Ever the shrewd businessman, Mayor Bloomberg has expanded the city’s share of the tchotchke market by opening a new CityStore in midtown. Even with a record 37.8 million tourists in 2003, the city netted only $300,000 from its memorabilia outposts online and in the Municipal Building downtown. But with a Seventh Avenue storefront to entice out-of-towners with $28 taxicab ornaments, business is looking up. How much merch would the store have to sell to pay for city services? Factoring in an average profit margin of 30 percent, here’s a breakdown:
20,833
Number of $40 crystal apples required to pay the $250,000 salary of Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.
190 million
Copies of the city’s budget on CD-rom ($35) needed to balance the nearly $2 billion deficit projected for 2005.
4.4 million
Number of $6 FDNY mugs that could reopen the six firehouses closed last year.
1.5 billion
Number of $3 Big Apple lapel pins needed to fund the $1.4 billion West Side stadium.
9.3 billion
Pairs of $6 “Subway Socks” required to pay for the $16.8 billion Second Avenue subway.
Seven
Number of 50-cent note cards required to pay Bloomberg’s salary of $1 a year.