You can even download the ringtones that Yassky considers "palatable". "We wanted one of them to be Bobby DeNiro’s monologue from Taxi Driver
— ‘You talkin’ to me?’ — but we couldn’t get the rights," says Yassky. Here’s a little April Fools fun from  WEEKEND EDITION.

If there’s one thing you can’t get in New York City, it’s silence.

But some legislators think that New York has heard too much of one sound in particular: cell phone ringtones.

The
city’s Center for Reduction of Noise Pollution issued a public call to
action last month, citing an increased number of confrontations spawned
by a new phenomenon: It’s called "ring rage," and it involves strangers
getting into fights over obnoxious cell phone ringtones.

David
Yassky, a member of the New York City Council for the 33rd District in
Brooklyn, has proposed a bill to regulate cell phone rings.

Distracting
ringtones in the workplace cost the economy more than $1.2 billion each
year, says Yassky. His bill mandates that New York residents choose
between four more palatable rings, custom-made by the city.

"We
wanted one of them to be Bobby DeNiro’s monologue from Taxi Driver —
‘You talkin’ to me?’ — but we couldn’t get the rights," says Yassky.

Many
New Yorkers have been outraged at the possibility of being told what
rings they can and cannot use, especially since anyone caught using an
unauthorized tone will be subject to heavy fines.

Yassky speaks with Liane Hansen about the measure, which he says would be strictly enforced by the police.