GO USA! SOCCER

Ok my score is 00 with a tiebreaker.
To me soccer is like foosball. Stand about 20 feet from your screen. Tilt you TV forward a bit. Sit down and voila! Foosball. Little foosbalm men.
Get back to me on that!

Lowest Rent Increase Since 1969 in Rent Stabilized apartements. in New York City

Yep you heard it right! Thanks New York Post again for keeping me posted. Welcome a New Age. The greed is going thanks to our awesome mayor. I love you Billy D!

This is the lowest rent increase since Rent Stabilization began in 1969.  A wonderful 1% for a one year lease and a  2.75% increase for a two year lease. That means that the rent has increased each and every year since 1969. Until NOW!

Landlords have gotten their way for over the last 40 years.

But the tide is a changing I can feel it in the wind.

Naturally the lawyers for the landlords (The Rent Stabilization Board which is pro Landlords) came out to the press to belly ache about the rising costs and their inability to make a living. Why then would anyone with a rational business sense WANT to be in the landlord business? If your loosing money and you can predict to loose more.. get out!

So this my friends makes me very happy, very very happy and shows a new  kind of leadership emerging in NYC. A leadership that cares about the quality of life in New York City.

I can bet'cha however, that this is just the beginning of a long fight. Landlords do not go down easily.

Phony Evictions? New York City? Charles Rangel and Mrs. Espaillat

Phony Evictions? New York City? You better believe it! Thank you New York Post for keeping me posted on my pet issue... evictions and housing court.

And thank you Mrs. Espaillat for bringing this issue to the forefront.
And thank you Mr. Rangel for having your team distribute phony eviction notices to tenants.


PHONY evictions notices are common practice with some News York City landlords. Conveniently, there a no numbers of statistics on how many of these occur each year because most of the victims are the elderly, immigrants and anyone who scares easily.

I have witnessed phony evictions distributed by hand when I used to live on 108th street in Spanish Harlem. Spanish Harlem is a predominately, Latin/ Mexican/Puerto Rican neighborhood.

When  the landlords smelt money they decided that gentrification was going to happen.  Their motto was, "Evict em? Raise those rents! Make more money! Move em out! Move em in! Raise the rent again!"

One of the terrible consequences of what I call landlord veraciousness or for lack of a better work  greed is that the local people became targets for evictions. Where I lived in Spanish Harlem most of the people knew limited English. Many landlords figured that since illegal eviction saved a shit load of legal fees it was definitely a strategy that was worth a shot.

 Many of those victimized came from countries with a corrupt legal system and official hand delivered papers in another language scared them shitless.

As gentrification took place I saw first hand families evicted or illegally locked out of their apartments sitting on the street with all of their possessions laying next to them or piled in a heap in the garbage. I also noticed that many of these illegal evictions took place at night usually the night before garbage pick-up as to not draw attention to the crimes taking place.  I was sickened by regularly witnessing  mothers and children shivering by dark doorsteps in the midst of winter in complete shock. These terrorized families had nowhere to go but the stoop of the place they once called home.

YES ILLEGAL EVICTIONS OCCUR AND THEY OCCUR A LOT!

If anything Rangel's behavior is  a symptom of a greater problem in the system.

If you or anyone you know has been illegally evicted please post a comment.

Rent Stabilization, and my hero Bill de Blasio !!!!!!

Over the last two days the New York post has published two articles directly related to housing in New York City. One on rent stabilization and rent increases the other on the ruling of Justice Stoller regarding tenants ability to rent their apartments in sites like Airbnb.

In the first article publish in the New York Post, on June 17th page 4, our wonderful mayor Bill de Blasio had the fortitude to suggest that  there be no rent increases this year for Rent Stabilized apartments. that is despite the overwhelming pressure of the Landlord lobby! 

I live in a rent stabilized apartment and have felt the economic crunch yet my rent keeps going up. Ultimately, It came down to cable of internet or rent. I picked rent.

Rent stabilized apartments however, are not free ride inManhattan They rent for a little below market value and in fact most rent stabilized tenants pay up to 80% of their income to keep their apartments. Most tenants live in fear of eviction for non-payment. A lost job, a slow year, a family illness can mean homelessness for some... including myself.

I have personally logged over 100 court appearances over a period of 5 years in Housing Court trying to keep a roof over my head.

 What I experienced in the New York Housing courts, was a combination of fear and terror. For me it was a thoroughly degrading and hostile experience except for  the courtroom of Judge Wendt in whose courtroom  I felt  safe and my rights protected. It was not the same for some of the other judges whose courtrooms seethed intimidation and questionable courtroom behavior.

Honorable Mayor De Blasio, it may be a good idea to look closer at the  Housing court system. I believe it is an institution that needs some attention. Personally, I would love to see some sort of formal committee given this mandate.

Next on the agenda?   May I suggest that we EXAMINE HOUSING COURT!

 

 

Big Head and Little Head Discuss Horse-Drawn Carriages in New York City

 

Fellow Man

Help preserve and protect our gentle ancestors! They are part of our future.

The Elderly and the Weather

It is soooo incredibly cold in New York today!  AND IT GOT ME THINKING ABOUT:

THE ELDERY AND THE WEATHER

 Not only does the unusual weather feed into my paranoia about this being the beginning of an ice age, it also got me thinking about why weather reporting has become so inaccurate of late, the importance of predicting the weather and the elderly.

 To answer my first point, I think weather reporting has become inaccurate  because the weather patterns that the computers are picking up are unique in that they have not yet  been recorded by the computer system. Therefore there is  no point of reference no established algorhythm and without a point of reference there can be no prediction.

So in my apocalyptic post technological age the question is: Who would  predict the weather?

(no... I am not smoking too much).

Then I thought of the series The Game of Thrones where the elders are held in high esteem because they CAN predict the weather. These elders had lived enough years to understand the weather patterns that were likely to occur and, therefore could make accurate predictions.

Weather predictions were and are essential and used to time the planting of crops, harvesting, moving, building houses etc. From that I addressed my second issue which is the importance of predicting the weather. I concluded that weather prediction is a skill, a survival skill.

All this fed into my belief  of the importance of the knowledge of the elderly. When technology is eradicated and we become a travelling nomadic people we will need weather predictors, predictors which can only be found in our elder population.

 We are loosing a valuable resource our elderly, by isolating them from the general population in nursing homes and retirement communities.

Because if we don't talk to our elders how can we predict the weather? So talk to your elders. If you can't take them home then visit more often.

 I made that! 

K xo

 

What is the Difference between a Sweet Potato and a Yam?

What is the Difference between a Sweet Potato and a Yam? They are completely different vegetables, not ever RELATED!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strippers in a Nusing Home? SIGN ME UP!

 

Who says that people in nursing homes should just sit quietly and wait to drop dead?
Come on people you party now you'll want to party then! I saw the piece in the Post the other day about the strippers  in the nursing home and if you look in the background the ladies are having a hoot.

You Go Girls!

Future nursing home people like myself. We have got to unite. If this goes to court and sticks they'll be no more fun for anyone... EVER.  We are condemning our selves  to living out the last years of our life looking out a window waiting for the grim reaper.

Please lawyers  John Ray and Vesselin Mitev please... for all our sakes drop the case.   Do this for the compassionate nurses who care for our loved ones, the management that runs everything smoothly and if I can't appeal to your altruistic tendencies please do this for yourself because when you are wrinkly old men sitting in a nursing home your going to want to see someone young and wiggly dancing in front of you before you pass to the ever after.  Trust me on this one.

And to the family Bruce Youngblood please. Come on! Reconsider! Don't take money from a system already stretched and don't forget your loved one.. Why do you want her to live in a place in which tensions are created when she was obviously having so much fun....... Come on....PLEASE!

And finally to the judge who has to hear this argument please throw it out, find a loophole or something.

SIGNING OFF

Kay Hall  xoxoxo

Best St. Paddy's Day Corned Beef, Upper East Side

Ok... this is so right on so many levels. Pintales Pizza on York ave, and 83rd.
Wrapped in wax paper, tender, not salty, seeded rye, spicy brown mustard. Yes  authentic coleslaw unbelievable ....and quarter sliced pickle also wrapped in that wax paper.
I was going to take a picture of the sandwich but I couldn't stop eating. Try...Yummm today only. Happy St. PADDY'S DAY!!

Dress or Shirt?

At what point does a dress become a shirt or a shirt become a dress?

Archangel Gabriel

This is my rendition of the archangel Gabriel. Gabriel means " God is my strength".   She motivates artists and communicators.
If you look closely at this sculpture you can see the lily on the top left  that signifies purity. The branch of paradise is the stem. She also carries a trumpet on the bottom right and a shining lantern just below.
The cross over her body in the middle is the sign of Christ.
I've just discovered Gabriel and our relationship is still in the early stages. I will keep you posted.

Mary J. Blige please rethink this.

Is there anyone or anyway you can reconsider your love of fur?

I look at it this way. You are a role model and women follow you.

The thought of women rushing to the furrier to wear some lynx pelts spells death and slaughter for this beautiful animal! PRETTY PLEASE? STOP?

U are too beautiful to wear it anyway! It gets in the way of your stunning eyes.

Shame on you Copenhagen Zoo

Disgusting, horrific, stupid, shamefull. Marius a beautiful 18th month old baby giraffe. He gets up in the morning of January 9th. He S stretches his longs legs and very long neck. He turns his head up to the sky and his big watery eyes mirror the roundness of the sun.

He sees his human handler at the gate and his stomach growls. Yummy stuff coming

He trots forward to a hand handoutstretched with a fruit. A metal thing touches his head between his eyes. The treat tastes good. The treat tastes really good. His body hits the floor his heart beats and stops. Children watch as an autopsy is performed. He is skinned, chopped up and fed to the lions. The school chldren are educated on how truly sick people can run a zoo.

My Super Bowl Predictions

I don't watch football but a final game is a tradition! My score finals are 23/ 47 with a three point spread.

I can't tell you however, which team will win! Happy SUPER BOWL..

I will wave to you from the stands!

Thank you Dr.Phil . You are a true healer!

A couple of months ago I wrote to the Dr. Phil show. I actually got an answer and an offer to be on the show. It never panned out but just the attention that my letter received help me feel vindicated. Just that little bit of out-reach helped me to understand that what I was experiencing was taken seriously.

I'd just like to send a shout out to a man, Dr. Phil, who I believe to be a true healer. By indirectly acknowledging my story he helped me overcome a lot of pain. I feel he helped to heal my wound.

I am eternally grateful to you Dr. Phil. You are truly a great healer! 

Thank you for reading.....


Karina Holosko


The letter went like this.. (wouldn't you like to know?  Lol) NOT
__________________________________________________

Alice Munro on a Cold Day in Manhattan

I just finished Open Secrets by Alice Munro! Bravo Munro... Noble Prize Winner.

I call her Ms. James Joyce Munro...LOL.  She is an author who throws her words on the floor, and like a sandstorm morphs them into characters, reassembling them in a place in Canadian history-with  the confidence of a master craftswoman... and the power of nature.  A literary treasure.

P.S. I am reading in a Starbucks which if you recall I urged you to buy stock. And as predicted the coffee chain posted a 25% jump in first-quater net income.

Please note that Starbucks has hicked its fiscal 2014 earning to $2.59 to $2.67 from $2.55 to $2.65.

Still time to buy!

Merry Xmas Everyone!!

I just want to wish all of you a very Merry Xmas and a wonderful New Year. My wish for this year is to find the grandfather clock that my father Joseph Holosko made for me many years ago. Send good thoughts! If its out there somewhere I will find it! 

And maybe... make a little short film about the journey.

P.S. Thank you very much for your generous donations. I could not make it without you.  Xoxoxo

Future Prediction for Starbucks

No offence to Starbucks but if we are looking for ways to distribute pot legally then we need a reliable,government regulated, retail outlet.

What better outlet then Starbucks? They can distribute, pot brownies, cookies, coffee mixes, and electric joints!!!!!

On every corner.

Buy Starbucks stock.

Google Winterlab at Bryant Park NYC with Kay Hall Reporting - Short Film by Peter G Pereira 2013