Posts by cosmicskipper39

Jack Hill2 said:I actually decided to look up the Department of Sanitation online.

This is what I found:

- No new trucks have been purchased in five years, yet they’re running them through two or three shifts
- 45% of the fleet is out of commission
- They are short at least 25 trucks
- Regular maintenance hasn't been performed for years
- Debt from repairs and parts has been piling up for years
- Way too many administrative staff, not enough actual workers
- Young, capable people are leaving because the pay is too low, and they can find better work elsewhere

To me, these don't look like issues that started yesterday... and they won't be fixed within a single term.

Honestly, it sounds like the classic symptoms of a corrupt mindset:
"Who cares if we skip a service interval? We can just pocket the cash, and nobody will notice."
"It doesn't matter if we swap a new part for a used one on a city truck. Nobody will catch on." plus "The city/state/county won't go bankrupt over $0.33"
"No big deal if we pay double for a part, nobody will notice."
"Doesn't matter if we hire one more person for administration, it won't kill anyone."
"Who cares about ten years from now? As long as we grab the money while we can."
"You'd be crazy not to take advantage of the situation while you can."
"I'm not going to be the only honest fool left."
Etc.

Look, I don't know where you found those specific numbers, but info on the fleet is public record.

Also, there's a thesis from a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology about maintaining the Waste Management branch fleet. It’s from 2018.
If anyone actually cares, it breaks down vehicle counts from 2013 and 2018, plus a list of specs and an example of what the fleet status looked like back then.

Looking at those two sources, you can see the total number of vehicles in the fleet actually increased compared to 2018—except for delivery and passenger vehicles.

Residential and commercial waste collection vehicles? There are 168 now. Back in 2018, there were only 114.
Bin washing vehicles? We have 6. In 2018, it was just 3.
Bin distribution vehicles? That's 8. In 2018, it was 4.
Bulk waste pickup vehicles? There are 70. In 2018, it was 54.
Street cleaning and washing vehicles? There are 90. In 2018, it was 85.
Delivery and passenger vehicles? There are 58. In 2018, there were 64.

Sam Wright21 said:I once met a collector who worked a route with a small cart; he was sitting there having coffee, looking perfectly comfortable. He told me straight up that you don't get one of those spots without a connection. His District spanned from Grand Central Terminal all the way to the Art Pavilion, and he’d breeze through it with ease. I used to look at the crews working near Central Park with a bit of envy too, because their pace seemed just as relaxed. But the guys on the heavy trucks? They're doing backbreaking labor.

If I were the Mayor, I would be making this my top priority immediately.

Look, if you actually want to rethink your opinion on how "easy" these jobs are, just click this link to an article about the chronic health issues caused by heavy manual labor in these specific fields.

Just read the conclusion. That should be enough to make you realize whether having a "connection" to land one of these jobs is even worth the physical toll.

bluelynx8 said:I’ll concede that for the vast majority of jobs, connections were necessary, yes. "Nepotism" is just a colorful way of saying it's either a family connection, or the cousin's kid, or the little brother's sister, or whatever else... You haven't heard the stories about how even a janitor couldn't get hired without knowing someone from the Banditos, right?
I have a friend who landed a job as a driver for the MTA—a bus driver, specifically—and let me tell you, the level of political maneuvering required to secure that role during the Bloomberg era was absolutely massive.

Those weren't just "rumors." They're actual procedures laid out in internal documents.

All hiring requests or contract changes go through the Human Resources Department, which then sends them over to the CEO of the Administration for approval. From there, they file a request for consent from the representative of the Corporation's General Assembly, the Mayor of New York City. Once the CEO gives the thumbs up, the Consent Issuance Service handles the formal request to the General Assembly representative—the Mayor of New York City. After the Mayor's rep signs off, the Hiring Consent Service passes everything back to whoever made the request. Basically, branch managers handle this at the local level, while Directors of Services manage it at the main headquarters.

Sam Alvarez4, I totally get where you're coming from. People keep calling me cosmicskipper39 like it's some kind of insult. Honestly? It used to drive me absolutely insane behind closed doors.
But whatever. I don't even bother reporting them anymore because let's face it—that's exactly what they want. It just gives them more fuel for the fire.

Maybe you should try a different approach too. Instead of getting worked up, just drop a comment in the chat like, "Hey Rambo, we see what you're doing." It’s way easier and way more effective than wasting your breath reporting a bunch of trolls who are clearly just messing with you anyway.

I gotta say, the way the new mod, stevia, talked to Ace rubbed me the wrong way too. But look, let's not go full drill sergeant on her just yet. She’s brand new to the job and needs a second to find her footing. Maybe down the road she'll actually show she can act like an adult when dealing with the users she doesn't personally vibe with.

Casey Bennett said:Exactly—if we had a like button, I would have hit it already. Instead, I’m forced to compose an entire opinion, craft a comment, and actually exert some brainpower just to react. This isn't some playground for kids who need their parents to set up their accounts; this isn't 🙂
equality for everyone! 🙂

Back when I first started posting on this forum, you didn't even need to register. I just figured things out as I went, clicking whatever buttons seemed to work. Honestly, I remember being so damn thrilled just seeing my message actually show up online.
I feel just as stoked today, quoting people who think like me—just like I'm doing with you right now. To be honest, I actually prefer this over getting likes.

Brenda Hayes16 said:If you actually look at the post I quoted, it’s pretty clear what you wrote. You specifically mentioned liking posts—you didn't say anything about PMs or DMs.

Which subforum even allows us to spam praise by quoting people ten times over?

And honestly, sending private messages just to "like" a post? That’s hilarious. Who actually does that? Only someone with way too much free time, probably. The whole point of an online community is to interact publicly and share opinions where everyone can see them.

Shame on you. Because I actually do it.
I’ll send a DM saying something like, 'Hey, XL! I really dig your posts. What do you think about what I’ve been writing?'
Then I just sit there and wait for a reply. So what? Where’s the problem and why is it "moronic"? 🤷

Sam Wright21 said:But wait, the whole damn site is down all day long. 🙂

I’m suggesting you guys just put out a PayPal link or some bank info so we can toss a few bucks toward this pathetic excuse for a server. I’d gladly chip in, and honestly, I bet plenty of others feel the same way.

I’m all for it.
A voluntary donation sounds fine by me. I’d be willing to cough up some cash just to keep this place running, even without any fancy premium membership crap.

Not that I care if some guy who used to act like he owned the place via his avatar thinks I’m an idiot for doing it. ☕

I check this site every single day, even though it isn't half as lively or interesting as it used to be.
It sucks seeing it go downhill like this.

Just give us a way to pay—you've got nothing left to lose anyway.

Someone needs to step up and help the newcomers. This whole situation is just complete nonsense.

Chloe Green61 said:Seriously, what kind of noob browses this forum through a web browser?

There's actually an easy fix for you people: Tapatalk :fanfare:

Look, you can't even use Tapatalk on phones running Java ME. But hey, thanks for the "helpful" tip about the app existing. 👍

If you use Opera Mini, just go into the settings and hit 'mobile view.' It makes the forum actually readable. At least, that's how it looks to me.

Someone went ahead and permabanned my alt account, claiming it was just a duplicate of a banned user. Honestly, administrator Nica stepped in and wiped that unfair ban away after calling out the nonsense. But now? I’m stuck. Since I got kicked off the premium sub, I can't even post anymore. Great.

I just want to give the admins a quick nudge—there have been two unanswered tickets sitting in the support queue for days now. Users are literally begging to get their accounts unbanned after posting thousands of messages on this site.

Look, those massive post counts mean people actually read what was being said. They engaged, they commented, and they’re the reason this place even has any decent content. And we all know how much quality content matters when you're trying to keep people coming back to a site.

Honestly, if you aren't planning on actually unbanning them, the least you could do is be fair and give them an answer to their requests.

@Laura Mendoza2/">@@Laura Mendoza2
I love telling myself I’d never pull the stunt Rosie pulled on Nicholas King's thread "by accident," but honestly? Look at it from a different perspective. If she hadn't stepped in, who knows how much of a meltdown you would've had, living in this little bubble thinking only a handful of people knew that new nickname was actually you.

Do yourself a favor: try out the new handle, ditch the old avatar, and for the love of God, stop bringing up that "Apple affair" ever again. Unless, of course, you want every single person on the internet to know exactly who is behind that screen.

On the bright side, at least the moderator actually owned up to her screw-up. Even if the apology felt a bit forced, it’s hard not to get the impression that she isn't much sharper than you are in this whole mess.

At the end of the day, I guess we all have our moments where we act like complete idiots. 😁

Sarah Sanders34 said:You can't just go around calling people hyenas or freaks without getting slapped with a ban or a warning. Those are the rules. I mean, you *can* do it, but don't act surprised when you get hit with a penalty.

Oh, please. You can do way more than that. It really just depends on which sub-forum you're causing drama in and whose nickname you're trying to trash. Honestly, I fell for that same kind of nonsense myself right after I made (my) new handle following a long break from the site. And man, it’s been hilarious watching how seriously some people take these "punishments."

The only thing I actually feel embarrassed about is trying to explain to my real-life friends that insulting people—no matter what the reason—is strictly against the rules here and gets you flagged. I felt like such an idiot doing that, even though I rarely lose my cool over the absolute garbage random strangers type at me on this board.

Look, it's obvious there are decent people on the mod team who scrub this stuff regardless of who's involved. As for the other ones? Don't waste your breath typing back to them. The admins will eventually do their jobs once someone starts poking them or their sensitive little fan clubs, folks...

Apparently, I didn't realize you needed a damn permit just to crack a joke on this forum. Honestly, I'm learning something new every single day in this place.

Hey ambardriver17, why don't you just head over to the women's forum? Maybe you can actually act like a man for once and stop reporting every single tiny, meaningless thing like this one. 🙂

I don't even know where to start with this one. Honestly, I'm just staring at my screen in disbelief. What happened there? It’s like common sense just flew right out the window. Seriously, how does anyone look at that situation and think it’s okay? It’s ridiculous. Absolute nonsense. My head is spinning just trying to process the sheer stupidity of it all. I'm actually annoyed now. Just... wow. Unbelievable. kaže:
Sorry I didn't jump in sooner, but I had my reasons. I was basically just sitting here waiting for my 500-point pass to expire before saying anything.

That’s a brilliant strategy right there. Really top-tier stuff. Now you can just go ahead and bravely keep doubling down on those baseless accusations that McAuliffe, cosmicskipper39, and Observer are all lying through their teeth...

No, you're just straight-up lying. Besides, how the hell would you even know what's actually going on?

It’s honestly pathetic. I barely even touch political news, yet somehow I still have a better grasp on how those losers from the politics board are bleeding into this sub than you do. I’m not gonna sit here and say anything else, though—I’ve got no interest in wasting my breath when you're busy accusing me of lying for no reason.

So, what’s the deal with that whole thing involving those flying Canadians?

I know exactly how this goes. Look, I love her, and honestly, I’ve posted about her on here plenty of times without anyone coming after me or getting me banned, but for you? I'd actually go there. I don't even know where to start with this one. Just... wow. Absolute madness. It would've been a much better fit.

Look, I’ve never been the type to let my ego get in the way. If I screw up? I say it. I apologize. Period. It's really not that deep.

Look, you're mostly wrong. Seriously. You can give me an apology whenever you feel like it. 🙂

Nicholas King said:If it isn't, how's anyone supposed to know when their post is just gonna get wiped without a penalty, versus when they actually catch a card for trolling or being abusive?

I’ve had a decent amount of my own posts scrubbed from this sub without getting a single warning. And none of them—not one—involved any insults. We're talking at least 20 posts gone.

I’ve noticed other users getting their messages deleted here too, no penalties involved. It usually happens with stuff involving minor gripes about moderator actions, petty arguments between users, and all that fun nonsense.

Since you brought up paranoia, you reminded me that some other female user was recently accused of being delusional. You didn't seem to make much of a fuss back then when we were told that "delusional" is basically just slang for tripping out.
I honestly don't get what triggered this reaction from you now. One symptom leads to another. Let's not start the drama over nothing, alright? 😳

Besides, if you go look at the complaints regarding warnings, you'll see the person who started this thread accusing another user of lying, even though they weren't even sure if it was about them. 😁
BTW, it's not about him.

Me too, 🎉
and me. 🤦

Christian Taylor3 said:What are we even waiting for now? Are we just standing around until wiredfalcon2 posts a photo of his small and thin penis? Come on, let's call it—break it up! Go ahead and move over to the comment and off-topic section. 😁

We’re all just sitting here waiting for a final verdict on whether it’s actually allowed on LJES to hand out remote diagnoses like some kind of cheap roadside fortune telling. 😁 :quack medicine:

I honestly had no clue that this specific corner of the forum was crawling with so many mental health experts, all of them apparently eager to give out totally free advice on psychological disorders to anyone they disagree with, right up until those people decide to migrate to this thread. :pure altruism:
The last time I drifted over there, I ran into a bunch of "lovers" trying to seduce people using tips straight out of a handbook, so I mistakenly concluded that part of the forum is best avoided entirely. 🤣