Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
New York Shitty Day Ender: Cat/Dog
Filed under: 11222, Crazy Cat Lady, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic
From Kent Street.
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Starter: A Simple Assault
Filed under: 11222, Criminal Activity, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic
Remember the melee in front of Club Exit I made mention of last November?
If not, no worries. This should bring you up to speed:
This was first brought to my attention by someone whose son is a friend of a someone involved, e.g.; via the Greenpoint grapevine. By that I mean the friend (of the son of my tipster) in question was allegedly beaten up by the police and went to the hospital. Per my tipster the fight started over a woman being harassed. Her son’s friend tried to intervene and police officers were knocking cameras out of the hands of bystanders. And busting heads.
This was brought to the attention of D. I. Fulton at the 94th Precinct Community Council Meeting on November 21. A Greenpoint citizen called it a brawl.
Mr. Fulton begged to differ.
It took awhile but a video documenting this incident has finally surfaced. Here it is.
And here is a description of what you have just seen per my tipster:
This video isn’t clear, but I’m familiar with some of the voices, since they are friends of my son. The video starts with my son’s friend K—- laying on the ground, handcuffed & unconscious. His friend A——, who is handcuffed, is yelling in the background to tell the police that his friend isn’t moving and in need of an ambulance. One of their friends D—– begins to video the scene. An officer pushes D—– with the video phone but the girl quickly regains control of the video phone and keeps running the video. Another girl M——, is screaming in the background and trying to get to K—- to see if he’s ok. (K—- is the kid that had his teeth knocked out by guys at Club Exit who were bothering one of the girls.) As you can see, the officers grab the unconscious K—- by the arms and drag him to a police car, not an ambulance. You can hear his friends calling out to the officers about getting an ambulance… None of the white Club Exit patrons were arrested, even though one of them knocked out K—–‘s teeth.
Kind of makes you happy Club Exit’s (ostensible) swan song was last night, yes?
Miss Heather
UPDATE: February 17, 2010; Here’s another video.
Greenpoint Street Art Du Jour: Keep On Takin It – 24/7
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Street Art, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
From Kent Street.
Miss Heather
From The New York Shitty Inbox: Is Belvedere XXVIII For Me?
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Long Island, Long Island City
Anonymous writes:
Miss Heather,
I came across your site while do some research on Greenpoint. Thank you for offering a not-so-tongue-in-cheek perspective of the neighborhood with great photos and frequent updates.
I am considering purchasing a condo in the Belvedere property at 206 Kent Street and would greatly appreciate any advice you may have. I’m twenty-three, work in midtown, live on the south shore of Nassau County and ready to move out.
My knee-jerk reaction: if you’re 23 years old and financially enabled to buy a condo I envy you. Secondly, I harbor a hatred for these buildings. The non-sequential (and increasingly cheaply constructed) dynasty that is Belvedere epitomizes the crapification of my neighborhood. Throw ’em up quick and cheap. The previous having been written, at least the air conditioning units are not on the balconies. YET. That’s becoming a more common feature nowadays.
Here’s the deal:
- Belvedere/Bridge Realty has been tossing these buildings up left and right in north Brooklyn. And the supply is NOT in keeping with demand. If you go to Calyer Street you will notice Belvedere VI— or is it Belvedere VIII— I cannot keep track— is advertising “luxury” apartments for rent. These apartments have been on the market for well over a year.
- Belvederes VI, VIII and XXVIII have one thing in common: a close proximity to McGuinness Boulevard. Inasmuch as I find this, the Champs-Élysées of Greenpoint, charming I would not to live close to it. ESPECIALLY given there is a fire station one block away from your condo in question and the largest waste treatment plant on the East Coast will probably perfume your balcony.
- If you work in Midtown and have the kind of budget I suspect you have, Anonymous, why trifle with this? Go to Long Island City. It’s a buyer’s market, you will have a direct commute to midtown (via the 7 train)Â and get a beautiful park to boot!* My advice: haggle. HARD.
My two cents (and then some) having been tendered, I’ll leave this matter to my readers. Thoughts/advice, anyone?
Miss Heather
*What I find endearing about Greenpoint is not for everyone. Methinks Anonymous is one of them. What’s more, I hate to see someone get ripped off.
SATURDAY: Kent Street Festival
Another item in the growing roster of things to do this weekend is Greenpoint’s very own (and 13th annual!) Kent Street Festival. I have attended this event on and off over the years. Despite what the above poster intimates this is a very child-centric affair. Face-painting, carnival rides and pony rides are among the usual staples. Bigger kids and bargain hunters might be more interested in the stoop sales, vendors (jewelry, clothes and not surprisingly sausage are prevalent) and bake sales.
If you’re in the area swing by. It’s a nice (and inexpensive) way to while away an hour or two with the young ‘uns.
13th Annual Kent Street Festival
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Kent Street between Manhattan Avenue & Franklin Street
Brooklyn, New York 11222
Miss Heather
Happy Labor Day From New York Shitty!
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
The sun’s out, the weather is pleasantly mild. I cannot think of a better place to while away this Labor Day than a nice walk along the Greenpoint’s waterfront.
(Java Street)
(Kent Avenue)
Or not. A half-eaten sandwich and a dead rat covered with flies are but a fraction of the delights which await you if you decide to visit Greenpoint’s waterfront.
Is it detritus you seek? Kent Avenue has it in spades!
But if you’re looking for a little Greenpoint greenery you’ll be hard-pressed to find it anywhere else.
Who needs parks when we have this?
Although a discarded styrofoam cup sort of defeats the message. You know, after all this walking and tea quaffing I need to go to the bathroom. Methinks I will head over to Kent Street.
It looks like they have locked up the Econoheads. Damn.
Oh wait, here’s a toilet…
and it is even appointed with a sink— very nice! On August 13, 2009 The Brooklyn Paper published an article entitled “Gates of Wrath”. Follow are a couple of quotes from this tome.
Greenpoint continues to have virtually no access to its waterfront and [proposed] parks are still years away from completion… These street ends, once fully open, accessible, and clean, will provide the community with three desperately needed waterfront havens. — David Yassky, City Councilman* for the 33rd District & Candidate For City Comptroller
“It might just be a crumbling street end, but people are eager to get down there and be by the water. — Stephanie Thayer, Parks Employee and Executive Director For Open Space Alliance North Brooklyn.
Only the best for Greenpoint.
Miss Heather
P.S.: To see some late summer rodent love— East Village style— click here. Trust me: it’s worth it.
*Who has been in office since 2001 and is just now “noticing” what anyone who has lived here for a year knows all too well. Way to go, Sherlock-fucking-Holmes.
New York Shitty Day Ender: People In My Neighborhood, Dog Days
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
Nassau Avenue
Norman Avenue
Driggs Avenue
Not everyone has benefited from the luxurification along the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. Take this man tired after collecting cans resting under it, for example.
On a more “up” note, I encountered this young man on Greenpoint Avenue. This gent, Jared, was headed over to Van Gogh’s Radio to hang his art work. You can read more about him here. (Click this link— you know you want to!)
This gaggle of Greenpointers hail from Kent Street. I do not know the woman to the right. I want to: she is always dressed to the nines and has a knack for color coordination.
In weather such as this it is always good to wear a hat, like this woman in front of Cafecito Bogota.
One need not sacrifice style to beat the heat. The woman clad in the striped blouse always sports red lipstick to match her cap. She knows how to coordinate: her outfits are always painstakingly coordinated with her sneakers. Madison Avenue meet Manhattan Avenue: where natty practicality rules!
I’m not too sure what this guy is doing. But he’s doing it in the middle of Manhattan Avenue— and no one seems to mind.
Bedbug King, meet the Mayor of India Street and Manhattan Avenue!
And lastly, my favorite Manhattan Avenue dude: Ziiggyy. The previous is no typo. That’s his name! He didn’t know what to make of me at first— in fact he was suspicious.
I asked:
Can I take a picture of your guitar?
To wit he replied:
Only if you give me $1,000.
If I had $1,000 I’d keep $500 and give the other $500 to you!
I replied. He laughed. The ice being broken, we talked shop while he shopped for a new pair of sunglasses— a task which he saw fit to enlist my assistance. I gladly obliged. The blue sunglasses didn’t suit Ziiggyy so we searched for an alternative. And talked about life— and sunglasses.
Me: So you don’t like the blue ones. Why?
Zig (for short): I don’t like them. They just aren’t right for me.
Me: So you want glasses with rims?
(Zig sorts through the glasses, puts on a green pair— replete with green lenses.)
Zig: I like these but who wants to see the world green?
Me: There’s a reason for the term “seeing the world in rose-colored glasses”. This is Greenpoint— green lenses aren’t going to make it look any better. Only worse. What about this purple pair?
Zig: But they’re rimless— you said we should look for rimmed glasses!
Me: Yeah, but I think these might just be it.
Zig: (trying them on) They do match my shirt…
Me: And your earring, that’s amethyst right?
Zig: That’s my birthstone!
Me: So you were born in February? I was born in January!
(high five)
Long story made short, Ziiggyy bought the glasses. Upon parting ways I said:
I consider myself to be very lucky to have met you.
To wit he replied:
I do not believe in luck. To believe in luck is to believe in good luck and bad luck. I believe in God’s will. That’ why I do not worry (about luck): it’s out of my hands. I’m happy.
Me (stunned):
Well, thank you for humoring me.
Ziiggyy:
That’s what I do: humor people. Make them laugh, make them cry and…
Me:
make them think!
He nodded in agreement and we parted ways. You can learn more about Ziiggyy and his guitar by clicking here.
Miss Heather
P.S.: This post is for all the “Ziiggyys” in the world. We need you.
Williamspoint Photos Du Jour: Urban Fur
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Crazy Cat Lady, Dog Shit Signage, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
Java Street
Kent Street
Oak Street
Manhattan Avenue
Grand Street
West Street
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Ender: Dyspepsia
As some of you might have noticed today’s offerings were a bit— how should we say— delayed? This is because yesterday the Mister finally succumbed to the lovely stomach ailment that seems to be making the rounds hereabouts. As for who gave him this delightful gift keeps on giving? Well, that was yours truly of course! Marriage is, after all, all about sharing.
This one’s for you, Mister Heather.
Miss Heather
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