Jackson Heights Life

Anyone else think that it's totally weird that the new crap-store has a wall of cleaning products right up against the front window, where they will be, ostensibly, affected by heat and temperature, making them even more creepily toxic than they may already be?

Wow, I will take some of your (over)heatedness! Our apartment (also in a 1930's or so building) is way too cold. The heat is on only sporadically, not for very long intervals, and the apartment always cools down considerably within 15 minutes of the radiators ceasing to hiss. The knobs on the radiators do nothing in and of themselves; the heat turns on and off through no effort or decision of ours, seemingly at random and unpredictable times. The worst is having to shower in the morning, when it is freezing cold, the heat not having been on since 3 AM or so! We have extra blankets, and a space heater, but the latter sucks up energy and is a little dangerous, to say the least. I suppose that this is just something that one deals with when living in an old building...

Ugh, good. Now let's hope that this scumbag finally just goes. away.

Aw, what a bummer! I really liked Family.

It doesn't matter what the crime is, someone will always find a way to blame the victim. Here, it's the poor dude's fault because he had a little money in his wallet and didn't take a cab the few odd blocks to his home. Come on, people.

I thought that it was waaay too heavy on Astoria stuff.

From what I've heard about it, she wanted it to happen. Apparently, they are "getting back together."

And, just to reiterate a post I made in an earlier thread about this scumbag:

Let's be clear, here.

The definition, under NY Penal Law, of a 3rd degree (misdemeanor) assault (120.00 -what he was convicted of), is: With intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person or to a third person.

The definition of a 2nd degree (120.05 - D FELONY) assault is EXACTLY THE SAME.

The definition for 1st degree assault (120.10), a class B FELONY (serious business), is: With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person or to a third person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument.  This pretty much fits the bill in terms of what this guy did. I'd say a broken bottle is a "dangerous instrument" and that by slashing her across the face Monserrate had "intent to cause serious physical injury."

The only reason that this guy was not charged with (and convicted of) a felony is because he was a state senator. If a poor person living in the projects or a random person of color had been charged with the same crime, you had better believe that they'd have gotten slapped with one of the felony charges. People don't usually get to slash each other across the face such that 40 stitches are needed and walk.

It would be so wonderful to have some community garden space, here... I'd be first in line for a plot. Unfortunately, virtually all of the green space in the neighborhood seems to be within the confines of various apartment and co-op buildings. I've passed by this vacant space many times while walking the dog, and I've fantasized about its being converted into garden plots, but I have a feeling that whomever owns it (the apartment building, I suppose), wouldn't be willing to let it go. Such a space is a rare commodity in the 'hood.