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Culture on the Cheap
Belvidere Street: The New Freeman?
I recently had to moderate a most curious comment regarding my latest post about Freeman Street. Jeffrey writes:
I actually don’t find this entertaining or funny. I live on Freeman and have a kid, and I am so sick of people acting like idiots around here. 100 Freeman is an illegal loft building. They never shovel their sidewalk in winter. A few weeks ago, we saw a guy doing crack on the sidewalk outside the building at 2 in the afternoon. People never pick of dog shit on Freeman, and I’m not pointing fingers, but there’s a lot of dogs in that building. Why can’t people grow the hell up! I’m about to move to Park Slope with the other adults.
When I was looking to move seven or so years ago, Greenpoint was on my list of neighborhoods to research. In order to make an informed decision as to whether or not I would commit to moving here, I made numerous trips to the neighborhood and walked around. I like to get a feel for what I might be obligating myself to ahead of time. My main criteria were:
- Access to transportation
- Good grocery stores
- Personal Safety
Greenpoint passed with flying colors, but I also noted there were a lot of drunks, crack heads and overall chicanery to be found. This was the compromise I had to make. I have learned that waiting for people to “grow up” as Jeffrey put it, is a fruitless effort. Most don’t. Even Especially in Park Slope*. Which brings me to this, my final and finest Freeman Street story.
It was 2:00 a.m., and after a late dinner and cocktails, my friend Chin needed to walk her dog. I went to bed (a decision I regret to this day, read on and find out why); my husband accompanied her. They went to Freeman Street. As they approached Manhattan Avenue they saw something moving on the sidewalk. Assuming it was a homeless person, they paid it no mind. Fifteen feet away they finally noticed what it was— and it noticed them; it was two people fucking. Right on the sidewalk. Outside of Tommy’s Tavern. Twenty feet away from Manhattan Avenue.
It was an awkward moment for everyone involved: the fucker, the fuckee, my husband, my friend— even her dog.
The point I am getting at with this story is this: weird shit happens here— and some of it is funny. To expect things to change is, in my humble opinion, ridiculous. This is New York City. If someone sees fit to fornicate al fresco, he (and/or she) is going to do it. The previous is not exclusively a Greenpoint avocation either.
Looks like something happened.
Safe sex was involved.
Quite a bit of it.
And it was good enough to break the heel off a nice shoe. Wow.
Of course the punchline is where I found the above tableau…
The intersection of Belvidere and Beaver Street in… drumroll please…
Bushwick.
Miss Heather
*Go to The Tea Lounge and see for yourself.
Comments
2 Comments on Belvidere Street: The New Freeman?
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GioAtFreemanStreet on
Fri, 21st Sep 2007 2:37 pm
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patrice on
Mon, 24th Sep 2007 5:34 am
Yeah i know, I live on Freeman St. too. Don’t walk your dog, your dog can get sick. No-one cleans their streets. Dog Feces all over the place. Freeman street, Dupont and Clay are like the forgotton streets away from Greenpoint ave. So no-one really cares about us. I Have T-mobile and I dont even get good service outside. No strong towers. + Some Street lights will be out for weeks and the City never comes to replace the bulbs. The lofts: Yeah thats like ghetto lofts. Ever take a quick peek into those loft windows? It looks like a concentration camp in there. How do those people live in such conditions? I took a peek and it looks like they make their own rooms out of sheet rock.
The Bar in the corner of Manhattan ave: That old lady that owns the place, she never cleans the snow off her property so you can trip and kill yourself on the ice while running to get the 61 Bus.
Sex in Public: Thats a new one though!
I live in 100 freman and “concentration camp” may be a bit harsh. The people downstairs have a lovely skate ramp in the livingroom and I hear another space even has a koi pond.
Those streetlights they have been out for ages. I called 311 a few weeks back and it seems like they may have fixed one but missed the one that makes this end of the block seem lke the set fo Thriller.
As for Tommy’s you can smell the broken dreams just walking by.
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