From The New York Shitty Inbox: (Words Fail Me)

February 12, 2014 ·
Filed under: 11211, 11249, Culture War, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn 

This comes courtesy of an anonymous tipster who writes:

Really, we need a memo about this! Who are these parents?

Indeed. Then again if residents of the Viridian had to be advised not to let their dogs to crap in the indoor garden (and just this has come to pass) is this really surprising? No. It is not. Still it is as good as a reason as any to roll this out…

Williamsburg Photos Du Jour: Metropolitan Avenue

March 9, 2013 ·
Filed under: 11211, Gentrification, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn 

metave

alternateshot

Taken March 9, 2013.

New York Shitty Day Starter: The Touraine

July 11, 2012 ·
Filed under: Upper East Side, Upper East Side Manhattan 

CCTV trompe l'oeil

Nothing says “class” like an elegantly designed vinyl poster affixed to a fire escape replete with a surveillance camera. Thank you, WarmSleepy.

New York Shitty Video du Jour: Live From Kent Avenue

February 13, 2011 ·
Filed under: 11211, Culture War, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn 

One street, two different worlds.

Miss Heather

From The New York Shitty Photo Pool: Urinal Land

August 25, 2010 ·
Filed under: 11211, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn 

This hails from East River State Park and comes courtesy of Alex Gaidouk.

Miss Heather

Williamspoint Photo Du Jour: D-Bag

May 10, 2009 ·
Filed under: Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg 

douchebag

From West Street.

Miss Heather

Attention All Urban Photographers & Street Art Enthusiasts

April 24, 2009 ·
Filed under: Culture War, Street Art, Williamsburg 

meatnys

If you happen to be on River Street do not take a picture of this.

face-on-rivernys

And sure as hell don’t shutterbug this.

Why, you ask? Because if you do it might result in you (and your husband) being questioned by New York’s Finest as to what you are doing. This is what happened to the Mister and I this evening.

viewtonorthsidepiers

Hello there, we see you’re taking photographs— why?

Miss Heather: I think the shadows and diagonals are visually pleasing.

river-street-at-7-pmnys

We saw you take photographs of graffiti back there.

Miss Heather: Yeah, someone spray-painted the word “meat” on the wall and I found it interesting.

Because it’s sort of “beefy”?

Miss Heather: Exactly. I happen to be a vegetarian.

Seeing where this conversation was headed (nowhere good— and soon) the Mister jumped in and after some more “dialoging”, they left us to go about our business. Inasmuch as interfacing with the NYPD can be amicable it was: tense, but polite. Still the experience left me wondering:

Why?

Perhaps these chaps have been instructed to watch photographers— especially those who happen to document “graffiti”? The only logic at work here I can think of is the presumption that when people (such as myself) document this stuff it is going to somehow encourage the people responsible for it to continue their nefarious work (and, in so doing, lower everyone’s “quality of life”). I suppose this is possible. BUT

deadbuildingwalking

it’s been my experience that derelict buildings (of which north Brooklyn has many— such as the one above example which is located around the corner) do more than their fair share of lowering my quality of life.

kentaveeyesore

Nice, eh?

elik

The above can be found on the front door of this Kent Street deadiface. Call me subversive, but I don’t really see how this could possibly be construed as making this building an eyesore. It has achieved that very readily on its own. Rather smashingly, I will add. One piece of street art graffiti isn’t going to make any difference; if anything the above bit of mischief adds some sorely needed “value” to this turd. It certainly makes me smile, anyway.

Speaking of which, a building doesn’t have to be old and decrepit to elicit social commentary, oh, I mean graffiti.

hipsters-move-out

northsidepiers

CASE IN POINT: Northside Piers.

Miss Heather

A Girl And Her Blog

April 6, 2009 ·
Filed under: Abjectecture, Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Recession, Williamsburg 

It would appear that politicians (and the developers to whom they are beholden) have done a smashing job of removing “urban blight” (READ: the working class/poor) from north Brooklyn. Who needs nuclear bombs when re-zoning, complicity and bureaucratic incompetence/apathy will do the job? Nonetheless the end product is more or less the same: a community whose quality of life has been compromised.

Follows is a revue of developer-induced blight in north Brooklyn I captured yesterday, April 5. I have entitled it After The Gold Rush.

The sad reality is re-zoning, tax bennies, and easy credit have done little to benefit my neighborhood. There were once businesses that gave people decent, well paying  jobs. Affordable rental property was once in abundance in Greenpoint as well. No more. Thanks to our city’s leadership much of my wonderful neighborhood has become a wasteland peppered by vacant lots, failed condominiums cum overpriced rental property, illegal hostels and super-sized tourist destinations operated by and for the affluent.

The time is long overdue for north Brooklyn to be developed in a manner sensitive to the needs of the people who constitute this community, not the ones Mayor Bloomberg’s rich cronies envision living here.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Miss Heather

P.S.: This one’s for you, Bob.

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