Gravesend Native Schools Taylor Swift On The *Real* New York In Hilarious Video
Oh, Taylor. First you released that terrible, terrible single about our beloved city. Then we learned that it was just a publicity stunt for your new role as the “Global Welcome Ambassador” for New York City’s tourism department.
Well, some folks are not impressed with Taylor Swift’s shiny informational videos (such as this Tribeca-centric NYC vocabulary lesson). In a hilarious parody site (with a perfect domain: www.globalambassador.nyc), three native New Yorkers give the singer some pointers about what New York is really about.
“Brooklyn is not a bunch of bearded hipsters eating kale salad. It’s just good, working-class people in a lot of places,” Paul Bomba, 35, the writer and producer behind the site, told us. “I think Taylor Swift was chosen as a symbol of gentrification.”
Bomba, who grew up in Gravesend, was shocked when he learned that Swift was selected as Welcome Ambassador. So he decided to do something about it. He registered the NYC domain name and put out a casting call for native-born New York actors.
Queens-born Tommy Ray and Inwood-native Brianne Berkson responded, and last week the trio shot three videos on a Bushwick apartment building. Within days, Bomba had edited the footage and loaded them onto the site.
Bomba says his goal is to make people laugh and highlight the ridiculousness of the city’s choice of Swift.
“I just don’t think she gets it yet,” said Bomba. “Yes, New York City has more millionaires than any other city in the U.S. At the same time, there are eight million other people who don’t just show up in New York and can buy whatever apartment they want.”
“I’ve been here my entire life and I still have a lot to learn about the city,” he added.
Bomba has no hard feelings towards Swift, though.
“If she reaches out to me, I’d love to meet her and take her out for a slice of pizza at L&B Spumoni Gardens,” he said.