Posted on 08/07/2014 8:32:15 PM PDT by conservative98
They were the ultimate symbol of the lawlessness and blight of the 1980s and early 1990s — and now they’re making a comeback.
Squeegee men are menacing motorists across New York City, including spots near the Holland, Lincoln and Queens-Midtown tunnels, as well as the Queensboro Bridge, The Post has learned.
Residents and drivers who pass through the areas said the panhandlers are spraying and wiping windshields without permission to shake down drivers for cash.
Benthins, who has also been seen with a squeegee near Times Square, was using a wadded-up copy of the amNewYork free newspaper as a rag.
In the ’80s and ’90s, a couple of bad apples downtown would vandalize cars if you didn’t give them money.
“I haven’t seen those guys in 20 years. I’m a grandma now — the last time I saw one of them, my kids were in the car.”
“When I seen that one, I was f- -king shocked,” she added, noting he hides his squeegee gear and “pretends to direct traffic” whenever cops come by.
The resurgence of the squeegee scourge comes despite Mayor de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton’s publicly stated support for a continuing crackdown on “quality-of-life” crimes.
Bratton had run the squeegee men out of business during his first stint as top cop under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who branded them a “menace” in his 1993 mayoral campaign.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Setting hobos on fire seems a little extreme, but it certainly is an object lesson.
The rest of us could put: “Flamethrower On Board” decals on our cars windows, and bums would give us a wide berth.
I suppose this isn’t very compassionate, but Christmas is still months away and I won’t care then either. Anyway.
Perhaps a couple of them ARE her kids! /s;)
You forgot that law abiding citizens are not allowed to be armed in NYC. Unless you’re stinking rich and/or famous.
seriously, I don’t care about people that purposely vote in leftist..
STK (Shoot to Kill)
CC
“A columnist in The Sun, Wiley Hall, referred to them as “young entrepreneur.””
It’s a CONTROL THING. The idea is to TERRORIZE honest people so that they are easier controlled. Happens all over the world. New York City, for 20 years, was the EXCEPTION - it was a SAFE place, safer than many states even.
But life got “boring” and “unfair”, sot he people there, essentially, voted back in the Squeegee-Men. They sound silly complaining now.
Watch for the city to begin providing free Windex and squeegees to these poor innocent men trying to scratch out a living. And citations to the evil car drivers who resist.
I know this sounds mean, but that boy needs a haircut.
Why it always the half-white/half-black kids who grow two feet wide afros?
I NEVER see “regular” black folk wear their hair that way, and live in a town with a fairly sizeable black population.
Is that a way of “keepin’ it real?”
In NYC, BG (before Guiliani) I use to commute to school downtown and the squeegee brigade was everywhere. You expected to be confronted as soon as you came off the FDR Drive or West Side Highway. I remember once pulling up at a traffic light in the Village and here comes my own personal auto-detailer. He was at a corner with about 6 or 7 others (adds to the intimidation) and all around them on the ground were empty cans of Windex and empty bottles of Thunderbird (wino’s vintage of choice). The cans and bottles stood as testimony of their little thriving economy. They even had a cinder can with a fire going. Cops did nothing. Motorists usually yielded, rather than risking a confrontation. These were the days of the Sons of David Dinkins. Ah, the good ol’ days.
Another time, I was coming off the Tri-Borough Bridge, getting off uptown near Harlem and one crazed squeegee-wielder came at my car demanding money, spritzing the windshield with the dirty water already accumulated on the tool of his profession. Thankfully, the light changed before I had to decide how much to tip this fine contributor to society.
These folks are nothing but a menace to society.
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