Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Media Watch

Fox Business Tries and Fails to Capture the Dorothy Rabinowitz Magic


 

Might the talking heads at Fox Business turn their gaze to the Plaza Hotel's lawsuit against a nearby Citi Bike station and sneer at the frivolous litigation tying up our courts? Not a chance.

Watch Dorothy Rabinowitz wannabes Melissa Francis and Fred Tecce spend four and a half minutes whipping themselves into faux-libertarian outrage over the installation of bike-share stations on public streets. The gall!

So, yes, Streetsblog is taking the bait and embedding their clip, but when it comes to pageviews, I don't think this one will come close to matching Rabinowitz, creator of the original and best crazy Citi Bike screed. A few reasons:

    • The catchphrases stink. Dorothy Rabinowitz gave us "the bike lobby is an all-powerful enterprise," the alliterative "blazing blue Citibank bikes," and "do not ask me to enter the mind of the totalitarians." When she said the word "begrimed," you were transfixed. After watching Francis and Tecce, I came away with some vague images of snails, frogs, and pigs, but nothing really stuck in my head.
    • It's too canned. The Rabinowitz video was a genuine cri de coeur. She was saying all these insane things, and she really meant them. The Francis and Tecce bit is full of mugging and hamming it up for the camera. It's got theatrical sighs and forced laughter, but no soul.
    • Reality intrudes. Rabinowitz maintained a consistent internal hallucination from start to finish. In her world, she just had to speak for the silent, bike-share-hating majority. In this Fox Business segment, when Francis acknowledges that she must be in the minority, reality manages to puncture the fantasy.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Thursday’s Headlines: Streetsblog Stew Edition

Booze is back on the menu in outdoor dining set-ups. Plus more news.

April 3, 2025

‘Crashland’: As Demand Grows, DOT Still Won’t Finish Bike Lane on Dangerous Brooklyn Road

"A bike network is only as strong as its weakest link," said a safe cycling advocate about Ashland Place's missing bike lane.

April 3, 2025

Duffy Gives Senate Mixed Messages on ‘Woke’ Transportation Funding

The U.S. DOT secretary says he's drowning under a backlog of grants from the Biden administration — but somehow has time to uncover for its "woke" agenda.

April 2, 2025

Bottoms Up! State Liquor Bigs OK Booze for Outdoor Dining After All

The state swooped in to save the day for outdoor drinking.

April 2, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines: To Repeat, This is Not an ‘Accident’ Edition

The mayor can't stop calling preventable crashes "accidents." Plus other news.

April 2, 2025
See all posts