Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
Greenpoint Street Art Du Jour: Dan Witz
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Street Art
Given how many times I have walked by this building (READ: too many to recount) I cannot believe I didn’t catch this piece (from his “Ugly New Buildings” series) until today. But then again that’s the really fun part of his work: how it blends into the landscape. This admittedly weathered piece makes to my knowledge two Scarano specials which have merited Mr. Witz’s attention.
Miss Heather
Found On Scarano’s Shoebox: Toddler?
Filed under: 11222, Bloomblight, East Williamsburg, East Williamsburg Brooklyn, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Street Art
As many of you have probably observed as you have read this blog yours truly has a “thing” for derelict construction sites (such as the above eyesore which comes courtesy of north Brooklyn’s good friend, Robert Scarano). I also spend a great deal of time documenting street art. So you can imagine my delight when I discovered the following.
A work by Dan Witz on said rusting hulk. I wasn’t the only one who was tickled by this toddler. A woman who had just exited the BQE and was waiting at the light shouted:
The kid’s cute, isn’t he?
To wit I replied:
Yes, he is. That’s about the best thing that can be said for this building.
She laughed and we parted ways.
Perhaps this is the beginning of a trend, e.g,; derelict sites replacing milk cartons as awareness raisers for lost children? I suppose only time will tell.
Miss Heather
Daily Bloomblight: Orient Distress
Filed under: 11206, 11211, 11221, 11237, Bloomblight, East Williamsburg, East Williamsburg Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.
No Dot, you’ve arrived in one of the coolest ‘hoods in New York City: East Williamsburg, May 12, 2010.
Scarecrow: Mm, we might.
Scarecrow: Animals that eat… s-traw?
Tin Woodsman: Some, but mostly lions, and tigers, and bears.
Dorothy: Lions?
Scarecrow: And tigers?
Tin Woodsman: And bears.
The Garden Spot has raccoons, skunks and even a dolphin! The only wildlife I, dear child, have spotted here is this kitty. She strikes me as being harmless. Perhaps Toto should make her acquaintance?
She holds court next door: 55 Orient Avenue.
I have written this twice before and I’ll write it once again:
I strongly believe people respond to the environment around them. This is why I am a big fan of public art especially in our subway system. Gestures as grand as a mosaic or as simple as keeping public facilities neat and clean send a positive message. The vigilance (or this case, lack thereof) with which our municipal government enforces the laws put in place to preserve our, the citizenry’s, quality of life speaks volumes about their attitude as public servants.
This is unacceptable. No one should have to live with this.
Miss Heather
Comment Of The Week: What Goes Around Comes Around
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Abjectecture, Asshole, Criminal Activity, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
I have been receiving a lot of emails the last 24 hours. Most of them, not surprisingly, have to do with Brooklyn’s good friend: Robert Scarano. It all started last night when my buddy Crappy forwarded me a piece of email spam he had received via an outdated email address earlier this week.
The real corker is what follows the above bit of propaganda. It is an invite for a “networking event” in Williamsburg:
This Thursday (That’s today, kids! — Ed. Note.), please join Robert Scarano at beautiful 90 North 5th Street in Williamsburg for RED Nite, a networking and cocktail event from 5:30 to 7:30 pm
As you can imagine I had certain feelings about this. Foremost among them was:
Why don’t I get anything from Bobby Scarano?
Truth be told this sort of hurt my feelings. I mean, I have to look at the hulking testament to the ethically-challenged that is 158 Freeman Street EVERY DAY. Then I spied the email address from which the previous missive originated. It looked strangely familiar.
So Mr. Scarano has seen fit to reach out and touch yours truly! *Whew* I feel a lot better!
Now jump forward to to this morning. Hard Hat Hannah showed up at my bedside in a highly agitated state. She had something she wanted to show me. I roused myself out of bed and followed her into the living room.
This post is for you, Robert Scarano.
Miss Heather & Hard Hat Hannah
UPDATE: Apparently Mr. Scarano spends a considerable amount of time posting comments on the Interwebs (including expounding upon the provenance of Legos and calling a fellow blogger a “dumbass”— I am not making this shit up). Check out these corkers which were brought to my attention courtesy of Queens Crap and see for yourself. Reading is believing!
A Girl And Her Blog
It would appear that politicians (and the developers to whom they are beholden) have done a smashing job of removing “urban blight” (READ: the working class/poor) from north Brooklyn. Who needs nuclear bombs when re-zoning, complicity and bureaucratic incompetence/apathy will do the job? Nonetheless the end product is more or less the same: a community whose quality of life has been compromised.
Follows is a revue of developer-induced blight in north Brooklyn I captured yesterday, April 5. I have entitled it After The Gold Rush.
The sad reality is re-zoning, tax bennies, and easy credit have done little to benefit my neighborhood. There were once businesses that gave people decent, well paying jobs. Affordable rental property was once in abundance in Greenpoint as well. No more. Thanks to our city’s leadership much of my wonderful neighborhood has become a wasteland peppered by vacant lots, failed condominiums cum overpriced rental property, illegal hostels and super-sized tourist destinations operated by and for the affluent.
The time is long overdue for north Brooklyn to be developed in a manner sensitive to the needs of the people who constitute this community, not the ones Mayor Bloomberg’s rich cronies envision living here.
TO BE CONTINUED.
Miss Heather
P.S.: This one’s for you, Bob.
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