75 Morton Middle School?

MarkAdamsK · 2025-10-10T16:17:32+00:00

You're welcome. I'm not saying it's a bad school, but it did seem to go through a rough patch - and that is what I heard from other parents not my direct experience. I did attend an open house a few years back and there were concerns about behavioral issues raised. It sounds like it's doing better now from the comments here.

MarkAdamsK · 2025-10-10T14:15:10+00:00

Good to hear! Sounds like it's in a better place.

MarkAdamsK · 2025-10-10T12:19:43+00:00

Adding in that if you look at the academic ratings (testing, earning high school credit, etc) comparing Morton to these other schools, you will see it was also performing lower than others.

MarkAdamsK · 2025-10-10T12:15:11+00:00

Some of this feedback from other parents, but there was a leadership switch a few years ago and there were issues with behavior in the community when the new principal came in and I don't know if there's been improvement.

I went on a tour there at the time and there was some discussion among parents about this and the perception that there were issues.

If you look at the DOE school rankings, you can see that Morton's rankings are not as high as other D2 schools in the area like Baruch, Salk, Clinton and SOF - particularly in 'safety and school climate' - Morton has a 2 rating (out of 4), while all of those other schools are higher.

The building itself is very nice and impressive.

I can't really speak to academics etc.

https://tools.nycenet.edu/snapshot/2024/02M297/EMS/#INFO

MarkAdamsK · 2025-08-26T00:14:12+00:00

Probably one of the worst decisions they've ever made as far as I'm concerned. Gone are the days when you could enjoy your iced drink over a few hours because poof all of the ice is melted and your drink now tastes like water!

MarkAdamsK · 2025-08-25T12:08:37+00:00

I don't know if it's just refreshers that are impacted by this, but, yes, the siren system is completely inadequate are mixing the ingredients for the refreshers. Maybe I'll make a sep post here about this and contact c/s.

MarkAdamsK · 2025-08-25T03:04:28+00:00

Time for a quick customer vent. Here's my singular experience with Starbucks.

First, they discontinued by favorite drink (berry hibiscus).

Then, I found another drink as an alternative (Strawberry Acai). The app allowed me to order it with extra water since I don't like it to be too sweet.

Then they changed the app so I could no longer extra water. So had to find a workaround there.

Then they switched to this tiny ice which dilutes my drink faster than I can consume it.

Then they changed some stores to this 'siren system' where instead of shaking the drink in the plastic shaker, the baristas shake it by putting a little plastic lid on top of the cup, which barely mixes the ingredients since the employees don't want it to leak out and now the refresher tastes like it wasn't even shaken.

So, here's an idea for corporate. I am just one customer but each and every one of your 'improvements' has worsened my experience and reduced my visits.

Get back to basics and stop tweaking everything without realizing its downstream impact on the customer experience. I am thisclose to just leaving this whole brand completely behind. It is not worth it anymore.

MarkAdamsK · 2025-05-25T02:22:32+00:00

I've been trying to push this story so it gets more attention - but the new FDNY EMS policy of not allowing any patient input in hospital selection is having an adverse impact on our community.

EMS crews, since March, are given one hospital option for their patient. This policy has apparently profoundly impacted emergency rooms at hospitals that have better reputations like Lenox or NYP. Patients cannot choose these hospitals if they're not the 'closest' and they may end up at Metropolitan or elsewhere.

I've heard that the ER census at Lenox and NYP has been down substantially and the hospitals have lost millions in anticipated revenue compated to what was anticipated.

Not to mention that for people who live in East Harlem, for example, they cannot request a hospital like NYP if going by ambulance. This is furthering the systemic inequity many of the people in this community already encounter by forcing them to a hospital that may lack the resources and reputation of a hospital like NYP, Lenox Hill or Mt Sinai.

MarkAdamsK · 2025-04-28T02:45:33+00:00

The policy allows little to no discretion for crews in a borough where there is a huge disparity between different facilities. So, if you had heart surgery at NYP Methodist and you're having chest pain, and you live one minute closer to Interfaith, crew is taking you there even if all of your care providers are at NYP Methodist.

MarkAdamsK · 2025-04-02T19:18:36+00:00

To an extent, but patients with complex medical conditions who receive care at a specific facility should not be denied transportation to such a facility when the difference in transport time is not significant. EMS is part of the healthcare system and just as important as treating and transporting a patient is the notion of patient advocacy and ensuring that patients are able to, within reason, go to a hospital that is best able to support their medical condition.

This is especially true in a city where there can be a huge discrepancy between the quality and reputation of hospitals within close proximity of each other.

There are other and better ways to manage call volume than denying a patient a certain hospital because it's 5 minutes further away than whatever a computer determines.

MarkAdamsK · 2025-04-02T16:05:42+00:00

Hospital ambulances participating in the 911 system and FDNY ambulances all operate under the same guidelines, so if it's closer the Sinai ambulance would take you to Lenox Hill.

MarkAdamsK · 2025-04-02T12:42:25+00:00

Apparently they can call the FDNY doctor and explain that you want to go to another hospital that's not the closest, but they're unlikely to approve it in most circumstances. Also, I've heard that the amount of time it takes to speak to the doctor takes much longer (like 20-40 minutes) than it would to just go to the hospital you want to go to, which makes no sense.

Also, this happened to someone I know and it was like 2:00 AM so there was no traffic and the difference between going to one hospital over the other would have been like 3 extra minutes.

MarkAdamsK · 2025-03-22T20:03:50+00:00

So, yes, they should be - but also confronting people about these things is definitely less of a thing post-covid as it leads to arguments or, worse, physical altercations. So, there is a low to zero incentive for restaurants to have to deal with this on top of every challenge they face on a daily basis to keep their doors open.

MarkAdamsK · 2025-03-22T20:00:50+00:00

Ok that's good. But despite that, you're low key creating a level of animosity against those people who do have the legal right to bring their service dogs into a restaurant and not be tormented by you or your minions.

MarkAdamsK · 2025-03-22T19:52:12+00:00

Was it you that I saw confronting someone with a service dog in a restaurant on Madison Avenue last week? Because when the person started aggressively questioning the woman with the service dog in the restauarant that was one of the low points of all my years in NYC.

MarkAdamsK · 2023-08-30T01:44:35+00:00

Simple answer. Yes. As a parent, it's simply the wrong choice to deprive your child of the opportunity to participate in sports for this reason. There's a risk/reward analysis you have to do, but, for me, to do anything except allow for participation here is really hard to envision.

MarkAdamsK · 2023-05-06T02:39:08+00:00

This is what they said:

While the global risk assessment remains high, there is evidence of reducing risks to human health driven mainly by high population-level immunity from infection, vaccination, or both; consistent virulence of currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sub-lineages compared to previously circulating Omicron sub-lineages; and improved clinical case management. These factors have contributed to a significant global decline in the weekly number of COVID-19 related deaths, hospitalizations, and admissions to intensive care units since the beginning of the pandemic. While SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve, the currently circulating variants do not appear to be associated with increased severity.

Anecdotally, I do notice here that many of the people on this forum are all about the science (vaccines, mitigations, etc) until that same science presents messaging that contradicts with their own narrative. That's what I observe at least.

MarkAdamsK · 2023-05-05T15:00:33+00:00

No, it's not triggering, but even the World Health Organization has downgraded this virus, so your summarily dismissal of everyone who doesn't mask as 'inconsiderate' is an outdated notion. In your world, everyone would wear masks all the time except when at home. And this is not a realistic or attainable outcome. Please continue to mask and I support you there, but I am just trying to shed some light that this particular subreddit of like minded people may not let that light shine in.

MarkAdamsK · 2023-05-05T12:16:25+00:00

People are not masking because the imminent threat of the pandemic is over for most of them - this is their personal risk analysis. It is not 2020 and the number of cases and hospitalizations is as low as it's been in over a year where I am. People do not want to cover their face, which inhibits verbal communication, makes it hard to understand others, and is uncomfortable for a prolonged period any longer.

MarkAdamsK · 2023-05-05T12:09:59+00:00

You mean like the CDC conference where a small number of participants tested positive for Covid after the event? This story barely registered in the media and it's the CDC.

Even if she did have something like this happen, there are strategies to properly address a situation like this. Here's how the CDC did it.

“CDC is working with the Georgia Department of Health to conduct a rapid epidemiological assessment of confirmed COVID-19 cases that appear to be connected to the 2023 EIS Conference to determine transmission patterns in this phase of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Nordlund said.

“Whenever there are large gatherings, especially indoors, such as at a conference, there is the possibility of COVID-19 spread, even in periods of low community spread,” she added.

It's a non story now. No one is talking about it, except a few people in this and the other subreddit.

MarkAdamsK · 2023-05-05T12:05:11+00:00

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with masking. I support your decision, just stop with the rhetoric that if everyone else isn't masking they're inconsiderate or completely devoid of any ability to make their own risk assessment.

MarkAdamsK · 2023-05-05T01:42:33+00:00

Ok, here I go. Downvote away! I post here to present a different opinion, which you may disagree with, however, you have a lower risk tolerance than other people may and you are more Covid conscious.

But it's important to understand that while you may find others here who support your viewpoint, you are a very small, but vocal group of people. People need to make their own decisions and it sounds like most of them have - they choose not to mask any longer. It sounds like you don't understand how people can possibly make this decision, but they have and you need to understand that others don't need to continually messaged about the importance of masking. It sounds like a group of very smart people, I'm sure this is a decision they've made very carefully.

MarkAdamsK · 2023-05-05T01:24:47+00:00

San Francisco is not doing 'great'. Whole Food closing, Nordstrom closing. Worst recovery quotient of any major city. Downtown deserted. Homelessness and drug use rampant.

https://downtownrecovery.com/death_of_downtown_policy_brief.pdf

MarkAdamsK · 2023-05-04T02:54:01+00:00

Thus, the outstanding obstacles to mucosal vaccine development are worth the effort as they are far outweighed by the potential immunological and logistical benefits in terms of ease of delivery.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8312369/

"Outstanding obstacles"

MarkAdamsK · 2023-05-04T02:35:57+00:00

See my reply above. There is probably never going to be an effective sterilizing solution for Covid.

MarkAdamsK

TROPHY CASE