Yet another home is under construction in Gravesend on Avenue W between East 2nd and East 3rd Streets. On Saturday, there were no workers or penetrating screams of equipment. The building sat quietly waiting to be finished; perhaps quietly waiting to be broken into.
Tucked into a window was a yellow square of paper with a handwritten note reading, “Warning: we are not responsible if you get killed when steeling from us.” On the door is taped another message, “No Metal.” Whether an intentional playful pun, or poor spelling, referring to the apparant thievery as “steeling” is fitting.
“I know that metal can be sold, but it seems crazy to break into a building under construction just to get some,” said a local resident.
Well it may not be as crazy as it may seem. In the beginning of April, copper was trading for nearly $4 dollars a pound.
Metals theft is a problem accross the country. The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. has recognized the problem and is working to combat and prevent incidents.
While metal seeking criminals remain active, felt-tip penned warnings of possible death will try to keep them at bay.
On Monday night, the city council passed a measure urging the Albany legislators to vote for the approval of congestion pricing. This means the city will charge an eight dollar fee to enter Manhattan below 60th Street. Great, right? Who doesn’t want fewer cars in the city? They are noisy, polluting, and everywhere. It has been promised that the revenue collected will be used to improve the bus and subway system. If you live in the outer part of the outer boroughs and travel daily into Manhattan, it may not be so great. “Commuters in our city will be able to benefit immediately from mass transit improvements that you will see literally within months,” said Mayor Bloomberg at a news conference. I live between the Neptune Avenue and Avenue X stops on the “F” line. The ride itself takes 45 minutes, plus the walk to the train and from the train to my destination. The closest express train is too far away for the shorter ride to equal a shorter total trip. Short of adding an express train, improvements to the system will do little to change anything for residents who ride this line. Two hours of travel each day is exhausting. As a remedy I purchased a Vespa. Riding along the Belt Parkway into Manhattan, travel time is cut in half. However, the city has said there are no plans as of now to charge reduced fees for scooters or motorcycles. Now we wait to see if Albany will follow the city council’s lead. Eight dollars a day just to go to work or school or two hours or more of traveling? I imagine there will be many drivers asking themselves the same question, debating what is more important, time or money.
Graffiti has been a part of New York City culture since the 1960’s. On nearly every block of every neighborhood a name or design, born of spray paint, melds with a city surface. Even the sound of the word, “graffiti”, seems to mimic the motion inherent in its meaning. An artist takes hold of the can and with the wave of his arm, like a magician casting a spell, the surface is transformed.
For some, graffiti is about putting their names in as many places as possible, known as ”bombing“. For others, it is an elaborate art executed with a painstaking attention to detail. They take time to plan their designs, choose its location and breath life into imagination with the hiss of a paint can. A graffiti artist named “CRASH” has even had his work displayed in art museums.
Still, building owners are not always happy when the sometimes indecipherable markings adorn their walls; and the City would like to see the urban canvas wiped clean. To help continue its efforts, the City has invested in 23 new vans dedicated to the “graffiti-free” initiative enacted by former Mayor Guiliani. “The Bloomberg administration’s successful efforts to combat New York City’s seemingly intractible graffiti problem has helped make the City a better place to live and do business in all five boroughs,” said Giovanni Taffa, head of the Graffiti-Free New York operation.
For no charge, a graffitied wall will be repainted or power-washed. All it takes is a call to 311 and filling out a form. In 2007, the 62nd precinct, which includes Gravesend, received the fourth highest number of graffiti complaints. There are more than 30 graffiti clean-ups pending in the area since the middle of October last year.
Despite the City’s actions, it is hard to imagine a completely “graffiti-free” city. Not just because of the logistics, but also what an unmarked city would be like. There is something so NYC about graffiti; the different forms it takes, different styles, the new pieces constantly popping up and the images that have never faded. For five decades paint has covered the City. Graffiti artists will no doubt continue to paint the town red, and every other color of the rainbow.
The housing market in the country is still reeling from the subprime loan fiasco. NYC, though, is a real estate world all its own. There is construction for luxury apartments,coops and condos sprouting from the concrete like bamboo. If there is space someone will build certain that someone will cough up the dough to live there.Space is just as precious here. Construction of what workers say will be condominiums is currently taking place in what appears to be an undesirable location. Located on a corner lot, these homes will hear the thundering of the elevated F train, steps away from the Neptune Avenue stop. There is a unhindered view of the Belt Parkway on the horizon of the second story window. Gravesend bay, accross the street, is currently being dredged and clean, men and machinery buzzing about.”It’s noisy, but it will be really nice,” said a worker on the building. He hit nail on the parquay floor. Gravesend homes sell for nearly twice the price of homes in nearby Coney Island. And according to Trulia, sales in Gravesend have far outpaced those in the four surrounding neighborhood from Nov. ‘07 - Jan. ‘08.Gravesend, Brooklyn, a largely residential community, many homes are also recieving face lifts. And much like homes built in the 1970’s have a noticible style, Gravesend is seeing a trend in home design. The drab brick is transforming into a more modern look, reminicent of large suburban homes, with smooth outer walls, lighter and softer colors, and embellishments of columns and window dressing. There are even homes built on several lots, mansion-like in appearance.It remains to be seen if sales in Gravesend will slump, but for now look for construction workers, masons and smiling real estate agents.
    Betty Hinton has eight adopted children, ranging in age from nine to 27. Her personal as well as professional life focuses on providing homes for children who do not have one. Ms. Hinton works for You Gotta Believe!, a not-for-profit organization that specializes in finding homes for the children of the NYC foster care system age 10 and up.
    Ms. Hinton speaks to prospective parents and can provide them with personal wisdom of what it means to bring a child into your home. Though she reminds them that “nothing can prepare you for actually parenting, hands-on is where you learn”.
    At 28 when Ms. Hinton adopted her first son, she describes a feeling of excitement. A teacher at the time, she thought that she was going to do great things, “make such a difference in their lives”.
She would buy gift after gift in an effort to make up for all that her son had missed out on. She recieved a phone call from his teacher one day informing her that he had been giving away his belongings to the other children.
    It was at this moment that she learned an important lesson. The material possessions did not matter to him. She learned that nothing she buys will make up for the past, nothing can. All she could do was be there for him. “I’m still gonna be here”, she said. That was what he needed. Now at 27, she still is there for him, she is still mom - to him and 7 others.
 
 picture by pierpaulopasolini, flickr.com
The first Congress of Curious Peoples will begin friday April 13 at Coney Island with “superfreak weekend”. Coney Island has a long history of sideshows including sword-swallowers, fire-eaters, tattooed bodies, and bearded ladies. Unknown to many is that there also exists a sideshow school where anyone can learn how to be a sideshow freak or burlesque dancer! The event will take place at the Sideshow by the Seashore at the Coney Island Amusement Park through April 22, ending with an alumni show featuring performers who worked at the sideshow from the mid 1980’s on.
The building of a new waste transfer station is in the works at 1824 Shore Parkway, by Gravesend Bay. In order to deepen the bay for the barges that would haul trash away, the Bay must be dregded. This has caused concern due to the toxicity of the gunk resting peacefully for now at the bottom of the bay. The sediment contains potentially harmful levels of lead and mercury according to a recent report. Disturbing the sediment may pose a threat to animals, and the humans who eat fish from the bay. State Representitive Jerrold Nadler and Assemblymen William Colten are paying close attention to the dangers and concerns of their constituents. The Department of Sanitation is moving ahead with the plan.
 This city is a place of motion and emotion. It inspires within us excitement, anticipation, thrill, and fear. But like any other place one lives, the tasks and often repetitive duties of daily life can dull our senses. We must remember that every neighborhood, every day presents us with the opportunity to indulge in that which makes us human… the rollercoaster of emotions.  We must remind ourselves to enjoy what is around us now, for change is constant, often surprising, and sometimes heartbreaking.  Â
  There was a woman in Coney Island who had a constant reminder of this overhead. She fell in love with a man and with him lived beneath the thunderous vibrations of a rollercoaster winding above her home…literally.  Check out her story. coaster-home                                                                              Â
Coney Island was once a magical destination for many city dwellers. A train ride leading to a vacation from city life. Visitors would enter a lively world of amusement park rides, “freak shows”, the sunny beach and crashing ocean. And of course, the booths where a prize could be won, a souveneir of the day. All of these attractions remain, but it seems much of the magic has been lost to time. Watch this film short about one man’s Coney Island struggle…
Coney
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