Captain Cleanup Strikes Again in Brooklyn Heights

I love this. Great job!

I spotted him, too, working on a mailbox on Henry Street. I said to my daughter, “Look! It’s the guy the BHB writes about all the time!” I nearly asked for an autograph

Well, the reports of my handiwork are accurate. I indeed
was “on the job” at the sight of this fabulous tree guard at the top
of Squib Hill on Columbia Heights Street. This location has become
increasing important for Brooklyn Heights as it is the first part of the
Heights that all the tourists see as they ascend from the Brooklyn Bridge Park
to the Promenade. First impressions are really important and I have no
interest in having all our guests encounter something so beautiful in such
decrepit condition as the first thing they see in our neighborhood. As I
was repainting this tree guard this past weekend (April 19), I must has seen at
minimum two thousand tourists walk by each day. I have long admired the
two tree guards at this location. They are totally unique to the
neighborhood and the ornamental work on them is superb. They had been
long neglected and were completely rusted. I had these objects earmarked
for over a year for a top notch rehab. With the springtime weather finally
here, I was able to get to work. On Friday, I scraped, sanded and primed
the first tree guard. On Saturday, I half painted the object (that took
over 5 hours). On Sunday, I finished. I think that all in I put in
14 hours of work and it was well worth it. The pictures above do not do
the work justice as I completely tricked out the Statue of Liberty ornament
with a copper color paint mix, hand draw fabric on the Statue’s body, exact and
accurate lettering on the placard held in Lady Liberty’s left hand, and a
bright yellow torch flame. On the Brooklyn Bridge ornament, I had what I
thought was a moment of inspiration. As I had repainted the bridge a
bright high gloss white so that it would be noticed, I was painting the other
surrounding metalwork black (which is what it had been previously). I
then realized why should the metal immediately under the bridge be black?
The East River runs under the bridge and the water should be the color
blue. So I changed that part of the tree guard from black to blue (to
mimic the East River) and I think the effect came off well. A number of
local residents even stopped to chat and indicated that as many times that they
had walked by this object, they never realized that the metal work was actually
an image of the Brooklyn Bridge! I am pleased to report that as soon as
I finished the project and walked away, newly arriving tourists who had not
seen me doing any painting immediately started taking photographs of the
finished tree guard. I could not have been more pleased with this – not
because I can claim to doing the painting, but because it was giving visitors
and residents something to appreciate, remember, and share with their friends
of their visit to Brooklyn Heights. I consider this tree guard my best
neighborhood community service work so far, particularly with the Statue of
Liberty detail. The pictures shown in the Brooklyn Heights Blog are not
the finished work, but were taken on Saturday night, before the Sunday
important final touches. I
strongly suggest the Blog readers go take a look for themselves at the finished
tree guard. The second adjacent
tree guard at this same location at Squib Hill is next on my project list and
this will also be incredible when done (it will be obvious to everyone why when
one sees the finished work). It will take me some time to finish this
second tree guard as the painting is time consuming. I want to thank
everyone for their kind comments and I am glad that so many are enjoying the
neighborhood improvements. I would also ask that if anyone knows me that
my identity remain anonymous. I am happy to chat with any of you and
introduce myself if you see me at work, but I have absolutely no interest in
any general acknowledgement. Yours truly, Captain Cleanup.

Love these tree guards….would like to know who put them there. When they first appeared I expected that we would see more of them. Thank you, Captain Cleanup for making BH more interesting, for fighting against graffiti, and for your appreciation of the tourists who love our neighborhood.

It’s “Squibb” Hill folks. Learn your neighborhood history.
And Sewall needs to get a life, I think.