by Eric W. Schoen
Everything starts with a P this week. Are we playing Password?
Placards
T.J. Maxx parking lot on Central Avenue in Yonkers on Sunday. I pull in, park my car and see the car in front of me has a placard that says ‘City of Yonkers Service Member.’ It has the city of Yonkers logo on it and a City Department Shield.
An attractive lady comes out of the car and goes into T.J. Maxx like I did. A couple of shirts, a pair of skinny jeans (that’s what everybody tells you to wear when you lose weight) and other knickknacks. Hopefully she found what she was looking for and some bargains like I did.
The placard got me wondering what does ‘City of Yonkers Service Member’ mean? Who would have a placard like that on their windshield? So I figured on Monday I would contact City Hall and see what the plaque means.
I didn’t even have to call City Hall because I ran into Top City Official #1 getting his haircut at the barber I use. Jokingly I ask him if he has found JFM. He asks ‘what’s JFM?’ I tell him Just For Men. He tells me he prefers the touch of gray in his hair. So I ask Top City Official #1 what ‘City of Yonkers Service Member’ means. He hasn’t a clue.
On Tuesday I run into City of Yonkers Top Official 2 at Starbucks. You know by now my drink is espresso over Ice. He buys one of those fancy $5 drinks with I believe whipped cream on top. I ask Top Official 2 if he knows what ‘City of Yonkers Service Member’ means. He hasn’t a clue.
Something strange going on here. Top City Officials 1 and 2 don’t know what the placard means. If anyone should know they should?
99% of City of Yonkers employees do their job and do it well. Now if the placard was for a fireman or policeman assigned to work in an area with limited parking or a public works employee or any city employee needing a place to leave their car when they were using a city vehicle and parking near their office was limited I could understand the placard. Example is the Vark Street Firehouse. No parking for the private cars of firemen in that neck of the woods.
But ‘Houston, We have a Problem’ if 2 top city officials couldn’t tell me who would be using the ‘City of Yonkers Service Member’ placards. There has to be a period of amnesty to let the 1% who cheat turn their placards in. After that, it is illegal to use a placard with the city seal not authorized by City Hall. And those few who abuse must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Do it once and the abusers will clean up their acts. Period. What do you think?
Potholes
Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars (Songwriter Bart Howard)
No need to go to the moon. Just drive down Central Avenue south from Andrus Field to the entrance to the New York State Thruway and with all the potholes, actually craters you feel like you are driving on the moon. Potholes season is here. With all the Con Edison digging it feels worse this year.
So I asked the Mayor’s Communication Director Christina Gilmartin what the city was doing to fill these giant moon like craters. Her response: Since Jan 1, 2019 City Maintenance has filled a total of 6,014 potholes. Over 375 tons of asphalt used. Approx. 75 tons of asphalt used for milling locations since we started milling in March 2019. A total 219 open work orders for potholes as of 3/26/19.
So I asked Gilmartin what you should do if you encounter a pothole. Call the Mayor’s Helpline at 377-HELP. Let us know how you make out.
Pricing
The New York City MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Agency aka Money Taking Agency) needs money to fix the New York City subway. So they turn to the drivers who drive over potholes destroying their cars for help. It’s a gimmick called congestion pricing.
How does it work? You drive your car into Manhattan down the FDR or West Side Highway and you hit 60th or 61st street and you get hit with a big toll. Or tax. The question is how much. As we go to Press the New York Times says $10.
Until ‘We, the People’ are told what the amount of the Congestion Pricing toll/tax is going to be the State Legislature should not approve it. Sadly by the time you read this article the toll, tax, whatever you want to call it may already be approved.
There should be no congestion pricing when there is no congestion: 6:30 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. Nights and weekend the toll meters should be off too! You go to the theater with your significant other, you pay for tickets, parking, dinner, a babysitter and now are hit with another toll or tax!
State Legislators: Be not afraid. Before you pass the tax tell us how much it will be!
Pittance
If you live in Yonkers you must during your lifetime participate in the city budget tango at least once. Go up to freezing Albany to beg for money. Attend a local rally where all the politicians scream for more money and put the blame on other levels of government. Sign a petition (now they are online so you don’t need a pen!). Call the Governor and State Legislators asking for a fair share of state aid.
After this occurs and we don’t get all the aid we need, the layoff notices come. Scary for first timers. Old timers are use to it.
With Senator Cousins leading the State Senate and Senator Mayer leading the Senate Education committee we will get some additional money but never enough. A ‘Mighty Mouse’ will save the day, but we will dance the same tango again next year.
The players may change but every year It’s just like Irving Berlin wrote and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers sang: Won’t you change partners and dance with me?
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM or go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream.
