New York to Become 'Leading Example' of Urban Camping, Maybe
Ken Salazar, the Interior Secretary, has come up with a fun idea. Urban camping! Okay, the idea to camp in urban areas is not Salazar's per se, but he has just announced that Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn will be developed by the National Park Service to make New York "the leading example of what we can do around the country with urban parks."
Not exactly what Salazar had in mind.
The former airfield is set to expand from five to 90 campsites over the next two years, and maybe, ultimately, to 600. This will make you forget you are even in a city, until you give in and call a car service to take you home because you have mosquito bites and you're out of the delivery zone for your favorite Thai place.
We can't really complain about developing more natural space in the city, particularly in a spot that's not really being used for much -- it's better than turning it into condos, to be sure. But is this really urban camping, or is it just camping camping? This is what we consider urban camping:
--Building a tent out of couch cushions in our apartment and leaving it there for a full day.
--Taking a nap on a park bench in the sun.
--Going to Times Square and eating at Red Lobster while wearing a fanny pack.
--Visiting relatives in the suburbs.
--Sleeping on the fire escape, drunk.
--Battling bedbugs.
Camping or not, along with plenty of green stuff, "the park service is beefing up its use of social media to reach younger audiences with stories of the region." That'll convince 'em! Wait, no, is there Wi-Fi at this "camp"? If you build it, they will come.
Camping in NYC? US Interior Secretary Says Yes [ABC]
[JDoll / @thisisjendoll]
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