When I see stories like this, I am so glad I live in a small town. It seems that in NYC, there has been a law for 40 years that says you cannot have a company logo or phone number on your awning. The story did not make it apparent if the city has previously been enforcing this ordinance, but they seem to be doing so now. Can you imagine being fined $12,500.00 for placing a logo on an awning?
This is too bizarre. What is the justification for such? That people will gawk at all the nice logos as they are driving down the street or be trying to write down the phone number? No wonder New Yorkers always seem to be in a foul mood. It seems that the city is pretty unfriendly with its occupants, and I guess it rubs off on them.
I am sure that if that happened to me, even an easy going Texan like me would be grumpier than a bear in Yellowstone Park who could not find an unguarded picnic basket after an all day search.
attribution: Plum Crazy
Posted by Tiger at May 14, 2003 07:18 PMMikey's justification seems to be raising revenue, the only justification he deems important in his mind. While I quite believe that Mikey is very capable of running a hugely successful business (obviously), it has long been apparent to me that running a city is actually not the same thing. Ideally you would have someone who can balance both, but those types are few and far between.
BTW, as a native New Yorker, I must correct you on your misconception that New Yorkers aren't friendly. We are. But you try being friendly to everyone when you have 12 million or so people in your city on any given workday. By the time you smile and say hello to one person, 50 others have just walked past you. If you approach a New Yorker and ask a question, you might be surprised that we aren't nearly as bad as rumor would have us.
Posted by: Lesley at May 15, 2003 01:29 PMI admit that my three days in NYC do not qualify me as a NYC expert. All I know is that while I was there visiting, hardly anyone said anything to me when I smiled and said "Howdy." In fact, most people did not even raise their head, smile or acknowledge me. We are a bit different here in Texas, as we love to greet everyone and make sure they are doing fine. Except for that difference, there was not much difference between NYC and Dallas or Houston, except for better public transportation systems, more crowded sidewalks and a lot more tall buildings lining the streets of downtown. I think traffic is actually worse in Texas, mainly due to the fact that our public transportation systems are just now being built to handle the population and that no one in Texas will seldom ever walk more than 2 or 3 blocks, unless it means you save $5.00+ on parking your car downtown.*
However, I did find it to be much cleaner than I expected, and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. In fact, I came to the conclusion, that if I could devise a way to make a living there, I would not mind living in Manhattan. I did not see Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, etc. during my short visit.
*I forgot, according to what I observed as I was walking around town in NYC, it cost a fortune to park there, in downtown. That may be another reason that traffic is much lighter there.
Posted by: Tiger at May 15, 2003 05:23 PM