Aw, pity poor Evan Roberts.
The WFAN radio blowhard became an instant symbol of car drivers' loathsome privilege on Tuesday during his radio show with Craig Carton (here's the clip. It's only about 30 seconds long, but it speaks volumes about how car owners see the world).
In the segment, Roberts started by saying that he had an hour after going off the air to get from WFAN's Hudson Street studio to the Barclays Center for Tuesday night's playoff game between the future champion Nets and the Boston Celtics. He was belligerent at the concept that he might miss the start of the game because he would be stuck in traffic.
"I feel nervousness about driving to Brooklyn and finding a spot — that's an hour before tipoff!" he said.
Carton suggested that he put the car in a garage, but Roberts said he doesn't like garages because "getting out's a bitch. ... It's not the money. It's the convenience of it."
And then Carton asked "if he'd be riding that horn" if he was stuck in traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. The answer, "Yes. ... It's a playoff game. If I miss the first minute, I will be fuming."
So let's unpack that:
- The WFAN studio is one block from the 1 train at Houston Street. Given how frequently trains run during the evening rush, Roberts would get to Barclays Center in 30 minutes, max.
- Carton never even suggested that Roberts take the subway to the game because he, too, sees the world from his side of the windshield.
- Roberts lives in the suburbs. The only reason he was even considering taking his car to the game is because he wants to get back to his suburban lifestyle quickly, without having to first retrieve his car from the studio.
So, this, in a nutshell is what cars do to their owners (and, by extension, the rest of us): Evan Roberts has chosen a suburban lifestyle and now he's complaining that his choices will put him in traffic — with all the other people who have made a bad choice of how to get to a game in an arena that sits over nine subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road.
Of course, Roberts wasn't the only aggrieved entitled and privileged car driver who did something stupid yesterday. Upper West Side Council Member Helen Rosenthal was caught on camera driving as she testified (virtually) at a Council budget hearing. And get this — Rosenthal was driving from her W. 83rd Street home to a press conference at (wait for it!) W. 88th Street. So for some reason, Rosenthal thought it was better to drive a half mile, endangering her own constituents, rather than walk or take a cab. (We covered it, obviously, as did the Post and Patch.)
The Nets won, by the way (SB Nation).
In other news:
- Kathryn Garcia jumped to the top of one poll yesterday (Politico, NY Post, amNY), but another poll puts Eric Adams on top (NY Post). The Wall Street Journal did it in one story.
- The MTA showed off an electric bus in Midtown yesterday — and promised to buy 60 more, bringing the electric fleet to 85 buses (they do know it's 2021, right?). (NYDN)
- The Post is still trying to find the cloud in Mayor de Blasio's open streets silver lining, but the mayor parried back.
- There are no cops in some subway stations ... but the MTA says it like it's a bad thing. (NY Post)
- The Post and amNY followed our story about the increase in SUVs (and deaths from SUVs!) in New York City.
- The MTA has been overplaying its customers' crime fears. (Gothamist)
