Consumerist
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party crashers
Tavern On The Green Plays Halloween Trick On Thousands Of Partiers
Melissa is one of thousands of people who showed up at the bankrupt Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park on Saturday night for a ticket-holders-only Halloween party. She was forced to wait outside at the front of an increasingly agitated mob because the restaurant had sold too many tickets, or because someone had sold fake ones, it's still unclear. The Daily News says one reveler waited 5 hours before he was finally let in, just before 1:30 am—which was when the party was shut down by police. Now they all want their money back, but Tavern on the Green and the party promoters are blaming each other. More » -
fast food
So, Do Calorie Counts On Menus Help People Make Better Choices? Or Not?
There have been two recent studies concerning NYC's menu labeling law. One said that the posted calorie counts had no effect — and the other disagrees. So, who is right? More » -
free publicity
Best Buy Can Now Overcharge New Yorkers 'Round The Clock
If you like Best Buy, come to New York City! In November the company will open its first 24-hour store, in the remodeled carcass of the Circuit City that formerly anchored Union Square. In fact, it's probably best we call it the Circuit City Best Buy to avoid confusion. According to Best Buy's PR department, the store will also feature "the largest Best Buy Musical Instruments Department in the United States."
"Best Buy Opens First 24-Hour Store" [RetailWire]
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verizon
Verizon, NYPD Don't Care About Fires
Once again, Verizon has been caught leaving its vans parked in front of fire hydrants.
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street vendors
Can't Find Work In Your Field? Move To NYC And Open A Food Cart
If you were laid off from your job, or can't find one in the industry you trained for, you can always sell food to people on sidewalks. That's what at least two people are doing in New York, while a third has opened a cart to supplement his regular income. Update: But don't expect to actually make any money, according to this article tipped to us by Zach. More » -
plastic only
NYC Restaurant Stops Accepting Cash
If you decide to eat at Commerce, an unpleasantly named upscale restaurant in New York City that charges nearly $25 for spaghetti, your cash is no longer welcome.
More »"If you don't have a credit card, you can use a debit card," said the restaurant's co-owner, Tony Zazula. "If you don't have a debit card, you probably don't have a checking account. And if you don't have a checking account, you probably shouldn't be eating at Commerce to begin with."
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marketing
Hotel With Glass Windows Overlooking A Park Markets Itself To Exhibitionists
The High Line in NYC is a former railroad line that has been converted into a park, but visitors are getting a little more of a view than they bargained for. The Standard Hotel overlooks the park and according to the New York Post, they've been marketing themselves as a good venue for exhibitionists to expose themselves to hapless park-goers. More » -
recession watch
Homeless? If You Can Prove There's A Relative Who'll Take You In, NYC Will Pay Your Way
NYC wants to have less homeless people — even if that means buying them a one way ticket out of town. The NYT says that the Bloomberg administration has paid for 550 homeless people to leave the city — including flying people to "Paris ($6,332), Orlando ($858.40), Johannesburg ($2,550.70), or most frequently, San Juan ($484.20)." More » -
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headaches
WaMu/Chase Doesn't Believe Your Card Was Stolen, Despite The Fact That The Thief Was Arrested
Reader Stephen says that a NYC Taxi driver tricked him into using an ATM skimmer-like-device instead of the normal credit card machine and made off with his card and PIN. The NYPD made an arrest, but Stephen says he's still battling with Chase/WaMu. More » -
recession watch
New York Mayor Says Luxury Homeless Shelter Residents Shouldn't Get Too Cozy
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the Daily News that the residents of the swanky failed-condo-turned-homeless-shelter shouldn't get too comfortable. They'll need to move on. More » -
activism
Art Vigilantes Paint Over 120 Illegal Billboards In NYC
Last Saturday, ads-in-public-spaces activist Jordan Seiler spearheaded NYSAT, or New York Street Advertising Takeover, where teams of artists, videographers and activists replaced 120 unregistered billboard advertisements throughout the city with original art installations.
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pepsi
Pepsi Yankees Promotion Leads To Fans Chanting "Pepsi Sucks!"
It's probably never a good idea to offer Yankees fans free tickets for showing up and forming a crowd, because then you've got a crowd of Yankees fans with nothing to do, and that's not going to end well. In this case, after the fans found out that Pepsi over-promised the number of free tickets it was giving out, they turned hostile. More » -
freebies
Ride For Free On Jet Blue (If You Can Get Yourself "Trapped" In The Cargo Hold)
A Jet Blue employee hitched a free flight from JFK Airport in NYC to Logan Airport in Boston this past weekend, after getting trapped in the cargo hold before takeoff. Police aren't charging him with a crime, but they told the Boston Globe that, "Even after talking to him, we were a little uncertain as to how it happened." He apparently called the company from the cargo hold once the plane was in the air—which is exactly what we would do to deflect suspicion in a scheme like this. Tokyo, here we come via new part-time job as a baggage handler! More » -
The MTA will be the first entity to refuse to refer to the new Mets stadium as "Citi Field." The subway authority refuses to spend its own money rebranding the station with a corporate name — so it'll be known as "Mets/Willets Point." Hey, that's better than "Bailout Park." [Gothamist]
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party peppers
Store Accidentally Sells Peppers Stuffed With Cocaine
We love chile rellenos, but this is just silly. A store in NYC sold peppers stuffed with cocaine to three different customers, none of whom knew they were getting a little something extra in their produce. More » -
crime
NYC Police Commish Says TD Bank Is Too Easy To Rob
The NYC police commissioner, Ray Kelly, is super annoyed at TD Bank because he says they're just too easy to rob. In one example of this phenomenon, a robber was thwarted by three Chase branches before successfully robbing a TD Bank. And get this, 17% of this New York City's bank robberies occurred at TD Bank branches. More » -
economy
NYC Mayor Wants To Spend $45 Million Retraining Investment Bankers
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to spend $45 million in government money retraining investment bankers, brokers and others who have lost jobs on Wall Street, says the New York Times. More » -
restaurants
NYC Restaurants Caught Sneaking A Tip On To Your Bill
Sneaky! The New York Post caught several restaurants in NYC sneaking a gratuity on to the bills of unsuspecting customers. Tsk, tsk. That's not allowed. More »
nyc
New York, 6:08 AM
Sun Nov 8
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