Greenpoint
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From The New York Shitty Inbox: Possible Police Impersonation?
Filed under: 11222, Criminal Activity, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic
A Green Street resident writes:
I came home the other day and found this flier taped to the wall outside my apartment on Green St. After some investigating, I discovered that late Sunday night two men entered our building through the roof, knocked on my neighbor’s door and flashed a badge trying to get him to let them into his apartment.. Thankfully, he was smart enough not to let them in. I”m curious as to whether you’ve heard of other incidents like this happening in the neighborhood. Also, I wanted to put a friendly reminder out there to lock your doors and windows (and roofs!)…
P.S. Do you or any of your readers have any tips for what to do if we suspect the “police” at the door are not actually police?
Although I have heard of one case of attempted police impersonation and a case housing authority impersonation (which culminated in a robbery at the Cooper Park Houses), I have not heard of any such activity hereabouts. Regardless, this is very disturbing stuff so I brought it to the attention of the commanding officer of the 94th Precinct: D.I. Hurson. He too was very troubled by this. Here’s what he had to say:
This could be very serious, have the person who encountered the “Police” go to the Precinct and report this as possible Police impersonation. Also if someone encounters plain clothes Police and they have reason to believe something is afoul ask them to call uniformed Police to respond, if that doesn’t work call 911 and request a supervisor to respond.
So there you go! If you suspect the person wanting access to your apartment is not a police officer, call the police and request they send either a uniformed officer or supervisor (as Mr. Hurson has indicated). In addition, if you have had such an encounter please follow up with the 94th Precinct and make them aware of what happened. This is serious stuff folks! Community Affairs (a good place to start for any inquiries/concerns you may have) can be reached via telephone at (718) 383-5298. Call ’em!
New York Shitty Day Starter: Househenge
Filed under: 11222, Advanced Life Forms, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Stuff That Makes Miss Heather Happy
The above arrangement (which is located at 146 1/2 Java Street) has long been a fascination (and personal favorite) of mine. For this reason I make it a point to walk by periodically so as to see how this ever-changing creation is progressing. Yesterday I noted a couple of new additions without further ado, here they are.
A wall.
And this rock garden.
Does anyone have the 411 on what this is about and/or who is responsible for this? Quite frankly I am fascinated and need to know! If you have anything to tender regarding this Garden Spot mystery please do so via comments or email at: missheather (at) thatgreenpointblog (dot) com. Thanks!
From The New York Shitty Inbox: Thrift Sale At St. John’s Lutheran Church
This item comes courtesy of a chap named Jan. He writes:
Hi Heather –
Attached is the flyer (sorry I folded it up in my pocket to bring it home to scan, didn’t think it would show) for the Spring Thrift Sale at St. John’s 155 Milton St. on Saturday March 10th 10am to 3pm.
Duly noted— check it out!
St. John’s Lutheran Church Thrift Sale
Saturday, March 10, 2012 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m
155 Milton Street
Brooklyn, New York 11222
East Village Pay Phone Watch: Imitation of Mortality
Filed under: 10003, 10009, 11101, 11222, East Village, East Village Manhattan, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Urban Artifact
I have had public pay phones on my mind a great lately.
This is undoubtedly due to the fact that after experiencing a drought of phones of note I have encountered a fair number of them recently. But I will go into more detail about this momentarily.
Still I have been wondering to myself:
Why the fascination?
Well, for starters it has been my observation that these public facilities are often facilitators for what most would consider private activities. I have seen men masturbate in these on occasion and, as the item at right (which hails from Queensboro Plaza) attests, they can be and are pressed into service as lavatories. Mind you, I do not pass judgement on this variety of re-purposing. Being a disciple of depravity to do so strikes me as being hypocritical.
The previous having been established, if I had to cite one such phone as being the inspiration for my fixation it is the one at left: the Norman Avenue Monologue Machine. Sadly, it is no longer with us. (However I am pleased to note that the owners of the bodega it once graced noted a great many people came to pay it homage.). Nonetheless, Monologue Machines are endemic in our city. I have spotted (and documented them) in a number of places (which can be seen here). What fascinates me about them? Very simple: the anger which has been directed at them. Anger undoubtedly fomented by the person on the other end.
In this respect I found the East Village Pay Phone of Death an interesting (and gruesome) change of pace. So much so I felt compelled to revisit it. This week I did.
As you can see this communication device has not only gotten a thorough cleaning, but is in working order. Whether or not the person whose blood graced it in the first place is in a similar such state is anyone’s guess.
On that note, I encountered a pay phone on First Avenue whose resemblance to this dubious item is rather stunning. At least enough so to merit a mention on this site.
The similarities are rather striking (pun completely intended).
Here’s a side-by-side comparison from the top.
Spatter to the right was also noted.
Upon closer examination I ascertained the red matter gracing the First Avenue phone is paint, not blood. This begs a number of questions. I’ll keep it to two:
- What exactly happened here?
- If this an attempt to impart old-school, gritty flavor to a public phone in an increasingly affluent neighborhood without the usual inconveniences (READ: violence)?
I’ll leave it to you, gentle readers, to make the call.
Live From The 94th Precinct Community Council Meeting
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Criminal Activity, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
All in all the proceedings at last night’s convocation were pretty subdued. However there were a few points of interest, among them:
- A bevy of guest speakers, including a trio of wonderfully charming participants of the NYPD’s Explorers program speak.
- A pair of gentleman who were burglarizing our local watering holes in the wee hours of the morning have been apprehended!
- Phyllis, a stalwart attendee of these proceedings, tenders her two cents (and then some) regarding what I presume to be a meter maid.
Without further ado, here we go!
Part I: Roll Call & a Review of Minutes From the Previous Meeting
Part II: Minutes are accepted, the new date for Community Council meetings is announced; a representative from the NYPD’s Community Affairs Office speaks
Part III: A Presentation by the Explorer’s Program
- You can view the brochure for this program by clicking here.
Part IV: A citizen lauds these youths for cleaning Jerzy Popieluzko Square (this is pretty awesome)
Part V: A representative from the Youth Court speaks & D.I. Hurson gives a rundown of recent crime trends
- Crime was up for the month of February. Mr. Hurson attributes this to unseasonably warm weather.
- Burglaries are still a problem. He states that two men responsible for a string of burglaries at bars in his precinct have been identified/apprehended. Simply put, these two men were breaking into bars after hours. One was caught at Bellwether on Union Avenue.
- Street robberies (for electronics) is still a concern. Recently a rash of these came to pass on Roebling Street between North 8 and North 4 Street. The perpetrators are between the ages of 14 and 18 years of age and one young woman has been arrested.
- Car break-ins are still a concern as well.
Part VI: The Q & A Session Continues
- Phyllis tenders some remarks regarding one Officer Brown and truck drivers. Among other things she asserts Ms. Brown is overweight. D.I. Hurson begs to differ.
- Concerns about the Production Lounge are raised (again).
Part VII: Q & A Session, Continued
- Concerns about registered sex offenders (and posting flyers of them) are raised.
- D.I. Hurson notes that many hail from 300 Skillman Avenue (a homeless shelter located on the premises of the Greenpoint Hospital) and 66-68 Clay Street (a three quarter house)
And that’s all she wrote!
The Word On The Street, Part II: Calyer Street
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, The Word On The Street
Taken March 7, 2012.
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