New York Shitty Day Ender: BaNoNa Revisited

As I have previously noted the triangle created Banker Street, North 15th Street and Nassau Avenue (“BaNoNa” as I have named it) has pressed into service as a location for a film shoot. I later learned the film in question is “The Christmas Tree Project” (as seen at right). On March 26th, I spied a wonderful work of art featuring this quote from Ellen Johnson Sirleaf:

If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.

I really liked this. So you can imagine my delight when I happened upon a group of people painting the wall this missive graces with a great sense of purpose and urgency.

Are we getting another mural?

I thought to myself.

Naturally my curiosity got the best of me so asked (the woman in the above image at right) what gives. And she told me.

Apparently our fair city’s anti-graffiti squad, being unaware that apparently this imagery was crucial to this film’s premise, had seen fit to divest this wall of some of its “content”. And the folks at The Christmas Tree Project, in the interest of said film’s “continuity” were restoring it. You just read me correctly gentle readers: today I bore witness to Greenpoint graffiti restoration.

I noted this to the woman with whom I spoke. She too saw the humor in this strange (but very north Brooklyn) turn of events.

On a lark, I asked her if she knew what was going to happen to this parcel of land after they left. She stated that she had no idea— but opined that it would probably go back to being a trash-strewn lot. I told her that I and a number of other residents think it should be a community garden.

You should do that!

She replied enthusiastically.

Yes, we should. And given this film company apparently has the manpower and resources to restore graffiti, I have to ask myself— and this community— why shouldn’t they help with such an endeavor? Inasmuch as the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting likes to tout the revenue and jobs created by the film industry (with no solid figures to back it up) I still have to wonder:

What is in it for Greenpoint?

Little things mean a lot. I do not think asking film companies which elect to film in our community to give something back to our community is unreasonable. Is asking “The Christmas Tree Project” to partner with us so as to develop a community garden at this site it too much to ask?

Or am I just dreaming?