<p>Who had money for takeout? And what if the nearest takeout is seven blocks away, there is no delivery, and you don’t have a car? (New York is more than Manhattan.)</p>
<p>Remember: under $30k a year in New York City, renting in a $400k (1,050 square feet) house (so you can imagine how many are in the house to pay the rent and heat.) No car. No supermarkets. Commute to two jobs every day, often including weekends. And find food for the kids and prepare it. It’s no wonder why the fast food places on the bus line are booming. It’s also why Bloomberg’s approach might make good sense.</p>
<p>I eat tongue all the time when I am in Florida. I eat hearts, intestines, tripe.</p>
<p>I admit I was being facetious, but I hope your mom has good smoke alarms, that is scary.
Not as scary as D not being able to smell though, she cant tell if anything is burning or if the gas is on.</p>
<p>If 30K in NYC amounts to a miserable existence, why not relocate. Or, is the 30K actually a high wage given the skill level. A wage which would be considerably less in other parts of the country?</p>
<p>As for the what to do when the tap water tasks yucky. Yes, an RO filter works wonders but a much cheaper and very well working solution is a Brita Filter. Kid has one at school, we take one when we travel.</p>
<p>I’ve eaten them because dh will order anything weird on a menu and I always taste what he gets. Sometimes I like it mostly I don’t. I had tongue regularly when I lived in France. It’s fine cut up in slices, but truly appalling if you look at it boiling away on the stove.</p>
<p>“If 30K in NYC amounts to a miserable existence, why not relocate. Or, is the 30K actually a high wage given the skill level. A wage which would be considerably less in other parts of the country?”</p>
<p>Fair question. Some of it for many has to do with cultural identity (there are 116 languages spoken in New York). People are working (as I noted, often two or even three jobs). One learns to make do. Consider a $6/hr minimum wage elsewhere, where you’ve managed to land two full-time jobs (people do this all the time), but in a place that requires a car. One doesn’t end up much better off, and if one of those two jobs falls through, likely worse.</p>
<p>I would not suggest that living in NYC for poor people is necessarily worse than anywhere else (and, because of very low-cost college educations, maybe in some sense better.) But it can be different, and I think it important that we all understand what Bloomberg was trying to do (even if we disagree with it.)</p>
<p>1.Nobody complains about walking 5 blocks to a supermarket. It’s more like 3 miles in some neighborhoods. One good thing Bloomberg and the City Council have done is create tax breaks and give financing for stores in underserved neighborhoods. See [NYCIDA</a> Approves Assistance for New Fine Fare Supermarket in the Bronx](<a href=“http://bronxboropres.nyc.gov/press/releases/2012-03-13.html]NYCIDA”>http://bronxboropres.nyc.gov/press/releases/2012-03-13.html) And , remember, you’re going to be lugging those groceries home on the subway. If you don’t have a monthly pass, add $5 to the cost to pay for the round trip. </p>
<p>In other neighborhoods–like mine–there is one supermarket and the prices are sky high. Our local newspaper used to have a column comparing our prices with stores in other neighborhoods–of course, the grocery store pulled its advertising, which cost the (free) newspaper a lot of money. There is one other supermarket I can walk to–it’s about a 15-20 minute walk. Part of the way is through one of the worst projects in NYC. </p>
<p>Since I do have a monthly pass, I take the subway to Trader Joe’s a couple of times a month. I lug home what I can and once or twice I’ve almost not made it when escalators/elevators in the subway were out of service. I load up on things like yogurt–79 cents per container vs. $1.35 for the cheapest brand in my neighborhood. </p>
<ol>
<li>There is nothing wrong with NYC water. The problem is that in many old buildings and many projects the pipes are so corroded that the water comes out rust colored and tastes vile. In at least some schools, the water fountains have been shut down because the water has been tested and it’s dangerous to drink. </li>
</ol>
<p>I actually love the City and I think poor people here are better off than in most places in the US.</p>
<p>Totally off topic, but there might be that many spoken in the neighborhood where I currently live. Okay, probably not, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s 20 to 30.</p>
<p>no need to apologize. I actually do agree with you that there is no excuse not to pack lunches other than not making it a priority. And I made a decision not to make it a priority. While I do admire those who pack their kids’ lunches, I don’t feel any guilt what so ever about my decision not to.</p>
Staten Island doesn’t have a subway and has very, very poor bus service, so the distance between supermarkets is a particular problem. The poor bus service and lack of sidewalks in so many areas is the reason why SI was singled out for a blanket variance to get 7th and 8th graders on school buses.</p>
You are a better woman than I. There is pretty much nothing that ever happens to my kids, from hangnails to bad haircuts to serious things, that I can’t make myself feel guilty about. I am just so not a morning person that I feel incredibly grateful that my little lambchop can get lunch in school because I was always a miserable shrew when I had to make it.</p>
<p>I agree with many of the criticisms of the soda policy. However, I applaud the intent of the law to raise awareness and reduce consumption. Like it or not, we are all paying for unhealthy choices of others through health costs, taxes, etc. I don’t like big brother, but perhaps some citizens need big brother to help them curb consumption. As a born and raised NYer, I agree there are many initiatives that could use equal attention, but I think Bloomberg does a lot of things well. I also think his philanthropy is underappreciated. He is a self made, generous man. What he is trying to accomplish is a good end even though the means has its flaws.</p>
<p>The problem I have with this law is that it is a slippery slope. If we say that this government intrusion is no bid deal, my question is: where do we stop? Remember, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.</p>
<p>Lol, mini. I had NOoooo doubt at all about this.</p>
<p>My question to you (maybe OT). If you think that government should be involved in so many aspects of our lives, why did you home-school your kids?</p>
Okay, probably not, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s 20 to 30.</p>