The Q at Parkside

(for those for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain)

News and Nonsense from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Lefferts and environs, or more specifically a neighborhood once known as Melrose Park. Sometimes called Lefferts Gardens. Or Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Or PLG. Or North Flatbush. Or Caledonia (west of Ocean). Or West Pigtown. Across From Park Slope. Under Crown Heights. Near Drummer's Grove. The Side of the Park With the McDonalds. Jackie Robinson Town. Home of Lefferts Manor. West Wingate. Near Kings County Hospital. Or if you're coming from the airport in taxi, maybe just Flatbush is best.

Monday, April 18, 2011

"Street Trash" Shaking in Shoes as April 30th Approaches

The first big event of the season is upon us. The posters have arrived on Flatbush Avenue, so strap on your seat belts...this neighborhood's fixin' to clean!


For those of you new to the story, anger has reached the boiling point over illegal dumping, particularly along Flatbush at intersections, but also all over our Jekyll and Hyde 'hood. More background over on HawthorneStreetBlog. Warning - that link is not for the weak of heart.

Your neighbor Carmen got mad as hell and she wasn't going to take it anymore. So she got elected officials and news crews together and started making a major stink (pardon the expression). Then sister Skei got involved, and she's encouraging all of PLG (and to my mind all of Caledonian Flatbush as well) to join with neighbors for a day of poop-scooping, litter tossing, and general beautification. By the way, I'm pretty sure it was Seth over at PLOG that came up with that "Place Litter and Garbage where they belong" saying. Pretty catchy, no? (me, I probably would have said Place Litter and Garbage and Combustibles where they belong, so there's be a letter standing in for Caledonia, but that's my cross to bear on this Passover eve).

You know, it was almost a year ago that I started this here blog along similar lines. We did a block beautification day, after the City finally planted a couple dozen new trees after years of playing the squeaky wheel. My wife and I wanted the folks on the block to know that the bad guys don't always win, and that while we're a diverse crowd, 99% of us believe in the same things - a clean and friendly neighborhood where the GDP is low (guns, drugs and prostitution) and the SRT is high (sweetness, respect and tree-y-ness). We don't need Cortelyou-style bistros, Ft. Greene-style housing costs, or Park Slope-style ParkSlopeynes. Safe, clean and respectful will do.

And to Carmen and Skei, we say: SEE YOU ON THE 30TH!!!

4 comments:

PLOG said...

Thanks to Skei for creating this event! And you don't give yourself enough credit, Tim. First I suggested

P ick Up Your
L itter and
G arbage

and then you finessed it into that slogan on the poster. So it was actually the combined power of PLOG and Q at Parkside that came up with that!

Clarkson FlatBed said...

Ah yes, Master PLOG. I recall now. And thanks for reminding me that Sister Skei was the event creator - I updated the post accordingly.

Carmen said...

Looking forward to working with our community members to keep our 'hood clean. Thanks for putting the word out, Tim!

Skei said...

Thanks so much Tim!! this is great! And we also have another amazing collaborator- Sheila!! Hopefully this will be some good momentum to carry us into a great spring, and even better summer!!
See you all there!!