NYNY 2019: "We'd be toast!"

"Hey, she's tough.  She's a harbour chick!"

Peter Venkman, Ghostbusters 2

On our first real morning in New York, Karli and I make our way down to Battery Park, at the south end of Manhattan Island.  It's a bit of a sentimental spot for us from our first trip, and it's a pleasantly low-key way to start the day - we take some pictures, ride the underwater-themed SeaGlass carousel, stroll along the water's edge, and then take advantage of the city-supplied seats to just sit in the park enjoying the morning.   We've arrived in the middle of a heat wave, so the temperatures are more reminiscent of Miami than Manhattan, but it's still pleasantly cool at this point in the day.

As we sit looking through the trees at the Statue of Liberty, Karli breaks a companionable silence.

"You would NOT want to be in New York in case of an apocalypse." *

​​​​​"I've seen all the movies - even Cloverfield started at Coney Island!   And we’re close to the Statue of Liberty - we’d be toast!"

 

She's not wrong. There is no version of the apocalypse that I want to experience in New York. Just ask Robert Neville.  Or Snake Plissken.  Or Larry Underwood. Or Gerry Lane.  Or the Avengers, come to think of it. 

Second, to quote Jeff Goldblum from the second Independence Day movie, "They like to get the landmarks," and let's face it, New York is full of iconic structures that provide an instant recognition factor when the aliens are looking for something to destroy. (Although film makers may have been pulling back from that kind of destruction in Manhattan since 9-11.)

As Karli points out, the Statue of Liberty has been a frequent flyer in terms of apocalyptic destruction - if you're going to show that the end times are here, you'll probably feature Liberty's fallen head as part of the scenery.

 

However, there's one small problem with all of this.  Did any of these people look at the actual location of the Statue of Liberty before deciding to stick the poor woman's head in the middle of a New York thoroughfare?  Liberty is located almost three kilometers from Battery Park, the southernmost part of Manhattan, it's not like her head would just fall into the middle of the street during the downfall of civilization.  (Yes, I'm looking at you, Escape From New York poster.) However, let's be fair: it's not impossible that the monster from Cloverfield would be able to toss the statue's head into the city, although lord knows why it would bother.

 

On the other hand, the Cloverfield creature may have gotten off easy.  Remember Ghostbusters II?

- Sid

* These are the moments when you know you're married to the right person.