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Culture on the Cheap
The Word On The Street, Part II: Nostrand Avenue Free Verse
Today yours truly went on a five hour photo walk/drive with the fabulously talented Chris Arnade. Although I have many treats in store for you, gentle readers, I feel this missive deserves its own post. I realize it is a bit difficult to read so I will transcribe it for you:
My dad is a rat.
Me mother is a roach.
I’m a turd.
So I put my garbage here.
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Starter: Do The Reading
Filed under: 11216, Bed-Stuy, Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, Culture War, The Word On The Street
From Nostrand Avenue.
Miss Heather
Thought Of The Day
My initial reaction when I saw this was:
Some people really should have their ad copy checked before bringing in the sign maker.
Then I thought about it some more and concluded that in this case (which I presume to be accidental) the outcome is far superior to whatever “vision” the owner of this establishment might have had. What a difference one single letter makes!
Miss Heather
From The New York Shitty Inbox: Defend Greenthumb Gardens!
Filed under: 10002, 10003, 10009, 10012, 11101, 11104, 11201, 11205, 11206, 11211, 11215, 11216, 11217, 11221, 11222, 11231, 11237, 11372
This item comes from a fellow flower lover in north Brooklyn. She writes:
The agreement between the City of NY and the NY State Attorney General that has been protecting community gardens for the past 8 years is set to expire in September.
The City of NY recently published Proposed Rules for community gardens under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development.
The AG’s agreement referred to itself as a “protocol for preservation and development of GreenThumb gardens” — some community gardens were given up for development, some were “subject to development” and 198 community gardens were “offered to the Parks Department or land trusts for preservation as community gardens or open space.”
The word “preservation” appears nowhere in the proposed rules. In a nutshell, the rules essentially make new NYC community gardens not owned by land trusts or Parks subject to development after a review process.
This is a sea change for community gardeners. Though the city has said they do not intend to develop community garden sites, this is little consolation for gardeners who fear the protections that allowed their community gardens to thrive for the past 8 years are being stripped away.
Green Guerillas has been supporting the untiring efforts of the NYC Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC) as they have negotiated with the city, mobilized community gardeners, and made a strong case for why community gardens can and should be preserved.
Green Guerillas also mailed out 550 copies of the rules to community garden groups across the city and co-sponsored with NYCCGC an information session to help community gardeners understand the issues so they can mobilize support in their neighborhoods.
We could make an emotional appeal for why you should voice your support for preserving community gardens, but we would not do a better job than the New York Times – read their editorial HERE.
What can you do?
…Attend the upcoming public hearing: The city will be holding a public hearing on August 10th at 11 AM at the Chelsea Recreation Center at 430 W. 25th Street (between 9th & 10th Avenues) – closest trains are the C, E at 23rd Street or A at 34th Street. (To testify, you must notify Associate Counsel, Ms. Laura LaVelle at the Arsenal via telephone at (212) 360-1335 or e-mail at laura.lavelle@parks.nyc.gov by August 9, 2010.)
View and comment on the rules on the City of NY website HERE.
If you prefer to put pen (or ink cartridge) to paper, submit comments to General Counsel, Mr. Alessandro G. Olivieri, Department of Parks and Recreation, The Arsenal, Central Park, 830 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10065.
Call 311 and tell them you would like to comment on the Proposed Park Rules as published in The City Record.
As arduous and boring as this legalese is you should read it. Especially this passage:
Given tour Parks Person (and “Open Space Advocate”) has seemingly seen fit to obstruct Nick’s Garden/Red Gate Garden’s Greenthumb paperwork it makes one wonder who she’s serving. Is it the people using said parks? I think not.
The dead tree that graces the beginning of this post is a testament to her folly. It was one of the many trees planted by the Boy Scouts of America last April at her behest and due to neglect (no watering) and poor placement (being pissed on by humans and canines) died. They since have been removed. I suppose our “Parks Person” finds “carpet-bagging” concerts and fund-raisers more compelling? I can’t blame her. She has no public administration or horticultural knowledge at all. She formerly hails from Wall Street. It”s all about the money.
Which is, I can assure you, what this revision of the Greenthumb rules is about. Cashing in.
Miss Heather
Name These Kittens: The Bed-Stuy Quartet
Filed under: 11216, 11222, Bed-Stuy, Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, Crazy Cat Lady, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Queens
Yesterday I had the blues so I went for a walk. I’m glad I did. It was on Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg that I learned things could always be worse. For example, I could be this guy— or worse yet, his ex-girlfriend. So it goes. Today I met some little ones who had an even rougher life… and they’re only six weeks old!
When Jay of Dog Habitat told me last weekend that they just got in a litter of kittens rescued from Bed-Stuy naturally I had to make their acquaintance.
Here they are!
These two are definitely the more outgoing of the bunch. The “crouching tiger” is the solitary boy of the litter. I nicknamed him “Biggie Smalls” because he is the biggest of the “smalls”. His more defiant companion (who Jay has nicknamed “Smudgy”) appears to be the leader of this crew, as you will see.
These two are much more shy. Especially the one on the left. The one on the right is the runt of the litter. Given she is little…
VERY LITTLE and hails from Bed-Stuy I nicknamed her L’il Kim. Not that these kittens have names per se: they don’t. But more about that later. Here’s Jay telling us how these Bed-Stuy beauties came to be (albeit temporarily) Greenpointers.
Then Jay left me alone to get acquainted with them. We started with an ice breaker I like to call “watch the hand”.
Then we upgraded to a cat toy.
Then we had a little lunch.
But back to the purpose of this post: these kittens do not have names! For this reason Jay and I decided a contest is in order. Do you have names for this winsome quartet of cuties? If so, please tender them via comments or email at: missheather (at) thatgreenpointblog (dot) com. Otherwise, you can see more pix and videos of these cuties by clicking here.
In closing, here a little something for the dog lovers out there. The above lovely lass, Abby, was recently found wandering around Jackie Robinson Parkway in Queens. Luckily a good Samaritan picked her up. And by the previous I mean lucky for her and us: she’s a sweet gentle thing!
As I have (often) written before: anyone who is interested in providing a loving home to any of these lovely (and loving) furkids should contact Dog Habitat via telephone at (347) 601-8678 or via email at: rescue (at) doghabitat (dot) org. Tell ’em I sent you.
Thanks!
Miss Heather
Great Moments In Abjectecture: Quincy Street
Filed under: 11216, Abjectecture, Articles of Fedderization, Bed-Stuy, Bed-Stuy Brooklyn
Many of you have noticed I have been pounding the pavement in Bed Stuy a lot lately. There are a number of reasons for this. Among them:
- I am trying to assemble a nice selection of photographs for my upcoming show at Creek & Cave.
- I simply like Bed Stuy.
If these is one word I would use to describe the topography of the Stuy it would be this: heterogenous. Nowhere else (in north-ish Brooklyn, anyway) will you see a more diverse selection of architecture. On any given block one will find meticulously restored brownstones, derelict construction sites, foreclosed properties, slick new condos and, of course, Fedders Specials. Which brings me to Quincy Street— and the subject of this post.
To the right we have your standard run-of-the-mill three story rowhouse. These are a dime a dozen. On the left we have a Fedders Special. These too are a dime a dozen. But there is a something more going on here than the usual air conditioning boxes, disproportionate balconies, exposed electrical meters and copious use of cement.
Instead of being embedded in the building proper, the mailboxes have been affixed to the front door. This may seem trivial, but I want you to consider this: what is going to happen if you have someone checking his/her mail and another tenant wants to exit the building? Of course this is not only poor engineering, it is also quite ugly.
Miss Heather
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