Mikey Bloomberg, Standing Up For The Little Guy

If by "little guy," we mean Jack Valenti.

“Video piracy is not a victimless crime — it kills jobs,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference. The mayor, who has made courting the film industry a priority for his administration, added that revenues from such piracy supports criminal gangs. In addition, the counterfeit DVD business has attracted its share of violence in recent years, with several shootings connected to DVD robberies in Midtown.

Using tactics the city employed to go after counterfeiting in the apparel industry, officials at the association, the Police Department and the city’s Office of Special Enforcement will work to identify buildings where piracy operations are located and take legal action against landlords and owners.

Under nuisance abatement laws, according to John Feinblatt, the city’s criminal justice coordinator, the city can essentially take control of the properties, shutting down offices, floors or entire buildings, depending on how they are being used, and suing the landlords, which could result in substantial fines. The legal actions could also force landlords and owners to post bonds and to submit new tenants for city approval.

Officials also plan to seek state legislation to make illegally recording a motion picture, currently only a violation, a crime carrying potential time behind bars. The plan would make the first offense a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison, and subsequent convictions Class E felonies, punishable by up to four years in prison.

The city also plans to work with the motion picture association to create a public service campaign to educate New York consumers about the detrimental effects of piracy.

Screw all those homeless people, forget about gentrification and the skyrocketing cost of living in NYC, the 30,000 transportation worers who still have no contract, etc etc - clearly, it's the guy selling bootleg spanish language DVDs on my corner who's destroying America. Michael Bloomberg, I salute you for being so in touch with the problems faced by wealthy movie moguls!