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August 6, 2009

Thursday Links

links_080609.jpg
Computer Error Caused Rent Woes [NY Times]
A Verdant Spot Springs Forth From Concrete [NY Times]
Expanded Protections for Tenants Upheld in Court [NY Times]
No More Perks: Coffee Shop Pulls the Plug on Laptop Users [WSJ]
Judge puts Bloomberg on Hot Seat in Civil Firefighters Case [NY Daily News]
2nd Police Chopper Pilot Puts It in Prospect Park [NY Post]
Feds Give $62M for ‘Greening’ Downtown B’klyn [Brooklyn Eagle]
Is Nathan's a Landmark? For 'Shore' It Is! [Brooklyn Paper]
Photo by Mrs. Limestone on Flickr




Posted by jscheff at 8:31 AM | Comments (28)
Categories: Daily Links

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Comments

These people who sit for hours in a coffee shop with their laptops really need to A. Learn some manners and B. Get a life. I don't blame the owners at all for getting upset with them.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 6, 2009 8:40 AM

good for naidres and i hope others follow suit, or at least require a minimum purchase. i've had to walk out of places b/c i couldnt find a place to sit with my meal and drink, while people hog a whole table with at times a coffee, and often not even that. i imagine owners lose money considering cost of internet + electricity usage + annoyed customers who dont go b/c of the lack of seating.

Posted by: goldie at August 6, 2009 8:53 AM

goldie, i rarely go to coffee shops anyway but if I did I'd just pull up a chair to one of these tables that was being hogged by one of these jerks.

I'd probably pick a table with someone who already looked annoyed just to spark a "discussion."

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 6, 2009 8:59 AM

I'm totally ok with business owners doing this, but Naidre's sucks. Yuk.

Posted by: CG_ups at August 6, 2009 9:08 AM

Wow- what a gorgeous photo, mrs. limestone!

Posted by: bxgrl at August 6, 2009 9:18 AM

I'm glad my name isn't Ty-Lör Boring.

Posted by: sixyearsandcounting at August 6, 2009 9:30 AM

charge for wi-fi

Posted by: more4less at August 6, 2009 9:31 AM

you have bigger cojones than i do. in my mind thats what i tell myself i would do, but instead i just walk out annoyed hoping they spill their coffee on their computer.

Posted by: goldie at August 6, 2009 9:36 AM

oh sorry didnt mean to bring down the high brow convo in OT. didnt see this.

i agree, coffee shops looking and functioning like college dorm computer labs or unemployment offices for the creative professionals with nothing to do all day is annoying.

but it could hurt business i guess.

it will cut down on the stolen laptop market though. i cant tell you how naive some people are just leaving their laptops unattended in various places, this seems to happen most at starbucks tho. thankfully i have morals, and even tho i could really use a nice laptop, i won't go that route. id just wind up in the police blotter im sure anyway.


*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 6, 2009 9:41 AM

goldie, it would depend if I'm in the mood for a good arguement. I can be that way sometimes. :)

But like I said, i rarely sit in coffee shops. I do however walk by and notice all these asshat losers sitting there fragging away...probably on twitter or facebook or something equally lame like brownstoner.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 6, 2009 9:42 AM

you could always accidently spill coffee on their 4000 dollars macbooks keyboards. i dont think that's a crime, and then you can just run out. plus it will give them an excuse to go to a Mac Store, they all have the free time to do so anyway. im surprised that doesnt happen more often.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 6, 2009 9:44 AM

Never understood the whole coffe shop culture of just sitting there tapping on their lap top. I assumed they were there because they lived in a studio and wanted to interact with others, I was wrong.

Posted by: DeLepp at August 6, 2009 9:53 AM

Bxgrl beat me to it, but wonderful photo, Mrs. L! I love how the fountain water spray becomes an impressionistic background. Nicely done!

Posted by: Montrose Morris at August 6, 2009 9:57 AM

that isnt fountainwater spray. that's someone dumping a latte' on a man wearing no shirt typing on his laptop!

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 6, 2009 10:00 AM

I've walked out of Naidre's many times when I could not find a seat at peek hours, due to oblivious laptop table hogs. But really, there shouldn't be problem when it's not the brunch/lunch rush. I think it's silly for a coffee shop to ban laptops at times when the place would otherwise be pretty empty. Teabags cost a few cents so the profit margin is pretty good on that... PS: Some people really are doing work and not just checking Facebook.

Posted by: Carol Gardens at August 6, 2009 10:09 AM

why are they doing work at coffee shop. Maybe just checking brownstoner blog.
I do wonder what these people do that just hang out at starbucks,etc with the computers. I know overanalyzing - but I think they are so wrapped up in personal world yet pine for some people interaction but don't know quite how.
SO by sitting in public rather than in their lonely apt. -they somehow think they are interacting with real world other people.

Posted by: Petebklyn at August 6, 2009 10:17 AM

Bar Toto actually has a sign that says laptop use is ok when it's slow and you want to linger but come busy time, put them away. (not a quote just my recollection). That seems like a win for all. Else use that password system that some places put on receipts. You want wifi access? buy something to get the password. these places are businesses not public libraries and if you are really doing work then go to the library, do the work, get it over with and then go get a coffee/drink and watch people go by or actually have a talk.

Posted by: GeorgeAppo at August 6, 2009 10:20 AM

To me I detect some sexual jealousy behind some of the interaction between the owner and Ms Moots.

Who wants one cup of coffee for hours and hours? It gets cold, WTF.

When I grad school I used to go to a local coffeehouse and read, always cognizant of wanting a hot beverage nearby to sip.

Laptops users who sit for hours without buying are like children.

Posted by: infinitejester at August 6, 2009 10:29 AM

The worst though is Barnes & Noble, the students sitting in the cafe studying with books they pulled from the shelves, one person sitting at a table with three chairs, completely covering the entire surface.

Posted by: infinitejester at August 6, 2009 10:30 AM

I'll join the chorus of bxgrl and Montrose Morris to say that's a mighty fine photo.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at August 6, 2009 10:41 AM

Yep, Kudos on the photo, Mrs. L!

Posted by: tinarina at August 6, 2009 10:46 AM

Mrs Limestone: - that's a gorgeous photo

I seriously think the Mac stores should open up a cafe that way all the fancy mac users can head over there and type away at their leisure

I too have skipped out on Naidres when it's super busy with laptop hoggers or worse the mommy crowd with 2 kids occupying two tables in the corner. Some people are just inconsiderate!

Posted by: gemini10 at August 6, 2009 10:49 AM

Laptop users, like cell phone users back in 2000, are just here to stay. No reason to give them unfettered rights to hang out all day tho.

Posted by: infinitejester at August 6, 2009 10:58 AM

I had a tenant who was a writer, and he used to go to Naidre's and the like because he needed a change of scenery from his home office, so I get why people do it. And I don't have a problem with people camping out when a place isn't busy. But, it's ridiculous when you go into Naidre's early on a Weekend morning and most of the tables are already taken by individuals with their laptops and, typically, an empty coffee cup. (As an aside, I used to love Naidre's but stopped going because I found the quality of their food went way downhill.)

Posted by: CarrollGardened at August 6, 2009 10:58 AM

There are a few really excellent restaurants in manhattan that prohibit the use of cell phones.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 6, 2009 11:25 AM


This will have a huge impact on the freelance writer community, much of whom will retreat back to the park benches, basement and kitchen table home offices, shared squatter loft apartments, building stoops and bathrooms from whence they came.

Posted by: East New York at August 6, 2009 11:40 AM

so i know there are cellphone jammers you can buy through europe....i almost got one to knock out the service of a.holes speaking loudly in restaurants and the train (but didnt b/c i know i'd abuse it). anyone know if there's something similar to knock out wireless internet reception?

Posted by: goldie at August 6, 2009 11:55 AM

Thanks for picking my photo :)

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at August 6, 2009 6:29 PM

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