MERCHANTS MAKE A 'BID'
Seeking Board Nod For Business Group On Bushwick's Broadway
story and photo by Robert Pozarycki
      Creating the first business improvement district in Bushwick was the hot topic at last Wednesday's Brooklyn Community Board 4 meeting at Hope Gardens Senior Center.
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Bushwick Shop Burned In Blaze
      Nobody was injured after flames broke out inside a Bushwick store early last Monday morning, Dec. 15, Fire Department sources said. Reportedly, the onealarm fire started at around 9:35 a.m.
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He's Hit Crossing Road In Ridgewood
      While crossing at the intersection of Fresh Pond and 68th roads, a man suffered head injuries after being struck by a car last Wednesday morning, Dec. 17, it was reported.
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Rebate Checks To Come, But City Property Taxes Will Rise
Council Approves Modified City Budget
by Robert Pozarycki
      Homeowners across New York City will soon get their $400 property tax rebate check, but in the end will wind up paying higher property taxes anyway. After a brief wrangle, the City Council and Mayor Michael Bloomberg came to terms last Thursday, Dec.
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PREPARING FOR THE WORST
Budget Issues Are Explained By MTA Budget Director
story and photo by Sam Goldman
      Metropolitan Transportation Authority Executive Director Elliot Sander expounded on the transit agency's efforts at fiscal austerity at a roundtable with community and minority newspapers on Dec.
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Sr. Center Modernization Plan Goes Back To Drawing Board
      A proposal put forth by the Department for the Aging to revamp senior center programs across the five boroughs will be re-evaluated by the city, it was announced last Friday, Dec. 19.
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Senior Struck By Car In Ridgewood
      An elderly man suffered injuries after being hit by a vehicle at the intersection of Putnam and Fairview avenues at around 1 p.m. last Thursday afternoon, Dec. 18, Fire Department sources said.
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Next Week's Times Published On 12/31
      The next issue of the Times Newsweekly/Ridgewood Times will be published on Wednesday, Dec. 31, as next Thursday is New Year's Day.
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OPERATION LANDMARK
Movement To Safeguard Historic Sites Continues
story and photos by Ralph Mancini
      The Ridgewood North Historic District came one step closer to landmark-status designation at a public hearing held Tuesday, Dec. 16 in downtown Manhattan.
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Phase-Out For Rockaway School Will Start In 2009
Closure Discussed At CEC 27 Meet
story and photo by Ralph Mancini
      An elementary school teacher's effort to highlight the positive aspects of a failing school was applauded by education advocates, parents and teachers alike at the Dec.
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CEC 24 Talks DOE Budget Cuts, Update On School Construction
Restaurant Depot Site Fight Continues
story and photo by Sam Goldman
      Bad weather couldn't keep Community Education Council District 24 from debating the impact of budget cuts at the body's Dec. 16 meeting at P.S. 58 in Maspeth.
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DOE URGED: BUILD H.S. IN BUSHWICK
Seek Project In Next Capital Plan
story and photos by Robert Pozarycki
      Students and parents at last Thursday's Community Education Council District 32 meeting called on the Department of Education to provide funding in its next fiveyear capital plan toward the construction of a new high school in Bushwick.
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Bicyclist Critical After Being Struck Along Bushwick Ave.
by Robert Pozarycki
      Riding through a Bushwick intersection proved costly for a 68- year-old bicyclist who was struck and seriously injured by a car last Thursday morning, Dec. 18, police said. The victim was reportedly transported to a local hospital with lifethreatening injuries.
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Transit Ridership At Historic Levels
Study: Auto Traffic Flat For 5 Years
      The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) has released Sustainable Streets Index 2008, profiling trends in how people get around in the city during the population growth and economic expansion of the last four years.
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Study: Clinics Don't Offer HPV Vaccine
Call For Health Dept. Intervention
      A follow-up report from Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum's office released last Wednesday, Dec. 17 found that the city-run clinics that diagnose and treat sexually transmitted diseases still do not offer vaccinations against the human
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Unemployment Jumped Across The Empire State In November
City's Jobless Rate Climbs To 6.4 Percent
      New York State's private sector job count decreased over the month by 23,500, or 0.3 percent, to 7,219,700 in November, the state Labor Department reported last Friday, Dec. 18.
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DiNapoli: College Students Pay Too Much For Books
Comptroller Advises Going Online
      New York college students in the state university (SUNY) and city university (CUNY) systems could save nearly 40 percent on their textbook costs if they made the purchases online instead of at their campus bookstores,
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