Finding a parking spot in many major cities can be a pain in the butt, as you not only navigate the streets but have to be mindful of “No Parking,” “No Standing,” and any other number of signs that regulate where, and for how long, you can deposit your car. So once you find a spot and check all the signs, you should be good, right? Not if the city comes by and changes the signs on you. [More]
new york city
Watch As City Changes Parking Signs Then Issues Tickets To Cars That Had Been Parked Legally
By 5.21.13
Enterprise Made An Extra $18 Because They Didn’t Tell Me I Might Need An EZ-Pass
By 5.2.13 — Updated: 9.8.16
We now live in a brave new world of unmanned tollbooths. B, for one, is not a fan. He rented a car recently, and Enterprise didn’t make EZ-Pass transponders available to customers. He crossed a bridge that had two options for paying its toll: automatically charged to your license plate through the mail, or EZ-Pass. Since it was a rental, he got slapped with a $18 convenience fee for the toll on just one bridge. [More]
Ride-Share Service Accuses NYC Of Cooking Up Sting Operation To Discourage Legal Activity
By 5.1.13
In New York City, only licensed yellow cabs are allowed to make curbside pick-ups, though countless no-name cabs and rogue car service drivers regularly take the risk of being fined just to score a fare. But the folks at a ride-sharing service claim that NYC’s Taxi & Limousine Commission are unfairly attacking users of the service, which the company believes is perfectly legal. [More]
Lawsuit: NYC’s Metropolitan Museum Of Art Misleads Visitors Into Paying High ‘Suggested’ Admission Price
By 3.25.13
When you ask for a ticket at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, you get charged $25. Because that’s the admission price, right? Not so fast! As the fine print says, it’s actually a “suggested donation.” You have to pay something, but that “something” could be a penny that you found on the sidewalk. Upset at this, two museum-goers have filed a class action lawsuit accusing the museum of misleading the public. [More]
Book Returned To New York Public Library Almost 55 Years Overdue
By 2.6.13
It may disappoint fans of the TV program “Seinfeld,” but the New York Public Library doesn’t really have its own detectives who track down biblio-scofflaws with severely overdue books. If it did, it would have long ago tracked down the patron who checked out a copy of Fire of Francis Xavier in 1958 and didn’t return it until this week. [More]
![([F]oxymoron)](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/bluewallet.jpg?w=240&h=180&crop=1)
Smart Move Or Bad Service? Restaurant Calls Cops On Diner Who Claims He Left His Wallet In Hotel Room
By 1.25.13
It’s a nightmare situation for any consumer: You’ve just finished your expensive meal and suddenly realize you can’t pay because you don’t have your wallet. How do you convince the restaurant manager to cut you some slack? What if they won’t? [More]
NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg Blames Uptick In Crime On Thieves Coveting All Those iPhones
By 12.28.12
At any given moment, the streets of New York City are like a veritable sea, teeming with fish (people) tempting thieves with their pockets full of shiny, new electronic gadgets. And that preponderance of highly-coveted technology, including Apple’s popular iPhones and iPads, is why the city’s major crime rate has risen this year, says NYC’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg. [More]
Should You Feel Guilty After Receiving Amazing Customer Service?
By 12.28.12
We’ve long been advocates of using Twitter for customer service when the regular channels of customer service don’t work. There’s something about the combination of pithy microblog updates and public posting that some companies have done very well, and that others have been unable to manage. Others are giving up on the platform entirely.If you can get help via Twitter, that turns you into a VIP, and that made Lindsay Robertson of The Awl uncomfortable after she used Twitter to complain to Home Depot about her backordered air conditioner. [More]
Don't Get Your Hopes Up If You Live In New York City & Really Want A Walmart To Move In
By 9.17.12
Walmart just has the worst luck at trying to get set up in New York City. The mega-chain recently failed to come to economic terms for what would be its first store in the city, but it is refusing to give up the fight. Opponents of Walmart have been successful so far at keeping it out of the city, however, so that battle is going to be a tough one for biggest of big box stores. [More]
Papa John's Receipt Identifies Asian Customer Using Racial Slur
By 1.9.12
In a busy food-service establishment, it’s understandable to refer to customers by nicknames or a shorthand. However, problems arise when these nicknames actually appear on the customer’s receipt. Just ask a New York Papa John’s that’s been plagued with prank calls since a receipt identifying a customer of Asian descent as “Lady Chinky Eyes” hit Twitter. [More]
NYC Pet Stores Linked To Midwest Puppy Mills
By 11.10.11
An undercover video investigation shows that many New York area pet stores are getting their pets stocked by so-called “puppy mills” with a history of USDA violations. [More]
Restaurant Near Occupy Wall Street Protest Lays Off 21
By 11.2.11
A restaurant owner believes an occupied Wall Street is crowding out his business. He says police barricades meant to protect establishments from protest mayhem have restricted foot traffic, dropping sales by 30 percent and forcing him to lay off 21 workers — more than a sixth of his workforce — and placed his operation in jeopardy. [More]
NYC Taxis To Start Asking Passengers How Much Money They Make
By 10.26.11
If you’ve ever thought your New York City taxi driver was too talkative, the taxis there are about to get a whole lot nosier. The screens in NYC taxis are now going to start asking passengers how much money they make. That’s a bit presumptuous! [More]
Zuccotti Park Cleanup Called Off, Occupy Wall Street Protesters Remain
By 10.14.11
The owners of the New York City park where the Occupy Wall Street protesters camped out for a month have called off a scheduled powerwashing that would have forced a showdown between the movement and the NYPD. [More]
It Took Four Appointments And A Call To The Police To Get My Time Warner Cable Internet Installed
By 9.22.11
Consumerist reader William recently moved into a newly built house in New York City and his only available choice for an internet provider is Time Warner Cable, meaning that even after three unsuccessful attempts to get his building hooked up with web access, he had really no other choice but to roll the dice and make a fourth appointment. Unfortunately, the fourth time was most certainly not the charm, as William was forced to call the police to get the combative tech to leave his property. [More]
Bronx DA Seeks To Indict 17 Cops In Massive Ticket Fixing Scandal
By 9.20.11
A two-year investigation into ticket fixing, where cops agree to make tickets disappear in exchange for bribes, gifts and favors, is expected to result in the indictment of 17 NYPD cops. [More]
Striking Restaurant Workers Accuse Owner Of Charging $8 For Bottles Of Tap Water
By 8.25.11
You may remember the story from January of the employees at a swanky Central Park restaurant who recorded their boss allegedly threatening them if they joined a union. Now those same employees have come out with allegations that the eatery misled customers into paying $8 for bottles of regular old tap water. [More]
Should New Homeowner Have To Pay For Sidewalk Repair It Took City 14 Years To Perform?
By 8.23.11
A homeowner in Queens, NY, is none too thrilled after she paid the city more than $1,100 for repair on sidewalk cracks that went un-repaired for more than a decade before she purchased the building in 2008. [More]
