I want back the thirty seven seconds of my life I just spent reading this article. Come on, Consumerist, you can do better than this...

Why did he give up his spot? Just because he's a mayor doesn't mean he's not allowed to sit in line just like everyone else. My response would have been simple, "Get lost our I'll make it 201."

I side with the mayor. And Philly is such a trashy city anyways. They'd had been killed even if he was sitting in his office, ordering a I-phone on the computer.

I bet the guy who made the comment ran a Zune kiosk in the Philly mall.

Just because you're a public servant, it doesn't mean that your personal life stops. If the mayor puts in 80 hours a week, an iPhone might help him more productive?

Or at least cope with an 80-hour workweek.

John Street, the iPhone loving mayor of Philadelphia, has giving up the wait after a guy with a mohawk asked him, "How can you sit here with 200 murders in the city already?"

Lol what an asshole. What the fuck is he supposed to do, put on his Batman suit and start patrolling the city?

I'm just upset I had to click on "More" for those extra three sentences.

I bet the guy with the mohawk is a killer.

this is silly...the mayor isn't gonna stop anything.......homicide is kinda hard to stop anyway....especially indoor stuff.....you can't put a mayor or police on every corner or in every indoor spot...he shoulda stayed in line and got his toy.......

Actually, on NPR he said he left for a meeting while the person behind him held his place in line. He acknowledged the comment and addressed it, and then ended the interview to go get his spot back in line.

I just love hearing about the iPhone. I wish the consumerist would post more about it. Maybe a play by play or some sorts? Like, there are 1500 people waiting in line.. oh oh, now there are 1501.

Maybe they can drum up some more non articles like, Average Joe waits in line to by an iPhone because his iPod broke after only one year and he needs a replacement.

Maybe they can get an article about how great DRM and the iPhone will work hand in hand.

You know, hard hitting stories like that....

@NoNamesLeft:
I see you've been to Gizmodo recently.

wtf? Why is the mayor standing in line for an iphone? All he has to do is send an assistant to do that, and he can sit at home and pretend that the murder rate means more to him than some overhyped cell phone. Everyone wins.

Ridiculous! What, if he is at a restaurant and someone mentioned the murder rate he has to leave? He can't take a day off for himself every once in awhile?

iphOWNED

I agree he is an embarassment as a mayor. I agree that Philly should be better, and I don't know what the answers are. But he's not a bad guy, I have seen him around town a lot, at Target, Whole Foods, SuperFresh, never with an entourage and always says hi and will talk to kids. So it's not really out of character for him to be there--let him have his phone.
sheesh....

While waiting for his IPhone, the Mayor of Philadelphia pronounced himself as a "gadget" man. His statement provided me with new perspective on the Mayor's priorities and how we came to have 200 people die in 2007. The Mayor was busy getting the city wired for WIFI so he could use his IPhone when it became availalbe. A true visionary.

@PixieDust:
At least he actually lives and interacts in the place he runs, unlike those government officials who will run a place but never actually go there or will stay in the rich, safe part and send people out to do everything that might put them near "the commoners".

That is such a low blow and a real slippery slope. How can you stop to eat lunch when there are people starving, mayor? How can you laugh at a joke when someone, somewhere is dying right now? How can you take the time to go to the bathroom when my taxes are too high?

Very cheap, mohawk man.

I guess some people in Philly want a Mayor who personally patrol the streets hunting down murderers and criminals. Bruce Wayne's gonna kick his ass in the next election.

Well I was watching the news at about 5PM, an hour after this story was posted, and Mayor Street was in line. He musta left, then came back. The news reports of it were really dumb.

The point people were trying to make is that there are too many problems with the city, such as the murder rate, for the mayor to be spending his time waiting in line for a gadget. But instead, the news reporters were asking him if he felt safe sitting out on the street, like every day there are dozens of random murders or something. Never mind that Street was waiting in the middle of the city, whereas most of the murders are happening in North and West Philly.

Actually, he did go back after his meetings and stuff to get his iPhone.

@sugarrob

If I were you, I'd expect a personal hand written letter of apology from Gawker media for your errant clicks on their website. You've probably nailed the biggest and best kept secret of the internet, and they'll do whatever it takes to keep you quiet.

Oh, and get over yourself, or get a higher speed connection.

Street should've shouted "that's one more phone for the rest of us!" while pushing the mohawk guy in front of a septa bus. Philadelphia is hopeless.

Wow, 200 murders already in Philly? Here in Baltimore we only have 158. Our gangs must be slacking.

I totally agree with what was said so far...wtf is the mayor supposed to do? Is he not entitled to some of the more pleasurable things in life?

@CRSpartan01: It's not just Consumerist's version, but the original article (which is scandalously bad!).