Monday’s Headlines: Bizarre ‘Respect’ From the NYPD Edition

The other day, Friend of Streetsblog (and "Brooklyn Italian" cookbook author) Daniel Paterna sent us pictures of a private security company squad car that looked so much like an NYPD squad car that a clear case could be made for copyright infringement. (We suppose the only people who would be fooled by the Citywide Security slogan, "DEP: Dedicated Experienced Professional" that is trying to rip off the NYPD's "CPR: Courtesy Professional Respect" are people who believe both are true.)

Then Friend of Streetsblog JarekFA pointed out that many non-police outfits swipe NYPD iconography in what we have to believe is an effort to appear to be real cops

Well, we asked the NYPD if it ever sends cease-and-desist letters to fake cops pretending to be real cops, but the agency didn't want to get into it — in a bizarre fashion:

"We respectfully decline to comment," said NYPD spokeswoman Sgt. Jessica McRorie.

Respectfully? To us? To the fake cops? McRorie declined additional comment.

In other news:

• Here's the Times Metro story about New Yorkers fleeing to the suburb that launched a million tweets (including a great one by Harry Siegel). We'll save for another day a full refutation of Matthew Haag's contention that New York City is dead (for a tiny number of well-to-do people), but we were especially bothered by a picture of Maplewood, N.J. with a better open street program than ours!
• Meanwhile, the Post turned a specious Curtis Sliwa tip into its own story (and a follow up!) on the supposed exodus.
• But the West Side Rag published probably the most accurate story on the trend: the saga of a New Yorker who moved to Vermont and realized she hated it.
• Corey Johnson and teacher's union head Michael Mulgrew collaborated on a Daily News op-ed asking Albany to give the city the right to borrow millions.
• The Post did a story about how hard it is to be a pedicab driver when there are no tourists in town, which was sort of reminiscent of our story about tour buses — minus the pollution.
• The City submitted another exhibit into evidence that the NYPD under Dermot Shea is not a Vision Zero partner to the city DOT. The story by Jose Martinez and former Streetsblogger Peter Senzamici revealed that cops basically park in bus lanes all over the place.
• Great minds think alike edition: We solicited an op-ed from the transit workers union last week, but John Samuelsen and Tony Utano gave it to the Daily News instead.
• An NYPD detective was arrested for drunk driving. (NY Post)
• Is this even legal? Long Island City residents have hired private security guards to patrol a nearby park, charging visitors with "anti-social" behavior. (LIC Post)
• Front-door boarding (aka fares) are back on city buses starting today, amNY reminded.
• A woman who celebrated her 111th birthday offered the secret to longevity. "I never had a car. I used to walk a lot," she told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
• Larry Penner, the most prolific former federal transit official, is back with an op-ed in Newsday about the shortcomings of the Port Authority's "Wrong Way" AirTrain. He also had a piece in Railway Age about the shortcomings of the Moynihan Station plan.
• Speaking of prolific, if there is a person more committed to exposing the hypocrisy and lies being told by car lovers in Morris Park than Bronx resident Michael Kaess, we haven't met him or her yet!

• And, finally, why does the NYPD defend racist offensive actions by individual officers, such as this racist "challenge coin" produced by the 67th Precinct in Brooklyn? (Gothamist)

Speaking of which, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea will join the mayor's daily press conference today for what seems like the first time in weeks. Let's all ask him about why cops are declining to do their job out of frustration that it's now illegal to choke a suspect — or, as Mayor de Blasio put it on Thursday, the chokehold law that he just signed needs to be rewritten because of "this horrible gun violence we're seeing." Huh?