Yes We Can! Brooklyn Heights Gets A Shout-Out During DNC’s Opening Night

By on September 5, 2012 12:07 am in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn History

Brooklyn Heights got a shout-out during the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte Tuesday night, as Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley opened his speech with a odd little rant about his home state’s history some 225 years ago.

Within the first minute of his adddress—which aired just before the 10 o’clock hour (no major network coverage, but MSNBC and PBS were on it)—the guv said, “Since the first days of the American Revolution, Maryland has been called the Old Line State because of this true story of a group of soldiers called the Maryland Line: (etc. etc. etc.). It is August 27th, 1776, two months since our Declaration of Independence. Outnumbered and surrounded, Washington’s army is about to be crushed forever at Brooklyn Heights. The British are closing in.”

He goes on for another minute about Maryland’s deep-rooted history, before transitioning into a relevant point: “Together with President Obama, we are moving America forward, not back.” (Read the full text of his speech here.) Go, Brooklyn Heights! Yes we can! (Photo: AP)

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  • Mr. Crusty

    It was a great night at the Democratic National Convention, not only because of the mention of Brooklyn Heights, but because of some great speeches culminating in the brilliant one by the First Lady. Makes me realize why I am a proud to be a Democrat.

  • HenryLoL

    Ugh. I cant wait to get the Obamas out of office! MO’s speech made me sick to my stomach. The Obamas have created an ‘us versus them’ mentality that the whole country is beginning to adopt — and its all so they can retain power. Such BS — their student loans being more than their rent — boo-hoo-hoo. That’s what happens when u go to Princeton and Harvard! See ya, Barry!

  • Tclinton11201

    Isn’t “us versus them” quintessential American? The whole Manichean speech “greatest country on earth” directly implying superiority and all these things? Not necessarily opining one way or the other but faulting the Os for using an “us vs. them” rhetoric is maybe the wrong way to go…

  • Mr. Crusty

    @HenryLol confirms my pride in being a Democrat.

  • gc

    Flipping channels last night about 8:30 pretty sure I saw Nydia Velasquez speaking at the convention. That would be a real shout out for the Heights as she is Congresswoman representing most of the Brooklyn Heights.

  • LibertyBelle

    I can’t wait to fire Barry on November 6. We have more debt, more unemployment, a more divided nation, and no plan from the community organizer. He should spend less time playing golf and holding private concerts in the White House and more time doing his job. She should spend less time and tax payer money on her luxury vacations. Does this woman own a dress with sleeves? I’m tired of looking at her over sized deltoids and biceps. And I can’t decide which one is a better liar. They are both very good at it. They belong together. An even better match than Bill and Hillary.

  • E

    I hope it made you sick Henry. It’s time your paid it’s fair share. Welcome to the world of paying taxes. See ya, Mitt.

  • Mr. Crusty

    @LibertyBelle methinks you are a troll trying to make Obama’s opposition look small, petty, insulting and just not very bright. It was a little over the top though to be believable. No one can be that idiotic.

  • Mr. Crusty

    @gc you are right, Ms. Velazquez did address the Democratic National Convention.

    http://www.voxxi.com/nydia-velazquez-addresses-democratic-national-convention/

  • Bloomy

    I thought the speeches were pretty good last night. Always nice for the hood to get a shout out.

    @LibertyBelle – Just to throw some facts out there, 31 months into their presidencies:

    Obama took 61 vacation days.
    Bush had spent 180 days at his ranch.
    Clinton took 28 vacation days.
    Reagan had taken 112 vacation days at his ranch

    They all take vacation days, so just relax a bit.

  • Gerry

    It looks like the GOP will gain control of the White House in November and thats a fact and dont shoot the messenger this is what it is.

    We suspect that Mr. Romney can build on President Obammas lackluster term and begin to improve our economy.

    And we feel that Mr. Crusty has become obsessed with the BHB feeling the need to comment on everything 3 or 5 times perhaps boardering on an OCD psychosis and that he needs a job or a girlfreind or a homosexual lover for his afternoons just get him to stop his comments too many of them.

  • Cracked Pot

    The GOP is a party of TROLLS.

  • Topham Beauclerk

    @HenryLOL

    Please define an “us versus them mentality”.

  • Tony

    When I heard that speech last night, the moment the pol referred to Brooklyn Heights, I knew there would be item about it in today’s BHB.

    This silly, provincial boosterism really has to stop. We’re not some small town in Idaho. It’s embarrassing that this blog gets giddy over the mere mention of our neighborhood—and that’s all it was—in a political speech.

  • http://chucktaylorblog.blogspot.com/ Chuck Taylor

    Dear Tony — So happy to know that you were thinking of your beloved BHB while watching the DNC last night. Obviously, our “silly provincial boosterism” keeps you coming back.

    We are a neighborhood blog, after all. From lost dogs to the best of NYC. Who exactly are we embarrassing? You? Wow, I find that i’m not caring so much.

    Onward!
    Best regards,
    =CT=

  • Cracked Pot

    Tony = Trollny

  • Tony

    No, Chuck, I think you embarrass yourself when you trip over yourself with excitement merely because some insignificant politician uttered the words “Brooklyn Heights” in a speech. Consider the source. Look at the context. It’s not important.

    I prefer lost-dog stories.

  • GHB

    Tony, nobody tripped. Now take your meds…

  • Heightser

    We actually did a rewind when we heard Brooklyn Heights mentioned. It was a fun shout out for our little nabe.

  • Mr. Crusty

    Tony…. talk about embarrassing, your post strikes me as befitting that adjective. As Chuck said this is a neighborhood blog serving those interested in BH. That includes some that may find some interest that our little nabe was mentioned at the convention.

  • Joe

    I always get excited when BH is mentioned anywhere. I even rewatch scenes if I happen to catch BH streets/houses in movies. Isn’t that just pride in where you live? Pride as a NYer but even more as a Brooklynite/BHer. I guess to each their own.

    I thought Michelle’s speech was brilliant, personal and inspirational. Highlight of last night’s speeches. I’m not a diehard fan of Obama’s performance in office but I will be voting for him again not because of MO’s speech but the alternative is far worse.

    Also didn’t get a us versus them vibe at all. If anything she spoke about how she and Obama are like many Americans: working while carrying a large school debt. Unless you were born with a silver spoon I’d say that speaks to most of us, even in BH.

  • Tony

    “Little nabe”? Oh, stop it. We live in one of those most desired neighborhoods in New York. We’re wealthy and famous. All of this talk of “pride” strikes me as a sign of insecurity, like those dumb “I Live in Brooklyn By Choice” signs.

    If the pol had said something like “I lived with my wife in Brooklyn Heights, in a studio on Montague Street. We would go to Haagen-Dazs on summer nights and walk to the promenade to look at the skyline …” OK, that might be worthy of a blog post. But he was talking about the Revolutionary War. All he did was say the words “Brooklyn Heights,” and that was the end of it. Sorry, that is not newsworthy, even for a neighborhood blog. If that gives you a thrill, you need to find a hobby.

    You think the people who run Greenwich Village and Chelsea blogs react the same way when they hear their communities mentioned in political speeches? Why should we be any different?

  • AmyinBH

    “We’re wealthy and famous.”
    Really? I just learned my new thing for today…. I am wealthy and famous. No wonder people are always trying to take photos of me.

  • DrewB

    It’s interesting to me that Michelle simply talking about their start turns into an “us versus them” speech. You know how many timeMichelle mentioned Romney? Exactly ZERO! That speech was about Barack Obama the man, the husband and the father. Just like Ann Romney’s speech. I also think that it is funny that Romney supporters love to talk about his overwhelming success as a businessman, but the minute someone points out that maybe that success, and his remarkable wealthy upbringing, put him out of touch with majority of americans it is suddenly a class war. And if you point out that the his success came by outsourcing jobs, you are suddenly attacking capitalism. And if you point out the results of his time as governor were less than stellar, you’re hung up on the past. i always thought the way to decide who to vote for is to look at what they’ve done in the past. How they got to this point in their life. Silly me.

  • Wiley E.

    Does Republican Romney have a ranch too? Could it be in the Caymen Islands?

  • Tclinton11201

    rock lobster farming?

  • Mr. Crusty

    population of Brooklyn Heights approx 25,000. That’s .0008% of the population of the USA. I think that classifies us as a “little nabe” don’t you?

  • Mr. Crusty

    so the Republicans can attack:

    union workers
    government workers
    atheists
    gays
    immigrants
    women who use birth control
    and basically anyone that isn’t a business owner

    but the Dems are playing the “us against them” game?

    Even on Labor Day. The day set aside to honor working men and women, Eric Cator tweeted this:

    “Today, we celebrate those who have taken a risk, worked hard, built a business and earned their own success.”

    Michelle Obama was exactly right when she put forth her own description of “success”.

  • Tony

    No, Mr. Crusty, I don’t, and that’s about as absurd a way to calculate a neighborhood’s size as I can think of. Besides, if you only measure a community’s size through population figures, you’re missing the point by a mile.

    It seems to comfort some people to imagine the Heights is some quaint little village. It isn’t.

  • http://chucktaylorblog.blogspot.com/ Chuck Taylor

    Hi again Tony! If you happen to live with your wife in Brooklyn Heights, in a studio on Montague Street and go to Haagen-Dazs on summer nights and walk to the Promenade to look at the skyline, I’d love to hear more. Sounds like a 500-word profile for BHB, yeah?

    The headline can be “Tony The Tiger Roars With Disdain At Trippy Writer.” We’re going to make beautiful music together!

    Cheers-
    =CT=

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