Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Bloomie Does The Right Thing-

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2003 21:07:53 -0500

"Shush!": New York City Mayor Bloomberg Vetoes Cell Phone Bill
Wed Jan 15, 2:06 PM ET

Andrew Gans Playbill On-Line

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has vetoed the bill banning cell phone use, which was introduced
Aug. 15, 2002, by Councilman
Phil
Reed at New York's City Hall.

The Associated Press reports that Bloomberg's letter to the city clerk said, "We do not
hesitate to shush.
Some standards of conduct, not directly affecting public health or safety, can best be
enforced not
through legislation but through less formal means.''

Bloomberg said that the bill, which would make cell phone use illegal "any place where
members of the
public assemble to witness cultural, recreational or educational activities," would be too
difficult, if not
impossible, to enforce.

The City Council does have enough votes to override the Mayor's veto; however, it is
unclear when such a vote would take
place. The New York City Council's Consumer Affairs Committee had passed the bill - by a
vote of four to one - Nov. 19, 2002.

Councilman Reed previously said, "A lot of people - most people, a majority of people -
want to obey the law. It's like the
penal code, the health code - there's no smoking in a restaurant, people don't do it. But
right now, turning off a cell phone is a
request; it's not a law. If it's helpful to the management of the theatre, that's a good
thing - it's empowering to be able to say, 'You're violating the law, it's against the law
to talk on the phone, turn it off.' And if you have somebody who's going to continue to
talk and talk and talk, the management can insist they stop. They can say, 'I'm going to
get a police officer.'"

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=89&u=/playbill/20030115/en_playbill/77334&printer=1

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/