Penny Antics

One would think that some New Yorkers were fresh off the boat, or at least had never seen the Seinfeld episode in which Kramer is refused his calzones after attempting to pay in pennies. Everyone knows that merchants frequently won't accept bills over $20 or other denominations; don't they?

Apparently not! The New York Times has an article today over a man so incensed his local Chinese restaurant wouldn't accept pennies as payment––not for the full sum, just as change (his bill was $2.75, and he paid with two dollar bills and some change, including ten pennies)––that he e-mailed a number of elected officials. The media circus ensued:

Reporters descended upon the cramped, seatless lobby of Great Wall as customers elbowed their way inside to order food. A Bronx lawmaker stood outside alongside Mr. Jones, vowing to take up the issue in Albany. And the worker Mr. Jones said had refused his pennies, Juan Lin, denied the allegations, saying that she did indeed accept them and displaying, as proof, a clear plastic container filled with pennies — customers’ pennies, she said.

As reporters pestered her with questions and a crowd, including a number of ministers, gathered on the sidewalk, Ms. Lin came out from behind the counter, breaking down in tears as she stood beneath menu pictures of beef and broccoli and fish sticks. She shook the small cup of pennies, went back behind the counter and took more lunchtime orders. The day’s special was a chicken sandwich, for $2.50.

State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. called a press conference outside the restaurant to play the race card, exclaiming “And we are in America. This is America. If you want to do business in America, you have to accept all American currency.” That's a great sound bite, except completely untrue. If state senator Diaz, Jr. saw the Seinfeld episode where Kramer was kicked out the pizzeria for trying to pay in change, he would be familiar with the U.S. Treasury's policy regarding payment and pennies. It states that while pennies are legal tender as payment for a contractual debt or payment to a government organization, private merchants are free to determine whatever legal tender they do and do not want to accept.

Still, the Post reports that Diaz is "drafting legislation to slap business owners who refuse pennies with a fine of $500, 30 days' jail or both" - let's hope other State Senators are familiar with Treasury policy. And the Daily News' article implies that a misunderstanding started the penny debacle.

There's also an amusing story about a man whose brother dared him to collect a million pennies and what happened when the brother succeeded, but found it hard to find anyone to cash them in or even dispose of them. There's a happy ending.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Dave Hogarty in News on May 4, 2007 12:27 PM

Comments [rss]

Tam O'Shanter

Ok, so this JUST happened to me too. A new restaurant down the street from me in Midtown just refused my FIVE pennies as payment. My total was $7.15 and I gave them $7, a dime, and 5 pennies. The girl stated "we don't take pennies, are you sure you have nothing else?" I was enraged. After emptying out my purse, I finally found a nickel. Bitch!

Samantha T

Minka - I can guarantee you that the ten-penny incident is one of many experienced by Great Wall's staff. I am confident that this dude, and many others, has waltzed in there and paid in change on several occasions. The restaurant decided that they would rather alienate a few customers to avoid the inconvenience of being loaded down with change. That's the restaurant's prerogative under federal and state law.

As for these people being "prosperous" business owners - are you serious? The restaurant sounds depressing as hell. They're charging rock-bottom prices, too. The owners probably live marginally better than their patrons.

Kevin Bracken

30 days in jail?!?!?!

minka

"...unless there is a State law which says otherwise." Bingo.

There is room to change the policy on legal tender.

Business is business, and while we can all understand the $20 max on purchases for security/counterfeit reasons, I think all the "overreacting" banter is losing sight of what actually happened at Great Wall: 10 pennies were refused, and they were refused by a prosperous business in a low-income neighborhood. That is just plain laziness, and is insulting.

Businesses in parts of the City where people scrape coins out of their sofas to buy milk should be the ones to take the change to the coin counter at Commerce Bank.

And for those of you not in the know: bodegas appreciate money. Pennies are money. Ten cents in pennies would be accepted in most bodegas. Apparently the rest of New York is too good for their legal almost-copper tender.

anothercomment

I'm amazed at the comments on this site - but it's good that we are free to post our thoughts even if they are in complete disagreement. Some of the facts from newspaper articles seem to be in disagreement ... didn't they resolve things?

As suggested in the original posting above, I checked on the link to the US Treasury site and it clearly says: "Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise."

Again - good for Senator Diaz to represent his constituents and make a law that will say otherwise and offer people a way to live with a greater sense of dignty.

If that law passes, it will probably make shopping less humiliating to lots of people - young and old - from lots of backgrounds all over NY.

nisey79

I read somewhere today (I think it was the Daily News) that the merchant claims that she was misunderstood by Mr. Jones; Ms. Lin claims that Mr. Jones is a frequent customer--recognizing him, she told him to keep his pennies (she would take the balance of the cost), but he misunderstood and flipped out.

Most toll lanes (not just NJ) refuse to accept pennies because it slows down traffic and creates a greater potential for dropped coins.

Earth to New York, HELLO?

Welcome to America, where politicians and the media can overreact more than you ever thought possible. Now go vote for one of them.

Next stop: Bush invades China and bombs them with US pennies.

Six years later: Everyone in the US notices and says it's a bad thing.

Brightliner

Diaz is the worst kind of flag-waving nationalist. Yes, this is America. That means we should let things happen the way they're supposed to happen in America. Isn't this the land of the free market? If a store doesn't want your money, go elsewhere. It's not like like chicken wings are a necessity in life and you'll die without them. Anytime a business pisses me off, I go elsewhere rather than trying to get a new law made. Is that so hard?

crackisnotwack

I love how some people are actually debating whether it's appropriate to buy something with pennies, which in this story is completely beside the point. Do you really think that if this guy went to his corner bodega and tried this crap, he wouldn't have been run out of there? The difference is that if that happened, you wouldn't get all the media and this grandstanding politician talking about "This is America" crap, as if he were suddenly Pat Buchanan. These Chinese people in the restaurant are just convenient targets, and it's disingenuous to say that all this is about the poor blah blah blah. It's nice to see that those who are easily prone to complain about being targeted because of their race are so ready to do exactly that to others.

ethos

I guess we're in the minority here (no pun intended) but I'm with anothercomment. OK, maybe Diaz & Jones overreacted a little, but money is money, and I've gotten more than a little pissed on more than one occassion when all I have is a $20 bill for an item, say, under five bucks and the cashier, even though there's tens and fives in the drawer, chooses to pay me back in singles. But somehow it's unacceptable to pay someone in pennies? C'mon now. And I haven't done all the research on the US Treasury policy but I'm pretty sure they mean that private merchants don't have to accept large bills b/c of counterfeiting concerns, not b/c they don't want to be bothered with pennies.

Like I said, I'm not sure it had to come to this, but then again cashiers of any ethnic group (particularly @ fast food joints) can be extremely obnoxious, petty and nasty.

anothercomment

#34:

This blog is the only coverage of that story that is negative. Every other article or news story I saw about this yesterday and today seemed to show 2 people resolving a problem with the help of a caring community leader - Senator Diaz.

Again, I don't believe that EMS workers are known to be self-serving. They spend their days saving and helping strangers.

As far as the lady crying goes, we're all probably sorry that she was so overwhelmed so early in the day, but the news stories told that in the end, she seemed happy. She and Wayne Jones have resolved their matter - with the help of the good Senator - and the stores in the area can no longer humiliate their patrons by refusing American currency.

That's a good story. (I especially like the way the NY Times covered it.)

dkim

#25 "the penny story is a good story with a good ending and a good plan for the future - stop trying to make it something hateful and hurtful."

Right. The poor woman was in tears. Can you even imagine what kind of stress she must have been going through with that media circus outside? Jones didn't do it for the underprivileged. He just had some loose change hanging around, got pissed off, and made a complaint. The fact is that he did it for himself and not on behalf of others.

Have you even tried working in that area and some of the people you deal with? I hope to hell that she made enough money and opens another business away from that place. What kind of a profit do you expect to make off $2.75 wings? It's almost giving it away. I don't see this as anything more than some petty excuse to make a ruckus. If it was so "progressive" and "American", how come the majority of people who have read this article find it ridiculous and meanspirited?

above the dmz 96th street

This is the reason why East Harlem and the south bronx has not been gentrified as of yet.

Those of you who work in East Harlem should know. Those who live there will forever sing it's praises.

If you want to see racism, try working in East Harlem. this is not Puerto Rico, this is America.

Speak English, sir.

hr

Ruben Diaz .... the mexican John Liu??

JN

The Great Penny melt might happen...but it is now illegal, Congress made it illegal for that exact reason, as the metal to make coinage is now worth more than the face value of the currency.

Anon

Anothercomment, while I agree that no. 16 used unnecessary language I also agree that it was Mr. Diaz who unnecessarily turned this non-event into something hateful and hurtful. In addressing the restaurant he said, “[W]e are in America. This is America. If you want to do business in America, you have to accept all American currency.” We do not need yet another reminder as to how the idea of patriotism has been misused by politicians in the past several years as a platform from which to spew their own kind of hatred. Additionally, when people, esp. politicians, start saying things like "this is America and in America we do X" that basically is implying that whoever is being targeted, in this case the restaurant owners, is not as American as the rest of the speaker or the rest of the community. If that's not hateful or hurtful I don't know what is.

Ared

This "issue," post, and the ensuing comments, of which mine is a part, illustrate that this is the wealthiest nation in human history.

George

So we'll be able to use pennies to go through the tunnels? That would be awesome :)

robby

Like many people I have a lot of pennies lying around an I have no idea what to do with them. The good news is, if the price of zinc (pennies are mostly zinc) keeps going up I'll be sitting on a lot of money. Pennies already cost over a penny to make. In typical government fashion, a politician is going to mandate the government loses even more money by making pennies more popular. This unfortunate Chinese lady should look upon this as an opportunity to raise prices and make money for the future 'big penny melt' that many economists are predicting. Start hoarding everyone--your day of payback is coming.

brothers johnson grim

you must be a troll,

Diaz can go eff himself, take Jones with him.

racists. yeah, the South Bronx is a haven of understanding and diversity.