Hands Off My Urinal, Governor Paterson!

Men's room at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Buffalo, NY

I give David Paterson credit for trying to save money, but this time he’s gone too far.

According to the TU’s Tim O’Brien, the Gov is looking to shut down rest areas in New York to close the spending gap. We’re not talking about Thruway rest stops –like the disgustingly dirty Ardsley Travel Plaza– but the little bathroom and parking operations such as the ones on the Northway.

Outrageous.

If you’ve ever driven with me in the morning you know how important the rest areas are, especially after a couple of cups of coffee. In fact we could probably use a few more of these instead of less. Talk about distracted driving.

It’s a no win situation. You want to be well hydrated but then you spend half your time drinking water and the other half looking for a bathroom. Which reminds me of a story.

I was sitting in the examining room during my annual physical. The doctor asked if there was anything else I wanted to talk about. “Well… it seems like I urinate very frequently. Is that something to worry about?”

“How much water do you drink?”

I went on to describe my hydration rituals.

“Of course you go to the bathroom all the time. Where else would all that water go?”

Duh. Let’s get back on topic.

So, Mr. Paterson, what do you say? It’s time to drop this wild proposal that will hurt drivers who badly need relief. New Yorkers will not be treated like peons —and if you expect us to take this sitting down, you’ve got another thing coming.

25 thoughts on “Hands Off My Urinal, Governor Paterson!

  1. Shutting down restrooms not only hurts New Yorkers in the obvious way, but also gives New York a very poor image to tourists and potential business for the State. This is a very short sighted idea. A better way to save money would be to reduce the contracts to consultants and have the State employees do the job. I am not a State employee, but it sure makes sense.

  2. That picture on your post brings back great memories of very long days at then Rich Stadium. Buffalo, if you don’t want me to pee in the sink, then don’t build the sinks at the same height as the urinals.

    On another note, I took a picture of a sign in a bathroom saying “No butts in urinal”

  3. If you force-fed the august figures in the Assembly and Senate enough coffee, and shut down the rest areas on the roads they have to drive to do their capitol harrumphing, maybe the plan would be dead in the water. OTOH, a Port-O-John in winter at a strategic spot north of, say, Bolton’s Landing, and a little NYS historic sign could deliver some value-add, like: “Rogers’ Rangers didn’t even have THIS! They had to use the woods!”

    Might make folks appreciate the brave men and women who pioneered NYS>

  4. Wanna save bigtime bucks? Our leaders in NYS need to lobby Congress to change the tax codes. As any state worker who’s ever had to travel in an official capacity surely knows, if you try to do the right thing by the people of New York, namely, making a day trip in order to save the taxpayers monies, then your meal money per diems are taxed as a result. However, if you want to live it up like a king or queen at the taxpayers’ expense, you can stay overnight at a hotel somewhere, pay the government rate and the people get to foot the bill. This incongrity in the tax codes is an absurdity, just like closing rest stops would be.

  5. #6, should we call a dump by the side of the road a Franny? You just can’t let the deaf…er I mean sleeping dog lie, can you? So much for fair and unbiased moderation.

  6. #12: Dave, are you suggesting I should delete that comment? I’d argue that “fair and unbiased” moderation is approving comments —not censoring them.

    Is it my favorite comment? No. Do I understand it completely? Not really. Should it be deleted? I don’t know.

  7. Rob, I stand corrected with regards to the moderating you do. The comment speaks volumes and it is patently clear to me what FFN is saying and who he has a rather strong dislike for.

  8. Mr. Paterson is a firm believer in, and staunch advocate for,
    Universal Catheterization.

    This man is so thoroughly disconnected from reality as to be
    certifiably insane.

    What will it take to remove this imbecile? He really needs to
    be removed, immediately. REALLY. Like, NOW!

  9. Why should he care about anyone needing the use of a rest facility when he just travels a short distance to where he works. Forget about the rest of NYS residents that have a long commute, especially after a couple cups of coffee!!!

  10. Gotta love that NYC mentality…he doesnt even understand why they’re important. It’s just a 1/2 helicopter ride from NYC to Buffalo anyway, right?

    I agree with #1, and I am a state employee. True story, out director was forced out because of questonable spending and hiring practices, only to come back and work as a consultant 2 years later. We already have 4 or 5 professionals on staff doing what this woman is supposed to be consulting us on. Do you think it has anything to do with her continued friendship with our current director? It’s legalized stealing, and it should be shut down long before rest areas are.

  11. As I live in the City of Albany, maybe I should take a “quart” …a portion of my daily output….and sprinkle it on the Gov’s Mansion Lawn…That might wake somebody up…or get me time in the Big House..

  12. DAVID…..DAVID….I know you can’t see,but I heard that you hear better than most of us. What you are hearing now is the sound of the taxpayers PEEING on this proposal.

  13. Eye,

    Just delete the comment. (sigh)

    We don’t wish to upset anyone or dare to question the Monosyllabic Mindset Mentality of the Cocktail Crowd.

  14. What does Gov P care about rest areas? He can just have one of his 200 or so police detail officers act as a p***boy (think History of the World Part 1).

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