Halloween Photo du Jour: Franklin Street Ghosts

October 29, 2007 by
Filed under: Area 51 

No photo diary of Greenpoint seasonal decor would be complete without giving a nod to the fine folks responsible for this:

Ghosts on Franklin Street

The above flock of ghosts reside on Franklin between Oak and Calyer Street (next door to the lot where the shirtless man lives— any Greenpoint resident worth his or her salt will know exactly who I am talking about). The owners of this house always come up with incredibly inventive (and yes, cute) holiday decorations. So far their Easter display is my favorite— but the ghost festooned trees come in a close second. Check it out.

Like a number of people who saw fit create the cool Halloween tableaux I have featured thus far (Stay tuned, the craziest, coolest stuff is still to come!), these folks have a very limited amount of space at their disposal. Undaunted by such a limitation, they get creative and work with what they have. The results always brighten my day.

In case you haven’t deduced it already, dear readers, featuring these goodies on New York Shitty is my way of expressing gratitude. Living in a borough that some seem hellbent on converting into a homogenous mausoleum for affluent zombies*, the occasional sign of life is greatly appreciated. Thank you, fellow Greenpointers, for giving me (and many others) something to smile about.

Keep it up!

Miss Heather

*I may not agree with the Brooklyn Paper on a number of things (like their ‘journalistic standards’, for example), but even I have to concur that arresting a child for doing what children do (drawing with chalk on the sidewalk) is asinine. Is this what the world is coming to? If so, god help us all.

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Comments

13 Comments on Halloween Photo du Jour: Franklin Street Ghosts

  1. donjii on Mon, 29th Oct 2007 12:44 pm

    2. Can someone do a story on that dude who lives in the lot? What I know about him. I think he is polish. He use to live on Milton with his wife. They ran marathons together. Talk about homeless…this dude lives in the yard. No heat, no water, no electric, no nothing. This guy has been there for years and people bitch about bed bugs. Someone please get the scoop on him. Does he own the lot? Does he pay taxes? I hear he showers at the YMCA. He had both lots and they took one away. He would live in his truck and move it from side to side when the parking was in effect. Others must be intrigued by this guy like I am.

  2. missheather on Mon, 29th Oct 2007 12:48 pm

    3. You’ll be happy to know that someone has asked us about him already. 11222 (who has been very busy at her new job and has had Internet problems) is going to step up to the plate and give us the scoop about him! I know a little bit about him, but I am not going to step on her toes.

    Otherwise, a good friend of mine just had a bedbug infestation. It was (and still is) a nightmare for her. To compare this chap to bedbugs is to imply that he is a nuisance. To his next door neighbors, he probably is. Otherwise, he isn’t hurting anyone except (maybe) himself.

    One February morning I saw him walking around in nothing but a pair of BVDS. You may not like the man, but you gotta admit that takes balls. Big balls. King Kong balls.

  3. donjii on Mon, 29th Oct 2007 1:07 pm

    4. The guy looks super fit. I see he has a bench in his lot and must workout a ton. Cant wait to hear about him. When he lived on Milton he was renovating his bathroom. We could see him from our window. He would be blow torching naked in his apartment. It was classic. We have been calling him “Blow Torch Harry” ever since.
    Love the site! Keep up the great work.

  4. missheather on Mon, 29th Oct 2007 1:10 pm

    5. Nudist welding. LOVE IT!

    Thanks for the kind words.

  5. Eric Ross on Mon, 29th Oct 2007 7:41 pm

    6. We don’t quite know what your beef with our paper is, but you’re pretty much the only one. Anyway, thanks for reading.

    August 8, 2007
    The Brooklyn Paper is a Suburban News­papers of America “Newspaper of the Year,” the group announced on Monday.
    Finding that “The Brooklyn Paper was strongly and brightly written throughout,” SNA’s judges heaped special praise on the newspaper for its reporting on the Atlantic Yards mega-development.
    “The Brooklyn Paper’s aggressive, read­able coverage of local developer Bruce Ratner stood out,” they wrote.
    The SNAis a leading newspaper professional and trade association, representing more than 2,000 daily and weekly newspapers in both suburban and urban community markets across the country. The contest was judged by the American Press Institute.
    The Paper was cited for general excellence in its category of newspapers, the com­petitive class of larg­est circulation week­lies.

  6. Eric Ross on Mon, 29th Oct 2007 7:43 pm

    7. We don’t quite know what your beef with our paper is, but you’re pretty much the only one. Anyway, thanks for reading.

    August 8, 2007
    The Brooklyn Paper is a Suburban News­papers of America “Newspaper of the Year,” the group announced on Monday.
    Finding that “The Brooklyn Paper was strongly and brightly written throughout,” SNA’s judges heaped special praise on the newspaper for its reporting on the Atlantic Yards mega-development.
    “The Brooklyn Paper’s aggressive, read­able coverage of local developer Bruce Ratner stood out,” they wrote.
    The SNAis a leading newspaper professional and trade association, representing more than 2,000 daily and weekly newspapers in both suburban and urban community markets across the country. The contest was judged by the American Press Institute.
    The Paper was cited for general excellence in its category of newspapers, the com­petitive class of larg­est circulation week­lies.

  7. missheather on Mon, 29th Oct 2007 9:04 pm

    8. No need to post the same thing twice, Mr. Ross. I moderate comments when I see fit. Tonight I was pumpkin carving. Please forgive my lack of immediate attention to your diatribe. I have a life.

    You wrote: …Anyway, thanks for reading.

    No thank you Mr. Ross for reading New York Shitty. One would think someone from the ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT of such an acclaimed paper as yours would have better things to do than troll blogs and post nasty grams off company time. From New Jersey, no less:

    IP: XX.XX.130.74 , c-68-46-130-74.hsd1.nj.comcast.net

    When such a big man sees fit to take the time to register and post such hagiography on my wee widdle web site (as you have) , it only affirms my criticism.

    Now if you don’t mind, I am going to adjourn and write a post (or two) about Greenpoint.

    I have a genuine (and non-monetary) interest in the community I live in: Greenpoint, Brooklyn USA.

  8. rexlic on Tue, 30th Oct 2007 6:59 am

    9. Have admired your blog from my perspective here across the Creek in LIC. Not quite sure I get the dog crap obsession, but find your postings to be pithy and pertinent, the proper mix of wry observation and scathing outrage. And while I have nothing against the Brooklyn Paper per se, you were completely right to eviscerate that guy. If you are indeed the only one to have a problem with his paper, then clearly they are not doing their job right. If newspapers are to salvage what’s left of their dignity (not to mention market), how about a little more “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable” like they once did?

  9. ickyinbrooklyn on Tue, 30th Oct 2007 7:44 am

    10. Mr. Ross does not seem to understand that an award from “Suburban News papers of America” does not exactly offer a lot of street-cred or authenticity. In fact, I think it speaks against it. A nod from “Suburban News papers of America” is downright laughable. But, all the same – You win, Mr. Ross! Congrats! You are well on your way to making Brooklyn the great American suburb!

  10. papercut on Tue, 30th Oct 2007 8:18 am

    11. I apologize, this is completely unrelated to this discussion but…I volunteered last night at Fresh Art thanks to your post and link. I had never made a sock monkey before and I fear addiction. What a fabulous group of women and organization. They were all curious how I heard about them and when I mentioned your blog everyone was very interested. I think you have a few more readers.

  11. missheather on Tue, 30th Oct 2007 9:25 am

    12. Papercut, that is really cool. Seriously. If I can help people get out there and help other people, my blog has done its job. Besides, sock monkeys kick ass.

  12. missheather on Tue, 30th Oct 2007 9:29 am

    13. Rexlic: I couldn’t have said it better. You’re a wise man.

  13. rexlic on Tue, 30th Oct 2007 11:01 am

    14. Wow, a wise man, and my first crack out of the box. Stop, Miss Heather, you had me at “shitty.”

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