I’m a beneficiary of the freeze. My “affordable” apt is still a huge portion of my income and over the last few years has gone up so much faster than my income thanks to the cabal on the RGB. Sorry landlords, but for a very brief period you may actually have to experience what it’s like to worry about not being able to keep up. Wahhh. Be grateful you’re not getting pulled out of charred dumpsters anymore.
When is there going to be a nationally organized democratic socialist party? Or, perhaps, the point is there's no central office, so to speak. Asking for a friend.
Ta, Robyn. Two years ago our tenement building in the East Village was purchased by a notorious slumlord (he was #88 on the list of the 100 worst landlords). He almost brought the building down around our ears when he started excavating the basement, ignoring the supports for the floor above. We got the city to stop him. He's done far worse in other buildings. One of the first things New Slumlord did was Frankenstein the floor below us, turning two apartments into a rooming house with five tiny bedrooms, a Barbie Dream Kitchen, laundry, and two bathrooms. At first he was Air B'n'Bing it; renting to foreign tourists for god knows how much. Now it's basically a dorm for students at NYU School of Dentistry. The front apartment was rent stabilized (the rear was market rent), so legally the rent for the entire place cannot be more than double what the rent stabilized tenant was paying. Instead, these students are paying more than that for each bedroom. Now that I'm retired (hooray!) I'm going to bake them some cookies and plant the seed that they should look into the rental history of their apartment, because they are overpaying by a LOT. Our apartment is rent stabilized, and cheap for Manhattan. The view out the front windows is a big, beautiful community garden that was purchased by Bette Midler and given to the city as a park. The sale to a slumlord did one beautiful thing: organized many of the tenants. We're not letting him get away with shit. The RGB did the right thing for once, and the city is better off for it.
This is such an old-school New Yorker comment/mentality. I love it. Those young people are lucky they have you to inform them and to advocate for them.
Can't imagine paying $5000 a month for 500 to 700 square foot apartment. Only place in the world where you can smell what your neighbors made for dinner. Or smell their farts afterword. Much less listen to them play hide the salami all night.
Always "do your research," and find a way to click human-to-human. It removes tons of bullshit, or at least sidetracks it. Now two people with something in common can focus on the task at hand. You have some common references. "Did they still serve that god-awful creamed spinach at Food Service?" Whatever. Now you can be a little bit honest with one another.
I do that kind of thing all the time if I can find a way.
I find that when people really solve things, it's them working together. As little as possible involvement by some authority figure or set of rules or hierarchy. Those things are always involved, but when things actually get done those interests are served almost as an afterthought.
My last home with my family was a 3 bed, separate living room, dining room, slab, tract home built
for WW II factory workers in So Cal. Parents got it for like $30K. Last I saw going prices there about $300-$600K depending on added pools, patios and what not.
They tell us sometimes that people leave California. Like 200,000, 300,000 people. Maybe that's a lot in some places. Here, that's one day at Disneyland.
This morning the Post printed an OP-ED saying that raising the income cap on social security will actually kill social security. It was a real pearl-clutcher. If you are an idiot.
OT: Dembele buries his second goal for France in less than 20 minutes. Then, 30 seconds later, Norway gets one back, right off the kickoff. France 2-1 Norway. This could be a good one.
Instead there is a the "federal poverty level" which punishes people who live in more expensive states like CA and NY by assuming they pay the same for housing as someone in AssSplat, MO.
No to mention the federal poverty level is not mere poverty. It's homeless starvation level. Family of four is expected to live on less than the cost of one of Nancy Pelsiopath's refrigerators.
It is cheap to live in AssSplat, MO. $29.99 rooms at the NO-Tell Inn. Color Tee Vee.
They pile on the hash browns at Millie's Diner. Bill at the Beer 'n Ammo knows when the Feds stock the fish. But dang, gas' 'spensive. Even with the corn alcohol in it.
Professor Krugman has an interesting article on AI.
'The fact is that in the past Americans generally greeted emerging technologies with optimism. So what accounts for the current hostility against AI? Let me offer several, not mutually exclusive, explanations'.
Like people hate that that shit might not only put them out of a job, but prevent them from even getting one in the first place? (Looking for a job today apparently is a nightmare of trying to get your CV past some fucking AI scanner and in front of an actual human.)
One of my former clients was job hunting, and said he'd get his daughters to help him write a new resumé. I explained to him that every job posting has keywords, and that he must customize his resumé to include as many of them as he could, because a computer program screens all of them, Katie, and rejects all that don't contain the keywords.
It also doesn't help that a lot of organizations hire internally, but still have to post the job listing even if they already know who they're going to hire. So many postings aren't for actual open jobs. I can't imagine trying to find a job today. It must be a nightmare.
I've been at my place of employment for thirteen years, "only" work 39hrs/week, perform manager duties regularly, and still don't make a living wage. And I've been told to my face that it's not in the best interest of the company to let me go full time because the extra hour wouldn't be worth the cost on their end.🙃
Somehow I'm one of the lucky ones.
And this is a union job in commie ass Minnesota. Shit is bad everywhere.
Incidentally, I'm a raging "guillotines first, ask questions maybe" liberal/leftist. All these things may be connected.
The place where I got my (much needed and appreciated) last job also did that. It was frustrating. But between responding to those and freelancing for them, I got on their radar enough to eventually get on the staff.
This is what happens when Americans vote.
I’m a beneficiary of the freeze. My “affordable” apt is still a huge portion of my income and over the last few years has gone up so much faster than my income thanks to the cabal on the RGB. Sorry landlords, but for a very brief period you may actually have to experience what it’s like to worry about not being able to keep up. Wahhh. Be grateful you’re not getting pulled out of charred dumpsters anymore.
I mean...maybe it's time to bring back a classic?
When is there going to be a nationally organized democratic socialist party? Or, perhaps, the point is there's no central office, so to speak. Asking for a friend.
But if I stop worrying about landlords I will have to go back to worrying about pharmaceutical corporations.
Ta, Robyn. Two years ago our tenement building in the East Village was purchased by a notorious slumlord (he was #88 on the list of the 100 worst landlords). He almost brought the building down around our ears when he started excavating the basement, ignoring the supports for the floor above. We got the city to stop him. He's done far worse in other buildings. One of the first things New Slumlord did was Frankenstein the floor below us, turning two apartments into a rooming house with five tiny bedrooms, a Barbie Dream Kitchen, laundry, and two bathrooms. At first he was Air B'n'Bing it; renting to foreign tourists for god knows how much. Now it's basically a dorm for students at NYU School of Dentistry. The front apartment was rent stabilized (the rear was market rent), so legally the rent for the entire place cannot be more than double what the rent stabilized tenant was paying. Instead, these students are paying more than that for each bedroom. Now that I'm retired (hooray!) I'm going to bake them some cookies and plant the seed that they should look into the rental history of their apartment, because they are overpaying by a LOT. Our apartment is rent stabilized, and cheap for Manhattan. The view out the front windows is a big, beautiful community garden that was purchased by Bette Midler and given to the city as a park. The sale to a slumlord did one beautiful thing: organized many of the tenants. We're not letting him get away with shit. The RGB did the right thing for once, and the city is better off for it.
This is such an old-school New Yorker comment/mentality. I love it. Those young people are lucky they have you to inform them and to advocate for them.
Oh, plant that seed in their ear and hope that it bears beautiful fruit.
Can't imagine paying $5000 a month for 500 to 700 square foot apartment. Only place in the world where you can smell what your neighbors made for dinner. Or smell their farts afterword. Much less listen to them play hide the salami all night.
And you don't need to hold cup against the wall.
A good day for Mamdani:
https://erininthemorn.substack.com/p/mayor-mamdani-announces-15-million?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1tl5hh
OT
Michelle says: Be kind. Always. ❤️
@snarkysillysad.bsky.social
Viking dogs
https://bsky.app/profile/snarkysillysad.bsky.social/post/3mp6sb5mylk2v
AHAHAHA
So I'm talking to this dude who is building this app for the Guinean population. I'd done a bit of a scan so I know he's been to Oxford
me: "Which college did you go to, man?"
him: "University"
me: "You're fucking shitting me, that's where I went"
and now we're just kicking off
That's how you talk to people who are in government in countries and jeeby fucking creezy that was madness.
So I have to help a couple of West African countries and it might go to nineteen other countries.
Yeah. I like to make a difference in the fucking world.
Always "do your research," and find a way to click human-to-human. It removes tons of bullshit, or at least sidetracks it. Now two people with something in common can focus on the task at hand. You have some common references. "Did they still serve that god-awful creamed spinach at Food Service?" Whatever. Now you can be a little bit honest with one another.
I do that kind of thing all the time if I can find a way.
I find that when people really solve things, it's them working together. As little as possible involvement by some authority figure or set of rules or hierarchy. Those things are always involved, but when things actually get done those interests are served almost as an afterthought.
Good for you!
If you don't mind me asking, what exactly does your health care app do?
The rent freeze sounds great, especially in conjunction with the pied-a-la-terre (sp?) tax. Wish that kind of thing was available in my area upstate!
My last home with my family was a 3 bed, separate living room, dining room, slab, tract home built
for WW II factory workers in So Cal. Parents got it for like $30K. Last I saw going prices there about $300-$600K depending on added pools, patios and what not.
They tell us sometimes that people leave California. Like 200,000, 300,000 people. Maybe that's a lot in some places. Here, that's one day at Disneyland.
This morning the Post printed an OP-ED saying that raising the income cap on social security will actually kill social security. It was a real pearl-clutcher. If you are an idiot.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/06/25/removing-payroll-tax-cap-would-not-save-social-security/
Hmmm. Let's put that to the test and see what really happens.
Only rich people oppose this so I guess that tells you the posts intended audience.
And the rich people would *never!* read NY Post. I've heard them refer to it as that yellow rag.
OT: Dembele buries his second goal for France in less than 20 minutes. Then, 30 seconds later, Norway gets one back, right off the kickoff. France 2-1 Norway. This could be a good one.
Maybe they should set rents as a fraction of median income, period, everywhere.
Will it cover the costs to own and maintain a building? Will it cover property tax payments and insurance payments?
If it doesn’t, who would own rental property. Renters usually dont have the money to buy a home, or else they would have.
That would make too much sense.
Instead there is a the "federal poverty level" which punishes people who live in more expensive states like CA and NY by assuming they pay the same for housing as someone in AssSplat, MO.
No to mention the federal poverty level is not mere poverty. It's homeless starvation level. Family of four is expected to live on less than the cost of one of Nancy Pelsiopath's refrigerators.
It is cheap to live in AssSplat, MO. $29.99 rooms at the NO-Tell Inn. Color Tee Vee.
They pile on the hash browns at Millie's Diner. Bill at the Beer 'n Ammo knows when the Feds stock the fish. But dang, gas' 'spensive. Even with the corn alcohol in it.
I got curious to see what an apartment in my neighborhood is going for.
(north side of Chicago)
2500 gets you a nice 2 or three bed, little over 1000sq feet.
While there are a lot of apartment buildings in the hood, very few apartments available, and they tend to get off the list pretty quickly
That's fairly reasonable/kinda cheap for my neck of the woods (northern NJ) 🤷🏻♀️
That's barely any more than one would pay in bumfck Maine, an hour from any potential job.
Professor Krugman has an interesting article on AI.
'The fact is that in the past Americans generally greeted emerging technologies with optimism. So what accounts for the current hostility against AI? Let me offer several, not mutually exclusive, explanations'.
One of the reasons is that it's being foisted on us whether we want it or not.
I know one, that these slopbuckets endeavor to not only put us out of work, but to suck the joy we get from creativity out of our lives.
Also that it's a vehicle for large corporations to bind us with vendor lock-in.
Like people hate that that shit might not only put them out of a job, but prevent them from even getting one in the first place? (Looking for a job today apparently is a nightmare of trying to get your CV past some fucking AI scanner and in front of an actual human.)
One AI algorithm writes the resume and cover letter, and another AI algorithm rejects it.
Yep. That's been a thing for awhile. If you don't use specific key words you get screened out.
One of my former clients was job hunting, and said he'd get his daughters to help him write a new resumé. I explained to him that every job posting has keywords, and that he must customize his resumé to include as many of them as he could, because a computer program screens all of them, Katie, and rejects all that don't contain the keywords.
It also doesn't help that a lot of organizations hire internally, but still have to post the job listing even if they already know who they're going to hire. So many postings aren't for actual open jobs. I can't imagine trying to find a job today. It must be a nightmare.
Yep. My place of employment does that. But we have hired several externals recently.
Yeah, I'm so glad I'm not looking. I hope my job holds out until retirement (like 8 years away).
I've been at my place of employment for thirteen years, "only" work 39hrs/week, perform manager duties regularly, and still don't make a living wage. And I've been told to my face that it's not in the best interest of the company to let me go full time because the extra hour wouldn't be worth the cost on their end.🙃
Somehow I'm one of the lucky ones.
And this is a union job in commie ass Minnesota. Shit is bad everywhere.
Incidentally, I'm a raging "guillotines first, ask questions maybe" liberal/leftist. All these things may be connected.
The place where I got my (much needed and appreciated) last job also did that. It was frustrating. But between responding to those and freelancing for them, I got on their radar enough to eventually get on the staff.