{"id":30301,"date":"2014-11-01T19:18:31","date_gmt":"2014-11-01T11:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=30301"},"modified":"2014-11-01T16:37:59","modified_gmt":"2014-11-01T08:37:59","slug":"welcome-to-nyc-taylor-swift-the-locals-are-already-kvetching-about-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/11\/01\/welcome-to-nyc-taylor-swift-the-locals-are-already-kvetching-about-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to NYC, Taylor Swift! The locals are already kvetching about you"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Taylor<\/a>
Taylor Swift. Eva Rinaldi<\/a> \/ Flickr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK\u2014Welcome to New York, Taylor Swift! The locals are kvetching about you already.<\/p>\n

Swift\u2019s new gig as New York City\u2019s global welcome ambassador is getting a Bronx cheer (not that she knows what that is) from locals who questioned her street cred and mocked the videos she made for the city\u2019s tourism agency, NYC & Company.<\/p>\n

In the videos, she explains how to pronounce Houston Street (HOW-ston, not YOU-ston); defines \u201cbodega\u201d as a corner 24-hour store (though the bodega pictured looks spiffier than what most New Yorkers might think of as a bodega), and declares her love for the perfect latte.<\/p>\n

\u201cA latte is not like a slice of pizza, or a bagel,\u201d declared a writer in the Village Voice. The Daily News called her appointment \u201cabsurd.\u201d A Brooklyn city councilman, Jumaane D. Williams, asked in a tweet, \u201cOf all the past\/present talent and celebrities that are actually native NY\u2019ers explain again why #TaylorSwift is our ambassador?\u201d Others wondered why Jay Z, Jerry Seinfeld or J Lo weren\u2019t tapped.<\/p>\n

Even the unflappable anchor for the city\u2019s 24-hour cable news station, NY1\u2019s Pat Kiernan, expressed outrage, asking whether Swift knows who Dr. Zizmor is. (Zizmor is a dermatologist who\u2019s advertised on the subway for years.)<\/p>\n

But NYC & Company spokesman Chris Heywood defended Swift as the perfect choice for the city\u2019s global ambassador.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is the No. 1 global pop star in the world right now,\u201d he said in a phone interview Thursday. \u201cShe is a new New Yorker. She came to New York last spring. This is a new approach, all about the wonderment and excitement you have when you first come to New York City. To have this enthusiasm from a global superstar, who has given us her image and influence to promote New York City, is a gift. We are so grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heywood noted that a previous NYC & Company campaign, \u201cJust ask the locals,\u201d used New Yorkers like Robert De Niro and Cynthia Nixon.<\/p>\n

Swift was born and raised in Pennsylvania, moving to Nashville at age 14 to pursue country music. Last year she bought a $20 million apartment in Tribeca, a trendy downtown Manhattan neighbourhood. Her new album, \u201c1989,\u201d released Monday, is pure pop, marking a break with country.<\/p>\n

Her appointment as global tourism ambassador coincided with the release of her single, \u201cWelcome to New York,\u201d which is on track to sell 1 million copies in a week. She plans to donate proceeds from the song to city public schools, and is not being paid for the ambassador stint.<\/p>\n

Not everyone\u2019s treating Swift the way the Red Sox are greeted by Yankee fans. The New York Post said in an editorial: \u201cThe Swift promotions are not aimed at New Yorkers. They\u2019re aimed at people who live elsewhere. These are people who won\u2019t sneer when Swift explains what a \u2018stoop\u2019 is or the right pronunciation of Houston Street.\u201d<\/p>\n

On \u201cThe Tonight Show,\u201d Jimmy Fallon quipped, \u201cHow could we let a woman who\u2019s not even from New York welcome people to the city?\u201d adding in a French accent, \u201cThe Statue of Liberty said, \u2018I know, it\u2019s just crazy.\u201d\u2018<\/p>\n

Pauline Frommer, a born-and-raised New Yorker who wrote \u201cFrommer\u2019s EasyGuide to New York City,\u201d acknowledged that immigrants make New York great, adding, \u201cTaylor Swift is certainly one of our most talented new arrivals.\u201d But she questioned how Swift could represent the city. \u201cWould \u2018carpetbagging\u2019 be the right term here?\u201d<\/p>\n

Swift\u2019s representative did not respond to a request for comment. But Swift told David Letterman she was chosen to promote the city because she couldn\u2019t stop raving about New York as \u201cthe greatest place ever. I guess the city picked up on that, they\u2019re like, \u2018She\u2019s the most enthusiastic, obnoxious person to ever love New York. She loves it with like 18 exclamation points.\u201d\u2018<\/p>\n

Online<\/h6>\n

http:\/\/www.nycgo.com\/w2ny<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK\u2014Welcome to New York, Taylor Swift! The locals are kvetching about you already. Swift\u2019s new gig as New York …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-hollywood","mauthors-beth-j-harpaz","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30301\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}