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Access-A-Ride Nailed by Local News
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 16, 2009
Modified Nov 16, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 16, 2009
Modified Nov 16, 2009
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Fox 5 is really sticking it to the taxpayer-funded Access-A-Ride system, exposing one NYPD Auxiliary Police sergeant's apparent abuse of the system, and busting a driver for flagrant on-the-job napping. The Access-A-Ride program, which is managed by NYC Transit, provides transportation for people with disabilities who can't take the subway or bus. Each trip ends up costing about $66 (most of which is covered by taxpayers) and this year the whole program is expected to cost $451 million—which makes this footage of a cop getting picked up by Access-A-Ride to go march in a parade even more galling!
Highlights (or lowlights) include the moment when Fox 5's John Deutzman confronts Sergeant Jeffery Lawin, after getting footage of him going up and down stairs, marching in the parade, and even taking the subway! Also not-to-be-missed is the part where Deutzman wakes up the driver they've been videotaping sleeping in an Access-A-Ride van for over an hour, and then the driver tries to deny it. (Eat your heart out Arnold Diaz!) The driver eventually leaves without a passenger after idling for almost 90 minutes, but hey, at least he wasn't parked in a bike lane that whole time.
Tagged
access-a-ride
fox 5
nyc
video
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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