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Today's Random Observation
November 2, 2008
As the US economy sinks down into the crapper, no doubt some cities will be hurt worse than others. So, while out this weekend cavorting around dressed as Athena, crawling around on all fours in a white crushed velvet halter dress under the police barricades during the Halloween Night parade, the thought occurred to me... New York City is starting to look like a shadow of its former self in certain places.
Granted, it was the craziest night of the year and the weather was fetchingly warm. Then of course there were the hordes of people dressed as everything from The Living Dead to a great duo of John and Yoko (so groovy), it always feels like Carnivale. The Halloween Night parade in New York City? On an unseasonably warm Friday night? Forgetaboutit....
But, the troubling part here is that Carnivales, regardless of the city or country they are held in, from Trinidad to Rio, can be said to have emerged as an opiate for the city's poor, targeted at the hungry masses of people. A Let them eat cake kind of thing. Meaning, these festivals are concessions in which the ruling class indulges the poor and working class. Could this type of class-driven pandering happen in New York? Is the city going down hill right before our eyes, as we party the night away in the streets?
Certainly, something seemed amiss. Particularly as large numbers of the stores the parade rolls by were dark and had "For Rent" signs on the gates. And, while the streets were packed, the upscale bars and restaurants along 6th and 8th were pretty empty as people seemed to prefer drinking beer in the streets to starting a tab.
How does one know when a city has truly started to slip versus, simply having a bad year? I would say that the massive layoffs and Wall Street bankruptcies are a start. The restaurants and clothing stores go next. And then the huge condominium developments start to sit empty or stand unfinished. The overall city follows suit and people leave.
I saw extensions of all of the above last night along the parade route in the darkness as people drank and partied the night away.
