Apple Store's Popularity Spurs Complaints in SoHo

The thousands of consumers who frequently line the streets of SoHo awaiting the chance to purchase the newest Apple gadget may please the company's CEO, Steve Jobs, but they are starting to infuriate a local neighborhood group.

The last straw, according to the SoHo Alliance — an organized group of SoHo residents and local businesses — came last Tuesday, when thousands of teenage girls poured onto the streets en route to an in-store Jonas Brothers concert.

The pop band was playing tracks off its new album, and attendees "screamed incessantly on the street for hours for their idols, blocking traffic, injuring one resident in the crush, and inconveniencing scores of other people and businesses," the SoHo Alliance said in a letter sent to elected officials, including State Senator Martin Connor, Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, and Manhattan's president, Scott Stringer.

The group says that the regular Apple store music performances may violate the area's zoning laws.

The letter also complains of after-hours construction, litter, and congestion caused by the Apple store crowds — which often necessitate police barricades — rooftop flood lights, and Apple employees "lounging, eating, smoking, littering — in effect, trespassing — on nearby people's stoops" while on breaks.

The neighborhood group is seeking an end to the sidewalk congestion and what it calls "irresponsible corporate behavior."

A spokeswoman for Apple did not return a call seeking comment.