by Shahram “Shah” Dabiri
A wise man once told me, “Nothing good lasts forever and nothing bad lasts for very long.”
As of the stroke of midnight on November 29th, 2024 what was once an attempt to save our city, culture, friendships and sanity in the depths of our fear of an unknown, unseen threat that left Times Square abandoned and extinguished, the lights of Broadway will be unceremoniously outlawed and taken down at best, or regulated to oblivion at worst.
What was once seen as an act of rebellion, a stab to the heart of fear itself, morphed into the space where we could sit, break bread, drink, eat, smile, laugh, people watch and wave to old friends and make new ones. It was sitting outside Marselle, enjoying your 20th happy hour oysters and second perfect martini, wondering why your well-to-do friend just left Rudy’s. Or a laugh sitting outside Cowgirl drinking margaritas and eating corn dogs, chatting the Leather Daddies and Leather Mommies on their way to the next adventure, or just hearing church bells sing their goodbye song during Sunday brunch as people left mass…outdoor dining no matter the place or the space made us feel some type of way that nothing ever did.
And yes, it was an imperfect solution to an imperfect response carried out by imperfect people. Yet done with the archetypal of intentions and the greatest of hopes to save to revive to reanimate and heal our souls in a time of fear. And it could have only happened in the most beautiful and yet imperfect city on earth. A city that everyone wants to live in and be a part of: New York!
So come December 1st, light a candle and place it in a window, as we say goodbye to our last shared space where we wrapped up tightly in the winter, fanned ourselves in the heat of summer, never found ourselves alone or on our phone. For December 1st is the day we will lose our quiet friend who brought us out of the darkness and into the light. And as you walk by the corpses of what was something amazingly imperfect, bow your head and remember the good times and let a tear fall and hope for a better unconnected future. For outdoor dining made us all feel some type of way…