Something is rotten in the state of... New York!
What is going on out there? All of a sudden (okay maybe it's been a few years coming) I am in what I think is my city, yet it is looking ever more strangely like L.A.! How could this be? one might ask (I would ask), but it is so. Look around and everywhere you will see evidence of the Californication of this oh-so-not Californian town.
First: I've been to LA enough to know that there is a genuine need for Hotels that provide their guests with a bubble of diversions; besides shopping, the beach (and certainly not in downtown LA) and celebrity watching what is a guest to do besides sit at the pool, go to the spa, get a massage and the like. But in NYC, really?
Dream Downtown offers the following promotional tidbit: "While guests are encouraged to venture and explore all that the city has to offer, Dream Downtown provides its guests with a complete, on site offering of amenities and services. Whether you want to enjoy an afternoon massage or surf the internet pool-side, our staff is fully committed to ensuring that your stay with us is a dream come true." The idea being: why leave, we have everything you want right here. My question is, why not build this in Newark then? where there is genuinely no reason to leave the Hotel?
Okay -- I get that there is something weird, maybe charming and certainly disorienting in the novelty of lounging poolside and staring at the rooftops of LES tenements at Thomson LES; or sipping a fruity beverage and feeling wildly chic overlooking what once was the most hardcore gay sex scene in the city (think Pacino's Cruising circa 1980 in the Meatpacking District) at the Ganesvoort; but why pay for the real estate if there is no need to exit the pleasure palace?
It is not as if the folks who can afford to lounge at these Hotel pools or join SOHO House can't afford to leave town on the weekends and frolic poolside or seaside elsewhere. Why pollute the truly urban with "resort chic" accoutrement? I speak from a place of genuine confusion.
Second: Do we really need Times Square to become even more of a circus with the advent of the "pedestrian island." With a sweep of the legislative pen -- the oldest artery in NYC was cut (literally and figuratively) so visitors can sip lattes and watch the pretty lights and all the "clean up" courtesy of the good folks at Disney.
NYC is a busy town. Yes, there is lots to do and lots to see if you are not working here, but New York does not move at the pace of L.A. (both a good and a bad thing). Tourism is one thing, and I am all for it, but why not come visit NYC for the things that make NYC the incredible city it is? Why does it have to become L.A. in order for it to be enjoyed?
Third: I am all for a healthy biking community in NYC. I think it is great for everyone (better air quality, healthier people etc.) I am also very aware that NYC is chock-full of parks and bike paths that are at a safe distance from traffic. In fact, you can now circumvent the entire island of Manhattan by bike or on foot and (mostly) avoid ever coming into contact with taxi's and trucks; and there is no limit to the biking opportunities in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx.
That said, the bike lanes that are now everywhere in the city are dangerous and frankly, a nuisance; they slow traffic, cause accidents, precipitate unwarranted tickets and make turning onto small street unnecessarily harrowing (for bike and car alike). NYC is a city that allows for all sorts of people to participate in all sorts of activities but it is not Santa Monica! We have a variable climate here, one can't bike all year long, the city is less about the ocean (which of course it sits at the mouth to) than about the sidewalk; do we need the year-round hazard?
Alright, I am done ranting. But really, it is not a rant, it is a love letter; a love letter to a city that I understand is always changing, but I hope that it will stay true to what (and where) it is!
Hotels offering all those different choices at your finger tips is great! So instead of running around trying to find a place for a massage, you can just go up and down a few floors to get it, that's perfect!
To be able to sit and enjoy all the lights and action around you in Times Square sounds divine.
As for the addition of the bike lanes, I think having them is a lot safer than trying to navigate that city by bike on your own.
Remember, these things are not for people that live in NY, it's about the people that come and visit the city. There are certain destinations and areas of NY that people/tourists desire to see and experience. And it's about experiencing NY the way in which you like, be it having a massage in the same hotel you're staying at, sitting and enjoying Times Square, or biking around town.
I would really like to see the data that you're interpreting to come to the conclusion that the bike lanes slow traffic, cause accidents, and precipitate unwarranted tickets (What?). Multiple studies by the NYCDOT have confirmed that not only have travel times decreased on roads with bike lanes installed, but crashes, both fatal and non-fatal have also decreased dramatically on these streets.
The claim that biking in NYC isnt possible just is not true, many commuter cyclists in the city continue to do so year round. Biking in the winter is the same as walking in the winter, just put on some warmer clothes and get to it.
And that is the end of my counter-rant to your rant =)
LA is known for constant gridlock and being a completely inaccessible city to travel by foot, whereas one can walk from the top of Manhattan all the way to battery park inside of an afternoon. Highlighting this fantastic feature of NY seems to hardly be reminiscent of anything LA. And before you knock the tourists - honestly, did you ever go to Times Square if you didn't have to BEFORE the pedestrian plaza (which has been a huge success is increasing business and foot traffic) was put in place?
As for the bike lanes - you're off on a few points here.
(See my second comment for the continuation of this, I reached the character limit)
One has been able to spend a weekend or even a week in New York City hotels for at least a century. No need to leave the Plaza or Waldorf-Astoria. Or many of the other hotels in Manhattan.
You shouldn't worry too much about these types of establishments. Trust me, there is a vibrant life in LA that you obviously missed while "spending time" in LA. And it didn't worry me one bit that you missed it. So stop worrying about what others are choosing to do with their money--it's not going to some how magically ruin NYC's 'urbanism' or whatever it is you are trying to protect. This article seems to serve to show how little imagination and creativity you have as a person to not be able to see the wonders that EVERY CITY and TOWN. Those resorts merely cater to the unimaginative with more money then intelligence or creativity. They'll start appearing everywhere.