There are plenty of ways to get ripped off in NYC, like paying for cable or taking an Uber. Tourists are especially susceptible the enterprising con men, since they probably don't realize that a dirty water dog and a stale pretzel shouldn't cost $30. That's allegedly what one vendor near the World Trade Center was charging to hapless tourists, NBC New York reports.
Ahmed Mohammed operates his cart hear Albany and Greenwich Streets in the shadow of One World Trade Center, a hotspot for out of towners. A news team captured Mohammed on camera charging a French-accented local $15 for a hot dog and a pretzel and another guy from New Jersey $15 for a single hot dog. (Really, Jersey guy?) Around the corner, another vendor has the required signage listing hot dogs at just $1. "I just felt like I was getting ripped off, and it's just making the 9/11 grounds like a big tourist trap," one woman told the crew. Oh, honey.
There have been several altercations observed over the vendor's price gouging, which apparently changes depending on his sizing up of the customer. Only charged $3? Congratulations: you're a real New Yorker! "To rip-off somebody, to charge them $35 for a hot dog and a pretzel, that leaves a terrible impression," said Alliance for Downtown New York President Jessica Lappin. Exactly. There are obviously more legitimate ways to gouge the rubes.
