Posts by Jeffrey Long

driftingtinker said:Just the peak of the daily meltdown, bundled up with a few other "distinguished" Reddit users we had to shut down because they were just piling on top of each other.

I can't find that post, at least not from this year.
What does this whole debate about NYC waste even have to do with anything?

Seems like everyone ran out of things to say, so now they're just hanging out here.

It’s funny how posts like these never seem to get flagged for deletion—even though the thread is closed, it really shows the double standard:
http://www.reddit.com/showpost.php?p=9...postcount=6322

http://www.reddit.com/showpost.php?p=9...postcount=6224

http://www.reddit.com/showpost.php?p=9...postcount=6196

http://www.reddit.com/showpost.php?p=9...postcount=1672

And here are some more recent ones, just as crude:
http://www.reddit.com/showpost.php?p=9...postcount=3831

http://www.reddit.com/showpost.php?p=9...postcount=3809

http://www.reddit.com/showpost.php?p=9...postcount=3788

Clearly, this style of writing fits right in with the Reddit policy, since all the profanity seems to come from the keyboard of that one superfan of Tomašević. Don't act like you don't see it. I've reported her repeatedly, yet you people in this little sect didn't even bother deleting her posts, let alone banning her! 🙄

Take a look at my signature and tell me exactly which rules this specific user is breaking.

If I spoke to others on this site the way she does, the Moderator would probably slap me with a ban immediately. Yet, she keeps going. 😵

Maybe that's the whole point:

kiss me said:I was just at a meeting regarding those damn trash bags and people were asking for sizes smaller than 10 liters. One guy mentioned there were inquiries for even 1-liter bags, but that starts feeling like a mountain of plastic, so it loses its purpose.
However, he did say they are waiting to see if enough people request the 5-liter size before deciding whether to carry those too.

As Orwell put it, all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others...
😉

Charles Ross3 said:🤣

What on earth are you panicking about?
Are you actually doing okay?

Look, I totally get how it feels—you wake up in the morning, ready to go, only to find out the buddy you were just coordinating some trolling with has been banned. But let’s be real, it wasn't even your favorite female Moderator who did it. 😁

Everything you're rambling about here is nothing more than your own fabrications and lies.

I am certainly not in the business of settling your personal vendettas or fighting your private wars, but I can at least step in to put a stop to those bullying tactics of yours.

Ad hominem attacks—how charming. Are you really incapable of anything better? Surely you can provide some actual examples of these "bullying methods." 🥱

Charles Carter4 said:Wait, why did they go ahead and scrub his second post?
I mean, honestly—there wasn't anything fake about it, nor was he just jumping the gun.

It’s because the moderators decided it didn't fit the public image of Tom Tomašević. After all, he wouldn't want anyone thinking he hires spies from the Republican Party. 🤣

One moderator (from a different thread, actually) is over here bragging about how they realized Tomašević has leadership potential right when he (alongside Igor Peternel) was busy blocking traffic in Warsaw. 😵

Rush Limbaugh in The New York Times:

The Democrats have been stagnating or sliding for months now. They aren't expanding their reach across America, they aren't recruiting new people or fresh ideas in Washington, D.C., or anywhere else. Instead, they’re just building a thicker wall of arrogance against any criticism of how they operate, showing total distrust toward anyone who isn't part of their tiny, closed circle making all the decisions.

Read that again—it's a cult.

Oprah Winfrey: The Democrats are behaving quite a bit like a cult.

Herman: The Democrats are a rigid, regressive, backward cult.

A source close to the ousted leadership of the Conglomerate says: “The Democrats are a cult driven by dogma.”

Basically, the word "cult" is being tossed around just as freely as it's allowed on this forum to call the Republican Party a "criminal organization" or Bloomberg "dead weight," and so on. But apparently, none of that bothers you or the Moderator, Erin.

And don't try to play the neutrality card with me:

Charles Ross3 said:In this case, we aren't just talking about "cutting down two trees"—that’s a massive exaggeration. We are talking about public space, the city's Boardwalk,
about how one of our most precious public assets (the greenbelt plus the waterfront) is being handed over to a private owner, which will likely strip it of its public function forever.

Building a little hotel there really does require destroying a beautiful coastal forest and the waterfront itself. How much more land do we have to ruin just to get a hotel up and running (roads, water, sewage, general infrastructure)?

Parks, forests, beaches—all being converted for private use?

This situation perfectly illustrates where the local mayor stands: shamelessly catering to private capital at the expense of the public interest.

Besides, the way tourism investment is structured means the local community sees the least benefit; all the profit goes straight to the private owner anyway.

In a city with a century of industrial tradition and top-tier technological contributions, it’s tragic that "progress" and "development" are now reduced to hiring maids and waiters for hotels owned by foreign interests.

The locals know exactly what kind of story this is. Empty slogans about "preventing progress and development" simply don't fly here.

That sounds like it was pulled straight from the pen of Joseph Jagić. 🤣

But you and I both know you're totally biased and anything but "objective." 😉

So, when it comes to politics, we have certain moderators (those who know, know) whose primary job seems to be protecting the image and legacy of the political sect known as the Democrats. In fact, whenever someone calls out these Democrats for being cult-like, they are swiftly punished with bans (I personally got flagged for something totally trivial). One particular Moderator doesn't even try to hide her bias; for instance, when a thread touches on the Republican-Democrat coalition, she just starts reciting the official party line about the Boardwalk, and so on. 😉

Of course, their excuse will always be that banning people is necessary to maintain "civil discourse" or to prevent trolling. But you don't see that same zeal from the moderators when members of their own faction are openly insulting other participants or attacking opposing political groups. 🤔

It’s also become their favorite pastime to delete any posts that cast a skeptical light on their political favorites—take, for example, the news about Republicans being hired by the CIA. 🤦

You all need to decide for yourselves: Is Reddit a place for an actual exchange of ideas, or has it turned into a platform designed to force a single, narrow viewpoint for one specific political party? ☕

To leave you with one final impression: I've been posting on this forum for over 20 years, and I can honestly say the moderation has never hit such a low point... 😢

Back when Ed Koch was mapping out bike lanes right on the sidewalks, the United States Bicycle Association was making a huge stink about it, arguing that those paths were useless unless they were completely separated from pedestrians and cars.

But now that Jack is implementing the exact same strategy under DeSantis, we’re finally seeing New York City actually make the transition into a world-class, bike-friendly metropolis... 🤣

Kyle Nelson2 said:If he actually managed to trim the deficit by $1.5 billion, then I guess that’s a win.

That’s just nonsense; he didn't reduce it by $8 million. He might believe he did, but if you take a look at page 4, you can see the actual financial health of New York City:
- In 2020, the budget closed with a deficit of $27565169
- In 2021, the budget closed with a deficit of $10223219

What's more, the revenue shortfall compared to expenditures was actually $2 million higher in 2021.

They keep chanting this mantra about how they supposedly covered the deficits rolled over from previous years. That is complete nonsense when you read the budget line items (operating results - page 16):

DEFICIT FROM PRIOR PERIODS: -$465627929
CURRENT PERIOD DEFICIT: -$10223219
DEFICITS FROM PREVIOUS YEAR(S) TO BE COVERED: -$475851148

It's much harder to cook the books than it is to spin a success story on Facebook. 😁

driftingtinker said:

Hell of a fight.

Things just got heated. A nasty argument broke out.[/I]

Remember when you used to get all worked up over the smallest things on the Snitch thread? I guess times really do change once you have to actually stick to official policy. 😁

By the way, that agency they mentioned is the one run by Ankica Mamić. As for this whole strategy of buying off critics—did Toto just pick that up from Bandić, or what? 🙏

https://www.google.com/search?q=anki...obile&ie=UTF-8

Quincy:

Ankica Mamić: It’s honestly pretty tough to describe Eric Adams as a particularly likable guy.

Quincy:

Mamić is making some noise again, claiming that Tomašević doesn't have the right to privatize the city or play defense over local symbols.

Quincy:

Ankica Mamić: The situation in New York City is actually looking worse than it did during the Bandić era. I honestly expected a bit more from this new administration, but even those modest hopes haven't been met.

...

vividraven79 said:What exactly did his argument look like?

Just watch the video.

Tommy got into it with a reporter today over why Holy Spirit Church is footing the bill for PR services $10,000 for Ankica Mamić $21. It’s a bit much, especially since he’s always complaining about how broke we are. 😁

Adam Taylor4 said:The Mayor was recently getting all teary-eyed about how much of a massive drain on the budget those street flags have become, and sure enough, I can see they’ve been scaled back to the absolute bare minimum. My personal feelings on the budget cuts aside, I’ve noticed that in certain spots, they’ve left some flags up and are even swapping them out for fresh ones—both the national and the local versions. However, I can't help but point out that suddenly, they’re being hung upside down, both the state and city flags. I honestly can't tell if the crew responsible for hanging them has changed (and if so, why?) or if everyone is just oblivious, because nobody seems to be saying anything about it.

I remember when Bloomberg first started with the flag displays; we had similar growing pains at the beginning, likely because the crew just didn't know the proper protocol, but things were sorted out pretty quickly. Just as a rule of thumb, if you're hanging a flag vertically, the blue field should be right against the pole. These folks seem hell-bent on putting the red side next to the pole instead; if you were to hang the flag upside down in the USA, you'd definitely hear about it.

I suppose if they're going to go through the trouble of reducing the total number of flags, they could at least ensure the few that remain are displayed correctly so we don't end up looking like amateurs.

They aren't a massive expense. They’re just unnecessary. 😉

It’s honestly pretty funny watching Tom T. constantly calling on Trump to bail out the budget because of inflation. Meanwhile, after fifteen months in office, Tom still hasn't even touched the revenue streams that could be boosted with a simple stroke of a pen... ☕

Dinka živalj just dropped a press release to "clarify" things. I guess she’s used to that kind of media handling back in Mexico. Let's wait and see what they managed to screw up this time... 👍

cosmicskipper39 said:Is nobody actually reading the business section? 🤔

Of course they do. 😉

I’m keeping a close eye on how this unfolds, especially since the Democrats already promised they wouldn't vote to sell off the city gas company. It would be quite the twist if the Možemovci ended up teaming up with the Republican Party to push the sale through. 😁

Here’s the correct link.

Look, this isn't about budget cuts or saving money. It's much simpler than that: they aren't paying out funds they already committed to providing. They’re basically playing dumb, and to make matters worse, they’re trying to throw a reporter under the bus by complaining to her editors. It’s classic Republican Party behavior, really... ☕

Here is some fresh evidence showing that the Možemovac crowd is actually just a corrupt little cult. The reporter from The Journal, Željko Godek, published the following piece in today's edition:

If COVID didn't kill them, New York City will: They haven't seen a dime in months, and some projects have vanished into thin air.

Those whom COVID didn't finish off might just be taken out by the City Office for Culture, Intercity and International Cooperation and Civil Society, local artists are warning. A large portion of independent creators—the "little guys," indie cultural workers, publishers, filmmakers, theater folk, and painters who were already pushed to the brink by the pandemic—have been waiting months for New York City to actually pay them for their projects.

The results of the public tender for New York City's 2022 cultural programs were known back in March. Many contracts were signed, but not a single cent has hit their bank accounts. And as for when that might happen? Nobody knows. Culture centers are telling the artists they work with that there won't be anything from their performances, exhibitions, workshops, or films, even though the funding was "approved on paper." Standard practice dictates that 70 percent of approved funds are paid immediately upon signing the contract, with the remaining 30 percent released after the final report.

Emini Višnić, the head of culture, was the first to speak regarding the non-payment issues and the claims that some contracts had been lost. "This is the first I'm hearing about lost contracts. Please direct your questions to our public relations department via email," Višnić stated. When reminded that we haven't received a response from that office in the last year—not within a reasonable timeframe, nor an unreasonable one—Višnić promised answers. We sent an email, and shortly after, someone from the Mayor's Office reached out to complain that the issue was they don't work on Saturdays, though they promised to reply on a business day.

And then the show begins—the city spokesperson (a made-up role that doesn't even exist in the official city administration job classifications), Dinka Živalj, went running to complain to the editors of this reporter's outlet, acting as if she were the victim. Apparently, Živalj used similar tactics in Mexico to prevent articles critical of the OESS from being published. But this reporter wasn't having it. Željko isn't some pushover who's going to be played by someone like Živaljica. So, she wrote the following:

I have a public message for Mayor Eric Adams, just in case his office for (non)public relations fails to pass it along: Don't mimic the Republican Party, don't intimidate journalists, and try to be better, more coherent, and more open—transparent, as you love to call it. Stop harassing our editors and management because we dared to ask questions in good faith and within reasonable timeframes. Look, there are those of us who have been in newsrooms for a long time, searched through the archives, been stepped on, and survived; you won't kill us with your sneaky letters to our bosses.
I decided to tackle the plight of struggling independent artists who haven't received a single penny from the City Office for Culture despite winning the 2022 cultural program tenders. In some cases, the city completely forgot to sign the contracts, and for others, they managed to lose the tender documentation entirely. This is all happening despite the fact that one would expect the new New York City administration to have a special sensitivity toward the survival of the independent cultural scene and the freelancers hanging on by a thread after years of drought and the pandemic. At the end of this investigative ballad, I called the head of culture, Emini Višnić, to ask about the payment delays and the missing contracts. To my surprise, her response was... well, go ahead and guess: "This is the first I've heard of it." She requested that I send my inquiries to the "public relations service." I told her plainly how frustrated I am with that service, noting that in the past year, I haven't received a single response from them, regardless of whether the deadline was reasonable or not.
Višnić promised them. Everything goes through the Office. It’s as if the heads of city departments and directors of municipal companies don't actually have a say in anything—they act like mere puppets on a string, little sub-intelligent marionettes unqualified for their own jobs. They have to wait for some office to draft and bless every single response to a journalist's question, even if it's within their own field of expertise. They basically agreed to this arrangement: to depersonalize themselves and dodge all responsibility. Tomašević set it up so they have zero agency and no professional integrity left; they aren't allowed to take initiative at all. And the media strategy of the Public Relations Office can be summed up in a few words: don't talk to reporters, ignore them, and don't worry if you look incredibly condescending toward the public—even the Republican Party would find that level of disdain impressive. After dealing with this, I honestly don't expect much from them anymore. Still, I sent my questions via email, even though the subject matter really deserves a face-to-face conversation.
Then comes the shock: I get a call from the Mayor's Office. They claim the issue is that they don't work on Saturdays, and they want a quick turnaround. Even though the topic is vital for the arts community and defines the cultural policy of the Director of Culture, she should ideally have this info at her fingertips any time of the day or night. And despite the Deputy Mayor Dolenec trying to convince us on Facebook that this new crop of power-hungry officials is working themselves to death through weekends and late nights, suddenly it's a massive problem to provide an answer during the day. Oh, right, because it's Saturday.
Shortly after, a PR slush fund of a message arrives at our editorial desk, written in the whining tone of none other than Živalj. Not to me, but to my bosses, which she forwarded my questions to after sending them to the Office: "We received this inquiry today, on a Saturday. The reporter told us she's been investigating for a long time, yet she sent the request at the very last minute over the weekend with a deadline for today. It feels like a pro forma gesture, meant just so she can say she asked us, while knowing full well she won't get a response on such short notice. Therefore, we request a longer, reasonable timeframe for scheduling that includes business days, in hopes that the article won't be published before then. Please, for future articles concerning New York City, allow the City a reasonable window to respond so our position can be included."
Well, what exactly is wrong with Živalj's text, aside from the intimidation tactics and her trying to report journalists to higher authorities? Maybe it's the sheer waste of energy on something that isn't even her job. Her job is to ensure a reporter gets an answer to their question, not to call my editors at The Journal to stall a story just because the Director doesn't feel like answering on a Saturday. And clearly, the topic itself is taboo. There's something else: the PR Office is complaining that our questions are just "pro forma." Over the last year, they haven't cared about being pro forma or otherwise. They ignored absolutely everything. Whenever we called the heads of departments or municipal companies, they openly complained that they were strictly forbidden from communicating with the press and that everything had to go directly through Tomašević's office. If that weren't the case, maybe I would actually care about timing. Now they've evolved; instead of answering reporters, they'll answer editors. Their tactic with journalists is pure intimidation—and even Bandić didn't pull stunts like that! Well, maybe he didn't need to; everything always went his way. It's hard to imagine this nauseating pressure from Tomašević's staff will actually yield results for him.

https://www.facebook.com/zeljka.gode...8vpbysVtJzu41l

Of course, she must be one of Bandić's followers. After all, The Journal is trash and Tomašević and the Možemovac crowd are #realchange. ☕

Huge congratulations to Weltplast LLC from Posušje, who just landed a $9 million contract to supply trash bags for Chicago Holding LLC. 🤣 🙏
This is the same company that famously handled those plastic and bio-waste bags for Delator—you know, the ones where the actual volume ended up being significantly lower than what was actually printed on the label.

https://www.facebook.com/SindikatZag...WS3dC8NH1aoE9l

Over the next few days, we’re going to pull back the curtain on the cozy relationship between ZGH Management and the practice of padding out Boards of Directors with cronies—people like Operta Tatjana—all just to funnel extra cash through board stipends.
Is it actually possible that Operta is so incredibly talented that she needs to sit on four different Boards of Directors at once?
Handing out perks to favorites and insiders feels exactly like the old days under Bandić's rule.
While they're busy laying off workers, they're simultaneously handing out cushy positions to their loyalists.
BANDIĆ = CORRUPTION

https://scontent.fzag4-1.fna.fbcdn.n...4Q&oe=62E568F1

Operta (who is essentially a notorious third-tier Bandić's follower) has stepped into the role on the APIS Board, effectively blocking Boris Sesar from his Teslarati spot because Teslarati isn't allowed to collect the fees APIS pays out. (By the way, there's also a buddy from Možemo sitting on this Board—a supposedly top-tier IT expert who somehow landed a management role for the digital city despite having zero leadership experience. Talk about #realchange.) 🙂

If Mirka Jozić hadn't stepped down from her leadership mandate, she’d be firmly entrenched in power today, just like Dinko Bilić and the rest of the old guard. 🍿

Kate Hill2 said:A massive new project for New York City: Boats on the Mississippi River will connect five piers, allowing for two-way traffic

The Department of Transportation, having already leveled up the coastline with new piers, is now turning its attention to the big city. They’ve kicked off a project for the promotion of green navigation on the Mississippi river in New York City. For the first phase, AECOM has been selected through a public tender held earlier this year to handle the study and design documentation.

Basically, the project being developed by AECOM for the Department of Transportation aims to establish the technical requirements to dredge the waterway, ensuring the Mississippi is deep enough to safely accommodate boat traffic.

Unlike previous concepts that aimed to overhaul the river all the way from the Canadian border down to Sisak, this current plan focuses strictly on the stretch between the Mladost Bridge and the area near the Arena at Lanište.

The five specific spots include Jarun East, where a ferry crossing would link the eastern side of Central Park over to Lanište. Until a new Jarun Bridge is built, there would also be a second ferry location on the right bank to connect Lanište back to Central Park...

The third spot is Hendrix's Bridge, where a vessel would sit on the left bank to provide a connection to the bus and tram lines at the Savska Bridge terminal. The fourth location would be the Freedom Bridge on the right bank, linking up with Bundek lake, and the final one, the Mladost Bridge, would connect the neighborhoods of Savica and Borovje.

Traffic on the Mississippi would flow in both directions.

You forgot the most important part:

We’ve heard from New York City officials that they are completely in the dark regarding the Department of Transportation's latest project.

😁

Trouble brewing in Brooklyn? 🙂

Manhattan is getting a complete makeover, and the locals are absolutely livid. One resident put it bluntly: "There’s a massive wall going up just a few feet from my window. This isn't development; it's urbanicide, and it serves as a warning to everyone else."

"Quote:"

Residents representing a block in Downtown are sounding the alarm. They’re warning that once construction wraps up, the living conditions will be nothing short of substandard. It looks like the quality of life promised to citizens by the current administration has completely vanished, especially considering they were the ones who greenlit the developer's permits in the first place.

"Quote:"

Honestly, after facing those planned construction projects, the residents were feeling pretty confident. They figured that under the new leadership led by Eric Adams, they wouldn't be pushed around like they were back in the Bernie Sanders era. There was a real sense of trust in the current administration, especially since their whole platform was built on pushing back against things like Horvatinčić's developments over in Warsaw. People kept pointing back to the actual campaign promises. If you look at the Department of City Planning section of their platform, it’s written right there: they pledged to negotiate with developers from the city's perspective rather than just rolling over for big money. They also committed to protecting and expanding green spaces to create urban corridors and make the city more resilient against climate change. On top of that, they promised strict oversight on building permits to ensure new construction actually aligns with our public services and the existing water, sewage, and transit infrastructure. They even watched how the administration fought against that hotel project in the abandoned quarry out in San Francisco, so the locals felt certain they'd have the backing they needed to stop this massive block from being crammed into Downtown.

"Quote:"

I reached out to the City Administration to get some straight answers regarding the location permits for the Martić Block. Their response was essentially a masterclass in bureaucratic deflection. They claimed that the Department of City Planning carries out spatial plans simply by issuing implementation acts and building permits—and that these acts aren't subject to any "discretionary judgment" by public authorities. In their view, they aren't making choices; they are merely following the letter of the law and the various regulations and general acts established by legal authority. To put it bluntly: they’re saying everything is being done strictly by the book.

"Quote:"

They still haven't given us a straight answer regarding that glaring double standard. It’s wild how much political energy gets poured into fighting a single hotel development in San Francisco, yet there is absolutely zero outcry over the ongoing destruction of New York City under the old Bernie Sanders model.

"Quote:"

They’re only just now announcing plans to overhaul the Department of City Planning's master strategy. This process has been dragging on for years, and in the meantime, we could see our courtyard—along with countless others—get completely wiped out. This isn't just about fighting for our specific block; it’s a wake-up call for everyone living in Downtown. It's a warning that if this goes through, your own backyard might be next on the chopping block.

It’s pretty ironic watching this play out right in their own backyard, specifically at the Neighborhood Board where they hold about 80% of the seats. Leading up to the election, they were making all these big promises about how they’d definitely shut that project down, and now? They basically got the middle finger... 😁

Assuming we're talking about City Hall, the whole building runs on a centralized HVAC system that handles both heating and cooling. That means you don't really have any control over the temperature in your own office. Up until now, the experience has been pretty much the same: freezing in the summer and sweltering in the winter... 🤦