TREND WATCH: Proposed NY Bans

List is current as of 5:58 PM, Friday, November 16th ...

New York City:

2007:

1. Feeding pigeons
2. City Council ads with holiday messages that are taxpayer finance
3. City Councilmembers using public funds for personal ads
   
4. Styrofoam containers in food services
   
5. Various contributions to city politicians
6. Etching acid
7. High rises in the Upper West Side
   
8. 'Stealing' recyclables
   
9. Peeping toms
10. Videotaping in public without a permit
    
11. Smoking in cars with minors
    
12. The word "bitch"
13. The word "ho"
14. Free formula samples for new mothers at city hospitals
15. Teenage possession of spray paint
    
16. Businesses from leaving their windows or doors open while air conditioners are on inside
    
17. Dogs from being tied up three-plus hours
    
18. Talking/listening/playing while walking crosswalks
19. Skinny models
20. The "N-word"
21. Electric-assist pedicabs
22. Public pension investments in companies with business in Sudan

2006:

1. pit bulls
2. trans-fats
3. aluminum baseball bats
4. the purchase of tobacco by 18- to 20-year-olds
5. foie gras
6. pedicabs in parks
7. new fast-food restaurants (but only in poor neighborhoods)
8. lobbyists from the floor of council chambers
9. lobbying city agencies after working at the same agency
10. vehicles in Central and Prospect parks
11. cell phones in upscale restaurants
12. the sale of pork products made in a processing plant in Tar Heel, N.C., because of a unionization dispute
13. mail-order pharmaceutical plans
14. candy-flavored cigarettes
15. gas-station operators adjusting prices more than once daily
16. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
17. Wal-Mart
18. the process that makes steaks pink
19. subway ads poking fun at outer boroughs

2004:

1. Loud car alarms
2. Vendors from Ground Zero
   

2003:

1. Cell phones during public performances

2002:

1. Toy guns
2. Soft drinks and snacks in city public schools
   

New York:

2007:

1. Texting while driving
   
2. Using I-pods/cell phones while crossing the street
3. Plastic bags
4. Nooses
   
5. Spectating dog fights
   
6. Smoking in cars with minors
   
7. Plastic water bottles
8. Styrofoam used in food services
9. Thin models

This Should Solve It

Responding to a recent proliferation of nooses, New York lawmakers are proposing "to make it a felony to etch, paint, draw or otherwise place or display a noose on public or private property."

From the press release:

"This is a vile act that must be dealt with harshly," said New York State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos [who sponsored the legislation]. "There is no place for racism and intimidation in America and this rash of incidents clearly demonstrates the need for tough new penalties. The Senate will act today to make displaying a noose a felony and I encourage the Assembly to reconvene and pass this legislation as soon as possible."

"This legislation recognizes that a noose continues to be a powerful symbol of racism and intimidation towards African Americans, and that it is solely meant to harass and threaten another person or a group of people. Today the Senate Majority will take decisive action to protect all New Yorkers from the menacing and disturbing actions of a few," [Republican] Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said.

Yes, banning the drawing of nooses (even on private property) certainly does qualify as "decisive action." Whether it's a decisive in the direction of common sense is, alas, quite another question.

TREND WATCH: Proposed NY Bans

Note: I'm now including a category for New York state. I'm sure I've missed a bunch, so don't hesitate to bring others to my attention. I'm also including older proposed bans, too.

The latest ...

New York City:

2007:

1. City Councilmembers using public funds for personal ads
   
2. Styrofoam containers in food services
   
3. Various contributions to city politicians
4. Etching acid
5. High rises in the Upper West Side
   
6. 'Stealing' recyclables
   
7. Peeping toms
8. Videotaping in public without a permit
   
9. Smoking in cars with minors
   
10. The word "bitch"
11. The word "ho"
12. Free formula samples for new mothers at city hospitals
13. Teenage possession of spray paint
    
14. Businesses from leaving their windows or doors open while air conditioners are on inside
    
15. Dogs from being tied up three-plus hours
    
16. Talking/listening/playing while walking crosswalks
17. Skinny models
18. The "N-word"
19. Electric-assist pedicabs
20. Public pension investments in companies with business in Sudan

2006:

1. pit bulls
2. trans-fats
3. aluminum baseball bats
4. the purchase of tobacco by 18- to 20-year-olds
5. foie gras
6. pedicabs in parks
7. new fast-food restaurants (but only in poor neighborhoods)
8. lobbyists from the floor of council chambers
9. lobbying city agencies after working at the same agency
10. vehicles in Central and Prospect parks
11. cell phones in upscale restaurants
12. the sale of pork products made in a processing plant in Tar Heel, N.C., because of a unionization dispute
13. mail-order pharmaceutical plans
14. candy-flavored cigarettes
15. gas-station operators adjusting prices more than once daily
16. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
17. Wal-Mart
18. the process that makes steaks pink
19. subway ads poking fun at outer boroughs

2004:

1. Loud car alarms
2. Vendors from Ground Zero
   

2003:

1. Cell phones during public performances

2002:

1. Toy guns
2. Soft drinks and snacks in city public schools
   

New York:

2007:

1. Using I-pods/cell phones while crossing the street
2. Plastic bags
3. Nooses
   
4. Spectating dog fights
   
5. Smoking in cars with minors
   
6. Plastic water bottles
7. Styrofoam used in food services
8. Thin models

NOTE: List updated again as of 12:12 PM, October 16th.

'Bonfires & Illuminations'

In it's annual Fourth of July tradition, The New York Sun renews its call for the repeal of New York's ban on fireworks, to which I'd add a hearty hear-hear:

The Declaration of Independence, signed 231 years ago tomorrow, shines brightly to this day as a beacon of liberty in a world still too oppressed. So why, we ask in our annual Fourth of July editorial, are New Yorkers forced to celebrate in the dark? The Founding Fathers believed that the Fourth of July should be celebrated with "bonfires and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other, from this day forward ever more." Yet at this end of the continent, we New Yorkers live in one of only five states that completely outlaw personal use of fireworks. The state has had a ban on the books in one form or another since 1965.

Although safety is often cited as a justification for such laws, personal responsibility seems to have more bearing on safety than the fireworks themselves. According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, a trade group, consumption of fireworks, measured in millions of pounds, increased 870% between 1976 and 2005. During the same period, injuries, measured in injuries per 100,000 pounds of fireworks sold, fell 90.1%, so that last year there were only 3.8 injuries reported per 100,000 pounds sold. Fireworks account for only about 0.01% of the 70 million personal injuries suffered by Americans each year. Ovens are at least four times as dangerous.

New York's ban seems even more insulting when one considers the completely unnecessary burden it puts on law enforcement. Already this year the New York Police Department has seized 29 cars carrying illegal fireworks, arrested 91 people on charges related to trafficking and possessing illegal fireworks, including six on felony charges, seized 721 cases of fireworks, and given out 61 summonses and six juvenile reports.

An NYPD spokesman, Assistant Chief Michael Collins, attributed significantly fewer arrests and seizures this year to increasing awareness of the NYPD's heightened enforcement measures. The city's enforcement efforts on fireworks read like something more worthy of a counterterrorism program. This year, the police department has worked with surrounding jurisdictions to track down traffickers and used checkpoints at the bridges and tunnels to search vehicles for fireworks as they enter the city. In addition, on Monday Police Commissioner Kelly said, "We are very openly monitoring activities in other states."

What kind of message is that sending to the youngsters of this city? George Washington would have been disgusted. We don't blame the police commissioner or the police; they don't write these laws. They are sworn to enforce them. The legislature owes them other priorities. On this Independence Day holiday, Americans are indeed in danger. But the danger comes from those terrorists who seek to destroy our liberties, not from the means ordinary New Yorkers would like to use to celebrate the country's founding, the very way for which the Founders themselves called. The signers of the Declaration of Independence took a great risk in affixing their names to that parchment. There's absolutely no reason for Albany to spoil our national holiday by preventing New Yorkers from taking their own risks to celebrate that achievement.

Albany Reform Update

"Gov. Spitzer may replace MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow with another real estate mogul -- a financial backer of Democrats who once headed the nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission," The Daily News reports.

Dale Hemmerdinger is a leading candidate for the position, sources said. [...]

Hemmerdinger is the president of Atco Properties and Management, which owns and manages more than 2 million square feet of residential, commercial, industrial and retail space.

While he was chairman of the Citizens Budget Commission the group made recommendations on how to balance the MTA's budget, including higher fares for riders and more tolls and fees for motorists.

Hemmerdinger's wife has given $40,000 to Spitzer campaign committees since 2000, and the governor's wife hosted a Democratic Party fund-raiser at the Hemmerdingers' Central Park South penthouse in May.

An editorial in yesterday's New York Post weighs in on other Spitzer reforms underway:

Does Gov. Spitzer want to clean up Albany's well-earned reputation for political sleaze -- or just mock efforts to do that, including his own?

New Yorkers may find out later this year -- when the powers-that-be move to overhaul thoroughbred-horse racing in New York, perhaps selecting an operator for a slot-machine megaplex at Aqueduct and expanded gambling operations at Belmont.

The clear front-runner for the mechanical-gambling franchise appeared last week to be a company called Excelsior Racing Associates -- whose main investors include one Richard Fields -- a, let's say, generous donor to the gov.

Fields contributed some $200,000 to Spitzer's 2006 campaign through his various limited-liability companies -- the same kind of donations the gov says he wants to end through campaign-finance reforms, but which he continues to accept.

According to a report in yesterday's Albany Times Union, NYRA's directors have already agreed to a Spitzer plan where Excelsior "would get the rights to operate a video lottery terminal casino now earmarked for Belmont Park."

The Post editorial also touched on Spitzer's campaign-finance reform push:

Consider: The gov demands the elimination of LLC donations, which are exempt from the $5,000 donation cap on other corporations - and from which he personally benefited during his campaign (see above).

Meanwhile, he had his wife hosted a cocktail party at which the state Democratic Party eagerly accepted LLC donations of up to $94,200.

Earlier, Spitzer solicited re-election campaign funds from "bundlers" - megabucks put together by individual fund-raisers - with goals of up to $1 million.

In return, the bundlers get private access to the governor, including quarterly meetings with Spitzer and periodic conference-call updates from him and his staff.

The New York Sun's Jacob Gershman has more on this here.

New Yorkers Are in Good Hands

With less than a week before the latest legislative session wraps up, Albany is taking care of the important business first, The Albany-Times Union reports:

Assemblyman Thomas O'Mara wants to name this noble cultivar the official state grape. Moreover, O'Mara, a Republican from Horseheads, wants to designate grape juice the official state juice.

And other important matters await debate:

Audrey Pheffer, a Democratic Assemblywoman from Queens, wants to let medical doctors care for "orangutans, chimps, gorillas and other great apes."

Brooklyn Democratic Assemblyman Felix Ortiz wants a hot line allowing people to report violations of an earlier law he spearheaded that makes it illegal to talk on cellphones while driving. Presumably, tipsters will use hands-free devices if they're driving, or pull off the road to call in infractions.

Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, a Democrat from Mount Vernon, would ban pickup trucks from the Bronx River Parkway, citing the road's narrow, curvy nature and its scenic beauty. The law, though, doesn't propose banning ugly, rusted cars, or behemoth SUVs, which can dwarf some pickups.

A flurry of measures are pending to add more personalized or official-sounding license plates to the state's roster of more than 250 specialized tags. Proposals include special plates for members of the U.S. Power Sqaudron, a boating safety club; those who have been stationed in the military in Korea (their spouses, too); Kiwanis club members; African-American veterans; osteopathic physicians; nurse practitioners; and disabled volunteer firefighters.

I suppose one would have to be supremely optimistic to hope these bills will help stem the tide of young people fleeing New York.

Finally

DemocraticGovernors.org: "NY -Gov. Eliot Spitzer has announced an executive order establishing an ongoing task force of high level state officials to advance programs and policies to benefit children."

New York Ban Update

Statewide:

In today's Daily News, Benjamin Miller, a fellow at Columbia University's Earth Engineering Center and author of "Fat of the Land: Garbage in New York, the Last Two Hundred Years," brings attention to another misguided proposed ban:

New York's Legislature is considering a ban on plastic shopping bags. The move, following the lead of San Francisco - which passed a citywide ban last month - would force supermarkets throughout the state to provide bags made of paper, degradable plastic or fabric, as opposed to plastic bags, which are made from petroleum.

The bill's sponsor, Assemblyman William Colton (D-Brooklyn), claims this will save the state money, reduce oil consumption and help the environment.

Don't count on it.

Citywide:

Council Speaker Christine Quinn is threatening to override Mayor Bloomberg's veto of a bill banning electric-assist pedicabs. Meanwhile, the lobbyist hired by the Committee for Taxi Safety, Emily Giske, is friends with the speaker, lives in the same building as the speaker, and once said, upon Quinn's ascent to the speakership: "As a lesbian and as a Democrat, I've never been more proud of anything in my life."

Earlier:

Trend Watch: New York Bans
Trend Watch: Proposed New York Bans

Empire State Smokeasies

Since New York City banned smoking pretty much everywhere, there remains no shortage of bars that allow patrons to puff away. In upstate New York, though, where a statewide ban prohibits smoking, the Albany Times Union reports bar-owners are a bit less circumspect.

Walk into the music club Positively Fourth Street in Troy on some nights and you'll find several people smoking. Owner and musician Artie Fredette will not admit to allowing smoking, but he will loudly express his disdain for the law. A few years ago, his band, the Lawn Sausages, released a single called "Smoke This, Joe Bruno," in reference to the Senate majority leader.

"We are losing so many rights every day," said Fredette, who has owned a number of bars in Troy over the years. "Now you can't use trans fats in New York City and they are talking about making kids wear helmets while sledding. I'm not selling holy water here."

Fredette has a perfectly reasonable suggestion:

Fredette believes bar owners who want to allow smoking in their establishments should be able to pay for an additional license.

"That way, the state will make all the money they need to make," he said. "And when you hire someone, you should have them sign a waiver to say they know they are working in a smoking environment."

Unlike New York City, where complacency is too-often the rule, upstaters are less enthusiastic to see their liberty extinguished:

Champagne, the Rensselaer environmental health director, said it is often frustrating to investigate neighborhood bars, because employees and clientele are often hostile when it's suggested they put down their smokes. He said one of his inspectors was threatened at a bar this winter and had to call police.

"All the people in there smoke," said Champagne. "At that point, who are we protecting in terms of public health?"

No matter. Whether bar workers like it or not, health cops will "protect" them.

Since the smoking ban went into effect in 2003, "20 percent of our members went out of business," said Scott Wexler, executive director of the Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association.

"There is no question that it had a short-term severe economic impact on the industry," he said. "The independent operators will adjust, but there are victims of this. Not only the owners, but the employees that lost their jobs."

Workers will "protected" -- even if it comes at the cost of their livelihoods. Such is the moralism of today's health crusade.

Read His Lips

"Oh, there's one thing we're not going to raise: your taxes. You can take that to the bank." -- Eliot Spitzer, campaign commercial, Fall 2006

"New Bottle Bill Taxes Industry in Quest for Cash" -- headline, Syracuse Post-Standard, March 20, 2007

TREND WATCH: NY Bans

With New York's State Supreme Court ruling Thursday that the city's ban on dancing is constitutional, perhaps it's time to start the latest edition of Trend Watch -- bans already on the books.

I'll plug in the few I already know. Please send along other suggestions.

New York state:

• women may not appear topless in public for purposes of business
• smoking within 100 feet of a public building
• women on the street wearing "body-hugging" clothing
• greeting someone by putting a thumb to your nose and wiggling your fingers
• flirting
• throwing a ball at someone's head for purposes of fun
• jumping off a building
• smoking in bars and restaurants
• divorcing for "irreconcilable differences" (unless, ironically, both agree)
• walking on Sundays with an ice cream cone in your pocket
• talking while riding elevators
• wearing slippers after 10 PM

New York City:

• dancing without a license
• smoking in private establishments (aside from cars & homes)
• Trans-fats (July 1st, 2007)
• Menus without calorie contents for placed with "established" menus (July 1, 2007)
  
• fathers calling their sons a "faggot" for purposes of discouraging "girlie behavior" (Staten Island)
• watering lawns using automated devices (Staten Island)