A Thank You to The Man Taking a Selfie whilst riding a Citibike down the middle of Lafayette Street During Summer Streets. Dear Sir, I’m not a bike snob. Far from it. I don’t get agro when when people step half way into the bike lane or kick a vehicle who happens to swerve conspicuously close. No. I fully appreciate the reality that riding my bike in this congested, over crowded, poorly paved city is an obstacle course and actually that, in and of itself makes it fun. As a native son of this city’s most cycle fetishized borough, I was hit by a car no less than 3 times growing up. Not seriously enough to merit a hospital visit or the car to even stop. A brief dramatulurgical aside; one of those 3 vehicles were stopped. In fact it was parked. I was singing and weaving around the street when the rapture of reciting Stephen Sondheims lyrics to West Side Story’s “America” overwhelmed me and I ran directly into a parked car. I was 15.And the worst part was having to go home and tell my father. My point is sir I am a native Brooklynite. Born and bread in the city that never sleeps and its outer boroughs as was my father and my fathers father and - quite possibly but I’m not 100% sure - my father’s father’s father. You in a single moment have made the decision I have been toying with for over a year now, that decision being leaving the city, so simple. It wasnt the fact that City Streets have closed down entire avenues to traffic so they can serve as a promenade of corporate sponsorship and drive businesse to all those mom and pop shops that can afford the exorbitant rents along Lafayette Street. Shops such as Duane-Reade, Starbucks, Kmart, and Best Buy. Nor was it the CitiBike. That 1979 Buick of white privilege and (again) corporate sponsorship. With its orbital turn radius or it’s shock system that would make a velocipede seem like a down pillow on wheels. And who could possibly fault you wanting to document the moment with the most self-sustained medium but a selfie? And I must say sir, bravo for the angle. I’m sure it came out wonderfully and I really hope you can crop my photo-bomb out before you post it to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to show your girlfriend, your mom, that asshole in high school who now runs the most successful bait and tackle and cronut shop in Bucks county that you my friend have “made it”. And sadly you have. You have made it. Let me clarify, you have made it (“it” being the city) yours. You now are a real “New Yorker” you and your kind are the victors that have taken over this metropolis in which we live and I once called home. So again, no judgement on the narcissism of taking a photo of yourself. And you get a pass for basically being a peddling advertisement for a bank that lost track of customers money who tried to pay back their loans for over a decade and then lost 8-11 billion dollars due to sub-prime loans. And we should really be grateful that we have the opportunity to experience the city streets in an active way especially with the lack of two of the most world-renowned man-made landscapes in the world just a short walk on the side walk away at any time. But sir, when you put everything together, you basically packed my bag for me. So Big Apple®, The Citi That Never Sleeps. I say so long and farewell to you. With sincerest gratitude. DV
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 14:25:32 +0000
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