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Culture on the Cheap
Today’s Bit o’ Bloomblight: 11 Orient Avenue
Today I woke up in a rotten mood. This is not necessarily unheard of this time of year; there’s something about the short days and long cold nights I find unsettling. Wishing to be alone, I decided to go for a walk. My logic for doing so was as follows: I would probably find an object for my anger. I did.
This is the sight which awaited me when I rounded the corner from Metropolitan Avenue onto Orient Avenue. The address is 11 Orient Avenue. For those of you who are wondering, here’s what this property looked like in May 2008.
While hardly easy on the eyes, it is better than the following.
A colossal pile of dirt and rubbish.
As it would happen I encountered a very kindly old lady walking by this delightful sight. I asked her what happened. She was unable to pinpoint an exact date, but told me it happened last week when the winds were particularly strong. The fence simply collapsed. As you can see, this lot is now open for any and all to exploit as they see fit. Currently it appears to be a garbage disposal area. I have little doubt it will be inhabited in the near future. Albeit not by tenants of a more affluent persuasion, who were undoubtedly was the demographic the developer and Robert Scarano, architect, had in mind when these plans were filed in 2007. So it goes.
I have written this before and I will write it 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
Comments
4 Comments on Today’s Bit o’ Bloomblight: 11 Orient Avenue
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brunocognetti on
Wed, 6th Jan 2010 7:35 pm
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vintagejames on
Thu, 7th Jan 2010 10:10 am
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missheather on
Thu, 7th Jan 2010 6:14 pm
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vintagejames on
Fri, 8th Jan 2010 11:45 am
Love your closing quote. Wish I could have come up with something as eloquent earlier today when I was trying to explain to somebody why Dickchicken is so infuriating to me as a resident of Greenpoint.
broken windows theory ya’all.
Our good old friend MGM at work again.
You should see her handiwork over there, James. Orient Avenue used to be a lovely street. Not anymore.
Well, I see enough of her work around me. Don’t understand why the DOB doesn’t revoke the licenses of constantly offending contractors. Obviously the DOB is just a good old boys club with no interest in the average person. Now that the building mania is over, I can just worry about what will happen with the existing nondos and the empty lots.
Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
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