Three Cheers for Great Britain

For those of you who haven't heard - the race is over. London will be hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics, so today New York's politicians are pulling their frowny faces out about this loss. And while they lament I'd like to share my own reaction which is - HIP HIP HOORAY! THREE CHEERS FOR LONDON!

Now it can be argued that there were plenty of people who wanted New York to win the bid for the Olympics. People like politcians who figure they'll look good by bringing in so much revenue and tourism to the city. People like Donald Trump who will make a mint renting out hotel rooms to Olympic goers. And of course the guy who sells the little NYC skyline snowglobes and I Love NY t-shirts in Times Square.

But how does everybody else feel about the loss? The people that live and work and pay taxes here? Psyched.

Now I'm not saying that I wasn't on a fence a little about this myself. I'm always happy to see revenue brought into the city, because from my three years as a news reporter in Queens, I know how much we are always in need of it. As a Mets fan, I even don't mind when the Yankees are in the World Series because seven games in the Bronx means mondo bucks for the city. So a part of me wondered if I should tough it out and say, "sure, bring the Olympics on in. It will create jobs, and boost the local economy a whole bunch." Even though it would cripple traffic in every borough, an make life for any Queens, Brooklynite and Bronxite a complete and utter nightmare. (Manhattanites would have suffered somewhat too, but I have less sympathy for them because most of them just take the subway)

But then the verdict on the West Side Stadium came in and I was decided.

We didn't get the West Side Stadium which was a huge part of NY's bid for the Olympics. So Bloomberg had to come up with Plan B. And that was? Queens! He just figured he'd move it all to Queens, to Flushing Meadows Park - which is already a mess most of the summer with Mets games and eventually the U.S. Open.

Mayor Bloomberg, let me tell you something about Queens. It is not just your private dumping ground for whatever you can't fit or don't want in Manhattan. We've already got 17 cemeteries (yes 17) both major NY airports, power plants, and spillover truck traffic from the LIE. And still we manage to be a delightfully joyful, diverse and residential borough. Despite the fact that every minute of our lives there is a 747 roaring overhead and that when you walk to the grocery store you can visit your Aunt Mildred's grave from the sidewalk, Queens is a great borough. (You all know about my borough pride, so just take it and be quiet). So sorry Bloomie. Sorry to burst your bubble, but this one ain't gonna happen. For the first time - Queens wins one.

Score: Queens: 1 Bloomberg: 0