WPIX NEWSROOM

10:15 a.m. EDT, May 14, 2010
NEW YORK (WPIX)—
New York ( WPIX) – As city council members celebrate a new rule requiring headphones in open-air tour buses, some New Yorkers are scratching their heads, wondering why it will take five years to implement the measure.

"There's no reason it couldn't happen overnight. It's a quality of life issue," one resident of the West Village told PIX 11 News reporter Greg Mocker as he tried to get answers on the glaring delay, reportedly forced by tour operators who said the installations of ear buds will cost millions.

Councilmember Gale Brewer, who sponsored the bill, told Mocker she understands the concerns, but thinks it's a good compromise. "It is a long time. However, the people in the Village and in my district and in downtown Brooklyn are happy with the bill because there is a phase-in," she said. "So it's 10 percent the first year and then it phases in for five years."