The Fig File for 12.22.08

The Fig File for 12.22.08 by: Mike Figliola

The Fig File: TWUnder The Radar.

I still grit my teeth when I think back to December of 2005: Five bone cold wind blistering days days before Christmas, the Transportation Workers Union Local 100 (the union who’s slogan reads “We Move New York”) brought the city to a grinding halt when Union President Roger Toussaint and his cronies implemented the first transit strike in 15 years. The city lost approximately 700 million dollars over the course of the three day strike; all the while Toussaint  used the MTA’s billion dollar surplus as a means of barter, a means of leverage to exact the Union’s demands. I can remember standing on the LIRR platform in Forest Hills Queens waiting for a Penn. Station bound train with a motley crew of frantic and frostbitten New Yorkers. They all had the same question: how could a union be allowed to shut down the financial and cultural capitol of this country?

Well that was yesteryear. The leaves have changed, those questions were left unanswered and subway cars returned still featuring an unapologetic and apathetic T.W.U.  - now faced with hefty fines (most of which were brushed away under some legal clause or bargain deal in court). Fast forward to today, the MTA is poised to set our pockets on fire with toll and fare increases to balance the boiled over budget deficit. All the while the report out of the T.W.U. is that they will slash 1,500 jobs and Union President Roger Toussaint will still keep his 54 thousand dollar a year pay check rather than seek a raise for himself - his pledge and tactic when he became Union President in 2000. Come on now, 54 thousand beans for the Union boss of the largest transportation system in the world? Survey says:... XXX.

I have hammered the MTA, Lee Sander and Dick Ravitch for the burden they are trying and will ultimately succeed on imposing on this city. I have questioned members of the City Council about their plans on how to advert you and I from paying the tax now that will surely turn into a dividend for the MTA. The question remains is how the Union will ease the pain that blue and white collar workers will have to face come 2009. They did it for their own in 2005 at the expense of the city: shutting down our life blood as Dick Ravitch has referred to it as. Hey Roger Toussaint, why not show some of your mustard now and take a hit or two within the T.W.U, you know for the people that have made your very job possible. I can’t get a hold of your Union’s worksheet, but I am sure there is a pretty penny floating around in the Local 100's  vacuous pockets  - justified by the message on your website and your phone hotline: keep paying your dues.

Odds and Ends: Cajun in Queens: Spice, Jazz, Wine and Ultra Ambience make for some good dining at Mardi Gras in Queens. I go there 2 to 3 times a month for their coconut chicken fingers, Al. E Gator Pops (alligator tail meat deep fried), and Bronzed Shrimp Salad. If you want an appetizer, eat up some Oysters on the half shell: they are fresh and served with a delicious sauce. The modest wine list is low priced and Mardi Gras features Jazz every Thursday Night. Sit on the ground level, near the window - where you can soak in the street scene.

Mardi Gras
7020 Austin St
Forest Hills, NY 11375
Tel: (718) 261-8555