Forty Pictures, Forty thoughts, and a Happy Memorial Day to All..from The King Of New York Hacks.

Ahhhhhh, the things I see during the course of the King's day.....Only in New York.


Well, as we reach this Memorial Day weekend and gas prices go up and unemployment is rising, although with all those bailouts you'd think someone would get hired but unfortunately no one is and my taxi career is always a witness to history. History repeats itself as it is now with all the Madoffs, Bear Stearn's, and Lehman Brothers of yesterday, so too were the First Boston, Robertson Stephens, Alex Brown, Artur Anderson's and Henry Blodgetts ( who is barred from the industry, but is allowed to be a consultant...That REALLY makes sense. ) of yesterday.

All these firms were in the gutter with Frank Quattrone, Jack Grubman (yup banned from Wall St, and a host of other thieves , one whom I consider Jim Cramer.) He was a guest voice on CNBC back then and apologized after the internet bubble for his AND CNBC's reccomendations, only to become a TV show idiot with horns and whistles who tell the people to buy Bear Stearns at over $100 !!!! Click here if ya don't believe me Cramer and Bear . He is one of Elliot Spitzer's oldest friends. 'Nuff said ...all I'm saying is Wall Street is in the gutter as it was then , is now, and one day will not be....AGAIN !!....yes thats a sewer cap right next to the gutter...how appropriate. Have faith people, we always overcome.






I'm not going to comment much on the photo's of this post...just enough so you won't get bored. This is ON Wall St as I walk down it. 7am in the morning. As it gets warmer, so does the homeless population who take refuge in the streets because it is safer than a shelter...The King knows this firsthand.





As you can see Wall Streeters aren't too concerned with this young man's trouble's as he looks a little hopeless. I don't like seeing this at all. No matter who is at fault..the young man, his past , or the help available to him. I just don't like seeing it....and yes , I gave him a buck. Am I a sucker ?? I don't know..maybe I don't want to know.



Kindness on Wall ST ??? Is that an oxymoron ???? ( his sign says kindness helps )




Apparently an article from The New York Tymes from January has gotten some legs to it and the buzz around town says the next election has begun...




Should this become true , this is a close up view of the currency I shall guarantee everyone will not lose to criminal politicians or inappropriate fiscal behavior. I also wont spend unnecessary money to put state logo's on the back of them, since we are supposed to be UNITED. I take all suggestions on what should be on the back of it ....this should be interesting ...LOL







Nothing like taking the train to one of the few garages I drive a taxi from, and looking at the conductor of the adjacent train and seeing the look on his face as I snap a pic. When I was younger my friends used to give the dude the bird to invoke a reaction . I was tempted , but refrained, not that The King never did that....well maybe once. ;-)





......and it is quite a surreal feeling when you're in an underground tunnel and your train matches up feet away from another at a high speed and everything seems at a standstill. Some time's you make eye contact with someone, and when I do, I stick my tongue or fuck with them somehow just to see what they will do . Over the years I've had the responses of sticking their tongue out back at me, picking their nose, silent screaming, or the bird...and that's just off the top of my head. I did this in London too, which received the same applause. People are pretty much the same everywhere. In this case..one dude on a train reading a paper...very RARE indeed...but cool in my mind ...am I insane or creative..I thought the shot was the shit.






I always hydrate before I work the taxi so I don't have to use a rest room too much during the night. Just trying to find a fucking bathroom in New York City is a chore and everyone thinks a Hack is a slob, so they don't want you to use their toilet. How DARE they judge the KING !!!!!! So I always use the beautiful lavatory at my garage before I hit the road ...THANK GOD for the fly trap or I might have my penis mistaken for a peanut...or a small prune. LOL




Hmmmmmm....yeeeeahhhhhh....no need for towels to dry my hands with this dispenser at the garage.... which is why I use Purell, ALL the time when I'm driving. Swine Flu, dirty money, and.....I don't know WHAT disease would be named for after this freaking horror.






BUT !!!!!!!!!.....If I did want to dry my hands, just go over to the trustworthy stall that has the best "you can't steal toilet paper from me" lock !!!! I wonder who is responsible for this action.





My first stop after leaving this particular garage...Roosevelt and Main St, Queens...very busy intersection in the Flushing, Queens....hmmm ...Flushing, is there a name theme to my garage's nature. I also dig the way I have a street light in my side view mirror almost the same as the one in it. Hey ,.........
what can I say I AM A PHOTOGRAPHER !!!! LMAO !!!!!






Now THIS is GRIDLOCK , if I was where the school bus is I would be surrounded by 50 damn traffic agents giving me tickets until my hack is suspended. Trust me , I'm serious, DO NOT block the box , which is those intersecting lines you see the pedestrians crossing or you WILL pay....through the ass I mind you. .






This shot was taken because it looks like everyone is looking at something happening with the way their heads were turned...but when I looked at that kid in the hoodie's face, he doesn't have a care in the world..probably has an IPOD in his ears, damn I gotta get me one of those to ignore the world too. I love this pic.






.......and as I looked in the direction they were looking at all I could see was this. Balloon in the wires which reminded me of my last post of the sneakers and shoes in the wire. All of the comments to my post were great leading me to believe that this new ritual of balloons in the wire was not some youngster who lost his grip on a string , yet it was the new ritual , and some 95 year old man or woman lost their virginity. LOL .....Good for them ....Congrats.






Another what if moment...what if a taxicab blows the red light ?...
Pedicab-man can do ANYTHING !! Be safe !!!! Take a yellow !! Better yet ...TAKE THE KING !!




So at one red light I noticed one of the few pay phones on a side street left in New York City, a Verizon one at that. ....Sex Shop ??? Oh yeah !! There is a sex shop behind it ...geez I wouldn't have even noticed it, not if it weren't for you observing perverted fans !!! LOL Thanks all !! She does have a nice body to make a phone call though 'eh ?? LMAO




Bag VS Bus VS Taxi to the red light ....unfortunately Bag winds ..Ahem WINS , every time....damn winds, if I could only drive a sailboat down Broadway I'd win all day and night.





Believe it or not , this homeless gentleman has all these bottles on ONE postal hamper which is orange and ONE shopping cart. He may be homeless, but it looks to me as if he works his ASS off everyday collecting these bottles. Click on the pic to see the balance. Talent.





Now as The King of New York Hacks , you better damn well know where New Utrecht and 71st is in Brooklyn or you can forget the frigggin tip .....all I can say is the birds are against GPS, and don't forget it you regular map people !! Technology sucks and ALWAYS breaks down !!!




See what I'm saying. this is the pigeon FLEW(a.k.a FLU).... over the sign disease !!!...I know I know ...it's a a stupid joke I'm SORRY !!!! I'm filling blog time !! ;-)


In my prior post Pop and Ice called me handsome being that I posted real pics of myself on two post's previous about the kidney transplant in my family. If you want to see real pics of me if you haven't seen them on top of a good story then click here. KONYH9/11.

There are only certain cabs that are HANSOME in my city , and this is who they are and what they look like. I'll take them over a Kentucky Derby winner anyday !! However thanks Pop and Ice for the kudos !!!





If you want to see a pic The King can compare when he was REALLLY young, check out my 9/11 post when I worked at 4 World Trade Center when your done with this one. It starts with a picture of me from 1989. Nuff said !!...and DO NOT make fun of my hair !!!..... Damn that horse looks great next to my taxi.....and my old hair.



So as I finish my shift and pay the dispatcher, they are generous enough to let this Homeless Haitian dude sleep there all the time...I have NEVER seen him awake...groggy , maybe once or twice...he also claims to have dated Big Bird who is a lady of the evening and night if you follow my blog....Scary.




Now when I get on the train home whether it be Queens, Long Island or in this particular night Staten Island, there is never a lack of New York. This Tranny was talking shit to everyone before he/she passed out...he/she was hitting on the bright red headed chick next to her and in mid sentence ....KA -- PUT ..sleeping!!! ,,,I was just wondering along the ride if she is a trannie or a Train-ee being on the 1 train. Bad pun ?? C'mon !?!?!? Give the King a break !!





Always a sad sight , I checked to see if the baby carriage had a child in it, and thankfully it was just for storage . Still, NOT what I like to see on the way home.






....and the gentleman across from her.....no place to sleep ...but SAFER than the alternatives.




Long ride home on the subway...everyone's tired..drunk...or homeless.




OH MY GOD !!!!! THEY KILLED KENNY !!!! ...If you don't watch South Park you won't get it...just a joke people !!!....funny in my mind if you do !!







A clear sign that the times are rough when you enter the Staten Island Ferry and ........................it looks hopeless.







..only to find yourself amongst the living dead....I'm serious. I ..AM A ZOMBIE KILLA !!!




I use a mode on my camera so no flash wakes you up ...but this dude had zombie hearing.





....even in a zombie mode they can text..






...and IN a group thay may be lethal !!!! But more likely entertaining !! HAHAHAH !!!






Shot out of focus , but by 5 AM so am I , him , and YOU !!!!








In all this chaos ..there is true love ...Wuthering Heights on the Staten Island Ferry !! Nuff Said !




Dude was snoring so loud , just had to share it with ya !!





Ski Mask ???? Trust me....this cat ain't robbin' no banks in the next hour !




If there is a walkway to Heaven ...or Hell... I would walk this path , it looks pretty cool ....that is thee walkway onto the Staten Island Ferry !!.....before it is lowered to the ferry silly folks.




This following picture is one I took during my walk of 9/11 last year and the story that accompanies it. America !!

So , in closing everybody ....my day is no more busy than yours as we walk the plank of this untidy ship we call America.....but let us not forget however untidy, however economically challenged , or challenged in any way ....we are still The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA !





And as we stand together and remain so .. and hope all the war's end...well I do anyway...and I also hope that one day .....well one day we will have....PEACE. .....and as my man D.C. Cabbie says which is never less than the real motherfucking deal......Please don't forget the homeless.

Coming to you live , trust me , it's a hard motherfuckin' task, but we shall overcome. Peace out peeps , and a Happy Memorial day to all my brothers and sisters overseas responsible for letting me drive my Taxi and remain ....The King Of New York Hacks.

The King, The Spring, and The Kid from Brooklyn BADA-BING !!!

Well, Spring is here and the King is roaming the streets of New York again....it feels good.... damn good.

It's good to be back, and it seems as if every corner I turn there is a moment I have missed and another opportunity for a frozen moment of the city that I could have juxtaposed for you , and me.

The seasons changing, the smells exchanging, and the King, well... aging...slowly I remind you.

They all fit together quite appropriately I guess, however not to my liking. One of the great visuals of New York City which is what many of us see in the Big Ole Apple, and forget to stop and look sometimes is the lighting. This is where I introduce the "El"and what the "El" can bring. "El" is short for elevated platform that a train runs on here in NYC, doesn't matter what train it is , the R, the 7, the G...You're on the "L"...These days , most don't call it that but no matter, you are on an "EL", an "Elevated train". They might be my initials too , but that's for another time. My first pic is how the sun BEAMS through the rails of an "EL" and the unique sight it brings, aside from hearing the train run through as you are below it , this is as good as it gets. I'll get a video of it when a train goes by in the near future since now it's warm and I can stand outside my car for a while.




This is 37th ST Queens on my way to LaGuardia Airport to hopefully pick up a fair REAL quick....if you click on the pic, you can actually see the petals blowing off the tree on this great unnatural 85 degree day. It also makes the pine tree on the left look as if it has Christmas lights on it from the petals blowing by. Click the pic to see.




Now these following lanterns are not associated with my prior Chinese New Year post... this was actually a movie set for a movie they were filming in Chinatown starring Nicholas Cage as a wizard or a magician. You don't see lanterns strewn across the street like this often, so kudos to the King please..........just kidding, ..........about the kudos not the facts.





This is the dude who was guarding "all the SH*T" from the movie as he put it ....he did not want fame so he declined on being named.


Very nice to see the courts being used once again after a long winter slumber.



People just chillin' in the park, albeit they still NEED their cell phone.




The layers of clothing not needed and soon will hang in the closet for a while.




Another great thing about New York City is ART.....it moves ....it crawls ....sometimes it RUNS !!!! .....but if you have a chance, and see something you like, ...STOP...breathe , and REALLY take a look at what you are experiencing, it may be the one of a kind you are looking for, or it is a piece that will make you smile under the Mona Lisa asking price. For example, take a good look at the following involved....Bruce Lee, The Wall Street Bull and John Lennon....they would be a nice trio in the backseat of my yellow cab...or on my wall. I had the exact same poster of Bruce Lee on my wall when I was growing up...Good times.





An interesting sight to see when the sun is beaming down on us is the Chinese people in Chinatown opening umbrellas or parasols to protect their skin from the sun. Better than sunblock and a lot cheaper too, not to mention it's a smart thing to protect your body.
In ancient China, they oiled paper and bamboo parasols to represent wealth and royalty, just a little King history lesson folks.






This cool cat couldn't keep still as I watched him sit down and get up three times on this hot day during a long red light. I could not see what the sign said, so I pulled up next to him as he was walking away and snapped this pic only to read what it said at my next red light.




....and I must have looked like a looney tune laughing to myself as I read his needy quote to raise funds for himself. He is on my "need to get a video of " list. I wonder how much money he raises for his cause every day. I haven't tried his website yet either, but I know I'll probably try LOL !!



This is the new taxi hybrid to save fuel by giving the passenger some real air conditioning and to have a better riding experience of the city. Kidding. This is actually a picture of what happens when passengers who do not tip us are in our cab. We have a secret button which ejects the entire back end of the car and we don't have to deal with you, and you wind up in the East River. Kidding again. ;-) ..........or am I ?





The changing of the seasons is related with changing our sneakers or shoes....and what to do with your old pair ?? Up into sneaker heaven New York City style !! Just tie them together and throw upward to have your expired pair live on with a current of electricity !!
This New York City ritual has always made me smile.



I wonder who takes these down every year....Con Edison ? Must be a funny day at work !!
I'll bet at the end of the day the worker says, "This stinks !"...sorry, I couldn't resist the pun.




I also went up to the Bronx and saw my first Yankee game at the new stadium. I'll do a blog about the stadium after I go to a day game to give you my full opinion of it, but I was disappointed with it. However, the neighborhood never disappoints the experience of a game.
I really don't know what you would call this store, a pawn shop ??
Repair shop ??

Ear piercings...but you sell your earrings after the piercing ? ...or take a loan to keep them !!

MESS WELCOME ?!?!? WTF ?!?!??!???? Only in New York.



.......and even better is the slogan on the security gate when this place is closed. Some people will do anything for a FREE condom. The economy sure brings out the generosity in people.





I was fortunate to have my first visit be a successful win, which is always good. These are the new video screens outside the stadium to let you know who won, and who they are playing next.




Now, here comes the BADA BING part of the story. When I go to Yankee Stadium I always stop by the Yankee Tavern for a refreshment before I go in, and its where I meet my cousin who gave me a ticket to the game. So anyway, as I'm walking in I bump into the infamous Big Man, The Voice of the People, The guy who makes you think about it and is ALWAYS happy to see ya', Mike Caracciolo who is better known as THE KID FROM BROOKLYN !! He made a video a few years ago about terrorism and going to a Yankee game called "Bat Day" which was great, and is how I found him. He has MANY videos on youtube and they are very entertaining.

I used to call him on the phone and suggest ideas to him and also if I needed tickets to an event. He is a ticket broker, but his videos, his Brooklyn stories, and his New York nature are what he is known for best. I told him I'd post about him on my site, he is a real gentleman. I'll post the pic I had my cousin take of The Kid from Brooklyn and The King of New York Hacks when I write about the stadium, but this was truly a great New York moment.



Here is a video of The Kid From Brooklyn ranting about dinner with his friend "Pete The Nut".
Every neighborhood has its own ''nut'', and I'm sure we all have a similar story, I know I have a few. There is foul language, but it's true Brooklyn lingo, so you've been warned.







Watching these breakdancers almost made The King start poppin' the robot to the tune....but I didn't want to steal their thunder....or the money they were makin' while breakin' . These cats are in better shape than most of the Yankees and are much more entertaining.






Slick New York City moves, that handstand move is called Hand Hopping or Rabbits in breakdance terminology ...sorry for the poor lighting....and no I'm not breakin' right now........OK...Yes I am....doing the belly swim, Holla !!





I think this last picture sums up how we'll get through these tough economic times, just like Mickey and Minnie do...Living in Harmony....or at least try to.



So in closing, I hope you like the change of the seasons and this small slice of the city, I never did get to see Nicholas Cage on the street of that movie set but I was lucky enough to see the REAL people who make this city beat to the drum of diversity and the moments that help me maintain my own rhythmic journey as I drive these city streets and bring the best of what I see to you as I faithfully remain, The King of New York Hacks. Peace out peeps.