topics, like health care, race, and gender, as well as blank sheets for new topics. People will get about 30 minutes with a marker to write what they want or agree with someone else’s demand with a check mark.
“It’s important for the sake of this movement to have some demands and visions voiced,” states the official Occupy Wall Street website. “We acknowledge that some people really want no demands at all,” noted the group, and their nondemands will be duly noted alongside demands from a wide variety of organizations and individuals.
Liberty Plaza will become “a place to discuss restructuring society,” states the website.
New Yorkers Warm up to Bloomberg’s School Management
A Marist Poll released Wednesday shows New Yorkers aren’t exactly happy with Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s management of the city’s schools, but they disapprove of it slightly less than they did in August.
Bronx voters disapprove of Bloomberg’s management of the schools system more than voters in any other borough, but the greatest change of heart has also occurred there.
In August 62 percent of voters polled in the Bronx said they think the mayor needs to do a better job in the city’s schools. In September, that number fell to 52 percent—still the highest disapproval rate out of the five boroughs.
Manhattan voters had the most love for Bloomberg’s management, or the least hate depending on how you look at it. In Manhattan, 42 percent of voters disapprove of the mayor’s management of schools, down from 50 percent in August.
In Queens and Staten Island, 50 percent disapprove, down only 2 percent from August. In Brooklyn, 47 percent disapprove, down from 55 percent in August.
