nyc

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Manhattan rents are driving away Burger King! Franchise owners say they were forced to close their restaurants because they couldn’t afford to offer the mandatory 99-cent menu. They were paying between $9,000 -$18,000 per location. [Gothamist]

NYC Cracks Down On Stores That Sell Fake Luxury Items

NYC Cracks Down On Stores That Sell Fake Luxury Items

Like fake designer handbags and watches? We have bad news.

Stores In NYC Start Accepting Euros

Stores In NYC Start Accepting Euros

“We didn’t realize we would take so much in and there were that many people traveling or having euros to bring in. But some days, you’d be surprised at how many euros you get,” Chu said.

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The notoriously easy to hack NYC taxi credit card machines are now slightly more secure. [Gothamist]

Woman Says NY Cabbie Punched Her In The Face Because She Wanted Pay With A Credit Card

Woman Says NY Cabbie Punched Her In The Face Because She Wanted Pay With A Credit Card

Tamara Perez caught a cab to her Manhattan home Tuesday, when she noticed that she didn’t have enough cash. The cab had a credit card machine, so she decided to pay with credit.

Answers To NYC Renters' Questions

Answers To NYC Renters' Questions

How do you get your landlord to require the upstairs neighbors to put down carpets? A lawyer who “has practiced in the landlord-tenant arena for more than two decades” has been answering these sorts of questions on the New York Times’ “City Room” blog. The advice he gives, while helpful and specific, is mostly based on what we imagine are NYC-specific problems and cites New York statutes, but it still might be helpful for renters elsewhere with similar problems.

NYC's New High-Tech Public Bathroom Is Freaky, Robotic

NYC's New High-Tech Public Bathroom Is Freaky, Robotic

For years, New York City was a grim place to be when you had to use the bathroom, since there are almost no public facilities (not counting Starbucks). But earlier this month the first of 20 high-tech pay toilets opened in the city, in Madison Square Park just north of 23rd Street. Now the next time you visit the city and need to answer nature’s call, grab a quarter and head over there to experience the strange combination of a $100,000 prison cell/car wash/elevator/Louvre. It’s the cheapest “experience” you’ll probably find in the city.

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NYC’s new menu labeling regulation has indeed passed. [NYC]

NYC To Vote On New And Improved Menu Labeling Regulation

NYC To Vote On New And Improved Menu Labeling Regulation

The New York City Board of Health will vote today on a new regulation requiring calories on menu boards in New York City. The former rule was shot down by a federal judge who ruled that the regulation’s criteria for determining which restaurants would be required to post calorie information on their menus was illegal.

JFK Airport Is Notoriously Corrupt: Baggage Handlers Caught Stealing $250,000 In Diamonds

JFK Airport Is Notoriously Corrupt: Baggage Handlers Caught Stealing $250,000 In Diamonds

Queens prosecutors said Monday that a 51-year-old worker and his 39-year-old supervisor are charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property. They say the jewelry was stolen last week from a container marked “high value” that was being shipped from Switzerland to Brazil.

We won’t lie, corrupt baggage handlers piss us off. These two specimens broke open the container and stole the jewelry, hiding it in a locker at the American Airlines terminal.

On The Final Day Of The Barnes & Noble's Existence, Chaos

On The Final Day Of The Barnes & Noble's Existence, Chaos

The above photo was snapped on the final day in the life of the Astor Place Barnes & Noble in New York City.

Insurance Company Denies Coverage For 3-Year-Old's Only Source Of Nutrition

Insurance Company Denies Coverage For 3-Year-Old's Only Source Of Nutrition

Hannah Devane is 3 years old and is allergic to food. Not certain specific foods. Hannah has a rare disorder that makes her allergic to every kind of food except a certain formula that her insurance company says is a “nutritional supplement.” Feeding Hannah costs $300 a week, but without the formula Hannah can’t eat enough to survive without doing permanent damage to her esophagus.

Rat-Infested KFC/Taco Bell Is Now A T-Mobile

Rat-Infested KFC/Taco Bell Is Now A T-Mobile

Worried about consuming any type of food at the former location of the infamous rat-infested KFC/Taco Bell in New York City? We are too. That’s why we’re glad to hear that the new tenant is non other than our giant magenta friend, T-Mobile.

Which Do You Prefer? One Cat? Or A Thousand Rats?

Luis Martinez, 42, has managed his brother’s grocery in East New York, Brooklyn, for two years. At first, despite weekly visits from an exterminator, the store’s inventory was ravaged constantly by nibbling vermin.

Bloomingdales Employee Charged In Bogus Gift Card Scam

Bloomingdales Employee Charged In Bogus Gift Card Scam

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is prosecuting a Bloomingdale’s salesperson for running a month-long bogus gift card scam that netted $34,515 from the store, says the NY Sun.

It says Bloomingdale’s sales receipts were the key element of Ms. Ng’s alleged scheme.

NYC Subway Gets More Expensive For Most Riders

NYC Subway Gets More Expensive For Most Riders

NYC’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to raise subway fares today.

Local Franchise Authorities Keep Cable Operators In Line

Cable companies must constantly prove their worth to local franchise authorities. The authorities grant the cable providers permission to operate, and can whip them into action for failing to meet basic customer service standards, as reader Darren shows.

Yes, New York City Cabs Take Credit Cards

Yes, New York City Cabs Take Credit Cards

New York taxi drivers have resigned themselves to a fate with credit cards, according to a New York Times investigation. Cabbies struck twice this year to protest regulations forcing them to accept credit of all stripes. To see if cabbies are following the new rules, the Times asked five reporters to hop in twenty cabs each with one question: “I’ve only got a credit card, is that O.K.?”