You Guys Made "The Times" Again

Thanks to Paul Berger for name-checking Daily Heights in his New York Times article about the renegade anagram bandit who’s been messing with the marquee of the long-closed Flatbush Pavilion movie theater:

“David Collins, a tall, thin, 43-year-old father of two, was tired of seeing the marquee of the Flatbush Pavilion display the same film titles since it closed in May 2004. There’s only so much staring at “Van Helsing” and “Man on Fire” that a man can stand, especially when the titles appear on both sides of the marquee. So one night last month Mr. Collins, an investor relations consultant, lugged out his stepladder and took matters into his own hands. He climbed up and rearranged most of the letters to spell ‘Hanna Have Snail Venom For Ginseng Firm.'”

Huh. Wasn’t that “Ginseng Fern”? Ah, anyway…

It would have been simple for Paul to point out that Sarah broke the story of the “sign enhancement” right here on Dailyheights.com … but even better, Paul gave a shout out to the chatter in the Prospect Heights Message Boards:

“Indeed, the message boards at the Web log Dailyheights.com have been full of suggestions for alternative films and even rumors that the graffiti is part of a guerrilla marketing campaign. Last week, someone complained that Van Helsing should be returned, and Mr. Collins’s reply was swift. Within a couple of days, he turned the M upside down to form ‘Van Helsings AWOL in Iran.'”

“With enough letters to spell Miers, FEMA and Nagin, expect more topical offerings coming to this theater soon.”

Finally, this line is great:

“I thought if I changed it, it might make people think a bit more about their surroundings.”

It’s exactly the reason Dailyheights.com exists.

More Procrastination: Read the chatter in the Prospect Heights Message Boards.

James Caldwell Fact-Checks "The Opposition"

Bruce-signing.jpgThanks to anon_brooklyner for keeping his/her finger on the pulse of “The Community. The report comes from last week’s meeting of Community Board 8, featuring the ubiquitous and omnipresent Man Standing Behind Ratner (MSBR):

“James Caldwell told everyone to go to ‘his’ (i.e. about him) two new websites, dailyheights and nolandgrab. He claims some of the info on the site about him was wrong and that people should read what ‘the opposition’ is saying …

“… he rambled along, and said these websites have misinformation: ‘my wife was not sick, she had open heart surgery.’ and ‘I did not have a quad-bypass, i had a triple bypass.’ and ‘my brother did not die, it was my cousin.’ he also ranted about the usual stuff, but I was pleased to see that he didn’t get that much vocal support … the only person loudly clapping was, hmmm. Marie Louis [also of BUILD], although, I think she abstained from the vote on CB8’s comments about the draft EIS for the ratner site…”

What is this all about? Read the Prospect Heights Message Boards.

File Under: Bad Ideas That Will Go Nowhere

From the Daily News: “In Brooklyn, Anthony Herbert is running for the Fort Green/Prospect Heights district currently represented by Tish James. Herbert, who also has the Conservative line, launched the Central Brooklyn Republican Club last week, with the avowed goal of luring black Dems across party lines. Given the fact that 90% of blacks vote Democratic, Herbert will be lucky to match Yablon’s 14% performance.”

Discuss: Prospect Heights Message Boards

Time to Retire the "Hipster" Epithet

Godfather.jpgchippenziedeutch pontificates: “‘hipster’ is sooo 2003… Nowadays, it’s Whatever-You-Are-Currently-Into + ‘mafia’.”

Examples:

“I went to the Tea Lounge last night, but couldn’t get past the Toddler Mafia.

“Going to see the Portastatic and John Vanderslice show at Southpaw? It’s sure to be filled to the brim with the Horn-Rimmed Glasses Mafia.

“I stopped going to Great Lakes once it got overrun by the Hipster Mafia.[Please note acceptable use of “Hipster” in modern “Mafia” context – Ed]

“I went to 2 Toms for dinner last night. It’s an old standby for the Mafia Mafia.

SOURCE: chippenziedeutch in the Prospect Heights Message Boards

Fricking Rain

rain.jpgmetulj writes: “AGGGGGGHHHHHH! It’s like London without the bad food* and with cheaper rents — for now.”

Where is Tish James when you need her?

*Except for Indian. There’s some damn fine Indian food in London.
_________________

Sick to Death of This Rain [Prospect Heights Message Boards]

JoshB vs the Desperate Homebuyers

joshbFEABern.jpgOur friend joshb checks in: “got my little treatise about prospect heights and psychosis published in this week’s ny press…”:

Excerpts:

“My rent checks are addressed to a Caribbean gentleman with a toothy smile and a habit of praising God while bagging our recyclables. My landlord’s friendly, though prone to breaking repair promises: Nearly three years after moving in, our ceiling still flakes like cheap baklava. The crumbling paint is always a conversation starter…”

“A couple days later, I asked my landlord, point-blank, ‘You’re not thinking of selling the building, are you?’ ‘Oh, no, Andrew, I like you guys. You’ve got nothing to worry about.’ He smiled with teeth as bright as our flaking ceiling…”

Am I Prospect Heights? Perhaps. I frequently drink myself incorrigible. I refuse to wear deodorant. I’m prone to shouting at arthritic Hispanic women who block the sidewalk. It is not a glamorous neighborhood, but it is home, the security blanket against the big, bad city. So it is here where I draw the line, my own Alamo…”

Link: Going Postal [NY Press]

Discuss Desperate Homebuyers: Prospect Heights Message Boards

Caldwell Recalls Personal Details, Not Much Else

build-faithandprayer.jpg
Image: Develop Don’t Destroy

Captain M reports on Monday night’s 77th Precinct Community Council meeting: “I did not see Letitia … I did get see see James Caldwell speak, and it is my opinion he is a charlatan of the largest caliber …”

“He hijacked the beginning of the meeting to use it as his soapbox where he responded to ‘people talking in the neighborhood’ about how he is a racial divider, and talked about himself a lot:

1. He’s had a quaduple bypass
2. He served in the army for 6 years
3. He was proud to be wearing the American flag
4. His wife had recently been sick
5. Not ashamed to work for the community/get jobs for the community
6. He told us his birthdate

“He left some photocopies on all the chairs… one was a Daily News article from 1999 about the girl that got stabbed … James proceeds to talk about how he set up the candlelight vigil, how he talked to the mother … he dropped horrid detail about the crime that happened on ‘Park Avenue’ … all that and he forgets it’s Park Place?”

“He went on and on about how great the people were (at the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, which hosted the council meeting), how it was a great place for the community how his brother recovered from lung cancer there….and then he forgot the name of the place. People from the audience had to fill him in.”

“Then he waent to discuss a horrible shooting that occurred on Lincoln Place …He really pulls on the emotions of the crowd…but then he forgets the name of the kid that got shot…

“While other people were talking, James Caldwell could be seen talking on the phone, sorting through pictures, and at one point I thought he dozed off.”

“James invocates God a lot and gives up a LOT of personal information to gain support … I never thought he was a divider … I just wanted to hear what he had to say about taking $5 mil from Ratner.”

Full report: Prospect Heights Message Boards