Attorney General Cuomo, Tear Down This Velvet Rope!

Spitzer’s successor goes after civil rights violations in nightclub lines (with added Barack Obama irony that only the Post would think to dredge up*):

A Manhattan hotspot that hosted a primary-night party for Barack Obama supporters has been sued by the state Attorney General for discriminating against black patrons.

The AG’s office accused the Tonic East nightclub, at Third Avenue and East 29th Street, of barring blacks based on an unwritten dress code against popular hip-hop clothing, but allowing similarly dressed white patrons to enter.

Tonic East settled the lawsuit with a simultaneous agreement that forces the bar to fork over $35,000, implement training and change its dress code to eliminate references to specific brands.

The state launched an undercover probe at Tonic East after black patrons complained that bouncers stopped them at the door, citing policies excluding clothing by Sean John and Rocawear, Nike Air Force One sneakers, Timberland boots and baggy jeans.

The Kips Bay bar was the scene of a major party for Obama supporters on Feb. 5, with overflow crowds packing the multi-level club that is built to hold 450 people and spilling revelers out into other area bars.

*Because Obama is black . . . get it?

The Everything Bagel Theory Of Fare Collection . . .

. . . take all the crap-ass burnt bits and cobble together a fare:

On its first business day, the MTA’s fare hike yesterday baffled mass-transit travelers — who had conniptions over the higher costs — as discounts dropped from 20 percent to 15 percent on MetroCards.

“I was kind of confused. I didn’t read the question right,” said Alana Chitty, 21, who mistakenly bought a $20 card from a Grand Central Terminal vending machine when she only wanted a $7 card.

“I put $20 and got no change back,” she said. “I’m pissed. I want my money.”

The clerk at the nearby booth would not refund her money.

So Chitty, from Rye, was stuck with a $20 card that will leave her with a $3 bonus credit on the card. If she refills it for another $20, then she will have three “free” rides.

Had she got the $7 card she sought, she would have four rides because it comes with a $1.05 bonus — enough to pay for the fourth ride with a useless 5 cents left over.

She wasn’t the only one ticked off by the new transit tabulations.

“I was very annoyed that I didn’t get an extra round trip with my $10 card. Now I [have] $11.50 and I’m sure bits of money will be left on the card I won’t use,” said David Buckley, 48, an executive recruiter from Maplewood, NJ, at the Rockefeller Center station.

Another rider, Garian Giscombe, 25, felt the same about the $10 cards that used to provide one free ride.

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do with the $1.50 bonus,” he said.

But at least the cost of a single ride hasn’t gone beyond that of a slice of pizza, the usual indicator . . . after all, it’s important to keep up appearances.

One If By Land, Screw DEP

One if by Land, Two if by Sea . . . water bill deadbeats:

Mayor Bloomberg is threatening to force foreclosure sales of more than 24,000 city properties to collect nearly $470 million the city is owed in unpaid property taxes and water bills.

The owners of 24,593 properties will receive warning letters from the city notifying them that a lien will be sold on their property if they do not pay off their debts, which range from $1,000 to millions of dollars, within 90 days. If the debts are not paid, a private collector hired by the city can begin foreclosure proceedings.

. . .

The list of properties that owe the city money are in all five boroughs. They include a historic restaurant on Barrow Street in Manhattan’s West Village, One if by Land, Two if by Sea, and an Upper East Side property worth more than $10 million that is owned by Michael Melnitzky, a pro se litigator who was profiled in yesterday’s New York Times. All properties on the city’s list to receive a warning letter were published in a 92-page advertisement placed by the city in yesterday’s Daily News.

The “H” Is “Snow”

He who plays “The Heat is On” on the saxophone in winter weather deserves all the locked keys he gets:

Yes he could go down into the subway and find a warmer stage, but sax player Mike Mycadi says the open air fuels his music. “I actually like the cold better than the summertime,” he says. “It’s more challenging.” Part of that challenge is playing with the thick gloves he wears to keep his fingers agile, and he sometimes practices at home with the gloves. Of course, if the outdoor temperature drops below 32 degrees, the concert must come to an end. “Below freezing and the saliva actually locks up in the keys,” he says. And his playlist? “During the winter I like to play warm songs, like ‘The Heat Is On,’ and ‘Summertime.’ During the summer I switch it around and end up playing things like ‘Let it Snow’ and ‘Frosty the Snowman.'”

See also: Saxophones.

The New Ham Radio

Show your patriotism, earn some extra cash:

Despite vociferous objections from residents and community board members, telecommunications giant T-Mobile is forging ahead with plans to install a wireless signal tower on top of a Maspeth home.

But with city officials still weighing whether to approve the project, outraged residents and community leaders are doing everything in their power to stop it.

On Tuesday, nearly three dozen opponents crammed into a Board of Standards and Appeals hearing room in Manhattan to protest T-Mobile’s plan, which would place a 27-foot-tall wireless transmitter disguised as a flagpole atop a two-story home.

Rising more than 50 feet above ground level, the American flag-topped tower would “close a gap” in wireless service, according to T-Mobile spokesman Wayne Leuck. The tower would measure 36 inches in diameter — far wider than a typical flagpole, critics noted — and would be illuminated by at least two spotlights installed on the roof.

Critics say the tower will look “absolutely hideous” amid the neighborhood’s low-rise residential landscape. “It’s a matter of aesthetics,” said Assemblywoman Marge Markey, who has repeatedly urged T-Mobile to relocate the planned tower to one of Maspeth’s more remote industrial corners.

. . .

The telecommunication company first presented its idea to Community Board 5 in October, after gaining permission from the building’s owner to install the 27-foot-tall device (part pole, part equipment box) on his property for an undisclosed fee.