Cabs Are Here

Sry for the Jersey Shore title! I wanted to blog about the redesign of NY cabs. The frontrunner in this contest is by Karsan, and for good reason. The panoramic sunroof, wheelchair accessibility, and seat setup (all 4 passengers now face one another) are all great and well-designed.

But, there was something about this whole thing that bothered me, and I've realized what it was: the new cabs are yet another sign of a changing NY.

But more than just any change, NY is getting de-clawed. As a kid, I always regarded a New Yorker as a fast-talking clever hardass. NY was populated by immigrants hustling to survive. Fights and hookers were in the streets. Starving artists created revolutionary movements. Now? Tourists are clogging streets, luxury buildings and doggie spas are sprouting up, police have very little crime to worry about.

Patti Smith expressed her concern well:

"I feel the Bloomberg administration has reinvented the city as the new hip suburbia. It’s a tourist city. It’s really safe for tourists. I guess I liked it when it was a little less safe. Or I liked it when it was safer for artists. Now it’s unsafe for artists. I’m not saying this for myself. I’m saying this for the future of creative communities. Because, one day, all the people who have driven out the artists and have only these fancy condos left are going to turn around and say, “Why do I live here? There’s nothing happening!”

Granted, there is a lot to concede. I'm too young to know what NY was really like in the 60s through 80s. I'm skipping over the obvious hazards of the high crime levels back then. In short, I'm glorifying a past that I only know through books I've read and movies I've watched.

Back to the new cabs. It used to be somewhat amusing to watch tourists whistle and wave at cabs without their top lights on, but I guess that's gone:

From the specifications: the new cabs include "floor level 'London Style' additional luggage space," too. London Style? Fuck London, I want New York!

The slightly menacing face of the Ford Crown Victoria used to welcome me back to NY in droves, but the new face looks expressionless. It's sleek, ok, I'll give you that. But overall, it still feels like it's a shuttle bus about to pull into a retirement home driveway.

Living in NY came with some unwritten rules that you learned through experience. That was part of the pride of being a New Yorker. The unique experience inspired songs by Billy Joel, Sinatra, and many more you didn't know about. No other city inspires such strong feelings. (A Houston state of mind, anyone?) Start spreading the news/ I'm leaving today/ I wanna be a part of it/ Saint Louis, Missouriiiii

I'm ambivalent about NY's shifting character. There's no sense in condemning changes for the sake of nostalgia and preserving just for memories. But at the same time, have the changes been tasteful and respectful of NY's vibrant past? Will the changes leave NY soulless and dull? It's worth mentioning that people have complained of NY's demise and decline for almost a century now. Only one thing is certain: everyone hates tourists...