One Man’s Garbage Is Another’s Gold

52 New York City Department of Sanitation workers were suspended for stealing scrap metal from work sites rather than turning it in for processing and sale for the city’s benefit. 2 others were cited for using department vehicles for transport. From now on guys, use a metal detector like other treasure hunters and search on your own time!

Sanitation Giving Us Garbage

The Department of Sanitation should clean up its magic act. Making garbage disappear where it never existed is fraud, not efficiency. Comptroller Bill Thompson claims that 31 of 76 lots were spotless when investigated by auditors, yet Sanitation reported they removed 2-16 tons of debris … and the city paid the disposal fees. Sanitation claims that crews sometimes clean “adjoining lots and areas.” It explained the discrepancy as a reporting method which might need adjustment. The Department of Investigation gets to examine this mess next.

New York City Has Become A Winter Wonder-Where-Is-It-Land

Remember when November’s and December’s here were filled with snow that seemed to be on the ground until February? Remember when winter’s here were really cold? If you do, you must have a very long memory. Reminisce about those days and you show your age ... maybe you're displaying some “snow on the roof” too. New York City hasn’t had many cold, snowy winters for a long, long time. Those who joined the NYC Department of Sanitation thirty years ago to collect great overtime by plowing and shoveling our snowy streets never got rich off their paychecks.

Perhaps global warming is to blame. Perhaps not. Let scientists and meteorologists debate the issue. The temperature is expected to hit 50 degrees today in Central Park. That’s 50 degrees … not 5 degrees. I'm glad. I’m older now with some “snow on the roof.” I don’t miss the cold or snow like I would were I still a kid. My apologies to the polar bears in the local zoos and our sanitation workers but, “Hooray for global warming!”