Jaime Campiz Playground, January 22, 2012
The American Playground, January 22, 2012
Barge Park Playground, January 22, 2012
Posts Tagged ‘ NYC Parks Department ’
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Last Gasp: Five
Dec
29
29
brooklynbureau: 5 Reported Deaths of Homeless in Greenpoint Bklyn in past 15 months: http://t.co/CQlfmNQR
Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/brooklynbureau/statuses/152474257392275457
This was brought to my attention by an anonymous tipster (thanks!). Those of you who are so inclined should take a moment to read Brooklyn Bureau’s piece about homelessness in Greenpoint and the proposed assessment center at 400 McGuinness Boulevard. Follows is a breakdown of the five (I suspect preventable) deaths outlined therein:
…In October, reports of a homeless man hanging himself in McGolrick Park marked the fifth reported death of a homeless man in Greenpoint’s parks in the past 15 months. Two have taken their own lives (the second man in Barge Park off Commercial Street), one man drowned in McCarren Park, another died of hypothermia in the same park and a third died of unknown causes, also in McCarren Park.
“It’s a sick way of thinking because the person could die in the street and then no one’s responsible,” says McDonnell, “is that what we do, do we just let people die and not be responsible?”
Indeed. However, what what this tome overlooks is Greenpoint’s homeless will not simply be able to go to 400 McGuinness and receive shelter. They will have to go through a processing center in Manhattan and then come back here. Given the language gap many of our homeless face (as Polish speakers)— and the fact many of them have serious substance abuse problems— do I realistically see this arrangement working? No, I don’t.
Image Credits: The image at left was taken by yours truly at McCarren Park this summer.
Greenpoint Photos du Jour: And Then There Were Two!
Dec
29
29
Today since it was a downright balmy 33 degrees I decided to swing by our new waterfront park and see how things were shaking— above all the tar bucket/art installation which was brought to my attention yesterday. Follows are a few highlights from my trip with commentary. Enjoy!
While the rubbish has been bagged as of at least December 24th (which is when I walked by) it has yet to be picked up.
There’s even more rubbish at the end of the street.
Among the assorted detritus greeting our open space lovers is a barbecue grill.
As for the tar bucket, it is much more impressive when viewed against the Manhattan skyline. But the greatest treasure was to be found was a mere 10 -12 feet away…
another— truly magnificent— tar bucket!
I was particularly taken by the value-added book of matches. This got me to thinking about what my informant said:
Art or vandalism – you decide! I’m leaning to the art side of the fence.
Remembering what my professors taught me about appropriation in art school, I decided to tip the balance in favor of (conceptual) art.
Behold Tar Bucket #1…
and the even more majestic Tar Bucket #2. Both of these pieces I dedicate to our “parks/open space advocates”. Without their hard work on our behalf, we would not be able to enjoy such niceties in the first place!
P.S.: Oh yeah, there are still no benches on India Street Pier.
New York Shitty Video du Jour: Live From McCarren Park
Sep
03
03
It would appear that the Vagina Tree’s parting gift, a felled lamppost, has been re-purposed as a skateboard ramp.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Presentation Regarding Concerts at East River State Park & The Northside Festival
Apr
28
28
Given the complaints tendered at the last Community Board meeting regarding the concerts at East River State Park (and banter about banning them) I feel compelled to pass along this item. On May 3rd starting at 6:30 p.m., our Parks Advocate/Parks employee, Stephanie Thayer, along with a few other folks from Open Space Alliance North Brooklyn and the New York City Parks Department will be giving a presentation regarding the concerts slated to grace north Brooklyn this upcoming summer. Those of you who have had issues with these events in the past or simply want to learn more about them should make it a point to attend— and ask questions!*
Parks & Waterfront Committee Meeting
May 3, 2011 starting at 6:30 p.m.
Swinging 60′s Senior’s Center
211 Ainslie Street
Brooklyn, New York 11211
Miss Heather
*Here are a few for those who might feel inclined to ask:
- What measures will be put in place so as to mitigate the impact on the surrounding community, e.g.; noise abatement, trash pick-up, crowd control, etc.?
- What measures will be taken to ensure that issues which may arise at other park spaces will be addressed in a timely fashion? Or to put it differently: with the summer being peak season (and as such is more likely to have maintenance issues), how will a balance be achieved between operating these concerts and managing our parks?
- Exactly how much money is raised by these concerts for our parks versus money/manpower outlay-ed? Ask for specific figures.
- How have the aforementioned funds raised been allocated to date?
New York Shitty Day Starter: The American Playground
Mar
26
26
Kicking off this sunny— if brisk— weekend I present to you this bit of leisure time captured at the American Playground yesterday.
For those of you who are wondering, the area adjacent to 49 Noble Street is still cordoned off due to falling debris. For those of you keeping track this makes over three months and counting.
It would appear, however, that some kind of detritus catcher has been put in place. What can we expect in the way of action to follow this most auspicious development?
If this (from the Department of Buildings web site) is any indication, I’d say not much.
Miss Heather
Reader Contribution Du Jour: Live From Seventh Avenue & 38 Street!
Jan
27
27
Jeff Williams (who took the above photograph at 8:00 a.m. this morning) writes:
NYC snow clean up. Fail.
Closing on a note of delicious irony I leave you, dear readers, with something I beheld at McCarren Park at 7:30 p.m. last night!
UPDATE, 6:15 p.m.: it would appear Jeff sent the wrong photo! He writes:
Oops, sent the wrong pic…that was 38th and Broadway….here’s the real fail at 38 and 7th!
Miss Heather
Quicklink: Ignoble Street
Jan
18
18
Greenpoint residents have a message for the shadowy owner of a waterfront lot — tear down this fence! The chain-link fence bars traffic or pedestrians from the western end of Noble Street, which offers wonderful views of Manhattan and access to the waterfront. It is owned by firebrand developer Joshua Guttman, who owns the former Greenpoint Terminal Market building and several other sites nearby. The warehouse building was the site of a massive fire four years ago, and some believe that lax security led to the arson…
My buddy over at Queens Crap writes in regards to the above passage from this story by the Brooklyn Paper:
He’s kidding, right?
Who’s to say? What I want to know is if our “community leaders” and/or “open space advocates” have asked Mr. Guttman when he plans to conduct repairs on 49 Noble Street. As some of you might recall this building’s losing battle against the elements; lack of proper maintenance; and/or gravity resulted in the closure of part of the American Playground last December.
For those of you who are keeping track this barricade has been in place for one month now.
Miss Heather
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