Where Is Rob Perry's Explanation? Where Is Rob Perry?

There are a couple of concerning things worthy of mention regarding the DPW street sweeper in its LOUD, DISRUPTIVE and UNWELCOME action that I observed on State Street yesterday AFTERNOON.  In general, what I saw -- and plenty of people heard!!! -- was just wrong, and yesterday was not the first time that I have seen and heard the sweeper in the daytime recently.

First of all, why is the sweeper now so commonly operating in the daytime if HPD continues to penalize car owners for BEING IN THE WAY OF THE SWEEPER WHEN IT IS DARK by issuing $15 overnight Wrong Side Parking Tickets and, on certain streets, $25 overnight No Parking Zone tickets?  Why hasn't Rob Perry announced to the council or the public that the critical task of street sweeping is taking place in the daytime and that there is no longer a need for overnight opposite side parking regulations?  Why the hell is anyone, like me, being sure to leave their car on the "right" side of the street at night if there is no "wrong" side of the street at night when no cars are parked in the DPW street sweeper's way keeping it from the curb?

Yesterday at 1 pm, up and down State Street, the sweeper was forcing vehicle traffic headed in the same direction -- when it was seen as safe! -- to swerve into the other lane as they passed the sweeper, particularly when it was inching along, fully in the lane and passing a parked car or five.  That sweeper was likely operated for at least a few hours yesterday, getting to as many streets as possible while weaving its way around hundreds of parked cars in its way!  

Sweeper at the curb in the 700 block of State headed east
on an odd day of the week. 
There were enough parked cars on the odd side of the 600
block that it couldn't get to any of the curb!  Instead, it 
inched along in the traffic lane for the entire block.

DPW's street sweeping is not supposed to be happening while the sun is up primarily because added driving dangers and disruptions (including noise) are not an issue at 3 o'clock in the morning when few vehicles are driving on the streets and most everyone is fast asleep.  Outside of snow, THE ONLY REASON WE HAVE OVERNIGHT PARKING REGULATIONS IS TO FACILITATE THE EFFECIENT OPERATION OF THE SWEEPER TO ALLOW OUR STREETS TO BE CLEANED THOROUGHLY WITHOUT CARS PARKED IN ITS WAY!  THE ONLY WAY TO SWEEP OUR STREETS PROPERLY AND THOROUGHLY WITHOUT DANGER AND DISRUPTION TO TRAFFIC, AND WITHOUT LOUD DISRUPTION TO RESIDENTS, IS TO HAVE THE SWEEPER OUT IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS!  ROB PERRY KNOWS THIS.  MISHANDA FRANKLIN KNOWS THIS.  KAMAL JOHNSON AND THE ENTRIE COMMON COUNCIL PROBABLY DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THIS!

Lumbering along at 6th & State, trying not to cause 
an "accident."  Notice the van parked ahead in the way.
Time to swerve again.

The last thing you want is a street sweeper weaving in and out of parked cars trying to get to as much of the curb as possible and causing disruptions to traffic SWERVING TO AVOID THE SWEEPER.  Yesterday, as on any day, both sides of State Street were filled with parked cars, with all of them -- ON BOTH SIDES -- being in the way of the sweeper.  Rob Perry has opted for the dumb, dangerous and wasteful way to sweep our streets, and we all deserve a cogent explanation from him, not more of his bullshit so-called explanations full of empty words, misinformation and disinformation (also known as lies).  If DPW is going to sweep the city's streets in the daytime, they need to create daytime opposite parking regulations and get rid of the overnight regulations.  Stop wasting city revenue, stop issuing unnecessary parking tickets, stop messing with us and resume getting the job done properly!  Do it right or get lost!

Look at how well the sweeper swept the street at the intersection of State and 3rd.  Why even f'n bother?

Sweeper approaching 3rd Street

Beyond 3rd Street

With the chunk of curb removed. 
We pay for this?  HPD issues overnight 
wrong side parking tickets for this?

Perhaps most concerning of all yesterday was the DPW foreman, Frank Rogers, in his city-issued white pickup truck slowly following me (in the traffic lane!) as I took pictures of his department's street sweeper.  Apparently he has nothing better to do than try to intimidate the curious doing what they are allowed to do.

My sense is that DPW has become a mafia-type gang with zero accountability.  We should all be very, very concerned.  What we are witnessing in Washington, D.C., appears to be happening here in little Hudson as well.  It's what happens when the person supposedly in charge (in our case, Kamal Johnson) has no qualifications to be making decisions for anyone else, let alone the brains or interest to be aware of, or understand, what is actually going on right in front of them.  When these people have no problem bending the truth and regularly lying, the situation becomes a complete mess.

Call Rob Perry at 518-965-5235 and ask him how he justifies having the city's streets so poorly, disrespectfully, wastefully and inefficiently swept in the daytime; why there are still overnight parking regulations in effect; and, why HPD is issuing parking tickets in the dark to keep parked cars out of the street sweeper's way when the sweeper isn't doing any sweeping in the dark!  Go ahead, call and try to get a respectful answer from him that makes one iota of $en$e.  Call the so-called mayor, too:  518-828-7217.  He'll be a huge help, I'm sure.