The Two-Front Newspaper War

It’s the Daily News vs. The Post tabloid war writ small:

A lawsuit alleges free daily newspaper amNew York isn’t paying its distributors minimum wage, according to lawyer Maimon Kirschenbaum, who filed the complaint yesterday in federal court.

Plaintiff James Allen, 52, of Brooklyn, said he started passing out the paper in November and stayed for five months before leaving because of the working conditions.

“They keep you out there for a long time and want you to stay until you finish all your bundles,” Allen told Metro.

Allen said workers get paid a flat fee of $21 a day. After four hours, they would receive an additional $1.50 per bundle. Minimum wage in New York State is $7.15 an hour.

“I would start at 6 a.m. and sometimes work to 10:30 or 11,” said Allen. “You have to wait for a supervisor before you can leave, and sometimes they come late and sign you out late.”

The class action suit asked for unspecified damages from amNew York and its parent company, the Tribune Co.

Allen said he plans to start working as a Metro distributor today. Metro’s distributors are hired by a third party, News & Comics, Inc., and are paid more than $8 an hour. Regardless of how many bundles are left over after his shift, Allen said he was told he wouldn’t be responsible for handing out any more papers.

Give Him An “A” For Vision . . .

. . . and an “incomplete” for execution, but this is the kind of big government meddling that, deep down, everyone loves to see:

The seemingly endless stream of fliers, coupons, and menus stacked on front stoops and stashed in corners of apartment buildings would be a thing of the past in New York under a bill that would allow residents to bar distributors from dumping unwanted advertisements.

By posting a small sign or sticker stating: “This property does not want to receive unsolicited printed material,” a daily scourge for many New Yorkers would quietly come to a close.

“This is a first step in making sure that homeowners can do whatever they have to do without being bothered with circulars, and fliers, and all kind of junk they don’t want,” a Council Member Simcha Felder of Brooklyn said after hurling a heap of fliers and circulars on the steps of City Hall to illustrate the way front stoops appear to many New Yorkers arriving home from work.

. . .

Mr. Felder’s bill does not explain how the law would be enforced or how offenders would be penalized. He said distributors would be held accountable for ignoring posted signs, and suggested they be fined at least $100 for each home or apartment building given unwanted fliers.

April Fool’s Day Is A Week From This Sunday — And Don’t Think I Didn’t Check That

Now if I could only remember what I did with my library card:

In what would be a first in the United States, the Brooklyn Public Library hopes to team up with Netflix to deliver DVDs and videos to anyone in the borough with a library card, The Post has learned.

The price would be unbeatable — free.

The disclosure was made by John Vitali, the library’s chief fiscal officer, following an announcement at Brooklyn Borough Hall that Dionne Mack-Harvin had been named executive director of the borough’s library system.

. . .

“What we want to do is work with Netflix and really get that inventory together, really use Netflix as the delivery mechanism,” Vitali said.

“We’re getting some good vibrations back. Nothing formal has been settled. What’s really exciting is — it’s my understanding — really the first of its kind, a model for that kind of corporate partnership.”

Netflix has an inventory of 75,000 movies.

Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey said he knew nothing about a possible partnership with the library and seemed surprised by the news.

Vitali said that if the partnership works out, the library and the movie-delivery service would develop a separate list. But it would include popular films.

“DVDs are very expensive to buy, and they’re also very expensive to move because they’re delicate,” Vitali said.

“Instead of buying the DVDs, we’d be outsourcing from Netflix to, in effect, create a free inventory of DVDs that would be available to our customers.”

[Emphasis added but let’s skip the details, shall we?]

Teamsters And Brewers, Together At Last

Given Brooklyn Brewery’s past labor strife, is its new bottle-conditioned “Local 1” beer kind of like a big inside joke? Either way, it sounds like it will be good:

Brooklyn Brewery introduced their newest beer — Local 1 — last week at a breakout party at Rockefeller Center.

Their new beer is the first 100 percent bottled-conditioned Belgian inspired ale, crafted by Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garret Oliver. Oliver, a well known “beer connoisseur,” is very excited about his new beer, and gave reasons the new Local 1 is a classier and more distinguished beer than other brews.

“What people don’t realize is that aroma makes up 75 percent of a beer’s taste,” expalined Oliver. “I like to think that Local 1 is Belgian-inspired, but also very Brooklyn in spirit.”

Local 1 is Brooklyn Brewery’s 13th beer, and the public should be able to get their first taste within the next year.

Location Scout: Brooklyn Brewery.

Lionel-Industrial Complex Claims Another Victim; Parents Shaken

The lure of the 7 train was too much for one tot as he escaped the clutches of his harried mother and jumped on a Manhattan-bound express train yesterday:

Stuart [Tito] is quite a handful — constantly curious, perpetually in motion and absolutely fearless. Trains are his passion; he points whenever one roars above his Queens neighborhood.

That’s why [Blanca] Amarilis held his hand tightly as she and husband Victor Tito, 32, waited at Junction Blvd. on their way to a doctor’s appointment for their 9-month-old, Derrick.

As an express pulled into the station, Amarilis noticed Derrick’s nose was running, and she leaned down over the stroller to wipe it — letting go of Stuart.

In that instant, the little imp scooted away as fast as his sneaker-clad feet would take him, darted through the closing doors of the train and was whisked away.

Fortunately for Lionel, they do not have blood on their hands . . . this time:

“I thought that someone would take him,” she said. “I prayed to God to protect my son and let me find him again.”

She didn’t know it, but her prayer was being answered. A woman who saw Stuart board the train, scooped him up, got off at 61st St. and took a train back to Junction Blvd.

When they arrived, she spotted the boy’s father looking frantic and asked, “Is this your son?”

“Yes!” the Ecuadoran-born cook answered, wrapping his errant explorer in a hug. The woman melted into the crowd.