Imagine that you did all your Christmas shopping for your loved ones. Now, you’re almost broke (hard to imagine?).

Then, you learn that the store refuses to ship any of the gifts, and your loved ones are starting to look like they believe you are some sort of cheapskate.

What do you do now? A smart step would be to phone customer service to fix the problem. Customer service tells you to $@*^%! Now what? You contact the executives, who reply: *%#@**&! Time to get the lawyers!

Well, we don’t have to imagine the nightmare. In New York City, the organization that can be described as Customer Service is known as Community Assistance Unit – or, CAU. The Queens Director of CAU is a lady named Jennifer Manley, previously a reporter for the Queens weekly newspaper, the Queens Chronicle until she took up with the City Job at CAU in mid-2007. It’s been difficult to determine how reporting for a local paper is qualification for elevation to Queens Director of CAU.

Ms. Manley has demonstrated no competence for the job, nor does it seem that she has the necessary clout to perform as the go-between for various contending groups. An example: this past summer, after the uproar over the multiple flooding with no response from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Ms. Manley helped the DEP, the Queens Community Board 5 and selected invitees to have a secret meeting, specifically designed to not hear from the many angry homeowners who suffered flood damage. After changing locations, the meeting was held with armed guards to prevent public access.

Ms. Manley is photographed consulting with the disgraced and indicted for rape Dennis Gallagher, while ordering DEP to stay away from the meeting for homeowners arranged by the Juniper Park Civic Association. Someone with a clear head at DEP arranged for DEP representatives to attend that meeting to answer home owners’ questions.

Whoops! The critics and homeowners were correct. DEP finally came clean and owned up to the years of neglect of the sewers. It was that neglect that caused so much damage. So much for “Customer Service” from Manley, CAU Director for Queens. Apart from that giant refusal to do her job, Manley has simply refused to perform her job of returning phone calls, letters or making any sort of contact with various civic leaders in the community. Try jumping a turnstile to use the subway. That’s theft of service. What do you call it when a city official lives off your taxes and refuses to perform his or her job?

The city commissioner of CAU (Manley’s boss) is Nazli Parvizi, whose only apparent qualification for the job is that she catered the feeding of other Bloomberg Groupies during his last campaign. She started this job in May of 2007. It looks like the drinks were properly chilled, so that qualified this 30ish woman for the job of CAU Commissioner.

A press release announcing Bloomberg’s appointment of Parvizi as CAU Commissioner reported that Bloomberg said of Parvizi: “… Now, as the leader of CAU, she will bring together those groups with the Community Boards and civic organizations to help us continue improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers,” Mayor Bloomberg said. “A tireless worker and dynamic leader with superb people skills, I am confident that Nazli will excel in her new role. …”

“Mayor Bloomberg's leadership by example encouraged us at the Mayor's Volunteer Center to innovate and find ways to make a great office even better,” Parvizi said. “I look forward to continuing that work with CAU to ensure that City government works for every New Yorker.”

One of her first actions was to don the jackboots and stomp on the First Amendment rights of any citizen who publicly protests for “redress of grievances”.

Was that Parvizi following the example of the leader, Bloomberg?

Parvizi wrote a letter demanding an apology for a protest at Saint Saviour’s. The Civic and residents, joined by City Council Member Tony Avella were demanding that the city intervene, purchase the property and convert the land into a park for the residents of Maspeth. At the protest was a citizen who held up a political cartoon. Three long months after the protest, one of Parvizi’s early official actions was to write this insulting letter that illegally threatened to withhold city services from the residents of this community. Was this what Bloomberg had in mind by referring to Parvizi’s “superb people skills”? Was this letter what Bloomberg meant when he said that “ … as the leader of CAU, she will bring together those groups with the Community Boards and civic organizations to help us continue improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers. …”?

This letter was the #*&^%@# from Bloomberg to the residents of Queens. Bloomberg no longer needs Queens. He will not be running for mayor again. But, he has not refunded any tax payments made by Queens’ residents.

Then we have the Bloomberg & Benepe raid on the treasury to purchase and install the possibly dangerous (cancer-causing) $150 Million (and counting) so-called artificial turf. Here’s another *@)*&% from Bloomberg and Benepe to all New Yorkers and their kids.

Bloomberg and Benepe attempted to prevent distribution of this newspaper in our public parks this past September. Naturally, in their cowardly fashion, they sent a low-level employee to make the demand. We refused. Again, the jackboots stomping on YOUR first Amendment rights. If we are forbidden to distribute, you are therefore forbidden to read.

Where is Parvizi? Where is Manley? Why are both of these very well paid (Parvizi started at about $75,000. Now, for refusing to do her job, she gets nearly $200,000) staying far away from the artificial turf question? Is it dangerous to stand between that $150 Million and the Canadian manufacturer?

Dear reader: stand up to these people.