Open Thread Wednesday

By on June 3, 2015 10:16 am in open thread

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

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  • GHB

    Well, they’re weeding the berm in BBP again. All winter, we had to look at this big ugly brown thing. Now that it’s spring, it was covered with wildflowers and weeds. It really looked nice in green. Now it’ll look big, ugly and brown again. Too bad.

  • CHatter

    There was a fire at the Heights Casino on Sunday afternoon. I haven’t seen any coverage. Anyone know what happened?

  • tardy_1

    Can we do something about the beggar who sets up shop on Montague St by the chocolate shop?

  • Willow Street Watch

    I was diverted yesterday, what happened at the save the view meeting?

    Two “small” points re Heights talk, I met one of my neighbors is active with several foreign policy NGO’s and she defended Sen. Whitehouse and his RICO ideas, she also said she felt it was “awful” that wiikileaks is now offering $10K for the disclosure of the full text of the PTT….I refrained from argument and simply rolled my eyes….

    As far as any fire at the casino, someone probably forgot which coast they were on, and decided to banish some cares…..

  • StudioBrooklyn

    Interesting question.

    I’ve called 311 on him before, only after I saw him harassing some workers who at the time were involved with the RadioShack demolition. (They politely asked him to move because he was in their way, he lashed out at them verbally.)

    I understand that the system can’t handle everyone who is unable to help themselves (thanks, Reagan), but in this guy’s particular case I believe he has the cognitive ability to realize he’s set up shop in a neighborhood of people who work really hard for their money, pay their taxes, and are generally very considerate of one another. It’s one thing to come in once a year or so to seek a boost in handouts, but to return day after day is parasitic and unfair to the community (as well as to the more needy).

    I think the best thing, unfortunately, is if he gets the message that Brooklyn Heights isn’t going to finance him. As a community we simply have to stop giving him money and free food. I hope he finds the help he needs through other available means.

  • Willow Street Watch

    The courts have ruled repeatedly that panhandling is free speech. OK but at least two incidents I have seen, this individual, when you pass him by not giving any funds, he makes provocative remarks. I have seen him make several in appropriate remarks to passing women. Both of these street behaviors, as it is testing the envelope, sends the wrong message to the street something we really don’t need….

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com ClaudeScales

    Apparently a clothes dryer overheated and caught its contents on fire. The smoke-stained dryer could be seen outside the Casino later.

  • GHB

    Am I the only one bothered by this? OK, Captain Cleanup comes in and decorates. Fine. But who told him it’s OK to paint colors on the landmark approved streetlights, like the one at the entrance to the Promenade at Montague?

  • ShinyNewHandle

    I for one don’t mind that they aren’t monochrome. (And aren’t those “antique” streetlights mainly replicas that don’t necessarily match what was here in olden times anyway?)

  • CHatter

    Fair question, as sometimes there can be a fine line between artistic improvement and unwanted graffiti. But to my eye he’s got flawless taste, and even if I didn’t agree with the artistic merit of his projects, I’d give Captain Cleanup a pass every time. There are few better examples of selfless community spirit than his. I wish I had the stones to be more like him.

  • CHatter

    Thanks Claude!

  • Willow Street Watch

    His actions may be honestly intended as being a help, but what he is doing is license, without asking anyone else….

    Now, if he was painting flames, scallops, pinstripes, Kandy apple colors, metalflake etc on street that would be a different matter…..

  • Boerum Bill

    This is a job for Captain Cleanup!

  • DIBS

    WOW…still blaming Reagan?????? In case you don’t realize it, homelessness is a local issue.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    I’m not certain whether homelessness is our guy’s biggest problem. He can be heard at any given time muttering to himself and screaming nonsense at people, which points pretty significantly to schizophrenia. Homelessness is symptomatic of a cocktail of issues often including unchecked mental illness.

    In the meantime you can blame whomever you like but it was Reagan’s administration that discarded the Mental Health Systems Act in 1980 and did squat about the results of the combination of poverty and mental illness. Are others at a local level to blame as well? Absolutely. But my post really wasn’t about listing them all and frankly I don’t think it’s my responsibility to research it for you, so I just put the name that is at the top of the list.

  • DIBS

    And there have been a couple of Dermocratic administrations since then inluding the current one for 6 years; none of whom apparently fixed what you perceive as the wrong here. But, to go into this long rant about the state of mental healthcare in the US when you don’t even know what this guy’s problems are is a bit melodramatic.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    My two word parenthetical was far from a “long rant”. And I did acknowledge that others are to blame as well.

  • GHB

    Maybe if they designate the berm as a piece of public art and title it “The Big Turd”, it’ll work.

  • johnny cakes

    Great image, Claude. The scale and balance are perfect. So are the subjects, and lighting. Wonderful.

  • Willow Street Watch

    This is a total classic street game. Remember the wild man of west 96th Street in Manhattan? Well, this is a toned down version. Perps know where is now aand limit to their aggressive act. They stay just inside of the line. They all know exactly where the line is.

    But this is a wealthy liberal community and while he is collecting, why not have fun making people uncomfortable.

    There’s nothing accidental or indeliberate in this…..

  • ShinyNewHandle

    Yeah, that guy.

    The Montague St. BID seems not to care? I never see beggars harass people on the Fulton Mall. (My rule is, I’ll give to musicians whom I want to return to a spot. No pity money.)

  • StudioBrooklyn

    I like that. Maybe he can paint the guy’s shopping cart.

  • Eddyde

    “The Montague St. BID seems not to care?”

    What do you think they could do about him?

  • Eddyde

    I think they were trying to finance a gut renovation.

  • jo ann

    Does anyone know the situation with the loud late night parties occurring near daily in the yard behind montague terrace between Remsen and montague? Involves man with woody woodpecker laugh, a fire pit, and inane conversation that can be heard quite clearly pretty far away due to brick wall acoustics. If you know these people, please shut them up.

  • Jorale-man

    Just tried the Swallow Cafe on the corner of Atlantic and Clinton Streets for the first time. Very tasty sandwich for lunch and several of my neighbors’ lunch dishes also looked very good. The atmosphere is nice and welcoming and there were a number of other people trying it out too. It definitely bodes well – I hope it and the Tripoli Restaurant (now moved to the basement) can co-exist there.

  • NickBC

    Captain Cleanup is one of the reasons that Brooklyn Heights is so magical. He has perfect (and perfectly appropriate) taste. He volunteers his time to make the neighborhood better for all of us, and he does it quietly, humbly and without asking anything in return. The world needs a lot more Captain Cleanups.

  • Teresa

    Perhaps you could connect with a local relief organization and see if they could help him/her?

  • Andrew Porter

    I still think it could become the world’s largest chia pet!

  • Andrew Porter

    Thought I’d post a photo of what the area around 360 Furman Street used to look like in the days when it was docks and warehouses:

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