East Village Street Art Du Jour: XCIA

August 25, 2010 ·
Filed under: 10003, 10009, East Village, East Village Manhattan, Street Art 

From 4th Avenue.

Miss Heather

From The New York Shitty Inbox: Defend Greenthumb Gardens!

August 5, 2010 ·
Filed under: 10002, 10003, 10009, 10012, 11101, 11104, 11201, 11205, 11206, 11211, 11215, 11216, 11217, 11221, 11222, 11231, 11237, 11372 

This item comes from a fellow flower lover in north Brooklyn. She writes:

The agreement between the City of NY and the NY State Attorney General that has been protecting community gardens for the past 8 years is set to expire in September.

The City of NY recently published Proposed Rules for community gardens under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development.

The AG’s agreement referred to itself as a “protocol for preservation and development of GreenThumb gardens” —  some community gardens were given up for development, some were “subject to development” and 198 community gardens were “offered to the Parks Department or land trusts for preservation as community gardens or open space.”

The word “preservation” appears nowhere in the proposed rules. In a nutshell, the rules essentially make new NYC community gardens not owned by land trusts or Parks subject to development after a review process.

This is a sea change for community gardeners. Though the city has said they do not intend to develop community garden sites, this is little consolation for gardeners who fear the protections that allowed their community gardens to thrive for the past 8 years are being stripped away.

Green Guerillas has been supporting the untiring efforts of the NYC Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC) as they have negotiated with the city, mobilized community gardeners, and made a strong case for why community gardens can and should be preserved.

Green Guerillas also mailed out 550 copies of the rules to community garden groups across the city and co-sponsored with NYCCGC an information session to help community gardeners understand the issues so they can mobilize support in their neighborhoods.

We could make an emotional appeal for why you should voice your support for preserving community gardens, but we would not do a better job than the New York Times – read their editorial HERE.

What can you do?

…Attend the upcoming public hearing: The city will be holding a public hearing on August 10th at 11 AM at the Chelsea Recreation Center at 430 W. 25th Street (between 9th & 10th Avenues) – closest trains are the C, E at 23rd Street or A at 34th Street. (To testify, you must notify Associate Counsel, Ms. Laura LaVelle at the Arsenal via telephone at (212) 360-1335 or e-mail at laura.lavelle@parks.nyc.gov by August 9, 2010.)

View and comment on the rules on the City of NY website HERE.

If you prefer to put pen (or ink cartridge) to paper, submit comments to General Counsel, Mr. Alessandro G. Olivieri, Department of Parks and Recreation, The Arsenal, Central Park, 830 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10065.

Call 311 and tell them you would like to comment on the Proposed Park Rules as published in The City Record.

As arduous and boring as this legalese is you should read it. Especially this passage:

Given tour Parks Person (and “Open Space Advocate”) has seemingly seen fit to obstruct Nick’s Garden/Red Gate Garden’s Greenthumb paperwork it makes one wonder who she’s serving. Is it the people using said parks? I think not.

The dead tree that graces the beginning of this post is a testament to her folly. It was one of the many trees planted by the Boy Scouts of America last April at her behest and due to neglect (no watering) and poor placement (being pissed on by humans and canines) died. They since have been removed. I suppose our “Parks Person” finds “carpet-bagging” concerts and fund-raisers more compelling?  I can’t blame her. She has no public administration or horticultural knowledge at all. She formerly hails from Wall Street. It”s all about the money.

Which is, I can assure you, what this revision of the Greenthumb rules is about. Cashing in.

Miss Heather



Reader Contribution Du Jour: Finger

July 29, 2010 ·
Filed under: 10003, 10009, East Village, East Village Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City 

This hails from the Lafayette Street station and comes courtesy of Nick Macri. Nice find!

Miss Heather

New York Shitty Photos Du Jour: East Village Selections

July 28, 2010 ·
Filed under: 10003, 10009, East Village, East Village Manhattan, Street Art 

Taken July 27, 2010.

Miss Heather

Spotted At First Avenue: “Official Neglect”

I am not a marketing whiz. I leave that to the experts. But placing such a polemic at the entrance of Canarsie-bound L train, well, strikes me as being misguided at best. We have problems of our own. Believe you me when I waited for the mighty Crosstown Local (which was more fragrant than usual) last night— for over 30 minutes— at Metropolitan Avenue— I found this missive wretchedly comical. You want to see neglect, Upper West Siders? Why not cross the pond and see the not-so-benign neglect that our city has seen to lavish upon us G trainers.

21st Street, Long Island City, Queens

Taken March 6, 2010.

This sign is unnecessary. When foul-smelling muck is dripping from the ceiling people will inevitably avoid the edge of the platform until it is absolutely necessary. That is, when the G train finally arrives. Taken July 4, 2010.

If my memory serves me correctly this tile work was done in the late 90’s. As of July 4, 2010 it looks like ass. I skipped Nassau Avenue. Here’s why: because there is a busted water main and it makes the Norman Avenue entrance smell like dead fish. But back to the purpose of this post:

  • Token booths being unattended
  • Dysfunctional Metrocard machines
  • Non-functional panopticons (Lest anyone from the Upper West Side is reading this: the ones on the L and G appear to be fully functional. Exactly what effect this has as a crime deterrent has yet to be determined.)
  • I know of not a single person who has attempted to use the intercoms in North Brooklyn. It is popularly considered as an exercise in futility. (If anyone has please contact me via email at: missheather (at) thatgreenpointblog (dot) com. I’d love to hear your story.)

These conditions (and worse) are taken for granted in the hinterlands (READ: the outer boroughs), my uptown friends. We often have to go above ground in order to interface with a station agent. Occasionally we encounter an actual human being.

To conclude: the grievances our friends at 86 Street have stated are pretty much par for the course. They are nothing special. These people are simply better organized. Perhaps a few G,L,J,M,7 (to name a few) trainers would like to make their voices heard at this meeting?

MTA Public Meeting
July 13, 2010 starting at 6:00 p.m.
Cooper Union
7 East 7 Street
New York, New York 10009

Let’s show them, Mayor Mike, et. al. the true meaning of neglect!

Miss Heather

Lower East Side Street Art Du Jour: No Dumping

From Allen Street.

Miss Heather

New York Shitty Day Starter: Same Train, Different World

Eighth Avenue Bound L Train


Canarsie Bound L Train

Miss Heather

LAST GASP: Going Downtown

I imagine many of you went to the Brooklyn Bridge or further afield to watch the fireworks this evening. Yours truly did not. My goal for this weekend was (and still is) to get a little rest and relaxation. So instead of braving the crowds the Mister and I donned our nattiest apparel (as you can see at left) and headed to the Lower East Side. As it would happen a good friend of ours, Rachael, was slated to bar tend there this evening. Catching up with a good friend is nice. Doing so over free drinks, well, that’s a deal only an idiot would refuse. But I digress.

Although we had not planned on seeing any fireworks this evening we did: albeit not of the variety one usually associates with this, our nation’s birthday. The event of which I speak came to pass at the intersection of Allen and Houston Street. The players in this morality tale are a New York City bus driver and a woman driving a SUV. Sports Utility Vehicle. Before I proceed to today’s short film I want to make it known:

1. Over the years I have come to detest automobiles. This is in some part due to the fact I was hit by one three days before I got married.
2. I harbor an especially dark hatred of SUVS. My reasons for this are many but to name a few:

a. They are colossal gas guzzlers and as such as not only wasting a very limited (and therefore valuable) resource but in so doing they are giving money to countries whose take on “human rights” is abysmal— especially in regards to woman— and harbor individuals who would like to see our country wiped off the face of the earth. This is being anything but patriotic.
b. British Petroleum. Enough said.
c. On a more practical and less ideological level; the people who drive such vehicles in New York City are among the worst drivers I have ever seen. Period. In fact, I have developed a theory about them. It goes as follows:

The larger the vehicle, the more stupid and/or assholic the driver.

Suffice it to say today my little theory got some pretty compelling supporting evidence. Without further ado here it is: a MTA bus driver versus a woman in a SUV. I think it goes without saying who won this heavyweight bout. Added bonus: when the woman (who the bus driver refers to as a “fucking genius”) finally gets the point the dude wearing an i-Pod— who seems to obvious the street theater going on in his midst— almost walks in front of her. Nice.

Miss Heather to the MTA: give this man a raise!

Miss Heather

New York Shitty Day Ender: SADU

From East 10 Street.

Miss Heather

New York Shitty Street Art Du Jour: Sociability

From First Avenue.

Miss Heather

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