Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Ad Nauseam

New York: A “Drivers’ Paradise”

525647532_503487f0f5.jpg

Move over, biker babes. A presumably tongue-in-cheek article in the Observer heralds the "Californication of New York," thanks to the proliferation of automobiles in "young, lifestyle neighborhoods" like Williamsburg, Astoria and Inwood.

According to the piece, a growing number of suburban transplants see auto reliance as a comforting reminder of home.

"I didn't realize how much I missed the car until I had it here," said Lauren Robinson, a 25-year-old dietician with pixie-cut brown hair, a fetching dimple, and a bearded beau who was dutifully loading groceries into her Honda CR-V. The Honda was a relic of her youth in upstate New York, but she had recently brought it to the city after moving from car-hostile Manhattan to auto-friendly Brooklyn. She didn't really need the vehicle, and, theoretically, she could have grabbed a bus to Fairway. But, as she explained, "It's just so easy to jump in and drive somewhere."

"I don't think you need a car," she said, "but I think it's definitely a plus. And it definitely makes me feel more" -- she paused to search for the word -- "well, not like such a city person."

The article says the relative ease of keeping a car almost anywhere outside Lower Manhattan, due in part to auto-centric development and plentiful parking, makes the city a "drivers' paradise." It even gives a wink to that most heartwarming ritual of suburban youth: drunk driving.

Perhaps the real sign of the car culture apocalypse -- the hint that, when it comes to wheels at least, Williamsburg and Winnetka might not be so different after all -- is the sobriety check that cops have set up on Meeker Avenue, near one of the on-ramps to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway ... A floating barricade of police, batons and breath-a-lizers, just like back home!

And what of the costs, environmental or otherwise, of bringing a "four-wheeled friend" to the city?

"It just seems to me, if I stop driving my car, I don't think that's doing anything about the real issue," said Hans, a 31-year-old Williamsburg media guy (and musician, of course) with a receding, Jack Nicholson hairline and Chattanooga drawl, as he eyed his silver Elantra. "I know I'm contributing to it, but the end of the day, I obviously don't feel bad enough about it to not drive my car."

Photo: Love_is/Flickr

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Kiss Wednesday’s Headlines on the Bus

Bus-only lanes result in faster service that saves transit agencies money and helps riders get to work faster.

May 1, 2024

Freeway Drivers Keep Slamming into Bridge Railing in L.A.’s Griffith Park

Drivers keep smashing the Riverside Drive Bridge railing - plus a few other Griffith Park bike/walk updates.

April 30, 2024

Four Things to Know About the Historic Automatic Emergency Braking Rule

The new automatic emergency braking rule is an important step forward for road safety — but don't expect it to save many lives on its own.

April 30, 2024

Who’s to Blame for Tuesday’s Headlines?

Are the people in this photo inherently "vulnerable", or is this car just dangerous?

April 30, 2024
See all posts