If you’ve ever been a regular user of mass transit, you quickly come to learn exactly where to stand when waiting for a train, subway, trolley, tram, monorail, etc., so that you can get off in just the right spot to swiftly exit the station, or make your transfer. Nowhere is this more true in the U.S. than New York City, where some commuters guard the secrets of the subway like treasured family heirlooms. That’s why a new effort to share this sort of information with everyone is both helpful and problematic. [More]
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Armed Mugger Disappointed By Victim’s Old Phone, Returns It
By 12.30.13
Dear criminals of the world: Stealers can’t be choosers. If you’re going to go around indiscriminately robbing people of their phones in public, you can’t always expect to walk away with a spanking new Galaxy S4 or an iPhone 5S. No, sometimes you’re going to get a 3-year-old LG Windows phone that is so much of a letdown you’ll feel compelled to return it to your victim. [More]
Sick Of Husband’s Gambling, Wife Alerts Authorities To $600K Super Bowl Pools At Local Bar
By 12.23.13
All around the country, local bars operate betting pools where patrons pay a set fee to buy a shot at taking home everyone else’s cash. At lots of bars, the price for a box is reasonable, but some pools charge thousands of dollars to check off a single box. These pools often go ignored by police and other authorities, but after the wife of a Staten Island gambler complained to the state about the large sums being wagered at a local bar, that establishment is no longer accepting bets. [More]
Domino’s Hires Back 25 Workers Fired During Wage Dispute
By 12.12.13
Last week, a Domino’s Pizza franchisee in New York City terminated the employment of 25 workers who had filed complaints about being underpaid. That’s kind of against the law in New York, and so after receiving a little talking-to from the state Attorney General, the franchisee has agreed to re-hire the previously dismissed employees. [More]
Amtrak Train Headed For NYC Ends Up In Philly Suburbs Because Aren’t Surprises Fun?
By 11.20.13
Passengers aboard an Amtrak train that departed Harrisburg, Pa. were probably looking forward to taking in the sights of New York City, considering that’s where everyone on the locomotive thought they were going (do they still call them locomotives or did my grandfather just take over my brain?). But never mind the Empire State Building, aren’t the Philadelphia suburbs charming? [More]
NYC May Eventually Require Residents To Compost Food Scraps In Citywide Program
By 6.18.13
Are you gonna eat that? No? Mind if it just stick in this here bucket, let it sit for a bit and then dump it on my garden? That’s what we call composting (in a nut shell) and it’s been on the mind of New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg lately. His administration tested out a pilot program recently and is now looking at requiring all city dwellers to take part eventually. [More]
Appeals Court Hears Arguments On NYC’s Fizzling Big-Soda Ban
By 6.11.13
It’s been three months since a judge tossed out New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces, calling the regulation “arbitrary and capricious.” Today, a state appeals court panel heard arguments for and against the ban, but it doesn’t look good for Mayor Mike. [More]
NYC Judge Gives Green Light To Taxi Riders Using Apps To Hail Cabs
By 4.24.13
Times used to be, the person who could stick a couple fingers in her mouth and whistle down a yellow cab on the streets of New York City was envied by the silent, cabless masses. But now that a judge has smacked down a lawsuit against a new “e-hail” program in the city, anyone with a smartphone will be able to hail a cab with nary a sound. [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]
Mayor Bloomberg To Announce Styrofoam Ban As Part Of Green Push For NYC
By 2.14.13
We all saw it coming and now it’s happening — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is going to announce an official ban on styrofoam containers in his State of the City address today. Just to clarify once again, uppercase Styrofam is a trademarked product used in insulation, while what we all know as styrofoam is really extruded polystyrene. Moving on! [More]
NYC Unveils Newest In Teeny Tiny Living With Winning Micro-Unit Apartment Design
By 1.23.13
Just a few months ago, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg put out a request to designers to try and figure out how to shrink down an apartment to its legally smallest size for a new “micro-unit” building, and now the winning design has been chosen in all its teeny tiny glory. It’ll be perfect for anyone sipping a small soda on their cute little couch, see? [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]
Clutch Your Ginormous Cups Close: NYC's Board Of Health Voted To Approve Soda Ban
By 9.13.12
Update: Well, that’s that, folks. It was expected that NYC’s Board of Health would vote to approve Mayor Bloomberg’s pet ban on sodas and sugary drinks over 16 ounces at movie theaters, restaurants and other venues and guess what? It happened, and the proposal has been approved. [More]
Cab-Hailing Apps May Give NYC Users Unfair, Illegal Advantage
By 9.5.12
Anyone who has ever stood on a cold New York City street corner without a cab in sight has wished for some magic way to summon up a taxi with the push of a button. But now that a new smartphone app promises to make this dream a possibility, the Big Apple may also need to re-visit some of its strict pick-up policies. [More]
How Early Should You Be Able To Put Out Your Garbage Without Getting Fined?
By 8.28.12
Though most people think of “Trash Day” as the day of the week on which their garbage is collected, many of us place our refuse on the curb the night before. But how early is too early to put out the trash? [More]
Bloomberg Comes Out Against Boston & Chicago Mayors’ Anti-Chick-Fil-A Messages
By 7.27.12
While New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a supporter of same-sex marriage, he says he disagrees with the way some of his fellow mayors have responded to the ongoing Chick fil-A controversy. [More]
Man Tries To Rob Cash Register, Opts To Put A Puppy Down His Pants Instead
By 7.27.12
What sets a quality retail thief apart from your run-of-the-mill shoplifter is their ability to adapt. Take for example, the man in NYC who, realizing that he couldn’t crack open the cash register, saw possibility for profit by stashing a pricey puppy in his pants. [More]
NYC Movie Theaters Fight Back Against Mayor’s Big Soda Ban
By 7.6.12
While hit new movies might make millionaires out of actors, directors and key grips, movie theaters often make little to no money on the actual ticket sales of high-profile, first-run movies. Instead, they depend on those movies to bring in customers to pay big bucks for huge drinks and buckets of popcorn. Thus, you can imagine why theater owners in New York City aren’t exactly doing somersaults in celebration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban of large sodas. [More]
