Pro tip: Don't talk back to New York City cops. Just don't. Yes, you have every right to do so, but they also have the power to arrest you for whatever—call it "disorderly conduct"— and send you "through the system" down in the Tombs for a day or two. Best to just silently accept the police state—such was the lesson learned by one Douglas Brown, a 41-year-old Bronx Mormon who was stopped by police for drinking a Snapple in a brown paper bag in the passenger seat of his friend's minivan. After showing the officer what he was drinking, he made the mistake of venting his frustration by asking the cop, "You got nothing better to do?" Why yes, as a matter of fact: sending a message to a disrespectful Mormon! more ›

Snapple, the iced tea company that 6 years ago made a $166 million deal with NYC for exclusive distribution to public schools and city-owned building vending machines, along with an “official beverage of New York City” label, is changing: redesigned bottles (label and all) will hit stores early next month. More importantly, it was announced yesterday, corn syrup will disappear from Snapple’s list of ingredients, and will presumably no longer be welcome on the Snapple campus. The drink will henceforth be sweetened with sugar. It’s not immediately clear whether or not Snapple will retain a monopoly over borough vending machines; the company’s product placement deal with the city apparently has gone the way of a “reject if button is up” clause. “Some city agencies refused to accept Snapple vending machines,” the Times recapped in 2006, but not wholly for anti-consumerist reasons. “In other places, machines could not fit in narrow or short corridors, or could not be plugged in because there was no electrical outlet nearby.” more ›

The Post reports that the city will removed 724 Snapple vending machines "from all municipal buildings." It was five years ago when the city announced its big Snapple deal, claiming it was worth $126 million but later revised that number to $33 million. The Post now says the deal had yielded "only 26 percent of anticipated sales...nearly one year before the deal ends." One city worker at the Municipal Building said, "I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've seen somebody at that machine in the years it's been there... Mostly because there's a kiosk downstairs that has other things besides drinks, or people go out and get their lunch and drinks outside." Still, the city's marketing arm is upbeat, at least the to Post, "The Snapple partnership was an excellent one for the city. The partnership and process were completely transparent and the vending portion was always scheduled to end in April 2009. We would absolutely do the deal again, and are very pleased with how this worked out." more ›