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Parking in New York is such a hassle that NYPD cops have no choice but to park in front of hydrants when they patronize Victoria’s Secret and get sandwiches from the bodega. [The Red Tape Chronicles]
NEW YORK
Foreclosure Filed On 1 In 29 Households In Detroit In 2007
By 8.15.07
The foreclosure numbers for the first half of 2007 are in and Stockton, California leads the pack with 1 out of every 27 homes foreclosed on in 2007. Second is Detroit, with 1 in 29 and coming in third, Las Vegas with 1 in 31.
New York's Lost And Found System For Taxis Is Awful
By 8.14.07
– There is no way to contact the garage without a receipt.
There are a few more at Gothamist. We have to wonder, if your system is going to suck that bad… why even have it? It would be better to have a sign that says, “If you leave stuff in the taxi it is immediately eaten by bears. Don’t waste your time calling us.”
Best Buy Making All Service Departments Geek Squadified
By 8.14.07
If you love the great porn-stealing and privacy-invading services currently offered by Geek Squad’s in-store and in-home tech support, have cheer: Best Buy is rebranding all its service departments into Geek Squads, according to an inside source. They’re testing it out in the New York metro area in preparation for a possible nation-wide rollout.
Inside The Valentine's Day JetBlue Nightmare
By 8.14.07
For some reason, JFK stayed open even though no planes could take off in the ice storm. The back up got so bad that the controllers were literally yelling at the JetBlue pilots because the pilots had nowhere to park and were just sitting in the way of incoming planes.
Verizon CSR Gives Fake "Callback" Number That Rings A Dating Hotline
By 8.7.07
Ariel’s phone and DSL inexplicably stopped working and Verizon told her that it would cost her $91 to have it fixed. She agreed and reluctantly took a day off work to wait for the Verizon tech, who, shockingly, never showed.
Jeweler Caught Selling Fake Tiffany Items
By 8.6.07
Tiffany said that according to the judgment issued by a federal court in New York, Starglam Inc., and its principal, John Shamir, should not engage in any further counterfeiting of Tiffany-branded items or infringing on its trademark.
Airline Passengers Bill Of Rights Signed Into (New York) Law!
By 8.4.07
New York Governor Elliot Spitzer signed the first passengers bill of rights into law earlier this week. While the law only cover travelers at New York airports, the state is a major international travel hub, home to Kennedy and LaGuardia, two of the busiest airports in the country. The Air Transportation Association lobbied hard against the measure, saying: “No airline wants to subject passengers to long delays on tarmacs, but customer service can’t be legislated.” New York responded by legislating the following customer service measures:
Improv Everywhere Protests Wendy's Stereotypical Depiction Of Redheads
By 7.25.07
Redheads [Improv Everwhere]
Cuomo Threatens Insurance Company Over Plans To Rank Doctors By Cost
By 7.15.07
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo told UnitedHealthcare to expect a lawsuit if they publish a ranking of doctors based on the cost of care to the insurer. UnitedHealthcare caused a furor in Missouri after introducing a similar ranking scheme in 2005.
Missouri doctors cited numerous objections to the pilot program, which was halted and is being redesigned. For example, most faculty members of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were initially excluded from the quality rankings because university-based care is generally more expensive. Doctors in major specialties were ranked by cost alone.
Subway Is Not Ashamed: First Fast Food Restaurant To Put Calorie Info On Menus
By 7.9.07
While the other large fast food chains sue the City of New York to keep calorie information off their menus, Subway has gone ahead and complied with the New York City regulation. Dunkin’ Donuts, meanwhile, submitted a sample menu meant to “prove” that putting calorie info on its menu just couldn’t be done… and the NYC Health Department responded by having its own graphic designer redo the sign to prove that it could be done.
Introducing The Dating Service Consumer Bill Of Rights
By 7.7.07
• If a contract costs more than $25 per month, the dating service must provide a minimum number of referrals each month. Customers can cancel with a full refund if the minimum is missed for two consecutive months, though a reasonable cancellation fee is allowed.
JetBlue: 2 1/2 Hour Flight Takes 25 Hours
By 7.2.07
-hour flight from Fort Lauderdale to New York turned into a “25-hour odyssey” for 150 passengers.
Delta Can't Land In Newark, Abandons Passengers
By 6.29.07
Reader Eric writes that his girlfriend got a call from his Aunt last night because her cousin was was stuck on the tarmac at Syracuse, NY. They found this odd because she was flying to Newark. Why would she be on the ground several hours away? Because that’s where Delta dropped her off. According to Eric, Delta abandoned a plane load of passengers in Syracuse after being unable to land in Newark due to high traffic and poor weather.
Home Depot Guts Your Kitchen, Never Comes Back
By 6.28.07
Home Depot has been fined $750 by Westchester County, NY for operating without a license after one of their subcontractors allegedly gut the kitchen of a resident, dumped the debris on the customer’s driveway, then never showed up again.
