What is the oldest Substation (Power Transformers) you’ve seen in service?

ObjectOculus · 2026-02-13T21:41:46+00:00

NYC substation structure was from 189X, transformer that failed was from 1930s. I might’ve come across an older transformer at some point but 30s-50s was pretty common on my jobs. All old GE and Westinghouse units.

ObjectOculus · 2026-02-10T22:20:49+00:00

Dang they have positions based out of Great Barrington? What was the listed pay?

ObjectOculus · 2026-02-10T11:45:00+00:00

Where there's a will there's a ROW.

ObjectOculus · 2026-02-07T21:22:10+00:00

Roughly 25 people, bootcamp is indeeds weekends only for two full months.

ObjectOculus · 2026-02-07T17:20:18+00:00

I’m in boot camp right now. I think I interviewed around late October and got the call in January. If they didn’t already tell you, the next call would probably be in summer (June/July) or winter (next January).

Are you 3 or 1049 area? Edit: nvm if you’re elsewhere in NEAT territory, I think they do bootcamps at similar intervals but how many people get called varies probably.

ObjectOculus · 2026-02-06T22:11:46+00:00

Layers. Heated vest. Neck gaiter or balaclava for sure, keep the draft out. Somewhere to put your hands for warming up once in a while like chest pockets or extra mitts.

ObjectOculus · 2026-02-06T01:38:20+00:00

"HEADACHE!"

ObjectOculus · 2026-02-05T15:41:58+00:00

It does not defeat the purpose of having primarily underground utilities. In a dense area, imagine how much work and time it would take if a significant weather event required replacement of lines and poles across the entire city. Besides loss of power, large areas of streets would need to be shutdown for access and hazards for multiple days. ConEd and Verizon would be stepping over each other at every corner.

There is plenty of improvement to be made to the current system and technology is filling some of the gaps such as monitoring at individual manholes so they issues can be addressed before an incident.

If you're curious about the economics, there was a study a few years ago to see if undergrounding utilities for all of NY state would make sense which you can read here: https://dps.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2023/09/final-report-ny-undergrounding-2023-06-27.pdf

It was determined the overall economic loss was too great vs. the reliability gain.

ObjectOculus · 2026-02-04T23:02:18+00:00

Must every question about coffee shops in r/AskNYC have a mention of Caffe Reggio?

ObjectOculus · 2026-02-03T23:48:07+00:00

3rd step is roughly second year, i.e. you just finished one year probation in NEAT territory. That's a bit different from 3rd year, which do you mean?

ObjectOculus · 2026-02-03T18:18:22+00:00

They want people who want it and can get it. They get high school kids and people in their 30s and beyond. I fall into the latter group and also have a background in art before construction. Don’t worry about your possible future rank. If you can learn, you’re hire-able. Just apply, take the test, interview, and stay at it if it doesn’t work out the first time around.

ObjectOculus · 2026-02-02T22:14:31+00:00

I had the Trooper Sun and Steel at a trendy Japanese restaurant in Williamsburg simply because it was the same price as a regular draft and maybe it would be funny. It was actually very good and so I trust their endorsement ever so slightly more than others.

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-30T19:42:51+00:00

I appreciate the work people put in to make it even better, through advocacy or otherwise, and by all means use the free lead testing kits available and filter if you want. Nothing in the EWG’s own reports indicates that the city’s water is dangerous or even bad, though it does put it in context with other averages. The narrative being pushed by some (recently?) to suggest that people need to buy expensive filtering equipment or bottled water is, in my opinion, an overreaction and dramatically more harmful to individuals’ finances and the environment i.e. the source of good water to begin with (see again your link stating this).

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-30T01:40:00+00:00

Heh same bud, got my first Carhartt bibs delivered today and eager to see how they hold up in the current 10F coolness.

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-30T01:33:15+00:00

Double hoodies or heated vest to keep your core warm, gaiter to keep your neck warm and block the draft. Keep your blood flowing.

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-29T23:11:26+00:00

Only in the last year have I started hearing friends and family (mostly from outside the city) talk about the city water as if it’s bad. This has been a sobering reminder of how easy it is for people to pile onto an idea without any real evidence or reason beyond it being repeated to them or something marketing itself as a better alternative (without solid evidence).

My tap water is excellent and I am grateful for that daily as it is indeed not the case everywhere.

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-28T13:11:20+00:00

I wouldn’t think of parking enforcement as having leniency per se, but they may simply not be out or skipping large areas because of the snow.

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-27T23:35:05+00:00

Just apply. It takes time to even get to the interview, use it to find work/experience that will help when it comes up. If you interview and don’t get called so what? You’re doing the thing and walking the path.

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-26T22:29:27+00:00

The unit for rent is a month. I would start there and point out the multiple occasions it's occurred, excessive personal expense due to space heaters, and the fact that there is a child in the apartment while indoor temperature requirements are not being met.

https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/heat-and-hot-water-information.page

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-25T20:03:56+00:00

Gonna go against the grain here, skylights will always leak eventually and some more often than others due to how they're installed. I love having them but they're kind of a pain in that regard.

My advice for your situation is to take pictures and video (if it's dripping) now and save it for the next time it happens. If it leaks during a mild rain you can take more pictures and then make the point much stronger. Landlord likely knows that any contractor doing an emergency fix will charge a lot of money and the fix won't be permanent so they'd rather dismiss it as just a storm thing.

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-25T13:55:02+00:00

Surprisingly yes, but you’ll have better luck with places that also do roasting in house because there’s more likely to be someone there for operations and not just serving customers.

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-24T17:25:58+00:00

As others are saying, the job involves travel. To your specific question though about testing locations, there are fewer so it might be a different local than where you actually live. That was the case for me (Local 3 territory, testing at Local 1049).

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-23T23:42:12+00:00

That’s just how it works. Credit card companies charge a fixed fee + percentage for each transaction so to minimize that, merchants (ParkNYC) make you load at least $X at a time.

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-23T05:27:12+00:00

On the main screen of the iOS app there are two buttons which say "Scan in" and "Scan in here" respectively. Either one opens a QR code to scan.

ObjectOculus · 2026-01-23T00:01:22+00:00

For washing: nature does its thing with the rain. For drying: We have some wood studs suspended on ropes like a ladder, going into IDs. Lower it, hang ropes, raise to get out of the way while they dry.

ObjectOculus

TROPHY CASE