The NY Post dived deeper into the whole Times Square mascot affair this weekend, sending a reporter (and her daughter) to pose as cheapskate "customers" of the furry menaces, and even having a reporter go deep undercover dressed as a "Winnie the Pooh".
Unfortunately, The Post's Pooh was not accepted by the other Times Square performers: "The costumed crew — two Elmos, a Cookie Monster and a Mickey and Minnie Mouse — stared down our reporter and spoke among each other in hushed tones, huddling together before dispatching Minnie as a messenger." Minnie told the Pooh to get lost, explaining, “There aren’t enough [tourists] here for all of us. You have to leave, OK?”
Even worse, Pooh was also harassed by a Times Square Alliance security officer, who asked the undercover reporter where the abusive Cookie Monster was. “I got a cookie for him," the security guard reportedly said. "Gonna jam it up his crack if he touches any more kids. Don’t let me catch you touching any kids.”
The Times Square Alliance, in response to the threat by the security officer told Gothamist that, "The comments alleged to be made, if true, are unprofessional and inappropriate and in violation of the Alliance's procedures and guidelines. We have already issued a memo to our officers reiterating this and have reinforced at roll calls today. While a concern for protecting children is understandable, this is absolutely not the appropriate way for our officers to deal with this issue."
The Post's Pooh recovered from the harassment and ended up making friends with Spider-man, who showed him the ropes, and eventually the reporter made $45 over his seven-hour shift Does that money go straight to Murdoch? Did the reporter expense the Pooh outfit? So many questions...
