John Toscano, Unless You’re Moonlighting As Anthony Weiner’s Press Secretary, You Really Have To Do Better Than This!*

Is all press still good press** if media outlets*** basically reproduce your press releases verbatim? The headline**** “Weiner Gets $2.5 M for Safety Improvements” just gives it away:

Five schools in Congressmember Anthony Weiner’s district will be getting upgraded traffic safety measures, thanks to a $2.5 million grant from the federal Department of Transportation, the lawmaker announced.

The public safety improvements were announced at a press conference held by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Schools Chancellor Joe Klein, city Department of Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall and Weiner (D–Queens/Brooklyn).

The schools involved, according to Weiner, are P.S. 220, Edward Mandel School, Forest Hills; P.S. 71, Forest Elementary School, Ridgewood; I.S. 250, Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School, Flushing, and St. Elizabeth School and J.H.S. 210, Elizabeth Blackwell School, both in Ozone Park.

The DOT studied all 1,471 elementary and middle schools in New York City. One hundred and thirty five had the highest accident rates and were designated priority schools for safety improvements. Of these, 34 are in Queens.

Weiner said the Safe Routes to Schools Program is a nationwide effort aimed at making travel to school safer by reducing traffic congestion, reducing the number of collisions in and around schools and lowering the speed limits in residential neighborhoods by installing signs and speed bumps.

For children ages 5 to 9 in New York City, getting hit by a motorist is the number one cause of death and injury, said Weiner of Forest Hills.

To achieve better safety for the students, each school involved in the program will receive infrastructure additions and upgrades such as speed bumps, traffic signals bicycle lanes, medians and crosswalks. Construction is set to begin next year.

Weiner holds a seat on the House Transportation Committee from which he secured the school safety grant. The total amount of funding needed to improve safety at all 135 priority schools is $30 million.

And John, the dangerous thing about lazily reediting press releases is that these days, they’re all on the internets (“WEINER ANNOUNCES $2.5 MILLION FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AROUND SCHOOLS”):

Today, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn & Queens), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced $2.5 million for public safety improvements around New York City schools, including six schools in the Ninth Congressional District. The funds will be used to add or upgrade safety measures such as crosswalks, signs, speed bumps and medians as part of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Safe Routes to Schools Program.

Last week, Rep. Weiner joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg, DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein at P.S. 21 in the Bronx where the list of schools slated for enhancements was announced.

The Department of Transportation studied all 1,471 elementary and middle schools in New York City and established a list of 135 schools that are considered priority schools for safety improvements — schools with the highest accidents rates. Of the 135 priority schools, 46 are in Brooklyn and 34 are in Queens.

The project is part of a nationwide effort aimed at making it safer for kids to travel to and from schools by reducing traffic congestion, reducing collisions in and around schools, and decreasing speed in residential neighborhoods. For children ages 5 to 9 in New York City, getting hit by a motorist is the number one cause of death and injury.

To accomplish these goals, each priority school in New York City will receive infrastructural additions or upgrades such as speed bumps, traffic signals, bicycle lanes, medians and crosswalks. Construction is set to being on the first 32 priority schools in 2007.

Rep. Weiner, from his seat on the House Transportation Committee, was instrumental in securing funding for the project. Rep. Weiner’s $2.5 million in federal funds, which comes from federal gasoline taxes, makes up a significant portion of the estimated $30 million needed to complete work at all of the 135 priority schools.

In addition to the 135 schools announced today, Rep. Weiner is working with Commissioner Weinshall to fast track improvements at 10 additional City schools.

“Looking both ways before crossing a street isn’t enough to protect our City’s schoolchildren,” said Rep. Weiner. “We have to stop speeding, reckless driving and collisions around our schools.”

The following schools in Rep. Weiner’s Congressional District are priority schools slated for improvements:

QUEENS

Saint Elizabeth – 94-01 85th St Ozone Park – Ozone Park

P.S. 220 (Edward Mandel School) – Forest Hills

P.S. 71 (Forest Elementary School) – Ridgewood

I.S. 250 (Robert F. Kennedy Community Middle School) – Flushing

J.H.S. 210 (Elizabeth Blackwell School) – Ozone Park

BROOKLYN

Yeshivat Ateret Torah – Ocean Parkway

*I’ll tell you, he’s no Chan.

**Duh!

***Maybe Connie Rosenblum isn’t so crotchety after all.

****And — just a guess here — if instead of “Weiner Gets $2.5 M for Safety Improvements” it read “Queens to Receive $2.5 M in Safety Improvements” I’m pretty sure no one would have bothered to look it up. Moral: If you crib from press releases, at least change the headline!