NY Taxi Alliance Goes On Strike for One Hour In Protest Over Refugee Ban -- Protests Spread at Airports Across the US

*BREAKING: Fed Court Grants Stay on Ban *Mass protests at airports nationwide *NY taxi workers go on strike

*Update: Federal court in Brooklyn has granted a stay, to allow refugee to enter from Iraq / No one may be sent back to their original country

The taxi driver union, NY Taxi Drivers Alliance went on strike for an hour tonight in protest over the refugee detention following President Donald Trump's executive order ban, signed Friday, noon, on travelers entering from several Muslim countries. See the official union statement on Twitter re-produced below.

Will New York City's United Federation of Teachers make a statement of support for the refugees? This is the union whose leadership refused to name Trump in a protest statement following on Donald Trump's election in November. Union leaders, traveling to schools have said to teachers that "we" have to remember that many members support Trump. To the UFT: when will you lead by moral example? 

From The Hill:

NY taxis refuse to pick up from JFK over refugee detention

The New York Taxi Drivers Alliance on Saturday said it would not make any pickups from John F. Kennedy International Airport after two Iraqi travelers were detained trying to enter the U.S. following President Trump's immigration ban.

The official Twitter for the alliance tweeted: "NO PICKUPS at JFK Airport 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. today. Drivers stand in solidarity with thousands protesting inhumane and unconstitutional Muslim Ban."

JFK Airport was the first site to have protests. The New York City protest has grown to the thousands. Protests have spread to Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, California, Salt Lake City, Utah, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, Chicago, Illinois, Atlanta, Georgia, and Dulles, Virginia.
See these links:

Protest crowd at JFK airport Terminal 4

From the Verge: Mass protests against Trump's immigration order are being organized at airports across the US 

#MuslimBan protests will take place across the country

From ThinkProgress: Here’s your list of all the protests happening against the Muslim Ban

Resist.

NYC Area Protests -Anti-Trump and Other Issues As Well

Don't Mourn. Agitate, Educate, Organize! --Not just on January 20 and 21, but before and after. Anti-Trump issues and other issues:

(Click each listing for an event description.  Find newer event announcements at NYPROTEST listserv archive:
https://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/nyprotest)

Monday, Jan. 16
*de Blasio Step Down! rally:  1/16
*PROTEST MACY`S FUR:  1/16 P.
Met Council outreach:  1/16
Art As A Weapon Conf.: 1/16

Monday, Jan. 16
Printed Legacy of 70s Radical Left: from 1/16
*People`s Monday for Renisha McBride: 1/16

Tuesday, Jan. 17
*Protest Trump-Goldman Sachs gov`t: from 1/17 NYC
*Camp out at Goldman Sachs from Tues 1/17 NYC
Preserving Diversity and Inclusiveness:  1/17
Write to U.S.-held political prisoners: 1/17
CODEPINK NYC Gathering:  1/17

Wednesday, Jan. 18
*Protest, concert, campsite vs. inauguration: from 1/18 ?
Rick Wolff:  1/18, Brooklyn
Save CHARAS Community Ctr.: mtg 1/18
Fossil Fuel Divestment mtg.:  1/18
War Resisters League Mtg.: 1/18  WRL
Action Corps Happy Hour:  1/18
Re-purpose electronic waste:  1/18

Thursday, Jan. 19
National Women's Liberation Mtg.: Thurs 1/19
Community Garden Coal. mtg. 1/19
Food & Water Watch mtg.: 1/19 Food & Water Watch mtg. 1/19
History Making, Peoplehood & Right to the City: 1/19
Films, `Point of Attack` + `Profiled`: Thurs 1/19
Police Reform Organizing Project:  1/19
*Protests vs. FERC petro shill scam:  1/19 IN DC
Peace Ball: Thurs 1/19 in DC
Event for tolerance 1/19 BAYSHORE, NY

Friday, Jan. 20
*PROTEST TRUMP:   1/20 5:00 PM FOLEY SQ.
*Pro Trump event:   1/20 7:00 PM W.59th
*PROTEST INAUGURATION: 1/20 Trump FOLEY SQ
*Protest Trump-Goldman Sachs gov`t: thru 1/20 WEST ST.
*Staten Is. anti-inauguration rally or event: 1/20 PLS. CONFIRM
*Black, Brown & Indig. Mobilize vs. White Nationalism: 1/20 NYC
Inauguration Night w/ Randy Credico & Karaoke: 1/20
Black, Brown & Indig. action vs. White Nationalism: 1/20
*Socialist Feminist Contingent 1/20 inauguration protest
*March vs. White Supremacy: 1/20  (d12 Mvmt.) BROOKLYN
Anti-Inaugural Ball at Silent Barn:  1/20 BROOKLYN
Dr. Strangelove: from  1/20 at IFC
*March vs. Trump:  1/20 NEWARK
DC ACTIONS 1/20 incl. some duplicate listings…
Women`s Rights and Politics: 1/20 NR. DC
*Democratic Socialists of America inauguration plans:  1/20 DC
*PPA bus to DC, 1/20
The Anti-Inauguration: 1/20 talk DC
*Not My President:  , 1/20 NOON, DC
*#DisruptJ20 protests at inauguration:  1/20  DC
*NYC bus to inauguration protests 1/20 IN DC
*J20Resist March:  1/20 IN DC
*Inauguration Day Protest: Friday 1/20 IN DC
*PROTEST TRUMP AGENDA:  1/20 IN DC
*Human Freedom, Animal Rights:  1/20 IN DC
*Occupy Inauguration: 1/20 IN DC

Saturday, Jan. 21
*WOMEN`S MARCH ON NYC:  1/21 11:00am UNION SQ
*Justice for Kyam Livingston  1/21, Brooklyn
*Women's March on NYC: 1/21  Women`s NYC: 1/21
*Actions vs. Trump? 1/21
*Socialist Feminist Contingents 1/21 women’s march
*North Manhattan Marches Against Trump:  1/21 (a.m.)
*Make Fascists Scared Again! Rally:  1/21, Queens
*NYC bus to Women`s March on DC: 1/21
*Democratic Socialists of America inauguration plans: 1/21 DC
*Women`s March on Washington: 1/21 W. 10:00am? DC

Sunday, Jan. 22
¡Pa`lante, Siempre Pa`lante! :  1/22 film
Recycle electronics:  1/22 on Lex. Av.
Challenging Trumpism, Wars & Militarism: AFSC Conf. 1/22 DC
Democratic Socialists of America inauguration plans:  1/22 DC

Monday, Jan. 23
CryptoParty  1/23 w/ Soc. of Environmental Journalists
The German Revolution: Mondays from 1/23
WeiMar. Germany: False Hope or Missed Chance?  1/23
Thanks for Fighting Racism! Dinner: 1/23
Nigeria LGBT equality struggle: 1/23 film, panel  N.

Tuesday, Jan. 24
*Actions vs. Trump? 1/24
*LOBBY NYS TO END AIDS: 1/24 ALBANY

Wednesday, Jan. 25
Re-purpose electronic waste: 1/25
350NYC mtg.  1/25
SECRET PATH: Native film, talk,  1/25
Brooklyn Human Rights Film Fest: 1/25

Thursday, Jan. 26
*March 4 Affordable Housing 4 All Rally: 1/26 BROOKLYN
Finally Got the News: 1/26 Opening
Film, RIKERS:  1/26
New York Paid Leave Coalition dinner:  1/26
Printed Legacy of the U.S. Radical Left: from 1/26
Heather Ann Thompson on Attica:  1/26
Navigating the New Normal: 1/26 at NYSEC
Brooklyn Human Rights Film Fest: 1/26
RIKERS:  1/26 film & panel

Friday, Jan. 27
*Demand No-Kill Shelters: sleepout  1/27
FUREE mtg.:  1/27

Saturday, Jan. 28
CryptoParty  1/28 at NYC Resistor
Art fundraiser for Standing Rock:  1/28
FUREE Leadership Training:  1/28
Urban Permaculture: All-Day Introduction 1/28

Sunday, Jan. 29
ACLU hockey fundraiser:  1/29
Theater of the Oppressed:  1/29 workshop

Monday, Jan. 30
Intro to Marxism:  1/30
Intro to Marxism: Mondays from 1/30

Tuesday, Jan. 31
Engels on forces of nature: from Tues 1/31
Health Care for All:  1/31 film, panel

Thursday, Feb. 2
African Lit - Colonialism, Liberation, Disillusionment: 2/2

Saturday, Feb. 4
African Amer. Cooperative Economics:  2/4 NEWARK

Saturday, February 4
*Protest & dabkeh vs. Batsheva Dance Co. 2/4 at BAM
Pamahikan:  2/4 film at CUNY (CLAGS)
FIDEL: The Legacy Continues -  2/4
Trans Identity and Body Horror: 2/4

Wednesday, Feb. 8
Divided in a Diverse City:  2/8
Eco Imperialism, Settler Colonialism, Indig. Resistance: from 2/8

Wednesday, February 8
Eco Imperialism, Settler Colonialism & Indig Resistance 2/8

Saturday, Feb. 11
*FUR PROTEST:  2/11
*MARCH AGAINST FUR:  2/11, Columbus Cir.
Permaculture Business Ideas: 2/11 at The Commons
After Marriage Equality in Ireland:  2/11

Thursday, February 16
2/16 Hortense Spillers: Women in the Time of Revolution W.

Saturday, Feb. 18
Conf. vs. NYC Fascism & Police Terror:  2/18
Audre Lorde B-Day: Thurs 2/18 (CLAGS)

Sunday, Feb. 19
Film, ``Hustlers Convention``:  2/19

Saturday, Feb. 25
Queer People of Color and NYC Gentrification: 2/25

Friday, Mar. 3
Beyond the Bars Conf. from 3/3

Tuesday, Mar. 7
*Quarterly ``No Separate Justice`` Vigil:  3/7

Saturday, Mar. 11
*9-day intercity walk to Indian Pt. f/ Fukushima Day events: 3/11
Fukushima, Indian Point , Pipeline: 3/11

Sunday, Mar. 18
BAYAN USA Assembly:  3/18

Friday, Mar. 24
*Remember Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire:  3/24

Saturday Mar. 25
Conf. to normalize U.S. - Cuba relations: from 3/25

Sunday, Mar. 26
Conf. to normalize U.S. - Cuba relations: through 3/26
*National Rally to Support Palestine 3/26 DC

Thursday, Apr. 6
Becoming an Organizer: Narrative, Identity & Social Action, 4/6
Narrative, Identity and Social Action:  4/6  N.

Friday, Apr. 14
LGBTQ Scholars of Color Conf.: from 4/14

Thursday, Apr. 20
I N V I S I B I L I T Y conf.: Apr. 20

Friday, Apr. 21
I N V I S I B I L I T Y conf.: Apr. 21

Thursday, Apr. 27
White Privilege Conf.: from  4/27

Saturday, Apr. 29
*CLIMATE MARCH: 4/29 IN DC

Wednesday, May 3
Labor Film Activist Conf. from May 3
Radical Film Network Global Gathering: from 5/3

Friday, May 5
W. Workers Unite Film Fest from  5/5 NYC
MOVE Conf opens 5/5/2017  M. M. PHILA

Friday, Jun. 2
Left Forum opens Jun. 2

Saturday, Jun. 10
*Philadelphia Dyke March:  6/10

Saturday, Jun. 24
*March for Reparations:  6/24
 

MTA Repeats Its Pattern of Racial and Class Neglect with New Second Avenue Subway

Nothing shows classism and racism like the new Second Avenue and where it goes and where it does not go. There are two philosophies of providing transit: provide it to the car-oriented people to wean them away, or provide it to the people who depend on it. Clearly they Metropolitan Transit Authority is practicing the philosophy of build the train for the affluent who use taxis more.

The new line goes to possibly the wealthiest neighborhood of the nation, the Upper East Side, 72nd Street, 86th Street and 96th Street. The definitive divider between the rich and white Upper East Side and the working class and more Latino area is 96th Street, where the Metro-North leaves the tunnel and becomes an elevated railroad. And 96th Street is where the subway ends.

Notice the area served by the SAS today: very rich

 Upper E Side

This Upper East Side serving new route of the Q train is a bitter contrast against the trains of the past.
In the past the Bronx was white and when the elevated was built in Manhattan, Harlem, central and east, was white.
Until the 1970s there was a Third Avenue Elevated in the middle of the South Bronx. And when the far upper reaches of the East Side were transitioning from suburban to urban, a transit company built to 129th Street. Service on the Manhattan section of the Third Avenue Elevated was terminated in 1955. The city dithered for years and there was no action taken to build the promised subway replacement.

The transit system in the bus division is under mighty strain because they are serving trajectories that are not served by subways or elevated lines. In sections of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens buses are impossibly crowded. Drivers routinely pass waiting commuters when the buses reach crush capacity. Even the new accordion or "articulated" buses are stuffed. So, the city needs better connectivity to the upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

The crush capacity platforms and trains on the Lexington Avenue 4, 5, and 6 lines are strained and these issues will not be resolved by the stub subway to 96th Street. There is no connection for people in Harlem, in the Bronx. And there are no discussions of relief for the hapless commuters in the outer borough who have to suck in their guts and move further back in the bus, only to continue to be sardines.

And did you notice the mini art gallery look of the stations? All for the Upper East Side super-rich. The trains are so far below the surface. There's no need for that. Existing pines and utilities are not that far below. This is patently a sop to the richest percents, so that they will never feel the vibrations. Seriously, can you see such care if the MTA ever does care about the people that already are transit dependent? We cannot expect to ever see a Utica Avenue line or a Fordham / Pelham Parkway line. Can you really expect deep bore tunnels for a Utica Avenue subway, and so protecting Ocean Hill from subway vibrations in the same way the Second Avenue's deep bore protects the Upper East Side.

Others have recognized the strain and have called out the neglect since the 1970s. See this blog's critique of the MTA's neglect of the Bronx.

The MTA needs to match up with 1929-1940 ideas. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/1939_IND_Second_System.jpg/250px-1939_IND_Second_System.jpg 

New York City, with more billionaires and millionaires than ever. Yet no provisions for express tracks. And there are no plans to address the transit corridors that need to be built in the outer boros.
A cross-Bronx line along Fordham Avenue/Pelham Parkway, a cross Queens line from Whitestone to Jamaica, an extension of the F to the Nassau border, a Brooklyn line to the Belt in Flatlands, and a new Utica Avenue line. These are neighborhoods where new lines are desperately needed. The most comfortable New Yorkers should be taxed, so that New Yorkers can move as easily as the uber rich can move from 86th Street to midtown Broadway with its theatres.

We can just wait til more New York gets gentrified if we're going to expect lines in places like Central Bronx or a line to La Guardia Airport. When the neighborhoods in question get the political clout then we'll see a line.

Maybe the MTA will find the funds when the upper five percent move into East Harlem. Notice the hype for neighborhoods that New York Magazine added.

The MTA will probably add a line when the class with clout, those over five %, move into East Harlem, and when the city media decide to hype the need for a new subway to serve the East Side.

 (First problems with this map: even under the rosiest scenario, Phase 2 would not open until the late 2020s. For the rest of the line, maybe it would open in the 2040s.)
Maybe we'll need to rethink building all the way to the Financial District anyway. Here is what a 2.5 meter rise in the seas will do to Lower Manhattan.

The city will have a greater conflict: trying to convince the modest income New Yorkers to build giant sea walls to protect the millionaires' lower Manhattan, while the truly vulnerable New Yorkers will be in the tens of thousands in Staten Island, and southern Brooklyn and Queens at the Atlantic Ocean's edge. If you are concerned with the issue of rising sea levels, download the data before January 20. The incoming Donald Trump presidential administration may not keep such data on government sites any more. Some links to NOAA and NASA sites are at my other blog.