More New York

Before taking the train to the Guggenheim, we stopped in a Mexican restaurant in Queens. I wasn’t terribly excited about it since I can get Mexican food in abundance in Indiana. Steve promised a cultural experience. Well! I’m always up for a cultural experience!

We had just ordered sodas (not pop) when a little Oriental woman stood at our table. “DVD? DVD?” She was selling newly minted pirate DVDs. We waved her off.

I asked Steve how common this is. Before he could answer, a second little Oriental woman was standing at our table. “DVD? DVD?” She must have walked right past the competition as she came in. We waved her off, too. I marveled.

Steve told me this is extremely common in Queens. You can get an almost unlimited supply of knock-off goods. I’ll post more on this later.

I asked why the restaurant owners tolerate solicitors. Steve posits they are seen as harmless. I offered that if it happened in Indiana, the owners would toss them out on their ears. He agreed that few other places in the US would tolerate it.

It’s interesting to me that in New York, one of the media centers of the world, pirate DVD media is so readily available. Is the lack of enforcement due to a fear of upsetting the largely immigrant hawkers of this gear? Is it a matter of police priorities, like nailing the murderers and rapists? I could find no answer.