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Message no. 1
From: Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: New York
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 00:13:08 +0100
Here's a question for our American cousins. :)

New York. Over the last couple of years I understand that it's had a
mayor that suffers from Iron Fist syndrome, from what little I have on
this it's because of the rampant crime and dodgy situation that the Big
Apple was in (was it nearing bankruptcy or something?)

Anyway, does anyone here know of a web site that covers this, or have
any information that they can share concerning the situation in New
York. I've got a couple of ideas for runs in the city, and I was going
to use current conditions and carry them through to 205* enforcing and
changing small sections of it. It would be easier to work with some
information than from scratch. And I'm sure there's somebody here who's
from or near the area. :)

All and any thoughts welcome.

--
Avenger
http://www.shalako.demon.co.uk/index.htm
(Newbies Survival Guide to Stk & SR stuff)
http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/angband/320/index.htm
(UK Survival Guide, SR Guide to the Oceans.)
Message no. 2
From: Smilin' Ted <Tuvyah@***.COM>
Subject: Re: New York
Date: Sun, 28 Jun 1998 21:18:47 EDT
Avenger wrote:

<<New York. Over the last couple of years I understand that it's had a
mayor that suffers from Iron Fist syndrome, from what little I have on
this it's because of the rampant crime and dodgy situation that the Big
Apple was in (was it nearing bankruptcy or something?)>>

The mayor who rescued New York from bankruptcy was Ed Koch. You can see him
today on "The People's Court". No, I'm not kidding.

<<Anyway, does anyone here know of a web site that covers this, or have
any information that they can share concerning the situation in New
York. >>

I grew up there, and lived there until about seven years ago. I still have
family there and visit occasionally.

The current mayor is Rudolph Giuliani, the first Republican mayor of New York
in a looooooong time. New York is famous -- or infamous -- for its
historically Democratic politics. (For non-US'ers, the two major parties are
Democrats and Republicans. Republicans tend to be more right-wing than
Democrats, but party discipline is far looser in the US than in, say, the UK.)

Giuliani has earned a reputation as an "Iron Fist" (to use Avenger's phrase)
because he's run his administration on "quality of life" issues. He has
focused on the things that have made people -- especially tourists -- hate New
York for years. He has enforced vagrancy laws, making it much harder to
panhandle or live on the streets. He has made the cops roust those who drink
or do drugs in public. When I was growing up, the cops didn't bother to arrest
"petty offenders" on the grounds that their resources were already
overburdened. The liberal rationale was that these people weren't hurting
anyone but themselves, and that compassion should be shown (in the form of not
"hassling" them). This translated into a conventional wisdom of helplessness
in the face of these problems. The idea in the Seventies and Eighties was that
you had to put up with this if you wanted to live in a big city. I'm a
Democrat, but I remember what it was like being confronted for change by bums
three times before I got to school from home.

Giuliani challenged that notion. The result is that crime rates -- including
the rates for major crimes -- have dropped dramatically. Zero tolerance for
petty crime acts as a deterrent for the big stuff. When I visited the city
last year, it was cleaner, quieter, and it smelled better.

He's also worked on other "tourist issues" -- he's leaned hard on taxi drivers
to ensure that they know English and to eliminate the infamous "three times
around the same block to run up the fare" New York cabbie. This hasn't made
him a favorite with the cabbies.

He's towed the cars of U.N. diplomats with unpaid parking tickets -- endearing
him to New York car owners who've watched these men double- and triple-park,
park in front of hydrants, and just generally be scoff-laws for years and then
hide behind diplomatic immunity when their tickets and fines came due.

He's also gone a little nutso on some issues: I understand he's now trying to
stamp out jaywalking. In New York, that's like passing a law against blinking.

The general consensus among New Yorkers I've talked to seems to be "Yeah, he's
a thug. But he's OUR thug."

Hope this helps.

Smilin' Ted
Message no. 3
From: MC23 <mc23@**********.COM>
Subject: Re: New York
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 22:19:32 -0400
Freakin' Giuliani !

Current target: Street Cart Food Venders. He can sure pick
threatening opponents. I'm not sure where this stands right now.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle
- G.I.Joe

I am MC23
Message no. 4
From: Tim Kerby <drekhead@***.NET>
Subject: Re: New York
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 22:53:42 -0400
On 29 Jun 98, at 22:19, MC23 wrote:

> Freakin' Giuliani !

LOL! Damn, that was a funny skit on SNL.
At least the guy can laugh at himself.

--

=================================================================
- Tim Kerby - drekhead@***.net - ICQ-UIN 2883757 -
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Reality is the only obstacle to happiness." - Unknown
Message no. 5
From: Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: Re: New York
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 04:55:13 +0100
In article <199806300221.WAA19413@******.mindspring.com>, MC23
<mc23@**********.COM> writes
>Freakin' Giuliani !
>
> Current target: Street Cart Food Venders. He can sure pick
>threatening opponents. I'm not sure where this stands right now.

So what are you saying here? That the mayor of New York is making it
illegal to sell food on the street out of a cart/wagon/vehicle. As in
hot dogs and stuff yeah?

Or is there a health issue involved. We recently went through something
similar in this country when it was discovered that some very unpleasant
bacteria were multiplying happily on street vendor stalls. The
government stepped in, hygiene was enforced, and the street vendors
returned. We've got doughnut stands, burger and hot dog vans, and a
mobile Chish & Fippy in my area. All of them highly recommended. :)

Speaking of which, I've got the munchies now. :)


--
Avenger
http://www.shalako.demon.co.uk/index.htm
(Newbies Survival Guide to Stk & SR stuff)
http://www.freespace.virgin.net/p.siems/index.htm
(UK Survival Guide, SR Guide to the Oceans.)
Message no. 6
From: MC23 <mc23@**********.COM>
Subject: Re: New York
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 09:41:52 -0400
Once upon a time, Avenger wrote;

>>Freakin' Giuliani !
>>
>> Current target: Street Cart Food Venders. He can sure pick
>>threatening opponents. I'm not sure where this stands right now.
>
>So what are you saying here? That the mayor of New York is making it
>illegal to sell food on the street out of a cart/wagon/vehicle. As in
>hot dogs and stuff yeah?

He's trying to move them out of places using health reasons for his
tool and garnering restaurant owners for support (for their personal
interest). For the news report I heard NYers got upset over this issue
compared to the general apathy of the cabbies situation. There's other
ways to travel but food on the other hand.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Ancient cultures believed that names held great power, personal names
more so and they were guarded very closely. To protect themselves, they
answered to another name, because if another discovered their real name,
it could be used against them.
History repeats itself.
Welcome to the Digital Age.
I am MC23
Message no. 7
From: Erik Jameson <erikj@****.COM>
Subject: Re: New York
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 12:53:18 -0400
At 04:55 AM 6/30/98 +0100, you wrote:

>>Freakin' Giuliani !
>>
>> Current target: Street Cart Food Venders. He can sure pick
>>threatening opponents. I'm not sure where this stands right now.
>
>So what are you saying here? That the mayor of New York is making it
>illegal to sell food on the street out of a cart/wagon/vehicle. As in
>hot dogs and stuff yeah?

From the report I heard on NPR, yes. He's trying to force them to be
licensed and to generally cut down on their overall numbers. Probably got
something to do with health concerns, and maybe even his apparent crusade
to rid the streets and sidewalks of all street vendors of all sorts.

He's also tried to regulate artists selling their wares on the street, to
stop jaywalking and various other things that are often seen as petty and
small.

But the fact of the matter is, I would actually consider visiting New York
now, whereas before Guiliani, you couldn't pay me enough to visit the
Rotten Apple. Now, I might consider it.

Erik J.


"Forgive me FASA for I have sinned. It has been 6 days since I last played
Shadowrun and 15 days since I last bought a SRTCG booster pack."
Message no. 8
From: K is the Symbol <Ereskanti@***.COM>
Subject: Re: New York
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 14:00:09 EDT
In a message dated 6/29/98 9:22:26 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
mc23@**********.COM writes:

> Freakin' Giuliani !
>
> Current target: Street Cart Food Venders. He can sure pick
> threatening opponents. I'm not sure where this stands right now.
>
what on earth is this guy???

-K
Message no. 9
From: Smilin' Ted <Tuvyah@***.COM>
Subject: Re: New York
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 16:25:10 EDT
In a message dated 6/30/98 10:01:18 AM, Ereskanti wrote:

>mc23@**********.COM writes:
>
>> Freakin' Giuliani !
>>
>> Current target: Street Cart Food Venders. He can sure pick
>> threatening opponents. I'm not sure where this stands right now.
>>
>what on earth is this guy???

His previous opponents were UN diplomats, drug dealers, vagrants, corrupt cops
(in Washington Heights) and Yassir Arafat (who apparently showed up at a city
function without an invitation and was escorted out on Giuliani's orders). A
little more worthy, perhaps. He's won enough battles on these fronts to
warrant a third (IIRC) term as a Republican mayor from New York's (primarily
Democratic) voters. When I returned to New York for a visit last year, I found
it to be cleaner, quieter, more friendly, and more accessible.

As for the jaywalking and the sidewalk vendors: "A fire-eater must eat fire,
even if he kindles it himself." - Mark Twain.

Smilin' Ted

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about New York, you may also be interested in:

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These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!