Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
Burglary On Green Street?
Filed under: 11222, Criminal Activity, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic
It has not been a good month for Neer, better known to many of you as one of the lovely ladies who works at A.J. Farms bodega at Green Street and Manhattan Avenue. First it was the catnap and subsequent return of Larry the cat (who can be seen at left). Now her apartment has been burglarized! But this is a lot more disturbing than a mere act of theft— as I learned when I spoke to her last night. Here’s a basic rundown of what happened.
The incident came to pass at 5:00 a.m. last Saturday morning. Here sister awakened to see a man looking around her room. She asked who was there and the man (who was described as being about six feet tall) bolted. They searched the apartment and noticed a number of items of value were missing, including her i-Phone. Neer called it twice. The first time she got no answer. The second time a voice said:
Manhattan and India, ATM, florist
Not wishing to put herself in danger, Neer did not go the location in question. She called the police. However, she later received a call from the florist: they had found her cell phone at the ATM in question. This has since been returned to her.
As you can imagine this incident has upset her tremendously. It’s bad enough to be robbed— but while you are sleeping? That’s just plain scary! Apparently the superintendent of the building in question added insult to injury by not seeming to be concerned. It has not been established whether or not the front door to her apartment was picked or if it had been left unlocked. B if you ask me that’s not terribly important all things considered: someone robbed her apartment while she, her sister and roommate slept!
Let this be a warning to you fellow readers: be mindful of who enters and exits your apartment building and make sure your front door is locked when you go to bed!
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Ender: T & N Wine Gears Up For Turkey Day!
Filed under: 11222, Advanced Life Forms, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic
Chris has really outdone himself this time.
This here is the real Greenpoint, folks— and don’t you forget it!
Miss Heather
Reader Question/Contribution Du Jour: A Wreck On Dupont?
Margot writes (in an email entitled “very scary looking smashup on Dupont”):
right now between manh. and mcguin. lots of uniforms, firetrucks, and one absolutely demolished looking car. i dont know how fast youd have to be going to end up looking like that. no idea what happened or whom it happened to. sorry, no photos.
Well, as it would happen my buddy Laura (who took all photographs gracing this post) was on the scene and has the scoop.
And what a scoop it is.
She writes:
…I’m sorry that these are not the clearest pictures. I’m still getting used to the camera settings. I also didn’t reset the time on the photo. These photos were taken more like 4:35Â and on. At 4:30 there were a few large crashes that rumbled the building so much that I felt it on the fifth floor. I heard that the vehicle got stuck in reverse from the second parking spot on the block, onto the sidewalk and past a few buildings. Thank God, few people were out front and were able to get out of the way. There’s usually loads of people hanging out there. Apparently, the vehicle first banged that grey car which banged the yellow car… As you can see the vehicle ended up on the stoop a few doors down. It took police over a half hour to respond. They wouldn’t even bother looking under the vehicle to see if there was anyone under it. A neighbor from the building got a flashlight and looked. Folks were worried and making sure everyone was accounted for. The vehicle took out the wrought iron recycling fence in front of my building. After many, many phone calls from many people, the fire department also arrived at 5:18.
They’re still working downstairs.
Jesus Christ.
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Ender: A Greenpoint Avenue PSA
This evening the Mister and I took a good friend of ours out to dinner. We met at the B24 bus stop at the intersection of Greenpoint and Manhattan Avenue so as to sojourn to Sunnyside. As we were waiting the Mister found this.
These fliers are a dime a dozen in Greenpoint. The poster’s M.O. is consistent (if the message a bit daft): a flier is posted in Polish and beneath it is a flier in English. These are annotated with a Sharpie Marker to indicate what language is being employed. I have found these on buildings, derelict construction fences, call boxes. You name the flat surface and chances are one of these fliers is gracing it.
Truth be told I try to ignore them. I respect this person(s) opinion— he/she/they is entitled to it— but quite frankly I disagree. On some occasions I have the rhetoric contained in these missives to be downright offense. So I tune it out. Thankfully the Mister doesn’t engage in this practice. Tonight he found a real corker.
I want you to think about this fellow Greenpointers. Especially since it made me think of this:
I wonder if this is what happens when someone eats crabs from Newtown Creek (and they do. EAT CRABS. FROM NEWTOWN CREEK.)? I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Starter: What Happened November 7?
Filed under: 11222, Criminal Activity, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic
This was first brought to my attention by someone whose son is a friend of a someone involved, e.g.; via the Greenpoint grapevine. By that I mean the friend (of the son of my tipster) in question was allegedly beaten up by the police and went to the hospital. Per my tipster the fight started over a woman being harassed. Her son’s friend tried to intervene and police officers were knocking cameras out of the hands of bystanders. And busting heads.
I cannot profess to know the truth for the simple reason I was not there. But something very ugly came to pass that evening. Accounts vary, but it boils down to this: two men went to the hospital that night. And the NYPD had something to do with it.
This is interesting given the NYPD’s apparent blind eye to Club Exit, which has no less than two incidences of gun play in the last 18 months— and yet is still open for business. It should also be noted Blackout has been cited for not having a Cabaret License (and a personal visit from D. I. Fulton) because they (purportedly) had D.J.s spinning records.*
Hmm…
Miss Heather
*Per the NYC.gov website:
Any room, place or space in the city in which patron dancing is permitted in connection with the restaurant business or a business that sells food and/or beverages to the public requires a Cabaret license. This description is only a general explanation of which businesses need to have a Cabaret license…
You can read the rest here. Being somewhat of an expert on such stuff D.J.s do not a dance hall and subsequent debauchery make. By all appearances Club Exit does not have a Cabaret license, yet no one is citing them.
Reader Contribution Du Jour: Dixie
These photographs of the cool old sign which graces the place formerly known as Subs UR Way (821 Manhattan Avenue, which appears to have been divided into two storefronts) come courtesy of Tony Luib. Great find!
Miss Heather
LAST GASP: Community Pride is Contagious
First came the infamous bench/newspaper stand/tree protector at 1071 Manhattan Avenue. This has been since retrofitted with a more comfy back rest.
Then 1074 Manhattan Avenue stepped up to the plate with “El Blablazo”. This tree pit now sports a wind chime!
And today my buddy Laura (who took the following photograph) advised me that 1086 Manhattan Avenue has joined the fray!
She writes:
Apparently, tree guards are the in thing! Cool!
I for one am touched how the folks of north Greenpoint have (literally) taken matters into their own hands. It just goes to show that one need not rely upon “community groups” or the Parks Department to make a difference. Community pride is the new black: it never goes out of style.
Ingenuity, moxie and elbow grease; that’s the north Greenpoint way. It’s your neighborhood folks: make it yours before someone else decides to make it for you.
FAIL.
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Starter: Home For The Holiday?
Filed under: 11101, 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Long Island City
I don’t know about you, but I relish staying in the city during Thanksgiving. I have long since tired of negotiating airports and throngs of churlish people endeavoring to reach their respective destinations. I crave peace and quiet. Unfortunately, a number of my friends have followed suit and now the Mister and I face the daunting decision of selecting social engagements.
And after strolling down Manhattan Avenue Saturday night we face yet another option.
The word on the street is Rush Hour Gentleman’s Club in beautiful Blissville, Queens will be having a pre-Thanksgiving celebration beyond compare. Per the copious number of fliers I encountered (the use of parking meter for marketing purposes is nothing short of genius, by the way) above not only will they be serving a “complimentary traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings” but they will be having a LCD television raffle at midnight (because porn should only be savored in high definition, anything else would be barbaric)! All this (and much more) can be yours with with a mere five minute ride on B24.
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Starter: Hate
Last night after having long overdue catch-up time with a friend of mine over dinner I found this turd affixed to a pay phone in front of the Dunkin’ Donuts at 862 Manhattan Avenue.
Don’t bother trying to find it. Immediately after taking the above photograph I tore it off and threw it in the garbage (where it rightfully belongs).
For those of you who are wondering “.cc” is the country code for the Cocos (Kealing) Islands, an Australian territory. Mind you, the peeps responsible for producing this sticker (and the website listed therein) are not Aussies: they hail from the good ‘ol U.S. of A. Arkansas as best as I can deduce.* I know this because I looked at their web site (which I will NOT link to out of principle— look it up yourself). A noose graces “Tightrope’s” header and they offer such niceties as mouse pads emblazoned with Barack Obama depicted as a monkey, swastikas and other neo-Nazi crap; exclamations of “Celtic Pride” (which is sort of weird considering the so-called “master race” was supposedly Nordic in origin. The Normans and Celts were enemies. Ask any Irishman or Basque.) and my personal favorite: “The Original Boys in the ‘Hood” (which a sports a number of Klansmen wearing hoods. A double entendre. How clever!).
Speaking as someone who spent a fair amount of her childhood in what the Yankees here call “the south” (Texas**) it has been my observation that the most vocal proponents of white supremacy (such as the people who produced and saw fit to affix this sticker to a Greenpoint pay phone) are the biggest arguments against it. I moved to New York City to get away from this shit. If any of you, dear readers, find a sticker like this do me (and everyone a favor): rip it down.
In closing I’d like to leave you with this. One of my favorite segments from one of my favorite movies.
Miss Heather
*P.O. Box 1116—-Calico Rock, AR.—-72519—USA
**It isn’t. Texas is— for better and worse and all the hype— its own country. The Lone Star State defies categorization. It is what it is.
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