A branch manager of a Queens, NY mortgage company has been caught opening fake Home Depot accounts using personal information obtained from loan applications and has been charged with grand larceny, says the NYT.
Mr. Milton is an immigrant from Bangladesh who was granted political asylum by the United States who had a cable television program in Queens for fellow immigrants from his homeland, the police said.
Todd Layne Cleaners on the Upper East Side filed a $300,000 defamation suit against disgruntled former customer Evan Maloney. The dry cleaner decided to “vigorously defend” itself after Maloney hung ten posters in his building decrying Todd Layne’s horrible customer service. Maloney lists five grievances:
When we wrote about the glories of subletting your apartment while on vacation, we mused that renter’s insurance might cover it if your guest damages or steals stuff. While talking to USAA today about our renter’s insurance policy we asked them about this and they said nope, it doesn’t. You’re still protected from all the normal things, like fire, flood, and falling space probes, but not by the actions of someone you’ve invited into your home. So, we’ll just continue to beware and use our best judgment and not sublet to sketchy people. Other people with lower risk tolerances will disagree, and we’re okay with that.
Someone explain how this works. Jason tells us that Starbucks Frappuccinos 4-packs normally retails at the Target in Amherst, NY, for $5.24, but there’s a new price tag on them for $5.49, boasting they’re, “Even Lower than our advertised price.” So, in the circulars they’re advertising them for, say, $5.99? Why not a sign that says, “BIG SAVINGS” and then in small letters, “as compared to a piece of gold bullion.”
Attention World: Stay the $%#@ away from Orlando International Airport at 10pm! According to the brand new numbers from the Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report, flights scheduled to depart from 10pm-11pm at Orlando’s airport are on-time only 33.3% of the time. Yes, if you leave Orlando International Airport from 10-11pm, you have a 2 out 3 chance of being late. Don’t risk it.
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Perhaps New Yorkers will see a city-wide crackdown on identity theft, now that Mayor Bloomber’s identity has been stolen. Twice. [City Room]
6 people have fallen ill due to e. coli contaminated frozen hamburger, according to the Associated Press. Three of the illnesses required hospitalization.
Reader Christopher snapped this photo of some McDonald’s employees making a delivery, via the New York City subway. Christopher is worried that the boxes contained what they say they contained—raw eggs and chicken fillet.
Another week, another round of Bad Employer news about Wal—oh wait, we mean Starbucks this time, which actually has a lower rate of insured employees than the discount chain (42% versus 47%). Last Thursday, the National Labor Relations Board accused Starbucks of “unlawful anti-union activity” at a store in Michigan, similar to the charges it’s currently on trial for in New York.
The New York CIty subways are going to get cellphone service, according to the Daily News.
MediaDefender, a company that “disrupts” p2p on behalf of record labels and movie studios, suffered an embarrassing leak this weekend when 700MB of internal company emails were distributed on the internet. Oops!
The judge in New York City found that the city’s menu labeling regulation is preempted only in one, easily fixable way.
Staffers at the New York State Public Service Commission have signed off on ConEd’s plan to impose the largest rate hike in the company’s history. ConEd asked for $1.2 billion, but PSC staffers think the utility is entitled to only $618 million. New Yorkers already pay some of the highest electricity bills in the nation.
“This is all part of the sham that goes on with every rate hike request,” said Assemblyman Michael N. Gianaris, a Queens Democrat who sits on the Assembly’s power committee and who has criticized the utility for its response to the 2006 power failure in his borough. “Con Edison asks for more than it expects to get,” he said. “The P.S.C. rides in on its white horse and takes credit for slashing the request. But the end result is still what Con Edison wanted all along.”
Best Buy employee Olivia Bailey, 18, was accused last week of stealing $13,000 from a Best Buy store in Lawrence, NY by using fraudulently obtained credit card numbers to purchase gift cards.
Stay Free’s Carrie McLaren and Steve Lambert have started a crowdsourced photo project for New Yorkers to submit photos of 311 conditions in their hoods.
Bank of America has rolled out over the past yearATMs that don’t require you to put your money or checks in an envelope when you deposit. Just shove the bills and checks in the slot. Vincent Ferrari saw the new ATMs in Queens and sent us the scan of the flyer that was sitting next to them, writing, “I know you aren’t huge fans of Bank of America, but the new ATMs are undeniably cool…”
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is taking action to ensure the prompt removal of recalled products, responding to the CPSC’s unwillingness to ask for, or accept, the authority to impose mandatory recalls. The following proposals do not require approval by the Legislature, and will go into effect immediately:
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