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Live From Last Night’s Meeting Regarding The Brooklyn Night Bazaar
Yours truly did not being along her FlipCam to last night’s meeting. In the clarity of hindsight this was a mistake: this meeting lasted approximately two hours. However, a great deal of the people who spoke made points that were rather redundant. The general sentiments of the attendees essentially boiled down to two statements:
- I do not want this in my back yard.
- The organizer of this event is a liar.
I care not to attest to the veracity of the latter statement. I am merely reporting what appeared to be the sentiments of the people present. In any case the co-chairs of the Greenpoint Business Alliance did a wonderful job keeping last night’s public forum civilized. There was no profanity of any kind to be heard. One citizen seemed to have had problems comprehending points #3 and #4; he was shouted down. Without further ado follows is some footage I shot from last night’s proceedings. Pay particular attention to the revised “plan” for this event. Enjoy!
It was at this point my camera ran out of memory! Nonetheless here’s New York Shitty analysis/a VERY brief synopsis of what followed:
- I find the prospect of 27 West Street being sublet during the week for events troublesome.
- I find the Open Space Alliance’s opposition to this event intriguing. As an entity which outlays a substantial amount of its resources on conducting concerts in our public parks, one would presume they would be behind this endeavor. This is not the case. This would lead one to wonder if the prospect of having “competition” in this arena (remember: they do more or less have a monopoly on such events hereabouts) is the real matter at hand. A fellow attendee, the fabulous Tommy of Alter did in a manner of speaking bring this to the table. The answer he received was at best evasive. He was told, among other things that concerts should be held in one place. That one place was, by implication, East River State Park. I want you to think about this and what happened to JellyNYC for a moment.*
- A handful of people present pressed the Greenpoint Business Alliance to take a position on this bazaar. It was emphasized by the co-chairs that this event places them in a rather difficult position: while some businesses may possibly benefit from the Brooklyn Night Bazaar, others may not.
- Building upon point #4, Eric of the Red Star Bar brought up a very prescient point: is the lack of local involvement in terms of organizing said Bazaar an issue? Methinks it most assuredly is. As he plainly stated local businesses are stake-holders in the community and as such have to be very cognizant about being good neighbors. Someone who is operating an event here for four months does not.
- The plans for this bazaar seem to be changing on a daily basis and this makes it difficult to draw any reasonable, informed conclusion.
- Arguably the highlight of the evening was when the inimitable Ann Kansfield of the Greenpoint Reformed Church spoke. She not only admonished her fellow Greenpointers to refrain from further in-fighting and other UN-neighborly behavior but reminded us to be thankful for the the G train; if it has service interruptions of the summer this will cut down on the attendance of this bazaar significantly!
Regardless of where you may stand on this issue, I think we can all agree that it is great that the folks of the Greenpoint Business Alliance were thoughtful enough to organize last night’s hearing for the general public. Thanks guys/gals!
Miss Heather
*Here’s an intriguing two cents regarding OSA’s opposition to this bazaar I received from an anonymous tipster:
osa opposition to this bazaar … could it have something to do with one of their board members is the co-owner of artists and fleas … was osa opposed to brooklyn flea heading over to the edge? this really seems wrong on osa’s part as the fundraising arm for north brooklyn parks. they supported the bring the night event. it is an interesting choice for them and full conflict of interest.
Comments
2 Comments on Live From Last Night’s Meeting Regarding The Brooklyn Night Bazaar
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rutila on
Tue, 29th Mar 2011 12:40 pm
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perry on
Tue, 29th Mar 2011 8:19 pm
I spoke with Red Star’s co-owner Maria before the meeting began and brought up this point: it’s too much too soon. One of the bazaar’s sponsors, Bust magazine, hosts a Craftacular, which used to be in the McCarren Pool but is now in McCarren Park. It’s one day, contained, and over by the evening. I’d be more in support of the bazaar if it were tried similarly like Nuit Blanch, but I cannot support such a radical change to Greenpoint’s weekend and nightlife for through summer and part of autumn.
Big applause to the Greenpoint Business Alliance! They did a great job at last nights meeting! It’s really great to see that the business owners in our community care about what us residents think! It really is a breath of fresh air! These guys really understand how to do business the RIGHT way and how to be PART of a community! They really showed me last night that they’re here for the long term and want many of the same things that the residents do and in fact are willing to help us get the things we want!
If you were at the meeting….it wasnt all about the BK Bazaar. They talked about plans to organize a neighborhood clean up, plans to launch a Greenpoint Magazine and web site….this past Christmas they paid for christmas decorations on Franklin, Greenpoint, Nassua and Manhattan. I’ve noticed that the store owners in all of those areas have been making a real effort to keep things clean, chase away undesireable people, drunks and thugs. They’re showing us that they do care! Many of them do not live in Greenpoint, but are showing us that they take just as much pride in the neighborhood as we do! That is a really great thing!
What we’re getting from the Greenpoint Business Alliance is action! What we get from Aaron Broudo is words and promises. Actions speak louder than words! Our business owners plan to be here for a long time. Aaron Broudo plans to be here for a couple of months. Our business owners will give us christmas lights, they’ll listen to our concerns and they’ll keep the neighborhood safe and clean everyday! What will Aaron Broudo give us? My neighbor business Red Star donates to my son’s little league, sent food to our house when my wife was sick in the hospital and hosts community meetings and events. What will Aaron Broudo do for us?
The answer? NOTHING! He’ll make as much money as he can and run! What will this do to our neighborhood? He doesn’t care! What will it do to the businesses in our community that are actually making an effort to give back to us? Will he put them out of business? If he puts them out of business then who will be left to give us the christmas lights, neighborhood clean ups and safe streets? Broudo doesnt care! He doesn’t care because he’ll be gone in September! Broudo is bad for business and bad for Greenpoint!
Thanks to the GBA, Red Star and all our LOCAL businesses for hosting this meeting and showing us you care!
And thanks for not inviting Aaron Broudo! We’ve all heard enough of his bullshit! What bullshit story are you telling today Aaron? Broudo should forget about this Night Bazaar project and start writing a book of fairy tales! He’s much better suited for fiction than fact!
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