The 25th Bastille Day Rally Tour of New York City was held on July 14 with Citroëns parading through Manhattan for what has become an annual Bastille Day celebration. Every year the event, hosted by the Greater New York Citroën and Velosolex Club, brings together french car enthusiasts, Francophiles, and crowds of curious onlookers.
The Greater New York Citroën/Velosolex Club started in 1999 with a group of Citroën enthusiasts who met on the internet and through mutual connections: Bill and Debra Newallo, Jorge and Carmen Tavares, the late Arnold Oshin, and Howie Seligmann and his wife Sue.
Today, the core group has grown to include Steve Hassa, a Velosolex and moped master technician, and Mitch Seligson, a certified automotive technician who “grew up” in a Citroën DS. Every year the club works with the French Institute Alliance Française, the NYPD, and the City of New York Parks & Recreation Department to make the Bastille Day rally a success.
View the rally route here:
The rally started at 122nd Street & Riverside Drive (south side) NY. From the start in Riverside Park the drive went south to cross over 79th Street, through Central Park, along Broadway, Park Avenue, down Fifth Avenue past the French General Consulate and stopping at the FIAF Bastille Day Celebration on Madison Ave. Other notable sites along the route included Bryant Park, Columbus Circle, Grand Central Terminal, and Times Square. The rally ended with an after-party at the Brasserie Memere in Closter, New Jersey.
Event organizer Howie Seligmann is proud to say;
“Americans have a very romantic and imaginative view of France and all things French, and what we do is bring that fantasy directly to them, in front of them. They can touch it, sit in it, feel it, and take pictures of themselves next to it. We can’t bring the Eiffel Tower to New York City but we can bring a small part of France to New York City for a few hours once a year for people to be a part of it. As we say in French, ‘C’est magique!”