Jane Jacobs was an activist, writer, and all around badass lady, in NYC in the 50’s. With no formal higher education, she took on Robert Moses and the architectural and planning establishment who were proposing a freeway through lower Manhattan, destroying among other things Washington square park. They lost.
Jane Jacobs
There’s Jane Jacobs on her bike, rolling ‘round the lower east side
Causing problems, impeding progress, the city changes, this change is constant
But Hudson street will still exist, in the hearts and on the lips
And as we’re merging some sunless day, we won’t remember the price you paid
But we needed a thruway for the city to thrive
And if we had a superhighway there’d be no more waiting in line
You’ve gotta see the big picture and not get to attached
You see it’s all about money, and money’s all about tax
Taxes power this big machine, that eats up fools like you and me
But hey that’s progress or evolution, consumerism the revolution
You can purchase yours today, the stores are close now ‘cause the freeway
We have the wisdom of 10,000 years, in the backseat like souvenirs
(Repeat chorus)
There’s Jane Jacobs on her bike, rolling ‘round the lower east side
Causing problems, impeding progress