Conflict over menus left in NY apartment houses

[tommy]

I know that one of the perks many New Yorkers enjoyn is having a wide variety of the world's cuisine dropped at your door but I have always been of the school that if you aren't cooking for yourself that night you should pick up your own food.  That can be if you call the establishment on your way home from work or just throwing on a coat and leaving the house.  I've never been too comfortable with delivery men coming to my door and it saves you a tip as well.  I don't mean this to sound like I'm cheap but I know people that order from establishments that are one block from their residence and that sounds preposterous.

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Then I suppose you'd really be upset if I had my laundry and dry cleaning picked up and dropped off with my doorman, my groceries delivered by Fresh Direct, and my drug store purchases delivered as well. I wouldn't ever have to get out of my pajamas!!!

Ok. I don't do this but it is available.

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One of the joys of Manhattan living is that when it gets miserably cold, assuming you work from home, there's absolutely no need to leave the apartment. Everything -- food, groceries, etc is delivered right to your door. I'll gladly tip the delivery guy if it means I don't have to go out in 15F weather.

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absolutely. not even factoring the 6th floor walk-up, which most people can't even fathom.

furthering the mission.

[Bux]

I certainly can't condone physical violence in such a stuation, but I understand the rage. We share the lobby with a commercial gallery, so the front door is unlocked during the day, but you can't get into the stair well or elevator without a key. Thus menus are left littering the lobby, which is more of a problem for the gallery than for the residents. Still, the menu guys will sometimes try to slip a couple of menus under every door in the lobby including the stairs to the basement and the elevator itself. I mean why would you slip menus into the elevator shaft. It's actually a fire hazard to have the paper down there and every now and then someone has to go into the pit and clean out the menus. Usually someone from the gallery or one of the residents will pick up the menus in the lobby and throw then out. I don't know of any resdients who keep them. I really dislike take out food, but I don't make enough decisions around our house. Anyway the few places from which we order always provide a menu when they deliver. That's basically pizza. The closest Chinese restaurant whose food I enjoy doesn't deliver. I'll walk the ten blocks and pick up the food since it's better food than I can get delivered. If it's cold and raining or snowing, I can eat eggs for dinner. Take out pizza tastes like cardboard, but I will eat cardboard if you put enough cheese on it. Stir fried foods are among the least suited to being put in a box to steam before eating. I find French food better suited to take out than Chinese, but the system isn't supporting that. Stews do very well in a delivery box.

[ned]

I find the practice of menu-leaving maddening. I'm befuddled at what gives these restaurants the right to litter on my doorstep. I make a practice of never ordering from any place that has dirtied my doorstep with their menus. I live in a townhouse. No doorman to clean the mess and just four tenants. Sometimes I come home and find that someone has left ten or fifteen menus for me. In other cases they've just been flung onto the stairs and can be found all over the place. We have a sign that says no menus. It doesn't seem to do us any good. Each day I come home and scoop up the menus, carry them up the stairs to my apartment and throw them in the trash.

Can't see how this will ever stop especially as there are many who appreciate the service.

Too bad for that delivery man. The shrink and the super should have directed their ire (non-violently) towards the poor fellow's boss.

[Bux]

I find the practice of menu-leaving maddening.  I'm befuddled at what gives these restaurants the right to litter on my doorstep.  I make a practice of never ordering from any place that has dirtied my doorstep with their menus.  I live in a townhouse.  No doorman to clean the mess and just four tenants. . . .

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Once again I reiterate my rejection of the deplorable conduct of the perps, but if I was their lawyer, I'd be looking for jurors who own their own brownstone or who live in a small building without full time superintendent.

[ned]

I found a mess of menus from a pizza and kebob place on first avenue scattered all over the stoop. An idea struck, an inspiration. I called the restaurant, told them about the mess of menus and asked if they wouldn't mind sending someone over to clean the mess up. They were reluctant, I was polite but persistent, and now someone has come and removed the menus. I think this is an excellent solution that should be adopted by as many of the delivered delivery menu afflicted as possible.

[Andrew Fenton]

I found a mess of menus from a pizza and kebob place on first avenue scattered all over the stoop.  An idea struck, an inspiration.  I called the restaurant, told them about the mess of menus and asked if they wouldn't  mind sending someone over to clean the mess up.  They were reluctant, I was polite but persistent, and now someone has come and removed the menus.  I think this is an excellent solution that should be adopted by as many of the delivered delivery menu afflicted as possible.

A solution that's absolutely elegant in its simplicity. Good work, Ned.

[JohnL]

According to the story in the paper--the poor guy was assaulted by the super and a psychiatrist who lives in the building!

Only in NY kids only...

Actually--the building supe or tennants should simply have dealt with the restaurant about the problem.

A menu could have been put into mailboxes or a place in the lobby could have been designated for menus.

Frankly--I like getting menus--I have found a bunch of places that are good in the neighborhood.--It is part of living in NYC.

There is never ever a reason to hit someone over soemthing like this.

[SuzySushi]

I found a mess of menus from a pizza and kebob place on first avenue scattered all over the stoop.  An idea struck, an inspiration.  I called the restaurant, told them about the mess of menus and asked if they wouldn't  mind sending someone over to clean the mess up.  They were reluctant, I was polite but persistent, and now someone has come and removed the menus.  I think this is an excellent solution that should be adopted by as many of the delivered delivery menu afflicted as possible.

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Great solution! Now, if everyone did this...

[Bux]

I found a mess of menus from a pizza and kebob place on first avenue scattered all over the stoop.  An idea struck, an inspiration.  I called the restaurant, told them about the mess of menus and asked if they wouldn't  mind sending someone over to clean the mess up.  They were reluctant, I was polite but persistent, and now someone has come and removed the menus.  I think this is an excellent solution that should be adopted by as many of the delivered delivery menu afflicted as possible.

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Great solution! Now, if everyone did this...

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... the phone company would make some money. If I had a dime for every menu left in our hallway, our coop could hire a superintendent. (Excuse the slight hyperbole.)

[Pan]

According to the story in the paper--the poor guy was assaulted by the super and a psychiatrist who lives in the building!

Only in NY kids only...

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Now, now, is that fair?

There are assholes and criminals everywhere. There might not be delivery menus left at doorstops everywhere, though.

[Misa]

I find menus on the floor to be tacky and messy. I live in an buzz-to-get-in building, and we've got a table right next to the elevator. Oversized mail goes there, and a lot of times, menus get put there, too. I like that because if I decide I want to order from someplace, I can, but I don't have to see paper all over the floor.

[emsny]

Our (very well run) building has a policy by which restaurants whose delivery people repeatedly leave unwanted menus can no longer bring food up to apartments - after due warning; residents can order from them, but they have to go downstairs and pick up the delivery. A list of these restaurants is posted near the mailboxes. Undoubtedly, residents are less likely to order from them than from the 99 per cent of restaurants that follow the rule. There is a table in the mailroom where menus can be left (and they are nice to have), so it is only needless clutter and litter that are being combated, not the free flow of information. And, of course, a restaurant can get itself un-banned after a time by undertaking to follow the rules.

A long spiel, but there are rarely menus to be seen carpeting the hallways.

[GaijinGirl]

My intended response (one of these days) is simply to collect them for awhile, and dump them back at the restaurant when I have enough....