The Pencil Factory Lofts Get A Very Greenpoint Welcome

I am certain a number of you (like the gentleman above) have noticed the new sales office for the Pencil Factory Lofts on Franklin Street. I know I have; I have been watching it manifest with rapt interest for the last three weeks.

I am pleased to announce as of last weekend (and perhaps a tad earlier) it is open for business on Franklin Street! A number of things interest me about this development. Purchasing one of said “lofts” is not one of them. I neither have the means of affording one nor do I have the desire to co-habitate with their target clientele base (which, from what I can deduce is affluent 20-somethings and 50-something men with 30-something trophy wives). It’s nothing personal; I am certain a number of the previous people are perfectly nice. Rather, it is a matter of class: I have none. Which brings me to this.

I understand (especially given the current state of the economy) that the wizards behind the Pencil Factory Lofts want to move as many units as possible. It is also very obvious that 122 West Street (as seen at the beginning of this post) is nowhere near completion. This requires that a sales office be located elsewhere. I suppose 131-135 Franklin Street is a nice enough building, but the overflowing garbage cans and detritus which perennially grace the front of this edifice do not strike me as putting a good “face” on their organization. Quite to the contrary: aside from being an eyesore the above tableau highlights the stark difference between the lives of the people actually live in Greenpoint and that of the kind of people businesses like The Pencil Factory Lofts want to live here.

The inequity of this (which is all too pervasive nowadays) has been nagging at me for sometime. And I’ll be perfectly frank: it makes me angry. Yesterday as I walked down West Street I learned I am not alone.

It would appear that 122 West Street has received a little “added value”. Somehow I do not think this was what the architect had in mind when he filed plans with the Department of Buildings.

Talk about your genuine, gritty “urban” experience. It doesn’t get much more authentic than this.

Or this.

Or this.

Now that I think about it maybe having a sales office at 135 Franklin Street (which is a healthy distance from the above hilarity) isn’t such a bad idea after all.

Miss Heather