If you’ve walked Canal St. in lower Manhattan’s Chinatown, you’ve probably passed by the modest headquarters of Abacus Federal Savings, a family run community bank that has served New York City’s Chinese immigrant population for more than three decades. It’s more than a mile away — and a world apart — from the more famous banks on Wall Street whose reckless behaviors during the housing bubble led to trillions of dollars in economic loss, the failure of financial institutions nationwide, an unprecedented federal bailout of the banking and auto industries, and continued fraud by big banks in a rush to foreclose on large numbers of homes as quickly as possible. [More]
nyc
Only One Bank Was Indicted For Mortgage Fraud Tied To The 2008 Collapse — And It Was Innocent
By 9.12.17
Ride-Hailing Apps In NYC One Step Away From In-App Tipping
By 7.20.17
A month ago, Uber rolled out optional in-app tipping nationwide, which made it look a little more driver-friendly while stuck in a traffic jam of terrible publicity. We’re sure that change had nothing to do with what happened in New York’s City Council today: A bill that would require ride-hailing apps to let customers tip within the app passed the transportation committee and is on its way to the mayor’s desk. [More]
Court Says Eatery Was Wrong To Fire Server Who Called Boss A “Mother$%*!^r” On Facebook
By 4.24.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
If you go on Facebook today to call out your boss, using 12-letter profanities that imply your supervisor has carnal knowledge of their mother, and you also insult your boss’s spouse and kids, you probably won’t have a job to go to tomorrow. Yet a federal appeals court has ruled that a catering service at a well-known Manhattan landmark was in the wrong when it fired a server for this sort of Facebook rant, because that rant was ultimately about a bigger-picture labor dispute. [More]
NYC Will Require Uber App To Allow Tipping (Eventually)
By 4.17.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Tipping is a confusing issue when it comes to ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft in New York City. Drivers are allowed to accept cash tips, but they aren’t allowed to ask for them. What’s more, the Lyft app includes the ability to put that tip on your credit card, but Uber’s app is still tip-less. That will change later this year, as NYC will require Uber to include tipping on its mobile platform. [More]
New York State Dismissed From Vacation Rental Lawsuit; NYC And Airbnb To Settle Soon
By 11.22.16
It might be only people who enjoy renting an entire apartment to vacation in New York City who remember the legal fight between the state of New York and Airbnb over a new state law. Last month, the governor signed a bill limiting rentals in New York City and imposes stiffer penalties on people who rent out entire apartments. While it’s a state law, the lawsuit has been dismissed, and it’s the city that will enforce the law. [More]
Airbnb Sues New York Over New Short-Term Rentals Law, State Won’t Enforce It Yet
By 10.24.16 — Updated: 11.22.16
The latest govermnent to impose rules on short-term rental site Airnbnb is New York: while the law is statewide, it’s mostly intended to clamp down on whole-apartment rentals that critics say are affecting the supply and prices of housing in New York City. The governor signed the law on Friday, and Airbnb immediately sued. Now the state won’t enforce the law until the lawsuit has been resolved. [More]
American Girl Will Move And Experiment With Its Store In NYC, ‘Evolve As A Total Brand’
By 5.12.16
Visiting an American Girl Doll store is an amazing bit of “experiential retail,” which is a thing that people actually say. The stores offer a historical fiction and a highly customizable world designed around school-age girls. The company’s flagship store in Manhattan is at the end of its lease, and is moving to a space in Rockefeller Center that will be even more easily found by tourists. It will include a “media studio,” massive party rooms, and other features for an immersive brand-centric experience. [More]
Group That Is Totally Not A Union Can Represent New York City’s Uber Drivers
By 5.10.16
The people who drive for Uber in New York City are independent contractors and not employees of the ride-hailing service, at least according to current laws. Drivers know that, but want a union-like group that would advocate for workers’ concerns with the company, even if it doesn’t engage in collective bargaining to set fares. Uber has agreed to work with a non-union, the Independent Drivers Guild, which will meet with the company and help drivers appeal when they’re “deactivated,” or fired. [More]
Some New York City Uber Drivers Will Go On Strike At Noon
By 2.1.16
You might remember last week that we reported about Uber’s plans to cut fares by about 15% in New York City. Customers are surely delighted, and some drivers are happy to have less downtime, but other drivers are less thrilled, and around 1,000 drivers are expected to go on strike today at noon. [More]
Whole Foods Will Pay $500,000 Settlement To NYC, Submit To Audits
By 12.28.15
For the last half of 2015, Whole Foods has been coping with the fallout from admitting that yes, its stores in New York City priced some items that were packaged and weighed in the store incorrectly. After paying an $800,000 settlement last year in California for pretty much the same thing, Whole Foods has will pay the penalty and submit to quarterly audits. [More]
Would You Pay $.20/Minute To Stow Your Dog While Shopping?
By 12.9.15
There are dog watchers, dog walkers, dog hotels, and dog salons, but when you just need to keep your pooch pal outside of a store for a couple of minutes while you run an errand, do you resort to the old “tie the leash to the parking meter” technique? A startup in NYC is betting that you’ll be willing to pay for the convenience of stashing your dog in a “curbside kennel” while you shop. [More]
Virgin America Passenger Says He Was Blocked From Flight Because Crew Didn’t “Feel Comfortable”
By 12.1.15
We’ve all heard stories of airline passengers being removed from planes because of apparently minor disputes with the flight crew, but a Dallas man says he wasn’t even allowed to board his Virgin America flight because he made the crew uncomfortable. [More]
Best Buy Testing Robot Customer Service Employees
By 10.7.15
In an era where retail is increasingly moving online, some shoppers still prefer to deal with actual human beings when they go to the store. But the folks at Best Buy believe that some in-store customer service tasks may be best done by automatons. [More]
Uber Pushing Back On New York City’s Plans To Put Limits On For-Hire Vehicle Fleet Expansion
By 7.20.15
In Uber’s quest to take over the world, expansion is key — the more drivers it has on the roads picking up passengers, the better its business will do. But in New York City, the company will have to fight to grow its fleet as local authorities consider putting limits on just how many for-hire vehicles will be cruising the streets. [More]
Whole Foods CEOs Admit To “Unintentional” Overcharging
By 7.2.15
In 2014, California regulators caught Whole Foods overcharging customers, and things have only gotten worse for the upscale grocery store chain, which is currently under investigation for similar allegations in New York (where it also faces a civil suit from customers). That’s why Whole Foods’ co-CEOs issued a joint, heavily qualified, mea culpa about the situation. [More]
NYC Officials Take 496 Uber Cars Off The Streets For Illegally Picking Up Passengers On The Street
By 6.17.15
Every city has its own rules on how Uber drivers are allowed to operate, and in New York City that means black and livery cars can’t cruise around trying to pick up passengers on the streets. As such, officials impounded the cars of 496 Uber drivers this spring in a crackdown on illegal pickups. [More]
Scammer Convinces Tourists To Pay $409 For Free Staten Island Ferry Tickets
By 6.1.15
It costs a lot of money driving into New York City through the Hudson River tunnels or over the George Washington Bridge, and subways and cabs certainly aren’t free. So you can’t fault tourists who assume they have to pay to ride the free Staten Island Ferry — but more than $200 per ticket? [More]
Cable Company Tech Arrested After Allegedly Grabbing, Shoving Customer
By 5.22.15
Cable company installation horror stories usually involve things like poorly run cords, maybe a dead gecko, gaping holes in walls, possibly having your house condemned, and the occasional tech who pees into a bag instead of in the bathroom. But a woman in Staten Island says a disagreement with her Time Warner Cable tech escalated to the point of him assaulting her in her house. [More]
