Hey everybody, it’s THE RIDE, here to drop a little knowledge about some of the wackiest laws here in New York City. As you already may know, the city can be a strange place, a place filled with people that make you look twice, bizarre cultural norms, and a talking tour bus. In the grand scheme of things, I’m probably closer to the normal side of the scale when it comes to how weird things can get here.

As for the laws that make me scratch my roof, there are several that stand out. The first law that is still on New York City books from long ago is a law that prohibits flirting. It doesn’t say unwarranted flirting, just no flirting. The first offense is a $25 ticket, but the second requires the assailant to wear horse blinders when he goes outside. Even though I haven’t seen this enforced, I’d be willing to pay the fine to tell you that I’m free Saturday after work. That would have been better if I could wink.

The next bizarre law is one that prohibits running a puppet show from the window of your apartment. The way around this is to become a clown. Seriously folks, if you are caught puppeteering in your window even reenacting Shakespeare’s The Tempest, my favorite, you could be subject to thirty days in prison.
“Might I but through my prison once a day
Behold the Bryant Park Zamboni: all corners else o’ the earth
Let liberty make use of; space enough
Have I in such a prison.”

The last law, and reason I’m writing this blog from my garage this fine morning, is one governing the sale of Christmas trees on the sidewalks. Most New Yorkers don’t own cars, so it’s tough to go to the country (New Jersey) to pick up a tree. We have to rely on street vendors in order to pick up our trees, and can’t go buy one until December. This law started in 1938, and is still enforced today. After you RIDE and walk around the city streets, take in whiff of the pine-scented air. For it is only this time of year when the city smells like a forest.