More Aramark Fun at Isaac Young Middle School; Workers Leave Jagged Metal Pipe as Easter Present for Kids

Written By: Robert Cox

During the Easter Break, Aramark employee John Gallagher placed an “emergency” order for work to be done on a sprinkler system that was leaking. The leak has been a problem for over a decade. Members of the Buildings and Grounds crew were ordered to work on off-days that week so they got paid double-time! Ostensibly, the overtime was so that the work would be completed before the students were back in school.

So, how did that go?

The work was not completed by the end of the vacation week. A jagged, sawed-off piece of metal pipe sticking was left sticking straight up out of the ground. Fortunately it was near the door, making it perfect for tripping over as the children run out at the end of the school day. The extra jaggedness would be ideal for causing serious injury if a student or staff member fell on it. Notice how the protective fence was ripped down, cast to the side and left there after school was back in session.

Not to worry, they had it all fixed up by the end of the first week back after school.

10 thoughts on “More Aramark Fun at Isaac Young Middle School; Workers Leave Jagged Metal Pipe as Easter Present for Kids”

  1. Reply to comment | Talk of the Sound
    Kuniw equsecakaq, irumu agamuker ot Casio Ap 620 ziripu lohedom i osu awumafado. Yu finahufo ka tofe sodo fuvodozexu, va akakig bizo feb noru ecuxu.

  2. Very disappointed in Mr. Cox
    Dear Bob:
    We had a very pleasant conversation months ago as I was a big fan of yours. However, seeing how you go off without knowing the true facts, I’m very disappointed in you. Let me share some facts for you.
    First of all M. Zonzini Mason Contractors, Inc. is a very honest, law abiding company who has had his business in New Rochelle for over 25 years.
    1. Mr. Zonzini bids fair and square, once a year where the bids are advertised and sealed upon submittal. Mr. Zonzini pays NYS Dept of Labor prevailing wage rates, (52.50 per hour to his laborers and much more to the others whom have been with him over 20 years.
    2. There has NEVER been a complaint about their work from any municipality, but has received tons of praise from many municipalities and private home owners about his quality of work.
    3. Zonzini had NOTHING to do with the fence pole or the post sticking up from the sidewalk. THAT WAS THE FENCE COMPANY THAT CUT THAT, NOT ZONZINI. The fence company then repaired the fence post and the cut off metal. AGAIN, ZONZINI DID NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT FENCE POST.
    4. For you to target Zonzini Contractors with your baseless blogs is unfair, untrue and surprising. For a person whom I thought was a true and fair blogger turned to be a huge disappointment and I must say untrustworthy.
    When I was asked to help you identify a plate number who was removing your signs, I was eager to help and achieved the results. YOU KNOW WHO I AM.
    Shame on you Bob to pick on an honest business man who has never cheated a customer or a tax payer and prides himself on doing quality work and giving the tax payers the best bang for their buck.
    JBC.

    1. Slow news day maybe?
      Slow news day maybe? I’m even sure what the story is. A job didn’t get finished on time (routine & expected) but was finished shortly thereafter (a rarity usually). End of story & this was 3 months ago, over Easter break. Who really cares? And now the alienation of yet another sub-group of NR life. Please stop alienating people.

      1. do not need that kind of support
        In case you have not noticed, I am not particularly concerned about getting the “support” of the sort of “sub-groups” you are talking about.

        I am not even sure I know just what you mean but if you mean by “sub-group” a person and their family and friends and that this group get upset if I run a story about one of the members of their sub-group getting arrested for drunk driving or getting involved with some scam to defraud the taxpayer or or otherwise engage in some sort of crime or malfeasance then let me assure you how little I care about offending this person or their family of friends.

        I have a better idea for this person and their family and friends. How about not driving drunk, how about not stealing from the schools or the city, how about not abusing the public trust, how about not defrauding the taxpayer.

        I know that seems like a lot to ask but if I get a story about someone getting arrested for drunk driving I am going to run that story, if I get a story about a board of ed employee having or trying to have sex with a student then I am going to report that, if I get a story about theft of services, fraud or anyone other sort of malfeasance involving the public sector (ie, the people’s money not their money) then I am going to run that.

        And that you or they or their friends do not like it and whine about it only makes me that much more interested to run the next story…and the next…and the next.

    2. ox gored
      Actually, I do not know who you are but you can email me directly or call me to remind me.

      I have no doubt that “the bids are advertised and sealed upon submittal”. That’s hardly the point. Besides how does the fact that bids are advertised and sealed when submitted mean that the process is “fair and square”.

      For instance, a contractor and a person working for the school district (or city for that matter) wish to rig a bid. The contract is advertised. Sealed bids are received. They are opened. The school district person calls his favored contractor and tells him the number he needs to beat, he sends in a bid and “wins” the contract. If they want to be more creative, the contractor could send in several sealed bids in different color envelopes and the school district person opens those last after seeing all the bids and knowing that, for example, the blue envelope is the highest “low bid” submitted by his favored contractor. Or how about this one, all of the contractors get together over lunch and split up the available contracts so that Contractor A get contract 1-10, Contractor B gets 11-20 and Contractor C gets 21-30 with each putting in high bids for the ones they are not supposed to win. There are a million ways this sort of scam is run. And in many of them you can have actual sealed bids and everything can appear “fair and square”. The problem comes up when you see the same people winning a share of the bids time after time after time.

      The issue here is Aramark and Quinn. I do not believe that anything about the way Aramark runs anything including bidding for contracts is done “fair and square”. In fact, I have quite a bit of information to the contrary. I do not know why Quinn is tolerant of this; maybe he just accept this as the “cost of doing business”.

      Given the cesspool that exists with municipal and school district contracts, there is no reason to start from the premise that everything is honest and above board.

      As far as the quality of work and Zonzini’s responsibility, I was under the impression that Zonzini was the contractor and sub-contracted out the work. This is, for example, what they did with the contract to repair the stone posts of the Isaac gates. Are you telling me that the district contracted directly with the fence company? In any case, it is immaterial because the issue is not the fence company or Zonzini; Aramark is responsible for all of the work be done whether it is by district employees, the fence company or Zonzini and when the kids came back from school Aramark was the one responsible for the fact that a jagged pipe was left sticking up out of the sidewalk next to the main door to the school. And this is why the headline and story focus on Aramark not Zonzini.

      1. conspiracies
        Bob. Once again you are exhibiting yourself to blog about untrue things and untrue facts.
        First, let me state why I write positively about M. Zonzini Mason Contractors.
        Firstly, I know him approximately 15 years. He is my client and I do legal work for him. Secondly, I associate with him because of his honesty and integrity. Now for your untrue remarks. HE DOES NOT sub-contract work out. He meets with the school officials and because he has the contract for the year, (There are many different types of contracts. Some he does NOT have) he inspects the work, prices the work out and his company DOES the work. LAST YEAR HE DID NOT WIN THE CONTRACT. He does not have the fence contract so he CANNOT do that work. Zonzini Contracting is NOT a fence company! Now for the bidding process. If this is rigged, why was he lower than the next bid at times, in thousands and thousands of dollars??? Why was his bid thrown out as INVALID, because he made an error in the prevailing wage rate by 1 or 2 pennies per hour? Did you know these facts, Mr. Cox??
        Now for the part of calling you. I was contacted to identify a plate of a person who was removing your election signs. I found out that it was for you, and being a fan of yours, I identified the plate, (legally) and remitted the registered owner’s information for your benefit. I called you over a month ago and left a message and you never returned my phone call.
        I hope that you will instill the faith that I had in you previously, but when you attack a person of integrity with baseless facts, I will become your enemy.
        JBC

      2. You convinced me
        OK.

        The point of this story was that Aramark ordered this work done and then failed to make sure that the location was safe. Also, that I do not believe this was a true emergency.

        That said, I do not want to distract from the Aramark angle so I have edited the story to take Zonzini out of it and focus on Gallagher and Aramark.

  3. I’ll say it again…
    Get the Governor to do an internal investigation in New Rochelle!!!!

    Bob, it’s LONG overdue!

    1. What’s his number?
      I will give him a ring and get him on it!

      Let me just say this. I am aware that a close confident of Gov. Andrew Cuomo reads this site. If he is looking at this and has seen enough to realize that this district cannot police itself, then by all means I would hope he would make the appropriate referral.

      I am just a humble blogger. It’s not like I can pick up the phone, call a state agency and get them to launch a criminal investigation. Or can I?

      1. Or can I?
        Well why can’t you call the Governor’s office?

        If they do reas the site as you say, hopefully they will see MUCH corruption and , COME ON DOWN New Rochelle way!

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