MTA Cashing in on MetroCard Green Fee

A New York City MetroCard. The MTA is generating a lot of revenue with their Green Fee.
Photo credit: George Elmer

The MTA is bring in a lot more money than they expected with their green fee. The fee charges a rider $1 every time they bought a new MetroCard. The fee was added to try and get riders to continue using their existing MetroCard instead of wasting it. It has been in effect since March and in that month, more riders than the transit officials predicted bought new MetroCards and paid the extra fee. If this trend continues, the MTA is expecting to exceed their predicted $20 million in new revenues and savings. They thought that the idea of saving a dollar would be enough to convince people to recycle their card, however they couldn't be more wrong.

It is believed that now with these extra revenue dollars, there will be a lot more pressure on the transit authority to make improvements. Board members led by Allen Cappelli and Mitch Pally have been pushing for the MTA to make a fund directed towards making service enhancements and restorations to subway stations and trains. After Governor Cuomo announced that the organization would receive around $40 million more from transit dedicated taxes, the board members made an even bigger push for this fund to be established. 

The MTA prints around 160 million cards a year for around nine and half million dollars. They expected the fee to generate around $18 million, and printing fewer cards and trimming clean up costs would save them around $2 million. 

For the latest information on fees and service, visit MTA.info

New York Cyber Criminals Part of Major Bank Heist

Various scenes of the bank heist from ATM machines in New York City.
Photo credit: CNN Money

Seven New York cyber criminals were charged in playing a part in the major "21st Century Bank Heist" that involved the stealing of $45 million from ATM machines. The heist employed criminals from around the world. Members of this global crime organization hacked 2 credit card processors and used stolen data to make over 40,500 ATM withdrawals in 27 countries. There was 2 separate incidents, one in December 2012 and one in February 2013. The individuals were charged with participating in the larger scheme by withdrawing $2.8 million in thousands of ATM transactions.

This is being called the largest bank robbery in the history of New York City by U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. It is unknown where the headquarters of the heist originated, but Lynch said that it is likely that it was outside the United States. In December, hackers hacked into an Indian credit card processor that handled prepaid Mastercard debit cards for National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah PSC, or RAKBANK. In February, they hacked into the system of a U.S. credit card processor to sceal account numbers for prepaid Mastercard debit cards issued by the bank of Muscat. 

Seven of the eight defendants have been arrested. They have been identified and their names are Jael Mejia Collado, Joan Luis Minier Lara, Evan Jose Pena, Jose Familia Reyes, Elvis Rafael Rodriguez, Emir Yasser Yeje and Chung Yu-Holguin. All are U.S. citizens and are residents of Yonkers.

See how they did it here:

For more info: 7 NY Cyber Criminals part of $45m 21st Century Bank Heist

"Bad Lieutenant" Resigns

Timothy Dluhos seen crying after being confronted about racist posts he made on Twitter.
Photo credit: Bossip.com

Back in March, Lt. Timothy Dluhos cried when The New York Post confronted him about his Twitter page. He now resigned. The 34 year old Dluhos worked at EMS Station 57 in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. His Twitter page had a profile picture of Hitler and his user name was "Bad Lieutenant." He used the page to make countless racist, sexist, anti-Semitic and anti-Asian posts. He posted what he called a "hood tour" of the Bed-Stuy area posting various pictures of housing projects, fried chicken restaurants and a strip club. He claimed that he was going to give up racial insults for lent, but soon after posted something against asian people.

"There has got to be a lot worse than me, my life is ruined. Oh, my god. I'm so sorry" - Timothy Dluhos after being confronted.

Not so tough now, huh Lieutenant? After he was confronted, he tried to defend what he posted on the web. He said that he has seen strangers shot and killed, seen families torn apart by violence. He cried that its a "damn shame" that gang members ruin the lives of hardworking, struggling people. Claiming that his stepfather is Jewish, he said that he does not hate anybody. 

Following the confrontation the posts were deleted immediately. He made $93,561 in 2011. He had the option to resign and thats what he chose to do to avoid potential disciplinary charges that could have led to his firing following his 30-day suspension. The resignation allows the man who called Mayor Mike Bloomberg "King Heeb" to collect a partial pension in 13 years, but the number is not close to what he would of made if he stayed on the job.

The New York Post has been following this story closely, check out their take at this link.

Rangers Force Game 7 Behind Henrik Shutout

Henrik Lundqvist and his Rangers teammates celebrate their victory.
Photo credit: The New York Times

The New York Rangers season lives on. Behind goalie Henrik Lundqvist's 27 save shutout, the Rangers pulled out a 1-0 victory against the Washington Capitals to continue their playoff series. The series is currently 3-3, with the home team winning each game. If the Rangers want to advance to the next round, they will need to stop that trend. Last year in the playoffs the blue shirts saw 2 game 7s, with victories against Ottawa and Washington, so this is nothing new to them. Derick Brassard, who is having a break out playoffs, scored the games only goal in the second period.

"We needed it. There was desperation out there. We showed a lot of character and worked really hard. It was the type of game where you pay the price - big saves, physical. Great win." - Henrik Lundqvist

After the game four overtime loss, the Rangers were not happy with their play. They changed their approach by playing a lot more relaxed, playing their game, and had fun with it. New York went 0 for 5 on power play opportunities on Sunday, including a 44 second 5 on 3 opportunity. Even more staggering is that they are 2-for-26 in the series. Opposing goalie Braden Holtby had a great game as well, making 28 saves. He has only allowed 2 goals at home during this series, and the Rangers will need to add to that tonight if they want to continue.

Game Highlights:

For more info, check out : AP - Lundqvist, Brassard Keep Rangers Alive vs. Caps

Get Ready for "Late Night With Seth Meyers"

Jimmy Fallon with new "Late Night" host Seth Meyers.
Photo Credit: MSN.com

After weeks of speculation, the successor to Jimmy Fallon on the NBC talk show "Late Night" has finally been announced. Seth Meyers will take the main seat when Fallon takes over "The Tonight Show" next February.

Seth Meyers is currently the head writer on television staple "Saturday Night Live", and hosts the "Weekend Update" segment. Lorne Michaels, who produces both "SNL" and "Late Night" said that Meyers was the only name that kept coming up during discussions of the new host, and that the choice was almost unanimous. "The Tonight Show" is moving to New York City from Los Angeles, so all three of the most important late night shows on NBC will now be filmed right here in the city at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and will all be under Michaels control.

Meyers will be the fourth host of the show, that has been running since 1982, behind David Letterman, Conan O'Brien and of course, Jimmy Fallon. He refused to comment on if the show will be the same or different from the format that people are used to, however he did say that he plans to mix his experience of stand-up comedy, sketch comedy and improvisational comedy. 

For more info, check out: The New York Times: Seth Meyers to Succeed Fallon on "Late Night"