“Sign our petition and you’ll get a free water bottle!” shouted the lady at one of the booths as people crossing the street ran toward her.
“Free stuff!” some people whispered to one another. The water bottle was an ugly grey plastic thing that had blue and green cubed lettering that said, “Kiss My Face.”
Some of the people who stopped unmindfully signed the petition, took the water bottle, smiled at the lady and walked away without looking back at the other booths that were promoting Earth Day.
The Earth Fair Outdoors at Vanderbilt Avenue was very empty and not lively this past Friday. That afternoon brought a terrible reminder of how many people are not really interested in Earth Day. The few people who did attend walked away from the booths and the people in them who anxiously tried to get them at them to sign their petitions or to buy some artwork made out of organic products.
Among the groups represented at the booths were Bike Month NYC, Mercy For Animals and Vision 42, which is a plan to make light rail transit on 42nd Street.
The live music that was promised on the Earth Day New York information website was not launched. Some musicians scrambled back and forth on the stage, but nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. “Let’s go,” said Merari Fuentes said, who was waiting for the music to begin. “People who organized this don’t seem to care, why should we?”