Photo: AFP
Outspoken New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R-19) has a history of drumming up attention, but a message she recently sent out on X voicing her criticism of the city’s new congestion pricing plan may have drawn more attention than even she desired. The message mentions laser pointers and specifically says, “Important warning: a high-powered laser pointer like the ones you find on eBay for under $30 can destroy a camera sensor, so if you buy one of these lasers, be sure to NOT point them at any cameras, because they could be permanently damaged.” Paladino appeared on the WOR Morning Show to emphasize that her message was intended as sarcasm.
“First of all, it’s a joke, you know,” Paladino told host Larry Mendte. “Everybody loses their sense of humor when it comes to certain things and this is very tongue-in-cheeky, and if anybody knows me, they know that’s what that was about. A lot of people are asking me to explain a joke. Well, if I have to explain a joke, then it’s not a joke to you, I mean, it’s not funny, I guess, to them, whoever they are.”
Paladino then railed against the critics of her message: “A lot of the people who are taking some fault with this happen to be the same people who praised Luigi Mangione. If you look at my thread on Twitter, you’ll see these are the same lunatics that praised him as some sort of hero for killing somebody in cold blood. So, I take anybody’s criticisms of this joke rather lightly. But what I don’t take lightly is the fact that congestion pricing is another nail in the coffin of New York City.”
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