Open Thread Wednesday 6/22/11

By on June 22, 2011 12:22 am in Brooklyn Heights

Photo by C. Scales for BHB.

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

Share this Story:

, ,

←  Older Comments
Newer Comments  →
  • anon

    @sunshine i was walking down atlantic when i first overheard it from someone that lived in the apartments next to LICH after the hooded man passed by. he said he thought he was a mental patient or something.
    i also overheard people talking about him in the deli on the corner of henry and atlantic that said he lived in the hospital. obviously this is all hearsay, but i’ve definitely seen him regularly spending a lot of time hanging out in front of the hospital on hicks and atlantic at the bus stop. I don’t believe he’s unapproachable, since i have seen him talking to people at the bus stop on more than one occasion. well… i think he was talking… can’t really tell with the hood wrapped so tightly around his face.

  • heightsguy

    a. not sure if the hicks/atlantic hooded person is the same one that has been discussed frequently on this blog.

    b. I can tell you that there is no residential psychiatric program at LICH. There is a short term inpatient unit, but that means IN, not at the bus stop. He might live in a supported apartment program nearby for people with psychiatric diagnoses or a half-way house, although the only ones I know are down by 3rd and Atlantic, not in this immediate vicinity. The counselors bring them into that huge laundromat on Atlantic (at Nevin or 3rd).

  • bklyn20

    Re: Hoodie Man: I asked the deli guys (New Island Deli? at NEC of Atlantic and Henry) and a neighborhood old-timer about this guy. Deli guy said he was out of it and harmless, but observant old timer said Hoodie Man does not have a home and that while they used to let people sleep over in the LICH ER, they don’t
    any more. LICH still operates a cooling center on really hot days but their laissez-faire attitude is now all in the past. Related to the merger, perhaps?

    Old timer said he is generally harmless, but has been seen to scream at people from time to time as well — I think it was an altercation at or near LICH. He (Hoodie) appears to be young, irrational, tall and possibly strong. If he threatens or scares you, I say you’re right to stay away. Having been followed by guys in the past (harassing but sentient guys) , I do know that it can be very aggravating and even scary. But at least I knew what those guys were up to. This fellow is a cipher in a sweatsuit.

  • Arch Stanton

    Homer please start a separate “Hooded guy” thread so we all don’t have to endure this nonsense.

  • David on Middagh

    Arch, please direct us to your own blog so that we may enjoy a refreshing dip into the font of civility and sense that springs from your brain, and the brains of your followers.

  • bklyn20

    I think a separate hoodie guy sighting thread might be worthwhile!
    Nonetheless, I abstained from comment until I saw him twice today and decided to poll some neighbors. P.S., I do think stalking is an actual crime, for anyone who’s really worried about him.

    I also found it interesting that LICH was allowing people to in effect “sleep over” — generally it seems like a kind policy for those in trouble. I do also remember seeing some pretty eccentric people making scenes in the ER while I was having a late-night health scare. Not reassuring when you’re feeling lousy! This was all P.H. — Pre- Hoodie.

    It’s easy to make fun of the situation but it is hard to know whether to worry about it or to dismiss it altogether.

  • Jeffrey j Smith

    Re: Chris & GC: If I had MY family anywhere near the promenade
    I would be involved in an IMMEDIATE F.O.I. “request” to every
    NYC/State and federal agency possibly involved as to what
    what their agency knows about the REAL condition of the
    critical overhang/building supports structure.

    And, if you get ANY resistance or classic delays, I’d have
    council move for an immediate judicial intervention. Why?
    because NYC/NY State and MANY federal agencies have
    decades long histories of knowing about the most extreme
    hazard conditions and failing to take any action whatsoever
    until a disaster. Subway, bridge, buildings, ferry disasters
    have followed inaction and outright cover ups by multiple
    agencies. Think of the recent Crane disasters….What? the
    city didnt have clear very reasonable foreknowledge of very
    serious mounting safety indications?

    So, the vibrations are getting worse? What do you think
    that could mean? Uh, before any part of Columbia Heights is
    suddenly part of the new park…I suggest you force someone
    in some responsible position to provide you with a real
    picture of the support structure’s conditions.

    Or you can trust King Michael to safeguard your family’s
    lives……

  • cat

    Will the person who parked their little red vintage sports car on the east side of Clinton bet. St. and Joralemon (near the fire hydrant), PLEASE adjust your car alarm so that it doesn’t go off every time a truck passes and/or doesn’t then blare the alarm for a solid five minutes? Or just move it to a different street. It’s giving me a headache. Thank you.

  • cat

    @Claude, summer just got here and the days are getting shorter. I just hate that. :-(

  • resident

    bklyn20, I don’t think what he has done would constitute stalking. I believe the law requires the person to target a specific person, following closely behind someone one time probably doesn’t fit the bill, though maybe there are other laws on the books to fit the situation.

    From the sounds of it, hoodie guy does seem to be “harmless” in that he’s unlikely to physically harm anyone. However, the apprehension he instils in certain people in the neighborhood certainly is a problem and most likely rises to the legal definition of assault. That being said, this doesn’t seem to be a matter best suited for the police, as it is clear that he is suffering from psychiatric issues. Is there a direct connection to a social services group that could be of help?

  • bklyn20

    I don’t know that he’s sentient enough to form a plan to stalk someone. I thought from the posts that he had followed the person more than once – guess I misunderstood. I do agree that social/psych services seem most appropriate for him. Still, I wish we knew if he is another neighborhood character or someone to – at least occasionally – worry about.

  • NS

    Does anyone have any recommendations for fun daytime activities (two adult couples) in the Heights or nearby this weekend?

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    NS: Take a walk around Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park, entrance at the foot of Old Fulton Street. If any of you play piano, you can try your hand at the “piano of hope” installed on the esplanade there, or you can just listen to others play and sing. If you’re adventurous, there’s free kayaking tomorrow (Saturday) from 11;00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You can get lunch from Calexico or Ditch Plains, and ice cream from Blue Marble, or from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory on the adjoining Fulton Ferry Pier. Afterwards you may want to stroll up Water Street to DUMBO and check out some of the art galleries and shops there. You could also view the exhibits at the Brooklyn Historical Society, at 128 Pierrepont (corner of Clinton), which is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $6, unless you’re a member, in which case it’s free.

  • Sad Neighbor

    I need to change my name..from Sad Neighbor to Happy Neighbor. Piano sounds like a great idea…I may stop by. I have been playing by ear since I am a kid and if those do not mind amatuer hour … I might just indulge.
    On a slightly different topic…I had seen Janis Ian at the Unitarian Church in April. She was fantastic and I have been following her since 1967.
    Anyway she has a song called “Married in London” which addresses Gay and Lesbian marriages and how the States react to it. Considering that NY is possibly going to legislate gay marriages in NY…I think her song would be a great theme song.
    Go to You tube and type it in…it’s a great song!!!

  • Soulman

    This appeared today. Roundup is what’s sprayed all over Cadman Plaza so that the Parks Dept. doesn’t actually have to manually remove weeds. It’s also why there are so many bald spots around the edges – see the little park by the Post Office. Read all about it at:
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/24/roundup-scientists-birth-defects_n_883578.html

  • Sad Neighbor

    Thank you Claude Scales for letting us in on some of the nice activities in the hood…. focus on stuff that is positive people…enough about the pervert in the hood…

  • sunshinebk

    sad neighbor- your right let’s focus on on lollipops and rainbows.. bring along your satchels of gold would ya?

    I sware to god I will never post on this blog again…why the f is everyone so judgemental and so quick to freak out on someone who is just trying to voice their concerns. I AM ALLOWED to warn people that I WAS FOLLOWED. this isn’t a cry for a public stoning.. i was simply letting others mainly women know of his presence.. give me a damn break.

  • PierrepontSkin

    Arch Stanton, go find another blog to troll and push peoples buttons. It seems like every time someone voices a concern about the neighborhood, you don’t agree. Go away.

    Sunshinebk, break given. Not calling for a stoning either, but this guy (hoodie man) should be looked into. It’s about time.

  • IB Farley

    Sunshine, don’t go away!

  • sunshinebk

    thanks for your support. I really am just so sick of people being so rude anytime a concern about any subject is brought up. Of course it’s nice to talk abot ” postitive” things… , but it is also helpful to be real and talk about real issues.. issues that concern the well being and saftey of our community.

  • Linda

    Sunshine,
    Don’t you dare go away!
    I was chased when I was 15 years old and I will never forget it.
    It was 47 years ago. I was coming home from a friend’s house and a man stopped his car, got out, and ran after me. I ran faster than him and so I got away.
    I can still, to this day, remember how frightened I was.
    I have also seen this man in the hoodie. I see him often as I am usually on my way down Court St. every morning to do my grocery shopping.
    Even before anyone posted here about him I knew enough to be afraid and let me tell you, I don’t scare easily.
    You were right to be concerned.
    Keep posting!

  • ABC

    here’s an interesting article about shade in parks. I don’t remember who told me there was no shade in prospect park when it first opened, but look — it was more thoughtfully planned than you thought

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/realestate/the-fate-of-prospect-parks-five-arches.html?ref=realestate

  • Sad Neighbor

    no one said not to be alarmed about hood man…of course you should be concerned

    . But just like the media you have to give non stop coverage of this idiot….we all got the message that the man’s dangerous and is a perv

    Is anyone allowed to change the topic?

    Haven’t seen any signs in the neighborhood about warning people about this guy….haven’t seen anyone passing out flyers…

  • Arch Stanton

    PierrepontSkin, Sorry son, I’m not going away. The Arch is here to stay.
    Actually, I do agree with some of the posts here. I just think this blog would be pretty boring if everyone just agreed with each other, so I usually only post when I strongly disagree. On the matter of the “hooded guy”, others have posted similar comments stating the whole thing is a bunch of exaggerated paranoia, so why are you asking me to “go away” (oh you’re still sore at me over the skateboard thing, gotcha). The fact that the posters who are scared of this guy cannot take any criticism shows they are weak minded.

  • Teddy

    Fireworks tomorrow evening, 6/25, after 9PM.

  • Bob Stone

    Probably not the last comment on the young guy wearing hooded sweats, but for perspective, this is actually his second year in this immediate neighborhood. He appeared in Palmetto Playground (State St./Columbia Pace) in the spring of 2010 and was a daily fixture until the weather became too cold and he sought or was forced into shelter. Early last year, concerned that his apparent emotional disturbance presented a threat to the young kids who use the playground, we called the precinct and he was interviewed by the sector car officers. Although adults without children are technically barred from playgrounds, the officers, at their discretion, apparently concluded that he presented no significant threat and let him remain. And almost every day, weather notwithstanding, remain he did. Mostly, he stood near the basketball court, talking quietly to himself, occasionally playing basketball (not badly) with some of the preteen boys who come to the park. Throughout 2010, the only time we observed him behaving badly (verbally only) was when he was provoked by an emotionally disturbed woman who appears periodically and harasses park users and residents of the vicinity until she is (in all likelihood) re-institutionalized.

    This year, he hasn’t returned to Palmetto Playground even once, to the best of my knowledge, and the B61/63 bus shelter on Atlantic Ave.,about 200 feet away, has become his current whereabouts. He’s quite young and in need of intervention, which he probably won’t receive, although he’s been approached several times by mental health outreach workers. He seems to reject their services. While predictions are basically worthless, my feeling is that he’s not dangerous, except to himself.

  • Knight

    Well, Arch, we can always pray for your early death … if for no other reason than to dispel the myth that only the good die young.

  • Arch Stanton

    Sorry Knight, I’m already dead.

  • bklyn20

    Thanks, Bob Stone , for your perspective. Now who on this blog is a social worker?

  • nabeguy

    Knight, lest you forget, freedom of speech applies to Arch’s statements, as well as your on-line wish for his death. IMHO, the latter is far more offensive than the former.

←  Older Comments
Newer Comments  →