Just Add A Snappy Abbreviation Like “TPEP” And No One Will Notice!

First they came for the cafes and movie theaters, and everyone agreed that even though it’s annoying to hear cellphones during a movie or, god forbid, brunch, it’s probably kind of illegal to jam cellphones. Then the cops tried to argue that jamming cellphones might be useful during a terrorist attack, but people sort of hesitated because it sounds kind of drastic and possibly dangerous for the government to reserve the right to do this. So then they moved on to the cab drivers because, well, fuck those guys, they barely pay attention to you anyway, and it kind of feels good to go after them:

The city may finally silence chatty cabbies — with cell-phone blockers that make their mobile phones unusable, officials said Monday.

Cabbies talking on cell phones continue to be a safety concern for the Taxi and Limousine Commission — and a nuisance to passengers — despite enforcement efforts by the agency, TLC Commissioner Matthew Daus said.

Passengers would still be able to use cell phones, but the front seat would be blocked, Daus said.

The silencing-of-the-cabs concept is one of a slew of possibilities the TLC wants to investigate as it develops next the “Taxicab Passenger Enhancement Program,” Daus said.

I Ain’t Marching Anymore

Perhaps David Chen was one of those “emboldened” Times staffers who has little patience anymore for the mayor’s bullshit:

Political? Who, me?

So says Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who, during a trip to Virginia on Monday to unveil a new pro-gun-control television commercial, made the following claim that should be fodder for water-cooler debate: “I’ve never made a decision in my life based on politics.”

When asked later what he meant by that line, Mr. Bloomberg did not talk directly about revising the city’s term limits law, which some would surely say was textbook politics. Nor did he talk about his efforts, ultimately unsuccessful, to persuade Albany lawmakers to pass his congestion pricing plan. Or his campaign staff members’ relentless wooing of labor unions to improve relations, or their recent successful efforts to curry favor with the Republican and independent parties to run on their ballot lines in November.

Phil Ochs Introduced “I Ain’t Marching Anymore” To A Crowd In 1968* By Explaining, “So What Can You Do? I Mean Here You Are, A Helpless Soul, A Helpless Piece Of Flesh Amid All This Cruel, Cruel Machinery And Terrible Heartless Men, So All You Can Do Is Turn Away From The Filth And Hopefully Start To Build Something New Someday . . . So Here Is A Turning Away Song”

Which is to say, just when you start to root for Charles Barron, he goes and ruins it:

City Councilman Charles Barron of Brooklyn, who opposed the extension of term limits, said he’ll formally announce on Sunday that he plans to run for a third term.

Referring to his colleagues who joined him in voting against the extension, Barron said, “We were not against 12 years, we were against the process.”

In a brief telephone interview, Barron said he thinks only the 22 City Council members who did not “suck up” to the mayor and Speaker Christine Quinn on term limits deserve to be re-elected.

“Personally,” Barron added, “I don’t even want to run again, but the people around me think it is the best thing for me to do.”

*Michael Ochs’ liner notes from “There And Now,” the live album recorded in late 1968 and released by Rhino Records in 1990, explain that “Phil had just returned from the Chicago Democratic convention, where he had witnessed the death of democracy as he had known it.”

Mets Fans Arrive 10 Hours Early For First Pitch . . .

. . . facilitating extra web exclusive in advance of tonight’s Citi Field opener:

Mets fans waited all winter to rid themselves of last season’s bitter collapse and catch a glimpse of their team’s new home at Citi Field, so one would expect crowds to get to the ballpark early for Monday night’s home opener.

But, 10 hours before the first pitch?

. . .

The father and son made the trip from Yorktown Heights, NY, early Monday morning, April 13 and arrived at the stadium at 9:30 a.m.

“We’re excited,” said Chet, shortly before noon while sitting on a bench outside Citi Field.

Buried Lede: In 2009, traffic congestion is much less severe than Bloomberg officials have led us to believe . . .

Location Scout: Citi Field.

Some Rules Just Seemed Silly After I Am Legend Grossed Half A Billion Worldwide

The NYPD is reminding its officers that it’s perfectly legal to take beautiful pictures of New York City’s iconic infrastructure*:

Faced with complaints from photographers and tourists alike, the NYPD has issued a department order reminding cops that the right to take pictures in the Big Apple is as American as apple pie.

“Photography and the videotaping of public places, buildings and structures are common activities within New York City . . . and is rarely unlawful,” the NYPD operations order begins.

It acknowledges that the city is a terrorist target, but since it’s a prominent “tourist destination, practically all such photography will have no connection to terrorism or unlawful conduct.”

. . .

But cops are not without successes in confronting what might appear to be innocent videotaping.

In Manhattan, cops spotted a man — who turned out to have ties to a terror group in Pakistan — videotaping the underbellies of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges.

They did? When exactly was that?

*Finally exonerating Woody Allen thirty years after the fact.