A mural canvassing the walls of Pubic School No. 1’s gymnasium paints the picture of a physically active world – with hula-hooping Russians and a soccer ball in Brazil.

So, when Department of Education Chancellor Joel Klein and Health Commissioner Thomas Friedan stood in front of that mural to announce the inauguration of the NYC Fitnessgram initiative, they did so in hopes that the Big Apple’s kids would follow suit.

“We have a very serious problem,” said Friedan. “Obesity is the only health problem in the country that is getting worse…and rapidly.”

-by Ryan Eick

Nobody wants to be the fat kid. Unfortunately, over 1-in-5 NYC kindergartners are not only fat – they are obese.

This oversized statistic is the reason the New York City Council’s Committee on Health heard testimony this afternoon, to identify and address the (really) Big Apple’s “weight problem.”

In the US, obesity levels nearly doubled between 1991 and 2001. According to today’s presentation by Dr. Lynn Silver of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, that trend is especially apparent in the 5 boroughs where 56 percent of adults are overweight.

- by Ryan Eick, Staff Writer 

The Department of Education drew a line in the sand today in New York City’s most glorified playground.

At City Hall, Deputy Mayor Denis Walcott and Department of Education official Terrence Tolbert stood their ground behind legislation that bans cell phones in NYC public schools. Despite an onslaught of appeals from students, parents and Council Members, the duo did not budge.

“I am always available to talk and it is easy to contact my office,” said Walcott, the deputy mayor for education and community development who represented the DOE at today’s city council meeting. “However, as far as compromising, we’re very clear on our policy.”

by Ryan Eick, Staff Writer 

As jackhammers riddled the downtown corner of Dey and Broadway, officials demanded eviction extensions and relocation services for the area’s small businesses.

New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer railed at the MTA for its May 31^st eviction of 150 small businesses occupying the future site of the Fulton Street Transit Center. Because of a six-month pushback in the project’s completion date, and a proven failure by the MTA to provide tenants with sufficient relocation services, the representatives demanded the eviction date be postponed three months.

by Ryan Eick, Staff Writer

Cries of “justice plus dignity equals equality” rang down Fifth Avenue today, as a union staged a sit-in with local community leaders.

A coalition that calls itself Stand Up for Worker Justice blocked the sidewalk in front of the Empire State Building, blaring biblical messages on megaphones and singing songs of civil disobedience. The cause: security worker compensation and benefits.

Security workers at the Empire State building are currently paid $9 per hour without health benefits or state-of-the-art training, according to Daniel Massey, a communications coordinator for the Service Employees’ International Union. These employees are charged with the safety of the 350,000 people who access the skyscraper daily.

After five months and 15 surgeries, New York city firefighter Matthew Long was discharged from New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell today, although his rehabilitation is far from over.

Long, of Ladder Company 43 in East Harlem, sustained multiple fractures and internal injuries after being hit by a bus on Dec. 22 - the final day of the city’s transit strike. Although he had been training for a triathlon, Long says that he would have driven his car to work, among bus drivers familiar with New York streets, had the Metro Transit Authority been operating normally.

Long’s story has become a rallying cry for those opposed to the Transit Workers’ Union and the December walk-out.

by Ryan Eick, Staff Writer 

Republican gubernatorial candidates William Weld and John Faso appealed to the New York Building Congress this morning, voicing their visions for state growth and development.

While Weld wants weightier environmental wellness regulations, Faso fancies fighting fees from liability insurance to fuel building sector growth. Faso said that the Empire state is No. 1 in out-migration and No. 50 in business tax planning, stating that all citizens stand to gain from a financial re-vamp.

Both contenders touted the need for improved transit a top priority – especially development of entry points (such as the Tappan Zee bridge) and upstate infrastructure, as well as the maintenance and advancement of the Metro-Transit-Authority and its assets.

 

by Ryan Eick, Staff Writer

Protestors lined up outside the New School graduation ceremony today to voice their disapproval of the key-note commencement speaker, Senator John McCain.

New School students and faculty object to the president’s decision to invite a pro-war Republican to represent their institution, claiming he does not value the ideals they have consistently been taught during their tenures. This sentiment was expressed by a petition of over 1,000 affiliate signatures and a resolution passed by the University Student Senate.

by Ryan Eick, Staff Writer

Amid a crowd of his newest endorsers, attorney general candidate Charlie King announced his plan to combat health insurance denial today on the steps of city hall.

The plan, aptly called “Charlie King’s Prescription for Better Healthcare for All New Yorkers,” seeks to use the Deceptive Business Practices Act and Federal ERISA law to hold HMOs liable for unwanted denials.

“New Yorkers should not literally die trying to get health care support,” said King, one of six democratic candidates vying for the seat in Albany. Because of what he calls “systematic problems with how health care is provided,” patients are denied coverage and must then fight large insurance providers when untreated ailments have them at their weakest.

by Ryan Eick, Staff Writer 

Health commissioner Thomas Friedan counseled some of New York’s most hopeful quitters today, fielding 3-1-1 calls for this year’s New York City nicotine-patch giveaway.

The event, which began two weeks ago, has distributed over 21,000 nicotine patch kits to smokers across the 5 boroughs in yet another attempt to stub out the city’s butts.

According to Friedan, smoking takes an average of 14 years off life expectancy. There are currently over 1 million smokers in NYC.

“Of all the kits we’ve distributed in two weeks, we estimate about 8,000 participants will be able to quit,” said the Commissioner – speaking from an operator’s cubicle. “A couple thousand New Yorkers will live longer because of this initiative. That’s a huge impact.”

This here map comes to us from the Democratic Attorneys General Association.  And if you click here, DAGA (as it is known) will give you the lay of the American land.

 

 

Hat tip to the Swing State Project.