NBC New York has a video of a confrontation between Parks Department officers and a pedicab driver, adding, "There was no shortage of offensive language, so we turned off the audio for you. Merry Christmas!" Some commenters are suggesting conspiracy, saying, "It is the NYC carriage drivers that are harassing them and since the industry has tied with Christine Quinn, they are using the park dept to harass pedicab drivers," and "It was the horse carriage driver who started to harass them and took their pedicab."
This video has absolutely NOTHING to do with the carriage drivers or their horses. For Gothamist to post that ridiculous "conspiracy theory" is a blatant jab at the horse industry. gothamist is clearly biased and is obviously listening to people like Felix, who is an ex-pedicab driver with a penchant towards harassing and slandering the carriage industry.
This video clearly shows an uruly pedi driver resisting a uniformed officer or three. I see NO horses, or carriage drivers in this video. In fact, there were non in the vicinity that day, because of the lines of tourists waiting at 5th ave...not 7th.
This is just another example of the bad behavior the pedi drivers exhibit when confronted by the law. They are uninsured, unlicensed, and unregulated. The drivers do as they please within in the park and take no heed to the officers.
Ive been saying for years, give them enough rope and they will hang themselves. Well, they have. It wont be long before the parks dept stops allowing them from entering the park at all.
FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'
#28, yes please vote Quinn out of office. She is the worst thing that happened to NYC
WestVillageVintage
Yes the PEP ranks were beefed up in the last 4 years. Haven't you noticed them everywhere writing tickets anywhere near a park? Guess the city justiified the PEP payroll, and the accompanying toys such as segways and jeeps, with anticipated "revenue" from the tickets they write. Bloomberg includes ticket fines as part of the city's revenue (just like taxes) instead of the incidental income they normally are considered.
So while real city revenue was up during the economic boom Bloomberg was allocatingit to such dubiious expenditures - instead of saving it for when the bubble burst. Doesn't sound like the best business savy to me.
I hope the PEPs get fired and can't find a job except pedaling a pedicab!
JacqueMehoff
I did not know doucheberg increased the budget for PEP. guess that's how they can afford those segways.
WestVillageVintage
One more thing - down here in the Village we're working on getting Quinn out.
WestVillageVintage
PEP officers are the worst. They are a very productive arm of Bloomberg's uniformed revenue producing troops. Every one of the I ever have interacted with is a power mad psycho with zero interpersonal skills and no apparent accountiblity.
Did you know that the budget for PEPs has been significantly increased within the last 4 years?
Budget crises - let's fire them all!
JenChungsBaby
Put it in cold water and then heat it up slowly.
I don't know what the whole commotion was about but since it was one guy against a bunch of Parks enforcement pinheads I was rooting for him. He did the right think though when the cops showed up by going down. I was afraid he was really going to get his ass whupped at that point.
yg
@2: Do you know how they boil a frog?
Tabitha Rose
Interesting that the Parks Department NEVER cracks down on violations by the carriage industry but they were right there to beat up a pedicab driver. According to the ASPCA and their keystone cops, the Parks Dept. is also supposed to enforce the regulations. The ASPCA is currently in the pass the buck mode. They like to claim that they VOLUNTEER their time and cannot be everywhere at once.
No one is ever around to see the carriage drivers go into u-turns on Central Park South; overload their carriages; over charge; go out in snow storms; work in areas where they are not allowed; abuse their horses; deprive them of water. All - ASPCA, Parks, Department of Health , Department of Consumer Affairs and the NYPD turn the other way. Yes, the carriage industry has it made in NYC. They are politically blessed by having Christine Quinn and the Mayor on their side and by having retired cops drive carriages. Oh and let's not forget all those loser Council Members who cannot stand up straight because they have no backbone.
Snoopy
eholmes based on your reply you have put me in a quest for further knowledge. Are you Larry Holmes nephew and ex sparring partner or do you think you are related to the fictional character Sherlock Holmes?
And for your information Christine Quinn is a noun, soon to be an adjective or an adverb in a past tense hopefully.
eholmes8
"PEP" is the abbreviated form of "shit for brains." Same for the noun "Christine Quinn."
HUH??!! PEP is an abbreviated form of Shit For Brains? I mean...doesn't it bother you to know that after reading that gem, most of us will now assume that YOUR cranium is actually the one made of excrement? Then you try and dupe us into thinking you've finished primary school by referencing a noun.
just saying
I'm with #7 & #8, I can't get a good handle on precisely what's going on in this video. The only thing I know is that the location is Central Park South.
Is the problem that the carriage drivers objected to competition from the pedicab drivers?
FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'
they dont whine, the parks dept harasses them uner QUINN'S orders
rasputinsghost
As far as I know most pedicab drivers speak English pretty well
McGG
F the pedicabs and f the parks dept cops. I'm sick of these pedicabs riding wherever the fuck they please, disobeying every traffic law, and then whining like little bitches when they get no respect from cars.
FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'
@16, they do speak english, a lot of them are college students and intelligent.
Rocknrope
"Everybody please stand back."
What the fuck city do you live in?
FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'
XMas Jen C. peace and love for us all
@snoopy, you are right, Quinn is shit for brains and she is destroying our city. Pedicabs are green and humane yet she wants to abolish them because she is align with the Queens Machine with support the lobbyist for the carriage industry. Their lobbyist Thomas McMahon is the husband of deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs and the brother of council member Michael McMahon. it is all corruption and they don't oversight the carriage industry at all yet they harass these pedicab drivers every day. some carriage drivers even chase the pedicab drivers away from the park and some pedicabs tires were slashed
kane
Is the black guy that tall, or are the PEP that short? I'm 6' and about as tall as the Ford Escapes the PEP seems to use for their vehicles, so the fact that the PEP folks are over a head shorter than their vehicle, I have to assume that the black guy is not really that big, but the PEP folks are just short.
moocowtoo
Jen this story is great and all but its obnoxious that it plays automatically when you load the main gothamist site. Give me the choice if I want to hit play or not!
Use an RSS reader to stay up to date with the latest news and posts from Gothamist.
Want Gothamist's suggestions on what shows to check out, where to eat, what to buy, where to go for a quick trip? We'll be bringing you some exclusive tips and ideas via email every day! And don't worry—you'll still get a list of our top stories.
Sign up for Gothamist Daily, which will deliver useful tips—plus Gothamist's most popular stories—to your inbox at 11 a.m. This way, you'll be able to plan your week or month as well as catch up on Gothamist if you've stepped away.