Foursquare Mayorships Turn Ugly In Stabber Alley

Photo by Jen Carlson/Gothamist

Forget about Facebook Places, it doesn't even work in NYC, and even if it did, it's totally going to get you in trouble. So Foursquare it is, for anyone who feels the desire to let a select group of friends know where they are at every waking moment. The NY Times has a profile on some such individuals, who are winning the Mayoral race in... well, wherever.

Mayorships on Foursquare don't just pay out in bragging rights, some establishments reward the Mayors with discounts and prizes. Others do not... like DUMBO's Stabber Alley. Yes, the alley hidden on the Brooklyn side of the Manhattan Bridge that often contains unwelcome surprises one doesn't discover until well into their journey through it. The one that leaks from above even when it's not raining. The one that's always adorned with some kind of feces. Even that alley has stiff competition for Mayorship, with two heavyweight competitors named Jorge Lopez and Kyle Barry, who both work nearby.

Lopez told the paper, “I just want a place to call my own" (awww), but when Barry claimed Mayorship from him, things turned ugly. Just as it should be in Stabber Alley! The two now cheat to reclaim their crown from each other (by checking in when not actually there). Perhaps they can split up the territory and the more brave amongst them can claim Mayorship of the much more dangerous Manhattan Bridge archway.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Arts and Events on August 19, 2010 12:05 PM

Comments [rss]

Stevennnn

Hey everyone I'm at the bar now go to my place and steal my stuff.

SatelliteTimes

Yeah, I'm wondering how this is affecting actual stalkers... Does it take the sick thrill out of it for them, or are they big fans?

I don't understand why people need to live their lives publicly like this.

sj

Why don't these dudes just kiss already?

Also, there was not nearly enough stabbing in this article.

ed_Extinct

yawn

emilydickinson

Cheating at Foursquare has got to be the lowest of the low. That guy wrote an app to hit the API so he could cheat to be mayor of an alley? Like everything else, once the masses get involved they act like jerks and suck the fun right out of it.

longacre

It should be renamed Shitstabber Alley now because this story is so friggin gay. (Not that there's anything wrong with that).

chuzzlewit

hafuhaha - i am not an "expert" on, nor can i claim to have any "basic working knowledge" of anything AT ALL in this post.

Rocknrope

I got a headache from reading this article.

whitecastlerock

I must be getting old-i have no idea what the fucking point of this article is...

Splicer

Ditto. Actually, I'm afraid of the answer.

youaretrendy

The real shame here is on the NY Times for reporting on such a story in the first place.

wobbleSmith

wait, is this "news" about a foursquare rivalry?

if so, this is truly a new level of BS -- even for gothamist...

chief slapaho

i agree. i don't know how this merits being news in any way. i thought that one dude stabbed the other to be mayor. that would be news, this article is a waste of space.

robingee

"Stabber Alley!" I gotta check that out! What goes on in... OUCH!

zombie cakes

It'd be swell if they could both go and check in while there's an actual stabber chilling in the alley. That'd be fun.

jaems33

Stabber Alley is one way to avoid the asshat tourists in DUMBO in the summer.

Sometimes you'll see cute girls in music videos there, like Passion Pits "The Reeling."