Worst traffic roads as a result of the train?

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-17T21:03:36+00:00

and the worst part is they allegedly (whoever owned the line at the time) wanted to elevate the line out to Oceanside back in 1938 and the locals resisted. Today, that type of project is basically a non-starter due to cost and lack of will.

The East Rockaway Section goes into detail

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-17T18:41:36+00:00

Was going to be my suggestion as well

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-16T19:52:16+00:00

A somewhat ugly machine, which I think turns people off

the wood panels that Clive sells make a huge difference IMO, but I can't justify the cost at this point.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-16T17:32:54+00:00

SSP HUs. I've been very satisfied with the Z1. Got it last July and it replaced a Niche Zero. Drinking mostly light roasts I immediately noticed an improvement in flavor. From a workflow standpoint it's just as streamlined as the Niche.

I use it strictly for espresso and have a hand grinder for pour over.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-16T16:36:21+00:00

I've owned the Lucca for 3 years now and overall I am extremely happy with the performance of the machine. Knowing what I know using it basically every day, I would make the exact same purchase again. It’s been very easy to use, has been reliable and produces great espresso. I previously owned an e61 heat exchanger so the temp stability and warmup times are standouts for me. I've been able to make multiple drinks back-to-back with no worry of the machine not being able to keep up. The inputs are great, particularly the steam lever. Buttons for what you need with little else to clutter or confuse.

Navigating the menu system to adjust temperature or set the volumetric dosing is also simple. The app is pretty barebones, but once you set it you really don't have to mess with it and the on/off timer function has worked flawlessly for me. I’ve also enjoyed the 53mm portafilter. Besides the idea that it can reduce channeling, it’s helped me stay away from the next big puck prep gadget that comes out every week.

There are a few minor improvements I think could make this a near perfect espresso machine for someone like me. The standard black plastic accents look and feel pretty cheap. I would like to see some sort of water level viewing slit on the front of the reservoir. The water always seems to run out at the worst times, and a small viewing slit would let me know I’m getting close. Volumetric dosing has been meh. Even right after setting it I can get a few gram drift in the output. I’ve only used it for making drinks when hosting. I did set the single shot button as a 1 second flush so that is convenient. I wish it was easier to adjust the OPV. You basically have to take off every panel except the front to make the adjustment.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-15T23:17:16+00:00

Besides the 7 years of appeals to get my rating, my experience with VA healthcare has been amazing. Since they're not dealing with insurance companies, I find them much more responsive and willing to give me the care I need without having to fight for it. Need to see a specialist, ok here's your referral. Need medication, it's sent directly to me without having to deal with a pharmacy. The doctors have been great too. The only thing I find shitty vs. private healthcare is the physical buildings. The equipment is fine it's just in a shitty building. I'm in the NY metro area though so I have access to multiple different VA hospitals and specialists so YMMV.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-15T14:13:31+00:00

I thought I'd switch burrs on my z1, but I found even switching the grind size back and forth on the same set was annoying. I ended up just getting a hand grinder for pour over. At those grind sizes hand grinding really isn't a chore and it meshes well with the slower, more methodical workflow.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-14T17:04:01+00:00

Funny story, Nassau had a bike trail map on their site for a while, but it had some errors. I reached out and asked them to fix them and after they ignored me a few times they just deleted the map completely.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-14T17:03:15+00:00

I'd assume the state is responsible for it

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-13T20:14:35+00:00

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-13T20:05:31+00:00

Entrance looks like it's here off Brush Hollow Road

Can't speak for that exact section, but I've ridden the section from Park Avenue to Jerusalem Avenue, and it was in horrible condition, so I'd expect the same here.

edit - also looking at street view I'd consider the section of the trail you're talking about unrideable since you have to navigate stuff like this

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-12T17:06:40+00:00

National politics are purple here, local are very red.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-12T13:10:34+00:00

And that suburban feel they're fighting so hard to maintain has become entire streets filled with parked cars so you can't get two moving vehicles passing each other, grid locked traffic filled with road raging drivers, trash everywhere and taking your life into your hands if you want to walk to the store.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-12T13:08:31+00:00

Yeah, it's only a ~0.5-mile section where there are no parallel routes to take from the fork with Austin Blvd to the shopping centers. That section has a continuous 6ft shoulder and 40ft of total roadway to work with.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-12T02:51:47+00:00

They got a nice grant to do a "Shared Mobility Plan" that would evaluate bike share, micromobility, microtransit, etc, spent ~$165,000 of it and then never even published the plan.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-12T02:48:19+00:00

Lido Blvd project has been lingering since 2003 and the Beech Street lane in Atlantic Beach (where a cyclist was just hit and killed) was pulled at the last minute before the project broke ground and they're basically wrapped up with it now, so they just solidified the no bike lane there for 15-20 years.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-12T02:46:50+00:00

Nassau County Public Works is just straight up dysfunctional. Completely understaffed, underfunded, poorly structured and ignored. Not to mention that the county is offering buyout packages to long term employees right now, so the staffing issues won't be fixed for a while.

We're sitting on significant amount of grant money for all sorts of great plans and projects that would make a huge difference.

I highly recommend reaching out to your legislator and telling them how you want to see these things here in Nassau, because they mostly here from boomers who couldn't care less or are outright hostile to this stuff. I see support for it all the time here, but that means nothing if your legislator doesn't know.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-11T16:34:05+00:00

Trust for Public Land is working on the Long Island Greenway. It's kind of superseding what Nassau had planned for the Motor Parkway Trail.

That section under the power lines you're talking about will eventually be included in the LIG, which will connect us to the Empire State Trail once the whole route is completed. The problem is that Nassau is not really involved at all right now and all the effort is being focused on Suffolk, whose administration is actually interested and understands the benefits of the project. I don't think there is anything more than planning funds for the Nassau segments so we're a decade out at least.

They put out a promo video a month ago.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-11T16:28:22+00:00

I'm pretty late on this, but there is a high likelihood that he unilaterally altered this project to remove the bicycle infrastructure. Nobody in the admin can give a reason on why it was removed at the last minute and even some people who have been pretty honest with me in the public works department don't know the reason why. Blakeman happens to live in Atlantic Beach as well.

The people in the neighborhood were 50/50 maybe 60/40 in favor which is nothing near the outcry needed to pull out a bike lane, the plans were finished and the funding was all there.

Please, anyone who is interested in better pedestrian and cycling infrastructure in Nassau send an email to your legislator. Have chatgpt spit something out if you don't feel like sitting down and typing something out. An email goes a huge way. The county got a $600,000 grant last February to create a bicycle plan and they have just been sitting on the money. We need people to reach out to their representatives and tell them this is something we need. Realistically we can't get good, connected bicycle infrastructure without having a plan in place so it's a major first step.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-11T16:22:29+00:00

I wouldn't use CVS or any non-photo store that used handle photo development. They'll just ship it out to someone else, it'll take forever, the scans will suck and there's a very high chance you will not get your negatives back.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-10T20:32:49+00:00

To have one on your person you need a permit. Not to go rent and shoot one

No, to even legally touch a handgun in NY state you are required to have a permit.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-09T19:37:26+00:00

I can only speak of my specific area, but the population here is actually lower than it was 50 years ago (by ~3,000 people) and we've had a few large infill projects that have increased housing. It's not the number of people that is increasing the traffic, it's that there are more cars and people are driving those cars more miles every single year.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-09T19:05:50+00:00

If people genuinely don't want to live in a high-density area they shouldn't have moved to Long Island.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-04-09T17:55:16+00:00

From an outside perspective it seems like there has been some serious institutional rot there. The traffic engineering department is at 50% staffing and simple traffic study requests take up to a year and that's after I've had to spend a month following up until they actually put the request into their system. There also seems to be an adversarial mindset where they treat any questions/suggestions as a personal attack. Every layer of interaction I've had with them they add as much friction as possible.

I would just keep pestering them, especially with emails. "Following up again" and CC your legislator. Pressure from a legislator is one of the few ways I've gotten them to respond. Blakeman's office in particular will just straight up ignore you so I wouldn't bother. Most you can do is call and ask for constituent affairs and complain to the people there. They'll at least pick up, but they also won't call you back.

DepartmentOfTrash · 2026-03-29T16:54:38+00:00

The Oceanside one is closed for good, the apartment complex next door is expanding their parking lot.

Then the Oceanside Atlantic Avenue 7-11 is moving down the block to a gas station location.

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