What You See in Sunset Park: Art and Eternal Hope for Curbing

Someone wants to help give the trees recently planted outside a coop building by the park a fighting chance. There's another one around the corner that says POOP KILLS. Personally, I like this one for the steaming poop under a blue, blue sky.

Center for Family Life Counselors-in-Training Attack Environmental Racism and Dog Doo

As I crossed 4th Avenue to head to the library, I noticed this flyer stapled to a tree directly outside the library. Since the poster below it is much flashier, I am pretty sure I'm one of the few people who actually read this typed missive. (You can enlarge the photo by clicking on it if you want to read it in its entirety.)

Brought to us by the Counselors-in-Training at the Center for Family Life, it invites news agencies to "experience our community projects about Environmental Racism in Sunset Park." It could be a response to the recent news about Astoria PowerGen's South Pier Improvement Project, but I doubt it. Supposedly, the project is to lessen the impact on Sunset Park. We'll see.

While there are a lot of issues under the umbrella of Environmental Racism, this flyer focuses on "litter and dog poop on our streets!" The flyer goes on to say that the people organizing this project believe that other neighborhoods receive more funding and more attention to a clean and safe environment, presumable from our elected officials. But this is no "We're victims and we want someone else to change it" group. These folks have created a project that will hopefully show the community residents AND their elected officials that we deserve just as much clean air, poop-free sidewalks, and litter-free everything as our northern and southern neighbors.

from the flyer:

As of April 13th, 2009, you are invited to notice our community projects around Sunset Park:
* We have hung signs to invite dog owners to use the provided plastic bags to pick up after their dogs. Please help us continue to fill the containers with plastic bags.
* We have decorated garbage cans so people can happily throw away their garbage!
* We have hung up art projects in the subway stations that show differences between our beloved neighborhood, Sunset Park, and our neighbor Park Slope.

It continues with a call to action that includes picking up trash, putting aside differences, and working together. Below you can see one of their projects. Indeed, there are plastic bags to be had in the container. It doesn't specify that it's dog poop that they are after, but maybe that's just as well considering what I've seen in the park. (Don't click on that link unless you want to see what you're probably thinking is there.)



Also, I think they may have been referring to campylobacteriosis, and not camplobacteriosis. It does cause fever, but I haven't seen the threat of meningitis...just the threat of other very unpleasant effects. But even without the threat of long days on the potty, poop - or doo doo - is gross and should be picked up whether it's human, canine, or fowl.

If anyone sees other projects by this group, take a photo if you get a chance and send it to bestviewinbrooklyn@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

Guest Post: Responding to Dog Poop

This comes from one of my daily stops in the world of blogs, and she's also a neighbor. Instead of just whining about careless or apathetic dog owners, she shares a couple of ways that her corner of Sunset Park deals with its frustration and annoyance towards this scourge on our sidewalks. Enjoy.

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One problem we have in our little corner of Brooklyn is that dog owners don't always pick up their dog's poop. They leave it smack in the middle of the sidewalk so we have to maneuver our way with great care as we hike it around the neighborhood. I forget how much the fine is for it, I think $200 if caught. And people still do it!

Often.

It turns out this causes a bit of annoyance with many residents. I feel empathy, the few times it has happened in front of our house I have been a tad huffy myself. Also one time Sophia and I also watched from across the street as a lady looked around after her dog pooped on the sidewalk. It was obvious she was going to jet outta there, we made eye contact (accidentally on her part I'm sure) and then she whirled around and took off at a brisk pace the other direction. "Hey!", I yelled, "that's gross! Pick that up!" (I couldn't help it, the anger overpowered me.) The funny part of this story is that it turns out she lives close to me and since the incident we pass each other all the time. I can tell she recognizes Sophia and I too, she won't make eye contact. Ha ha! Too bad she doesn't know that in addition to my verbal abuse I also called 311 on her and gave them a detailed description of her and her two dogs.

Anyway, here are a couple of examples in our neighborhood of other people who struggle with some pent up animosity toward lazy dog owners.

(The other side of the tree had another sign (also weather proofed of course) that said, "Smile, you're being video taped!")

Next up...

Imagine you're walking to the park on 2nd and 55th with Sophia doing the park sign the whole way and freaking out with excitement, but something catches your eye instead of the upcoming oh so exciting park. "Hmmm...what does that piece of wood all surrounded by dog poop say?", you may be asking yourself?

Well if you slowed down to take a closer look you'd read this...

I hope it helps, dear neighbor.

(But if not, I thank you anyway.)

42nd Street Trying to Keep it Clean

The 42nd Street block between 4th and 5th is doing its best to keep trash where it belongs. That's the block with the new-ish condo building (you know, the ones that caused 43rd Street backyards to sink during its construction?).

Well, the block has several signs in Spanish and English adorning trees (must you staple into them?) that politely request that you keep your trash in the containers meant for trash. They even remind you that there are trash receptacles on every street corner!

Personally, I think the owner of the pooch below gets the point across much more succinctly. It's also on 42nd Street.