Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Streetsblog

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? Of course not.

Watch Dorothy Rabinowitz wannabes Melissa Francis and Fred Tecce spend four and half minutes in 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 Citi Bank 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 Los Angeles

Caltrans Posts Draft Master Plan for PCH in Malibu

Activists agree this plan is a huge improvement over current conditions, but there are some areas where it could be even better.

April 16, 2025

New Bike Lanes on Mission Road and Bonnie Brae Street

New bike lanes are complete on Westlake's Bonnie Brae Street. New partially-protected bike lanes are being installed on Mission Road in Boyle Heights.

April 15, 2025
See all posts