New York Shitty Photos du Jour: Neighbor Of The Beast

From Clay Street.

And Now A Word From Our Local 3/4 House

(Priceless)

Spotted At 1074 Manhattan Avenue: No Blablazo

September 16, 2011 ·
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic 

This morning I was distraught to see that the El Blablazo tree pit, a pre-eminent piece of north ‘Point pride was no more. I asked a gentleman on the premises what gives. He explained to me that individuals from the Greenpoint Hotel and the adjoining 3/4 house had taken patronizing said seating late at night. They were becoming a nuisance (READ: loitering, leaving trash and drug paraphernalia for which the owner of 1074 Manhattan Avenue was fined by the Department of Sanitation) so they had no other choice but to remove it. Follows are a few images from the better days of El Blablazo.

The Beginning

Gearing Up For Christmas

Ready for July 4th

Goodbye…

LAST GASP: Live From Manhattan Avenue, Part II

August 29, 2011 ·
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic 

(Or: Special Delivery)

As some of you have probably noticed earlier today I posted footage of a man who decided to sit in the middle of the street and block traffic. Well, shortly thereafter I noticed a couple of NYPD patrol cars canvassing the area. I am pleased to announce that as of 7:00 p.m. they got their man! Sort of.

I do not post this footage with the intent of criticizing the 94th Precinct. They have a job to do— and regrettably handling individuals who are clearly mentally ill has become one of their responsibilities. Rather, I have to wonder about the effectiveness of a rehabilitation facility— one which is funded in part by our tax dollars, I’ll add— when someone under their care requires a police motorcade to get back home. Clearly whatever this facility is doing is not working— and sadly it is probably only a matter of time before this man gets hurt.

From The New York Shitty Inbox: The 3/4 House at 66 Clay Street To Close?

A person we’ll call “E” writes (in an email entitled “Halfway House Rumors”):

Hi Heather! A neighbor told me, that one of the halfway house residents told him, that the place is closing in 2 weeks. Have you heard anything about this?

As it would happen I bumped into a friend of mine, Philip, (as seen at left) today and he told me the very same thing! Mind you, he did not look as dapper as he does in this photo. Rather, he had his left arm in a sling after having it broken by a resident of said three quarter house. He told me that life at the “Hotel” is the worst he has ever experienced. When one takes into consideration that Philip has resided at 1109 Manhattan Avenue on and off again for a number of years this is really saying something. Among other things he told me today:

1. He recently had to throw out all his clothing and bedding due to an ongoing (and I’m surmising: untreated) bedbug infestation.

2. There has basically been an ongoing “war” between Hotel residents and those of the three quarter house for some time.

That’s all I know, gentle readers. If you have anything to add please do so via comments or email at missheather (at) thatgreenpointblog (dot) com. Your identity will remain anonymous if you so desire.

Thanks!

Miss Heather

P.S.: On a related note I have also received a rather fascinating comment (regarding this post) from someone claiming to have once worked at the Greenpoint Hotel recently:

I was a former employee of Jay Deutchman at Greenpoint Hotel. I was hired in June ’11 as Fire Safety Director. It is the absolute worst building I have ever worked in. It is a danger to its residents and the community. The Fire Alarm system is not connected to a central station, as the phone lines are out. There are no sprinkler heads. There are no “smoke heads”(smoke detectors wired directly to the alarm panel, which are supposed to sent a signal to the central station). 100 men share 4 bathrooms, the stench of human feces is unbearable. It is loaded with lice, vermin, rodents. The first week I was there, I was paid. The second week, I was not. I quit soon after, and am still owed two weeks pay by Jay Deutchman. Contrary to his statements in his interview with you, he does not have 8 “safety directors”, he had at most three when I was there, myself being one. I have been a licensed Fire Safety Director for 18 years, and this is the worst firetrap I have ever seen. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Hmm…

 

New York Shitty Day Ender: Live From The Homeless Shelter Town Hall Meeting

April 5, 2011 ·
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic 

Don’t let the above image fool you: it was a rather lively evening at tonight’s Town Hall Meeting. Follows is the footage I shot along with synopses, annotations and observations. WARNING/CAVEAT/TEASER: Those of you who have a fondness for yelling will not be disappointed.

INTRODUCTION

Part II: Mr. Rosenblatt Gives a Rundown of BRC & The Proposal

  • The proposal (once again) is for a 200 bed assessment center.
  • This facility will be (once again) for single, homeless men.

Part III: Q & A, Continued

  • Questions are raised about the owner of 400 McGuinness Boulevard, Shimmie Horn and this facility serving drug addicts and ex-convicts.
  • Mr. Rosenblatt states that 2/3 – 70% of the people who patronize BRC’s facility have substance and/or mental health issues.
  • If approved, BRC will be leasing 400 McGuinness Boulevard from Mr. Horn.
  • A resident of the three quarter house at 66 Clay Street speaks. (LISTEN TO THIS— Ed. Note)

Part IV: Q & A, Continued

  • Mr. Rosenblatt rebuts JR’s accusations, offers to show anyone in the audience their facilities and tenders his contact information.
  • A member of the audience inquires as to the impart BRC’s shelters have on the surrounding community and voices concerns about 400 McGuinness’s remote location.
  • Mr. Rosenblatt states that the city will be provided transportation and a shuttle van service from the subway will be provided.
  • Mr. Rosenblatt asserts that the communities in which BRC facilities have been placed see improvement and states the Bowery as one such example (Interesting fact: BRC and Mr. Rosenblatt are responsible for the closure of CBGB’s) . This elicits peals of cynical laughter from the audience.
  • A Clay Street resident questions what kind of investment residents of this facility will have in the community and asks about security measures.

Part V: Q & A, Continued

  • Mr. Rosenblatt continues his answer for the previous clip. A question about whether or not entrance to this facility is elective or mandated is raised by a Clay Street resident.
  • Mr. Rosenblatt states that admission is purely voluntary and goes on to explain how the system works: first one goes to an intake center, from there he/she is sent to an assessment center.
  • Mr. Rosenblatt states that residents are entitled to leave whenever they want.
  • Christine Holowacz voices concerns about 400 McGuinness Boulevard’s proximity to public park space (including the Newtown Creek Nature Walk) and brings up the issue of “fair share”. The matter of illegal immigrants is also raised.

Part VI: Q & A, Continued: A Clay Street Resident Speaks

  • Concerns about the proximity of the Greenpoint Hotel, the three quarter house at 66 Clay Street to 400 McGuinness Boulevard is raised.
  • Mr. Rosenblatt states 400 McGuinness will be a “model” program with “model services” for drug treatment. The audience finds this very amusing.
  • A resident named “Mary” voices concerns that our community’s homeless would not be serviced by this shelter.
  • Mr. Rosenblatt states that any Greenpoint homeless interested in their program will not be turned away. He makes mention of wet shelters.

Part VII: Q & A, Continued

  • A member of the audience observes that Mr. Horn paid a rather high $5,000,000 for 400 McGuinness Boulevard and speculates that the Department of Homeless Services advised Mr. Horn that by purchasing this property a RFP for a 200 bed intake center would be approved by them, e,g,; this did not happen in a “vacuum”.
  • A member of the audience begins to speak about Department of Homeless Services.

Part VIII: Q & A, Continued

  • A continuation of the previous speaker. She refutes how transportation will be handled per Mr. Rosenblatt.
  • She brandishes a rather large stack of letters protesting the proposed shelter at 400 McGuinness Boulevard and gives a copy to Mr. Rosenblatt.

And alas, this is when my cameras mercifully ran out of memory. You can view and/or download the letter as mentioned in the above video by clicking here. Follows is a general outline of the conclusion of this meeting along with a few thoughts/observations.

1. The woman speaking in the last video opines/asserts:

  • that shelters tend to be placed “where there is an easy target”.
  • that adequate shelter space is available in New York City. Rather, the issue is that our city’s homeless do not want to go to these shelters.

2. A chorale of women chanting “We don’t want this.” follows.

3. The Representative from the Department of Homeless Services takes the microphone.

  • The question is posed again as to whether or not DHS “brokered” some kind of arrangement with the current owner of 400 McGuinness Boulevard. A satisfactory answer is not given.
  • The issue of alternative sites is raised and the DHS Representative notes that there are eight shelters “in the pipeline”. When asked as to where they are located he gave stated: Bedford Stuyvesant, the South Bronx and Crown Heights. Here’s my question: what do these communities have in common?

4. Ol’ Bo takes the microphone and embarks upon a stream of consciousness screed. He calls the BRC and the Department of Homeless Services representatives (and I quote) “carpetbaggers”.

5. People begin to leave in in significant numbers.

6. Councilman Steve Levin speaks.

  • He opens up by stating he wished he had not had come be back at such a forum.
  • He states that his position has not changed and he is against this shelter.
  • He also notes that Governor Cuomo recently cut housing subsidies which will result in more people matriculating through the shelter system.
  • When asked by an audience member, he states he will speak any any rallies to protest this shelter.

7. The issue of this 200 bed assessment center being located in a M1-2 zone is brought up.

  • The DHS representative states that homeless shelters are allowable under this zoning.
  • He goes on to state that he thinks 400 McGuinness is (and I quote) “a good location” and that not all shelters should be located in residential neighborhoods.

New York Shitty Analysis/food for thought:

  • 400 McGuinness is an excellent location for a homeless shelter provided one is seeking a remote location without easy access to mass transit to warehouse— quite literally— two hundred people. Methinks the word I am looking for here is “containment”.
  • While 400 McGuinness may be zoned as manufacturing classifying the area as a whole as non-residential is a load of shit. This property it located literally across the street from residences.
  • I find the rather fortuitous manner in which a prior RFP was pulled, the property was sold and a new RFP for more or less the same thing to be very, very suspicious. The fact that both Mr. Rosenblatt and the Representative from the Department of Homeless Services dodged the issue does not help matters.
  • If Help USA withdrew its proposal for a 200 bed assessment center due to inadequate funding ($4,000,000) what makes the Bowery Residents Committee think they can do more or less the same thing?
  • A couple of rather interesting articles regarding Mr. Rosenblatt and BRC have been brought to my attention. Apparently they are attempting to place a 238 bed homeless shelter in Chelsea and the locals are none too happy about it.

UPDATE, April 7, 2011: This matter has come to the attention of our friends in Chelsea.

Miss Heather

LAST GASP: Letter From An Angry Neighbor

February 8, 2011 ·
Filed under: Queens 

It would appear that 66-68 Clay Street is but one of Mr. Deutchman’s 3/4 Houses. Special thanks goes out to Queens Crap for forwarding this to my attention.*

Miss Heather

*This chap had copied me on this email, but alas, he misspelled my name!

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