They say it’s where dreams are made — but it ended up being this little girl’s nightmare.
Convinced that the streets and avenues of New York City were paved with gold, one toddler tourist got the shock of her short life when she arrived in the Big Apple to find that it actually smelled kind of rotten and that the yellowish puddles on the ground weren’t pools of precious metal.
“Mama, I don’t like [it] here in New York. There’s a lot of rubbish,” whined three-year-old Jette Blackman, from Sydney, Australia, in a trending TikTok clip of her inaugural visit to Gotham at the top of the new year.
“You said it’s pretty,” groaned the tot as she disappointedly trotted around Times Square with mom Jeraldine in the gut-busting video, which racked up a staggering 21.5 million views. “Mama, don’t lie to me next time — lying is not fun.”
“Look at all the stuff on the floor,” complained Jette. “There’s so many people here.”
“What’s so stinky?”
The cranky critic continued critiquing Manhattan for its overcrowded corners, and for “copying” Australia by having a McDonalds.
But her cold shoulder towards midtown began to thaw when her older brother, Nimo, announced that he’d enjoyed exploring the sights. The itty-bitty bellyacher even broke out into song near 42nd Street, giddily crooning the chorus of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” as if the dazzling vibrance of the city had overcome her body.
“I kind of like New York,” Jette finally admitted. “But there’s a lot of rubbish.”
The Blackman family did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
But social media sight-seers couldn’t have agreed more with the kid.
“[This is an] Honest review of New York,” commented a non-fan of the five boroughs.
“I’ve never been to New York but I fully trust this review. Consider me influenced,” joked another.
“[Taking] New York off the places to go list,” an equally influenced watcher teased.
NYC natives even backed the little one’s hot take, leaving comments like: “As a New Yorker I approve this message,” and “As a native NYer she is so adorably ACCURATE.”
Its trashed-laden pavements and smelly shortcomings notwithstanding, not everyone gets the automatic “ick” when they step foot into the mega-metropolis.
In fact, a June 2023 study ranked New York as America’s Best City of the year.
And a global survey released in October named NYC “the most interesting place in the world,” pointing to Gramercy Park as its shining star.
“[The neighborhood is] associated with so many famous people who currently live or used to live there, including Julia Roberts, Rufus Wainwright, Karl Lagerfeld and Oscar Wilde. And it was the birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt,” said researchers.
“With such recognized residents, along with a well-documented origin story and an exclusive park, Gramercy Park is the main location for nearly 2,700 Wikipedia articles,” added the authors, noting that the chichi community earned “an ‘Interest score’ higher than many full-size cities.”