Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
New York Shitty Day Starter: Two For The Road
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Urban Fur
From Manhattan Avenue.
Miss Heather
Urban Fur: Parallel Lines
Filed under: 11211, Crazy Cat Lady, Urban Fur, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
From North 4 Street.
Miss Heather
Word Of The Day: Boob
Filed under: 11211, Bloomblight, Culture War, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
When I showed the above images to my buddy at Bad Advice yesterday she was non-plussed. Then I pointed a rather, um, well-worn copy of Irresistibility that was located 6 feet in front of said “installation”.
We chuckled. Naturally when I got home I researched this tome. Here’s my favorite passage per amazon across the pond:
Irresistibility comes from the persuasive pen of Philippa Davies, a psychologist who numbers Tony Blair amongst the high-profile clientele she has coached in self-presentation skills. In today’s competitive market place, “it is no longer enough to be good at what we do, we have to be able to sell our skills to the world”, she opines, before launching into a training course of confidence-building and sales psychology techniques to ensure that we capitalise on our under-exploited potential.
Her philosophy to becoming personally and professionally irresistible operates on both internal and external levels. In tandem with underlining the importance of believing in ourselves, running through tricks to counter low self-esteem and overcome the negative thought patterns that prevent us from reaching our goals, she shows us how to dazzle the outside world with a display of confidence and capability. Self-assurance is the key to selling ourselves as desirable commodities: after all, “if you don’t believe in what you’re selling, how do you expect anyone else to?” And even if at first we are only bluffing, the positive feedback we will receive through projecting irresistibility will help us to sell ourselves even more successfully.
This combination of inner-self stroking and targeted strategy looks set to become an instant classic and makes indispensable reading for all of us who know we could do better. After reading this, there are no excuses!
My observation from the other side: boobs help. Take Sarah Palin, for example.
Miss Heather
Williamsburg Real Estate Hilarity Du Jour: We Know What You Did Last Summer
Is it just me or is this ad copy (to be found at 66 North 1st Street) utterly hilarious— albeit in a cringe-worthy/gallows humor kind of way?
Here’s the “original factory building” in question (courtesy of Brownstoner).
And here are some shots of people partying in said “original factory building”.
After Labor Day I thought the good times would end. They didn’t. September 15, 2010 a commenter writes:
So, I went to the last open house of this condo (I thought I had done my research, but I guess I missed this whole fiasco.) This explains some of the weird things dirty aspects of a few of the units: there was some liquid spilled all over the counter that the brokers didn’t bother to clean up (thought it was coffee, but now I’m sure it was something more sinister), there was a creepy collection of VHS tapes scattered about, and one of the bathrooms literally smelled like piss. So, thank you New York Shitty. You’ve helped me and hopefully several other people the dodge a bullet of this poorly maintained shithole.
Shortly after posting the above gem I received an email from a neighbor of this building (September 16, 2010):
So, 66 North 1st had another party about 3 weekends ago. This one was on the roof and in the apartments, and noise wasn’t too much of a problem. The units had either very low light, or red light bulbs. You can see why they would want to show the place that way when you view the building in daylight. The building has some serious rusting issues already. I’ll try and send a photo later today.
Same song, different verse. What I find particularly creepy is the use of a manhole cover for these (ostensibly) luxury accommodations. I have seen a number of exploding manholes in my day. And exposed brick, stainless steel appliances and high ceilings had nothing to do with it.*
Miss Heather
*Rather it had to do with Con Ed and watching manholes explode on Greenpoint Avenue— over drinks— at Splendid.
This post is dedicated to my good friend and mentor: Robert Guskind. He— above anyone else— would appreciate the utter absurdity and abject nature of this post.
McGolrick Park Photos Du Jour: What Is Wrong With This Picture?
(Or: Heart Of Glass)
Ever had one of those moments when you’re like “Ah, that’s kind of neat!” and then you look more closely and find yourself muttering:
Holy shit!
Well last Saturday I had one such moment at the Bathtub Race at McGolrick Park.
I like bathtubs— and balloons!
Watching two of New York’s Finest remove an intoxicated individual (who, it should be noted was not a member of the Lion’s Club) is another matter altogether.
Our Park’s Czar/Executive Director of OSANB (Open Space Alliance North Brooklyn) Stephanie Thayer, was (fairly recently) paraphrased by the New York Times as saying (in regards to a public art project located in said park):
…that vandalism occurred in the park daily, and that someone had once poured concrete down the toilets*. “For no good reason,” she added.
I beg to differ. I have not seen vandalism per se at this park. What I have seen is (on any given day) is anywhere between 10-12 seemingly homeless people— many of whom appear to have addiction “issues”— and a manifold number of empty “baggies”. The previous consider this park to be their living room (because, in fact, it is). Obviously drug dealers like to ply their trade here as well. I have also heard rumblings that used hypodermic needles have been found here. I have yet to find any. But I have seen gentlemen “nodding off” so obviously something is going on. As for concrete being poured down toilets all I have to say is this:
I make it a point to avoid the “comfort stations” at this park** if at all possible— because they are anything but. Comforting. They were and remain to be utterly disgusting. Perhaps this act of intransigence was a critique of the condition of said “facilities” and Ms. Thayer’s “management” of them? Who knows? Greenpoint works in mysterious ways.
Ms. Thayer (in the above-mentioned article) also opines:
Because this is such a good monument to humanity and compassion, it is really necessary to keep it in play.
While no one can argue with the above statement (It’d be sort of like saying “Yes, I’m all for clubbing baby seals!” and it was undoubtedly willfully and deliberately word-smithed for this chilling effect) I would like to humbly suggest Ms. Thayer get a better grip on the parks under her “watch” and the humanity who use and, in this case, inhabit them. Public art is nice (and I’m all for it) but this park (and many others in Greenpoint) have much more urgent matters requiring Ms. Thayer’s compassion. Some attention to the bathrooms— a very human amenity— and an acknowledgment that this park is a haven for people who clearly have substance abuse problems— if not out rightly homeless— would be nice for starters.
Miss Heather
*If my memory serves me correctly this came to pass well before Ms. Thayer came on the scene. I could be wrong. Verification/fact-checking, anyone?
**I hold it and go to Cooper. The bathrooms are always in a reasonable state of repair and the Parks employees there are very nice. For those of you who have heartier bladders I also recommend Maria Hernandez Park (always neat) or, best yet: Sternberg. The latter is— by north Brooklyn standards, anyway— plush.
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