Greenpoint
Cafe Cito Bogota
Christmas With Q
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
(Or: Drinking On Duty)
Last night a good friend of mine— one who I do not see as often as I’d like to— came over for Christmas dinner. The reason I do not see her much is she is a bartender and as a result keeps “vampire hours”. Nonetheless my friend, who we will call “Q”, usually has a host of work stories to share when we do see each other. Some of them are very funny, some of them are not. Which brings me to the subject of this post: as we supped and were getting caught up the subject of the 94th Precinct arose. I found what she had to recount downright disturbing.
Q recounted to me numerous occasions when those who ostensibly protect and serve us would drop by her place of employment seeking something to drink. In uniform. On duty. When one such public servant requested a margarita Q felt compelled to point the beverage in question had alcohol in it. To wit he replied:
A margarita has alcohol in it?
The last time I checked they do. Or should. In any case I can personally attest that my buddy Q makes ‘em strong!
Another time Q overheard one officer say to another:
What if (excised— supervisor) smells this on my breath?
Inasmuch as I understand it this issue was quickly resolved and they proceeded to imbibe. As you can imagine my friend does not feel very comfortable being asked by officers on duty to serve them alcoholic beverages. Can you blame her? After all, we are talking about a group of men and women who have to think on their feet and let us not forget: bear firearms. But as the evening wound down I came away with the distinct impression drinking on duty is a fairly common practice.
Why don’t they go to the Turkey’s Nest? Everyone knows they’ll give you drinks to go. That’s where the police go.
Q mused. This is a very good question. Perhaps someone should posit it to our new Commanding Officer?
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Ender: Live From The Town Hall Meeting Part I
Filed under: 11222, Bed-Stuy, Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic
I just back from the Town Hall meeting organized by Steve Levin and Senator Martin Malave Dilan. I will be uploading footage throughout the evening so check back in! In the meantime, I will leave you with this image (from the Polish Slavic Community Center) to contemplate.
So slowly— but surely— the footage is uploading!
Part I: Stephen Levin explains why this Town Hall meeting is being conducted and why neither the DHS nor HELP USA are present. Synopsis: This was intended to be a “community meeting” to form a strategy to fight said homeless shelter. (Curious given NY1 was present replete with a van and reporter.) Mr. Levin also touched upon the “fair share” issue and in so doing mentioned our waste water treatment facility. He stumbled a bit as to how much and whose shit we get. My answer— and mind you, this is a hobby for yours truly: a lot. As to whose poop we process. This following map (which can be found at the Visitor’s Center at the Newtown Creek Waste Water Treatment Facility).
We get Wall Street’s shit. The Empire State Building (from whose observation deck which our most famous landmark is purported to be seen): their crap, is our crap! We also get the merde and vomitus from the East Village and Lower East Side. Be it from “uppity bohemians”, the “frat folks” they allegedly oppress or otherwise. All I’m saying is much of Santacon 2010 puke’s and piss found its way to my backyard. Simply put: we get a lot of shit.
- Mr. Levin clarifies what an “assessment center” is. E.g.; homeless men will be bused in or travel here by subway, spend anywhere between two weeks or a month (so as to be “assessed”) before they dispatched elsewhere. As he put it: a big revolving door.
- Mr. Levin talks about the homeless/unhoused problem here and why HELP USA’s shelter will not help our local homeless problem. In fact, it will exacerbate it.
- Mr. Levin speaks about a proposal he made to the former head of the Department of Homeless Services regarding our homeless population.
Part II: Stephen Levin goes into the 3/4 house (as opposed to halfway house— I honestly didn’t know there was a difference) at Clay Street as being problematic in and if itself and continues to explain how the homeless shelter as proposed by HELP USA will not help our unhoused.
- Levin mentions that he has met with residents of the Greenpoint Hotel/SRO 3/4 house— whatever you want to call it— and they have made it known their living conditions are appalling.
- Steve Levin takes a hands-up vote as to who is for and who is against this shelter. I refused to film this— but I can attest not a single person present was for it.
Part III: Miezsko “The Coffee Man” Kalita (who is also the Public Safety Chair of Community Board 1) speaks and gives a recap of how Community Board 1 has tried to initiate a dialogue with HELP USA repeatedly and to no avail.
Part IV: Levin explains how the building in question, 400 McGuinness Boulevard, falls under the loft law.
- Mr. Levin notes the the residents have applied for loft law status.
- The owner of this building has made it known he plans to fight against this.
- IMPORTANT FACT: as long as 400 McGuinness has so much as one legal resident itcannot be used as a homeless shelter.
Part V: Rent stabilization is an abomination— or this guy is very confused. I honestly cannot tell which.
Part VI: I am concluding this post with this clip because what this woman, who hails from Community Board 3— in Bedford Stuyvesant— has to say about their dealings with the Department of Homeless Services is illuminating. We should be very grateful she took the time to share her experience with us. Seriously.
- Do not fool yourself; what happened in her neighborhood can happen in ours. What’s more, it looks like we will have a rather nasty fight ahead of us.
The rest the the footage from tonight’s meeting can be found here.
Miss Heather
From The New York Shitty Inbox: Disambiguation About “The Petition”
A person I call CHAT writes:
I have found resistance to the petition because people are not sure whether they are signing against it or signing because they want more information. I don’t have the answer. I have contacted John Liu’s office and have received a call today from Jorge, who is I believe in charge of public relations. He has told me that the comptroller only gets the contract after it goes through other agencies, in this case being the Department of Homeless Services. He claims that they only yay or nay it depending on if it is legal and financially sound. They are not a liaison for the community in this capacity. He said that while he is happy to answer questions and point people in the right direction to obtain info or to voice their concerns and that as far as his office is concerned this is non-existent because they do not have any contract in their office as of yet. He suggested that I contact DHS, our councilman, assemblyman, and senator and also attend the community board meeting (while it is not obligatory for HELP USA to attend as they are not a city organization). I emailed Seth Diamond at the DHS with my questions via this site.
To disambiguate:
- The petition is against the shelter.
- The notice I wrote emphasizes the fact HELP USA seems not to be interested in dialoging with our community. A community which has (as many have observed) a homeless problem. To put it country simple: how can a Representative of DHS, Department of Homeless Services, assure us that having a 200 bed homeless intake shelter will not effect our quality of life when even he does not have any specifics about it? How will our homeless problem— which let’s face facts— is quite unique in nature be addressed if HELP USA won’t come to the table and discuss it with they very people who are familiar with it? The answer is: it won’t be.
- HELP USA has been asked, no less than three times, to meet with the community where their shelter will located. And while it is HELP USA’s right to refuse, does this foster much faith if/when their shelter graces our community? It doesn’t.
For the above reasons I would advise anyone who wants an open dialogue with HELP USA (regardless of their stance on the shelter) to make it known! To them, our elected officials and Community Board. On a closing note, here is a notice about said shelter in Spanish. I created this because quite frankly I was very disturbed by the lack of awareness about this shelter in our local Latino community. They, above all others, will be impacted by this shelter more than anyone.
Miss Heather
Notes From The Joint Public Safety/Human Services Committee, Part III: Wrapping It Up
After much toiling I have managed upload a little more footage. Methinks moving forward I will continue adding have added them to this post* for the sake of simplifying an already nightmarish problem (in other words: check back!). Otherwise, I have also decided to use this post to answer a reader question and air my feelings on this subject. Without further ado, here we go!
*NEW September 30, 2010* A Clay Street Resident Speaks
*NEW September 30, 2010* An Old School Greenpointer Speaks— About The Greenpoint Hotel, Mostly
Note: despite his cantankerous nature I rather liked this guy. If for no reason because he was/is responsible for this. When I asked him about it he told me there was a woman who constantly let her poodles crap on his flowers.
*NEW September 30, 2010* George Diaz Speaks
*NEW September 30, 2010* Jennifer of the Greenpoint Business Association Speaks
Observation: Jennifer has clearly not read my blog. Or bothered to follow— much less attend— Community Board meetings. Had she done any of the previous she’d know the new owner of the “Hotel” has attended a Human Services Subcommittee meeting, wants help from the police and made it pretty well known he wants to hear from local residents. So it goes.
*NEW September 30, 2010* A Rebuttal & Rundown of the proposed Shelter’s P’s & Q’s (including a 10:00 p.m. curfew)
Ann Kansfield of the Greenpoint Reformed Church Speaks
A Representative from the Department of Homeless Services Responds
The Subject Of Property Values Arises
A Representative of Nydia Velazquez Office Speaks
Community Board 1 Member Esteban Duran Speaks
Note: I can’t argue with him, save perhaps adding that while New York City’s track record for addressing homelessness might be subject to debate, this administration’s success in creating homelessness is difficult to dispute!
A Neighbor of the Greenpoint Hotel Speaks & Very Fascinating Diatribe About Bicycle Brake Theft and Cab Vandalism Ensues (among other things)
Observation: This guy was the only one who seemed to faze the DHS Representative, which, as a friend of mine noted:
Must have been the Captain of his High School Debate Team.
The End (Or: My Flipcam runs out of memory but not before Georgie Diaz gets the DHS Representative to assure him that he is wiling to have Mr. Diaz pay him a personal visit lest any issues with this shelter arise)
Observation: The laughter you hear comes from people who know Mr. Diaz.
A Reader Question
As I have previously mentioned I received a question from a reader on Franklin Street resident. She writes:
Thank you for the information on the homeless shelter and the meeting. I could not attend last night. Do you happen to know if the homeless shelter is a transitional place for recently released male inmates? That would concern me. Or is it a homeless shelter for those needing temporary assistance while finding a home? Did the folks at the meeting talk about who will be living there?
First up, I am not an expert of such matters— and Monday’s meeting was not exactly illuminating. Here’s what we were told: the proposed shelter is for homeless single men. Aside from a passing mention of some work-fare kind of arrangement, a 10:00 p.m. curfew and providing security nothing else was really said. Would I rule out that there will be ex-convicts in this group? Absolutely not.
An Op-Ed From Yours Truly
In closing and despite the fact I have already published the following (albeit via comments), my thoughts on the matter, I want to feature to feature it in a proper blog post— and add a few more observations. Here we go.
Having given the evening some thought (and I needed some time to think about this because quite frankly I was pretty overwhelmed):
1. The presentation by DHS really wasn’t a presentation at all. If I may offer some constructive criticism it would have been that DHS give an actual presentation showing people how this process works and then lead into a discussion about the proposed shelter for 400 McGuinness. This would have put everyone on the same page and eliminated a lot of duplicate questions. What’s more, when I have someone tell me (as this rep did) that studies have shown that a homeless shelter will not (or will positively) effect property values (to cite an example) I am more than a little skeptical. Show me the study. They said this shelter will help our local homeless problem. How? Once again: show me.
2. Where the hell is HELP USA? They have been invited to speak and have declined. Repeatedly. This would indicate to me that they either do not care about the people whose lives will be impacted by this shelter— or that they have something to hide. Sorry, but merely taking our City Councilman on a tour of another shelter (and a women’s shelter at that) is not good enough.
3. If my memory serves me correctly the reason HELP USA declined to speak is because this RFP is under consideration. Yet, the reason we had the hearing is so people could tender their two cents/concerns about it. How, may I ask, are people able to do that if they do not know the specifics of said proposed shelter? This strikes me as not only being ludicrous, but it will only make people feel more powerless/in the dark (and in the clarity of hindsight I think this was the root of a lot of the anger we saw that night) and facilitate even more speculation.The deal is this (and I am going to be brutally honest): I am not happy about 200 homeless men residing a few blocks from my home. I cannot think of many people who would embrace this prospect. While I am very willing to understand some of the people this shelter would serve are probably good people who need a leg up, the fact is others are on (as one attendee put it) on “the fringe of society” for a reason. I am talking about people who have serious problems— and may be prone to violence. I am hardly the kind of person who sees a bogeyman around every corner. I am simply crunching the numbers— and the fact is with 200 men the odds are you are going to have some bad apples. Which brings me to the subject of location…
Contrary to what the Human Services chair said, this shelter would not be in the middle of a residential community. Its location (in my opinion) is more problematic: it is located in a rather secluded area which straddles both an industrial and residential corridor. As crazy as it may sound, I would feel more comfortable if this proposed shelter were to be located somewhere with more foot traffic/eyes on the street. There are a lot of places someone with nefarious purposes can (for wont of a better term) “hide” in this area. In addition (and I write this as someone who has lived on Clay Street) I too have concerns about its proximity to the Hotel. While I probably take a much more moderate position on this establishment (by virtue of the fact in the early 2000′s it was much worse and I know someone who lives there. Not everyone who lives there is bad.) the fact is there are still problematic tenants there. I live and work close to this hotel. I know who these men are— if not by name— and last weekend I saw one such resident harangue a senior citizen, quite menacingly, on the street. This gentleman was clearly unbalanced. I guess what I am trying to say is I have to wonder exactly how the population of this proposed shelter is going to mix with people such as this gentleman. And mix they will. I see the potential for serious trouble in this respect and I do not find the fact we were given no details whatsoever about what security measures will be put in place at this shelter very reassuring.
I could go on and on. But I keep coming back to one thing: where’s HELP USA? They alone are in the position to inform our community as to the shelter they have proposed and when asked to do so— repeatedly, I would like to add— they have declined. In other words, my biggest issues are a lack of transparency and a seeming unwillingness to engage the members of the community regarding a project that will undoubtedly impact their quality of life. How can I honestly believe (as was reiterated over and over Monday night) this shelter is going to help serve the local homeless population here if they very entity behind said shelter won’t have a dialogue with the very community where said homeless people are located? The answer is I can’t.
After the writing the previous I decided to go for a walk. It was a particularly atrocious derelict construction site that it hit me:
Greenpoint was promised a number of things during the now infamous rezone. Five years later a number— if not most— of these things have yet to happen. Do we have any new park space? For all intents and purposes: NO. Affordable housing? None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. But we do have plenty of Bloomblight and “luxury apartments”! And now we face the prospect of a homeless shelter. Am I the only person who finds this wretchedly comical?
I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention that this makes me very, VERY angry. Not only should the city keep its promises before it demands anything else from this community, but by effectively enabling HELP USA to (seemingly) evade any semblance of community process/transparency/feedback it is a big slap in the face to the very people— many of whom were present Monday night, I will add— who made this community a place where people like me (and you) want to live in the first place. They— we— deserve better than this.
Miss Heather
*Save one. That being what the Chair of Community Board 1, Christopher Olechowski, has to say. You can find that one here. This way all the videos will be in some semblance of chronological order.
P.S.: Those of you who object to this proposed shelter will probably be interested to know there is a petition in the works. As I understand it, it has just shy of 500 signatures to date and is being collected by Community Board 1. To download a printable version of this petition (for distribution and signing) click here.
Notes From The Joint Public Safety/Human Services Meeting, Part II: A Little More Footage
Synopsis: Our City Councilman, Steve Levin, states that he has “deep reservations” about this shelter. More specifically he makes it clear that he does not think HELP USA’s current proposal will address the Greenpoint homeless problem— and he wants feedback from his constituents. Nonetheless he plans to tour HELP USA’s current shelter in Brooklyn (which, it should be noted, is a womens’ shelter located in Brownsville).
NEW as of 9/30/2010: The Chairman of Community Board 1, Christopher Olechowski, Speaks. Listen.
Synopsis: Long time Greenpoint resident (and community advocate) Christine Holowacz tenders her two cents and Chairman Kalita gives a hilariously droll explanation as to how the city applies its “Fair Share” policy to Greenpoint/North Brooklyn. Jane Pool makes a very well reasoned and spot on observation. The Department of Homeless Services representative advises people to call 311 for homeless outreach services. This elicits peals of cynical laughter.
Synopsis: Human Services Committee Chair Vincent Gangone makes it known that he too has doubts that HELP USA’s proposal will address Greenpoint’s homeless problem and clarifies what homeless services currently do exist north Brooklyn and how they pertain to Community Board 1 (this is useful, so give it a listen!). A Clay Street resident asks exactly what demographic this shelter will serve. When the DHS representative says “single men” the audience collectively shits bricks.
More (hopefully) to come. Suffice it to say uploading this footage is proving to be an arduous process!
Miss Heather
From The New York Shitty Inbox: Last Night’s Meeting
As I am (still) wrangling with YouTube and generally pulling my hair out I received a very thoughtful email from a reader who attended last night’s meeting. We’ll call him “T”. He writes:
I found this meeting (my first CB1 meeting) both interesting and depressing. The amount of misdirected or premature anger based on pure conjecture, misunderstanding, class prejudice, assumption and fear was shocking. Maybe because I haven’t been intimately involved with the debate up to this point. In any event, I drew a couple of conclusions: 1) it’s mostly the craphole that is the Greenpoint Hotel and the very legitimate issue of the indigent Polish alcoholic population that generates the fear and the frustration and people are projecting that onto this process; and, 2) that first point is the fault of the dbags at HELP USA who refuse to actually come down and help alleviate these fears or at least be part of the process. So, seems to me HELP USA is the culprit in most of this. At least DHS has the courage to come down and explain the process, regardless of whether the community is calm enough to actually listen to it and understand it. Has there been a history here of these hearings happening and then DHS just completely ignoring the feelings and opinions of the community or is the assumption that DHS doesn’t care and has already approved this thing (an opinion which the dude in front of me seemed to be fastened on) based on nothing but the usual boogeymen? Because I’m willing to give DHS the benefit of the doubt on this based on the actual words coming out of the rep’s mouth but if others know something based on FACT that I don’t know, I’d love to hear it.
First off, I am VERY happy I motivated T to attend this meeting. If there is one thing I would like this site to do (other than amuse and entertain) it is to get my readership more involved with what’s going on in this— our— community. As for his points, they’re well founded. But for the time being I would like to focus on this question:
Has there been a history here of these hearings happening and then DHS just completely ignoring the feelings and opinions of the community or is the assumption that DHS doesn’t care and has already approved this thing (an opinion which the dude in front of me seemed to be fastened on) based on nothing but the usual boogeymen? Because I’m willing to give DHS the benefit of the doubt on this based on the actual words coming out of the rep’s mouth but if others know something based on FACT that I don’t know, I’d love to hear it.
I suspect many an old(er) timer will back me up when I write that Greenpoint has a long history of being a “dumping ground” for things other people do not want in their backyard. The Public Safety Chair himself, Mr. Kalita, made light of this. He— along with Chairman Olechowski— also made it clear that the Community Board only has an advisory opinion when it comes to this and numerous other neighborhood concerns. Liquor licenses are one such example and, yes, the Community Board— which is ostensibly the voice of the community— has been overruled. This has fostered a certain level of cynicism— if not outright rage— in the community they try serve. Now factor in the shenanigans at the Greenpoint Hotel and the fact that HELP USA seems to be unwilling to meet the very public to whom they will be held accountable if (or when) this shelter comes to pass and you get the idea: a lot of angry Greenpointers. Methinks this is largely what T saw last night. For the time being I will leave my opinions/observations at that. However, I would really like it if someone (else) would step up to the plate and address T’s questions/concerns. Anyone?
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Ender: Notes From The Joint Public Safety/Human Services Meeting, Part I
Filed under: 11101, 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens
It has been a long (but not necessarily bad) day for yours truly. Nonetheless I attended this evening’s meeting and will now endeavor to upload footage. I was unable to get everything on film but what I did get should reflect the concerns and attitude of the community at large. I will be posting these videos as they are successfully uploaded— so stay tuned!
Oh yeah, Help USA declined to show. Here’s a time line thoughtfully provided by our local Community Board which outlines the numerous opportunities this organization has been offered to inform us, the public, about their proposed homeless shelter for 400 McGuinness Boulevard (AKA: 146 Clay Street).
INTRODUCTION
A Representative from the Department Of Homeless Services Speaks
In the meantime I will leave you with the following statistics:
- Number of times the word “bullshit” was used: 2
- Number of times the word “diarrhea” was used: 1
And some general observations/gossip:
- The owner of an adjoining property, 394 McGuinness Boulevard, stated that his tenants have made it clear they will move out if this homeless shelter is approved.
- There was much bemoaning about the lack of “open bar”. As one old timer put it: “At least they can buy you a drink when they’re screwing you”.
- I had two people tell me that the city owns 400 McGuinness. Methinks this (if it is in fact true) it is due to a tax lien. I see nothing whatsoever to suggest such action has been taken. What’s more, I have no reason to believe the city would resort to such drastic measures: I’ve seen much worse here and they have done nothing. Nonetheless, the representative from the Department of Homeless Services has gone on to the record as stating he will provide the name and contact information of the owner to the Community Board.
- Many questions (and overall rancor) involved the Greenpoint Hotel. Chairman Gangone stated he had no knowledge of what designs the new owner of this establishment had in regards to this property. Speaking as someone who attended said Human Services meeting (and took notes) I’d like to refresh his— and everyone’s memory.*
Miss Heather
*Pay special attention to “TENANTS (Future)” and “THE FUTURE OF 1109-1113 MANHATTAN AVENUE”.
REMINDER: 400 McGuinness Boulevard
Although I have posted this before I am going to do so again: Monday, September 27 at 6:30 p.m. a hearing will be conducted at our very own Polish National Home regarding the proposed 200 bed homeless male intake center proposed for 400 McGuinness Boulevard (as seen above). Regardless of what your position on this decidedly controversial project may be, dear readers, I admonish each and every one of you to attend this meeting.
Hearing Regarding The Proposed Homeless Shelter at 400 McGuinness Boulevard
September 27, 2010 starting at 6:30 P.M. 6:00 p.m.
Polish National Home
216 Driggs Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11222
Miss Heather
Notes From The 94th Precinct Community Council Meeting
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Culture War, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
Yours truly didn’t feel like going— but she went anyway. I’m glad I did! For starters (and by Greenpoint standards, anyway) the meeting was pretty mellow. This is a good thing since I was not really in the mood for some of the angrier and uglier rhetoric that can (and does) come to pass at these meetings. This is not to suggest there wasn’t anger: there most assuredly was. The difference was the people (ladies all) who aired their ire were (as a friend noted) so darned nice about it! Bicyclists, illegal sidewalk vendors, impertinent youths and liquor licenses all get the treatment at the hands (or would that be mouths) of these ladies. One such lass made an observation so piquant that she has henceforth earned my undying admiration. But I am getting ahead of myself. Without further ado here is footage from last night’s meeting— along with synopses and a bit of analysis from yours truly. Enjoy!
Part I: D. I. Fulton gives opening statements/props and a general rundown of crime trends.
The Rundown:
- Grand larceny auto and burglaries are up, everything else is down.
- Vehicle accidents are down 4.1%
- D. I. Fulton explains that since the crime stats for the 94th are so low that one or two burglaries can skew the crime statistics upward.
- A spate of robberies via a man riding a bicycle centering (roughly) around “Woodpoint Road and Conselyea Street”. This individual has since been apprehended and identified in a line-up by two victims. NOTE: this chap’s activities came to pass between (once again: roughly) 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. in the morning and his victims were women in their 20′s.
- D. I. Fulton talks about burglaries.
Part II: D. I. Fulton speaks about car break-ins and the public speaks!
- Arrests are up 24.7%
- A case of Greenpoint roof theft
- D. I. Fulton advises runners patronizing McCarren Park to mind their personal property.
- One citizen applauds the 94th for apprehending a man who exposed himself to her and her daughter— and physically threatened them at North 7 Street and Bedford Avenue.
- Same said citizen complains about illegal street vendors.
Part III: The Public Speaks, continued
- Illegal vendors, continued
- A general discourse on unruly behavior in general on Bedford Avenue and Williamsburg in general.
- A Greenpoint resident queries D. I. Fulton about vehicle theft: there were 13 over the summer and 109 total.
Parts IV & V: The Public Speaks, continued
The aforementioned Greenpoint resident complains about Five Leaves’s use of the sidewalk (allegedly after permitted hours for a “sidewalk cafe”) and follows is a general discussion:
- A burglary on Bedford Avenue
- A lady from the Lions Club gives the 94th props
- Bicyclists
- Street closures and parties, e.g.; do they require permits?
- Other things including— but not limited to— one of the most awesome observations (or dare I hope: promises) I have ever heard at a 94th Precinct Community Council Meeting. Go to 2:31 and hear it for yourself!
- There are 97 liquor licenses pending (including a renewal for the Production Lounge*). D.I. Fulton explains this as “growing pains”.
- Parties
- Complaints about 311 dropping calls
Closing observations/thoughts:
- Once again and all things considered: this meeting was pretty tame.
- Nonetheless there was plenty of anger to go around. This mostly centered around aspects of the “new” Williamsburg being a tourist attraction and/or a watering hole of choice. Which brings me to…
- the subject of liquor licenses. If the ostensible function of our Community Board is to be the voice of the people and/or institute some semblance of “community standards” their determinations should be more binding. What’s the point of having due process if the SLA (State Liquor Authority) simply looks at their recommendation— let’s say, to deny a liquor and/or Cabaret license— and they issue the license (undoubtedly greased along by lobbyists/parties with deep pockets) anyway? Just a thought.
- The previous Op Ed(s) having been written (and to close on a note of levity), I am taking a serious shine to the notion of some exchange program between Greenburg/Williamspoint grannies and ‘noobs in the ‘hood.** I have no doubt the previous can show middle America a few things about partying (take this, for example.) Our friends (far) beyond the Hudson could use some good ol’ north Brooklyn flavor! It builds character.
Miss Heather
*Which inasmuch as much as yours truly can ascertain is STILL operating a monthly strip club. CASE IN POINT:
**I mean this with all due respect. I have grown to absolutely adore Greenpoint grandmas over the years. I simply wish others had the pleasure of enjoying their company. It isn’t so much about “Go back to Ohio”, so to speak, as it is “Get thee to Ohio”— and get us some respect!
New York Shitty Day Ender: Live From CB1
Taken September 15, 2010.
Miss Heather
NYS Flickr Pool
