Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
Urban Fur: More Flatbush Fur
Ripley, the keeper of my buddy Flatbush Gardener*, would very much like to go outside.
Miss Heather
*Who was nice enough to show me around his neighborhood yesterday!
Urban Fur: Flatbush Fur
Don’t let this old fella’s tough looking-exterior fool you: he was all purrs and lovins’!
Miss Heather
Something Neat
(Or, Does Anyone Have $26,500?)
This has nothing to do with north Brooklyn but quite frankly I think it is rather neat so here it is. The junk shop serves as a library of sorts for yours truly. This is especially true of old periodicals. I bring these home in bundles and read them before I go to bed. Last night in one such magazine (the July 1903 issue of The Worlds Work) I found a real estate listing for one of my favorite houses down Victorian Flatbush way.
The Mister did some calculating and per 2009 dollars this house’s asking price comes out to $662,4666.56. Nowadays this will maybe buy you a modest house here in the Garden Spot— but back then this was a rather handsome sum. I wonder what it is worth today?
In any case 107 years later it is still looking good!
Miss Heather
From The New York Shitty Photo Pool: Ghana!
This bit of World Cup mirth was captured by Carnade at Flatbush’s Meytex Cafe.
Miss Heather
Now On The Blog Roll Of Gowanus Lounge Dot Com: IDT Energy
Filed under: 11101, 11206, 11211, 11215, 11222, 11231, 11237, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Bushwick, Bushwick Brooklyn, Clinton Hill, Gowanus, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Kensington, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Maspeth, Navy Yard, New York City, Park Slope, Queens, Sunnyside, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
In regards to Bob Guskind (to whom they have dedicated a page) they write:
Bob Guskind was a unique man, and his writing will forever stand as a testament to the person that he was.
While we’ve bought the site Gowanus Lounge, we are not trying to replicate or replace his work or his spirit. We intend to continue to explore issues that are important to the people of New York, while also addressing topics of concern to other markets and communities.
Bob Guskind’s work has been moved to another location where fans can continue to read his prose and benefit from the wisdom that he provided.
Speaking as someone who has had the benefit of Bob’s wisdom I found Gowanus Lounge 2.0’s linkage to “Energy Savings” and “IDT Energy” of particular interest. The Mister and I pointed and clicked. Here’s what we found:
Energy Savings
The IDT Energy Store (You can see the registration info by clicking here). When you click on “Company” here’s what you’ll find:
Yup, the same people who saw fit to plague my community with people hitting our buzzers— REPEATEDLY— stating they were from Con Ed and that they wanted to review our energy bills. Time and time again. This is not purely Greenpoint phenomenon either. You can read other accounts/musings/ranting regarding IDT’s chicanery by clicking on any of the following links:
- A Letter address to yours truly from Joe Lentol’s Office along with an ESCOS primer
- Consumer Tips About Buying Energy
- What is an ESCO?
- IDT in effect in Flatbush
- IDT shills on Christmas Eve
- IDT does Park Slope, Part III
- IDT does Bushwick
- IDT does Park Slope, Part II
- Concerned Citizens Of Greenwood Heights Raises Hell
- IDT Hires, $400 – $600 a week!
- IDT does Gerritsen Beach
- IDT Does Park Slope, Part I
- IDT Does BoCoCa
But I do not want to suggest IDT has plied its dubious trade solely in the county of Kings. No sir, their nefarious reach goes much further. Which brings me to this delightful video submitted from a reader in Harlem.
Needless to say after the aforementioned barrage of negative publicity IDT has seen fit to retool its image. In the 20th century the last refuge for a scoundrel was religion. In the 21st Century miscreants and ne’er do wells go “green”…
and operate blogs: idtenergy.wordpress.com
In closing, I leave you with this choice morsel from Gowanus Lounge 1.0 dating from January 28, 2009. Note the comments (and all caps abuse). Here’s my favorite segment from someone who calls himself IDT EMPLOYEE:
PS: THE PEOPLE WHO CLAIM THEY GOT SCAMMED ARE IGNORANT & NEEDS TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT’S GOING ON AROUND THEM. TO THOSE WHO DID NOT CHOSE THEIR ESCO HAVE FUN PAYING THOSE 3 EXTRA TAXES THAT IDT MEMBERS DO NOT PAY…
Can a leopard change its spots? I’ll leave it up to you, dear readers, to make the call All I ask is please be an informed consumer and do not take this businesses promises at face value. Exercise due diligence!
Miss Heather
Reader Contribution Du Jour: Cortelyou PSA
These images do not hail from north Brooklyn (they come from the intersection of East 17 Street and Cortelyou Road). But when Flatbush Gardener brought these finds to my attention I simply had to pass them along here. Nice catch, Xris!
Miss Heather
671: The Reveal
I ended yesterday’s offerings on New York Shitty with a brain teaser. I wrote:
Today a young woman with a most curious tattoo came to the junk shop. As you can see it is the borough of Brooklyn, rendered in argyle, and includes a number. Anyone care to guess what it means? She told me and I will give the reveal tomorrow at noon. It’s really neat!
Well, it’s noon and here’s the reveal.
This very nice young lady (who is employed at Papasitos) came into the junk shop with her mother— who was a lovely lady in her own right. She was fabulous.
As they were exiting I got a passing glance of the above tattoo. I locked onto the visage of Greenpoint like the Garden Spot geek that I am. I can pick out the silhouette of our fair burgh a mile away. Probably because it bears a disquieting resemblance that fucked-up blob thing from the Gigglesnort Hotel I saw— repeatedly and much to my disturbance— as a little kid.
(To get a true grasp of how truly weird this show— and 1970’s childrens’ television in general— were click on the above image and watch the video. CAVEAT: Do not watch this under the influence of any mind-altering substances.)
I looked again at her tattoo. This time to the south. I recognized Coney Island. My eyes were not deceiving me: this was county of Kings rendered in Argyle. With a number: 671. So I asked her about it.
She said she grew up at 671 Argyle Road, Brooklyn, 11230. And she piquantly added:
I thought I grew up in the suburbs— until I actually saw what suburbs were.
Her mother laughed.
So there’s the reveal. A tattoo— which in hindsight— is not so cryptic. And pretty damned cool!
Hey, if her mother (who has since left Victorian Flatbush) likes it, who am I to judge? What’s more, I think it is neat!
Miss Heather
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