Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
Greenpoint Photo Du Jour: Made In The Shade
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Stuff That Makes Miss Heather Happy
Taken August 9, 2012.
New York Shitty Day Starter: Au Contraire!
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
As some of you might recall, I posted the above letter a couple days ago. In it Mr. Olechowski asserts that he had a leadership role in the fighting the TGE power plant here some time ago. Simply put, gentle readers, this does not “jibe” with my understanding of how things went down. Wishing to get the skinny on exactly what Mr. Oelchowski’s role was in the fight against the power plant, I decided to post his tome on a few listserves. The responses were almost immediate. The following comes from a very nice, very dedicated activist for our community: Kate Yourke. She has been kind enough to grant me permission to post it here. It pretty much speaks for itself. Enjoy!
Reading this campaign letter from Community Board #1 Chair Chris Olechowski, I am shocked to discover he claims to have “led a coalition to fight against a proposed power plant on the waterfront on the Bushwick Inlet.”
The only power plant proposed for the Bushwick Inlet was the 1100 MW Trans Gas Energy plant, which was opposed by a phenomenal, comprehensive coalition, known as the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Waterfront Task Force.
The work of organizing this coalition to oppose the TGE plant required the committed focus of a great many community members for over 2 years. From its inception, I served on both the Steering Committee and the Outreach Committee of the GWWTF. I do not recall even meeting Chris Olechowski during this effort.
I also served taking notes and writing minutes for nearly all the GWWTF meetings. Reviewing my notes, the only references I see for Chris Olechowski are as described below.
An email establishing who would receive what level of information, dated 1/1/2002
categories are described as follows:
- “first-rung email list, based on ongoing involvement and responsiveness to decision-making”
- “people who have shown consistent involvement in the issues” and
- “General Task Force email list… (which) receive a monthly update”
Chris Olechowski’s name appears on the third category.
In Steering Committee minutes from 1/27/03 (the following year) the formal structure and committees were reviewed and finalized Chris Olechowski’s name does not appear.
The only places I could find reference to the participation of Chris Olechowski were in a list of targets for outreach, and as a potential volunteer.
The volunteer effort this struggle required was overwhelming. Those who made the commitment to see this fight to the end made tremendous sacrifices to prevent another environmental degradation of this community. I am OUTRAGED to find Chris Olechowski claiming to have “led” this effort.
I would like to salute those members of the GWWTF who did contribute their time, energy and intelligence to the successful defeat of the TGE power plant.
So there have you. I have requested copies of the above documentation from Ms. Yourke. These I should hopefully receive later today. When I do I will post them here. See gentle readers, politics can be fun! In closing (and in the interest of giving credit where it is due) Mr. Olechowski has (albeit fairly) recently spoken up on an issue with serious environmental ramification hereabouts: this being the proposed siting of an incinerator in our community. Skip to 5:52 and see for yourself. It took a little “help”, but Mr. Olechowski did manage to muster the word “incinerator”.
In addition to having a faulty memory it would appear this fellow is also afflicted with the opposite of charisma. But I suppose these qualities are considered to be “leadership caliber material” in some circles. In any case, if you thought watching this video was hard just imagine filming it. If anyone reading this tome is wondering to whom the unseen woman’s voice belongs who said “incinerator” before the Chairman of the Community Board did, it was yours truly. Yup.
Greenpoint Photo Du Jour: Banker Street
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Stuff That Makes Miss Heather Happy
Taken August 8, 2012.
New York Shitty Day Ender: Driggs Avenue
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Urban Artifact
Taken August 7, 2012.
New York Shitty Day Starter: West Street Living Room Suite
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Street Furniture
This photo comes courtesy of a Greenpoint gal named Violet (who clearly has a keen eye for feral furniture). Great capture— I’m almost ready to move in!
LAST GASP: & Now A Word From Christopher Olechowski
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Criminal Activity, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
As it would happen, I had the pleasure of having a conversation with two individuals canvassing for this fellow earlier this evening. Initially I was content with simply recounting the hilarity on Facebook* and letting the subject go. However, when the above missive found its way to my inbox, well, I felt it was worth sharing. What I found particularly interesting (aside from the items I have seen fit to highlight and/or annotate) is Mr. Olechowski’s emphasis on safety. It reminded me of what I saw while walking by the McCarren Park Pool this afternoon. You see, he in his capacity as Chair of Community Board 1 this fellow was present at that (not so) “secret” meeting about the pool recently.
All in all, I counted ten police vehicles total. Yours truly almost shit her pants beholding the law enforcement at hand— and mind you, I was not even IN the pool! Numbers “1” and “2” were from the 94th Precinct. “2” and “5” were from the North Brooklyn Task Force (READ: The fellows who are called when serious shit hits the fan.). But what I found most interesting was in front of the pool’s entrance.
For those of you who are not in the know:
- “Impact” vehicles (and the officers who man them) are assigned to chronic high crime areas.
- The 75th Precinct (whose assistance pool-goers apparently require) is located in a high crime area: East New York, to be precise.
As some of you might recall, I spied a NYPD vehicle from the 83rd Precinct, which also has its fair share of problems, last week. And once again I’m asking myself:
Why are we allocating police manpower to this facility when it is clearly needed elsewhere?
But don’t take my word for it. Let’s compare CompStat numbers.
It is not my intent to criticize our Finest. They are simply following orders and I for one think D.I. Hurson has proven the be the best Commanding Officer we have seen in years (really). But is this the best possible use of their manpower? I for one do not think so.
I wish Mr. Olechowski would dedicate more time to addressing, say, the dearth of affordable housing here for ALL citizens rather than fear-mongering. In closing, I’d be remiss if I did not point out that while a purported proponent of “public safety”, I have not seen Mr. Olechowski at any Public Safety Committee meetings of Community Board 1 (over which he ostensibly presides as Chair) since the town hall meeting regarding the proposed homeless assessment center at 400 McGuinness. This came to pass in 2011.
* A few highlights:
Friend of Christopher Olechowski: Good evening, are you a registered Democrat?
Me: Yes.
FOCO: We’re spreading the word about Chris Olechowski.
Me: I know who he is. I’m voting against him.
FOCO: Are voting against him or for the other candidate.
Me: A little column a, a little column b.
FOCO: Why are you not voting for him?
(I give rather extensive feedback which ends with “This is highly questionable from an ethical point of view if you ask me”).
FOCO (while parsing through paperwork, presumably that of registered Democrats): Do you happen to know what apartment (Mr. Heather) lives in?
Me: As a matter of fact, I do. He’s my husband— and he is not voting for Mr. Olechowski either. In fact, I am telling everyone I know not to vote for him.
FOCO: Have a nice evening.
And of course there are these videos to consider:
Which comes via this web site (which does not, anywhere, disclose Mr. Olechowski’s party affiliation).
New York Shitty analysis: If Mr. Olechowski (or his hired guns) cannot even spell the sinecure in question correctly, he should not be elected to it.
NYS Flickr Pool
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