Eat Out (From The Trough Of) New York

What was once a perfectly good closed circuit feed of boring city council meetings somehow turned into a flashy taxpayer-supported media empire and now it’s all coming down . . . more Bloomberg legacy:

In fact, city investigators only tumbled to Scotland’s thefts after they launched an inquiry last year into complaints by employees at NYC-TV. The wide-ranging gripes included charges that Wierson and other top officials were often absent and appeared to be using city staff and resources for their own private projects.

The results of that inquiry were assembled in a memo that was presented to City Hall shortly before Scotland’s arrest. Since then, in addition to Wierson, at least four other high-ranking aides at the network have also quietly resigned. Asked last week if they’d been fired, a City Hall spokesperson declined comment.

The NYPD Tow Operation Division’s Version Of “Drugs On The Table”

The Post reports that top NYPD brass want to see clunkers in the tow pound:

NYPD tow-truck operators are hauling away cars at an alarming pace because of ramped-up pressure to meet a shocking four-car quota per shift — and those who fail face stiff penalties, sources told The Post.

“You have to get your number. That’s it. If you don’t get that number, you know that when you roll into the pound, the bosses will be all over you,” said a veteran driver.

Punishment can range from a loss of overtime to relegation to the graveyard shift to delayed approval of time-off requests.

That fear is leading drivers to tow cars they might otherwise let off, just to make sure they hit the mark.

“If it’s a judgment call, we’ll frequently go against the driver for that reason,” a source familiar with the mandate said. “It’s screw them or screw me. Either way, someone’s getting screwed.”

The source told of drivers’ being called in for “interviews” with managers and subsequently being moved off the desirable 5 a.m.-to-1 p.m. shift and placed instead on overnight hours because “they’re not bringing in enough cars.”

I Know Why The Released Dove Clings

Seems like bad luck to release doves on your wedding day that end up stranded in the park, clinging to life:

More than two dozen helpless albino ringneck doves — presumably released into the wilds of Queens as part of a wedding celebration — were clinging to life yesterday in a stand of trees after surviving a weekend of storms, heat and predators.

“People are looking to celebrate something joyful, and here they have birds that have never flown released into the air. They have no knowledge of how to find food, and they will literally starve to death,” said Rita McMahon of the Wild Bird Fund.

The birds were found Saturday in a tree near the park and next to the New York Hall of Science, numbering as many as 45 at the start of the weekend.

Location Scout: Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

The Best Svedka Represented On The Labels Affixed Thereto

You’ve heard it reported anecdotally but now there is firm evidence that you should always buy the cheapest well drinks, because it’s the same stuff:

Hot spots around the city have been nailed by the State Liquor Authority for refilling top-shelf liquor bottles with cheaper booze, watering down drinks or serving up cocktails full of fruit flies.

The SLA slapped staggering penalties on some of the city’s hippest clubs for a slew of violations in 2008-09, records show.

Some of the popular joints found themselves in violation of Subdivision 2 of Section 106 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law — meaning they kept their booze in “containers the contents of which were not represented on the labels affixed thereto.”

“We may find contaminated liquor or contaminated products, which may include refilling of liquor bottles with inferior liquor or fruit flies contaminating the bottle,” said SLA spokesman Michael Smith.

With Ticket Agents Like These, Who Needs A Sales Tax Increase?

On track for another record-setting year:

“Agents are acting in order to maximize revenue to fill the city coffers, rather than doing their job correctly, which is to ensure turnover to help small businesses,” the letter read. “We, along with the business owners, want traffic agents to perform their job of enforcing the traffic laws to ensure turnover so that parking spots are made available. Unfortunately, the only way to describe the situation on New Dorp Lane — where tickets are handed out within seconds of a meter expiring — is harassment, pure and simple, the letter read.