The Webster’s Dictionary
says “Cowtown” by extension means a dull unsophisticated city or town where
cattle ranching is the major industry. Denver used to be called a
“Cowtown”. That theme by itself could be
developed into an essay.
For me “Cowtown” reminds
me of the Wild West and lawlessness. Besides Denver, Colorado, what other
American cities come to mind where lawlessness prevails? One credible answer
would be Washington, D. C. That could be another essay.
I posit that New York City,
when Michael Bloomberg was the mayor, became a lawless Cowtown. In my last year
as a civil servant in NYC, I was brutally harassed by a less than sane
director, a certain Mr. Attikesse from Nigeria.
In the Human Resources
Administration in New York City, the personnel, including myself, are all
members of Local 371 of the Social Services Workers Union.
I was a social work
supervisor in the DAS, the Division of AIDS Services. The function and
responsibility of our office were to set up apartments for homeless PWA’s (homeless
Persons with AIDS). In itself, it was a very good and rewarding job.
The office hierarchy
consisted of a good number of caseworkers who made field visits, interviewed
clients then wrote reports of what they heard and saw. The Supervisor I’s (such
as myself) would read the reports and approve them with a countersignature. The
Sup. I’s were under the Sup. II;’s. The office was run by a Director.
The arrangement, the
established protocol was that, to get a promotion, you took a test for the next
higher job in your line. I was a Sup. I, the next job higher up was Sup. II. I
took the qualifying test and obtained a very high score. I was number 57 on the
list. The NYC civil service requires absolutely, that, if number 57 applies for
a job opening, the City has to give him (or her) the job and not give the job
to number 58 or higher. Civil Servants plan their careers based on that
guaranty.
I went to the Sup. II
hiring pool three times and was “skipped over” 3 times, and then my name was removed
from that Sup. II hiring list. What an outrage, and a perfect example of
lawlessness.
I blame this illegal
skip-over policy on Michael Bloomberg who evidently does not respect working
people. When I complained to Local 371, that the so-called “skip-over policy”
was illegal, the union rep said the skip-over policy was legal. Michael Bloomberg also corrupted the union.
The last year I was in
that job, I was being harassed by my Sup. II, that is, my supervisor, Ms.
Miller and by Mrs. Alvarez, another boss from central office. Mrs. Alvarez
would hover over my desk and berate me for ten minute sessions. I finally told
her that, if she did not stay away from my desk, I would call the police. She
finally stayed away.
The Director of the
office was Mr. Attikesse who would dream up long lists of imaginary examples of
incompetency “exhibited” by the workers in his office, of which there were
about 60. He would castigate, berate, scold, whine, write hostile, sometimes rather
incoherent memoranda to the Personnel Department. Mr. Attikesse harassed not
only me, but all the other Sup. I’s in the office and the Caseworkers and the
clerical staff. He did not single out white personnel. He was particularly
nasty with one black Caseworker from the Bronx, again citing imaginary examples
of incompetency.
About once a week, Mr.
Attikesse would change his shirt in front of the whole staff and show off his
beautiful muscular torso. Mr. A. was from Nigeria. When I saw this spectacle, I
said to myself that, if he were not such an abusive psycho, he would make a
nice boyfriend.
Eventually, Mr.
Attikesse, since he was only a provisional director, was demoted back down the
ladder to the Caseworker job, to the bottom of the heap.
In addition to abolishing
civil service protections, Michael Bloomberg also abused the poorest New
Yorkers, evicting them en masse, canceling their Food
Stamps, etc., etc. And now he is an enthusiastic supporter of Hillary Clinton.
It is a mutual admiration society duo. Hillary Clinton admires Michael Bloomberg
and MB admires Hillary Clinton who also admires Henry Kissinger. Two more good
reasons to scratch her name off your list.
© 25 Aug 2016
[editor: The political views expressed in this post are those of the author and not the LGBT Center of Colorado.]
About
the Author
I was born in 1944, I lived most of my life in New York City,
Queens County. I still commute there. I worked for many years as a Caseworker
for New York City Human Resources Administration, dealing with mentally
impaired clients, then as a social work Supervisor dealing with homeless PWA's.
I have an apartment in Wheat Ridge, CO. I retired in 2002. I have a few
interesting stories to tell. My boyfriend Kevin lives in New York City. I
graduated Queens College, CUNY, in 1967.
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