Open Thread Wednesday

Over on Brownstoner.com, the post “Longtime Brooklynites Reflect on a Changing Brooklyn” includes a comment by me, plus my photo. So now when you see me on the street you can run away screaming.

Here’s the link:

http://tinyurl.com/owh98sj

This is just typical casino crowd assault on anyone and anything they don’t want heard in the public square.

Given Mr Stanton’s statements, I would like to ask a few simple, direct questions:

Were YOU there to witness his/these incidents and from what vantage and what was your role in the events?

The incidents you mention have been endlessly retold over now three decades(!) one IS clear the series of incidents actually revolved around the second appellate division court on Pierrepont at Mponroe becoming a drug supermarket frequented by scores of Packers and St Ann darlings, a LOT of whom were (ahem) casino kids as I think you WELL KNOW.

So, what was your role in all this? Uh, might it be that You or some “associates” of yours were “involved” in the “activities” there. Were you or your friends were came to the attention of police? Were you or one of your associates have to witness one of your darline friends in handcuffs for their behavior or drug possession? Did you feel that you were bring hassled by the terrible right wingers and racists in the area (who had the nerve not to want drug traffic on their corner) Is that why you’re having these outbursts of (greatly) distorted reality?
Don’t you feel you need some professional help before you become a public danger? Are presently taking medication?

Remember Arch, no matter what, I’m always here to help..But I would like you to (honestly answer the above questions in your lucid moments……

What total drivel…I really refuse to respond to the above.

Please, let’s stop the attacks on me, for no other reason than this blog is here to serve the community and that means focus on important ISSUES. let’s get back to examination of critical issues in the life of this area. Stop the personalities and let’s get back to issues and policy..

When began this latest round of personal attacks on me (how very casino crowd) I decided to call two people involved who were very active in anti crime activities in the era you name.

There is distortion by commission and omition. You have managed to do both on a repeated basis.

We have already managed to establish that you were part of a major drug scene which plagued the Heights in the late 1970’s and it wasn’t just some kids doing “beer and wine” there were guys dealing drugs out of cars parked on Pierrepont almost every night. There were often hoards of kids wearing St Ann’s and Packers emblazoned wear along along with youths from outside the area involved with disorders nightly. There were a cars and doorways broken into, muggings on the area, harrasement and crimes against seniors and many incidents of weapons displayed in a five or six block radius of the drug scene both on Montigue and the court building. We were overwhelmed by crime and it didn’t help that a bunch of casino families figured that it was fine to let their brats do as much drugs as they wanted on Monroe and stoops on Montague. Oh course, you omitted the number of overdoses which required immediately EMS care at the scene. We also had a problem with drug use on Willow at the time. In response a sizable group of good people formed a rival Height Association. We caused nightly police runs to the court bldg and other drug activity locations. As a result of our actions we were finally after a three year battle able to break the back of drug dealing and the general atmosphere of lisense. But a sizable number of casino type kids now have arrest records, including felony convictions. Boo How archie , they got what they deserved!.Might some of these be your friends? Now of course there were threats from gang kids in the Farragut projects and the drug dealers and there were physical fights both with druggies and gang kids who initiated violence. As if any of us were scared or deturred by any of that. Each time after some physical altercation, guess what arch? our activities INCREASED….
In one incident, which you seem to refer to, a intoxicated apparent associate of yours tried to attack an associate with a broken wine bottleneck! I remember stepping in and stopping the attack. He fled on monroe but was promptly arrested and charged. On several other occasions the drug dealers threatened retaliation. We just “reminded” them who had the greatest number of weapons. That ended that. The key here was to increase our activities to match increases in criminal activity or threats. All this, while the BHA/BHP/ casino crowd did nothing or were hostile to our actions. Our reward however after like five years was a far safer Heights. There were a number of innovative tactics tried. Indeed two tactics were a pirate radio station by one member and the mass distribution of several alternative publications by another member. The BHP immediately began to label this activity as extremeist and on two occasions as you indicated. All this after being stone insensitive to the mounting drugs and violence for at that point two years. They stopped each time alotfter one issue. Know why? Because our membership and contributions increased after each attack! So much for you and your falsifications.

Here’s a proposal that I, for one, will stick to. After this post, I will no longer respond to or refer to, the onerous troll , aka the Willow St. Thing. People like him, semi- literate snobs with, if not overtly expressed prejudices, not very well disguised racist and anti- Jewish opinions, need exposure to get their rocks off. Let’s frustrate his desires. It now turns out (thanks Arch) that he’s a known entity with a history as a “bad actor”. I believe that it’s possible he has used pseudonyms on this blog before. So… ignore him; don’t take the bait. DON’T FEED THE TROLL!

We had a very good meal at Friend of a Farmer this weekend. Great addition to the neighborhood.

Cut the melodrama. You are clearly a negative influence on this blog and this is clearly increasingly recognized by this community.

Brixtony is reasonably not going to respond to your message for perfectly coherent reasons expressed in his/her post.

Just let it be. You’re not going to argue your way out of your evolving reputation here.

Brixtony – you continue to have the support of the community here, as you already know. Your contributions here of course continue to be welcome.

Finally…I get it…you have me confused with LM. who lived on Monroe. Yes, he did sit with you darlings (something I would never lower myself to do) He and a friend, did distribute literature I disapproved of. BUT AT NO TIME WERE EITHER OF THESE QUESTIONABLE FIGURES IN ANY WAY MEMBERS OF OUR ORG.

See that’s what I mean about lying by omission. Now, EVERYBODY on those days had CB radios. And one of our group had a pirate radio station which the BHA and Dozier Hasty (which I notice you don’t disclose is your friend) of the BH Press and the secretary of the casino, ran ONE story written by Randall Rothenberg (a great unbiased reporter…) In which they confused the various elements in play at the time. But his attack, as I noted before, lasted ONE issue then he abruptly stopped. Why? Well you know why starchie. Because he received many calls in our support. One of those named in the article, against my explicit instructions, went up to the BHP offices yelling at gthe top of his lungs at how unfair the article was.
But as I said, after the response in our favor, the casino attack abrupty stopped. We ended up with more members and money so,

NYRR Open Run this Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Who is the “We” you keep referring to, you and LM, what a joke.
You had no crimefighting crew you did nothing whatsoever to disrupt the social scene in the Heights. Even the cops barely hassled us, only occasionally issuing a ticket her and there for drinking in public of disorderly conduct. No felonies, no overdoses. Just the local young crowd having some fun.
You are either full of s#@t or delusional. Anyone who was there at the time will know that.

Again, you’re simply distorting reality. The truth is, that LM would appear at our distributipon of patriotic literature and pose as one of our members. Yes, you certainly saw him in our vacinity. But that doesnt make him under our influence, direction …or control. In that time we had several people attempt to infiltrate us and or claim association. And I could see why SL in a drunken state would try to attack him. I and two associates stopped his attack whereupon the person you describe as “your brother” took a several swings at me. i put him down, he broke his large booze bottle and then youre ” brother” came up in a drunken rage and tried to dig one of my eyes out with the broken neck of the bottle!!! By the way, folks, this will give you some idea of the vicious bums some of the court area hangouts were… Uh, thos was one of ypur froends, and you were a particoparticipant in such an crime? Well that tells you all you need to know about this leading critic.

I stopped this vicious attack attack and he ( and you apparently) ran away leaving me standing for a moment until I and shortly a group of neighbors persued you to the Unitarian church by that time the the cops arrived and bagged the suddenly contrite SL. So much for youre stopping me or my friends. Only in your dreams kiddo. And as above, the incident only intensified our efforts. In fact I ordered another 3000 Spots for distribution ithe next morning.

But the incident you describe was only one of many fights and physical attacks during that eta. It was one of the most incompetent, that I’ll say. Far worse was the Hicks and state incident where one of the drug associates pulled a hunting knife on me. I picked up a garbage can and hit him with it! He lost the blade and like SL he ran off. So what? He lost his weapon, I didn’t even had to draw mine and II simply continued to Garden Place to meet my then girl friend and continue our distribution of patriotic literature.

So close to everything you stated is a distortion. The only thing that does come through that you were either a direct participant or an associate of a violent criminal, who dispute your crowd efforts was arrested and changed.

And as far as your efforts having any effect on pur activities, then…or now…only in your casino dreams.

The Arch Stanton-WSW history of Brooklyn Heights reads like the plot of Inherent Vice.

It’s a lot worse than that. What you just read is only the very tip of the secret history of Brooklyn Heights iceberg….

Thanks Greg. As a Brooklyn Heights resident for over 25 years, I will, of course, chime in when I need to about local issues that affect us all. I enjoy dissenting opinions and as a left- wing pluralist welcome input from all sides. There’s no reason however , to encourage unbalanced, ignorant whinging. Thus: Halloween’s over. Don’t feed the troll!

You’re beyond bat-$#!+ crazy, aren’t you? Where are you on that “social scale”?