Gotham Gossipist: Bay Ridge Residents Outraged Over New Reality Show
By Kimberly Rae Miller
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- I was just thinking to myself, "You know what the world needs more of? Reality shows that stereotype the Italian-American community as trashy, foul-mouthed, thugs."
I mean, it worked for MTV and Jersey Shore.
It looks like the powers that be at the Oxygen Network and I are of the same mind, their new show Brooklyn 11223 is basically the JS set to Bay Ridge.
(Bay Ridge's zip code is actually 11209, but who cares about little things like reality when it comes to reality television).
The show follows life long Bay Ridge residents, Joey Lynn Tekulve , 24, and Christie Maria Livoti, 23, as they systematically wreak havoc on one another's lives. The ladies were best friends until Joey seduced Christie's boyfriend. Slap some theme music on these ladies and call them stars.
According to the New York Post, the show is based on the characters portrayed in "Saturday Night Fever" — which, you know, was in made 1970s - and fictional. Still Oxygen thinks it has a winner on its hands, noting that "Bay Ridge is a small hamlet divided into rival girl gangs."
The residents of the community aren't too happy to have their neighborhood made a national laughing stock.
According to The Huffington Post, a meet up for residents is being organized at Beyond Dance Studio in Bay Ridge, where residents can get together and complain about the show.
Bay Ridge Councilman Vinnie Gentile is also making his opinion known via The Politicker:
"We all need to take responsibility – parents, TV studios, advertisers, journalists, policymakers and even teenagers – for what is being watched by the younger generations," Mr. Gentile's spokesman told the political site. "There is no redeeming social value or positive takeaway from the perpetuation of these trashy and classless stereotypes that serve only to degrade, denigrate and objectify women and Italian-Americans."
"This is not what Bay Ridge is about and this not what Bay Ridge wants or needs. We refuse to stand by and let 'Hollywood' portray the smart, hardworking, proud, cultured, creative and compassionate residents of Bay Ridge in this light."
It's so nice that there's a network out there geared toward women's entertainment that does so much to encourage female empowerment, positive female role models, and self-worth. Thanks Oxygen.
