Monday, September 18, 2023

Beam Living/Stuy Town Goes Woke--Once Again!

 


LatinX??? Beam Living, once again, goes woke. The latest is using LatinX, instead of Latin, which everyone understands and has understood for decades.

To the pharmacist: "Sir, do you have any salve for this skin problem." Response from the nice pharmacist: "Yes, we do have a new product that works wonders. It's called LatinX."

Is Beam/Stuy Town serious? Do they have a person who is real and not just a voice who follows whatever idiocy the party line suggests? 

I guess using Latina or Latino is out. Now, these people are LatinX!... Why not call everyone X, and be done with it.

Thursday, August 31, 2023

"Migrants" in Stuy Town

 


How many do you recognize? The "migrants" are here. Won't you give your Stuy Town home to them?

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Hi Neighbor! This is your Stuy Town Clown and we hope you can join us for a wonderful event at OneRoof!



This was on the outside of my doorknob. It can't be for me. Maybe it is for one of newbies who are coming into Stuy Town this week. College and NYU kids with their suitcases on rollers and wondering just where that "welcome home" building is in this maze. I know it can't be for seniors. There is no phone number. A code you scan with a high-priced cellphone. The meeting is at OneRoof, which I first thought was a Stuy Town building roof, but that can't be it, as no one is allowed to go on the roof.

But wait! Must be for older residents? Buy and sell items? Introduce your pet/? Network? Hmm...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the last message from the ST Clown where Beam ordered you to sit down on one of Stuy Town and Peter Cooper benches. Beam aims to take care of you 'cause you can't take care of yourselves!

Monday, July 24, 2023

Great work?

There is no general manager here in Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village. The position has been divided up. No wonder. These are photos I took the other day. The first few are the passages from one side of Stuy Town to the other. They are all on the 20th Street loop. These should be smooth for people with disabilities using walkers, canes, etc. I myself need a walker, and I've talked to people with those issues. These people find it harder to walk with the gouges, potholes and just sloppy work. Even people with shopping carts and baby strollers may have a problem. The last photo is from something that I was surprised to see: A "good neighbors" sign that addresses residents like children. Do we really need to be told what to do when we are sitting on a bench? (The sign is now gone, either from Beam or a resident.) 

More 8/6: The new sign shown in the photos may be gone (temporarily), but other Beam Living "sit here and say hello to a neighbor" signs are appearing all over Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village. Thank you, Beam and a certain resident, for telling us what we should do. We need instructions because we are stupid and don't know what a bench is for. Some of us may think that a bench can also be used for peace and quiet and a rest, but these are troublemakers. Ha, ha! As we know a bench "is built for conversation." Beam says so! 

More 8/12: STR gets a letter from Stuy Town!.... I showed the road work that was done, some of which you will see in the photos I took. It was not at "Oval Office," but at the crosswalk there. I used the word "bullshit," talking about this work and how pathetic it is and the explanations given. Bullshit is not a word one hears in pleasant genteel company, but is used a lot in New York and elsewhere. Even Presidents of the United States have used that word! Please get people in charge who are New Yorkers or speak the lingo.

 







Saturday, June 10, 2023

Stuy Town and Peter Cooper's Dog Policy is One of Their Biggest Failures!

 


It's not just the summer months, but I've been noticing an increase in dog @#$%, refuse and smears everywhere. Even by the Public Safety building and the little booth for Security at the Oval.

There is dog #@#$ all over. Every day, I pass by dog @#$% in walkways. There was even a huge dump in our flea marker the other day. The smears are still there.

Stuy Town made dog relief areas, and now, of course, there are dog smears, and more, all over. There are special events for dogs, too. Most residents pick up after their dogs, but there are those that do not, almost intentionally. Or else they are pigs, the human kind. We have those, too. The dog situation is out of control. Big time.

Oval Path does not allow dogs on it, but no one in authority cares. Oh, they will say they do, but the evidence confirms otherwise. Whatever they say is just meant to pacify the "complainers" and hope they will be quiet.

Outside dogs are let in or even housed in Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village without any word from Public Safety or any deterrents. Remember the Blue Lanyard? It was supposed to be on every dog to make it easier to see. Management and Public Safety made big nose about this requirement.... Gone now.

If you have a dog, no matter if it is oversize or more than two, doesn't matter. Dogs rule here. Residents without dogs, do not.

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Living in Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village


There are certain things I am thankful for. But there are other things....

Some of the thankful things:The landscape and space. While things have changed (and the landscape is not the "jewel" it was before), we are still better off than a lot of people in Manhattan. At least, most of us are surrounded by a good portion of nature, unless you live on the perimeter, and can, if it's a nice day, step outside and sit on many of the benches and have the freedom to relax or socialize or just resident or nature watch. Most people in Manhattan can't do that, being forced to go to a park that is not outside their building.

We have a security presence. I know: The security here is woefully lacking in a lot of areas, but we do have it, and if one is in real trouble, one can always call security and they will come.

The playgrounds. I don't have a child at this point, but if I did, the playgrounds would be a great place to bring my little one. I believe some of our newer residents stay here mainly because of that.

The Community Center. Almost exclusively used by seniors, but it is there and has various programs for seniors. A good resource.

The service. Again, it is there. Whether the job is done properly is another question, but if something is not working in one's apartment, you can get a worker to come over, hopefully on the same day or soon.

But there are problems:

Leaf blowers. While Stuy Town/PCV prides itself on sustainability, their leaf blowers are a major health issue. I personally have seen high clouds of dust and debris kicked up in the air while residents are going to work and children to school. For residents who wear contact lenses, this dust and debris can get into their eyes. Many times, these workers do not wear masks.

Golf carts. Useful for Beam and its workers, but they can be a major headache, particularly to seniors. Crossing 20th Street from PCV to Stuy Town by these carts is against the law, but no one in authority cares.

Artificial turf. Artificial turf can cause health issues. Possibly a problem for some people.

Elevators. Every elevator should have a statement of inspection. Instead, these have been replaced by a Beam placard of upcoming events. Beam, they say, is following the law, but to have someone living blocks away in Stuy Town or PCV to see their elevator''s statement is ridiculous and goes against the intent of the law. But no one in authority cares.

Dogs. Outside dogs are not being stopped from coming into this community. And I've seen oversize dogs by residents or more than the limit of two. Blue tags on dogs? Checked? Not anymore. And I have seem more and more dog smears or unpicked dog crap, too.

Oval events. The noise seems to be greater than what is allowed, and  residents in buildings nearby can hear everything. Does Beam care? No. There are also events to celebrate a particular agenda of a small group of people who are vocal and even violent if they don't get their way.

Politicians. We can debate the quality of our governor and mayor, but our councilman is worthless and just parrots whatever is said by his party. Council persons got a pay raise of over 30% a few years back, which they do not want to talk about these days.

Electric scooters and Citibank in Stuy Town. Despite laws and regulations, enforcement by Public Safety is a major problem. Again, no one in authority cares.

Resident service. The front-line workers can be nice, but if one digs, not even too deep, they don't know about this property. A problem.

Money, money, money. Money is a god here, so if you don't have it or much of it, you can be in trouble. But I guess that isn't unusual all over the world.

So, moving here: A good choice or not?

Sunday, April 16, 2023

Lithium Batteries


In Stuy Town and Peter Cooper we see more and more Lithium batteries being used. Skateboards, delivery cycles, electric walkers, etc. While most are safe, there is still a danger if not properly used and from a reputable dealer. 

From the CNN Business article:

“In all of these fires, these lithium-ion fires, it is not a slow burn; there’s not a small amount of fire, it literally explodes,” FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh told reporters. “It’s a tremendous volume of fire as soon as it happens, and it’s very difficult to extinguish and so it’s particularly dangerous.” 

Dylan Khoo, an analyst at tech intelligence firm ABI Research, said electric bikes and scooters use batteries which can be around 50 times larger than the one in a smartphone. “So when a fire does happen, it’s much more dangerous,” Khoo said.

All lithium-ion batteries use flammable materials, and incidents such as the one in the Bronx are likely the result of “thermal runaway,” a chain reaction which can lead to a fire or catastrophic explosion, according to Khoo.

“This process can be triggered by a battery overheating, being punctured, or an electrical fault like a short circuit,” Khoo said. “In cases where fires occur spontaneously while charging, it is likely due to manufacturing defects.”

According to Kerber, the number of lithium-ion battery-based fires is growing with enormous frequency both in the United States and internationally, particularly when it comes to e-bikes and e-scooters, due to an uptick in purchases of these products during the pandemic.

“After Covid started, scooter use went dramatically up, especially in places like New York City, for deliveries,” Kerber said. “People started to get overcharged for them and turned to manufacturers which happened to have lower quality control with the battery systems. The quality manufacturers are not having issues.”

“It will continue to happen until there are regulations around the quality of these devices,” Kerber said. 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/09/tech/lithium-ion-battery-fires/index.html 

Great to use if you must, but treat these responsibly.

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Is Stuy Town Access Friendly and Other Things....


As I sit outside Stuy Town, I notice certain things. One of the things I notice is how friendly and unfriendly Stuy Town is to residents. We can talk about how Stuy Town is primarily concerned about money from residents, but it also has other things that residents should be thankful for. 

One of my eye-openers happened near the end of last year. I fell. It was a nice day and I decided to walk to Chinatown, using a foldable shopping cart to help me along and insert whatever when I would get there. Good idea, it seemed. But terrible outcome. The streets and particularly some corners were getting to be more of a physical nightmare. By the time I reached Houston Street, I was knocked down. A pedestrian took the blame, but I didn't know if it was him or me. I turned the corner, but that was as far as I could get to Chinatown. I decided to head back. Walking, of course. Then I fell again at a corner several streets away. Either I was too tried or my muscles gave way or mentally I surrendered.. Thankfully, a few New Yorkers, young too, helped me to sit on a small plastic chair that they grabbed from the coffee shop nearby.Then another young man spent time to flag a suitable taxi, even though he was on his way to work. I was able to get in the taxi and head back to Stuy Town. I was feeling well, but when I got out of the taxi, I couldn't make it. I fell again in front of my building. Two Public Safety officers came. I was actually in a good mood with them and joked around while I waited for my energy to return to head back to the building. But, after this and that, I finally was home. Safe and sound.

This was the start. The next two months or so, I didn't leave the building, and either called the deli for food or used my roommate to get things for me. With Covid, much had been set up to get things online. So I got familiar with that process.

I wasn't going to rush, however. Slowly I went outside in front of the building, with a walker now. Things proceeded. The Oval, Trader Joe's, Target.... I am exercising more and lessening the mental hangup that still hampers me. But I did notice certain things. Not only are the city streets difficult with a walker, but a lot outside, except for sitting, is a pain in the neck or legs. 

This gets me to the gravel around the interior of the Oval. Though the gravel is less than it was, it is burdensome. Not just for walkers. People with shopping carts, carriages, etc. But Stuy Town wants a certain look. But that look with gravel on walkways is a handicap for those with mobility challenges.

Beware of leaf blowers, though. There are a lot of fallen leaves and these guys do not care that much about the dust and dirt flying around.