ROLLING WITH PRIDE: Villager Publisher Jennifer Goodstein, front row, third from left, and NYC Community Media staffers — and the “Kinky Boots” guys — manned the Gay City News truck at Sunday’s Pride March. They handed out thousands of issues of Gay City News, The Villager’s sister paper, to the cheering throngs along the route, many of whom expressed their heartfelt thanks for Gay City News’s ongoing coverage of critical issues affecting gay civil rights, including, notably, Villager Edie Windsor’s recent smashing DOMA victory in the Supreme Court. They also handed out cool rainbow-colored Gay City News rub-on tattoos. Troy Masters, G.C.N. associate publisher, is in front row at far left. Michael Shirey, The Villager’s art director, is in the back row, second from left, and reporter Kaitlyn Meade is in the front row, second from right. District Leader candidate Arthur Schwartz rolled with the G.C.N. crew, too, buying advertising space on the side of the truck.
LEO ROLLS WITH CITI BIKE: It looks like Leonardo DiCaprio is a Citi Bike fan. Our publisher, Jennifer Goodstein — who always seems to be where the action is — was standing near the corner of Spring and Hudson Sts. outside Ellen’s Deli on Monday afternoon, chatting with ad rep Julio Tumbaco and administrative assistant Cynthia Soto, when Goodstein, to her surprise, spotted DiCaprio and a buddy pedaling the distinctive blue bikes the wrong way up Renwick St., and then along the sidewalk on Spring St. The “Great Gatsby” star and his dark-haired sidekick came riding slowly down the pavement, swerving while talking to each other, just barely squeezing behind Tumbaco and Soto, without even ringing their bells. At the corner, they hung a left onto Hudson St., where — at last, no longer breaking the rules — they steered their Citi Bikes into the street and used the bike lane. DiCaprio wasn’t wearing a helmet, but instead sported a backwards newsboy cap and shades. They weren’t dressed in spandex or anything for a major workout, but had on normal street clothes. Soto said DiCaprio’s pal, in particular, passed by pretty darn close. “If anything, the friend was right on our tails,” she said. “They probably should have rang their bells, since, let’s face it, they were riding on the sidewalk.” Said Goodstein, “Leo might be H-O-T, but riding a bike on the sidewalk is N-O-T.”
Photo by Scoopy
CITI SEATS: On Christopher St. during the Pride March, the Citi Bike racks by the PATH entrance made for great seats for spectators. Apparently, these bikes were removed before the march. On Barrow St. near Hudson St. other revelers took a load off, parking it on the seats of docked Citi Bikes — but at least they weren’t doing the new craze that’s sweeping the East Village, “Citi Bike SoulCycle.” Yes, there was a lot of litter in the space between the bike docks and the curbs — but, hey, there was a lot of stuff all over. Maybe next year there will be a huge trash-can float that people can throw their bottles and cans, etc. into.
