Some high school kids in a Princeton summer journalism camp came to NYC to report a story about scofflaw cars and buses idling illegally on the city streets, damaging the environment. Caught red-handed: Conde "Fuck the Ozone Layer" Nast.

Summer Journal reporters also observed numerous livery cabs (commonly called "black cars" because they are frequently black luxury sedans) with their engines running while parked outside of office buildings in Midtown and lower Manhattan.
Drivers for those cars typically explained that they were awaiting passengers and were idling so that they could keep their air conditioning running and their cars cool.
One driver stood for several minutes near his black Lincoln Town Car while the engine ran outside the Condé Nast building in Midtown at 4 Times Square. After being approached by reporters, he said that he was waiting to pick up an editor at Glamour Magazine, and that he was idling even though he knew he was breaking the law because he wanted to keep his car cool.
"They call us high-class division. . . . It's like for the famous," the driver said. "I put the AC on because it's hot. When [the editor] comes in, she and others wouldn't like it to be hot. I don't want to spend money, but I have no choice. Otherwise I would like to save gas."

We would hate to think that Glamour and its editor, Cynthia Leive, value their own momentary comfort so much they're willing to give skin cancer and emphysema and foreign oil dependence to the rest of us. Glamour's flacks couldn't be bothered to respond to the story's authors, so we've emailed Conde Nast's PR chief for a response to these charges, which are now causing revulsion in the hearts of upstanding Americans coast-to-coast. It's no way for a company headed for Ground Zero to act.

UPDATE: Glamour spokesperson Jennifer Petrisko emails: "Glamour does not support any idlling by vehicles used by the magazine, and expects all service providers to abide by the law."

[The full story is here. Pic via]