Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
Spotted At 154 West Street: (Too Cute For Words)
Once in a very blue moon I will see something that will make me stop and say “aw!”. This is one such case. Perhaps Paul is tired of waiting for WNYC Transmitter Park to open so he has taken matters (and a ballpoint pen) into his own hands? To this young man’s credit he has provided a solid date his facility will open. This is of course today.
In this respect this young fellow (and would-be entrepreneur?) has put our Parks Department (which is staffed by adults who seemingly cannot publicly issue a firm opening date for Transmitter Park. Instead it keeps getting pushed back.) to shame. Paul for Community Board 1 Parks Supervisor!
New York Shitty Day Ender: Still Waiting
“Issues” at the McCarren Park Pool notwithstanding, exactly when is WNYC Transmitter Park going to open?
Anyone?
It’s not exactly like we have been impatient. Okay, maybe a mite bit.
Nonetheless, if our Parks Supervisor/Advocate has time to fire off an email about the upcoming Open Space Alliance Concerts.
Well, then methinks we deserve an answer.
From The New York Shitty Inbox: On The Subject Of Greenpoint Parks
In the last 24— no, make that 12 hours— I have received not one, not two, but five Parks-related inquiries. For the sake of simplicity I am consolidating them in this post. Without further ado, here we go!
A chap we’ll call “C” writes:
hey heather
who’s responsible for the park at the end of manhattan ave? they haven’t emptied the trash in a while and it’s getting messy up thereI hear the pool is awesome! have you been?
Before I proceed to my answer I would like to share what I saw with my own eyes today at this precious piece of public space in north ‘Point.
Among the assorted rubbish you just saw, gentle readers, were:
- A “weewee” pad (used)
- Fireworks (which are illegal in New York City)
- Empty beer and liquor bottles (alcohol consumption is prohibited in our public spaces)
- A great many fast food/take out containers
The lattermost I suspect are the reason rats have been spotted here recently. (NOTE: C is not the only person who has complained to me about the filthy conditions at this park.). They, as well as their winged comrades (pigeons) and raccoons (which do inhabit the area) LOVE this stuff! The previous having been written:
I have yet to make it to the pool, C— although I have heard it is rather nice. What’s more, it is interesting that you bring the subject up. You see, our Parks Supervisor has allocated a great deal of her attention and manpower towards the opening of the McCarren Park Pool. In fact, one person counted around thirty Parks employees sprucing up the area in anticipation of our fair Mayor’s visit today. Not being terribly adept at multitasking, our Parks Supervisor seems to have overlooked/forgotten about the Manhattan Avenue Kayak Launch (This its proper name, so please take note. This will come in handy shortly.).
How do I bring this matter to the attention of the proper authorities?
you ask? Well, this is where it gets interesting! You see, “C”, north Brooklyn has been graced with a very special public private partnership. As a result, our Parks Supervisor (a New York City employee) is also the Executive Director of our local Parks Conservancy/watchdog group: Open Space Alliance North Brooklyn. This strikes yours truly as being tantamount to entrusting the fox to guard the hen house but a number of people find this not only arrangement acceptable, but desirable. But I digress.
What you need to do first is call 311 and complain! At the end of the call you will be assigned a complaint number. Write this down. Last step: write an email outlining the nature of the complaint, with the complaint number you were issued by 311 and send it to:
Stephanie Thayer, Administrator for North Brooklyn Parks – NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation/Executive Director – Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn (OSA): Stephanie.Thayer@parks.nyc.gov
NOTE: While Ms. Thayer supervises all parks located in Community Board 1, Community Board 1 will NOT field complaints about our parks. They will simply forward them to Open Space Alliance North Brooklyn (of which, as you will recall, Ms. Thayer is also the Executive Director). With that option off the proverbial tables, here are a few folks you should copy on the aforementioned email:
Kevin Jeffrey, NYC Brooklyn Parks Borough Commissioner: Kevin.Jeffrey@parks.nyc.gov
Steve Levin, City Councilman 34th District: slevin@council.nyc.gov
And last— but hardly least— Assemblyman Joe Lentol (whose constituent services are TOPS)! Mr. Lentol has a handy online contact form which can be accessed here.
TIP: Be sure to emphasize the Kayak Launch’s present conditions are conducive to harboring vermin and that criminal activity is being practiced/has come to pass there. It has been my observation these things tend to get attention. NEXT QUESTION!
A person we’ll call “A” writes:
howdy heather. hope you are enjoying this lovely summer. i am emailing to see if you happen to have the lowdown on transmitter park. i am curious as to when it opens.
I have been asked this (excellent) question by three people. Per someone in the know, I have learned that while the pier will not be ready until this fall, the plan is to open the park in June or July (so eager Greenpointers can legally enjoy it). Obviously this has yet to happen. My advice, send an email to above-listed civil servants and elected officials and demand an answer!
I hope this post has been helpful and informative, A and C. Please keep me updated on what happens!
LAST GASP: WNYC Transmitter Park
Taken May 13, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.
UPDATE, 10:17 p.m.: If a commenter is to be believed, this park is not officially open to the public— not that anyone is actually doing anything about it, mind you. He/she writes:
At around 8:30 P.M. today a local lady was calling 911 on all the people in Transmitter Park in Greenpoint because its not open. 311 and the construction comp dont care. She told me they broke the lock on the gate. I told her there is not any lock nor is there a chain. She stilled just continued to call numbers on her cell. lol
Whoops.
Credits/Props:
1. Witty commentary of yours truly sitting atop a piece of heavy machinery: Mai Armstrong.
2. I was serendipitously wearing this tank top while doing so. Miss Witt, this one’s for you.
From The New York Shitty Inbox: Dog Run?
M writes:
Hi Heather
I’ve been following your blog for over a year now and I absolutely love it! I wanted to leave a comment on your recent post about Transmitter Park. I registered, but I still cannot figure out how to leave a comment? Help?
Basically my comment is this : Do you know if there are plans to include a dog run in the new park?
Thanks!
I will take up the matter of comments with this person directly. However, I will answer her second question here and now. No, there will not be a dog run at Transmitter Park.* However, one is slated for Bushwick Inlet Park. It will be located near Bushwick Inlet. The completion date methinks is 2012. In other words, it looks like Greenpoint dog owners (at least the ones up north) will have to schlep for awhile.
Miss Heather
*You can see the latest plan by clicking here.
From The New York Shitty Inbox: Confirmed!
Some of you might recall I recently stated there will be a groundbreaking ceremony for Transmitter Park August 3rd. Well, dear readers, this morning I received confirmation! Note: the time has been set at noon, not 11:30 a.m. as I originally reported.
WNYC Transmitter Park Groundbreaking Ceremony
August 3, 2010 at noon
Greenpoint Avenue and (roughly) West Street
Brooklyn, New York 11222
In the meantime you can peruse the updated plans for Transmitter by clicking here.
Miss Heather
Greenpoint Photo Du Jour: Transmitter Park
While hardly the most comely of open spaces (although has attained some popularity with a certain segment of the population, as seen above) I have it on very good intelligence WNYC Transmitter “Playground” could be shuttered as early as next Tuesday, August 27. Why, you ask? Because they will need time to make preparations for the ground-breaking ceremony that will come to pass August 3, 2010 at 11:30 a.m. Who knew wood chips needed so much fussing over?
WNYC Transmitter Park Groundbreaking Ceremony
August 3, 2010 at 11:30 a.m.
Greenpoint Avenue and (roughly) West Street
Brooklyn, New York 11222
In closing it has been brought to my attention that a fig tree graces this site. For those of you who are not in the know (I didn’t) apparently fruit-bearing trees are not allowed on city park land. If you are interested in giving this tree a forever home please shoot me an email at: missheather (at) thatgreenpointblog (dot) com. I will forward it to the appropriate parties. Thanks!
Miss Heather
Reader Comment Of The Week: WNYC Transmitter “Playground”
d writes in regards to this post about Greenpoint’s public lavatories— or more accurately the lack thereof: Gross. And people think Transmitter is a dog run because of the chips, it’s not a dog run, yet people let their dogs poop in there and don’t clean it up. Now, I love dogs, but I haven’t forgotten last summer when the heel of my shoe ended up in poo.
The chips do lead to a certain ambiguity as to whom this park services: humans or canines. To my recollection the only place in our public parks are to be found are in the dog runs. If you go to the dog run at McCarren you’ll see it’s at least one full foot deep with the stuff. What I find curious is how this “interim” public space is “categorized”. Initially it was referred to as a park— but once it was pointed out that it did not meet the Parks Department’s own specifications of what constitutes a park it has been deemed a playground. Once again, this is curious given there is no equipment for children to play on/with so, as d has observed. It has been employed as a dog run. This would be fine and dandy (god only knows Greenpoint needs one) if people would be more considerate about scooping up their poop. It should be noted that in this respect the Parks Department has made their stance very clear.
Or have they? Let’s look more closely at the sign to the left.
Here’s the deal: there is no “designated area” to let one’s dog run without a leash— but it is not completely clear that dogs are not permitted to go off-leash either. It is not unreasonable to presume that the wood chips do lead some to believe this is a dog run. Then again, you’ll always have people who— for reasons only known to them— will not follow the rules. Case in point: consuming alcohol.
Here’s the deal: I personally don’t care if people imbibe in our parks— provided it does not pose a problem to the other users. Let’s face facts: we all know this is going on.
Rather, what I want to know is exactly what these people are doing? Staging a re-enactment of Cool Hand Luke’s infamous “50 eggs” sequence perhaps?
Oh wait, you need a permit to do that!
Miss Heather
NYS Flickr Pool
You must be logged in to post a comment.