A Lesson in Wish Fulfillment…

and why you should never take a box springs from the street!

Last night my husband and I opted for a late dinner with red wine at the Greenpoint Coffee House. Since it was really nice out, we sat outside. As usual, I positioned myself so I could see the intersection of Green and Franklin Street. I do this so I can “see all the good stuff”. And good stuff I saw.

This box springs was sitting at the corner of Franklin and Green Street. I pointed it out to my husband.

Where is it?

he asked. “It’s pretty damned hard to miss.” I said “It’s in the middle of the sidewalk.” After finding it he said:

I wonder why it is there?

“I dunno.” I replied. Does one really need a reason to leave a box springs in the middle of the sidewalk? I think not. “Today is, after all, the first of the month.” I mused to myself.

Earlier I had seen a number of people moving in and out of the neighborhood. On Manhattan Avenue I saw a trust fund chick moving in. Or should I say her parents were unloading her furniture from their SUV as she was yammering away on her cell phone. Conversely, the sheer quantity of painting, objets d’arte and art supplies I found on the sidewalks this morning bore witness that a number of artists had moved out.

This is a when a woman walking a rather large mutt came into view on Franklin. As she was approaching the mattress I said:

I hope that dog pisses on that box springs.

And he did.

The End.

Miss Heather

Business as Usual at 154 West Street

As promised in this post, I decided to swing by 154 West Street this morning and see what’s shaking. True to form, they were busy working*.

They were even so kind as to obstruct the sidewalk while they were at it.

While I was taking the above photographs a young yuppie father approached with his daughter. She was learning to ride a bike. He was not very happy when he had to advise her to go on the street because the sidewalk was cluttered with the instruments of this contractor’s trade.

I do not think this gent’s anger was the least bit unmerited. It is not unreasonable to expect that the sidewalks be clear for passage. Especially on a weekend. A HOLIDAY WEEKEND, no less. Rather, I find it very unreasonable to obstruct a sidewalk with a miter and table saw while doing weekend construction without a variance.

These are the permits posted at this site. Two are for construction, the third (at the bottom) is for electrical work. Nary a permit allowing off-hours work was to be found.

This is easily one of the most in your face examples of the total disregard many contractors (and in all likelihood, the people who hire them) have for the law. Then again, can you honestly blame them? It’s not like the rules established by the Department of Buildings are enforced in any consistent and effective fashion anyway.

And when the cat’s away, the mice will play!

Miss Heather

*At 10:15 a.m.

The Tree Pits of 100 Freeman Street

Earlier this week I found the above citation taped to the front door of 100 Freeman Street. As you can clearly read, a “large accumulation” of garbage was found by the Environmental Control Board and the owner of said property (presumably the American Package Company) was fined accordingly. Or were they?

Since our duly diligent public servants did not specify which tree pit was surrounded by refuse I took pictures of all seven of them. Here they are.

Tree Pit #1

Tree Pit #2

Tree Pit #3

Um, here are a few bicycles.

Tree Pit #4

Anyone out there finding any bottle(s), cigarette pack, newspaper(s), etc? If so, you’re probably eagle-eyed enough to work for the E.C.B. All I have seen thus far is a bunch of overgrown weeds and some bikes.

Tree Pit #5

Still no refuse.

Tree Pit #6

A couple more bikes.

Tree Pit #7

While I personally find chaining a bike to a tree like this to be obnoxious, let’s stick to the topic at hand: I am still not finding any of the “various debris” cited in the above ticket. In fact, this is probably the cleanest I have ever seen this stretch of sidewalk. It is usually slathered in dog shit.

This of course begs the question as to what the E.C.B. is doing. Or not doing. I think I speak for a number of the people in the Garden Spot when I say a crackdown on illegal and/or after-hours construction would be greatly appreciated. Magic Johnson’s crew over at 110 Green Street were jack-hammering away well past 6:30 p.m. last Tuesday. The noise was quite annoying. Much more so than a few bottle(s), cigarette pack, newspaper(s) and other assorted refuse scattered on a sidewalk.

Priorities, anyone?

Miss Heather

Something Cool to Check Out This Weekend: Strands

This just came to my attention today and it sounds pretty neat. Per the artist’s web site:

Strands, a video installation by Dillon de Give, on view from 8/31 – 9/10/07, is located at points on Manhattan and Meserole Aves in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NYC. The project seeks to illustrate a taxonomy of life and time on a local as well as galactic scale. The title of the piece refers to the subject of the videos: groups of multicolored filaments observed under the force of moving air or wind, and alludes to string theory and the romance of deriving an explanation of rules that govern existence under all circumstances.

Individual videos are unexpectedly set on monitors in neighborhood establishments (a laundromat, an electronics store, and a florist). The establishments serve as a lens for the work and the work, reminiscent of Rorschach inkblots, creates a psychologically subjective pocket within the establishment. Dillon de Give is a video artist, playwright, and filmmaker living in Greenpoint.

Follows is a breakdown of where and when you can view these installations with directions:

Strands 0
The origin of the cycle
Explosion of species from point zero
Wash and Dry Laundromat
120 Meserole Ave, 7:30am – 8:30pm daily.

Strands 1
The present confusion in time
Violence for décor
M T V Super Sound Electronics & Appliances
747 Manhattan Ave, 11am – 8pm M-Sat. Sunday 11am – 6pm.

Strands 2
The future seed
Consciousness hidden in discipline
Greenpoint Floral Co.
703 Manhattan Ave. 9am – 7pm M-Sat., Sunday 11am – 4pm.

I think it is incredibly cool that three local businesses volunteered to participate in this installation. I will definitely check it out …and you should too! For more details, click on either of the above images and you will be directed to Dillon de Give’s web site, implausibot.com.

Miss Heather

P.S.: Those of you with less conventional tastes should swing by the junk shop and check out my latest opus, The Twollar.

As you can clearly see, it has been well received.