Michael Imperioli doesn't like Detroit

**Johnlodge** · September-30-10, 08:48 AM

Most New Yorkers don't like much besides New York. A lot of people think there's the East Coast, the West Coast, and all us dumb hillbillies in between. I don't see where he said he doesn't like it, but the New York media is unforgiving and eats their own, don't worry about it. But yeah, making Detroit a walkable, viable city is still a good idea.

**smogboy** · September-30-10, 08:59 AM

So the guy misses what he was brought up around most of his life. I get it. I didn't read any hatred towards the D here. New York has its charm. We have ours too. They got pizza, we got pizza- and it just so happens he prefers the pizza he grew up with. We're not magical here and just because one comes here doesn't transform them into instant Detroiters who love this place.

I personally don't take any umbrage against what he's saying about us, Detroit or the region.

**ejames01** · September-30-10, 09:03 AM

iheartthed lieed. That article says NOTHING about hating Detroit.

**tetsua** · September-30-10, 09:33 AM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

His bio says he's from Mount Vernon. That's not exactly a car independent society. It's not Detroit-style dependent, but there definitely ain't no subway running through that town.

The Number 2, and 5 run in Mount Vernon, as well as commuter rail. You can actually get around there without a car too.

NYers do have a hard time adjusting to Detroit, and it's understandable. When my wife moved to Detroit from NY, she went from walking all over the place in her spare time and people watching, to just staying at home.

**iheartthed** · September-30-10, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by tetsua

The Number 2, and 5 run in Mount Vernon, as well as commuter rail. You can actually get around there without a car too.

No NYC subway line runs outside the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. The 2/5 line stops about 5 blocks from the Mount Vernon border. Staten Island has a rail line but it isn't considered to be part of the NYC subway system since it doesn't connect to any other lines.

Yeah, you can get around Mount Vernon without a car -- just like you can hypothetically get around Detroit without one -- but it's not as simple as living in the boroughs. Even living in some outer sections of the Bronx and Queens is not convenient without owning a car.

**Gsgeorge** · September-30-10, 10:25 AM

Originally Posted by menckensghost

You see, facts are always true. That's what makes them facts. Can you feel me now?

quit nitpicking grammar nazi, everyone knows what the guy meant, geez, spending multiple posts to snarkily correct someone, how rude.

Why should Imperlioli like Detroit? This place can't even begin to hold a candle to his hometown. He likes NYC for his reasons, we like Detroit for ours.

**mjs** · September-30-10, 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by R8RBOB

True fact about Michael Imperioli: He did not possess a driver license until he was cast as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos.

Strangest part of that is that off all the characters, his was the main character's driver. But, I suppose thats what acting is; pretending you're something you aren't.

**mjs** · September-30-10, 10:48 AM

Originally Posted by Gsgeorge

Why should Imperlioli like Detroit? This place can't even begin to hold a candle to his hometown. He likes NYC for his reasons, we like Detroit for ours.

Plenty of reasons for Imperioli to like Detroit. Perhaps he does like Detroit, but just not as much as NYC. I lived in Arizona and liked it and I like NYC too, but I'd rather be here. Most people like what they have fond memories of.

**SWMAP** · September-30-10, 11:10 AM

Imperioli talks about walking - that he misses the walkable streets of NYC:

David Byrne wrote this evocative line about Detroit in his WSJ piece [[east side):
"Almost all the folks on the streets were black, and most seemed to be wandering, alone, stunned."
And in the New York Times this week this mental picture presented:
"Spread over roughly 140 square miles, it has a business district that resembles a ghost town: it is not unusual to spot wild dogs on downtown streets, pheasants in backyards or tumbleweeds rolling down sidewalks. There are an estimated 33,000 empty houses and 91,000 vacant lots"

**R8RBOB** · September-30-10, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by mjs

Strangest part of that is that off all the characters, his was the main character's driver. But, I suppose thats what acting is; pretending you're something you aren't.

Playing Chrissie is the reason why Imperioli had to get a license. His first scene as Moltisanti was behind the wheel driving Tony around.

DetroitPole · September-30-10, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by SWMAP

Imperioli talks about walking - that he misses the walkable streets of NYC:

David Byrne wrote this evocative line about Detroit in his WSJ piece [[east side):
"Almost all the folks on the streets were black, and most seemed to be wandering, alone, stunned."
And in the New York Times this week this mental picture presented:
"Spread over roughly 140 square miles, it has a business district that resembles a ghost town: it is not unusual to spot wild dogs on downtown streets, pheasants in backyards or tumbleweeds rolling down sidewalks. There are an estimated 33,000 empty houses and 91,000 vacant lots"

I've never seen a wild dog downtown. Nor a tumbleweed.

When the NYT did a profile on Detroit businesses a while back, they referred to the Park Shelton as an "unattractive apartment building." The NYT is my favorite newspaper but they sure get their heads up their asses sometimes.

It blows how unwalkable Detroit is. Maybe L. Brooks Patterson should read this article and think about keeping the Pistons at the Palace. You would die trying to walk accross the parking lot.

I wouldn't wish trying to get by in Detroit without a car on anyone, either, unless you both live and work in the CBD.

**1KielsonDrive** · September-30-10, 12:10 PM

Tough shit!

**Gannon** · September-30-10, 12:21 PM

I've seen many PACKS of wild dogs in more than a few neighborhoods in the city.

Tumbleweeds down in Rivertown. A slinky red fox once and again down there as well.

Pheasant in droves. All over town.

Zombied walkers everywhere, too. Weirdest ones are out from 2 to 6 in the morning. They behave like the pedestrian drones in Grand Theft Auto.

You may not know what to look for, or may make too much noise for them to get close.

Mr. Imperioli should spend time at Foran's Grand Trunk pub. For a few hours each day, the people watching is amazing. From Washington Square down to the river, he can walk around to his heart's delight...although it never quite gets the density of NYC, nor quite the abrasive energy [[which I've found NYers crave). If he asks nicely, I'm sure we could get the drivers to honk their horns more.

Cheers!

**EastsideAl** · September-30-10, 12:36 PM

NYC is really markedly different from any other place in the U.S. Even other large cities like Chicago, Philly, Washington, L.A., etc. only have small sections of their city that resemble NYC in any way. It's much more like other world-class mega-cities than like anything else in the U.S.. The whole notion and scale of what a city is and is supposed to be seems very different for native or long-time New Yorkers than for people elsewhere in this country.

Chicago somewhat aside, Detroit is not really different historically from other midwestern cities, which were all purposely built to avoid the kind of density and congestion that one sees in eastern cities. The only big difference here is the degree of depopulation that has occurred in the last few decades. But even Detroit in its heyday would have seemed pretty empty, unwalkably spread out, and undewhelming to someone used to Manhattan.

Having lived in NYC for quite a long time myself I can certainly see how one would have some trouble adjusting to other cities. When I first came back here, despite the fact that I'd visited here several times a year during my time away, I really felt the lack of vibrant streetlife, lack of many walkable neighborhoods, and general emptiness for quite a while.

**fryar** · September-30-10, 01:10 PM

Yeah. And he's new. Give him time.

He's right about the pizza, tho.

**detroitbob** · September-30-10, 01:46 PM

I must have missed something in the NYP article...he likes NY thin crust over deep dish and misses 'walking and exploring' NYC but I didn't hear that 'he doesn't like Detroit'...the thread title reads lke a Fox News lead in.

LodgeDodger · September-30-10, 01:52 PM

So the guy is a little homesick--give him a break.

Bearinabox · September-30-10, 02:03 PM

Who the hell is Michael Imperioli, and why does his opinion have any more weight than anyone else's? Lots of people don't like Detroit, and most don't have their own threads.

**English** · September-30-10, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by LodgeDodger

So the guy is a little homesick--give him a break.

Exactly. Moving along, because there's nothing to see here.

**thnk2mch** · September-30-10, 02:25 PM

"Michael Imperioli doesn't like Detroit"

Kid Rock does...

**FlyingJ** · September-30-10, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by tetsua

The Number 2, and 5 run in Mount Vernon, as well as commuter rail. You can actually get around there without a car too.
NYers do have a hard time adjusting to Detroit, and it's understandable. When my wife moved to Detroit from NY, she went from walking all over the place in her spare time and people watching, to just staying at home.

Not just any commuter line but the Metro-North Line-the same one from "The Ice Storm" , goes thru Mt Vernon

**Gistok** · September-30-10, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by Bearinabox

Who the hell is Michael Imperioli, and why does his opinion have any more weight than anyone else's? Lots of people don't like Detroit, and most don't have their own threads.

LOL... gotta agree... as soon as he makes it to the "A List" as an actor... [[although he'd have to get to the "B List" first)... then we can squabble....

**Lowell** · September-30-10, 04:22 PM

New T-shirt?

WELCOME TO DETROIT!
NOW START WHINING

Excuse me Mr. Imperioli, you think walking sucks here? Have you ever tried parking in Manhattan??

PS. I think you're a good actor and I like your role.

**RickBeall** · September-30-10, 04:26 PM

I knew a woman who lived in New York who came to Detroit to pursue a job in journalism. Which she saw Detroit's financial district for the first time, she broke down in tears, she was so disappointed. New York is breathtaking in its scope.

For me, when I visited, it was like walking through dozens of little areas like Greektown, that were end to end, never ending. Breathtaking and exciting.

So yes, I could see how a New York native could be a little homesick. Detroit has a lot to offer, but most of it is "underground". You have to live here to find it or know about it.

Paddington · September-30-10, 04:28 PM

His comments are in response to NYkers freaking out that he was moving to Detroit, you know. They did not at all like the idea that one of their own might opt for Detroit instead [[he never said he was moving permanently and he's never said he doesn't like Detroit). He has also said he's been through many of the neighborhoods here despite being warned not to go into them.

You think anyone in New York has noticed or even cared that Michael Imperioli has moved out?