Thursday, May 24, 2007

Cop can't afford city living

Maybe the Doorman could walk a mile in this guy's shoes and give us daily reports:

Letter from Joseph John Harmon Jr., NYPD

My name is Joseph John Harmon Jr. and I am a proud member of the New York City Police Department. My Shield # is 18134. I currently patrol the streets and hallways of the Housing Bureau in Queens. I am a graduate of Manhattan College. Father of three beautiful children: Blu-Diamond, Joseph III, and my youngest Kailynn. My lovely wife Kena is also pregnant with our fourth blessing. This all sounds like a beautiful existence does it not? Father, Husband, New York City Police Officer. As of June 1, 2007, I will also be homeless.

A proud cop & his family will be homeless soon

We're right behind you

Cuff's off cop in straits

Thankfully, the Daily News is helping him out because God knows the people who run this city don't give a damn.

Photo from Daily News

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Kelly has been lobbying to restore the slashed rookie salary, arguing it is clobbering recruitment efforts and putting crimefighting strategies at risk for a lack of manpower."

Kelly has been lobbying whom? Bloomberg; Who else but Bloomberg?

But, here's Bloomberg's view: Harmon's wife is dark skinned; he sends his kids to parochial school. He's stupid enough to be a cop.

So, he's a traitor to his race, as is his wife, so they are both pander-proof. He's a traitor to Bloomberg's socialism by sending his kids to parochial school. Why is the man trying to destroy the teachers' union?

Finally, he's a cop. Bloomberg says that as long as his own well armed and round the clock security detail is there for himself, what the hell do the rest of the little people need with cops, anyway?

Cops are so stupid that they take dangerous jobs. Why do they complain? He's so stupid that he'll take a second job and split up his family to stay afloat.

Why can't he find a developer who needs protection, go on the pad for that guy (don't take all the money; we need money from the developers, too, ya know) and be more like a politician. Did you ever see a poor politician?

So, screw Harmon, his wife and kids, and anyone else who pays them any attention. Bloomberg is the important one.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it funny. This guy cannot live in the Suna (sorry 'Silvercup') private landgrab of our public waterfront.

He needs 'affordable housing' and according to our community board and elected officials, he is not entitled to live with the rich people in that project, but somewhere, anywhere, safely tucked out of sight.

Anonymous said...

A fourth kid on the way? Private school? Car payments?

This guy has a raw deal, putting his life on the line for you and me. That being said, the mentality that 'life style' and having as many kids as you want is a right is a wrong.

Back in the fifties, my parents sent me and my sister to public school, never ate out, never went on vacation, had just two kids, and drove used klunkers because they did not have the money for anything else.

When he was laid off, (as it seemed half the time in the 60s) he got other jobs, tearing down buildings and the like.

Both had an eighth grade education, and figured it out. Both died with a tidy sum in the bank.

Anonymous said...

I have to say that when I read the article, what I was thinking was, "What this guy needs is a vasectomy," but then I thought about all the people who came here with nothing, and raised big families and somehow retired with money in the bank. That no longer seems possible in the Queens of today.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, but I don't have much sympathy for this guy. He took the job knowing what the salary would be. It will eventually be raised, you can be sure of that. The cop union sold out "the unborn," which are the recruits that have not yet been hired, so that the more senior members of the force got their raises. Now the union bitches about how low the salaries are. All just a public-relations maneuver. I'll betcha the PBA encouraged this guy to go public.

There are plenty of other people in his situation, or worse. It appears that he and his wife created part of that problem with their lifestyle. Time to tone it down a bit, others have done it. A few dollars for a vasectomy now will save a lot more in the future.

Anonymous said...

This guy lives in "a rented house in the Bronx" and "pays $9 for tolls plus gas."

Hey, how about public transportation for less than $4 a day, no gas? And he couldn't think of downsizing to an apartment several months ago?

Anonymous said...

Why not live in a rented house in Queens for a whole lot less (his rent seems a little high for the Bronx, no?) Save on rent, save on tolls, put your kids in public schools. Come on, now, there are some options.

Anonymous said...

Raising children is not a "lifestyle". What a coldblooded view of life!

Unknown said...

I feel for the guy a little. Cops should make at least 40k a year to start.

But, why do these people feel they need to have so many kids? It's disgusting. It's all about the image, the nice car, babies crawling all over, for these people. Who cares if you've got money to feed them, right?

Nobady should be allowed to have ONE kid until they know they can afford to give the kid what they deserve in life, let alone 4 kids. Sickening.

Anonymous said...

Here's what I don't get:

His wife has hard pregnancies, yet she keeps pumping them out. They both know she will have to leave work every time she gets pregnant, and they go ahead and have another kid anyway. Apparently having common sense is not a prerequisite for becoming a police officer these days.

Anonymous said...

Blu-Diamond? That kid sounds like a tough nut to crack.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, I take the view that if you make a choice (yes, we are adults) to have a kid, you, not the village, is responsible to raise them.

If you can't afford them, you don't have them.

And look, if the economy is run by the consumer, and if the system doesn't give you that much money, what alliegence do you have to the system?

The most subversive thing you can do is not support the system and spend as little as possible.

Anonymous said...

" Raising children is not a "lifestyle". What a coldblooded view of life!" -taxpayer

Whoa, taxpayer, talk about taking something out of context!!

1. Having more kids than you can afford,

2. Having even more kids, knowing you're probably going to have difficult pregnancies,

3. Renting a house instead of an apartment,

4. Using a car instead of public transportation,

5. Private school, instead of public school (okay, that one may not be debatable, it depends on the schools that they're zoned for.)

THAT'S the lifestyle that I was commenting on.

Anonymous said...

How dare this guy and his family try to live like Queens residents have lived for decades! Doesn't he know that Manhattanites want our land and are driving up prices of everything? Shame, shame!

Anonymous said...

Having children is a blessing. It strengthens fmaily ties. The Donald can keep having children and remarrying, while the rest of us struggle to afford just one child, and avoid divorce.

Having a second job is not a good solution. As a cop, he has a stress-filed job, and should spend some downtime with his family. The less you see your family, the greater chance is a divorce.

Many people I know no longer marry on paper, because as "single" parents, they have a beeter chance at affordble housing, tuition assistance, welfare benefits.

If the GOP really cares about family values, it should support affordable housing.

Anonymous said...

Can't always blame the system, mazeartist. Sometimes the individual's gotta take some of the responsibility himself.

Anonymous said...

This individual has odds stacked against him. He cannot afford to have four children in Catholic school. He cannot afford to spend enough time with his family due to his second job. His wife cannot afford to stay at home and take care of the kids. They can't afford a nanny, either.

He can hardly afford to live in the city that he loves.

Anonymous said...

I know this family. Their daughter and son go to the same school as my daughter. The oldest is my daughter's best friend. This family is the nicest, kind hearted ,loving family you will ever meet. Even though their struggles they keep a strong bind. First of all the mother is not black . She is spanish.