Tim “Positive Subway” Smith
@positivesubway.bsky.social
1.2K followers 590 following 4.7K posts
One time Joe Lhota said he wanted to see some positive tweets about the subway, and I answered the call. Repeal Hecht-Calandra. NYCDOE/NYCPS parent emeritus. All content is handcrafted _just_ for you and represents my personal opinions only
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positivesubway.bsky.social
I guess we’ll have to wait another day for the Times to report out a piece on how a serial sexual harasser would be able to work with women

Today, it’s a fifth? tenth? look at Mamdani and Palestine, Palestine, Palestine, Palestine, Palestine, Palestine, Palestine, Palestine, Palestine, Palestine, P
N.Y.C.
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Candi
How Zohran Mamdani Came to Embrace the Palestinian Cause
As Mr. Mamdani seeks to reassure New York City he is open to compromise, his views on Israel and Palestinians have been the biggest exception.
Listen to this article • 22:09 min Learn more
17 Share full article
5,150
REN D IN
MANY BEFOR EFIREL
BIDEN, YOU ARE STARVING GAZA.
PERMANENT S
CEASEFIRE NOW!
$50
EN IN
MANY BEFO.
SEFIRE?
OVER 6,1, CHILDRE KILLED Il GAZA, HOW MAN DRE BEFO CEASEFIRE
HUNGER STRIKING
TO SAY: PERMANENT
CEASEFIRE NOW!
Zohran Mamdani's opposition to Israel gained national attention in 2023, when he began a hunger strike to protest the country's treatment of Gaza. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images
By Nicholas Fandos
Nicholas Fandos interviewed many of Zohran Mamdani's political colleagues, college professors, fellow students and anti-Zionist allies, and reviewed his published work in college and his father's academic scholarshin.
Reposted by Tim “Positive Subway” Smith
positivesubway.bsky.social
It is gauche and unfair to point out that there’s zero firewall between this organization’s reporting and editorial departments. One does the anti-progressive bidding of the other, and we have to pretend it’s normal and doesn’t matter
positivesubway.bsky.social
The author of this particular piece actually went to Harvard
positivesubway.bsky.social
Does this car have what appears to be an official NYPD placard on the dash, you bet your sweet dumb rule-following ass it does
positivesubway.bsky.social
This is not a sponsored post and it doesn’t help anyone without a car but mom-and-pop retailer Campmor sells a lot of what REI does, has an extremely knowledgeable staff, and is located near some great Jersey diners (I’m partial to River Edge Diner)

www.campmor.com
Reposted by Tim “Positive Subway” Smith
nyc.streetsblog.org
The MTA would have to spend at least $3 million in contracted union fees to provide the same special game-day service to Citi Field as Metro-North gives Yankee fans to go to the House that Ruth Built, data obtained by Streetsblog shows.
MONEY TRAIN: How LIRR Unions 'Game' The System - Streetsblog New York City
An old work rule means that the MTA would have to pay millions of dollars just to provide a little extra service after special events like Mets games or the Ryder Cup.
buff.ly
positivesubway.bsky.social
…and they’re closing the Paramus store, too? Yikes, that is basically giving up on the NYC market entirely, but great news for Campmor I guess
positivesubway.bsky.social
Unbelievable mistake although I have to assume the rent for that location is incomprehensible

This means the nearest east-of-Hudson REIs are in Norwalk and Carle Place, nowhere remotely near easy mass transit 😬
positivesubway.bsky.social
It is gauche and unfair to point out that there’s zero firewall between this organization’s reporting and editorial departments. One does the anti-progressive bidding of the other, and we have to pretend it’s normal and doesn’t matter
positivesubway.bsky.social
This is whining about a process that families choose to go through, and preemptive whining that they won’t get the consumer choice they want. End of story

It might make for more interesting reporting to check in on kids who are warehoused in HS for the crime of a B average in 7th grade 2/2
positivesubway.bsky.social
I see NYCPS HS admissions grievance season has started—some reminders!

• ~20% of students have a default zoned school

• every single MC/UMC family has a nearby college-prep option to which they are guaranteed admission

• NYCPS runs a few dozen HS that are off-limits to 80% of its students 1/2
A table showing NYC screened admissions groups and their demographics 

Fall 2024 Main Round High School Admissions: Screened Admissions Group Demographics
Screened Group
Number of Students in
Screened Group
Asian
Black
Hispanic
Multi Racial
Native American
Unknown
White


Group 1 (GPA 94+)
13,246
4,160
1,323
3,051
412
128
1,096
3,076


Group 2 (GPA 90+)
12,285
2,386
2,358
4,619
209
146
674
1,893


Group 3 (GPA 83+)
15,072
2,044
3,338
6,781
181
147
638
1,943


Group 4 (GPA 76+)
Group 5
11,728
1,132
3,023
5,870
113
131
285
1,174


18,476
1,423
5,083
9,632
136
207
574
1,421



70,807
11,145
15,125
29,953
1,051
759
3,267
9,507


Screened Group
Non-English
Language Learner
English Language Learner
ELLS
% of All
Group % of ELLs in This
Group

Screened
Group
Not in
Temporary
Housing
In
Temporary
Housing
Group % In Temporary
Housing
% of All In Temporary Housing in This Group
Group 1
13,061
185
1.4%
2.0%

Group 1
12,694
552
4.2%
7.4%
Group 2
11,710
575
4.7%
6.3%

Group 2
11,432
853
6.9%|
11.4%
Group 3
13,615
1,457
9.7%
15.9%

Group 3
13,681
1,391
9.2%
18.6%
Group 4
9,842
1,886
16.1%
20.5%

Group 4
10,367
1,361
11.6%
18.2%
Group 5
13,398
5,078
27.5%
55.3%

Group 5
15,160
3,316
17.9%
44.4%
Total
Screened Group
61,626
9,181



Total
63,334
7,473


Not FRL-Eligible
FRL-Eligible FRL-Eligible
Group %
% of All FRL-Eligible in
This Group

Screened
Group
GE
SWD
Group %
SWD
% of All SWD in This Group
Group 1
6,086
7,160
54.1%
13.6%

Group 1
12,836
410
3.1%
3.3%
Group 2
3,837
8,448
68.8%
16.0%

Group 2
11,134
1,151
9.4%
9.3%
Group 3
3,587
11,485
76.2%
21.8%

Group 3
12,311
2,761
18.3%
22.3%
Group 4
1,986
9,742
83.1%
18.5%

Group 4
8,808
2,920
24.9%
23.5%
Group 5
2,672
15,804
85.5%
30.0%

Group 5
13,317
5,159
27.9%
41.6%
Total
18,168
52,639



Total
58,406
12,401
positivesubway.bsky.social
All of these candidates need to be held to account and asked point-blank whether they want to eliminate public schools.

When they deny it—public schools are cherished institutions in the deep-red parts of the North Country, Rockland, etc—it must be treated with deep skepticism and doubt
positivesubway.bsky.social
Republicans want to first defund and then completely eliminate every public school—“Zero. I hope to get to zero.”

I look forward to saturation drumbeat media coverage on how this is an unremovable anchor around the necks of Elise Stefanik, Jack Ciattarelli, Mike Lawler, and Curtis Sliwa.
positivesubway.bsky.social
I don’t know it kind of seems like a bigger deal than the grocery stores bsky.app/profile/posi...
positivesubway.bsky.social
I guess we’ll have to wait another day for the Times to report out a piece on how a serial sexual harasser would be able to work with women

Today, the Times sent three reporters to interview a single Republican voter in Scarsdale and run a long paragraph of Republican Mike Lawler’s talking points
Mamdani Is More Foe Than Friend in the Suburbs, Even Among Democrats Just outside New York City, Republicans are using Zohran Mamdani as an attack line for the 2026 midterms, much as they vilified the city in 2022.
Listen to this article • 7:57 min Learn more
7 Share full article
ZOHRAN
FOR NEW YORK CIT
ZOHRANFORNYC.COM
While Zohran Mamdani has risen to front-runner status in the New York City mayor's race, his popularity outside the city is more in question. Scott Heins for The New York Times
By Maya King
positivesubway.bsky.social
Curtis Sliwa announced that he wants to cut the city’s contribution to NYCPS by an astounding $10,000,000,000, or roughly one-third of its annual operating budget, and it barely makes a ripple. Why isn’t the media asking every Republican candidate why they support massively defunding public schools?
Sliwa vows to slash $10B from schools budget, 'all being spent on bureaucracy'
“I’m the only candidate, GOP candidate, the one to slash taxes, corporate tax, income tax, especially the property tax, which a mayor does hold sway over,” Sliwa said in a Bloomberg Radio interview Mo...
www.audacy.com
positivesubway.bsky.social
Still not fixed 👎🏻
positivesubway.bsky.social
They fixed the MTA error but I’m guessing no one told them about the J Lo one, so I sent them a note

Just so it’s clear: calling Castle Hill the South Bronx is like calling Rye Port Chester, it’s not a matter of interpretation, it’s simply incorrect
positivesubway.bsky.social
Relatedly, it would make for incredibly entertaining reading if a competing media outlet sent people to Castle Hill and asked people if they consider it the South Bronx*!

* it isn’t
positivesubway.bsky.social
Caltech enrolled four (4) Black first-year students this fall.

Not 4%.

Four students.
jamessmurphy.bsky.social
I'm very reluctant to look for patterns or insights in a sample that small, but here's a couple things I noticed:

Black enrollment hit a new low at most of the colleges and universities that shared numbers. Cal Tech enrolled just 4 African American students this fall.
positivesubway.bsky.social
There won’t be a sharp divide on the ratio!
Reposted by Tim “Positive Subway” Smith
realgershkuntzman.bsky.social
CC: Joann Ariola.
nycbikelanes.bsky.social
A scary incident occurred at the Jay St Metrotech Station when a track fire caused the station to fill with smoke.

The @fdny.bsky.social response was delayed due to illegally parked vehicles on Jay St. They couldn't even access the curb due to @nypdnews.bsky.social vehicles parked at a bus stop.
Reposted by Tim “Positive Subway” Smith
nycbikelanes.bsky.social
A scary incident occurred at the Jay St Metrotech Station when a track fire caused the station to fill with smoke.

The @fdny.bsky.social response was delayed due to illegally parked vehicles on Jay St. They couldn't even access the curb due to @nypdnews.bsky.social vehicles parked at a bus stop.
positivesubway.bsky.social
Yes, it’s a bunch of mind-numbing nonsense about he felt good there with Treinen backed by Vesia with Roki having never gone 2/3 days before, it made me want to scream. No follow-ups on who is the closer going forward, either 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃