Matty Franz: R.I.P.

While running errands earlier today I made a most upsetting discovery: Greenpoint has lost one of its own.

It saddens me to report that Matty Franz (better known as the “You Will Rot in Hell guy” from Forgotten-NY Tour #30) has left us.

On the behalf of the attendees of the aforementioned tour and all of Greenpoint I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Mrs. Franz. Your husband was a very kind man (he always said “Hi” to me on the street after that tour) and gave many people a reason to smile.

You will be sorely missed, Matty. May you rest in peace.

Miss Heather

How to Spend a Monday Afternoon In Greenpoint

I received an email this morning from a woman named Brittany who has an excellent suggestion as to how to while away the remains of this beautiful day: follow the blood spots! She writes:

I often read your blog and I thought this might interest you…

It’s not dog shit but it’s just as gross. At the corner of Meserole and McGuinness

thanks

Click on the above image and behold the original on Brix Picks for yourself. Be sure to read the accompanying text, as it is equally charming:

I still have no idea what went on at the corner of Meserole and McGuinness, but there appears to be puddles of blood and, reportedly (by friends who saw it), there used to be a plastic bag full of bloody stuff.

You can see little drops throughout the neighborhood, some right outside the police station–they don’t mind though, because when I told an officer about the possibly gruesome site he said, “What do you want me to do about it?*”…

It should be noted that the Pit Stop Bar (home of the bouncing beer kegs) is located at the intersection where this blood was found. I walked by there around lunchtime and didn’t see anything amiss but I imagine the Mobile Wash unit probably makes it a point to clean up this kind of thing stat. but I have been told that as of 4:00 this afternoon it is still there. Check it out for yourself at the northeastern corner of McGuinness Boulevard and Meserole Avenue where it (per a tipster):

…trails all the way down meserole on the north side of the street, then crosses at manhattan goes right in front of Europa, the police station and all the way past the post office.

In closing, a number of you will be pleased as punch to know my trip was not entirely unfruitful: as it would happen, I found another yet to be documented bit of spatter on McGuinness Boulevard and Kent Street.

THIRTY INCHES WORTH of blood spatter, to be precise.

Even Hard Hat Hannah (who as a puppet possesses neither blood nor a central nervous system) noted that this must have hurt.

Miss Heather

*Perhaps he was too busy solving the double burglary that occurred two blocks away from the 94th Precinct’s Headquarters last month?

Photo Credit: Meserole Avenue spatter, Brix Picks

Greenpoint Photo du Jour: Mixed Signals on Freeman Street

Lenin or LaRouche, that is indeed a difficult question!

Miss Heather

You Pick The Movie at East Coast Aliens

Tomorrow, January 27 at 9:00 p.m. East Coast Aliens will be hosting a rather novel evening of cinematic entertainment where we, the attendees, vote on which movie you want to see. Here’s the scoop, per their web site:

The Apartment or The Beat That My Heart Skipped

It’s pick-pick night!

Check your facts, defend your pick, we vote and watch the winner.

They could not have selected two seemingly more different movies. Here are brief plot synopses from IMDB.

The Apartment:

Bud Baxter is a struggling clerk in a huge New York insurance company. He’s discovered a quick way to climb the corporate ladder – by lending out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. He often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits and one night he’s left with a major problem to solve.

The Beat My Heart Skipped:

Twenty-eight-year-old Tom leads a life that might be termed as criminal. In doing so, he follows in the footsteps of his father, who made his money from dirty, and sometimes brutal, real estate deals. Tom is a pretty hard-boiled guy but also strangely considerate as far as his father is concerned. Somehow he appears to have arrived at a critical juncture in his life when a chance encounter prompts him to take up the piano and become a concert pianist, like his mother…

Although the latter film sounds rather interesting, I have a confession to make: I am a Billy Wilder fan. Since The Apartment was directed by him I am more than a little biased. In addition, I have seen this film. It is quite good.

Those of you who disagree with my cinematic taste should be advised that doors open at 8:30 p.m. and the recommended donation is $6.00 per person.

East Coast Aliens
216 Franklin Street
Brooklyn, New York 11222
(718) 514-7625

Don’t forget what a very wise man once said and:

Vote early— and vote often.

Miss Heather

Greenpoint Photo Du Jour: Greenpoint Coffee House

As the weekend approaches I imagine a number of you are making plans. Among these plans is probably a loathsome avocation called “brunch”. Speaking as someone who does NOT want to eat waffles at 4:00 in the afternoon, I wish I could find the person who came up with this concept so I can take a brickbat to the side of his (or her) head. Thankfully I recently learned I am not the only Greenpointer who harbors this sentiment.

The chap sporting this shirt was at the Greenpoint Coffeehouse last Sunday afternoon. It should be noted that a number of his fellow patrons were partaking of “brunch”. When I asked him if I could take a picture of his shirt he gladly obliged, adding:

Spread the word.

Consider it done.

Miss Heather

This Friday at Word Books

Tomorrow, January 25th, Word Books will conduct its first “Book-to-Movie Night” with the feature Everything is Illuminated. For those of you who are not familiar with this film (or the novel it is based upon) here is a plot synopsis from IMDB:

A young Jewish American flies to the Ukraine in search of his grandfather’s past. He has a photograph and the name of a village. He hires the Odessa Heritage Tours, made up of a gruff old man and his English-speaking grandson. The three, plus grandfather’s deranged dog, travel in an old car from Odessa into Ukraine’s heart. Jonathan, the American, is a collector, putting things he finds into small plastic bags, so he will remember. Alex, the interpreter, is an archetypal wild and crazy guy. Alex asks the old man, “Was there anti-Semitism in the Ukraine before the war?” Will they find the village? The past illuminates everything.

The movie will begin at 8:00 p.m. sharp so be sure to get there early!

Word Books
126 Franklin Street
Brooklyn, New York 11222
(718) 383-0096

For more information about this or any forthcoming “Book-to-Movie Night” (they are slated for the last Friday of every month) contact Word’s owner at the above-listed phone number or via email at:

info (at) wordbrooklyn (dot) com

Best yet, do what I do and check out their blog.

Miss Heather

Greenpoint Photo du Jour: Meeker Avenue

This sign graces a florist. I have no idea whatsoever what the numbers are regarding: it isn’t the address. Hmm…

Miss Heather

Lost!!!

I came across the above flier this morning on Franklin Street. As it would happen, my colleague at The Gowanus Lounge and I not only saw this very briefcase on our latest walk, but he was thoughtful enough to take a photograph of it.

If you have seen this briefcase (or picked it up thinking it was free for the taking) please return it to:

The St. Anthony-St Alphonsus Church
862 Manhattan Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11222

or give Deacon Martinez a ring at the telephone number listed on the flier.

Thanks!

Miss Heather

Photo Credit: The Gowanus Lounge

THIS WEEK: Newtown Creek Stink

Speaking as someone who remembers the rather *a-hem* robust cologne Greenpoint was rocking last summer and has seen how truly deplorable Newtown Creek is firsthand, this is a must-do event.

Polish Slavic Center
177 Kent Street
Brooklyn, New York 11222
(718) 383-5290

Why not make an evening of it and have dinner at their cafeteria first? I’ve heard the meatloaf is delicious.

Miss Heather