Last Updated: 2:10 AM, October 4, 2010
Posted: 1:57 AM, October 4, 2010
Life on Manhattan's East Side stopped dead for the last two weeks as global bigwigs from the United Nations cruised into town aboard enormous, fuel-chugging SUVs, shutting down streets and racking up parking tickets, determined to prevent civilians from reaching office or home.
And you thought the United Nations was about ending poverty and promoting world peace. Hardly. We now know these guys spent sweaty days and nights shopping, entertaining and fine-dining, while you paid big bucks to protect their hides.
"Good riddance!" shouted a deli owner, who saw business plummet as access to his store was repeatedly blocked by cops and Secret Service. "Every year, it's worse."
This year's UN confab was a super-sized headache -- torturing Manhattan businesses and residents for three extra days as notables blathered on about wiping out global poverty and improving quality of life.
But these goals were pushed aside as diplomats got stuck in town over a weekend with little to do. For perhaps the first time, New Yorkers glimpsed the priorities of the badly dressed set: Spending. Eating. And insulting.
African media dubbed the UN session a "$2 million shopping trip" for Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, whose wife, Grace, sports a $40,000 Rolex while millions back home live in squalor.
From the United Nations' green marble podium, Mugabe blasted the West for slapping economic sanctions on him. That didn't stop Mugabe from prowling the lipstick aisle of a Midtown Duane Reade, under heavy security.
Iranian chucklehead Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who wore one suit throughout his six-day stay, told the General Assembly -- those who didn't walk out -- that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job perpetrated by the United States. He proceeded to have lavish, stinky meals delivered to his rooms at the Hilton, and secretly entertained Louis Farrakhan and fellow New Black Panthers at The Warwick.
It wasn't clear what the guys discussed, but I don't believe it was the Jewish festival of Sukkot.
The silliest international incident I gleaned involved a road trip to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets upstate. A witness told me he saw "caravans of three and four cars" carrying UN types roll up to the discount designer stores. And at least one NYPD cruiser.
"Upon arrival, all types of security spilled out of the cars, and off the groups went to spend, spend, spend," huffed the tipster.
"I am thrilled foreign visitors are contributing to our economy, but my tax dollar should not be used to subsidize their shopping. New York City derived no economic benefit from this trip, and it is not even remotely related to UN activities.
"I cannot imagine that the savings on the Chanel, Chloe and YSL purchases -- I saw the bags in the back of the various Escalades and sedans dropping [people] off near the Ugg store and then congregating behind Pink -- approximated the cost to the public for this shopping spree."
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne confirmed that two plainclothes detectives in a marked cruiser went on the junket, guarding a dignitary. They should have handed off security at the city line to the State Department. "The matter is under review," he said.
A source told me the shopaholic diplomat was Greek Foreign Minister Dimitros Droutsas. Who knew Greeks refuse to pay retail?
Here's the rub: Your tax money pays for this two-week party.
The NYPD gets reimbursed by the feds for $5 million to $7 million in security costs. This means the money you pay Uncle Sam funds the whole enchilada. Plus, State Department agents are required to take foreigners anywhere they please, even a distant shopping center, a diplomatic source said.
More than a decade ago, US Ambassador John Bolton said that if the United Nations "lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a difference."
How about the whole thing?
Pooch-nap predators dogging the 'burbs
Man's best friend has turned into a target.
A neighborhood is on edge after a couple's pet Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix puppy, Ellie, was snatched in a thunderstorm last month outside their Astoria, Queens, apartment.
"The worst part of all this is we've been getting phone calls from people saying they had our dog, saying horrible things to us," said Jeff Fralick, 40, who's papered the nabe with photos of Ellie, called the cops, and offered a $300 reward, to no avail.
Dognapping -- for ransom, a free pet, or for kicks -- is on the rise, reports the American Kennel Club, which advises owners against tying up pups outside. I may have little use for furry friends, but I despise predators even more. Don't take your eyes off precious pooches. They're more vulnerable than children, and they don't talk back.
Despairing Facebook kids need a help app
It's gone too far. My heart breaks for Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi, victimized by a roommate who allegedly streamed video of him engaged in gay sex on Twitter. Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge to his death. He announced his intentions, too late, on Facebook.
Who is policing social media? Last week, I wrote about a woman who was locked in a loony bin for a week after writing on Facebook, "I want to kill myself."
Facebook and Twitter have developed into powerful, worldwide confessionals, wielded as weapons by homophobes and creeps. No one monitors them for pain or cruelty. Scary.
Unions play hook-y
The city's quest to rid itself of a happy hooker/art teacher illustrates everything wrong with union-controlled schools.
Melissa Petro, 30, is so frightfully insecure, she boasted of being paid for sex. She was warned by bosses and colleagues at PS 70 -- not that there is no room in school for a trollop, but to keep her sexy career on the down-low. Instead, Petro, a liberated "feminist," wrote online about stripping and hooking, jobs she gave up as she got her hooks into kids three years ago.
Still, she was granted a job for life. Did school personnel participate in a cover-up? Bronx kids should not be subjected to a narcissist with sexual hang-ups. Heads should roll. But under ironclad union rules, cutting Petro loose will be a struggle.
IDIOTIC FED ROAD WORRIERS
Federal government pinheads demand that the city change every one of its 250,900 street signs from upper-case letters to a combination of upper and lower case -- a move city Transportation Commish Janette Sadik-Khan actually said will stop the signs from "shouting" at innocent motorists.
The cost to taxpayers for replacing perfectly good signage is a staggering $27.6 million. Someone has an uncle in the sign business.
So I'm shouting two words at wacky government spendthrifts: GET and LOST.
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