Last week, Bloomberg’s quest to build a stadium on the West Side of New York City died. Although I wasn’t for the stadium, I could imagine Bloomberg’s reasoning. Lower Manhattan’s office space is not filling up. If New York City can be a showplace in hosting the Olympics in 2012, maybe if will attract tenants to the Freedom Towers. And build a needed momentum for New York City. The cameras will not be just on ‘the tragedy’.
On the front page of the New York Times last week, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is quoted ‘Am I supposed to turn my back on Lower Manhattan as it struggles to recover? For what? A Stadium?’ Mayor Bloomberg responds with ‘Those that were on the other side will have to explain why they were against jobs, why they were against economic opportunity and growth.
Let me tell you the real reason the Olympic stadium didn’t go through. It’s pay back time. New York City is sick and tired of having the party in their house, providing the booze, food, the space and then everyone putting their cigarettes out on our rug. After last summer’s hosting of the Republican Convention, (even though 75 percent of Manhattan voted for Kerry) New Yorkers have had enough.
During the Republican Convention last year, the city turned into a military zone, with unnecessary sweeping arrests. Citizens were held in mass holdings at the pier. The military and police were lined along thoroughfares, visibly armed. Pedestrians were regularly searched, stopped. Democrats watched the Republicans USE The Red Apple, exploit Ground Zero as a backdrop to justify the occupation and war in Iraq. Then leave us being a standing duck.
Republicans came to our town for fun, then in a month felt guilt and made it all better with continuing the agenda of No Stem Research, No Gay Marriage. Everything done here, stays here. And that needs to change. Believe me the Republicans didn’t come to New York for the weather in August. They came for the clubs, the loving, the sex, the art. No one said, Oh I can’t wait to have the Republican Convention in a town that doesn’t serve liquor and you go to church when you can’t sleep.
We have had enough of our city’s Red Alert, being used as an erotic zone for conservatives to facilitate their agenda at our expense. They are pimping us. Ground Zero’s fear becomes propaganda to continue the Patriot Act. Close Quatanamo, End the War and we’ll talk.
Everyday we live and go to work with a sense of High Alert. We endure the gaze of pity, the contentment in others knowing the tragedy didn’t happen in their ‘good city’. We endure the thousands of well meaning tourists buying World Trade Center knick knacks and souvenirs. We endure the questions. Did you know someone who died? How close were you?
We don’t want Olympics 2012 to be the goal post to work towards. The Olympics in 2012, for those who live and work here, will be a combination plate of Beach Blanket Babylon, Robo Cop and a S and M session if everything goes right. Is this someone’s idea of a good time on our dime?
The Olympics? Really, let’s give out the medals now.
We have our Olympic Gold Medallists. We have our fire fighters, our police, our EMT. We have our Olympic teachers and we have our Olympic artists, actors, musicians, writers. We have our record breaking subways, buses and taxis. We have our Gold Medal pizza, our neurosis, our 24/7, our drive, our ambition, our loudness, directness, all wearing black, we live in small cramped quarters, we don’t invite you up. We are a city of heroes, who stay here to build, create for our future. We have a magnificent city that we enjoy sharing with the world and we want to continue doing so. We don’t want to destroy our city in hosting the Olympics.
Perhaps Bloomberg should consider hosting a Cultural Olympics. There would be no buildings to be built. We could use the East Side Park, Battery Park and have public art, theater, music. And yes some of it would be controversial. Instead of funding sports we’d be funding art. Isn’t that an original idea?