Some New York City agencies are using the viral image of Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce screaming at head coach Andy Reid during the Super Bowl to push their policy agendas.
“OUTDOOR DINING TAKES UP LESS THAN .5% OF STREET PARKING IN NEW YORK CITY. PUBLIC SPACE IS FOR EVERYONE, NOT JUST CARS,” posted the city Department of Transportation Monday on X, along with a photo of Kelce jawing on the sidelines at a stone-faced Reid.
Some critics slammed DOT for using the photo of Taylor Swift’s boyfriend barking at his coach to drive home anti-car policies advocated by Transportation Alternatives and other advocacy groups.
“Instead of focusing on filling potholes and installing speed bumps in a timely manner, the DOT prefers to tweet nonsense that New Yorkers couldn’t care less about,” fumed Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens). “The Department of Transportation Alternatives needs a major change in leadership.”
DOT spokesman Nick Benson quipped that he’s “notoriously bad at lip reading, but I think it’s a safe assumption that Travis Kelce was vociferously expressing his support for outdoor dining in New York City.”
“That, or praising NYC DOT for filling more potholes, filling them faster, and installing 53% more speed humps compared to last fiscal year. Sources tell me that Coach Reid then asked where he could follow NYC DOT on social media, and Travis told him @NYC_DOT,” Benson joked.
The city’s Department of Buildings also posted the same image of a seething Kelce on X — with an all-caps message about the dangers of illegal underground construction.
“STOP EXCAVATING OUT THE FLOORS OF YOUR BASEMENTS WITHOUT ENGINEERED DRAWINGS AND PERMITS,” posted DOB on X, a seeming reference to a group of Orthodox Jews who were arrested last month for illegally digging a secret tunnel under a Brooklyn synagogue.
“YOU ARE DESTABILIZING THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF YOUR BUILDING.”