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From The New York Shitty Inbox: Where Did The Benches Go?
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic
A lady we’ll call “S” writes:
Hello, Miss Heather –
I was wondering if you know where the benches on the pier on India St. went. My boyfriend and I were taking our daily constitutional with our 2 week old daughter and were planning on gazing out at the water and Manhattan for a bit, but were dismayed to find out that there are no longer benches to sit on. What a bummer!
I cannot profess to have an answer (if anyone is in the know, please share via comments or shoot me an email at missheather (at) thatgreenpointblog (dot com), however, I do have a theory. The East River has long been quite a popular fishing spot for a number of my fellow Garden Spotters.
This chap, for example, was captured cleaning his catch on Huron Street just a few months ago. I have no doubt the prospect of fishing in deeper water via the India Street pier holds a great deal of appeal to these gentleman. In fact, I know it does!
CASE IN POINT: this gentleman, who it should be noted is inexplicably wearing a shirt. I assure you this is not usually the case. But I digress. I have on more than one occasion found fish heads, assorted entrails, and other vestiges of someone’s “dinner” gracing the India Street Pier pier for everyone’s edification.
While not exactly my cup of tea, I do have to confess I am hard-pressed to think of a more appropriate “welcome” for visitors disembarking at our fair burgh than this piece of “street meat”. This item may not be easy on the eyes (or nose)— but then again many things in the Garden Spot fall under this category. In this respect a mere fish tail (and the odd shirtless man or two) is not only consistent, but downright quaint. What’s more, it is a hell of a lot better than this. WARNING/CAVEAT: view the proceeding post— and the links contained therein— at your own risk.
UPDATE, 2:21 p.m.: thanks to a lady named Rowan we have an answer! Per the folks of the East River ferry:
They’re located in the park by the entrance of the Pier. We don’t have control over where they go, as they belong to the City.
A park, I’ll add, that to date I have never EVER seen open to the “public”. Click here and behold the Greenpoint glory for yourself. Seeing is truly believing. In closing, I’ll leave you with this image of our very own Community Board 1 chair, Christopher Olechowski, patronizing one such bench on September 22, 2011.
Comments
2 Comments on From The New York Shitty Inbox: Where Did The Benches Go?
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ScottAstronaut on
Wed, 19th Oct 2011 6:38 pm
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missheather on
Wed, 19th Oct 2011 7:21 pm
Thanks for getting to the bottom of the benches. Hopefully they will come back. As a fisherman/woman that is at the pier often, We clean up other peoples trash on a regular basis out of concern for the river, to keep our little spot happy and just plain old common decency. Sure there are some people who occasionally don’t respect the unspoken rules from time to time but compared to the kids partying late at night and the old guy I saw yesterday just toss his gatorade bottle into the river, its great that you see the value of having the fishing going on. Check out the fishing derby that is going on at bkuaa.wordpress.com Good People!
Speaking for myself, I am a vegetarian (so fishing holds no appeal to me— but I’ll definitely check out your link to the fishing derby!). This disclosure having been made, this is a public space and as such the public has the right to use it as they see fit (within reason of course and provided, as you noted, that they treat the premises respectfully). More importantly: what is the point of having benches funded by our tax dollars if we, the public, are precluded from using them? I find this highly offensive. What’s more those benches provided some much-needed relief to senior citizens, people with mobility issues, and families with children while waiting for the ferry. They should be put back. I’d recommend that anyone who agrees with me on any/all of these points take up the matter with the Parks Supervisor for Community Board 1: Stephanie.Thayer@parks.nyc.gov
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