BF2S Forums Home Ownership Thread

The thing most people were there to complain about is the data center. They passed an ordinance banning the data center at the previous meeting. There was then a rally outside of the meeting the next month about that data center again. People were not happy about the previous ban on data centers and wanted a stronger ban on data centers. "The ban you passed last month on the data centers were not enough. You or the next council can withdraw the ban. We want you to pass today a permanent ban on data centers."  That's not how laws work.

There was also a lot of gloating about the city council getting totally replaced in the last election the previous week. "Your legacy will be the data center you voted on" said the socialist with the Arab scarf.

The city went backwards in terms of representation in the last election. The city is majority minority and "data center election" sent an all white city council back. The city's first black councilman, and the city's first Hispanic councilman were kicked out of office. The first Asian city councilwoman was also stopped from getting a seat. Their sin? Their legacy? Trying to bring jobs to the city. Perhaps the data center wasn't the right fit for the community. But it wasn't negotiated with ill intent. They wanted to create jobs. Meanwhile the Arab scarf wearing socialist said that their legacies were a single data center vote.

The socialist combined with a revanchist conservative base to wipe out years of progress in a traditionally working class community.

The socialist sided with the conservatives. The socialist sided with the conservatives. Ahhhhhh.

One data center was stopped at the cost of countless jobs and better services for the people who live here.

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The way these meetings work is the open mic section is in the middle. They moved it up to the opening because they knew they couldn't get any business done if the people there to gloat and scream had to sit through the portion where the lead paint remediation bond was being voted on.

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The geese people were the first to speak at the meeting about the need for the habitat. They wanted land that could be set aside for housing or a new school to instead be a waterfront geese habitat.

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This whole thing just confirms a lot of what I have always thought about the DSA and related groups. Not serious people. They traded genuine progress in the city for a symbolic fight against one data center on the outskirts of the city.

Last edited by SuperJail Warden (2026-05-18 05:50:21)

The people who opposed the data center would have also opposed new housing like the one I posted a picture of. The socialist would have sided with them in that fight too because 'greedy landlords' and 'we need a cat shelter ' Ultimately nothing gets built.

At least the storage site on that land has a chance of renewing their lease.


Great win by the socialist by the way. Their conservative allies will continue the workforce development housing I am sure.

"Bayonne Council Shows Support for Workforce Housing Ordinance"

The Bayonne City Council has signaled tentative support for an ordinance that would require a workforce housing component in newly approved tax-abated developments, suggesting a potential shift in the city’s approach to housing policy.

Four of the five council members indicated they support the measure brought forward by First Ward Councilman...it is a way to allow police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other community workers to live in the communities they serve.

The socialist helped wipe out the entire city council. All of the protesting against the data center helped sink workforce development.

The socialist will combine with the conservatives to oppose a Boeing factory too.

Imagine the environmental damage to the geese when Boeing starts to drive 18 wheelers around!

what about aws?

the problem with Quitting Amazon for a lot of people is that the website is a responsive, user-friendly, non-time-consuming catalog of stuff that brings up what you're looking for. if you have a problem with an order, amazon pretty much fixes it with no questions asked. it costs them so little that they may as well do it. this is not a widely available consumer experience. while maybe it's the better thing to do, you're not going to get that experience with a hundred different accounts for other online storefronts.

what's bizarre to me is amazon could easily extend the same default level of courtesy and respect to their employees. a minimal investment to not have their name (rightly) dragged through the mud by the press. they could afford this, and gain employee retention and internal loyalties. it's less of a money problem than a human problem. it's just not in the amazon dna.

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"buy locally from small business." imagine driving to the store because the website says the store has the thing in stock. the store doesn't. they can order it online from their supplier, and it'll be here in a month-and-a-half. you don't have a month-and-a-half, but you'll make do. the markup is like 150%. the supplier won't sell directly to end-users. the store can't direct the package directly to where you live. you need to come back for it. you go back outside. you call to their other location three towns away, but they don't have the thing either. neither do five other places. you go back in and order the thing. you drive home. two months later, you're called and told it's in. you drive back to pick up your thing. they ordered the wrong thing.

you could have skipped the ordeal at the store flying a trump flag, and got it on amazon instead. i can't help but think that small businesses people are also a big part of small businesses' problem.

anecdote: i needed a specific bolt once. there was actually bolt place nearby. off i go. the counter person did not want to get off their chair to fish a bolt from the back of the store, where they keep all their bolts. i felt bad about it and grabbed a pair of gloves after they breathed the biggest sigh ever and shuffled off. in hindsight, i should have just bought only the bolt as karma for the sour look i got. "alright, i got a couple nickels and four pennies. buy yourself something nice." in hindsight, i could have probably just gotten it on amazon without the lip.

maybe the place you live at is already gutted of everything else. business infrastructure is just gone. your carefully curated network of places has been gutted by economic turndowns and covid and tariffs. the only non-franchise businesses left in your cookie-cutter printout of consolidated retail and restaurants is the local barber, some greasy spoon with an "our story" room, and a sewing machine repair place that's been around longer than living memory and serves the entire state plus several neighboring. you're not sure, but you think the owner is a vampire.

maybe you've got a target, fred meyer, walmart. sus hypermarkets are not much of a moral improvement. maybe they're your only local option.

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it's a tougher sell than it sounds getting people to just quit amazon. other large corporations are also evil. small businesses can be equally nasty. other warehouse jobs are also bad. sometimes worse!

i have a million better things to do than shame a stressed person (who cries at the cash register when shelling out $300 for groceries that don't even fill their cart) for darkening amazon's digital domain in search of dopamine even if they know they probably shouldn't. maybe they even work for amazon and know first-hand!

Last edited by unnamednewbie13 (2026-05-19 11:01:05)

when we were kids people would absolutely still be religiously clipping coupons. now stuff as basic as eggs are high far in excess of the costs of bird disease. wasn't production actually ramped up to compensate for supply issues? unchecked corporate greed and this country keeps electing governments who literally promise to do less regulating. regulation's bad, mmk?

how far should people be expected to pare back? dilbert's food-wasting coworker is an anti-ideal people should strive to not replicate, but i don't want to hear it said that we should stop using 'premium oats' in our flavorless gruel.

basic human needs could easily be guaranteed in this country and it would probably save us money. do we like frittering it all away on corrupt health insurance, health problems left until the last minute, poverty's individual psychological and generational damage and impact on society, and the constant eviction of and hazmat detail for homeless encampments? is it pleasant having to thread your way through migrant bands of druggiemobiles just to get to the gym?

i would rather the knife-wielding, needle-discarding crazies all get the help they need rather than channeling their inner chaos goblin on the streets of seattle. "oh no, we can't do that. if we did that, the billionaire would take all his non-existent jobs to texas."

Last edited by unnamednewbie13 (2026-05-19 12:36:39)

Good job. Start local.

don't bring random food to homeless people by the way. give them lunch money instead if you want to be directly charitable. people sometimes poison the food they give to a homeless person.