It started as the Great Barricade and Jaywalking Controversy of 1998. In a public relations fiasco that is more a bad joke than a serious attempt at governance, the mayor OK'ed the barricading of twenty of the busiest crosswalks in the United States. Despite having been lambasted by the public, press, and most elected officials, the mayor and the NYPD have not given up the idea of penning in the pedestrians.