Government Shuts Down A Restaurant Trying To Feed People Affected By Sandy
businessinsider.comOur Managing Editor, Jessica Liebman, was driving from Manhattan to Brooklyn yesterday evening when she saw something that will make anyone who has ever been frustrated by government bureaucrats tear their hair out.
Somewhere in lower Manhattan, where the power has been out for three days, restaurants and stores are closed, perishable food is going bad, and there’s little to eat, Jess came upon the following:
While in a traffic standstill on a pitch black corner in Chinatown, we saw an NYC food inspector bust down the door of a Chinese restaurant that was serving food to dozens of people even though they had no power and no running water. It was pitch black, and all these people were eating from a huge buffet…
I knew it was a food inspector because the guy was wearing a jacket that said “Department of Health” in big white letters on the back of it. He had a big flashlight and a headlamp. When he went into the restaurant with his two sources of light, you could see that there were little candles everywhere and people huddled at tables.
The restaurant was a tiny hole in the wall spot, with a yellow awning that said they served dumplings for $4. It had a “C” in the last inspection — the NYC health inspection grade was taped to the door.
What happened next? From what I could tell, he was shining his flashlight all around (which is how I saw that there was a buffet of food) and right before we pulled away I saw him inspect a huge pot of soup that was near the door.
From the moment he walked in, it was clear that he wasn’t letting anyone leave the restaurant after that.
A business without power going the extra mile to keep its doors open and help the community in a time of need.
Got to put a stop to that immediately!
What muzzles adventure sport in India?
The government red tape for one. And, the high cost of the sports which most people cannot afford. This article tells more details - link
On building codes and regulations
- Me: So you mean to tell me that it's going to take 2 extra months and $40,000 to comply with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and city code?
- Mom: Yup, but what can we do?
- Me: Uh, forget the permits and just start building. What are they going to do about it?
- Dad: The code inspectors will come in here and make us buy the permits anyway and fix everything that doesn't comply and then fine us $10,000.
- Me: Well I don't know then, but this is bullshit.
- Dad: You have to pick your battles.
- Me: It's too bad someone doesn't fight this. It's a fundamental issue of property rights. Imagine how much money is wasted and productivity lost as a result of these useless laws. Do you think contractors are incapable of building stuff without a bunch of silly codes specifying how many millimeters door frames have to be?
- Mom: Well knowing you, you'd probably open a convalescent home and refuse to comply with ADA.
- Me: I'd cater to my customers. It wouldn't be in my interest to open a convalescent home that wasn't accessible to handicapped people. And even if it were, my property would be less marketable if it wasn't accessible to all types of people. And if I'm a property owner, I have an interest in making sure there are no hazards so that I don't get sued. I don't need a law to tell me what I already know.
- Mom: *blank stare*
- Me: Do you think anyone actually believes these laws are necessary? These bureaucrats are motivated to enforce these pointless, arcane rules in order to justify their own existence. If there weren't "violations" to crack down on, they'd be out of a job. And these permits are moneymakers for the city. That's why they come in here and cover this place with 7 miles of red tape until you spend $3,000 to move your toilet 2 more inches away from the wall.
- Dad: Yeah, you're right. It's bullshit. The world needs people like you, but let someone else fight that battle.
- Me: If everyone said that, we'd get nowhere.
soap opera
This is going to be a red-tape inspired, bureaucratic BS rant.
We had these soap dispensers at work. Perfectly fine. Did their job. You pressed the button, soap came out. Nothing wrong with that. But apparently there was cheaper soap out there. Maybe it squirted out less, saving the company a dozen dollars a year or whatever. So they replaced the old soap with the cheaper soap and entirely different dispensers.
And there were complaints. People didn’t like the new soap as much as the old soap, it didn’t smell as good, it didn’t clean their hands as well. Plus, the old soap couldn’t go in the new dispensers. Some sort of ridiculous and political battling soap company sanitary law. But we had lots of the old soap left, so people kept filling the new dispensers with the old soap.
So, signs went up. Instructions were printed. Labels were slapped on the new dispensers. After a while, people got the hang of it, and we started putting the new soap that no one liked in the new dispensers. All set, right?
Except for a small faction that actually brought in their own soap to work. So now there were options. The cheap new soap that no one liked or the new, new soap that was supposedly better on all fronts. Good. Settled. Conflict resolved. Until someone threw away an empty bottle of that soap.
Now, on the unauthorized new, new soap dispenser, sitting right next to the clearly marked old new soap, there’s another note telling us not to throw the containers away, because they are refillable.
But not with the cheap, old new soap. With another totally different kind of soap. A soap that someone had to buy and bring in because they didn’t like the soap the company bought. It’s all unsanctioned soap purchases, sneaky, back door tactics, and dirty, soapy secrets.
Endrant. I’m now stepping off my soap box.
Bureaucracy.
There are few things that bother me more than bureaucracy and bullshit. It bothers me when students here at the University at Albany, a school I’ve come to love over the last two and a half semesters I’ve spent here.
Today, when emails like this come out… that’s a sad day for the University:
Dear Senators,
An important message from Chief of Staff Jay Wholley in regards to today’s walk out. Thank you and I will be sending you an updated agenda some time today probably around 3 so please keep checking your email.
“Although I know the last few years have proven to show terrible cuts to the school and the [SUNY] system as a whole, as a member of this organization we take a stance that the school has done what it has to to survive as a great institution in the system. I understand your concerns and the want to fight the power but you cannot do so as a member of this organization. You are more then welcome to partake in the events but please do not do so as a representation of Student Association, do it as a concerned student. Thank you all for your cooperation.”
-Jay
Joseph B Wholley III
Chief of Staff
Student Association Inc.Sincerely,
Student Association Inc. Arthur Rushforth
Chairman of the Senate
This email was sent to all of the Student Association senators telling them basically that they have to stay in line. They cannot dissent from the ranks and actually have an opinion of their own, that NYSUNY2020 is going to kill the SUNY system and disenfranchise thousands of students in this state.
Last I checked, this isn’t a party-state. Last I checked, students were allowed to dissent and voice opinions and have a First Amendment right to free speech.
I believe this Wednesday I’ll be making my first trek to an SA Senate meeting…just to see how this horrid group actually works.
Red Tape
Circle JerksCircle Jerks- Red Tape
