Here are pictures of the 400-square-foot bathroom that cost New York City taxpayers $2 million
http://nypost.com/2017/07/06/councilman-cant-believe-city-spent-2m-on-this-tiny-park-bathroom/
Councilman can’t believe city spent $2M on this tiny park bathroom
July 6, 2017
A Brooklyn councilman is accusing the city of flushing $2 million down the toilet while building a public restroom at a local park.
Democrat David Greenfield told WCBS-TV on Wednesday that it took him 7½ years to get City Hall to repair the formerly run-down Gravesend Park on 18th Avenue.
But the newly refurbished park became a pyrrhic victory for Greenfield when he learned it cost $2 million to build the new, 400-square-foot bathroom facility.
“I’m frustrated that we are essentially wasting taxpayer money,” Greenfield said. “You can build a complete house in six months for $1 million.”
He pointed blame directly at Mayor Bill de Blasio, explaining, “The buck stops with the administration and at the end of the day, if the administration really made this their priority, they could figure out a way to cut the red tape.”
Republican mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis also piled on the administration, saying the project was plagued by “mismanagement.
“You get a feeling in this administration that taxpayer money grows on trees,” she said.
NYC politician introduces bill which allows black people to urinate in public so they can “fulfill their potential”
A New York City politician has introduced a bill which allows black people to urinate in public so they can “fulfill their potential.”
Personally, I think this politicians’ expectations of black people are too low. But they did choose to vote her into office, and I have no right to tell them what their goals in life should or shouldn’t be.
The New York Times reports:
New York City is poised to reshape how it treats many so-called quality-of-life offenses, softening its stance toward low-level infractions like public urination…
Under the legislation, New Yorkers given tickets by the police… would in many cases be steered to a civil process rather than criminal court…
“We know that the system has been really rigged against communities of color in particular,” said Ms. Mark-Viverito, who has promoted such reforms and is the main sponsor of the bills. “So the question has always been, what can we do in this job to minimize unnecessary interaction with the criminal justice system, so that these young people can really fulfill their potential?”
Health officials, for example, agreed to repeal a section of the department’s rules that forbids public urination…
The issue of public urination became a subject of intense public debate last summer…
Mathematical illiterates are celebrating New York City’s new 1.6 MW solar power project
AFP reports:
On a rooftop in the Bronx far from the skyscrapers of Manhattan, 4,760 panels soak up the winter rays. Welcome to the solar power boom in New York state.
Robert Kline, director of commercial sales for the Ross Solar Group that installed the panels, is delighted.
“It is the largest (solar) installation in the history of New York City,” he tells AFP.
The 1.6-megawatt installation on the Jetro Cash and Carry has been proudly singled out by New York governor Andrew Cuomo as a prime example of a drive to haul the state into a new dawn.
I’m not disputing the claim that this is “the largest solar installation in the history of New York City.”
However, I am disputing the claim that his is a “boom” for solar power.
The Ravenswood Generating Station is one of many power plants that provides electricity for New York. It makes its electricity by burning fossil fuels, and it produces 2,410 MW.
If we wanted to replace this one fossil fuel power plant with solar power, it would require building more than 1,500 additional solar power projects of the same size as “the largest solar installation in the history of New York City.”
If this solar power plant is a “boom,” it would take more than 1,500 additional “booms” just to be able to shut down this one fossil fuel power plant.
And even that grossly understates the situation, because the claimed power rating for those solar panels is only applicable when the sun is directly overhead, and there are no clouds.
If the sun isn’t directly overhead, its power output would be less than the rated maximum.
If the sky was cloudy, its power output would be less than the rated maximum.
And if it was night, its power output would be zero.
The solar power plant would have to have a backup power source, and that backup power source would almost certainly be… something that burned fossil fuels.
If there is ever a solar power plant in New York that uses batteries to store its sun-derived energy for use at night, and is able to reliably and continuously produce at least 1,000 MW of electricity at any and all times of the day or night, then that would indeed be a “boom” for solar power in New York.
New York City public school cancels gifted program because too many white students were succeeding
Uh oh. Too many white students are succeeding. That can’t be tolerated. Better cancel the gifted program, and bring these students down to the lowest common denominator. Who needs doctors, scientists, and engineers anyway?
The Washington Times reports:
NYC school cuts popular gifted program over lack of diversity
A popular gifted-student program at a New York City elementary school is getting the ax after school officials decided it lacked diversity.
PS 139 Principal Mary McDonald told parents in a letter Jan. 24 that Students of Academic Rigor, or SOAR, would no longer accept applications for incoming kindergartners, the New York Daily Newsreported.
“Our Kindergarten classes will be heterogeneously grouped to reflect the diversity of our student body and the community we live in,” Miss McDonald said in the letter posted on Flickr.com.
At least one parent described SOAR as largely white, while others disagreed, the report said.
One mother conceded the program did have a lot of white students, but worried gifted students now won’t be challenged enough.
“Where are they going to put the higher-level students? Sometimes, there are different levels, and teachers can’t handle all the levels in one class,” she told the Daily News.
In a follow-up letter sent to parents Monday, Miss McDonald wrote: “At PS 193, we believe that all children can learn and achieve high standards. We also know that we want all children at PS 193 to have equal access to high quality, challenging curriculum, and to have ample opportunities to master complex material and build academic and personal self-confidence. We also want our classes to reflect the diversity of our community. We believe we can have both: classrooms characterized by rigor and diversity.”
Judge orders New York City Fire Department to hire black and Hispanic applicants who failed “racist” written test
Here’s a situation which reminds me of the novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand:
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