The Benny Doro Collection
Stories in photographs and voice
55 Broad Street, New York City · circa 2010–2011
The
Navigator
Wall Street years
My 2000 Lincoln Navigator outside 55 Broad Street during my Wall Street years. The truck became pretty well known around New York. In a city where parking was practically a competitive sport, every once in a while I even managed to get it right outside the building.
Benny Doro oral history · 2:10
In Benny’s
own words
The original recording, preserved and presented in full.
Transcript
Lightly edited for punctuation and obvious recognition errors. The recording is authoritative.
This truck became synonymous with me. People saw the truck. It was the only one of its kind, even in New York City. There was only one like this. I custom-built this thing in 2000 in Canada during the Starnet days.
It’s a 2000 Lincoln Navigator. We put tractor-tread tires on it—24-inch wheels, Toyo tires, the whole tow package, the big block in there. This thing had a satellite dish on it—you can see it on the top—for Yankee games, ten screens on the inside, bull bars all the way around, air suspension. Man, this thing was a beast, and I loved every minute. Every day, getting in this to drive felt like I just bought it.
Everybody knew this was my vehicle. In fact, even the NYPD used to let me slide a little bit here and there with some of the parking or where I would put it. Very, very cool of them, actually, many times. This was my ride. I didn’t need anything else.
You know, we bought them new. We bought two, actually. There was a green one. We designed one, it went to my other partner, and I took this one. I think it got over 300,000 miles on it before I finally retired it to someone on a farm.
I actually kind of ran it down a little bit the last years of its life. It had lost its sheen. There was nothing else I could do to fix it; the frame was getting a little bit worn, too. But I loved that truck with all my heart. That thing looked after me forever.
Yankee games, rock shows, took it to B.B. King’s when we did the KISS tribute opening for ZZ Top—oh, you name it. This thing was well, well known. I don’t even know where it is anymore. I wish I still had it. But this is my beast, and that’s it looking like it belongs in New York City.