New York City is stinking up a storm. Again.
Reminds me of Manhattan pre-Rudy Giuliani: paying squeegee guys not to f*** with your car, hookers in hotpants thronging the outbound entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, guys offering “weed, acid, right here” on every other street corner in Times Square.
This week the New York Post analyzed calls to 311 and found
outdoor odor complaints are at an all-time high after rising 54 percent — to 5,746 through June 30 — compared to the same period in 2021.
The linked story is redolent with aroma-quotes from acerbic New Yorkers.
The Post traces part of the problem back to the “Criminal Justice Reform Act” of 2016 signed by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio which . . . decriminalized public urination.
Today’s scene has a post-pandemic twist—the outdoor dining sheds erected by some restaurants are being used by people for “sleeping, shooting up, having sex, crapping.”
Asked for comment the day after the story, Mayor Eric Adams made a wisecrack about the smell of weed before wagging a metaphorical finger at shopkeepers for not sweeping up their sidewalks.
This guy. Can he pass the buck, or what?