[00:17] Meg: Welcome to Desperately Seeking the 80s.

[00:19] Jessica: I am Meg and I'm Jessica. And Meg and I have been friends since 1982. We got through middle school and high school together here in New York City, where we still live, or there in New York City, where we both still live.

[00:33] Meg: It's so hard when we mess up the thing the top. Because now I'm like, what am I supposed to say next? In New York City, where we podcast about New York city in the 80s. I do ripped from the headlines.

[00:46] Jessica: And I do pop culture. Yay.

[00:49] Meg: That was scary. So this is the second time that we are recording over zoom, assuming that the last time went successfully. So the experiment continues. Very, very exciting. Very international of us.

[01:05] Jessica: Yay technology. Yay international. It's very cool. It's all happening.

[01:11] Meg: And guess what? I have a fun little thing to share with you before I jump into my story. My cousin Taylor Swift sent me something via the Internet that he was like, I can't be the only one sending you this this week. Right? And yet he was the only one who sent it to me. Have you seen this new Superman movie?

[01:39] Jessica: I've heard the hubbub about it. I have not seen it. I don't plan to watch it.

[01:45] Meg: Why not? Everyone says it's wonderful. There's a dog, Jessica. There's a super dog. He's super.

[01:53] Jessica: Did you hear that? No, I did not know. Come on, superdog. Okay, I. I've been reading that. It's awful.

[02:06] Meg: I know everyone I know who have seen it, and these are people who are standing right in front of me have said it's transcendent.

[02:14] Jessica: I don't doubt that they said that the reviews that I have, like in the trades people have been less than excited. But please do continue.

[02:27] Meg: Okay. Anyway, I trust my sources over the trades and I'm very excited to see it. But that aside, fun fact about Superman, the star, David Corensvet.

[02:43] Jessica: Yes.

[02:44] Meg: Very attractive young man. His grandfather is Edward Thackerd, the author and creator of the choose your own adventure books.

[02:56] Jessica: Stop it. Stop it.

[02:59] Meg: I refuse to stop.

[03:02] Jessica: Oh, my God. So his mom was read to and she was the one who came up with what the adventure should be.

[03:12] Meg: She was the smart little girl.

[03:15] Jessica: Yes. His mom is the smart little girl.

[03:19] Meg: And now you say you're not going to see this movie. Jessica, really?

[03:23] Jessica: You know, I've seen him in other things because I remember noting the name and thinking, thank God you're so good looking when your name is Corin Sweat.

[03:33] Meg: Not a good name.

[03:34] Jessica: So, yes, I know who he is. So Look, I'll see it when, certainly when it's streaming.

[03:43] Meg: You don't have to see it. I think I will absolutely see. It's such a summer movie. The people who have seen it already and love it say they want to go back.

[03:53] Jessica: Really?

[03:54] Meg: Yeah.

[03:55] Jessica: All right, well, you know what? I'm going to get my. My little jaded self to a theater and enjoy, you know, a summer block, hopefully summer blockbuster.

[04:08] Meg: With a dog.

[04:10] Jessica: With a super dog. I don't know if that's cause selling me on it. That's a real hit or miss.

[04:17] Meg: He has special powers and skills.

[04:20] Jessica: I mean, is this a satire? Like, is this a send up of Superman? A little bit. No.

[04:25] Meg: It's apparently incredibly heartfelt. It's very sincere.

[04:30] Jessica: Okay. All right, look, I'm intrigued now. Like, now my interest is piqued.

[04:38] Meg: Excellent. Well, I'm going to dive in. Okay. Because my next story is also very timely. Okay. As you will soon discover, my sources are.

[04:50] Jessica: I will continue to try not to interrupt you.

[04:54] Meg: It's just because Zoom is so obnoxious about it.

[04:57] Jessica: I know. I'm, I'm, I'm just takes a lot of concentration.

[05:02] Meg: My sources are New York Now, Channel 13, which was a program on Channel 13 called New York Now.

[05:12] Jessica: I got that when you said New York now on channel 13.

[05:17] Meg: I'd never seen it before. I thought I knew everything that was local, but I did not know this show. Washington Post, New York Times, and Playboy. Just for a little spice. On February 22, 1982, Mayor Ed Koch announced that he would be running for governor of New York. He had previously vowed to never run for another office. Cross quote, I love the job I have and the city which I serve, but national politics and Governor carries withdrawal from consideration following his controversial marriage to Evangeline Gulatas, which I will do. I'm going to do that as a separate story because I was like, I really want to know why people hated her so much so that we're going to put a pin in that. We're going to do a separate story on that. But Governor Kerry, along with his marriage to her, and he made some other sort of snafus. He was not going to run again. All right? So that led Ed to believe it was time for him to move up the ranks. Also, the New York Post ran a front page story urging people to draft Koch to be governor, telling them to start a write in campaign. So they were putting pressure on him. So with that endorsement, the endorsement of the Post and all of that energy, because Koch had become a national figure. Just because he's so, I don't know, outspoken in New York is so central to all that is news. People knew who he was in a way that, like, lots of people don't necessarily know who a mayor is. Well, that made him go, all right, I'm going to step in the ring. This is another quote from Ed. I am sure there will be those who will question whether I would care all about the state's residents and regions. The same question was raised in the city when I first ran for mayor. And the city's answer came last November when I carried every assembly district and won the support of three, three out of four, New Yorkers. To the people of the state, I would make the same promise I made to the people of this city. I will be fair, decide issues on the merits, and be the governor of all the people. But two days later, on February 24, an interview that Ed had given to Playboy magazine and was due to hit the stands in April was leaked to the press. Back in December, when Ed was fresh off his second mayoral victory, he had sat down with Peter Masso for 16 and a half hours. In that interview, Ed Koch called City Council President Carol Bellamy a pain in the ass, which was unfortunate, because if he did become governor, she would succeed him as mayor. But it got worse. He said that, quote, anyone who suggests that I run for governor is no friend of mine. And that being governor, quote, requires living in Albany, which is small town living at its worst. And just to make a bad situation even worse, when Peter Masso mentioned, quote, the dirt, the crime, and the inconvenience of his great city, Koch really laid in, quote, have you ever lived in the suburbs? I haven't, but I've talked to people who have, and it's sterile. It's wasting your life. And people who do not wish to waste their lives after they've seen New

[09:15] Jessica: York, well, that is not a good campaign platform. I hate the suburbs. Albany sucks. And if you live in the suburbs, you're a chump. Okay.

[09:28] Meg: Wasting your life. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[09:31] Jessica: Not good.

[09:32] Meg: When Masso pressed Koch on a, quote, a more pastoral existence, life in the country, Koch spat back the country. Rural America. That is a joke. Rural America doesn't even exist anymore. Not even the farms. Let's leave out rural America with the cows. He said Albany was, quote, a city without a good Chinese restaurant.

[10:00] Jessica: It just keeps getting worse. It's actually. It's almost impressive. He really just. He just let it rip.

[10:09] Meg: He did.

[10:10] Jessica: Yep.

[10:11] Meg: Masso was a master baiter and challenged Cot. How much time was wasted in the city because of, quote, poor services? I assume he was talking about the subways. I'm not sure. Subways and buses. Koch let loose, quote, as opposed to wasting time in a car or out in the country, wasting your time in a pickup truck when you have to drive 20 minutes to buy a gingham dress or Sears robot suit. This rural American thing, I'm telling you, it's a joke.

[10:56] Jessica: It's classes, too.

[10:58] Meg: He went straight for it.

[11:00] Jessica: Oh, my God. The king of I'm dead. That is so funny. Okay,

[11:10] Meg: so the people of upstate New York didn't think it was so funny. And when Kot tried to play off his remarks as playful banter with a, quote, Devil's Advocate interviewer, no one was buying it. Mario Cuomo, the Democratic lieutenant governor at the time and Koch's rival in the upcoming Democratic primary, called the comments in Playboy, quote, an expensive disgrace, pitting upstate New York against the city. And now that the city. And now the city would have a hard time getting state aid. It was a very awkward way to begin a campaign. Mario and Ed went back a ways. In 1977, Democratic primary race for mayor of New York City, posters started popping up. Quote, vote for Cuomo, not the homo.

[12:18] Jessica: Well, we know who, because this is. This is a callback.

[12:22] Meg: It is, yes. So Mario swore he knew nothing about these posters, but he also didn't do much to stop them.

[12:35] Jessica: No.

[12:35] Meg: According to an interview Koch gave in 2009, quote, they put up signs on Queens Boulevard, the whole boulevard. It was shocking. I called Mario a week or two before the election. I said, mario, this is happening. Mario, you gotta do something about it. It's not right. I don't believe he did anything. That matter has affected our relationship from 77 through to this year. I always held it against him. I also held it against his son, Andy Cuomo, who, as you and I both know, Jessica, most believe were behind the posters. This is back to Koch. Even though social relationships when we meet in public are good, underneath, he knows. I know what I'm really thinking. You bleep? I don't know. The article said bleep, so I don't know what Koch would have called.

[13:33] Jessica: Playboy, said, bleep.

[13:35] Meg: No, no, this isn't in Playboy. This was an interview he gave to local news.

[13:39] Jessica: Oh, oh, oh, okay.

[13:41] Meg: So who do you think? What. What bleep do you think Koch would give Mario Cuomo?

[13:45] Jessica: You?

[13:46] Meg: I don't know. What's a Koch bleep?

[13:49] Jessica: I'm thinking, like, I'm thinking like something along the lines of piece of. But yeah, yeah. I'm trying to think of like an old school insult. But I'm. This is, this is one for my dad. We should ask Bird.

[14:07] Meg: Yes, let's ask your dad and we'll talk about it.

[14:11] Jessica: What is it? Call a friend.

[14:13] Meg: Yes. So Koch won the 1977 Democratic primary for governor. Sorry, take that back. Koch won the 1977 Democratic primary for mayor, but Cuomo stayed in the race. Isn't that interesting? Representing the Liberal Party. So now it was Koch who's a Democrat, and Cuomo who was the Liberal Party, basically. Yes, exactly. An independent, which is, you know, being

[14:47] Jessica: echoed now through the years.

[14:51] Meg: Yes, we will talk about that in a moment, I am sure. But then Koch beat Mario Cuomo in the general, so he became mayor. 1977. As we all know, history was made. But here they were five years later. Koch was a national figure and had won. The Democratic machine was absolutely on his side. And of course, as we already discussed, he had the Post, but now Mario Cuomo had Playboy. At all of these quotes. It was a very long article. Koch tried to save the situation. Oh, God, this is so awkward. Watching these clips to Jessica, I, I feel, I actually feel bad for him. He traveled upstate just to be booed at his appearances. He had photos taken of him milking a cow.

[15:46] Jessica: No, no.

[15:49] Meg: Just as ridiculous as it sounds. And the fact that he hated every moment he spent out of the city didn't help. It was obvious on his face. And he would rush back. He wouldn't spend more than the time it took to drive to the location, have the appearance and drive home. He never stayed overnight.

[16:14] Jessica: He took the time to grab a cow and that was it. Well, you know, the thing about Koch, and we've talked about this in many different ways, is that his hubris knew no bounds. And so the fact that he didn't say, you know, not only have I outed myself as a hater of all things not New York City, but I don't even want to. Like, I don't care about anything but New York City. But he had to win. Like, that's the thing about Koch is that this whole story is like, why didn't you just stop? Like, was it because the Post told you to?

[16:58] Meg: No, he had plenty of time to stop.

[17:01] Jessica: Yeah, he, it was.

[17:02] Meg: The article was leaked two days after he made his announcement. He had plenty of time, but he thought he could save it now. Interesting. He was actually the forerunner for most of the campaign. And you got all those Polls and everything. And everyone thought, gosh, wow, maybe he's going to pull it out. I mean, it's definitely going to be close. Mario was still the underdog, mostly because, I mean, people might not even remember Mario Cuomo. He, he was an interesting guy. He had very different vibe from Koch, and he just hadn't had a lot of. He hadn't had a lot of national attention because he was a lieutenant governor.

[17:51] Jessica: I mean, he was a behind the scenes operator kind of person and not a showman. You know, something else just occurred to me because I didn't know about the Playboy interview. Isn't it interesting that Cuomo and son chose to go with vote for Cuomo, not the homo, when they could have just printed what Koch had said.

[18:22] Meg: Oh, no. Oh, that was fire. Yeah. Oh, the posters were in 1977. And now we are five years later.

[18:31] Jessica: I'm sorry. Okay, forgive.

[18:33] Meg: And now they were, they were absolutely talking about this Playboy interview every single time they had a chance. Quite rightly, it was gold. Right now, one thing that Koch had going for him, which is interesting, is that he, and this is what kept him very much in the running, is that he believed in the death penalty.

[18:55] Jessica: Really?

[18:55] Meg: Yes. And that was polling very well. And Cuomo did not. And everyone kept telling him, well, maybe the death penalty for some really horrible people. And, you know, because that might help you if you just admitted that, like, maybe some people, just, just a couple of them, the death penalty wouldn't be so bad for them. And he absolutely would not be swayed. No death penalty. Cuomo said, absolutely not. Never. All right. His mother, Mama Cuomo, called him and said, please, please, Mario, just tell us we can kill somebody. Absolutely not. He wouldn't budge. He wouldn't move. He was a man of convictions. The race was tight moving into the summer when the two candidates faced off at a debate at the New York Sheraton. And by all accounts, Mario wiped the floor with Koch. Koch had underestimated his old rival, and ultimately Cuomo bested him 51% to 49% and went on to defeat Republican Louis Luhrmann to become our governor. And so Ed Koch would remain New York City's mayor for the rest of the decade. And with all that went down during. And with all that that went down during the primary, most attribute Koch's loss to the Playboy article, about which Koch later said, quote, I'm able to take what is a common sense point of view and express it in a succinct way so that people can grasp it, which I thought Was kind. Even, even all those years later, he was like, well, they really knew that I didn't like upstate. I communicated that very succinctly. That came, that came through.

[21:00] Jessica: Well, I guess that's the silk purse he made out of that sow's ear. The sow on the farm that he didn't want to visit. I don't know what. Such a weirdo. Well, you know, was interesting to me about this just sort of popped into my head is that, you know, Mario Cuomo and Andrew Cuomo and his. Who is this idiot brother who is on the news?

[21:31] Meg: That's Andy.

[21:32] Jessica: I know Andrew Cuomo is, is the one who's running for mayor.

[21:35] Meg: Right, right, right. No, no, no. Who's the brother? Sorry.

[21:38] Jessica: Chris.

[21:39] Meg: Chris.

[21:40] Jessica: You know, there's this whole thing in this country. I'm going to get on a tiny soapbox for a second. It's a very small one, very short. That quite rightly, quite rightly, we are all very. No kings. You know, on that whole tip. Yes. What I think is interesting is that these politicians continue to try to create dynasties. And I mean, what could be more king related or royal related than trying to create a dynasty so that your family's ethics or ethos or whatever money continues. You know, we have the Bushes and the Clintons were really working it for a while and the Cuomos are no exception that it's like, why, why are we saddled? Because you are trying to be your daddy. Like, seriously, go home and fuck off. Like, enough.

[22:42] Meg: I am. Well, I'm certainly not going to get on my soapbox about the upcoming race, but I'm not excited. I will say this. I am not excited about Cuomo running. And I don't think Cuomo is excited about Cuomo running. Which sort of reminded me of this when I was reading it. It was like, you don't want this job. Why are you doing it if you don't want it?

[23:05] Jessica: Well, and again, let's go back to. Well, I have to live up to my dynasty, but who knows? I don't know. That's my off the cuff random association. I, I could be full of, full of beans, I don't know. But it occurs.

[23:25] Meg: Gotta dig up this picture with milking the cow.

[23:32] Jessica: Please do, dude. It seems it sounds like he must have been like, while he was doing it.

[23:41] Meg: Like, why am I eating my allergies? My allergies.

[23:46] Jessica: Like, eyes streaming, gagging, like I'm holding a teat. Why I want to let go of this. He's, he's, you know. Yeah, he's, he's not a pro teat generally. So, you know, little pull. Well, that was fascinating. That was fascinating. Thank you for that. And because I know we're trying to keep things rocking and rolling, I'm going to ask you a little question. Hey, Meg.

[24:22] Meg: Yes.

[24:22] Jessica: Going to the beach. Are you a beach person?

[24:25] Meg: I do enjoy going to the beach. I mean, I'm not a huge fan of sand. It's all up in your stuff.

[24:35] Jessica: It's everywhere.

[24:36] Meg: But I do bolds, you know, I like swimming in the ocean.

[24:40] Jessica: Interesting, interesting. I've never been a huge fan. You know, like there have been some very nice beaches that I've been on and very calm, whatever, but the ocean's always made me a little nervous. I'm fully aware of the power of the ocean and that it will win. I will not win. The ocean will win. So let's just keep this in mind that I have this aversion and the story that I'm going to tell today is it contributes a little bit to why I am not the biggest fan of the beach.

[25:21] Meg: Okay.

[25:22] Jessica: All right, here we go. So July 19, 1988, New York Times. Picture it. Sicily, 1942. Okay, there is front page news. Think of how bad this has to be to be front page news. Vast persistent air pattern spreading heat wave. There was a heat wave in July of 1988 that was tar meltingly horrific. It was a. And it was the whole country. It was the. Across the northern band from, from California to Vermont, Maine and then down into New York, New Jersey, the whole tri state area. We were baking nightmare. And it went on and on and did not stop. I will quote, almost the entire country from California to Cape Cod is roasting in scorching heat because of an unusual set of meteorological conditions brought on by the spread of a vast vortex of high pressure air. This is expanded from the cradle of all things suspect the Middle west, where it persisted for a sweltering month all across the northern United States. It is unusual for there to be such a pervasive weather pattern that just sits there like a lid over the country. Now, scientists were starting to talk about climate change and they were talking about the greenhouse effect.

[27:14] Meg: Yes, I remember they were talking about

[27:17] Jessica: the hole in the ozone layer. And there were some bad things that were starting to come into our consciousness in the 80s about what was to come. I quote, scientists who specialize in climate trends said the current weather pattern could have occurred without any increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, adding to a global effect whereby heat is trapped in the atmosphere by polluting gases as if by a greenhouse. But they said the rise in such gases could lead to more hotter than usual summers in the Future. So in 1988, all the stuff that we are now talking about definitely was being discussed at the time. Even in the 60s and 70s, scientists were going to Antarctica and they were drilling deep into to get core ice samples. And they could see that this is actually the way that the Earth, like we go through hot periods. And so this is in addition to carbon emissions, this was going to happen anyway. So there's a lot of anxiety, a lot of that stuff going on, that even a slight rise in the average global temperature could mean that hot summers will be hotter and probably more frequent and low temperatures won't get so low, which is where we are right now, as we all know.

[28:55] Meg: Indeed, yes.

[28:58] Jessica: Now, let me see. The east was expected to be cooling off soon, but they didn't know when. There was no absolute relief in sight. Now when it's this. Oh, and by the way, the other thing that was going on at the same time was that in 1988, same year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, a name that really rolls off the tongue, heralds a new era of climate research. So established by the UN and the World Meteorological association organization, WMO, the IPCC is the UN's the body responsible for assessing the science related to climate change. And there were five reports that came out of the IPCC that were the cornerstone upon which international climate change negotiations have relied. And they are still relied on to this day. So when we talk about climate change, 1988 was a big year where people were, they were. It was so unimaginably hot that there was no way not to talk about it now. Now, what does one do when one is very hot and you live on an island called Manhattan or, I don't know, a coastal state? What does one do? Meg?

[30:31] Meg: You go to Coney island, you go to the beach.

[30:35] Jessica: Except if it's 1988, because what was happening, and this has stuck in my mind since 1988 and gives me the horrors. That was the summer of Syringe Tide. Do you remember Syringe Tide?

[30:54] Meg: Oh, God, it sounds awful.

[30:58] Jessica: Yes, it was an environmental disaster from 1987 to 1988 that affected the Tri State area where significant amounts of medical waste were coming up on the beaches with raw garbage and sewage.

[31:18] Meg: Oh, my God.

[31:19] Jessica: Forcing the closure of beaches on the Atlantic coast. So it's boiling hot. You can't go to the beach Right. Not good.

[31:31] Meg: We're just not allowed to complain about anything ever again because it gets worse.

[31:36] Jessica: Hold on. So officials are scrambling to identify the source of this. Now, why is it called syringe tide? Well, medical waste. The predominance of syringe used syringes in the medical waste was so extreme that they were literally just waves of syringes coming up on the shore. And it was a very bad thing because not only was it terrifying and no one knew where it was coming from and, oh, I don't know, it was the. The AIDS crisis was going on. So there's. And there were even like some blood banks bags. Like it was not good. Not good. What did these coastal towns rely on? They rely on tourism, summer tourism, all of it gone. So these towns were now out billions of dollars that they were then going to have to rely on the state to help get their business, keep businesses from all going under. Well, the source was eventually found. Okay, so I will tell you what the source was in just one second. And it just makes me laugh because it's so messed up and of course it's from this. But I'm just going to read a little bit about how it was presented to New Yorkers and the tri state dwellers at the time. Two beaches on Staten island and the beach at Jacob Reese park in Queens remained closed yesterday after more medical. Wait. More medical waste washed up with the morning tide. Officials said they had found 30 syringes at Midland beach and two at South beach, which have been closed on Staten island since last Wednesday. All other beaches have also remained closed until tides are free of syringes. The sanitation department was continuing its investigation into the origin of the material. We must have three clean tides before we can reopen the beaches. So think about this tide, the tide, what is it? Once a day? So you had to have three days in a row. They couldn't have three days in a row of no ma medical waste. Can you imagine the shit show literally of that? Some people still turned up to the beach maybe hoping for a breeze. But people were so grossed out and so freaked out, they were like, we're not even going to go to like make a fuss. We don't want to be around this. And in addition to the syringe tide and the sewage and horror that was coming up, charity workers in Queens were emptying a clothing bin and discovered a cardboard box containing seven vials of blood and a black plastic bag with 14 needle tip syringes and nine needles. Quote, it's another instance of someone illegally Dumping infectious waste. We've seen it on the beaches, seen it in the ocean, and we're finding it now. In other words, places. So is then followed up with an article about solution to ocean waste is baffling lawmakers. Now, I'll cut to the chase on this one. Rather hilariously, the EPA was just not doing what they were supposed to do. They had, they were not allotting the funds to clean up water. They're like, we have other things we need to do. The peaches will sort themselves out.

[35:25] Meg: Alphonse, thanks a lot. Yeah.

[35:27] Jessica: Senator Alphonse d' Amato freaked out and was like, are you kidding me? Excuses are not acceptable. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Democrat of New York, saw a link between the dirty water and the gentrification of politics. He said the governing classes nowadays want to talk about social justice and projects that provide jobs for lawyers. No one wants to talk about sewers, meaning like legal battles. Oh, not like, not like, oh, you're an out of work lawyer, let me give you a job. No, no, like legal battles over social justice and ideals and ideas, not the, the oceans full of shit and needles. So he's, that's, that's part of the problem. Lynn Edgerton, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Fund, said, I think you don't give A's for effort, but only for results. And it should be obvious that we are not winning this war. So what was the source? The source was. I shouldn't say this, but I will. Somewhat predictably. Staten Island. Oh, no, no. What happened was the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island, New York was improperly disposing of medical waste.

[36:54] Meg: Oh, were they?

[36:56] Jessica: Oh, yes. So they knew all along they were receiving 90% of the city's medical waste. So that's not a good thing to begin with. That's too much to process. They were improperly disposing of it, setting it out to sea, thinking, well, we dump other garbage in the ocean. Let's put this in the ocean. The ocean currents brought it to the Jersey shore in Long island, predictably, because that's what currents do. And syringe tide, which is what it started to be called in the news, was very disturbing because the syringes showed that they had blood on them. It was identifiable, and it was particularly anxiety producing during the AIDS crisis. So 70 miles of beaches were closed and the public and political response was basically.

[38:00] Meg: I mean, it's hard to imagine something worse, honestly.

[38:03] Jessica: After much deliberation, New York City was required to pay a mere million dollars for past Pollution damages and pay for the cleanup. No money was given to the businesses to help them. And that was syringe Tide. However, how was it eventually cleaned up? The harbor estuary program Hepatitis implemented the short term floatables action Plan, another initiative that really trips off the tongue. It was implemented in 1989 and it curtailed floatable debris wash ups by intercepting debris slicks within the harbor. So like now there are all kinds of programs like, you see these, like, genius kids are like, my science project is that I came up with how to find biodegradable microplastics. This was the precursor to all of that. So they were finding floating stuff, basically putting a net around it and getting it out of the way and fresh kills. I'm sure they were given a stern talking to. And this was during Ed's time as mayor, so I can only imagine what Ed might have had to say. Only yes, the sanitary department that was like, we don't know where it's coming from. 90% of the waste goes to Staten Island. Could it be there? Oops. So Syringe tide syringe. Every time I go to the beach, I have to tell you, I think, is there a needle? Is there a needle?

[39:43] Meg: Oh, no.

[39:44] Jessica: To this day. So you're the one with the scary. The super scary story today. This is like, it's worse than Ed Koch and his teat from our earlier episode. Ed was. Well, with that. I. All of New York was, oh, that is.

[40:09] Meg: That is wild. I mean, yeah, so much of that sounds vaguely familiar, but I certainly didn't put it all together. Probably blocked it out on some level.

[40:19] Jessica: I think this is a really great moment to say, wow, let's. We're discovering differences between us. Like, there's so many similarities, but we're now finding, like, how are we distinct individuals? I have lived with syringetide since 1988. I have not been able to let it go. And when I was perusing the times, I was like, it all comes together so interestingly. Also in. In the New York Times and other periodicals, the. The heat wave and syringe tide happening simultaneously were never discussed as a crossover issue. It was until now, until now, my ability to draw connections. But could you imagine being so hot and being like, thank you, Staten island, you fuck faces. Like, seriously, like, come on.

[41:20] Meg: So that is wild. In such an appropriate summer story.

[41:25] Jessica: Yes. Maybe it's a moment for us to be glad, to be happy that, you know, the, I don't know, floatable act, whatever it was called, because it does not trip off the tongue at all that that was implemented. And there are fewer incidents of what the fuck is that on the beach?

[41:47] Meg: Oh, my God. Thank God for that. Thank. Yes. And we need something to be thankful for right now, so. So, Jessica, you have given us that. You have given us that we are

[41:59] Jessica: living for the fact that we don't have medical waste. Like, it's such a low bar. So low. Actually, you know what? It.

[42:07] Meg: Ah.

[42:07] Jessica: I'm so glad I remember this. You know what it made me think of? Okay, so the Post. You quote the Post with some regularity because it is such a. A. A fabulously tabloidy source of information. So the Post in the last week has made me so happy for two reasons. The first is, and we don't need to go into this in any great detail because it didn't happen in New York, but the Coldplay concert and the executive and the head of HR who got caught on the.

[42:43] Meg: So naughty. So bad.

[42:45] Jessica: You know what just is so amazing to me? It's like, guys, if you had just played it cool, no one would have known. But what a dork that he. Like, she's. And he literally dove to the floor, like, what a dork. What a nerd. Like, just tough it out. No one would have known. It would have been okay. So the way that the Post covered that brought me so much joy, and I highly recommend that everyone look it up. I also recently saw a meme of the two of them, like monks. The Scream. It's so great. I was just like, ah, people are doing so. It. It restored my faith in humanity that people have gone nuts and that his. For some former employees were quoted in the Post as saying, we have been laughing our asses off. He is such an. An asshole. And he created a totally toxic culture. So they're, like, done and dusted. Now. The other

[43:49] Meg: comeuppance.

[43:50] Jessica: Comeuppance. The other thing, and this is really about syringe tide and toxic waste, is I went with our dear friend Ale and her lovely son to the new pool in Central Park. We took. Well, I. I didn't go all the way. I got too hot and had to leave. I was like, ugh, fair. But they wanted to go see this new pool that's at the northern end of the park.

[44:16] Meg: Okay?

[44:17] Jessica: Now, of course, we're not allowed to have nice things because we are absolute animals. And in the New York Post, please look it up. People have been shitting in the pool. No, they had to close the pool and clean it. So even when we don't have Staten island throwing medical waste on us. We are putting it on ourselves in the pool. So now, not only are the beaches really terrifying, but now swimming pools have been made. I mean, do you remember Caddyshack at all?

[44:57] Meg: I've never seen it.

[44:59] Jessica: Really? Okay, sorry. So this classic scene where someone throws a Baby Ruth in the pool and they're looking at it, you know, at water level and putting the Jaws music over it and Bill Murray eats it because he knows it's. But a lady faints. That's all that I can think of with people shitting in the pool that I'm like, you know, like, it's, you know, not to do that. It's that bad. It was a. It's a Caddyshack. Don't shit in the pool.

[45:29] Meg: And I think you actually have to drain it completely when that happens.

[45:33] Jessica: Yes, there's a lot they're doing. Yes, quite rightly. And you know what else they're doing is they are making sure when you go, guys, when they go to the, to the pool, they're checking that they're not just wearing shorts, but that there's a mesh like you, that it, it's in. It's enclosing all your business so that if you. It will stay in your trunks.

[45:59] Meg: Oh, my God, yes.

[46:01] Jessica: So can you imagine, like, it's so bad. They're like, you're an adult and we're putting you in a diaper. We're making sure that your diapy is on because otherwise you can't be trusted with nice things.

[46:14] Meg: Well, thank you for including that as our, as our coda for the day.

[46:22] Jessica: It was really important that people know what's happening in New York, that the wheels have come off in a really epic way.

[46:32] Meg: Well, I really hope that this Zoom experiment is successful and I hope we don't have to do it again unless it's absolutely fabulous, but I would much rather have you back on these shores. These shores.

[46:50] Jessica: Our non shit smeared shores. Our non needle shores. Well, it is. I think it's great for us, as you know, I feel this way in all ways to try new things and, you know, we'll just see what we'll see.

[47:11] Meg: We shall see.

[47:12] Jessica: And we have a very chatty listenership. So I know that they will weigh in, they will let us know. Yeah, we're not going to be in

[47:22] Meg: the dark for too long and come home safely. Okay. Travel safely.

[47:27] Jessica: Thank you very much. I plan to conquer London, get my work done and come back with tales of pillaging. Thank you.

[47:43] Meg: Stop recording.

[47:44] Jessica: I it.