BHB’s Starbucks Dad Slap Story Goes Viral

By on December 8, 2009 5:48 pm in Brooklyn Heights

Yesterday’s post about a Brooklyn Heights Dad being slapped by another patron at the Montague Street Starbucks has gone viral, as we believe is the vernacular.

NY Magazine’s Intel ran the story yesterday.  Their post generated comments like:

Mmm, I love a venti Slappuccino in the morning. – NY Aaron

I expected this post to be much more ghetto than two spoiled men slapping each other around over a baby crying. What is Brooklyn coming to? – Cleavage Rhomboid

Starbucks Gossip picked up the story and one caffeinated fan to observe:
Parenting is a blood sport in that part of town.  –  Venti Urnex Latte
This afternoon, it was the lead story on Consumerist causing a commenter to say:

Waiting for a drink in a Starbucks? Do nothing. What’s the absolute longest you’ve had to wait for a coffee? 5min. Crying children make my ears bleed but, good Zod I can put up with it until my drink’s ready. – Julius Seizure

Last night, Homer and Qfwfq’s old pals at Fark.com linked to the story making this story and yesterday’s traffic the highest in BHB history.  One commenter there used to live in Brooklyn Heights:

When I lived in the Heights it was very family orientated, but the last time I visited it felt like parts of Manhattan. It was yuppie-ish in the 90s but it seemed totally different last time I was there. I was surprised to see nannies on the weekend when I took our son back to the park he went as a baby.

I used to go to Hansens down the block — better and cheaper coffee (and they were there long before Starbucks). Some days I don’t miss living there. – DamageDude

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  • nabeguy

    Slappuccino. Hands down winner. Or, in this case, hands upside yo’ head.

  • Andrew Porter

    What would Tiger Woods or Jesus have done?

  • jiker

    ha! bunch of spoiled obnoxious yuppies and their kids. this neighborhood is so lame.

  • Slapdaddy

    I’m the parent of the toddler who got chopped in the back of the head– wow, had no idea all of this was going on!

    Anyway, to set the record straight, here’s what happened:

    I was with my 18 month old in Starbucks, waiting for a cup of coffee– we had no intention of sitting down at a table. While we were waiting, my son noticed a banana; for some reason this freaked him out. I bought the banana for him, thinking this would placate him– boy was I wrong– he started crying and I tried to distract him while i waited for my drink, and then planned on leaving.

    Some guy then starts yelling at us: “Take that brat outside blah blah blah”– I calmly explained to him that as soon as I got my drink (1, maybe 2 minutes later), we’d be on our way… that wasn’t good enough for this guy, who kept insulting us. I said, “this isn’t your office, this isn’t a library– we’re getting our coffee and going, you bald douchebag.”

    Then, as I turned my back to leave, he swatted me in the back of the head! Now, I don’t care about that– but what if he’d knocked me out while I was taking care of a toddler??

    Believe me, i don’t like it when my son acts up; we never stay in a restaurant when he gets that way. But as everyone who witnessed the incident agreed, this guy was WAY in the wrong…

  • nabeguy

    You crossed the line at “bald”. This time, he lost his temper instead of his hair.

  • justaneighbor

    You called him “bald”, slapdaddy? Sheesh…sounds like you were asking for it!

    (kidding, I’m just kidding….gotta make yourself real clear on this side of town!)

  • Slapdaddy

    I only said that after I’d apologized– he kept going, saying terrible things to me and my son– plus, he hit me as I was on my way to leave, with my back turned.

    Plus– I was trying frantically to calm my son down for the 45 seconds or so that he was fussy…

    Again– I do not feel entitled to take a crying toddler to public places. On the contrary, I try very hard to avoid situations where other people may be trying to enjoy some peace and quiet. My son acted up suddenly, I tried my best to make him feel better– and in the instant that this was going on, the guy got very belligerent; I responded to him, and was attempting to leave as quickly as i could, when he hit me. I couldn’t and wouldn’t hit back for obvious reasons.

    Everyone there, including the staff, was extremely kind, supportive, and understanding.

    I’m just going to put this behind me, and continue to try being as good a dad and neighbor as possible (and I’ll keep my son away from bananas for the time being :) ).

  • justaneighbor

    He’s an ass, and you’re a class act.

    Happy Holidays to you and your family. May the new year bring you fewer tantrums and even less bananas.

  • nabeguy

    As a father, I’m with you slapdaddy. You took exactly the right tack in this case…although personally, I probably would have shoved the banana in the guy’s ear.

  • bklyn20

    Again, I make my nomination: “SlapDaddy” for the Brooklyn Heights Ten.

  • nabeguy

    HFS! Follow the link to the NY Mag Intel story and be glad you live in BH. The leel of snark over there is downright…Iowan.

  • Slapdaddy

    Thank you everyone for the words of support– they just confirm how lucky we are to live in such a great neighborhood.

    Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season and wonderful new year– even the guy who swatted me :)

  • Bob

    I admire the perfect use of the word “douchebag.” It is rarely used perfectly but is so apropos in that situation. Also love that a banana was an integral element of the incident.

    Kudos, Slap! SlapD! The Slapster! Slaparama! Slaparappadingdong!

  • Slapdaddy’s Wife

    I’m SlapDaddy’s wife and did not fully realize how calm, cool and collected my husband acted during this incident. Now after hearing more details I realize how amazing and protective he was being and am so proud of how he acted given the horrible circumstances. The mean babyhater guy could have snapped on someone else and the outcome may have been much worse. For the record –our kid is very sweet and is a regular in many of our awesome neighborhood stores and restaurants. The slapper should be ashamed of himself.

    Thanks to everyone for their support of my husband -he is a wonderful father.