Chinese online shoppers are enticed by deep discounts, payment plans as zest for spending lags
Shoppers were treated to deep discounts, new products and payment plans as online merchants sought to revive their sluggish appetite for spending during China’s first major online shopping festival after the end of zero-COVID policies
2023-06-19 17:46
Vegan landlady roasted for banning tenants from cooking meat and fish in their own home
A landlady has been accused of “outrageous” and “control freakish” behaviour for setting unusually harsh restrictions for prospective tenants. The homeowner used an estate agent to advertise her two “spacious, sun-drenched” apartments in Brooklyn, New York, which were valued at $4,500 (£3,580) and $5,750 (£4,490) per month. When you’re charging such eye-watering rates, you’d hope these flats – with “spectacular outdoor spaces” – would be pretty exceptional homes. And yet, for many interested parties, the dream was shattered when they spotted that the “wonderful vegan landlord” had one eye-catching house rule: “No meat/fish in the building." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Andrea Kelly, the agent managing the flat, explained to the New York Times (NYT) why the landlady had made such a strict stipulation. She told the paper that the apartments weren’t, technically, “vegetarian-only,” but added that “the owner lives in the building and doesn’t want the smell of cooking meat drifting upstairs.” To be fair, this means that tenants could enjoy the likes of sushi, ham sandwiches and even meaty takeaways without causing a scene. But woe betide anyone harbouring hopes of a Sunday roast or sausages barbecued in their “spectacular outdoor space”. The owner, Michal Arieh Lerer, refused to speak to a NYT reporter about her controversial regulation, but her ex-husband, who co-owns the building and is also vegan, admitted that they’d refused to rent their property out to keen carnivorous cooks since they bought it in 2007. “It’s not about discrimination,” ex-husband Motti Lerer insisted. “You have to fit into the building.” For anyone wondering whether this could legally be classed as discrimination, the answer is, perhaps surprisingly, no. New York’s Human Rights Law lists 14 characteristics that landlords must not consider when choosing a potential tenant. These include age, race, family status, and sexual orientation – there's no mention of dietary preferences. Lucas A. Ferrara, an adjunct professor at New York Law School told the NYT that an interested renter might be able to fight the meat ban if they could prove that they had a medical condition which required some sort of “reasonable accommodation” on the landlord’s part. Still, we’re not familiar with many illnesses whose sufferer needs to regularly fry steaks or grill fish as a matter of urgency. The original listing which caused such a stir was taken down from nextdoor.com on Friday, a day after it was posted. However, the apartments are still listed on the estate agent’s own site, although there’s no mention of the cooked veg-only policy. The listings do note: “Cats welcome on a case-by-case basis (only one, please).” We just hope those felines are happy to forgo mouse hunts or particularly pungent meal pouches, for their sake. Social media commentators have shared their horror at the meat-free rule, with a number suggesting Lerer "shouldn't be a landlord". One Facebook user wrote: "[She] can’t just tell people they can’t cook meat in a home they rent off [her]. It’s like telling a kid they can not play with toys." Another said: "Well I hope they/them enjoy paying the mortgage when they get no tenants." But a third suggested tenants should just find a way around the restrictions. "[Her] property, [her] rules," they pointed out, before adding: "If you lie to [her] and cook meat while [she] doesn't get to know then it's a win-win situation." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-06-19 16:15
'DWTS' stars Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy welcome second baby after 'traumatizing' miscarriages
Peta Murgatroyd previously spoke about how she and Maksim Chmerkovskiy became stronger together after three miscarriages
2023-06-19 15:24
What if things could turn out differently? How the multiverse got into our heads and didn't let go
Alternate universes are everywhere these days, from “The Flash” to “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
2023-06-19 12:25
'Flip or Flop' star Christina Hall praises husband Joshua in ultimate dig to exes Tarek El Moussa and Ant Anstead on Father's Day
While Christina Hall and Tarek El Moussa parted ways in 2016, she and Ant Anstead ended their marriage citing 'irreconcilable differences' in 2020
2023-06-19 12:20
'GMA' host Michael Strahan's daughter Sophia, 18, flaunts her curves in sparkly cut-out dress during night out in NYC
Sophia Strahan enjoyed her friend’s 18th birthday bash along with her twin sister Isabella
2023-06-19 11:55
'GMA' host Michael Strahan's twin daughters Sophia and Isabella surprise dad with sweet Father's Day tribute
Michael Strahan's twin daughters Sophia Strahan and Isabella Strahan shared their childhood photos to mark Father's Day
2023-06-19 11:21
Stickers adorn Rickie Fowler's ever-present water bottle at US Open
Leave it to Rickie Fowler to find that brilliant combination of hydration, product placement and doing what the kids like
2023-06-19 04:57
She was denied an abortion in Texas - then she almost died
Over a dozen women are suing Texas after being denied abortions they say were medically necessary.
2023-06-19 04:55
Man stabs pit bull to death in Central Park after argument between dog walkers
A man stabbed a pit bull to death in New York City’s Central Park after a verbal dispute with the dog’s owner
2023-06-19 03:45
Stalled contract jeopardizes relations between new Disney governing body and firefighters
After appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took over Walt Disney World’s governing district earlier this year, its firefighters were among the few employees who publicly welcomed them with open arms
2023-06-18 20:55
The woman who founded Father's Day was a renegade, great-granddaughter says
You could call her the mother of Father’s Day
2023-06-18 20:18