September 15, 2008
Squeegee Men Not Wiped Out Entirely
Board up your windshields and lock yourself in the trunk: The squeegee men—those Giuliani-era poster boys for quality-of-life crime—are making a comeback according to the Post, which has an alarming article about the "pests." Of which there are four. But be afraid! They're congregating near the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, and a Hells Kitchen elevator manager tells the tabloid, "They get very aggressive. I was like, 'Dude, don't even think about it!'" The Post finds business booming, even though police have arrested several squeegee men at the location. But at least one of them is still haunted by Giuliani's crackdown (which actually began under NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly during the Dinkins administration); he implored the reporter not to publish the article because "Giuliani will lock my ass up. There will be 30 cops up and down this street."
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ha! that's funny - a few weeks ago I noticed them and speculated to a friend that maybe this was a sign that recession was taking deeper roots. desperate measures for desperate times I guess...
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a squeegee guy reached in the window and swiped my sister's purse off the seat of her car when she was stopped at the off ramp to the FDR
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Nothing funny about it. They don't offer a service, just an implied threat --give me some money or else I'll spit on your car or worse.
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Wake up NYPD! This is a no brainer. Arrest them and send them to the boonies where some people carry guns in their cars. Let's see them squeegee there.
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It's the same thing on the subway. These morons do acrobatics in the train (many times with little children) and then they try to bully you for "tips" because they "entertained" you. BS!!! BS!!!! BS!!!! It's harrassment any way you look at it.
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Auto makers should put one of those transparent, electrically conductive coatings on the windshield. A few healthy shocks should convince squeegee men to not touch cars without permission. Or maybe re-aim the washer fluid nozzles. to the sides.
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I see guys in convertibles drive in to the underground garage with their bag and laptop case on the back seat.
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Ahh, pest from the past! Why do NYers need to put up with these derelicts! Are least they only bother you when you're driving, unlike the worst of the lot, the aggressive young whipper snappers with the clipboards, making you feel guilty for not feeding the children or saving the whales. I want to just punch them in their faces!!
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most ny'ers don't drive or have a car.
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New Yorkers ride the subways where at any given moment, mariachi bands, bongo drummers, juvenile delinquent peanut peddlers, acrobats, religious fanatics, battery salesmen, whistler hawkers, and shit encrusted homeless citizens improve their quality of life...
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^^That's why it's called public transportation and that is why some people drive cars to work.
I like your ideas Spirit way to show your creative side for a change.
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Brooklynbobby:
Are you so agoraphobic that you feel "bullied" for tips by subway performers?
This is the city. People ask you for money. People perform and ask for tips. If they're putting a gun to you, that's reason to be scared. If they threaten to assault you, that's reason to be scared. If four elderly black dudes sing "In the Still of the Night" and then ask you for money, and you don't want to give it to them, grow a pair and say "NO". Either back or buy a ticket back to South Dakota.
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No shit Snoopy... You are so insightful
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Breaknight, It's readily apparent that you are one of those obnoxious, aggressive assholes panhandling on the train. Otherwise you wouldn't have taken offense at my post. And by the way, asshole, I'm a Brooklyn native, so up yours douchebag!!!