Having an Apple Store as your neighbor could give you (like everything Apple) a premium feel. But the premium comes with a cost. Kisan, a boutique next to the Apple Store on Prince Street, New York was handed a $300 ticket after the iPhone 6 fans camping out in front of the store ahead of the iPhone 6 release dumped huge trash on their doorstep.
iPhone 6 fans would sleep on cardboard outside the Apple Store
Apple fans had camped outside the stores weeks before the device hit the stores on September 19. According to Danielle Tcholakian of DNAInfo, the boutique was ticketed for $300 by the city for “loose rubbish” on September 20 as cardboard boxes were scattered in front of their store. Jamal Johns, an in-house security guard at the store, said he saw people camping outside Apple Store rummaging through garbage to find cardboard to sleep on.
The ticket wasn’t a big deal for Kisan. But owners of the store said when they return from a trip in Paris, they would bring the ticket to the Apple Store. According to the Department of Sanitation, the store owner is responsible for the area in front of their property. But if property owners believe that they have been handed a summons erroneously, they can challenge the summons before the Environmental Control Board.
Apple already knew what the situation would be
Robert Riccobono, vice chairman of Community Board 2 had suggested Apple Store manager David Hunt on September 19 that the store organize its lines in different directions each day. It wasn’t fair to torture the same businesses and residents every day, he wrote. Jamal Johns said Kisan was not affected in a big way from the crowd as it was on the opposite side of the street.
But many other stores had iPhone 6 fanatics in front of them the whole time, causing obstruction. Apple Store manager responded about a week later, telling Riccobono that the lines were now kept inside the store. However, Riccobono told DNAInfo that, from past experience, Apple management already knew what the situation would be. But they did almost nothing to resolve it.