Forbes magazine has put together a list of America’s most stressful cities and as a product of Chicago, the winner of the dubious distinction of being America’s most stressful city, I have this to say: “Yeah, so? Shut up and let me eat my hot dog in peace for once, goddamn it. No, I’m not yelling. Why are you always saying that I’m yelling? It’s not like you never yell! Pass the sport peppers before this gets ugly.”
nyc
By 9.9.08
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Astroland, the Coney Island amusement park, is closing for good this Sunday, says its owner. You can buy the rides at www.rides4u.com. Sorry, the wooden Cyclone coaster and the Wonder Wheel are part of another amusement company and won’t be sold (they’ll continue to operate). [New York Times]
By 9.3.08
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Gothamist says that there’s a company (in NYC) selling purified New York City tap water in bottles. We can vouch for the goodness of NYC tap water, but really, all you need is a cup, or as Consumerist readers recommend to me, a stainless steel canteen. [Gothamist] (Thanks, Avi!)
Dear Radio City Music Hall, Christmas Is Not "Right Around The Corner" In August
By 8.14.08 — Updated: 10.17.13
Reader Scott says he spotted some nasty summertime Christmas Creep in the free NYC area paper “Metro”. Apparently the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular is under the impression that “Christmas is right around the corner.” In August.
Macy's Confirms It Never Did Business With Queens Sweatshop
By 7.30.08
Last week, news broke that a sweatshop in Queens, NYC was producing clothing for several large U.S. retailers, while overworking its mainly Chinese immigrant employees and cheating them out of wages. At the time, Macy’s announced it was cooperating with New York’s Department of Labor and investigating the matter internally. Now the company has confirmed that it never did business with the sweatshop—in fact, it investigated it twice in 2007 while evaluating potential suppliers and rejected it for shoddy record keeping. Use your crazy Macy’s coupons all you want, readers.
Are Unlimited Ride MetroCards A Good Deal? Not For A Lot Of People Who Use Them
By 7.16.08
The New York Times had an article today about the 10 year anniversary of the unlimited MetroCard and how it has transformed way people use the subway. They even included a graph that showed how many times people are using their cards in a month. What they didn’t mention is that a lot of people are buying the card and not hitting the “break even” point of 46 rides per month. Hmm.
Häagen-Dazs Drink Special Costs Twice As Much With "No Ice" Thanks To Handwritten Mouseprint
By 7.16.08
Reader Joanne is wondering if the tiny handwritten mouseprint on the Haagen-Dazs drink special sign is purposefully misleading. She saw the special and ordered the drink, but when she asked for “no ice” she was told that it would cost twice as much, and that this information was on the sign. Her boyfriend examined the sign (after she got her ice-packed drink) and sure enough, in tiny handwriting at the bottom of the sign was a note that said the drink cost twice as much with “no ice.”
Expedia's "New York From $58 A Night" Offer Is Bunk (Beds)
By 6.15.08
Expedia says they can get you room and board in NYC for $58 a night. Amy at NewYorkology looked into what such a low, low price actually gets you, and it’s not pretty: think hostels, co-ed group rooms, mice, bunk beds, and generally dirty environments. If you’re undaunted by college-lifestyle travel, Amy points out that there’s one cheap hostel listed that has some good reviews, but since we’re talking about ultra-budget hostels here, a good review actually includes the phrase, “best of all NO ROACHES!!!”
There Are Bed Bugs On The Subway Benches. Yes, Really.
By 5.14.08
Bedbugs are usually thought of as something that only hotel guests have to worry about, but apparently New Yorkers who like to sit on benches while they wait for the subway should be concerned about the bloodsuckers as well.
Chase Refuses To Shut Down Broken ATM Until You Threaten To Report Them To The FDIC
By 5.14.08
Reader Keith tried to get $120 from a downtown NYC Chase ATM, but the money door never opened. When he went inside to report the malfunction, the teller told him to go outside and wait. Keith thought he was waiting for someone to come fix the ATM or take his personal information. It turns out that he was just being ignored.
Jury Says 'Up Yours' To Rectal Exam Lawsuit
By 4.22.08
Remember Brian Persaud, the Brooklyn construction worker who tried to sue a New York hospital for performing a by-the-books rectal exam on him in 2003? On Monday, a Manhattan jury tossed his lawsuit, claiming he failed to show he suffered assault and battery.
Judge: Calories To Be Posted On Fast Food Menus In NYC!
By 4.17.08
The Wall Street Journal’s Health Blog informs us that a federal judge has given the go ahead to NYC’s new (rewritten) menu labeling law, thus ending (until the inevitable appeal) a fierce and sometimes weird battle between the fast food industry and NYC’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Data On Over 40,000 Patients Stolen From NYC Hospital
By 4.12.08
The New York Times is reporting this morning that an unnamed employee stole personal data on over 40,000 patients from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The theft “occurred over the past several years and included patients’ names, phone numbers and Social Security numbers.” As we’ve come to grimly expect in these cases, the hospital was made aware of the theft in January, and announced it publicly on Friday after an internal audit. “We obviously deeply regret that this has happened,” said the hospital’s spokeswoman, Ms. Manners. She also said that investigators are “looking into the possibility that the theft could be part of a larger criminal scheme.”
Customers Will Get FiOS Optical All The Way To Their Apartments, Verizon Plans
By 3.25.08
The AP made a major correction to a Verizon FiOS story we posted about yesterday. In that story, Verizon’s head of FiOS stuff for apartments said that Verizon wouldn’t be able to run optical cable up to all the apartments in two Manhattan apartment complexes and would use coaxial for the last leg. Verizon said not all apartments have the specs needed to install a necessary wall-mounted box. After the story came out, Verizon now says that it does plan to run optical to all the way up apartments that order FiOS. You may have to give up your medicine cabinent, but hey, you’re blazing with the speed of FiOS, baby!
By 3.13.08
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Wondering where the tax money you pay into the NYC public school system is going? Well, part of it goes to pay the salaries of about 700 teachers who are forced to sit in special rooms that are located all over the city. All day. And do nothing. Sometimes for years at a time. [Rubber Room via BuzzFeed]
