Eric Adams - Mayor of New York City, Part 4

Smurf's perspective shifted 🤣

Parents are absolutely livid over this high school exam question: 'Is this some kind of sick joke?'

Hidden within a series of inquiries regarding "Politics and Economics," there lies one particular question concerning parental caregivers.

"The New York City administration has scrapped the 'parental caregiver' incentive program because it proved ineffective and placed an undue burden on the municipal budget; consequently, they are seeking alternative solutions. Which of the following measures intended to bolster the city's pro-natalist policy falls under the category of social policy?", reads the prompt, followed by these options:
A. constructing new preschool facilities
B. ordering new school buses
C. subsidizing childcare allowances
D. erecting a memorial plaque honoring children's rights

Yesterday was the first time they didn't even bother picking up my recycling bin, which is just the icing on the cake after they cut our trash collection in half for the last month
it’s pretty obvious the whole system at Broadway
is just completely falling apart. my bin is overflowing, and the next scheduled pickup isn't for another two weeks. On top of that, my regular trash bin is stuffed because they skipped that too. I’m literally stuck keeping a fresh bag of garbage sitting out on my balcony waiting for them to finally get their act together and clear the bins
honestly, what a joke. this crew is totally incompetent

BREAKING NEWS!!

My trash gets picked up on schedule, I don't have any beef with local community board projects (just kidding, I haven't even looked into that), and since the change in administration, my work situation has improved by like 400 percent.

As Lady Gaga would ask: what now?

A quick appeal to those colleagues here who keep nagging, boring us, and whining about their personal lives—thanks, we heard you (not just once, either). We get it. Let’s move on to something else.

If nobody starts listening, I’m going to start copy-pasting this exact post just so I can experience firsthand what it feels like to have a thread constantly spammed with the same old nonsense.

He bit into a hot potato and now he’s dealing with the burns. I saw some news about things falling apart at the MTA lately; apparently, they’re short on everything from soap and toilet paper to actual spare parts and the technicians needed to fix the fleet. I haven't followed the details too closely, but wasn't there talk about the trams being leased? Same thing with the buses. If they really are on a lease, then damn, shouldn't maintenance be included in that deal? I highly doubt General Electric is struggling with a shortage of staff or parts when it comes to maintaining the vehicles they build.

Adam Diaz67 said:He bit into a hot potato and now he’s dealing with the burns. I saw some news about things falling apart at the MTA lately; apparently, they’re short on everything from soap and toilet paper to actual spare parts and the technicians needed to fix the fleet. I haven't followed the details too closely, but wasn't there talk about the trams being leased? Same thing with the buses. If they really are on a lease, then damn, shouldn't maintenance be included in that deal? I highly doubt General Electric is struggling with a shortage of staff or parts when it comes to maintaining the vehicles they build.

Look, it’s pretty obvious where the technical breakdown is happening, and honestly, Tommy is directly responsible for this mess.
Quincy:

The whole PR strategy for running New York City seems to be built on bragging about budget surpluses in the first quarter. But honestly, it’s a total illusion. According to the Democratic Party, those aren't actual savings—it's just the administration dodging bills and stalling necessary public contracts that local businesses need just to keep their lights on.

The water system is falling apart because of some seriously half-baked, impulsive decision-making lately. It’s just one thing after another with these rushed calls that nobody actually thought through before pulling the trigger. Now we're all stuck dealing with the fallout.
Quincy:

Look, you only need one example to see how broken the water and sewage connection process is right now. Basically, the folks over at the city utility department decided to stop hiring outside contractors to handle all the actual hookups. Because of that "brilliant" move, they aren’t even taking new applications. They're so backed up that they can't even process the old ones, with wait times stretching anywhere from 30 to 60 days. It's a total mess.

So, I was reading this piece about Eric Adams and his latest move regarding the budget, and honestly, it’s just classic New York City politics. The whole situation with the funding gaps and how they're trying to shuffle things around feels like a script we've all seen a dozen times before. It’s that same old dance where the administration tries to frame a massive deficit as some sort of strategic pivot, while everyone else is just left wondering where the money actually went. The way they're spinning the narrative is pretty bold, too. They want you to believe that cutting certain services or reallocating funds is the only logical path forward, almost as if there wasn't a more straightforward way to handle the revenue shortfall. It's a bit of a shell game, really. You see these big promises during election season, and then once the reality of the city's ledger sets in, suddenly everything is "unforeseen" and requires "tough decisions." It’s easy to make those confident assertions in a press release, but when you look at the actual impact on the streets, the math doesn't quite add up. It’s less about solving problems and more about managing optics. Just another day in the life of the city, I guess. Expect more of the same once the next fiscal cycle rolls around.

Adam Diaz67 said:He bit into a hot potato and now he’s dealing with the burns. I saw some news about things falling apart at the MTA lately; apparently, they’re short on everything from soap and toilet paper to actual spare parts and the technicians needed to fix the fleet. I haven't followed the details too closely, but wasn't there talk about the trams being leased? Same thing with the buses. If they really are on a lease, then damn, shouldn't maintenance be included in that deal? I highly doubt General Electric is struggling with a shortage of staff or parts when it comes to maintaining the vehicles they build.

Maybe you'll find your answer in this article.
I skimmed through half of it before I felt physically ill, so for the sake of my own health, I stopped reading.
Check this out:

frozenraven22 said:They pick up mine every single week without fail.👍

So where exactly are you living?
I'm out in the suburbs—what kind of magic trick is happening where they come for you but skip my place?

gentlestag15 said:So where exactly are you living?
I'm out in the suburbs—what kind of magic trick is happening where they come for you but skip my place?

Central Park.

Adam Diaz67 said:He bit into a hot potato and now he’s dealing with the burns. I saw some news about things falling apart at the MTA lately; apparently, they’re short on everything from soap and toilet paper to actual spare parts and the technicians needed to fix the fleet. I haven't followed the details too closely, but wasn't there talk about the trams being leased? Same thing with the buses. If they really are on a lease, then damn, shouldn't maintenance be included in that deal? I highly doubt General Electric is struggling with a shortage of staff or parts when it comes to maintaining the vehicles they build.

MTA is out of parts, even running low on soap and TP for the crew: 'Every office has its own drawer full of rolls...'

It’s pretty telling, really: While the union head is basically confirming that everything from hygiene supplies to vehicle parts—and eventually the staff itself—is starting to vanish from the MTA, the MTA management is just staying silent.

Lonely said:I mean, Eric Adams deserves a medal if he actually manages to cut service staffing by 10 percent before the year ends.

We used to have cleaning crews of six to eight people who would just jump in and scrub the vehicles, but now there's just one person at the tram depot trying to handle the whole thing alone.

3. 28, 2022.

But from what we're hearing, they're also laying off ticket booth workers, cleaners, janitors, and various specialists—basically everyone responsible for keeping NYC's public services somewhat functional—according to Klasić.

TT, just keep going, I guess 🎉

frozenraven22 said:It’s all five days for us—my trash actually gets picked up right on schedule. 👍

I guess I’ll start posting an update every single time they clear our bins, since you seem so incredibly invested in this.

Over by my place near Waste Management, they show up twice a week without fail.

The bins are honestly never even full—we actually did some math once, looking at how much they charge each apartment per liter, and when you crunch those numbers, it turns out those two old bins we used to struggle with—you know, the ones that were always overflowing and impossible to lid before pickup—were barely even 50% capacity. So, we actually went ahead and asked, and they straight-up told us we were entitled to more bins! Now we have four, and we haven't had a single issue with overfilling since.

The whole deal with buying then immediately leasing—it’s basically just moving money from one pocket to an empty one. You're artificially boosting liquidity while totally sacrificing solvency. Then, they take that manufactured cash and blow it on paying off old buses that are already under lease. So, you're essentially selling assets just to rent them back, all while using the same assets you're currently renting. And of course, there's a bank in the middle taking a cut of everything. Honestly, you'd think this holding company was run by future Nobel laureates. 😵 Even if they managed to pull this off without any shady business, which I highly doubt, the move is just incredibly stupid. And if they start laying off operational staff, I wouldn't be surprised at all. They aren't going to let go of the paper-pushers or the people playing tin whistles—those "essential" employees.

Adam Diaz67 said:The whole deal with buying then immediately leasing—it’s basically just moving money from one pocket to an empty one. You're artificially boosting liquidity while totally sacrificing solvency. Then, they take that manufactured cash and blow it on paying off old buses that are already under lease. So, you're essentially selling assets just to rent them back, all while using the same assets you're currently renting. And of course, there's a bank in the middle taking a cut of everything. Honestly, you'd think this holding company was run by future Nobel laureates. 😵 Even if they managed to pull this off without any shady business, which I highly doubt, the move is just incredibly stupid. And if they start laying off operational staff, I wouldn't be surprised at all. They aren't going to let go of the paper-pushers or the people playing tin whistles—those "essential" employees.

It isn't just stupid; it's criminal and corrupt 👍

Ceterum censeo, my trash gets picked up on time.

It feels like they've only been picking up once a week for three weeks straight now, I guess.
They haven't really won us over or anything, because they know they never will, so they probably just don't care much.
Maybe they'll actually start paying attention if a mountain of trash bags shows up right in front of City Hall...

It really depends on which route you're talking about. For the 107 and 109, it’s basically a lottery; sometimes you get a decent, newer bus, and other times they're just beat up. Especially on the 109—you often end up on an old articulated bus that doesn't even have AC. Sometimes they don't even have a digital sign, so the driver just tapes a handwritten number to the windshield. And I guess those are probably some of the longest routes in the city, running out to Brooklyn and Queens. Trams are the same way, varies by line. But honestly, everything feels dirtier than usual lately, and even on the newer trams, the AC is either broken or barely works. You can really notice the difference compared to when they were brand new. Back then, those new trams used to be so cold even in the summer, but now you're just lucky if there's any air circulation at all. Sometimes I actually prefer the older trams because at least they have those big windows you can actually open.

gentlemoose57 said:Over by my place near Waste Management, they show up twice a week without fail.

The bins are honestly never even full—we actually did some math once, looking at how much they charge each apartment per liter, and when you crunch those numbers, it turns out those two old bins we used to struggle with—you know, the ones that were always overflowing and impossible to lid before pickup—were barely even 50% capacity. So, we actually went ahead and asked, and they straight-up told us we were entitled to more bins! Now we have four, and we haven't had a single issue with overfilling since.

Maybe the point is that you should be calling the Sanitation Department instead of venting on a forum.
Complaining here, asking for advice, or comparing notes... it’s fine, but you have to realize (hopefully) that this won't actually fix your problem.
Once you actually solve it, then maybe come back and post about the process: where it got stuck, which department was easier to deal with, who to avoid, who you called, and who you actually spoke to.

When I was dealing with a specific issue involving a public agency, I was so persistent that the director of the entire sector ended up meeting me in person.
The second he saw the mess firsthand, he ordered his team to fix it immediately.
And it got fixed, on their dime.
I'm not saying it works every single time, but a similar thing has happened to me several times.

One more thing: I have never, ever been aggressive. No yelling, no insults, no threats. If things ever get heated and my voice goes up a bit, I just say, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice, I'm just frustrated."

Try it. It won't work every time, but it often does. 🙂

darkhawk30 said:This is completely unacceptable. Either fix the whole system or stop pretending you're providing a service at all.
We’re all paying the same rates, yet the level of service is a joke—I highly doubt my bill is going down just because they’ve cut collection frequency by half.
It would be common decency to actually notify residents when pickups aren't happening, rather than forcing us to act like idiots, dragging our bins out to the curb only to have them sit there rotting for days.

I’m managing three bins for a four-unit building with ten tenants, including three kids.
What exactly is their logic here??

My apologies, I was attempting to be witty.
Clearly, it fell flat.🙈

Do you honestly believe that Department of Sanitation is just refusing to do their jobs, or is it more likely they’re simply hamstrung by a total lack of resources that's completely out of their hands?

I mean, something had to improve eventually. But I’m curious about this "improvement" everyone keeps talking about, because from where I'm sitting, all I see in New York City is pure chaos and a total mess. 🤷

penkalaa said:This is completely unacceptable; either commit to the service or don't bother at all.
We are all being charged the same rate, yet the level of service has plummeted—I highly doubt my utility bill will drop even though they are picking up half as much trash as they used to.
It would be common decency for the city to actually notify us when collections aren't happening, rather than leaving us to act like fools, dragging our bins out to the curb only to have them sit there rotting for days.

I am managing three bins across four apartments with ten residents, including three children.
What exactly is their logic here?

And you think one bill covers it all?

Alex Moore3 said:We’ve all heard your epic saga about fighting with the local neighborhood council, but feel free to keep giving us those little reminders.

I should also mention that my trash gets picked up regularly at both my drop-off spots. Plus, since the TT Group took over, the agency where I work—which is overseen by New York City—has actually been thriving. 👍

I'm sure we're all just thrilled that other city agencies might start flourishing like yours has.
Maybe you're one of the lucky ones when it comes to the trash situation. But looking at how the rest of the city looks, it's much more likely that you're just making things up.
Just look at what John Doe is saying. His claims can actually be verified, unlike yours.😁

“Whatever you claim is missing, you won't be wrong about—it's the truth. We haven't had soap or toilet paper for at least two months, if not longer. But even more concerning is the lack of spare parts for the buses and subways, no replacement glass, no signal signs, and not even enough cleaners for the vehicles... Our transit has never been this dirty, and we're short on electricians and drivers too. Everything is missing, from staff to parts to basic hygiene supplies,” said Doe.
https://www.chicago.info/aktualno/zg/...pstina/433406/