I have always voted ever since I first registered back in 2001 when I turned 18 and used that day to express how I really felt about politics.
From the news rundown: “The city is loosening restrictions on electric bikes. Here’s what you need to know before you head out for a ride.”
Tune of ”I Sing The Body Electric”
I ride the cycle electric
I never really watch where I go.
I know nobody will care much
Till accidents cost someone dough
(chorus)
Then they’ll put out restrictions
And promulgate rules
And they’ll teach about safety
In all of the schools
Til with time, til with time
The brief uproar cools
I ride the cycle electric
I ride like no one else is on Earth
And no one cares about caution
Til I affect someone’s net worth
(The pedestrians who were knocked down jump up and repeat chorus)
2
I wonder why Mr. Hussain is being charged with only one count of negligent homicide for all twenty people. Isn't it usually one count per person?
I can't vote for Nate McMurray, though he seems very can-do and encouraging on TV, but what a great photo saying I'm ready to take action!
If he doesn't get elected, based on that shot, I'd love to see him in the running to take over as James Bond someday. He looks like he's ready to work hard to get a New-York-friendly bill passed, or alternatively take out the enemy with one hand, with a martini in the other.
4
The article on e-bikes ignores the increased danger to pedestrians. As one commenter on the article noted, there should be a major article discussing the risks to pedestrians posed by all bicycles and the continuing failure of the City to enforce laws that would protect people on the street.
6
It's too bad that New Yorkers haven't pushed for same day registration. Here in fly-over land, it is the rule. Yes, for that you do need ID (as you should for registration). I would have thought a progressive state such as NY would have gotten same day registration by now. Also, you shouldn't need to register any party affiliation.
3
@BigFootMN
...and multiple days of early voting .
1
When was this Metropolitan Diary written? It refers to "last week" and the use of outlets and headphones. A member of our family received a NYC jury summons yesterday that explicitly stated no electronics, including cellphones, are allowed in the courthouse. Given the realities of travel time to and from the courthouse, this cuts a person off from contact for far more than the time spent in the courthouse--pay phones are no longer an option--so this is no small matter. This article seems misleadingly out of date.
2
@mary Are you sure the summons didn't say cellphones aren't allowed in the courtroom? Once a trial begins, jurors usually have to leave their phones in the jury room.
1
@Kleav No, unfortunately, I doublechecked that very word. It is "courthouse." The whole form is new paperwork, a new form of summons, that I had never seen before. Rather than the questionnaire arriving weeks prior, there is now nothing in advance of the summons, and just a questionnaire included that must be returned within five days or completed on line--so, in effect, you have no warning you'll be getting the summons soon. It summoned my family member only two weeks ahead. For anyone with high-stakes family or work responsibilities, the need to leave one's cellphone at home is huge, in my opinion. Maybe someone will create a business renting out lockers in the area, but it will not happen in the next two weeks!
1
You forgot to tell people who can register and that they can register by mail as well!!!
All they have to do is download the application, fill it in and sign it, and mail it to their county voting commission (the application itself has the addresses). Applications must be postmarked by tomorrow as well.
Here is the website:
https://www.dmv.org/ny-new-york/voter-registration.php
Anyone who has lived in New York for at least 30 days prior to the Election Day can register, even if they don’t have a NY drivers license. They just need a social security number.
Finally, people with multiple addresses (home and school, or home and second home, etc...) can vote anywhere they want. NY state law says that people with multiple residences can choose where they want to vote and it doesn’t have to be their “legal” or “permanent” residence as long as they’ve been there for at least 30 days prior to the Election Day itself. (thanks NY State Supreme Court).
Now go vote!!!!
5
Hmm. Maybe running a countdown to the last day to register from September 1 on would have been helpful. And not only for the Times: imagine if it had been a public service campaign among all media outlets.
6
@cheryl
I agree. Although a useful article, it would have been helpful to have it appear earlier or to stagger the information as you've suggested. But there's still time.
2
@cheryl, they actually have been doing a mini-series of these reminders. This one was back on June 25, just before the "first primary" here in New York.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/nyregion/new-york-today-why-we-dont-v...
It was one of the more thoughtful comment-generating days ever, and I remembered because it's on my shortlist for 3 or 4 for a fan-submission of New York Today for the Pulitzer. Don't laugh, they apparently look at least briefly at everything submitted (there's a fee, not large but enough so that nobody submits frivolously) - Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George" got its drama Pulitzer arising from a fan submission, and word is no one else had submitted it.
3