Brat Summer, So Confusing

Are we partying, wondering about the future, or yelling at elected officials?

A quick note: I meant to write this on Wednesday but I had a headache. I blame the humidity. Also these newsletters are normally behind a paywall, but I do not want to put information about local politics behind a paywall, so happy Friday! Please subscribe if you’d like to support or spend your money on some electrolytes for your local community fridge or a local news subscription instead!

It’s summer and summer is when things heat up. It’s not just any summer, it’s a brat summer. My group chats and IRL conversations have been dominated by Brat and of course, Charli and Lorde working it out on the remix. (Context here if you have no idea what I’m talking about). Yes, Brat, Charli xcx’s new album, has songs about it girls and going to the club. She also sings about generational trauma, jealousy, wondering if she should have a baby but also being scared about that, and having weird feelings about someone everyone compares you to (the Lorde situation). Right after the baby song (actual title: i think about it all the time), is 365, which is about having fun at the club. The juxtaposition is important—you can both worry about your future and go dance. I do it all the time (mostly dancing in the car or my room). Charli contains multitudes and thank goodness. Brat has inspired some great conversations (and memes) about design, motherhood, female friendship and how it fits into her overall career and I’m so glad we have it. I drove Leslie, Frida, and Julie to Wegmans last Sunday with it blasting and it was an excellent experience. The other big music of the summer is Chappell Roan (Hot to Go came on at a bar last weekend and it was pure joy).

art c/o bratgenerator.com a great website

Besides the hottest songs of the summer, let’s talk about the heat of the summer! It’s climate change, baby, but you wouldn’t know that from reading the news (thank you

HEATED

for this important reporting). Cue Lorde’s, “I hate the headlines and the weather” but I do like warm weather. In New York, landlords are legally required to provide heat in the winter but not AC in the summer. The libraries are an important cool space on a hot day (among many other vital functions) but their hours have been cut. Related: bullying works, the libraries are getting their funding back and will reopen on Sundays. Let’s do congestion pricing next.

Cyclones games are very fun! Taking the subway to Coney Island takes forever AND getting back is impossible since all the trains stop running properly at night.

As I travel throughout the city in the summer, I can’t help but notice the need for change. The trains are delayed, stations are in rough shape (long overdue ADA improvements are pause), I wait for buses that are not coming. Growing up in Queens, I know this is not new. We relied on the E and F trains to get into Manhattan and I remember whole summers where one or both of them barely ran on the weekends. Not much has changed! On nights and weekends especially (prime time for activities and also a time when many people need to travel to and from work), leaving your neighborhood can be a real challenge. If only there was a plan to fix this! There was: congestion pricing, which was to fund many badly needed improvements (here’s a list and it will make you angry). The MTA board wants to do it and has been planning it for years, but Kathy Hochul canceled it.

This, like access to air conditioning, is a racial and socioeconomic issue, especially in the summer as many wealthy residents flee the city and leave everyone else to sweat and wait. Also did I mention the air quality, which would improve with better public transportation? The lack of lifeguards and free swim programs that leads to drowning at public beaches? Summer is a time to get fired up and share your thoughts with the people that make these decisions. Sign petitions, get involved in community groups, go to a meeting, call your elected officials (it’s very satisfying and you can also call Congress about a ceasefire while you’re dialing). I highly recommend reading local news from Hell Gate, The City, Gothamist to keep us and there are so many neighborhood specific blogs and Instagrams (I love Dutch and Carla).

None of this is to diminish the joy of summer, of hearing music out of car windows, of staying up late and losing track of time, of eating a sandwich on the beach or in the park, of feeling the rain on your skin and having more daylight. But it makes me think about how much better summer could be if our local and state governments invested in the people that live in this city having a livable future. I think about it all the time.

Thanks for joining me on this not so typical This Needs Hot Sauce! Have a good weekend and thank you for being here!

Abigail