Kosciuszko, meet Pulaski

I've seen plenty of photos of the old Kosciuszko passing under the new one and it sailing below the Brooklyn Bridge but George the Atheist had a pretty interesting perspective from the raised Pulaski Bridge and other vantage points. And the old photo at the top of his post looks 50 years old but it was only taken 4 years ago.

Someone drank the Hater-ade

Just wanted to bring your attention to this unintentionally hilarious article from Greenpointers that was meant to put me in my place. Choice excerpts are below:

Masbeth? Where the hell is that? Furthermore, Miss Heather never implied embezzlement and I never said that the boat club was paying one of their members to paint a mural. I said a member of the boat club was receiving money to paint a mural along Newtown Creek in Maspeth. Dear readers, guess where that money is coming from?

Okay. "As per a vote" the boathouse came in 3rd place. The mystery lies in how it pole-vaulted over its competition into first. Many feel that the outcome was predetermined and that the vote was just an exercise in futility. There are members of the Newtown Creek Alliance who were kept in the dark about the new proposed location of the boathouse - until Miss Heather posted it on her blog. Why is that?

The remaining $7? No. Not even the remaining $7M, which is what I assume they were trying to say. There was $7M LEFT after administrative fees were deducted and millions were given to NYSERDA for distribution. The $3M set aside for the boathouse came from THAT. They are basically sitting on half the pot of dough that was to be allocated for parks projects.

Geoggrey Croft? Holy mackerel.

What they tried to do with this blog post is really interesting: they tried to make this a matter of nasty bloggers vs. the angelic boat club and not what this is really about - a handful of people within not-for-profits in Brooklyn that seem to be procuring and kicking each other public money. A nauseating daisy chain of sorts.

The funny thing is that after you finish mentally correcting all the mistakes contained in that poorly written article, you quickly come to the conclusion that they did not refute anything that either Miss Heather or I wrote. So you gotta wonder what the point was.

It's entirely possible that the editor of Greenpointers (a Middle Village native that moved to Greenpoint, purchased Greenpointers, turned it into a blog whose content is quite pro-gentrification and then was dismayed when she could no longer afford to live there...she now lives in Ridgewood) was "preoccupied" while editing this sloppy piece. Why do I say that? Because she wrote a post on Valentine's Day letting the world know just how much she loves smoking marijuana.

This is the same person who applied for a ridiculous amount of environmental settlement funds to author a website about living healthy:

You can't make this shit up, folks.

I thought you would enjoy seeing the North Brooklyn Boat Club in action this past weekend:

Not much educating going on, but there's a bonfire, plenty of beverages and Lord knows what's going on in that sink.

I can see why this group should get $3M in environmental funds to build a clubhouse inside a hotel.

Mind you, the plans for the construction of the hotel have been stalled since December 2013.

Looking at this alley and knowing how much public money is being poured into it, doesn't it make you feel like you're living in Bizarro World?

If I'm a "hater" because I am sick of underhanded tweeding attempts that exploit communities and waste our tax dollars and have no problem making my feelings known, then I proudly accept the moniker. It certainly beats making excuses for the lack of transparency of the Commodore and his associates.

Thankfully, Curbed and its commenters see through the B.S.

Nautical homeless shelters on Newtown Creek

So Miss Heather took a walk on the Pulaski Bridge and spotted something interesting yet scary:

I was stunned at how many boats were moored, illegally I’ll add, on the Queens side of the creek. I have it on excellent intelligence that yes, some of these boats are being pressed into service as residences. Residences on Newtown Creek. Please take a moment to mull this one over, gentle readers.

Not only is it disgusting that people are basically sleeping on top of sewage and pollutants, but how does this go unnoticed in a post-9/11 NYC? Boats parked under bridges ... hello, Homeland Security?

Miss Heather visits 'Polish Paradise'

From NY Shitty:

For starters, this is without argument the largest pot hole yours truly has ever laid eyes upon.

Well then it sounds like a trip to Willets Point is in order. But seriously folks, how can a public area in NYC's 'next great neighborhood' be left in such condition?

LIC shitbox gets even shittier...

Courtesy of Restless:

...from the off-the-shelf Frankenstein look of its budget design, the building is going to turn a profit long before the Lackadaisically-built Haus, and its owner will be able to move so far away -- like a buccaneer whaler who sails away and leaves the stinking carcass on some stranger's beach -- that they never have to see it again.

I'm so jealous. I wish I could live in such a modern, well-designed building...right next to the glorious Pulaski Bridge.

You may recall this as Miss Heather's "art sucko" masterpiece.

Graffiti stencils and 'tree poop' on Pulaski Bridge

From the Restless:

The NYC DOT continues to do its best to run pedestrians off the Pulaski Bridge's only sidewalk. It was bad enough when the city turned the sidewalk into an official bike lane, but now -- in addition to more preschool illustrations and signage that promotes sharing... -- there's a thing in the turnout in the middle of the bridge that looks suspiciously like kids' playground equipment, below right. Or maybe the DOT wants to encourage lounging, and is going to install wi-fi and let a sidewalk waffle cart move in.

How can you expect people using a fast form of transport to slice safely through walkers, even if the biker is always calm and considerate? If all the decoration really works, why not let motorcycles use the sidewalk too? -- they're no wider than the shopping carts I've seen there.

Since it makes zero sense in any other way, the "bike lane" must be the result of a desire to connect the dots on the map of suburban bike lanes that cut through the Greed Belt of luxury condo towers along the Brooklyn / Queens waterfront.

How much has the DOT spent on this propaganda exercise? Why doesn't it quit insulting Pulaski pedestrians and go prettify, say, the Greenpoint Ave. Bridge (below right), further up Newtown Creek? Not enough luxury condos up there?

Wait, there's more to this insanity...From Miss Heather:

My buddy Bitchcakes (who took the above photograph) writes in an email entitled “UGH”:

>>>Have you seen this craptacular mess on the Pulaski Bridge? I don’t know when it went up, but I saw it today and I HATE IT!!!!!<<<

To answer your question, yes I have seen this “craptacular mess”. It would appear a number of people have. Many have questions about it, but few seem to like it.

Bicyclists and pedestrians should not mix

From New York Shitty:

On the LIC side, at least (I’m not sure about the Greenpoint side…I’m a terrible reporter*), there are pictographs indicating that the bridge is to be used by pedestrians… and mushroom headed bicyclists…

Confusingly, they’ve left the signs up telling people to dismount their bikes. I feel my head is about to explode. Who is the genius that came up with this idea? Are things really clearer now?

(I'm sure they will dismount. They always do...)

Pulaski Bridge to go under the knife

By Ben Muessig, The Brooklyn Paper

You might want to avoid the Pulaski Bridge starting on Monday when the Greenpoint-to-Long Island City span gets a make-over.

Next week, workers will begin removing the upper layer of asphalt on the southbound lanes, the first step before hardhats fix the bridge’s grating and then lay down new asphalt surface.

The process will force the closure of two of the bridge’s southbound lanes every day between 9 am and 6 pm until Sept. 11.

While work is ongoing, flagmen will be on hand to direct traffic, according to a Department of Transportation statement.

Exploring DUPBO

Join the Newtown Pentacle in examining the Pulaski Bridge:

It is the first bridge one encounters when entering the Newtown Creek, and it is oriented on a north south vector over the aqueous surface. It connects fabled Greenpoint in Brooklyn to the tangle and enigma of Long Island City in Queens. McGuinness Boulevard approaches the bridge from the south and Eleventh Street from the north. It has two 10.5m roadways divided by a concrete median barrier. It also carries a 2.7m pedestrian sidewalk. The bridge provides a channel with a horizontal clearance of 45.7m and a vertical clearance of 11.9m in the closed position at MHW and 13m MLW.

LIC condo wins design award

From Miss Heather:

Remember that phlegm-colored condominium a bong’s toss from the Pulaski Bridge in Long Island City called the L Haus? Well, I almost forgot about it. Thankfully we have Autumn Sol to thank for reminding us that this nondo-in-the-making received a very dubious distinction...

Since the Queens Plaza parking garage is gone, L Haus may be the winner after all!

Cyclists causing problem for walkers on bridge path

From the Daily News:

Pamela Smith of Greenpoint looks over her shoulder when she walks over the Pulaski Bridge - but the hit man she fears is no thug or hired gun.

“I’m fearful of getting hit by a cyclist,” said Smith, 53, who has walked over the bridge to get to the No. 7 line in Long Island City — and her print job in Manhattan — since 1989.

With conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists now common on the bridge, riders and community leaders from Queens and Brooklyn are joining forces to urge city officials to address the “dangerous” situation.

Cyclists are supposed to dismount and walk their bikes along the narrow pedestrian walkway — or ride with traffic.

But since the traffic lanes don’t have a shoulder, all but the most courageous cyclists opt for the pedestrian pathway, an important link to the No. 7 line for Williamsburg and Greenpoint residents.