The Wall Street Journal - 21.08.2019

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. **** Wednesday, August 21, 2019 |A8A

BYBENCHAPMAN

For the first time in its more

than 80-year history, the famed

Pepsi-Cola sign along the East

River in Long Island City,

Queens, will look different—at

least for a while. And some resi-

dents find the change hard to

swallow.

The nearly 60-foot tall sign,

which was added to the city’s

list of landmarks in 2016, will in-

clude an illuminated JetBlue logo

for the next couple of months. A

lit-up blue arrow and a picture of

an airplane in a cloud also will

be temporarily added to the sign.

The additions to the sign

started going up this week after

New York City granted Pepsi and

JetBlue approval for the changes.

The JetBlue signage will remain

until Oct. 1, according to the city,

as part of a promotion announc-

ing a partnership between the

two companies in which the air-

line will serve PepsiCo drinks.

Some Queens residents were

alarmed. Councilman Jimmy Van

Bramer, who represents Long Is-

land City, said some asked if it

was permanent. “It’s a pretty

significant change to a pretty

visible, iconic sign,” he said.

“Even if it’s temporary, it

shouldn’t be there.”

PepsiCo and JetBlue applied

for a permit for the temporary

installation in July, and it was

approved by Landmarks Preser-

vation Commission staffers, the

city said. A commission spokes-

woman said the permit didn’t re-

quire a hearing or further com-

munity approval because it won’t

be up for more than 180 days.

A spokesman representing

both PepsiCo and JetBlue said

the companies also received ap-

provals from the other entities

that control the park.

—Katie Honan

and Leslie Brody

A New York Police Depart-

ment sergeant will face a dis-

ciplinary trial this year over

her role in the 2014 death of

Eric Garner, Mayor Bill de Bla-

sio said on Tuesday.

Sgt. Kizzy Adonis is ac-

cused of failing to adequately

supervise former Officer Dan-

iel Pantaleo during a confron-

tation with Mr. Garner on a

Staten Island sidewalk, NYPD

officials said.

Police Commissioner James

O’Neill fired Mr. Pantaleo on

Monday for not releasing the

43-year-old Mr. Garner from a

chokehold as he tried to ar-

rest him for allegedly selling

loose cigarettes, even as Mr.

Garner struggled and com-

plained, “I can’t breathe.”

Sgt. Adonis was the super-

visor on the scene during the

incident, NYPD officials said.

Sgt. Adonis, who has

prohibited chokehold, but said

he might have made the same

mistake in similar circum-

stances.

Officer Pantaleo’s lawyer,

Stuart London, has said he

would appeal Mr. O’Neill’s de-

cision.

Mr. Garner’s death was

ruled a homicide by the city’s

chief medical examiner, but a

Staten Island grand jury in

2014 declined to indict Mr.

Pantaleo on criminal charges

related to the incident.

Federal prosecutors de-

clined to bring civil-rights

charges against Mr. Pantaleo

last month after concluding

they lacked sufficient evi-

dence to prove he willfully vi-

GREATER NEW YORK

served on the NYPD for 17

years and has no prior disci-

plinary history, didn’t respond

to requests for comment.

She was placed on modified

duty in 2016 concerning her

actions related to Mr. Garner’s

death but returned to her full

duties in 2018.

In a television interview

broadcast on Tuesday, Mr. de

Blasio said Sgt. Adonis’s ad-

ministrative trial would be the

NYPD’s last disciplinary action

in connection with the Garner

case.

“That will be concluded

this year,” the mayor said of

the trial for Sgt. Adonis. “That

will end all the disciplinary is-

sues being handled by the

NYPD.”

Mr. Garner, who lived on

Staten Island, died after offi-

cers, including Mr. Pantaleo,

attempted to arrest him in

front of a store.

Mr. Pantaleo was accused

of recklessly using force by

chokehold and intentional

strangulation.

In announcing his decision

to fire Mr. Pantaleo on Mon-

day, Mr. O’Neill faulted the

34-year-old officer for using a

olated Mr. Garner’s rights.

Mr. Garner’s mother, Gwen

Carr, said in an interview

Tuesday that Mr. O’Neill

should fire Sgt. Adonis for

failing to prevent her son’s

death, and urged him to act as

soon as possible.

“All of the officers who

were involved in my son’s

death should stand account-

able,” Ms. Carr said. “Charges

were brought years ago. Why

are we waiting now?”

Mr. O’Neill’s decision to

fire Mr. Pantaleo was wel-

comed by advocates of law-

enforcement reform, includ-

ing Ms. Carr. But the

commissioner still faces criti-

cism for not taking a more

aggressive approach to police

accountability.

Mr. O’Neill also faces oppo-

sition from the police union.

Police Benevolent Associa-

tion President Patrick Lynch

on Monday called for a vote of

no confidence in the commis-

sioner in response to Mr. Pan-

taleo’s termination.

“The police commissioner

needs to know he’s lost his

police department,” Mr. Lynch

said.

NYPD Sergeant Faces Disciplinary Trial

Kizzy Adonis is

accused of failing to

adequately supervise

ex-Officer Pantaleo

Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, said Sgt. Adonis should be fired for not preventing her son’s death.

BEBETO MATTHEWS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Iconic Pepsi Sign in Queens Will Share Top Billing With JetBlue

MARK KAUZLARICH FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

needs more regulations sur-

rounding the ticket sellers.

“Requiring companies to be

transparent and honest with

their customers should be the

universal standard,” she said

in a statement.

Statue Cruises is the only

boat line permitted to take

people to Liberty and Ellis is-

lands. It sells tickets that cost

$18.50 for adults online and at

Castle Clinton, the historic

fort in the Battery near the

dock.

The company didn’t imme-

diately respond to a request

for comment.

For years, some sellers have

tricked people into buying

tickets for boat rides that

don’t stop at either island,

barraging visitors with

pitches, officials said.

Sometimes people from

other boat companies wear T-

shirts or vests with an image

of the Statue of Liberty, which

confuses people, officials said.

They often sell one-hour

boat tours for up to $40 a per-

son that just sail around the

statue’s base without stop-

ping. Some vendors take peo-

ple on a bus to get to boats

that leave from other piers.

Ms. Chin said the proposed

rule would help, but the city

also needs to develop more

regulations around the sales.

“While this is a great first

step, it is clear the city needs a

comprehensive framework to

address the aggressive and

fraudulent ticket selling prac-

tices that have spoiled too many

Statue of Liberty experiences

and—in extreme cases—have

put lives in danger,” she said.

Vendors hawking tickets to

the Statue of Liberty would

have to let buyers know if

their boat will actually land at

Liberty Island under a pro-

posed rule that New York City

officials hope will help rein in

aggressive and illegal pitches.

The rule, proposed by the

city’s Department of Con-

sumer and Worker Protection,

would also require sellers to

disclose on the ticket whether

their boat will dock at nearby

Ellis Island, home of the Ellis

Island National Immigration

Museum.

It would also prohibit ticket

sellers from charging people

for a ride that should be free,

like the Staten Island Ferry, or

lying about where the boat

will stop. It isn’t clear what

the penalty for violations

would be.

The changes come after the

city has battled illegal ticket

sellers who often bombard un-

suspecting tourists at the Bat-

tery, a park at the tip of Man-

hattan where boats to the

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Is-

land depart.

A spokeswoman for the city

said the proposed rule would

protect consumers, especially

tourists, from being scammed.

There will be a Sept. 16 hear-

ing on the proposal before it

becomes an official rule.

City Councilwoman Marga-

ret Chin, a Democrat who rep-

resents lower Manhattan, said

the proposed rule would help

bring order to what can be a

chaotic and hostile environ-

ment. But she thinks the city

BYKATIEHONAN

City to Clamp Down

On Statue of Liberty

Tour-Boat Scams

Ballyhoo is negotiating a

settlement with the city, a com-

pany spokesman said. City Hall

representatives didn’t return

an email seeking comment.

In a statement, Ballyhoo

CEO Adam Shapiro said its

operations wouldn’t be de-

terred by the new state law.

Company lawyers said they

believe it simply offers clarity

about what can be displayed.

“Ballyhoo intends to con-

tinue providing an innovative

platform that encourages cre-

ativity, collaboration and com-

munity,” Mr. Shapiro said.

Democrat from Manhattan, in-

troduced legislation in June

after New York City officials

sued Ballyhoo Media, which

operates digital billboards.

The company, which

launched in Miami, started us-

ing a barge in New York last

October.

The city claimed in federal

court that the floating bill-

boards were a public nuisance

and violated zoning laws. The

city established water-based

advertising restrictions in

1964, according to court pa-

pers.

1,500 feet of their shore.

“This action will help make

our waters more enjoyable

and safer for everyone,” Mr.

Cuomo said Tuesday.

Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Dem-

ocrat who represents parts of

Manhattan’s West Side, said

floating billboards are an eye-

sore, as well as a distraction

to drivers and other boaters.

“Billboards belong in Times

Square, not in the middle of

the Hudson and East rivers,”

he said in a statement.

Mr. Hoylman and Assem-

blyman Richard Gottfried, a

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed

a law Tuesday banning float-

ing digital billboards in New

York—flashing fixtures on the

waterways around Manhattan.

The new law, which takes

effect immediately, bans ves-

sels from operating, mooring

or docking in state waters

while displaying a billboard

that uses “flashing, intermit-

tent or moving lights.”

It also allows localities

across the state to regulate

such floating billboards within

BYJIMMYVIELKIND

Gov. Cuomo Signs a Law Banning Floating Digital Billboards

Ticket sellers engaged tourists in lower Manhattan in July.

The Morgan Library & Mu-

seum is the latest New York

City cultural organization to

go gourmet.

The institution is collabo-

rating with the James Beard

award-winning chef Tom

Colicchio to revamp the menu

at its dining spaces, the Mor-

gan said.

Mr. Colicchio plans to bring

a contemporary American ap-

proach to the culinary offer-

ings at the Morgan, which has

been a fixture in Manhattan’s

Murray Hill neighborhood for

nearly a century.

The menu items he has set

for the Morgan range from a

Wagyu burger with balsamic

onions to chicken paillard with

heirloom tomatoes.

Mr. Colicchio is behind a

number of New York City res-

taurants, including the ac-

claimed Craft, which opened in

2001. He also is the head judge
      and executive producer of “Top
      Chef,” the TV cable series.
      Restaurant Associates , the
      New York City company that
      handles dining operations at
      several cultural institutions lo-
      cally and nationally, led the
      push to bring Mr. Colicchio to
      the Morgan.
      Earlier this year, Restaurant
      Associates announced a similar
      effort at the Metropolitan Mu-
      seum of Art’s main location on
      Fifth Avenue, where it brought
      the Michelin-starred chef John
      Fraser aboard. Restaurant As-
      sociates has managed dining at
      the museum for decades.
      The partnerships between

the culinary and cultural worlds

go beyond these examples.

Union Square Hospitality

Group, the New York City res-

taurant company headed by

Danny Meyer, runs dining es-

tablishments at the Museum

of Modern Art and the Whit-

ney Museum of American Art.

Union Square also recently

launched Cedric’s, a bar at The

Shed, the cultural center con-

nected to the Hudson Yards

development.

Also of note: Restaurateur

Stephen Starr, known for such

New York City establishments

as Morimoto, Upland and Le

Coucou, recently announced

that he will operate a “grand

cafe” at Fotografiska, a six-

story photography-exhibition

space in Manhattan slated to

open later this year.

Ed Brown, president of res-

taurant services for Restau-

rant Associates, said the push

to upgrade culinary programs

at cultural institutions reflects

a desire to offer a “holistic ex-

perience” that goes beyond

the art on the walls.

Mark Walhimer, a museum

consultant and author of the

book “Museums 101,” said the

gourmet emphasis could run

contrary to the need for cul-

tural institutions to welcome a

public that reflects the city’s

socioeconomic diversity. He

cautioned that not all attend-

ees could afford the upscale

dining options the institutions

are touting.

“I don’t know if that’s the

announcement you want to be

making in this climate,” Mr.

Walhimer said.

BYCHARLESPASSY

Chef to Redo Morgan Library Menu

KEVIN HAGEN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

The floating billboards have been outlawed in New York state.

STEVE REMICH FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

NY