And I mean that. If we expect a certain level of incompetence or corruption from our New York City Mayors, then Eric Adams has gone far and beyond my expectations of either.
great /ɡrāt/ adj.
of an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above the normal or average
The intensity of the disaster that is Mayor Adams is considerably above the norm.
I currently have the easiest job I’ve ever held. This week is busy because my boss is away and I still only know about 70% of the things I need to know in order for my department to run smoothly, but it’s not hard. I’m sitting on my couch typing this right now. When I finish, I’ll log back into the system, turn on some music, and keep troubleshooting problems until 6.
If I need the day off, I’ll send a message to my boss (or her boss) on Slack and let them know. Today I started working at 8, because I was up anyway, and I scheduled two one-hour breaks for myself. I didn’t ask anybody for their permission. I haven’t showered yet, because I want to twist my hair and I’ll do that this evening. I have a saucer in front of me with crumbs from a couple of chocolate chip cookies I was nibbling on. It’s 20 degrees outside, and I only know that because there’s a weather tracker at the bottom of my screen.
When I worked in the mall, I was standing up for 8 to 10 hours a day. It was recommended that you buy comfortable shoes. You had to arrive ten minutes before your shift, 20 degrees or not, so you could put on all your gear, stuff your outerwear in a locker, and make sure your walkie worked. If you had to pee, someone not much older than you had to give you permission. If you were thirsty, someone not much older than you had to give you permission. If it was time for your scheduled lunch, someone not much older than you had to make sure the last person was back from lunch before you could clock in. If it was time for you to leave, someone not much older than you had to give you permission to clock out. I was written up for having M&Ms in the drawer under my cash register once. I sprained my ankle and had to beg my co-workers to cover my shifts so I wouldn’t be fired for not coming to work on crutches.
I did all of that while being disrespected and talked down to by customers. An old white lady told me I looked like “a fuckin poodle” because I wouldn’t honor a coupon that expired during the Carter administration. Everyday I had to walk a very stressful line between being nice while also abiding by company policy. Too far into nice, and it’s a write up for breaking a rule. To far into company policy, and it’s a write up for not making the customer’s day. And my paycheck was a quarter of what it is now.
So when Eric Adams tried to convey his support for the Workers formerly known as Essential, I bristled.
https://twitter.com/AchmatX/status/1478455659054223366Listen, I know what he was trying to say. I also know he needs somebody around him to help him say it better. In the words of Sophia Petrillo, “your heart’s in the right place but I don’t know where the hell your head is.”
Eric Adams, a cop who loves cops and guns, does not believe in travelling around the city with a security detail. He says cops keep the city safe and he’ll be fine walking around the city with his gun and the admiration of his citizens.
Well, that’s what he said during his campaign anyway. As with any politician who cannot be trusted, he’s reversed course and used his personal security as an excuse to hire his brother into a $240,000 position as deputy commissioner of the NYPD.
“Number one, he will be in charge of my security, which is extremely important to me at a time when we see an increase in white supremacy and hate crimes,” Adams told Jake Tapper Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.
(cont. NBC New York)
I love a convenient white supremacy soundbyte. The NYPD is a white supremacist organization that takes joy in terrorizing Black and brown communities. I remember stop & frisk, a policy Eric Adams supports. You can’t have it both ways. Either you’re afraid of white supremacy or you’re working within a system to uphold it.
Besides, Eric Adams made his assertion that he doesn’t need security detail on January 30th — that’s three weeks after the Koup Klutz Klan tried to overthrow the government. If you weren’t worried about white folks in the aftermath of that, you are certainly not concerned about white supremacy when it’s time to give your brother, who was the director of a parking garage, a cozy post at the NYPD to accompany you to events and collect a fat paycheck.
I got a message early yesterday morning.
I didn’t see it until the afternoon, because I turn off my notifications at night and I forgot to turn them on while I working, but I had no idea there was a fire. I live in Harlem and I’m not sure I know anyone who lives in the Bronx, so it wouldn’t be neighborhood news, but I looked it up.
The mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, on Monday revised the death toll from a high-rise fire in the Bronx on Sunday, saying 17 people were killed, two fewer than originally thought.
Adams said nine adults and eight children died. He did not immediately provide a reason for the lower count.
…
Investigators determined that a malfunctioning electric space heater started the fire in the 19-storey building.
(cont. The Guardian)
There are instances when a space heater is necessary, but for the most part, low income residents in NYC buy a space heater when the building they live in is too cold. And the building is too cold because the heat isn’t working properly or the windows are broken. Some of the most common complaints against low income housing in NYC are related to broken windows and no heat or hot water. This is true for Twin Peaks, the building in question, as well.
It’s important to note that most people do not actually file complaints until the situation becomes unlivable. If you see three apartments with NO heat, that’s another twenty apartments with LOW heat whose residents just get through the winter. Sometimes they don’t want to file a complaint because they don’t have time to sit around and wait for service. Sometimes they’ve filed before and the hassle to fix it was worth more effort than just leaving it broken the next time. Sometimes they’re afraid to file because they’re afraid problem tenants won’t have their lease renewed. This past summer, our hot water went out 7 or 8 times, and we only complained twice because getting our landlord to fix anything is a part time job in itself.
This building also lacked sprinklers throughout most of the structure. In NYC, commercial buildings must have sprinklers, but legislation to require sprinklers in residential buildings has faced strong opposition from landlords who say it will cost too much to update older buildings.
(cont. NYT)
So we have a low-income building without sprinklers where residents are using space heaters because it’s not warm enough. Buildings just like it are all over the city, but what does that have to do with our new mayor?
(cont. The City)
A landlord who doesn’t have sprinklers in his high rise buildings shouldn’t be helping to guide an administration through housing policy. We need an administration who wants to invest in public safety, not one being led by landlords who own firetraps.
We are less than two weeks into Eric Adams as Mayor, and from looks of it, it’s going to be a long four years. For me, a leader doesn’t have to have all the answers. What I’m really looking for is someone smart enough to know their limitations, someone who can effectively communicate with the public, someone who shares my goals and values, and someone who seeks out the best in their field to bring their expertise to the variety of issues facing any community.
Leave a Reply