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Zohran Mamdani

My wife and I spent two weeks in NYC on vacation. We had a great time, but I have go with that old old cliche about the big apple:
"Great Place To Visit, but I would not want to live there"



G
 
Okay, but "cease and desist orders"?

Orders, really? Last time I checked, a cease and desist letter is a formal warning of an intent to pursue legal remedies, if the recipient does not "cease" and "desist" from whatever it is the letter-writer finds objectionable.

I doubt the mayor's office has the authority to unilaterally order merchants to stop selling legal goods and services in the city. Maybe if he declared a state of emergency, with that authority being one of his emergency powers. Or if the merchants were in violation of some already-existing license or permit. Etc.

I actually agree with the policy. But this isn't the first time he's given me the impression he doesn't really understand the authority of his office.
 
theprestige said:
Okay, but "cease and desist orders"?

Orders, really? Last time I checked, a cease and desist letter is a formal warning of an intent to pursue legal remedies, if the recipient does not "cease" and "desist" from whatever it is the letter-writer finds objectionable.

I doubt the mayor's office has the authority to unilaterally order merchants to stop selling legal goods and services in the city. Maybe if he declared a state of emergency, with that authority being one of his emergency powers. Or if the merchants were in violation of some already-existing license or permit. Etc.

I actually agree with the policy. But this isn't the first time he's given me the impression he doesn't really understand the authority of his office.
Click to expand...

He is talking about illegal e-bilkes and e-scooters
 
kookbreaker said:
Fine to be skeptical. I personally think that it is worth a try.



Saying it is exclusively due to crime is utterly wrong.
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I don't believe anyone claimed that it is exclusively due to crime.
kookbreaker said:
More associated, but the fact is that food deserts are more problematic in poor neighborhoods.

I live in Philadelphia: Rittenhouse, Logan Circle, Fairmount, Olde City, Society Hill - these are the wealthiest of neighborhoods in Philadelphia and through much of the 70's, 80's and 90's all of them except Society Hill were effectively food deserts. Heck most of them could still be considered food deserts if you reject Trader Joe's and Whole Foods as being proper supermarkets.

However wealthier neighborhoods people are more likely to have cars, or these days are happy to pay for Uber rides. So it is less of a problem. But it does not mean you are in the clear in those neighborhoods.


Once you live past a certain distance away from a city not having a car isn't an option. I've known plenty of folks who live in satellite towns who can get away with not having a car but a few more towns out and it doesn't really work very well.
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The definition of a food desert includes income as a component.

Mapping Food Deserts in the United States | Economic Research Service

ERS's Food Desert Locator is a mapping tool that presents a spatial overview of where food deserts are located and provides selected characteristics of the populations that live in them.
www.ers.usda.gov www.ers.usda.gov

What Is a Food Desert?​

There are many ways to define a food desert or to measure access to food. ERS's Food Desert Locator is based on a definition developed by USDA, Treasury, and HHS. Low-income census tracts with a substantial number or share of residents with low levels of access to retail outlets selling healthy and affordable foods are defined as food deserts. A census tract is a small, relatively permanent subdivision of a county that usually contains between 1,000 and 8,000 people but generally averages around 4,000 people.

Census tracts qualify as food deserts if they meet low-income and low-access thresholds:

  • Low-income: a poverty rate of 20 percent or greater, or a median family income at or below 80 percent of the statewide or metropolitan area median family income;
  • Low-access: at least 500 persons and/or at least 33 percent of the population lives more than 1 mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (10 miles, in the case of rural census tracts).
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A wealthy area where residents need to drive 3 miles to the nearest grocery store is not considered a food desert.
 
Lukraak_Sisser said:
It's something that has always baffled me once I learned of how new US cities are built. Why would you be ok with your houses so far away from any amenities that you NEED to take a car?
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Because I want privacy, quiet, and a back yard that has it's own nature. I birdwatch in my own back yard, and periodically see a variety of wildlife including coyotes, wild pigs, and cougars. The cost of that privacy and solitude and lack of noise is that most amenities are not in walking distance.
I suppose if I wanted to take a hour walk round trip it could be done, but I don't want to. At least not this time of year. My nearest grocery store is a mile and a half away, the next nearest is two and a half.
Lukraak_Sisser said:
In any new dutch (and most EU cities) a new suburb will always have various supermarkets, restaurants and other amenities within walking, biking and Public transport distance.
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Meh. If you folks don't like privacy, that's up to you I guess.
 
Emily's Cat said:
I don't believe anyone claimed that it is exclusively due to crime.
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They did.

Emily's Cat said:
The definition of a food desert includes income as a component.

Mapping Food Deserts in the United States | Economic Research Service

ERS's Food Desert Locator is a mapping tool that presents a spatial overview of where food deserts are located and provides selected characteristics of the populations that live in them.
www.ers.usda.gov www.ers.usda.gov
Click to expand...

That is one definition. It is by no means the sole definition. Most people are concerned with the poorer areas as they likely have fewer options.

Emily's Cat said:
A wealthy area where residents need to drive 3 miles to the nearest grocery store is not considered a food desert.
Click to expand...

In the suburbs, probably. In major metropolitan areas it can still be problematic. My point was that "crime" is not the reason that supermarkets don't put stores in places.
 
Emily's Cat said:
Because I want privacy, quiet, and a back yard that has it's own nature. I birdwatch in my own back yard, and periodically see a variety of wildlife including coyotes, wild pigs, and cougars. The cost of that privacy and solitude and lack of noise is that most amenities are not in walking distance.
I suppose if I wanted to take a hour walk round trip it could be done, but I don't want to. At least not this time of year. My nearest grocery store is a mile and a half away, the next nearest is two and a half.

Meh. If you folks don't like privacy, that's up to you I guess.
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You.... you really have NO idea what you are talking about. I have privacy. All of us have.

And I have the ability to walk to several areas where I could sit on a nice terrace having a coffee or a drink, to three supermarkets within 15 minutes maximum from my house. If I were to use my bicycle for 15 minutes that changes to 5 supermarkets, about 30 restaurants and about 3 more areas with nice outside seating. And that is in quiet suburbs, in a city the numbers would be far higher.

And if you truly insist on living like you want, even that is possible in the Netherlands (sort of, true wildlife lives in Poland, but that's due to us exterminating all wildlife somewhere in the 1400's or so). You can buy a farm somewhere in the provinces and STILL live withing biking distance of the supermarkets/restaurants
 
Emily's Cat said:
Meh. If you folks don't like privacy, that's up to you I guess
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How does having amenities within walking distance equate to a lack of privacy?

I'm typing this, sitting in my back garden eating the croissant I bought today after maybe a 300m walk each way to the shops. I can't see the shops from here.
 
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