Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Dear Mayor Bloomberg
Dear Mayor-
I am sorry to inform you that I am forced to leave your lovely city. I am giving you six months notice.
My seventeen years here have been wonderful. I have had amazing meals in four star restaurants and from Indian street vendors. I have met people from all over the world. I have seen the view from the world's highest building and cried when it fell. I have taken a nap in Central Park. For 15 years, I never needed a car. I saw Picasso at the Met and Haring in the subway. I heard the Pogues at the Beacon and Mozart at Lincoln Center. It is with deep regret that I leave, but this arrangement is no longer working for me. This weekend I am going to drive across the George Washington bridge and meet with a shifty real estate agent.
There are many reasons for my departure:
1. "Da Boyz" have camped outside my apartment selling drugs, and your police force seems unwilling to dislodge them.
2. Water is seeping in through the walls of my apartment rippling the paint, and my landlord won't repair them because he wants us to leave. If we move, he can raise the rent by a $1000.
3. We can't afford to move to another apartment in our neighborhood. 5 years ago a 1-1/2 bedroom apartment sold for $60,000. Now it costs $350,000.
4. I can't work at home with my kids and your local library doesn't have tables to write on, so I worked today in Starbucks for 2 hours.
5. It takes me 1-1/2 hours every day to get my kid home from pre-school.
6. It costs $5,000 a year (Sept. to June) for two hours at a mediocre pre-school.
7. I can't wake up my baby from his nap and move my car every day. I must pay $300 a month to put it in a lot several blocks away.
There are many more reasons for going, Mr. Mayor. I wish that your city had changed with me. I wish that it had been more accomodating of our children and our middle class income. Sadly, it has not. Therefore, I am terminating our relationship as of the end of the year.
Dear Mayor-
I am sorry to inform you that I am forced to leave your lovely city. I am giving you six months notice.
My seventeen years here have been wonderful. I have had amazing meals in four star restaurants and from Indian street vendors. I have met people from all over the world. I have seen the view from the world's highest building and cried when it fell. I have taken a nap in Central Park. For 15 years, I never needed a car. I saw Picasso at the Met and Haring in the subway. I heard the Pogues at the Beacon and Mozart at Lincoln Center. It is with deep regret that I leave, but this arrangement is no longer working for me. This weekend I am going to drive across the George Washington bridge and meet with a shifty real estate agent.
There are many reasons for my departure:
1. "Da Boyz" have camped outside my apartment selling drugs, and your police force seems unwilling to dislodge them.
2. Water is seeping in through the walls of my apartment rippling the paint, and my landlord won't repair them because he wants us to leave. If we move, he can raise the rent by a $1000.
3. We can't afford to move to another apartment in our neighborhood. 5 years ago a 1-1/2 bedroom apartment sold for $60,000. Now it costs $350,000.
4. I can't work at home with my kids and your local library doesn't have tables to write on, so I worked today in Starbucks for 2 hours.
5. It takes me 1-1/2 hours every day to get my kid home from pre-school.
6. It costs $5,000 a year (Sept. to June) for two hours at a mediocre pre-school.
7. I can't wake up my baby from his nap and move my car every day. I must pay $300 a month to put it in a lot several blocks away.
There are many more reasons for going, Mr. Mayor. I wish that your city had changed with me. I wish that it had been more accomodating of our children and our middle class income. Sadly, it has not. Therefore, I am terminating our relationship as of the end of the year.
