Squeegee man
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The sometimes pejorative term squeegee man (or woman) refers to an individual who, washcloth and squeegee in hand, washes the windshields of cars trapped in traffic and then demands payment from the drivers. Most drivers find this activity objectionable when the service is unnecessary and unsolicited—the common case—because they feel coerced into paying, if only to avoid causing a scene.
Squeegee men are a feature of life in many cities around the world, including London, New York, Boston and Mexico City.
In New York City, residents commonly interpret the presence of squeegee men as a sign of an economic downturn. Mayor Rudy Giuliani famously embarked on a crusade against squeegee men as part of his quality-of-life campaign, claiming that their near-ubiquitous presence created an environment of disorder that encouraged more serious crime to flourish (see broken windows theory). Squeegee men disappeared from city streets during Giuliani's mayoralty and have yet to reappear in significant numbers.
Londoners, and perhaps others, extend the appellation to include those who roam in the midst of stopped traffic to not only wash windscreens, but also hawk items such as roses and newspapers. For this reason, they are sometimes called squeegee merchants.
In Toronto and Vancouver, they are known as squeegee kids and they are mostly tolerated, since they are considered to be working for money, rather than begging. In Australia the practice of window washing for money is illegal.
External links
- A 1999 report from BBC News on the decision of London's Westminster City Council to crack down on the squeegee "menace". (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/443786.stm)
- A report on Mexico City's crackdown on squeegee merchants following advice from Guiliani's consulting firm. (http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/651974.cms)
- An excerpt from Hansard, the record of the British House of Commons, about squeegee merchants. (http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo980623/debtext/80623-18.htm) The Member of Parliament makes a distinction between rose and newspaper sellers, who he says are providing a solicted service, whereas windscreen cleaners' services are unsolicited.