Brandon, Waleed, Tisha, Feighbe, Santi
Month: April 2019
Dear Mayor De Blasio,
First and foremost, we would like to say thank you for taking time off from your schedule to listen to what we have to say. As concerned citizens of New York City, one of the many issues and I can’t stress this enough is HIGH RENT. As citizens of New York City, rent prices are extremely ridiculous. We can’t get a decent apartment for an affordable price and the apartments that are affordable are not sanitary or big enough for families. A lot of these buildings are heavy populated with rodents such as rats, mice and roaches. Not to mention that the ceiling is broken, there’s no heat or any hot water. All of these factors included, and we still have to pay close to $2000 in rent and that’s just Queens, which is the cheaper price. In other boroughs like Brooklyn and Manhattan the same apartment goes for $2500 which is the Brooklyn and the Manhattan which is completely a different story: rent is already over $3000. This is Ludicrous. For a one-bedroom apartment it’s $2100 and for a two bedroom it’s $2500. The reason why this is an issue is because citizens aren’t paid enough to keep up with the rapid increase each year. I earn $15 an hour and after my check 25% goes to taxes. Also, did you know that depending on your lease your rent increases by a certain percent. For one year leases your rent will increase by 1.5% while two year leases increase by 2.5%, that means that each year or two that rent goes up more and more and moving is a hassle because it’s nearly impossible to find a much more affordable apartment with enough space to hold our families. When my parents first came here from Haiti, the rent in our apartment was $500. Now it’s 2100. Some families double up in a small apartment, meaning that there’s 3-4 people sleeping on one bed. Some families work more than one job just so that they can pay rent and not to mention have enough money to pay bills. Statistics show that rent rates are increasing twice as fast as the income of workers. In other words, the rent rates are increasing so fast that citizens aren’t able to keep up with it since their income isn’t increasing as a fast which could result in homelessness or moving to another state. Another issue that affects the rent rates is gentrification. There are areas that used to be majority African American but due to high construction costs which apparently affects the amount of Rent you pay in New York are causing them to move out the high-class citizens to move in and take over and make changes within the neighborhood. Gentrification brings a lot of social problems and discomfort to communities. Residents move into populated areas without knowing the community and then begin to make changes that other do not agree with. That is not the only problem with gentrification; it has been a constant issue which builds a lot of financial conflict within urban communities. One example is the Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush. According to other citizens it’s is dramatically gentrified. Residents shouldn’t have to leave their neighborhood just because the government feel they can “recycle” the neighborhood. Currently we are at the point where rent is almost tripled compared to the old days and it is only impacting all the communities in a negative way. We do not know what can be done to resolve this issue, but we do hope that you are able to come up with something to lessen the burden on the citizens of New York.
Thank you,
Sincerely the citizens of New York City.
Essay Orchestrated By Jay and Stanley
College Rape Prevention By Michael Vignoles and Haider
Noise Pollution Effects on Health Final Draft
Latrell Greene
ENG 1121
Dr. Hall
4/4/2019
Noise Pollution Effects on Health
Dear Mayor de Blasio,
Noise pollution being ever-present in big cities, like NYC, can lead to health effects that range from levels of both physical health effects, to psychological. Â A multitude of studies have been conducted on the negative effects of noise pollution on the human mind and body, which goes to show how prominent the problem is. As a result, the purpose of this letter is to persuade you to consider solutions to get New York City, one of the most noise polluted cities in the nation, to achieve a more considerate and moderate noise level, especially regarding our subway system.
New York City is home to a subway system that can expose “commuters to noise as loud as a jet engine”. In an article by The Guardian, author Olga Oksman stated that in Time Square’s busy subway station, the noise levels clocked in at 80 decibels to 96 decibels when express trains pass through the station, and up to a level of 101.9 decibels at Manhattan’s Upper West Side station. A study 2011 study from the German Department of Environmental Health also stated the fact that “Noise from transportation is by far the most widespread source of noise exposure, causing most annoyance and public health concerns.” It can become very clear after analyzing this problem by taking a step back and observing just how loud the subway can get, as well as how so many people who commute to work and to school everyday by subway can be, and are affected by this.
Though the subway is arguably the loudest source of noise, it isn’t the only notable source of noise pollution. Noise pollution is also prevalent in busy streets, and there is often a lot of construction around the city, thus the noise is very spread out in the city.  Although the noise wouldn’t be exactly ear-splitting, it can still have an effect internally, on a psychological level, which could connect to problems with blood pressure and heart rate. A study from 1995 by Journal of Hypertension featured conducted research on the effects of urban noise pollution on blood pressure and heart rate in preschool children, and concluded that “the group mean blood pressure and heart rate values of preschool children from quiet areas contrasted with readings for those from noisy environments. This indicates a positive association between the level of traffic noise and a possibly increased role of sympathetic cardiovascular regulatory influence.”
The effects that noise pollution can have on people according to a 2000 study, which conducted research on the effects of noise pollution on humans, has a range including: “Noise Induced Hearing Impairment”, “Stress Related Health Effects”, “Sleep Disturbance” and “Effects on [Cognitive] Performance”.
A possible solution to the subway noise level problem could be an effort to update the subway system, and the practicality as well as the need for it is evident by a comparison between our subway system and others, like the bullet train in Japan. Even by taking steps toward it over a period of years would the outcome be significant.
SONYC Power
“Living in NYC: 101”
Final Draft
Final draft unit 3
Final Draft
Dear MTA Board Members,
For starters, I would like to thank you all for what you’re doing for public transportation and allowing there to even be an alternative for people to commute. But it’s honestly not enough. As a train rider, I’m speaking on behalf of myself and other passengers I witness who are also fed up with the MTA when I say that train delays have become major issues. Train delays take place during any time the subways are in service. They last from as short as five minutes to as long as forty five minutes based on my experiences. But I’m pretty sure that others have experienced worse. During service hours when a train all of a sudden stops moving, most people boarding the train start sucking their teeth or shaking their heads right before the conductor states, “we’re experiencing delays due to signal malfunctions, we’ll be moving shortly, thank you for your patience.” Do we really end up moving shortly though? No. Sometimes we do but often times we don’t and that is not okay. There is nothing more disappointing than hearing that the train is delayed when you have somewhere you really need to be. It also annoys some passengers that the MTA never explains what signal failures are, why they go wrong, and things that can be done to avoid them. They just stop the train, give an excuse about signals, and expect passengers to comply with it.
After doing research of my own, I found out that just like roads, railways have signals which are traffic light devices that inform train drivers if it’s safe to proceed. Signals are positioned at the beginning of each track and divided into sections to ensure that trains don’t collide. In a particular section, only one train should be in service. Sometimes these signals breakdown and the signal turns red causing train drivers to stop driving. Signals turn red because of problems with track circuits and axle counters. If anything goes wrong with these devices, its not safe for a train to proceed. And if one train doesn’t proceed, it will hold up the train behind it which will cause train traffic. These devices fail because the proper maintenance that tracks need to function efficiently is not being provided enough. On top of that, recent studies found out that “For all intents and purposes, the subway uses the same signaling system that was installed when the first subway line opened in 1904.” (Gordon 1). So basically, the subway uses the same century old technology, more specifically signaling system which is a key factor as to why trains experience delays. If passengers have to deal with the annoyance of train delays due to signal problems, they should at least know the reasons why these signals fail. The way the system operates hasn’t appropriately changed since it’s establishment. This results in trains being held in stations longer than intended. And if trains don’t proceed on their proper schedules, things could get hectic really quickly. Things such as electrical supply faults, track circuit failures, broken rail joints, blow signal lamps, or train stop faults which are referred to as these signal problems could all be prevented if more track work gets done.
A few suggestions gathered that may help prevent delays include meetings that should be held with railway engineers discussing steps that need to be taken to ensure that proper track maintenance takes place and engineers that actually live within the borough they work for should be the ones being hired. This way they can get to their job destinations quicker and develop solutions to technical problems quicker. New products to enhance track duration should also be open for discussion and development. Rumor has it that the subway fare is going up soon, if this is true people shouldn’t have to pay more for commutes that are twice as long than usual. It’s just simply unfair! Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Ife Ajayi
Noise Pollution Health Effects Draft
Latrell Greene
ENG 1121
Dr. Hall
4/4/2019
Noise Pollution Effects on Health
Dear Mayor de Blasio,
Noise pollution being ever-present in big cities, like NYC, can lead to health effects that range from levels of both physical health effects, to psychological. Â A multitude of studies have been conducted on the effects of noise pollution on the human mind and body, which goes to show how prominent the problem is, so this letter is written to persuade you to consider solutions to get the city to have a more considerate and moderate noise level, especially in our subway system.
New York City is home to a subway system that can expose “commuters to noise as loud as a jet engine”. In an article by The Guardian, author Olga Oksman stated that in Time Square’s busy subway station, the noise levels clocked in at 80 decibels to 96 decibels when express trains pass through the station, and up to a level of 101.9 decibels at Manhattan’s Upper West Side station. A study 2011 study from the German Department of Environmental Health also stated the fact that “Noise from transportation is by far the most widespread source of noise exposure, causing most annoyance and public health concerns.”
Though the subway is arguably the loudest source of noise, it isn’t the only source of noise pollution. Noise pollution is also prevalent in busy streets, and there is often a lot of construction around the city, thus the noise is very spread out in the city.  Although the noise wouldn’t be exactly ear-splitting, it can still have an effect internally, on a psychological level, which could connect to problems with blood pressure and heart rate. A study from 1995 by Journal of Hypertension featured conducted research on the effects of urban noise pollution on blood pressure and heart rate in preschool children, and concluded that “the group mean blood pressure and heart rate values of preschool children from quiet areas contrasted with readings for those from noisy environments. This indicates a positive association between the level of traffic noise and a possibly increased role of sympathetic cardiovascular regulatory influence. ”
The effects that noise pollution can have on people according to a 2000 study conducted research on the effects of noise pollution on humans, can have a range including: “Noise Induced Hearing Impairment”, “Stress Related Health Effects”, “Sleep Disturbance” and “Effects on [Cognitive] Performance”.
Possible solutions to the problem could be an effort to update the subway system, as evident by a comparison between our subway system and others, like the bullet train in Japan. Even by taking steps toward it over a period of years would the outcome be significant.
Sources
- https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/31/new-york-city-subway-trains-noise-pollution-jet-engine
- http://www.noiseandhealth.org/article.asp?issn=1463-1741;year=2011;volume=13;issue=52;spage=201;epage=204;aulast=Babisc
- https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/cms/attachment/2122895a-7860-45ef-8a1e-c7b2ccb08c1b/ehp.00108s1123.pdf
- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valeria_Regecova2/publication/15570548_Effects_of_urban_noise_pollution_on_blood_pressure_and_heart_rate_in_preschool_children/links/5a51575aa6fdcc769001ff4a/Effects-of-urban-noise-pollution-on-blood-pressure-and-heart-rate-in-preschool-children.pdf
