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

Trump DOT Sec. Sean Duffy Is Dead Wrong About New York City’s Bike Lanes

Sean Duffy says he hasn't seen enough data to believe in the benefits of bike lanes. So we put together this cheat sheet to help him out — mostly using information from his own department.

April 25, 2025

Friday Video: Check Out Lorde On a Bike!

The Kiwi singer is on the top of the charts — and in our bike-riding hearts.

April 25, 2025

RELAX: A New City Rule for Private Seating in Public Space Is More of the Same

A proposed new rule governing how much space restaurants can occupy on open streets is hardly controversial, John Surico writes.

April 25, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Double DOT Incompetence Edition

What this city needs is a place to walk on the Queensboro Bridge ... and for the federal DOT to get out of our way. Plus other news.

April 25, 2025
See all posts