A New York state employee who name-dropped Governor Andrew Cuomo after becoming enraged that she had to sit near a baby on an airplane has been removed from her position, the state told reporters.
A now-viral video shows the tantrum that occurred on a February 6 flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Syracuse, NBC affiliate WGRZ reports.
The woman is seen arguing with a flight attendant, stating she "work(s) for the governor" and demanding a new seat, complaining that hers was next to a "crying baby." The mother of the 8-month-old baby, Marissa Rundell, filmed the whole incident, she says, after the woman started being rude. She is heard in the video assuring the woman her baby is not going to cry the whole time.
When the attendant tells the woman the airline can put her on the next flight, she's asked for her name. When provided, the angry woman retorts, "Thanks, Tabitha. You may not have a job tomorrow." WGRZ reports that the flight attendant then ordered the woman off the plane.
Reporters soon identified the woman as a program director from the office of the Council of the Arts, whose profile had been removed from the website. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the council told WGRZ it had removed an employee from its office pending an investigation into her conduct in the viral Facebook video.
It was reported that the spokesperson, Ronni Reich, did not identify the employee or respond when asked if the woman would be paid while on leave.
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The Alpine ski racer fuels up in the morning with scrambled eggs mixed with red bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach, garlic, and cilantro. She tops it off with Cholula hot sauce, according to Women's Health.
The snowboarder eats chocolate pancakes with biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Celebrity chef David Chang surprised her with two of her favorite sweets in one: a churro ice cream sandwich.
<The snowboarder has a $920 burger named after him in South Korea, but his favorite thing is Americanized Chinese food, especially airport Chinese food, according to US Weekly.
The figure skater says he has a relatively organized nutrition schedule, but he told NBC Olympics he likes to indulge in desserts, especially Hershey's bars.
The Alpine ski racer is an absolute pasta fanatic. She told Eating Well that she makes a "mean mac and cheese."
The freestyle skater has nicknamed an Indian food buffet he goes to in Colorado "Curry in a Hurry." He told Men's Journal: "The first time I went there, I ate there eight days in a row."
The ice dancer loves Korean foods like barbeque, bibimbap, chap chae and duk bokgi, according to NBC Olympics.
The ice dancer starts every day off with a green tea and lemon but moves to herbal teas later in the day, NBC Olympics reported.
The snowboarder told the Chicago Tribune she was looking forward to sampling different foods in Korea. She’ll have plenty to choose from, including these fried mandu (Korean dumplings) at the Olympic Park.
The biathlete told NBC Olympics that her favorite foods are pizza, dark chocolate, and dried mango.
The bobsledder eats lots of veggies and lean proteins. She shared a pan-seared duck with swiss chard recipe with ESPN.
Like several other athletes, the curler loves Korean barbecue. He's also a fan of pizza and wings when he's back home in Minnesota, according to NBC Olympics.
The curler used to work at a place called Tornado Steakhouse. Naturally, he likes steaks, NBC Olympics reported.
The U.S. women's hockey team fills up with a range of things, including the classic and protein-rich peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, the New York Times reported.
The Alpine ski racer is a fan of big salads and chicken breasts for lunch, but in general loves meals with lots of meat and vegetables, he told ABC.
The speed skater loves kimchi and Korean barbecue, but nothing beats wings and fries from Crunchies & Munchies in Florida, she says.
The luger has cold cut meats for breakfast, along with two to four boiled eggs, bread, yogurt, granola and fruit, according to Cosmopolitan.
The hockey player loves her mom's home-cooked enchiladas and shrimp jambalaya, according to Cosmopolitan.
The freestyle skier snacks on carrots and hummus and eats other healthy foods like quinoa salad, greens, and pumpkin seeds for lunch, Cosmopolitan reported.
The curler loves a big bowl of pasta and a glass of wine after competing even though the curling team mostly sticks to a super-healthy diet, according to First We Feast.
The snowboarder says her favorite pasttime is going to In-N-Out for burgers, according to Cosmopolitan.
The curler always has a chocolate milk between games, she told Cosmopolitan.
The cross-country skier has a sweet spot for apple pie despite the fact she removed gluten and many processed foods from her diet, First We Feat reported.
The figure skater usually makes overnight oats with almond milk for breakfast. He told Bon Appetit that it's important to be consistent with breakfast while traveling.
The bobsledder makes protein bites out of oats, peanut butter, a little honey, protein powder, dark chocolate chips, crushed almonds, and sometimes dried cranberries, according to Bon Appetit.
The freestyle skier loves brown cheese from Norway, but her favorite is Cabot cheddar from her home state of Vermont, according to Delish.
The hockey player loves kimchi and said she's looking forward to trying authentic Korean food while in Pyeongchang, NBC Olympics reported.
The luger ate an entire slice of pizza in one bite in a video posted to Twitter.
The cross-country skier loves to bake and whips up everything from banana bread to pancakes and muffins while training, according to Cosmopolitan.
<The biathlete told NBC Olympics that if he had to indulge in one type of food, it would be Mexican food.
The pair skater told InStyle that she always drinks a glass of milk in the morning and then again at night.
The snowboarder makes green smoothies packed with protein powder and 100 superfoods, according to InStyle.
The Alpine skier's favorite breakfast is a "large sweet-potato, shiitake mushroom, red onion, garlic, and spinach stir fry with two fried duck-eggs on top," InStyle reported.
The cross-country skier told Delish that her favorite dessert is chocolate. "When I'm traveling the world, there are a million different kinds," she said.
The curler said sushi in Japan was everything he expected, according to Food and Wine.
The speed skater posted a "nood photo" of himself eating a giant plate of noodles before the Winter Olympics.
“Cauliflower! I can eat a whole head of cauliflower in one sitting," the hockey player told For the Win.
The speed skater told Bon Appetit her favorite food is "any type of meat."
The speed skater loves doughnuts and Oreos, according to Bon Appetit, but he "sadly can’t eat them very much or else coaches will get upset."
The speed skater has been pursuing culinary studies and Bon Appetit reports that he made it clear on his Olympics profile that he loves ramen but "does not like cucumbers in any form."
When he's done competing, the bobsledder is all about Five Guys burgers, according to Bon Appetit.
The speed skater told Bon Appetit that she likes fresh mango right off the tree.
The bobsledder has sung the praises of campfire coffee, according to Bon Appetit.
The snowboarder makes her own maple syrup in Lake Tahoe, Bon Appetit reported.
The speed skater told Delish that she eats avocado toast with an egg after practice.
The ice dancer always starts the day by swigging one or two glasses of water. Although she adopted a vegan diet, she has since been incorporating some animal products back into her meals, according to Delish.
The ice dancer says nothing compares to "some quality pizza at a nice Italian restaurant" after competition, Delish reported.
The figure skater makes her own banana muffins, a treat she calls her guilty pleasure, according to Delish.
The Nordic combined skier is a big believer in everything being OK in moderation, according to Delish. He dives into an IPA, ice cream and his wife's baked goods when he's not competing.
The short-track speed skater eats a carb-rich meal of pasta or rice and a protein before training, Delish reported.
The curler says she has "a big sweet tooth for fruity candies like Starburst and Skittles," according to Delish.
The snowboarder snacks on protein shakes and carries protein powder with her to "ensure I can get what my body needs to repair after a hard day on the hill," Delish reported.
The biathalon competitor goes for a large salad and a "heaping plate of rice" with chicken and veggies for lunch, according to Delish.
The downhill skier drinks "lots and lots" of coconut water when competing. She also uses the beverage as a base for her morning smoothies and carries a bottle with her to the slopes, First We Feast reported.
"In the off-season I want to go for the record of eating 70 super spicy wings," the bobsledder told First We Feast.
The speed skater loves Korean barbecue, but he says his absolute favorite food is Chinese lumpia, a pastry similar to spring rolls, according to First We Feast.
The skeleton racer snacks on cottage cheese and protein powder to get ready for competition, First We Feast reported.
The figure skater told First We Feast: "I’m an all-American girl, so I go for a burger and fries and a shake."
The bobsledder indulges in crunchy peanut butter and chocolate milk after he competes, according to First We Feast.
The short-track skater downs protein-rich foods like hard-boiled eggs between racing events, Bustle reported.
"We were notified of this situation and have commenced an investigation," Reich said in a statement. "This employee has been removed from the office and placed on leave until further notice and until the inquiry is resolved.”
Delta also released a statement apologizing to the others on the plane.
"We ask that customers embrace civility and respect one another when flying Delta," it said. "This customer’s behavior toward a fellow customer on a flight from New York to Syracuse was not in keeping with those standards."
Richard Richards, operator: Honestly, as an operator, I have to tell them something. In an attempt to keep the customers calm you tell them we have traffic ahead, we have delays ahead, but in honesty we don't always know 'cause they are not telling us and radio communications can be choppy.
nJoe Costales, conductor: The system is antiquated, the relay for the radio systems are not kept up, they are not repaired, they are not constantly checked so there are black-out areas.
nCrystal Young, conductor: We may talk to them over the radio and they can hear us but we can't hear what they are saying. Sometimes when we are on a train it's not that we don't want to let the customers know what's going on, we don't have the communications to let them know what's going on.
Costales: All the time.
nRichards: They had hot-plates they had TVs, they literally lived back there.
nCostales: You see them coming out. A lot of times people who get hit by trains, are the ones living in the subway.
nBrandon Patterson, conductor: Sometimes when we go to set up tracks we go down there and they get mad because they think we are invading their home space.
Richards: I've seen people actually having sex on the train.
nCostales: Masturbating, having sex.
nRichards: And they've got a bed set up, they tap into the third rail and they are watching TV.
nYoung: One time someone brought a goat on the train. They bought it at a live mart.
Tramell Thompson, conductor: The E train has been dubbed 'The Homeless Express', it's one of those lines that doesn't go outside. So from terminal to terminal it's underground. It's pretty warm. You have new, nicer trains over there, it's clean over there. And you know the homeless, you go on there at midnight, you'll see five or six homeless people in each car. But the homeless isn't really the issue with us, it's mainly the drunks.
Richards: In the middle of the car. You don't want to sit in the corners [because that's where people throw up and urinate]. Also by the doors, you'll be on your phone and as soon as the doors get ready to close, they snatch it and they're off.
Conductors: A safe place to ride on a subway train would be in the middle of the train in the conductor's car or in the very first car where the train operator's going to be. That way at least you're closest to a crew member to help if they have to.
Conductors: Absolutely.
nYoung: At the end of the line they have a sign that shows on-time job performance, where they literally track to see how many people were injured while in performance of their duty so that's what they are concerned about. It's easier for a passenger to make a complaint versus us making a complaint because they just want to keep that train moving.
nPatterson: The MTA's logo is 'Every second counts,' so every second counts to them.
nYoung: Some superintendents, if someone has to take a comfort they want you to write a [note]. So you have to, as an adult, write down on a piece of paper that you had to use the bathroom. God forbid if you use the bathroom too often, then they will try to write you up.
Tramell Thompson, train conductor: Anything, EDPs (emotionally disturbed person), anything. Could be a disturbance on the train, fights.n
Eric Loegel, train operator: Unattended package, suspicious package..."customer injury" as they say. A customer injury is generally someone who has been struck by a train. And we internally refer to that as a 12-9.
Patterson: No, I try not to. I tell [my kids] not to touch anything, I carry hand sanitizer.
nRichards: I don't touch the poles or I sit in the middle...I'm a big guy, I brace myself.
nCostales: We transport millions of people, it's hard to keep it that clean.
Patterson: Standing behind the yellow line, the [public] leans over looking for the train, they could slip, and that's what causes 12-9s and delays
nRichards: I've seen people fall on the tracks 'cause they hear the announcement and they think the train is on their track and they start straight walking because they are online...we get conditioned, oh the train is here, they start walking and they fall.
