Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
East Williamsburg Street Art Du Jour: Crittercorn
Filed under: 11211, East Williamsburg, East Williamsburg Brooklyn, Street Art, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
From Graham Avenue.
Miss Heather
Williamsburg Pay Phone Du Jour: Low Self Esteem Edition
From the Metropolitan Avenue stop of the Crosstown Local.
Miss Heather
Quicklink (& a Correction)
Filed under: 11206, 11211, East Williamsburg, East Williamsburg Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
Today the guys at Curbed were kind enough to give me a shout-out regarding the monstrosity that is 94 Scholes Street. A guest commenter was kind enough to point out (and I quote):
miss heather is one of the most hideous thigns i have seen lolololololol
I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In any case, my (ostensibly hideous) person doesn’t hold a candle compared to the crap being built in North Brooklyn on any given day. There’s only five feet of me. What’s more, I do not sport balconies. But I digress.
I found of specific interest that Philip Toscano Architects had a hand in this atrocity — albeit for very “geeky” reasons. You see, his office (which you can here in its resplendent pink stuccoed glory) is the site of a former Bonanno family hang-out. It took me a while to pin down which one— but I did!
Which brings me to my retraction:
On June 17, 2008 I wrote (in a post entitled “Greenpoint Photo Du Jour: Hanging Out“):
To see what this corner (at the intersection of Huron Street and Manhattan Avenue) looked like back in the 1970’s click here.
Well, I was wrong. The Motion Lounge is— or more accurately was— located at 420 Graham Avenue. Here is what it looked like back in Sonny Black’s day.
Pretty neat, eh?
Miss Heather
UPDATE, 7:12 p.m.: I have received a very interesting pair of emails from a person we’ll call “S”. He/she writes:
Saw the link you had to that great pic of the motion lounge (now the be-stuccoed offices of toscano architect). I live on the block and like to chat with some of the old timers about what used to happen in the area, and there’s more to that corner building. in between being bonano hangout the motion lounge and an office, it was known for a while as the san giuseppe social club and was a hangout for some genovese family associates. there was a mob related murder during a card game there in 1994. in a very strange trial and turn of events, the owner of (a local bakery) was convicted of this murder at his second trial in 2007, while the other defendant walked away (the actual hitman had turned state’s evidence). a judge overturned (said baker’s) conviction last year, and he’s a free man now.
oh, I forgot to mention his co-defendant! He owns a local pizzeria.
here are some articles about the case:
New York Shitty Photos Du Jour: Urban Fur
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Crazy Cat Lady, East Village, East Village Manhattan, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Manhattan, New York City, Urban Fur, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
Bedford Avenue
North 8 Street
Dunham Place
Oak Street
Nassau Avenue
Manhattan Avenue
East 2 Street
Miss Heather
Now On The Blog Roll Of Gowanus Lounge Dot Com: IDT Energy
Filed under: 11101, 11206, 11211, 11215, 11222, 11231, 11237, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Bushwick, Bushwick Brooklyn, Clinton Hill, Gowanus, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Kensington, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Maspeth, Navy Yard, New York City, Park Slope, Queens, Sunnyside, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
In regards to Bob Guskind (to whom they have dedicated a page) they write:
Bob Guskind was a unique man, and his writing will forever stand as a testament to the person that he was.
While we’ve bought the site Gowanus Lounge, we are not trying to replicate or replace his work or his spirit. We intend to continue to explore issues that are important to the people of New York, while also addressing topics of concern to other markets and communities.
Bob Guskind’s work has been moved to another location where fans can continue to read his prose and benefit from the wisdom that he provided.
Speaking as someone who has had the benefit of Bob’s wisdom I found Gowanus Lounge 2.0’s linkage to “Energy Savings” and “IDT Energy” of particular interest. The Mister and I pointed and clicked. Here’s what we found:
Energy Savings
The IDT Energy Store (You can see the registration info by clicking here). When you click on “Company” here’s what you’ll find:
Yup, the same people who saw fit to plague my community with people hitting our buzzers— REPEATEDLY— stating they were from Con Ed and that they wanted to review our energy bills. Time and time again. This is not purely Greenpoint phenomenon either. You can read other accounts/musings/ranting regarding IDT’s chicanery by clicking on any of the following links:
- A Letter address to yours truly from Joe Lentol’s Office along with an ESCOS primer
- Consumer Tips About Buying Energy
- What is an ESCO?
- IDT in effect in Flatbush
- IDT shills on Christmas Eve
- IDT does Park Slope, Part III
- IDT does Bushwick
- IDT does Park Slope, Part II
- Concerned Citizens Of Greenwood Heights Raises Hell
- IDT Hires, $400 – $600 a week!
- IDT does Gerritsen Beach
- IDT Does Park Slope, Part I
- IDT Does BoCoCa
But I do not want to suggest IDT has plied its dubious trade solely in the county of Kings. No sir, their nefarious reach goes much further. Which brings me to this delightful video submitted from a reader in Harlem.
Needless to say after the aforementioned barrage of negative publicity IDT has seen fit to retool its image. In the 20th century the last refuge for a scoundrel was religion. In the 21st Century miscreants and ne’er do wells go “green”…
and operate blogs: idtenergy.wordpress.com
In closing, I leave you with this choice morsel from Gowanus Lounge 1.0 dating from January 28, 2009. Note the comments (and all caps abuse). Here’s my favorite segment from someone who calls himself IDT EMPLOYEE:
PS: THE PEOPLE WHO CLAIM THEY GOT SCAMMED ARE IGNORANT & NEEDS TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT’S GOING ON AROUND THEM. TO THOSE WHO DID NOT CHOSE THEIR ESCO HAVE FUN PAYING THOSE 3 EXTRA TAXES THAT IDT MEMBERS DO NOT PAY…
Can a leopard change its spots? I’ll leave it up to you, dear readers, to make the call All I ask is please be an informed consumer and do not take this businesses promises at face value. Exercise due diligence!
Miss Heather
From The New York Times: Vindication…
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
(Or at least proof)
The ‘Burgificaction’ of McCarren Park pisses me off in a big, BIG way. I was reminded of this yesterday. So as to clear up any confusion as to the provenance of the McCarren Park Pool I offer you this: an article from the August 1, 1936 edition of the New York Times. Our city’s ostensible newspaper of record.
Political bosses in Brooklyn are a dime a dozen. History (thankfully) forgets most of them— but not the “Prince of Garden Spot of The World” AKA: Peter J. McGuinness! A well known (if reviled) thoroughfare hereabouts bears his name. If it wasn’t for Mr. McGuinness’s chicanery, political savvy* and charm Williamsburgers wouldn’t have a pool in which to party (or piss).
In, I repeat,
Greenpoint
Miss Heather
P.S.: How can you not love a guy who says this (about a brief sojourn in “the south”):
I don’t like that Jim Crow they got or their goddam white crow either.
*His career survived the Seabury hearings.
NYS Flickr Pool
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