There's no net loss of millionaires, though. From the article:

>The 1,453 departures in 2021 did not create a millionaire shortage. New York State still had more than 80,000 millionaire taxpayers in 2021, up from about 70,000 in 2020.

So New York actually gained a net of 10,000 millionaires from 2020 to 2021.

The wealthy folks who are already carefully tracking their days in NYS will continue doing that even if their taxes stay the same. And they will continue doing that even if NYC taxes fall dramatically. They will continue doing it unless NYC's taxes fall to Sioux Falls, SD levels, which is simply not realistic. So this group of people can be entirely discounted in any talk of income tax policy. They are not going to change their residency under any realistic income tax model.

The wealthy folks who are spending 183+ days per year in NYC now are going to keep doing that even if their taxes go up a few percent. This group of people wants to spend 183+ days per year in NYC and can afford to do so. These folks also aren't going to change their residency under any realistic income tax model.

The previous commenter suggested that there is a group of wealthy folks who will suddenly "discover" the 183-day rule if taxes go up a few percent. The idea that there is any sizable number of wealthy folks whose accountants and lawyers haven't told them about the 183-day rule years ago is ludicrous.

This idea is not new. There is an entire cottage industry of legal and accounting professionals dedicated to helping the wealthy prove that they haven't exceeded 182 days in NYS.

>It's time to try to Singapore model, enough is enough.

You mean the "Singapore model" of having 80% of the city's population living in high-quality public housing, supported by a truly universal and affordable state-run healthcare system?

That could actually work. It would go a long way toward providing increased stability and, as a result, reducing crime.

But somehow I feel like you're referring more to things like putting people in jail for selling gum, downloading porn or criticizing the Mayor.

>The cops are among those saying this misinformation loudly, saying their hands are tied, can't do their jobs, etc when they often slack off and refuse to do their job (a local chain that has had theft can't rely on the cops coming to take their reports)

The journalists are also complicit in this. Every time a cop claims their "hands are tied," the immediate response should be to ask the cop to explain how exactly the bail reform law "tied their hands." Which provision takes away cops' power to investigate? Which provision takes away cops' power to arrest? Which provision makes shoplifting "legal"?

The uncritical mainstream media narrative of bail reform "tying the hands of law enforcement" is one of the most in-your-face examples of propaganda - copaganda - I've ever seen.

And as for the usual "millionaires will just move" "rejoinder," the wealthy want the prestigious NYC address. There's a reason why millionaires haven't flocked to Bayonne or Harrison, even though they'd certainly save a bundle on taxes.

>Me walking past a park eating a slice of pizza when a pigeon shits directly on to the slice. New york giveth, new york taketh away

Well, technically you're getting two things in this scenario: 1. Free shit (literally), and 2. Cool story to tell the next time you're at a bar.

Glad you enjoyed your visit! Especially glad to hear you ventured beyond the usual tourist traps and checked out Flushing. Though, speaking of tourist traps, if you didn't check out the (free) Staten Island Ferry this time, definitely do so on your next visit!

>Why is everything a slippery slope to you guys? Why do we have to make laws based on some fringe incident? Some guy somewhere acts excessive so we should ignore the 99% of cases this doesn’t happen and instead make sure this one thing never ever happens again?

Are you trying to argue against the new bill on the grounds that you think it isn't necessary... because the vast majority of "repeat shoplifters" don't go around beating up retail workers?

How many "angry Karens" have physically assaulted store clerks and gotten away with it? Usually the "angry Karens" are loud, rude and obnoxious, but they don't tend to start throwing punches. And in the exceptions where they got physically violent, they were arrested and charged (correctly so).

I am pointing out that there are alternatives to driving into Times Square and, if this person prefers the convenience of driving into Times Square, then that is exactly the kind of reason congestion pricing is a good thing to have.

My closest express bus line also runs during peak hours only. I've never taken it because, from the MTA's timetables, it would be slower (due to traffic) than taking the subway.

However, overnight, I take a 24/7 express bus from Manhattan to S.I. and then transfer to the SIR to finish my trip. Overnight, the express bus makes it from FiDi to Old Town in 20 minutes flat. Shaves a ton of time off of waiting for the S.I. Ferry (which often goes to 1-hour headways overnight) or, worse, crawling down the Fourth Avenue line in Brooklyn on the R (which is godawful overnight).

I don't know which part of the city you're in, but I'm pretty sure there are 24/7 express bus lines to every outer borough. Perhaps you might look into taking an express bus to a subway line convenient to where you live. Even though you'd still be taking the subway for the "last mile," that could still help you save a lot of time.

If you're going to/from Manhattan, express bus service actually runs great overnight - faster and more reliable than during the day, due to much lighter traffic. I always prefer subways during the day and express buses at night.

If you're going between outer boroughs, then I agree transit sucks (although it also sucks during the day as well), but that wouldn't really be relevant to the congestion pricing discussion because that would only apply to Manhattan below 96th.

I have good news for you. You're still coming out ahead, even with congestion pricing, because you're not paying NY City income tax due to living in Jersey. You're also saving bigly on COL generally by living in a part of Jersey that's so off the beaten path there are "no NJT busses or trains." (Actually, where exactly is this? The NJT bus and rail network is quite extensive everywhere within an hour or so of Manhattan.)

As for transportation alternatives, I'm sure there's someplace in Jersey where you could park and switch to a 24/7 transit line, like the PATH or one of the many 24/7 bus lines that run into Port Authority.

Obviously, that's less convenient for you than driving into Manhattan proper - but that is exactly what congestion pricing is intended to target. The precise rationale is to reduce people's incentive to drive into Manhattan.

Exactly! Yet to a certain demographic - those who live in Palo Alto, and those who wish they could afford to live there - that kind of "premium suburban" lifestyle sounds like a dream. Wouldn't it be so nice to sit in traffic in a $60k+ car??

The previous commenter may be thinking of places like Palo Alto or Marin County that are plenty expensive ("equivalent to cost of NYC"). But those places are really much more comparable to Westchester or the North Shore of LI than NYC.

The M60 Select Bus Service would also work as an alternative. The M60 connects with the N and W trains in Astoria, Queens and with the 4/5/6, 2/3, and A/B/C/D trains in Harlem, Manhattan. It terminates near the Columbia University campus in Morningside Heights, where there is a connection to the 1 train as well.

As with the Q70, the entire M60 + subway trip will cost $2.75/person (including a free transfer to the subway, so long as the transfer to the subway is made within 2 hours of purchasing the M60 ticket at LaGuardia).

Unlike Q70 buses, M60 buses don't always have luggage racks, but service is still very frequent and there should be enough space to get on - even with luggage - at the airport. To avoid crowding on the M60, I recommend transferring to the subway as soon as possible, i.e., to the N or W trains in Astoria. The M60 can become very crowded (and very slow) in Harlem.

>Before covid in the hospice setting, you were shunned and were told never to wear a mask unless the patient had an airborne/droplet precaution. Crazy how the science changes.

The old "no mask" policy wasn't based on science. It was based on hospital executives' notion (not backed by any actual evidence, to my knowledge) that seeing masked staff would somehow frighten patients:

>"I'm being yelled at. I'm being told to take [the mask] off. I'm being told that I'm scaring patients and that I'm scaring other people.' We've had people who had their jobs threatened."

There has never been any scientific reason to not mask in a medical setting where, by definition, ill and immunocompromised people congregate in a dense, indoor environment.

I'm so glad PIX11 picked up on the tip that u/vbrooks88 filed at our sub's recommendation.

Hopefully the attention this piece gets will shake some leads loose, and/or motivate NYPD to actually do something. As u/candidshark says, that video footage is absolutely infuriating.

No, the article just says:

>The Riccardis say they would just like to get out but can’t sell the condo with the legal controversy pending.

"Can't sell with the legal controversy pending" is entirely consistent with "can't sell due to inability to find a buyer."

The article doesn't provide us with enough information to really assess whether the judge is a "piece of shit."

It's one thing if she issued her order and then, barely a week later, sent Riccardi to jail. It's totally different if she issued her order and years went by without Riccardi making any tangible progress toward complying with her order, despite multiple warnings.

>The members should also be worried that a blocked sale

It's a condo, not a co-op. Condo boards don't typically have the right to block a sale, nor does the article suggest that the condo board is trying to block Riccardi from selling. Rather, as a practical matter, no buyer in their right mind would want to buy once they learn of the whole mess.

As for the possibility of a bank taking over ownership after foreclosure (the article doesn't mention whether Riccardi has a mortgage on the property - he might own it outright), the advantage of the corporate form is that it's not possible to jail a company. The most the judge would be able to do is fine the bank.

The article doesn't do a good job of making clear that Riccardi wasn't jailed because his condo violated the city's building code (or his HOA board's rules). Rather, he was jailed for contempt of court - "willfully failing" to obey a court order.

The article suggests (though isn't entirely clear) that Riccardi was on the losing end of years-long civil litigation with his HOA board, and that at the end of that litigation, Riccardi was hit with a court order directing him to remove the extension. Riccardi then admits that, despite the court order, he failed to actually make any tangible progress toward removing the extension.

Riccardi asserts that he and his wife "couldn't find contractors to do the work" because they "didn't have the $300,000 or more to remove the addition." But did he do anything at all - beyond calling a few contractors for a ballpark estimate - to demonstrate he was trying his best to comply with the order? Even if the whole project would ultimately cost $300,000, did they have $30,000 or even $3,000 to get the ball rolling? Did they start the process by hiring an architect and an expediter to help pull permits? Did they look into seeing if their title policy might cover some of the costs (since they claim that they weren't the ones who built the unpermitted extension)? Riccardi doesn't mention doing any of this (and if he had, you'd think he would mention it because it'd bolster his case for gross mistreatment).

In theory, judges shouldn't send folks to prison for contempt of court unless they're intentionally disobeying/stonewalling a court order and refuse to back down even after being expressly warned to do so. It's possible the judge here abused her power - that she should've given Riccardi more time to comply, for instance - but the article doesn't actually provide any evidence that she abused her power.

To be clear, I'm not saying - at all! - that NYC DOB or Riccardi's HOA board was right. It is possible, even likely, that Riccardi's HOA board was very, very wrong. For instance, why did the HOA board wait until 2016 to initiate a dispute when the extension at issue was built over a decade before, prior to Riccardi even moving in? That strongly suggests that the board had some other motive for giving Riccardi hell.

Personally, I'm in favor of much tighter legal restrictions on HOA boards' power. But again, Riccardi ultimately went to jail for defying a court order, not for defying an HOA board order.

I agree on the bus infrastructure point. NYC's buses are hugely dysfunctional. Though the express buses are pretty solid (and actually operate best late at night when there's less traffic!).

>Wait till you come to London and that will supersede NYC's benchmark you've built up :)

Not necessarily. The Tube still shuts down at night most of the week (even with Friday-and-Saturday-nights-only Night Tube finally coming back this July after an over 2-year shutdown). Many of us are routinely on the NYC subway well after the Tube shuts down.