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NYC Virtual Tour Says Tickets Threaten Survival

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The operators of a virtual helicopter ride at the Empire State Building say a recent wave of tickets and arrests of its street hawkers could doom the attraction.

On Monday, a lawyer for the operators of NY Skyride told a judge the 14 tickets and the arrests of six unlicensed-venders were "concocted out of whole cloth'' to close down the simulated skyline tour.

The operators say the owners of the Empire State Building don't want the attraction and are pressuring the city. A building owner has called the claims baseless.

The judge extended a ban on further arrests and tickets until she rules on the case.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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