He  arrived at the Frank McCourt High School in the Upper West Side to vote with his wife, Nancy and four-week-old rescue cat, Gizmo , one of 17 rescue animals he owns. But the kitten was not a welcome sight to elections workers who refused to let Sliwa take Gizmo to witness his big  moment.

And it went downhill from there.

After handing Gizmo to campaign aide, election workers  asked him to remove his “Curtis Sliwa for NYC Mayor” jacket stating it was considered electioneering, but he refused to take it off and instead challenged them to arrest him, which they did not.

“So one hour and 20 minutes, we’re being told first we couldn’t have Gizmo,” said Sliwa. “And obviously the garb. We wore this garb last Saturday when Nancy voted, no problems, we were in and out.”

Next he had problems casting his vote.

After Sliwa inserted the first page of his ballot, the voting machine jammed and an error message stating the ballot had been counted, but not deposited appeared. Repairmen spent over one hour restoring the machine and Sliwa’s ballot was successfully counted.

“You see the incompetence and the inefficiency, and if it was just directed at me I could understand,” said Sliwa. “I’ll be going to polling locations all day until the final tally at nine, and I will hear stories from Democrats, Independents and Republicans that their name wasn’t in the book even though they voted in the presidential election. They were told to go to another polling location and then were shuttled around, or their ballot was not properly received by the scanner.”

NYC Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa speaks with members of the press with his four-week-old rescue kitten, Gizmo, outside Frank McCourt High School in Manhattan, NY on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Sliwa was barred from entering the polling location with Gizmo due to election site rules.Photo By Julia Bonavita

NYC Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa’s wife, Nancy adjusts his mask before entering Frank McCourt High School in Manhattan, NY on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Photo By Julia Bonavita

The media and onlookers surround NYC Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa’s wife and his wife  Nancy  as he prepares to vote at Frank McCourt High School in Manhattan, NY on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Photo By Julia Bonavita

NYC Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa was asked to remove his “Curtis Sliwa for NYC Mayor” jacket while inside Frank McCourt High School on the grounds of electioneering in Manhattan, NY on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
Photo By Julia Bonavita

NYC Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa fills out his ballot with his wife, Nancy at Frank McCourt High School in Manhattan, NY on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Photo By Julia Bonavita

An error message is displayed on the voting machine Sliwa used to cast his ballot at Frank McCourt High School in Manhattan, NY on Tuesday, Nov. 2. The machine became jammed before Sliwa could submit the second page of his ballot, stating the ballot had been counted but not deposited.
Photo By Julia Bonavita

New York City Commissions of Elections President Fred Umane addresses reporters after Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa ran into multiple issues while trying to vote at Frank McCourt High School in Manhattan, NY on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

A mechanic from the NYC Board of Elections repairs a voting machine after technical issues failed to clear Sliwa’s ballot. Photo By Julia Bonavita

NYC Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa inserts the first page of his ballot into the polling machine at Frank McCourt High School in Manhattan, NY on Tuesday, Nov. 2. The machine counted, but failed to deposit, Sliwa’s ballot due to mechanical issues and took over an hour to recover.
Photo By Julia Bonavita

NYC Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa and his wife, Nancy address reporters after voting at Frank McCourt High School in Manhattan, NY on Tuesday, Nov. 2.Photo By Julia Bonavita

The post A cat, a jacket and a jammed ballot makes voting a headache for NYC Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

 “Debt forgiveness, now!”

“We’re not gonna give up until we break.”

Those are just some of the messages cab drivers chanted on the street near one of the entrances to the City Hall subway station. 

 “We just want to pay off our debt while being able to pay for rent and actually make money for ourselves,” said. Jean Francois, 68, who has been driving taxis since 1984. He came to the US. from Haiti and is currently living in Queens. 

Jean Francois, 68, immigrant from Haiti. He bought the medallion in 1984 and now protests for in front of the City Hall for higher debt relief. Francois owes about $600,000 and pays $2,300 monthly. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

The now approved plan promises $1,500 or less monthly installment on driver’s mortgages for medallions. But according to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA), it is not enough. They want to reduce it to a maximum of $800 per month.

 “It would be still hard, but manageable for me to pay,” Francois said. “It is much better than the $2,300 I must pay now. I would be less stressed.”

 To own an own cab, drivers must buy a medallion from the city or the secondary market. It works basically as a permit to drive the yellow cab, and the purchase of medallion was considered an asset for securing a comfortable retirement. It was even promoted by city officials. 

 “They were telling us the prices for medallions would go up and that it is a good investment,” Md Z Islam, 43, another protesting taxi driver said. He is originally from Bangladesh and bought the medallion 11 years ago.

Md Z Islam, 43, immigrant from Bangladesh. He bought the medallion 11 years ago and now protests for in front of the City Hall for higher debt relief as he owes about $800,000 and pays $4000 monthly. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

“City officials with former mayor Bloomberg even ran TV ads with the message that it is once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said. “I trusted them. 

 Taxi drivers borrowed money for the medallion even though they were not eligible for loans, showed a 2019 NY Times investigation. Reporter Brian Rosenthal likened the situation to causes of the housing bubble, which burst in the global financial crisis in 2009. 

 And the loans were not the only problem. Uber, Lyft, and other ride-sharing apps came to the city and took some of the customers from yellow cab drivers, which drastically decreased the market value for medallions. From more than $1 million in 2014, the value of medallion is worth less than $200,000 as of 2018.

 Now, owners of medallions owe $600,000 on average according to NYTWA data. 

 “They (ride-sharing apps) have more cars than us, their fare is always changing according to market demand, and they didn’t have to buy any medallion”,” said Wain Chin, a taxi driver from Myanmar, who moved to New York 30 years ago. “Now, we have fewer customers and therefore less money.”

Wain Chin, 54, immigrant from Myanmar, who has been driving yellow cab for 20 years now. He protests for in front of the City Hall for higher debt relief as he owes for his medallion about $500,000 and pays $2300 monthly. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

He suggested that the city should level the playing field and regulate ride-sharing apps in the same way it regulates yellow cabs. 

Another common slogan was “No more suicides” as several  cab drivers committed suicide  because of the debt. 

“You work hard, you try to make money to pay bills, but the money is simply not there for you to make,” said Francois. 

But despite the hardship, he had a smile remained on his face. 

“I’d say that people from Haiti like me are more resistant,” he said. “And the situation can always be worse.”

Some politicians and city officials stopped by to show their support, said Chin.

“But de Blasio is the one who has to do something,” he said. 

 On Wednesday, a dozen members of the New York City congressional delegation, including Majority Senate Leader Charles Schumer and Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, wrote Mayor Bill de Blasio a letter requesting adding a city backed guarantee to the Medallion Relief Program. 

BREAKING: A dozen members of the NYC congressional delegation have written to @NYCMayor, urging him to halt the city’s banker bailout & adopt NYTWA’s proposal for relief debt relief.

Their letter was first reported by @erinmdurkin of @politicony, and you can read it right here: pic.twitter.com/rQsgBAx2k9

— NY Taxi Workers (@NYTWA) October 6, 2021

This is in support of  one of the demands of NYTWA. The union says it  would make it easier for taxi drivers to, for example, rent an apartment. Now, they might get rejected because of their debt and low credit score. 

 “If the city doesn’t accept our proposal for debt relief, we all will be homeless, and a lot of us will be forced to go bankrupt,” Francois said. 

 But Islam worries he does not even have a choice to file a bankruptcy. 

 “I have two kids, and if I file it, I wouldn’t be able to be a guarantor for their loans if they want to go to college,” he said. 

Not all the Taxi and Limousine commissioners who voted for the mayor’s relief plan on Wednesday  agreed with it.

 “Is it enough? No, it is not enough,” one of the commisioners, Lauvienska Polanco  told amNY. “I voted yes because I feel there’s immediate relief. The uncertainty in waiting for something better will add more despair to the medallion owner who is in desperate need today.”

 The Mayor’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

The post DeBlasio’s plan to help struggling taxi drivers isn’t enough for union appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

“What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!” 

This was the cry of the hundreds of young protesters led by the local chapter of Fridays for Future who marched from City Hall Park to Battery Park.

Protesters push bikes at climate change protest  in Lower Manhattan.  September 24, 2021. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

They held signs  that read, “Protect our home,” or “If you breathe air, you should care!!” 

The New York City Friday for Future movement summed all the various banners  and chants into  four specific demands. They want clean energy, no funding for projects polluting the environment, t environmental justice education in public schools and environmental protection for 30 percent of the country’s  land and sea. 

“We need to completely cut our carbon emissions and fracked gas,” Brooklyn Darling, a SUNY New Palz University student said. 

Brooklyn Darling, 19, a SUNY New Palz College student, voicing her disagreement with climate inaction in front of the City Hall, where the strike started. September 24, 2021. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

She also believes it is crucial to follow the  United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement, and sign the Green New Deal.

“Those in power should listen to youth. We are the ones who are inheriting this earth after they leave,” Yasmin Bhan, one of the strike’s organizers said.  

That is why organizers led the crowd with the slogan: “Uproot the system.” The same message also led more than 1,400 Friday’s climate strikes around the world. 

“Especially in Congress, there are a lot of people getting paid by the fossil industry,” protestor, Gerome Foster II said. At 18 he is the youngest member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory and the executive director of youth voting advocacy group OneMilionOfUS. “We need to vote out the people who are continuing to perpetuate the system and are putting us at risk.” 

Climate change protestor Gerome Foster II, 18, has been very active in the fight to save the environment.  September 24, 2021. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Foster was inspired by Greta Thunberg, a Swedish climate activist who launched the Fridays for Future movement and a close friend. 

This global strike happened just a few weeks before November’s UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow and during New York Climate Week. 

As a response to Climate Week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced several new climate policies including a 15-Year $191 million plan for reaching the goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2040 and carbon neutrality by 2050. 

But this is not ambitious enough for the protestors  since youth climate activists rallied for clean energy by 2030 and not 2040.

Youth activists sitting in Battery Park and listening to speakers at New York City’s Global Climate Strike. September 24, 2021. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

And a lack of ambition and will is what Foster noticed on Biden’s Environmental Advisory Council.

“The hardest is reaching the scale of the plans,” he said.“Often, we’re fighting over how we scale up and what we can do, for instance, 10  percent increase over the next 10  years and we say: ‘No, based on the science, we need to make an 80 or 90 percent decrease.’ And they’re like, ‘Well, we can’t do that,’” he said.

According to Foster, the political climate is simply not changing fast enough. 

“They don’t understand the urgency or the scale of it,” he said. 

And that is why the organizers voiced from the stage of Battery Park the need for tackling climate change globally.

“No matter your race, gender, identity, sexual orientation, religion or social economic status, this is a fight for all,”he said.

The post City youths join global climate strike protest. appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

“Cancel Carmine’s! Cancel Carmine’s! Cancel Carmine’s,” protesters chanted.

The three Black women from Humble, Texas were arrested  on Sept. 16 after a punching and shoving an Asian Carmine’s hostess who they claimed used a racial slur.

Originally, the hostess told police the women would not show their vaccination cards resulting in the altercation, according to NYPD spokesperson detective Sophia Mason.

But the footage told another story.

Three men, two of which could not show their proof of vaccination, tried to join the women, who were already seated inside, but were not granted entry. 

The women then went outside to meet the men and claimed the 24-year-old  hostess began yelling racial expletives at them, according to Justin Moore, the women’s attorney. 

Then, a fight broke out.

One of the women grabbed the hostess by the shirt and appeared to push and hit her. Employees tried to break up the fight. The video footage did not have sound, so it was unclear if the hostess said any racial expletive. She was also wearing a mask. The two other hostess at the podium were a Black woman and a Latina.

According to police the hostess was “struck” multiple times with “closed fists” and suffered from scratches and bruises on her face, chest and arm.  An employee suffered a concussion, but it’s not clear if it was the hostess or someone who tried to break up the fight.

The three women — Kaeita Nkeenge Rankin, 44, Tyonnie Keshay Rankin, 21, and Sally Rechelle Lewis, 49, were charged with assault and criminal mischief, according to police.

New York City  is the first big city to require proof of vaccination to access indoor eateries.  Any business that does not comply could face a $1,000 fine.

Carmine’s released a statement denying the  incident had anything to do with racism. 

“Last week’s violence against our staff had nothing to do with race, despite a Texas criminal defense lawyer’s false assertions to the contrary,” said Jeffrey Bank, the restaurant said in a statement. “None of the attackers offered any reason for their attack. None of the hosts – all of whom are people of color – uttered a racial slur.” 

Chivona Newsome, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, called vaccine passports racist.  Covid deaths in America have soared past 695,000. Black and Hispanics have larger deaths rates  in every age category.

“We know that any law created in this racist system disproportionately affects Black people, specifically Black women,” she said. “But what the terrible thing is, in this city, the most diverse city, what we like to call a melting pot, a Black woman can’t even get a plate of lasagna. … A vaccination passport is not a free passport for racism.”

Protesters called for the charges against the women to be dropped, the hostess to be fired and an apology to be released by Carmine’s. Moore said the hostess should be charged for filing a false police report.

The post Black Lives Matter rallies to “cancel” Carmine’s after arrest of three black women over vaccine mandates appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

A demonstrator sells “I loved NY” T-shirts at the World Wide Rally For Freedom in Times Square. Photo by Annie Iezzi

Outside the Times Square precinct of the NYPD yesterday, hundreds of protesters gathered to chant their new version of the pledge of allegiance.  

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to its Constitution, upon which our free republic stands, one nation, under god, free from tyranny, with liberty and justice for all,” they said in unison.

The phrases: “and to its Constitution,” as well as, “free from tyranny,” are additions made in explicit protest to COVID-19 restrictions in the United States. Protesters rejected mask mandates, as made clear by the absence of masks in the crowd. They were also opposed to the requirement that NYC patrons of indoor dining and fitness facilities display vaccine cards, which they refer to as “Totalitarian Vaccine Passports” and “Movement Licenses.” 

Many identified their opposition to vaccine mandates in the workplace as their reason for protesting.

Laesha Mezerra, on her lunch break from Mt. Sinai, and Robinson Bias, carrying a Dominican flag, march during the World Wide Rally for Freedom. Photo by Annie Iezzi

Laesha Mezarra, a nurse at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, joined the demonstration on her lunch break, a decision she made because she will receive her termination letter for refusing vaccination tomorrow. 

“We were here for the pandemic,” she said, “We were working. I don’t want the vaccine because I’m scared.”

According to the NYC Health website, the unvaccinated in New York City accounted for 96.1% of all COVID-19 cases between January 17 and August 17, and in the same time period, accounted for 93.7% of COVID-19 related deaths. 

Protesters disagreed, many cheering when one megaphoned person said that “thousands” of people who have died from receiving the vaccine were erroneously documented as dying of COVID-19.

On September 8, the United States passed the milestone of more than 675,000 COVID-19 deaths, and the following day, President Biden announced a vaccine mandate to curb the spread that included more than 100,000 Americans working in governmentally funded organizations.

This protest, called New York’s Freedom Rally, wasn’t a solely American one. It was a subset of an international movement named The World Wide Rally For Freedom.

 This movement, also known as the World Wide Demonstration, occurred in more than 40 countries and 150 cities around the world, according to the group’s website. There, they list “5 Important Freedoms,” as the protest’s targets for safeguarding: the freedoms of speech, movement, choice, assembly, and health.

 Videos and photos from Cape Town, Montpellier, Exeter, Hiroshima, Brisbane and more flooded the Twitter hashtag #WeWillALLBeThere,” some depicting scenes of clashes with law enforcement. 

You can’t beat Aussie spirit!#WeWillALLBeThere #FreeAustralia pic.twitter.com/SJbdcdrOYm

— The Altruistic Capitalist (@kimchi2613) September 18, 2021

The protest in New York remained peaceful, with demonstrators waving flags gathering in Columbus Circle at 1:00pm, before marching down Broadway to 42nd street and into Times Square. Alongside them rode a bicyclist with both hands outstretched in a double-thumbs-down gesture, yelling ,“Wear a mask!”

 While they walked, advocates handed out stickers that read “Fear is the Real Virus,” and “Don’t Sacrifice Your Children to Science.” Many informational flyers, pamphlets, and signs co-opted the slogans of women’s movements, with “My Body, My Choice,” and “Coercion is Not Consent,” featuring prominently on their pages. Protesters said they did not agree with the pro-choice affiliations of those slogans.

Pastor Andy Woodward of Providence, a reformed Baptist church on East 62nd Street, passed out information to demonstrators who may be seeking to mitigate their fear with faith. The flyers incorporated rebuttals to COVID-19 restrictions, as well as other right-wing talking points.

 “Tired of woke churches? You’re invited to PBC,” read the informational card in bold letters. The handout displayed a list of “No’s,” including, no “mask/vax mandates”, no “critical race theory,” and no “skin-color based guilt.” Underneath, it detailed “Yes’s,” among them “biblical preaching,” “conservative theology,” and “serious discipleship.”

 “You shouldn’t be forced to take it [the vaccine],” Woodard said. “If there’s a risk, you should have a choice in making an informed decision about that risk.”

Pole dancer at the World Wide Rally for Freedom with her “I’m My Own Shot Caller” sign. Photo by Annie Iezzi

 This sentiment was repeated often from the stage at the end of the protest route. There, former Rockette Heather Bereman was the emcee for the stationary portion of the event. She led the crowd in a rendition of “Do You Hear the People Sing” from Les Misérable, before introducing the event’s several musical performers. The booing of passersby was almost drowned out by their singing.

 Fist pumping musicians rapped about the overreach of the government, the uprising of the people, the importance of personal liberties, and in one case, the need for the people to arm themselves against a tyrannical government. Other singers performed more instrumental pieces about seeking human love in today’s world of isolation spurred by COVID-19 and the ensuing government restrictions.

 Amid the protesters bouncing and swaying to the music or distributing self-produced informational flyers, Jennifer Rivera stood alongside a stand-alone pole, of the pole dancing variety.

 Rivera, the CEO and owner of Pole2Pole Fitness, nodded her head as she spoke.

“I’m here because I’m against the mandates,” she said. “My place of business will not comply with the mandates that people show vaccine records…Pole dancing is perfect for this movement because we are the rebels of fitness.”

The post Preachers, Pole Dancers, and Protesters rally against vaccine mandates at New York’s Freedom Rally appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

“When I get sick with anything I get sicker than anybody else would,” Decherd said. “I want to be there for my students, I want to be there for me, for my family, for my colleagues. But it is not safe.” 

Even though Decherd received his Covid-19 vaccine, his body did not produce the antibodies needed to fight off the virus, leaving him, essentially, unvaccinated. 

In July and August, Decherd applied for a medical exemption to be able to teach remotely for the 2021-2022 school year. Because of his severely depleted immune system, Covid-19 has the potential to kill him. Still, New York denied his application — twice.

“It didn’t really seem like they even read [my applications],” he said.

The United Federation of Teachers filed an arbitration to defend educators, like Decherd, who had their religious or medical exemption rejected by the city, but finalized plans are still being negotiated. 

“The reason for the denial is illegal, period,” said Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers in a news conference Friday. “And the way they did it, by not engaging an individual, it was also illegal.” 

The city and the UFT hope to come to an agreement by Sept. 27 — a date that already has a pre-existing deadline for educators to get their first vaccination dose. 

But on Sept. 10, arbitrator Martin Scheinman released his decision. Scheinman ruled that teachers would be granted permission to temporarily teach remotely, if the exemption was approved. Educators who needed an accommodation were asked to reapply.

The decision also stated that the remote teaching option could change to a different assignment entirely, noting that educators could potentially be moved to doing work for the Department of Education. 

“I obviously didn’t get into teaching to do something else other than teach,” Decherd said. “But there’s other issues. It’s not safe for me to be on public transportation. It’s not safe for me to be in a building with people who are not my family.” 

On the evening of Sept. 12, two days after the arbitration decision, Decherd received an email from the Office of Disability Accommodations stating that his medical exemption had been approved, after applying for the third time. 

“We are reaching out to you because you have been medically approved for a COVID-19 vaccination mandate-related exemption or accommodation,” the notification email read. “This means that you will be given an assignment to work outside of a school building (e.g., administrative offices) to perform academic or administrative work determined by the DOE.”  

The email said the DOE would notify Decherd when, where and what his new assignment would be, but until then, he has the ability to teach from home. 

“Essentially we won our argument, that also places negotiations in this particular place,” Decherd said. “At least hopefully, on my part, it allows room to say ‘there are other problems with this [reassignment].’” 

Decherd hopes that he can remain teaching remotely, as going into an office, even with less people, is still dangerous. He said he could even teach students who were medically vulnerable like himself. 

“But, I’m not holding my breath quite honestly that that would be the case,” Decherd said. “My hope is that we can truly negotiate and say ‘Yeah, that’s not a very good idea for me.’ and I can just continue to teach remotely from my home.”

The city was also prepared to take employees off of payroll if they were unable to go to school for any reason — vaccinated or unvaccinated, Mulgrew said. 

“It’s all garbage and disgraceful,” he said. “When the city put on the table that they would recognize someone’s legal right to an exemption or accommodation, but still wanted them removed from payroll, we then knew that we had to challenge the order because that is illegal.” 

Decherd is upset not only about his own situation, but also for what the city is putting his coworkers and family through. 

“I’m obviously upset on my behalf, but I’m also upset on all those other people’s behalf as well,” he said. “It seems very, very unreasonable and I’m really mad about it.” 

 The Department of Education could not be reached for comment. 

The post Immune compromised city teachers face uncertainty as pandemic rages on appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

The pause of flowers from bloom to rot fills the empty space between raindrops as they unspool in fountains.  Humans and animals caught as statues mid-action become eternal like the paving stones, moving as slowly as trees.

Flatiron Building behind Maya Lin’s “Ghost Forest,” a tree installation about the effects of climate change, Madison Square Park, New York City, NY, Wednesday, 28 April 2021, Photo by Tamar Baruch

Tulips from bulb to bloom, Madison Square Park, New York City, NY, Thursday, 15 April 2021, Photo by Tamar Baruch

Bobbi Dumas, buddhist and Kung Fu practitioner, Madison Square Park, New York City, NY, Wednesday, 28 April 2021, Photo by Tamar Baruch

White doves flying in the sky next to The Flatiron Building, Madison Square Park, New York City, NY, Wednesday, 5 May 2021, Photo by Tamar Baruch

Falun Dafa (a new religious movement) practitioners performing the fifth meditation exercise, Madison Square Park, New York City, NY, Wednesday, 4 May 2021, Photo by Tamar Baruch

Squirrel eating a grape, Madison Square Park, New York City, NY, Wednesday, 28 April 2021, Photo by Tamar Baruch

Tulips blooming, Madison Square Park, New York City, NY, Wednesday, 28 April 2021, Photo by Tamar Baruch

Coins that were tossed into the Madison Square Fountain, New York City, NY, Thursday, 15 April 2021, Photo by Tamar Baruch

Woman sitting on a park bench, Madison Square Park, New York City, NY, Wednesday, 4 May 2021, Photo by Tamar Baruch

A 17-year-old blind mixed-breed dog, Madison Square Park, New York City, NY, Wednesday, 5 May 2021, Photo by Tamar Baruch

Tulips rot, Madison Square Park, New York City, NY, Wednesday, 4 May 2021, Photo by Tamar Baruch

The Empire State Building in magenta lights in celebration of teacher appreciation week, Madison Square Park, New York City, NY, Wednesday, 5 May 2021, Photo by Tamar Baruch

The post In Madison Square Park appeared first on Pavement Pieces.