Category: Life in the Big City

Emergency manager for Atlantic City

~ susie ~ 5 Comments

The city at dusk

The city is poor, but it certainly doesn’t warrant the Detroit treatment. Must be something in this for Christie:

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie will appoint an emergency manager to take over the troubled resort town’s daily operations, The Wall Street Journal reported early Thursday morning.

The emergency manager position was one recommendation of an advisory commission Christie formed. The governor is expected to formally announce the move Thursday during the third summit he has held in an effort pull the city from economic hardship.

“They’re moving forward with an emergency manager,” Atlantic City Council President Frank M. Gilliam Jr. told Philly.com.

Christie is expected to name Kevin Lavin, a lawyer who worked for FTI Consulting Inc. in New York, a source told The Wall Street Journal. Another man, former Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr, will be brought on as a consultant to work with Lavin, the paper also reported. Orr controlled Detroit’s finances beginning in March 2013.

The two will begin immediately and will assume the powers now held by the mayor and council. They will also be free to consider a range of solutions — including renegotiating public-employee contracts, The Journal reported.

“I’ve heard rumors to the same effect that other people have heard,” state Sen. Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic) told NJ Advance Media, referring to Orr coming to the city.

He added: “I wonder where the legal authority comes from for it, frankly, number one. Number two, I don’t want to speak for the city or the mayor — I haven’t been mayor for quite a while — but there’s a philosophical question of we have an elected mayor and an elected council and we’re just going to throw that out? On what basis? Detroit was in bankruptcy.”

Big storm expected Saturday

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Bread... or what was

UPDATE: Ha ha, turns out climate change is turning this into a “rain event”:

Our passing nor’easter is dealing with an unusually large amount of warm air for this time of year, which means that most of our precipitation during the day is rain and not snow. In the far northwest suburbs, a change back to a bit of snow and ice is possible in the late morning or early afternoon as the precipitation winds down. Snow will accumulate up to 1-3″ across most areas away from the Shore before dawn, but at least some of this will be washed away by rain during the day. The Lehigh Valley will see snow for a longer period with some rain and sleet possible for a time, which means around 3″ to 4″ of snow accumulation and slicker roads. For central Delaware and southern New Jersey, a quick coating of snow will be washed away by .75″ to 1″ of rain. Moisture moves off the Jersey coast late in the day. The high is 39.

I went to the store this morning, figuring I’d beat the rush. (It worked. I even got a parking spot close to the door.) But for the first time, the store public address system was trying to get shoppers worked up: “Don’t be stuck inside without the items you need!” I’ve never heard that kind of fearmongering before:

JANUARY 24th VERY DIFFICULT Forecast coming up for very early Saturday morning, through early Saturday evening. Overnight few computer models backed away from intensity of storm, but as of early this morning shifted back to possible moderate to HIGH IMPACT WINTER STORM. Storm will be developing along the N.C on Friday night, the exact intensity, and track will determine how much snow vs rain. Right now it appears a good bit of mixing from I95 Southeast across SNJ and Delaware. Which would keep amounts of frozen down with more in the way of liquid.North west of the I95 corridor could see significant to possibly heavy accumulations. However if storm track is further off-shore would mean more frozen for I95 corridor but less in the way of snow North and west of corridor. Right now leaning to a mix for city and points east starting early Saturday morning with a changeover to rain and then perhaps a changeover back to snow before ending. North and west of I95 more in the way of accumulating snow/sleet, especially across WESTERN/NORTHERN CHESTER COUNTY, NORTHWEST MONTGOMERY, AND UPPER BUCKS.

HIGH UNCERTAINTY EXISTS IN FINAL RESOLUTION. WILL REFINE, ADJUST AS MORE DATA ARRIVES. Silly to post possible snow amounts at this time as I simply don’t know until I see a couple of more computer runs, and would be in error to post anything right now due to the very wide margin of error at this time.

Bridge collapse in Cincinnati leaves one dead

~ susie

They were doing demolition on the overpass when it collapsed:

CINCINNATI — An old bridge on Interstate 75 was undergoing demolition late Monday when it collapsed, killing a construction worker and shutting down a stretch of the interstate for what could be days.

The “catastrophic pancake collapse” happened about 10:30 p.m. as a crew prepared for demolition of the old Hopple Street overpass, according to a statement from the City of Cincinnati.

It was part of the old northbound off-ramp to Hopple Street. The new bridge is already open.

As the old bridge collapsed to the ground, a semi-tractor trailer driver crashed into the rubble, police said.

Ivan Klima covers the NFL playoffs

~ odd man out ~ 1 Comment

klima

Swamp Rabbit and I were hungry, so we took a two-day job — strictly commission, unfortunately — peddling magical electricity in a suburban mall. There were flat-screen TVs and football fans all over the place. We caught some of the New England Patriots-Baltimore Ravens playoff game as we worked. The rabbit had bet on the Patriots to win by seven points, but they only won by four, so he lost his bet and was in no mood to join the Patriots fans as they cheered.

But the fans quickly shut up and went back to gawking at the shiny toys in the mall. Tom Brady is a great QB, I told the rabbit, but who really cares about the Patriots where we live, in Philadelphia Eagles country? In fact, who cares about the Eagles? They’re done. Show me the next distraction, please.

“In the end, it’s all garbage,” I added.

No one was looking to consume magical electricity, so I pulled from my backpack a dog-eared copy of Czech novelist Ivan Klima’s Love and Garbage and read to the rabbit a relevant passage about consumers:

They fill the streets, the squares, the stadiums and the department stores. When they burst into cheers over a winning goal, a successful pop song or a revolution, it seems as if that roar would go on forever, but it is followed at once by the deathly silence of emptiness and oblivion.

“Don’t give me no high-falutin’ lectures, I ain’t in the mood,” the rabbit replied. “I just lost fifty bucks on them freakin’ Patriots. Now I gotta stand here and watch these here consumers consume all them toys I can’t afford.”

I told him all is good, the toys won’t make the consumers any happier than he is, not for more than a few minutes. “What these people need, they can’t buy at the mall,” I said.

I added. “You’re just looking to fill the void inside you where your soul should be.”

“You got that right, Odd Man. Any liquor stores in this dump?”

We folded up our table and left the mall, still hungry. On the way back to the swamp I stole some wieners at the SuperFridge and a liter of Wild Turkey at Tinicum Beer & Spirits.

“Here you go, rabbit,” I said, handing him the Wild Turkey back at the shack. “But this garbage won’t fill the void.”

He guzzled straight from the bottle and said, “Maybe not, but at least it’ll stop the shakes.”

Me and Dr. Zhivago

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

drzhivago

It is so damned cold today, and I had to go out and order a cake for my daughter-in-law’s baby shower. I tried to get the cake at least somewhat customized, but Stock’s bakery has been around 125 years and they do a certain thing. They have their system, and it’s not going to change. I’m willing to settle, since their cake (which tastes better than just about any cake in the city) is $25.25. I could have gone to the hipster bakery and gotten exactly what I wanted, but that would have been $200 and I can’t afford that. Even if I could, I don’t think I could bring myself to pay it.

Anyway, I stopped for some soup at the local cafe. Everyone was wearing coats and hats, huddled over bowls of soup or mugs of hot beverage. I had to laugh; it reminded me of Dr. Zhivago, where Omar Sharif and Julie Christie were hiding in the old mansions that were filled with snow and ice.

On my way home, I stopped at a light. There was a young guy standing on the corner, lighting a cigarette. He had no hat. I rolled down my window and yelled at him: “Pull up that hood or I’m going to tell your mother!”

I drove away, chortling to myself.

Outlaw bikers with badges and benefits, aka NYPD

~ odd man out ~ 2 Comments

swamp rabbit

Is it possible to be paranoid and arrogant as hell at the same time? Sure it is, if you’re a cop.

Swamp Rabbit asked me how I could say such a thing. I told him to check out the NYPD goons who turned their backs to dis New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio at the funerals of their two slain comrades. As if the mayor somehow inspired the loony who killed the cops. As if he was expressing solidarity with cop killers when he addressed the concerns of people who feel victimized by the city employees who’ve sworn to protect them.

The rabbit tossed some twigs into the wood stove and said, “Git a grip, Odd Man. Screamin’ at me ain’t gonna stop cops from killin’ guys who sell loosies, or bring back the kid with the toy gun who got blasted by some Barney Fife in a playground.”

I slammed the wood stove door and said, “I know that, you stupid rodent. All I’m saying is it shouldn’t surprise anybody when cops turn their backs. That’s what most cops do.”

The rabbit took a swig of Wild Turkey and tried to pass the bottle to me. I shook him off. He said, “I still don’t get your drift, Odd Man.”

“Well, get this. You ever call the cops when there’s a domestic dispute? When your bike gets stolen or your car window smashed? When somebody breaks into your shack and walks off with your flat-screen? When some nut job down the block threatens to stab your first-born? Cops take two hours to show up. Then they laugh at you. Then they threaten to lock you up if you make a fuss. Then they turn their backs and walk.”

He accused me of exaggerating. “You’re just talkin’ about that rotten neighborhood in Philly where you grew up. Most people like havin’ a police department.”

I threw an empty can of black-eyed peas at him. “Cops aren’t a department, they’re a tribe. They’re like outlaw motorcycle gangs. They don’t rat on their brothers. They watch out for each other. They think in terms of us versus them. They hurt people who mess with them. Half the time, they lock up the wrong people. They exist outside the law.”

“You make it sound like all cops are bad guys,” the rabbit said. “That’s like sayin’ all bus drivers is bad.”

“You’re right, rabbit, there’s good and bad in all professions. But bus drivers can’t shoot people or strangle them just for looking at them funny.”

“Them’s just the bad apples,” the rabbit insisted. “Most cops ain’t like outlaw bikers.”

“Right again,” I said. “Cops wear badges and get great benefits and pensions and can retire before their hair turns gray. Bikers don’t get benefits.”

I would have kept my rant going, but the rabbit turned his back on me and hopped out to the swamp.

Caught on tape

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

pedro serrano

There are still cops who have a conscience, thank God:

A top Bronx cop was caught on tape telling an NYPD whistleblower to specifically target “male blacks 14 to 21” for stop-and-frisk because they commit crimes.

Stop “the right people, the right time, the right location,” Deputy Inspector Christopher McCormack is heard saying on the recording.

“He meant blacks and Hispanics,” Officer Pedro Serrano, who made the secret recording, testified Thursday in Manhattan federal court.

“So what am I supposed to do: Stop every black and Hispanic?” Serrano was heard saying on the tape, which was recorded last month at the 40th Precinct in the Bronx.

McCormack said to focus on the Mott Haven section, where the problem “was robberies and grand larcenies.”

“I have no problem telling you this,” the inspector said on the tape. “Male blacks. And I told you at roll call, and I have no problem [to] tell you this, male blacks 14 to 21.”

During cross examination, City lawyer Brenda Cooke got Serrano to admit that McCormack never said he wanted Serrano to stop all blacks and Hispanics.

“Those specific words, no,” he told her.

Serrano’s tape and testimony were introduced as evidence in a class-action lawsuit against the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk tactic brought by four black New Yorkers who claim they were targeted because of their race.

Charter schools are such a scam

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Charter School Rally for Reform
Little did these kids know their school would be closed in a few months. They were just pawns in the game.

Once again, a Philadelphia charter school is closing unexpectedly, leaving students and parents in the lurch and screwing the school district out of $1.5 million illegally gotten:

The fallout from the abrupt closing of the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partners Charter School spreads.

Teachers say they fear they won’t be paid money they’re owed for working in December. And amid rumors that the charter’s flagship building in Northern Liberties would be liquidated to pay creditors, several teachers decided to retrieve personal items from the building on Monday – and were initially thwarted by security.

Frustrated parents held a protest.

“It’s unfair to receive notification over the weekend that the school will be closed,” said Jihan Pauling, a parent who organized a rally outside the charter’s main campus.

Citing insurmountable financial obstacles, the Palmer charter sent letters to families and staff on Friday informing them that the school would close permanently Wednesday.

The move sent teachers on quests for new jobs and information about filing for unemployment and left families of the school’s 675 students in kindergarten through eighth grade scrambling for new schools.

The younger students were based in Northern Liberties. The fifth through eighth graders had attended classes in the former St. Bartholomew Catholic school on Harbison Avenue in Frankford.
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A cancer on the city

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

I was driving home from dinner with a friend last night. We were stopped at a light, and I saw two guys standing there talking, their cars pulled up close together.

The first thing I noticed is, they were tall, white and healthy looking. They didn’t look like they belonged. Are they junkies? I thought. They don’t look like it. But then I saw the wad of bills one of them handed the other as he passed over a baggie of white powder that was probably heroin.

I hate what this does to our city, and I hate the endless despair and greed that drives it. But don’t kid yourself, junkies are everywhere — including the suburbs. (In fact, that’s where a lot of the local customers come from.)

The first heroin addicts I ever met were rich kids who went to private school on the Main Line.