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Billionaire "Visionary" Mayoral Hopeful John Catsimatidis Wants To Bring Back World's Fair STAT
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 4, 2013
Modified Feb 4, 2013
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 4, 2013
Modified Feb 4, 2013
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For years Gristedes supermarket magnate (and GOP mayoral hopeful) John Catsimatidis has made no secret of his love of former New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia. And so of course one of the platforms of his recently confirmed candidacy is to bring back one of that mayor's great successes: the World's Fair. Which is a sweet idea—if about as likely as a football stadium being built in the middle of Manhattan.
Talking to the Daily News recently, the supermarket man told the paper that he wants to bring back the famous Fair, which previously graced the five boroughs in 1939 and 1964:
“I respect John Kennedy for saying that he had a dream that we’d go to the moon before the end of the decade,” Catsimatidis continued. “I respect Martin Luther King saying he had a dream we can have a black President... This is my dream. I think our country needs more visionaries.”
Catsimatidis, who says the 1964 fair changed his worldview, wants to bring that perspective (and thousands of new jobs) to contemporary New Yorkers. He also thinks that it'd be great if current Mayor Mike Bloomberg ran the fair ("He appreciates the kind words, but right now his focus remains on the next 330 days as mayor," a spokesman for Bloomberg replied).
And his wish list for leadership isn't the only bit of batshit ambition Catsimatidis is tossing about. Somehow the billionaire thinks he could run for mayor this year, win and also get a new exposition open in 2014. Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the landmark 1964 fair! Only problem? He's a little late to sign up—the World's Fair still happens every few years and is all booked up for quite a few more go rounds. The South Korean Expo closed last year and the Milan is booked to host in 2015, followed by Kazakhstan in 2017. But hey! We could still apply to host in... 2022!
Still, Catsimatidis' dream of having the World's Fair return to New York on the 50th anniversary of the '64 Fair does give us a fun excuse to pull up this awesome 1964 op-ed from the Times in which Isaac Asimov predicts what the world will be like at the 2014 World's Fair. The whole thing is worth a read but for a taste, check out where Asimov kind of predicts the modern smartphone:
Communications will become sight-sound and you will see as well as hear the person you telephone. The screen can be used not only to see the people you call but also for studying documents and photographs and reading passages from books. Synchronous satellites, hovering in space will make it possible for you to direct-dial any spot on earth, including the weather stations in Antarctica (shown in chill splendor as part of the '64 General Motors exhibit).
Tagged
Election 2013
isaac asmivo
john catsimatidis
the future
world's fair
Garth Johnston
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