Two major US landmarks are beefing, and I bet that wasn't on your 2024 bingo card.
But here we are.
In the Windy City, we have the infamous Cloud Gate, a.k.a. The Bean—the ginormous kidney-shaped stainless steel sculpture designed by artist Anish Kapoor—located at Chicago's Millenium Park.
Leering at it from the East Coast stands the imposing Empire State Building—the nearly century-old skyscraper dominating the New York City skyline.
It all started with an announcement by The Bean, which has been closed to tourists for nearly a year for construction and renovation.
Work began in last August to add new stairs, accessible ramps, and a waterproofing system near the reflective sculpture's surrounding areas.
For months, a fence limited closeup views to visitors.
On Sunday, city officials announced:
“Visitors can once again have full access to Chicago’s iconic Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor."
“Come back and get your #selfie!”
The city also took to their socials to herald the return of The Bean with a photo of the sculpture in all its glory with the word "Open" overlaid.
Life would have peacefully resumed had it not been for the Empire State Building's unsolicited, snarky response.
The official page for Manhattan's majestic icon shared news of Chicago's announcement and added a vintage clip of former talk show host Wendy Williams telling her studio audience, "Clap if you care."
You can see a screenshot of the post here:
@EmpireStateBldg/X
You can watch the clip below:
It was a proverbial shot heard 'round the world.
Social media users grabbed their popcorn.
So what's with the one-sided bitterness?
As a possible sticking point for NY, users pointed to Gotham City's own Bean sculpture—also by Anish Kapoor—that was unveiled on the streets of Church and Leonard in Tribeca last year.
While Chicago's Bean is prominently featured out in the open in the middle of Grainger Plaza at Millennium Park, the Tribeca Bean appears squashed and wedged in underneath the canopy of a luxury condominium building known as the "Jenga Tower."
Ooh, it's on, guys.
The real question now is, are you Team Bean or Team ESB?
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AMC