Gate Thief Strikes Twice in Broad Daylight

Man, I would be so pissed!

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 9:47 AM

Everyday I live in Brooklyn, the thought: "Man, New Yorkers SUCK!" gets louder in my head. I think it's time to move back to civilization...good riddance!

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 9:56 AM

Another gate was stolen on Cambridge just south of Greene a couple days ago. After the house facade had been completely restored. Lowlifes.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 10:00 AM

This happens a lot in my neighborhood. I've heard they take them to sell for scrap metal. A real shame. My neighbors on either side have had their gates stolen. Don't know why they didn't take ours, but as soon as we heard about the neighbors, we chained our gate to the fence.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 10:01 AM

Crackheads can turn anything into crack.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 10:02 AM

Agreed with the reselling to rich comment.

Im calling my iron worker today!

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 10:05 AM

These gates are often sold to antique dealers. Comb the local shops, Craigslist, etc. It is more valuable as an antique than as scrap metal. Start with "Good Olde Things" and spread out from there. When you find it, just buy it back. Re-attach it with a collar over the hinge so they can't take it again.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 10:14 AM

You think thats bad - the whole of the 1800s greenpoint rope factory was burnt down because some polish guy was trying to get 10 bucks from the copper he was burning the insulation off of.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 10:21 AM

"Everyday I live in Brooklyn, the thought: "Man, New Yorkers SUCK!" gets louder in my head. I think it's time to move back to civilization...good riddance!"

I think this should be the comment of the day. So ignorant. As if nothing gets stolen outside Brooklyn.

We have friends now living in Phoenix, Arizona and they tell us that everything that is not chained to the house gets stolen. They've even had their outdoor patio set taken!!

And they live in one of those perfect little cookie cutter subdivisions.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 10:34 AM

i think 9:56 had his brain stolen

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 10:37 AM

Friend of mine had his window smashed on seigel st in bushwick opposite the yuppie mart on Friday. Car was there for 2-3 hours,and there were lots of people there.

reminds me of the 80s.

50% pricechop coming

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 10:44 AM

Sounds more like the 70s than the 80s.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 10:47 AM

The worst housing decline in the history of NYC was housing drops of between 15-25%.

Those hoping for 50% are slightly out of touch with reality.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 10:54 AM

How about decorative poison ivy plantings? It's a lovely looking plant. Granted, it might take bad guys a while to figure out their lust for ironwork got em itchy instead of the crack whore they hang out with, but either way, it works.

Years back there was an elderly neighbor with lovely roses which were often stolen. She laid on axle grease with a generous hand, completely covering her iron work fence with black goo. Although it appeared invisible, it really messed up clothes. That worked.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 10:56 AM

"The worst housing decline in the history of NYC was housing drops of between 15-25%."

Yes, but NYC never saw such "out of touch with reality" price increases as have been seen in recent years.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:00 AM

"Yes, but NYC never saw such "out of touch with reality" price increases as have been seen in recent years."

New York also never saw such a sharp decline in crime and rapid rise in quality of life in such a short time. New York is a totally different city in terms of schools, raising kids, urban parkland renewal, etc than it was 25 years ago.

You haven't been here very long, have you...?

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:18 AM

"You haven't been here very long, have you...?"

Born and raised here. Your point?

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:24 AM

i agree with you 11:18. i believe nyc was extremely undervalued for many, many years.

i remember even 10 years ago, san francisco was a lot more pricey than nyc. to rent and to own. now that new york has cleaned itself up, the prices went up. makes sense to me. for a world class city (which it is, whether you want to admit it or not) it's still a bargain.

i don't know why people don't take that into consideration in their thought process. it's like those who just ignore the fact that gas has been $9 a gallon in europe for YEARS! it's about time the u.s. catches up with the rest of the civilized world.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:24 AM

My point is that I believe New York should be comparably priced to places like Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, Zurich, Sydney, Moscow and Dubai.

And it's still cheaper than most of those places.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:27 AM

Well, perhaps your beliefs are misguided.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:29 AM

11:27 - When you say New York, I assume you mean Manhattan, right?

You don't really think that Brooklyn should be priced like Tokyo, do you?

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:31 AM

Here is something I've noticed about New York (and especially Brooklyn...)

A lot of newcomers to NYC seem to think of New York as one of the capitals of the world, love what this city stands for and seem to have been able to embrace and love it...and this purchase property here for what some consider huge prices.

It's those who have lived here a long time (perhaps even born here) who are very down on the city and seem to think that you should be able to buy a house in Park Slope for 200K.

The ironic part is that us newcomers are bashed for gentrifying these places, but we are sometimes the ones who love it here even more than those here for 40 years. I can't tell you how many of my 75 year old neighbors talk about Brooklyn as if it's Beirut in 1981.

It's those of us who love it who are willing to pay for it. It's not my problem that a lot of longtimers don't have pride in where they live anymore. You old folks are starting to sound like those in Philadelphia. Brooklyn will never be anything...blah blah blah

Well it is something. And to many of us, it's something really special.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:33 AM

Nope, I meant New York.

I didn't single out specific areas of Tokyo or Dubai. Those are cities with expensive areas and not as expensive areas. Just like New York.

And btw, after just having come back from a trip to Tokyo not long ago, I can tell you that the youth there are OBSESSED with Brooklyn. You need to open your eyes a little bit. What makes NYC so special are all 5 boroughs. Just like what makes London so special is the huge area of neighborhoods it is made up of. London is not just the West End.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:35 AM

As well they should be, no?

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:38 AM

It is quite obvious from many of these posts like 11:31 that they've never been anywhere outside the U.S.

I'm not criticizing that, but it's painfully obvious how ignorant some people here are about other cities and countries.

I know I'm blessed to be able to travel, but I would not talk about places I did not know about as if I'm an expert.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:38 AM

11:35...Did you see this?...it's from the Brooklyn branding article...

"The name has, so far, been a powerhouse. Carolyn Greer, who works in the borough president’s office, said she had been swarmed by teenagers at a trade show in Japan. “They said, ‘Bedford ... Avenue,’ ” Ms. Greer said. “ ‘Williams ... burg.’ ”

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:40 AM

Nevertheless, a customer who ordered a “Brooklyn” at a Court Street Starbucks after the branding panel soon received a vanilla and caramel Frappuccino, cold and sweet. But the Brooklyn buzz ended there.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:42 AM

Growing up in Greenwich, Ct, I had my bike stolen twice.

God that place is such a ghetto.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:51 AM

Steel and aluminum = scrap metal, a good revenue source.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:52 AM

Demographic boom could revive US housing market

Harvard demographic studies are showing signs of how the housing market's crash could end. The growing population will fuel demand for housing, the study by the Join Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University found. Single-person households are the fastest growing market, as more people get married later and divorce more. Meanwhile, new developments have been sharply reduced, restricting supply. The Northeast could see signs of the turnaround as early as spring 2009. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of U.S. households will grow by more than 1.4 million a year, the study showed.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:52 AM

Yet another stupid post from Dave, not contributing at all to the conversation.

(lets watch his retort saying my post also

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:55 AM

.....contributes nothing.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 11:55 AM

The comments on price decay make no sense. Prices are only a pure function of supply and demand in a financial vacuum; in reality, i.e., in a society that sentimentalizes home ownership, and thus subsidizes it, they're determined by the cost and availability of credit. Recent years saw a massive distortion of prices in the housing market NOT principally because of housing demand but because of massive international demand for dollar denominated debt. Granted, the misery index in NYC has declined (as it has nationally), and crime is in secular trough. Now --given that Wall Street does not know what product it will sell next; that no one knows if American banks are properly capitalized; Bernanke does not know whether he is fighting inflation or recession; that no two economist/sociologists agree why crime fell off; given all this, who is the genius on an anonymous RE blog who knows what happens next? The logic seems to be: prices have to go up because I own! Prices have to go down because I rent!

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 12:00 PM

Whether the market is tanking or not, all I know is that I just sold my 1 bedroom for a HELL of a lot more than I paid for it.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 12:09 PM

Y'all are just hilarious...

This is just a throwback to crimes from 20-30 years ago.

Remember when:

1) Gates were stolen off the front of houses?
2) Hubcaps were stolen from cars and resold to the auto supply shops that used to line Atlantic Avenue?
3) Car stereos were stolen out of cars and resold on Grand Ave?
4) Garbage cans were stolen so everyone wrote their address on them in giant letters?
5) Purses were snatched?
6) Chain snatchers worked every subway station from 42nd Street to Far Rock?
7) Lee patches were stolen off of kids jeans to be resewn on non-stylish jeans?

Crime like everything else goes through trends. This too shall pass

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 12:25 PM

"It's those who have lived here a long time (perhaps even born here) who are very down on the city and seem to think that you should be able to buy a house in Park Slope for 200K."

I think it's the ones who left early when Brooklyn was like Beruit who are down. Why? because they know they left way too early.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 12:28 PM

I hate to say it, but people who have lived in Brooklyn all these years and rented...they are now so bitter because they've seen what happened. And they take out their envy by saying what a sh*thole Brooklyn is. When you own a home, it forces you to take pride in your neighborhood. For better or worse. It's like a marriage.

It's not for everyone, but those who are lifelong singletons have the same bitter feelings that many lifelong renters have. They feel as though they missed out....

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 12:33 PM

i've found that to be true also, 12:33...people i know who own seem more likely to love where they live...that's why the areas of brooklyn with the highest concentration of owners are more solid neighborhoods and the areas with higher rental rates are not as nice.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 12:36 PM

love you like a ball and chain

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 12:47 PM

Hey 9:56 - you have the right idea! Tell your friends!

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 1:26 PM

I think they were stolen by dog owners looking for more places to let their dogs "wander" into...

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 1:29 PM

"The worst housing decline in the history of NYC was housing drops of between 15-25%.

Those hoping for 50% are slightly out of touch with reality."

Sorry buddy. 15-25% is the worst on record. The Great Depression brought much higher drops. We havn't had a negative savings rate since then (De Javu). Over the same amount of time, -50% (especially considering rising interest rates and rising unemployment) is just as unrealisitic as +200%.

RIP cheap, easy credit.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 1:30 PM

"New York also never saw such a sharp decline in crime and rapid rise in quality of life in such a short time."

The economy giveth. The economy taketh.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 1:33 PM

1:33...

The crime rate was going down sharply WAY BEFORE the economy came back to life post 2001.

Another newbie who does not know about NYC history.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 1:35 PM

In case anyone is wondering, the NYC economy shed more jobs in the recession of 2001 and things were much worse off then, than they are now. So far...

So for all those predicting the end of the world, did NYC not make it post 2001??

Some of you doomsayers are just so ignorant it's sad. READ a book and learn something about your city!

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 1:39 PM

Gee 12.54, did you think that up all by yourself? Brilliant retort. How incisive! We’ve missed your mind numbingly stupid predictions, thanks for sharing today. Stop trying to pass off your idiot non-sequiturs as genius. It just makes you all the more laughable.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 1:45 PM

I love Brooklyn. I really do. But you people REALLY need to open your horizons, read more newpapers, travel to more places and learn about new cultures. It won't make you sound so freakin stupid.

I know you might find this difficult to believe, but some of us (I'm a brownstone owner in Park Slope) WELCOME prices coming down. It will only infuse a more interesting and artistic crowd into the neighborhood.

Seeing as I bought my house for pennies for what it's worth now, I will be fine with the 2 million dollars in appreciation, since I have no plans to move.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 1:50 PM

No, 1:35. The economic expansion began in the 80's, not 2001. It took a breather with the early 90's recession but definitely contributed (as a complement to Dinkins and/or Giuliani) to the longer term (not really sharp) drop in crime rate. It's been one bubble after another. Don't just count the housing bubble.

No, 1:39. Things were not much worse in the 2001 "recession". Household ownership in the stock market was less than 50%. Household ownership in homes has been far greater than 50%. Back then, we had a liquidity crisis that was saved by the housing bubble (home prices only go up!). Now, we have a solvency crisis. Now, we have stagflation. Where's the next bubble to save us? Why all these Federal, State and local efforts to help out homeowners (none of this was present in 2001)? Times are worse now.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 2:07 PM

1:50 I also own a brownstone and agree with you (I bought three years ago). My only worry is that rents will fall (although they've appreciated so much over the last couple of years that it wouldn't be that big of a deal if they came down 20-30% anyway).

Would be nice to see prices fall honestly for the same reasons you mentioned (also maybe I could buy another one). I have some friends looking to buy and let me tell you money is very hard to come by these days. And if you can get a bank to give you money it will be at a very high rate.

Anyway I think maybe partially one of the reasons these multi-family brownstones have/will attain their value is that the rents have gone up a good amount (making one's loan a bit easier to carry), and I don't think rents will go down. That and of course the very limited supply of them.

Condos are obviously a bit more volatile and I do expect some kind of correction in that market as supply does seem to be dramatically increasing (that coupled with the scarcity of credit).

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 2:08 PM

Well if more and more people choose to rent instead of buy, that means rents will go up significantly because of increased demand and decreased supply.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 2:19 PM

@ Swell City.

Try Vinnie at Iron Works 718.875.1362.

He put up a fence and old-school gate, which, thanks to the post, I need to chain down.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 2:49 PM

12:33: I think you pissed off teh t'What. Good move!

So when is the war going to end, t'What? 2013?! Or is that when you will be getting back out of prison. (If you would just stop being a tranny hooker on Classon and Fulton and selling drugs at Putnam and Grand, you could actually get a job.)

Has the repo man come to get your car yet, t'What?

The war is over. You lost. Get out.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 2:55 PM

yeah, the what doesn't like facts

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 2:58 PM

I noticed the other day that the scrap metal guy on 15th Street in Gowanus has a big selection of iron gates... Every neighborhood in BK has one of these scrap dealers. Just follow the shopping cart guys. That's where your gate is now or...
MAYBE IT WILL BE FOR SALE AT THE BROOKLYN FEA THIS SUNDAY!!!!!

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 3:38 PM

t'What, answer the questions posed to you. If you can't answer, get out.

When is the meltdown, t'What? Give us a day, a month or even a year. Then, when you are wrong, we can chase you out of town.

Repo man is coming t'What. Go check to see if your car is still there.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 4:39 PM

shedding jobs on wall street to make way for a more diverse economy is THE BEST THING POSSIBLE FOR THE CITY.

just goes to show what an idiot the what is.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 5:02 PM

OK, t'What. If the world does not come to an end by December 21, 2008 - the official end of fall, you will have been wrong and you will be laughed out of town. Good luck.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 5:53 PM

My vintage gate was stolen on Gates Avenue @ Cambridge at midnight on June 19. I was leaving for a holiday and a Hispanic guy was watching me pack my stuff in the car and he was making weird comments to me. I should have paid more attention to him. My two neighbors on Cambridge also had their gates stolen that same night. I called the police @ 88 precinct to report it and they acted like they never heard of a gate being stolen...then I find out today that 2 other homes were robbed of their gates...the police did not want to share that info with me. They know they should be watching our streets! They are too busy giving tickets during the day for alternate side of the street parking or U-turns and overlook the junkies on Fulton Street. I since found out the thugs who are stealing the gates are 4 Hispanic guys. One of them was arrested last week for stealing planters and they were released by the precinct. I went to the scrap metal place on 6th Street between 3rd & 2nd Ave. Guess what...a line of junkies with their carts getting like $6 for their metal. My iron gate that was attached to my house for 100 years is in a heap of scrap. I told the cops about my scrap metal experience. THEY DO NOT CARE. Cops do not care about the residents. I had my car vandalized last week, my planter stolen by a neighbor and my doormat also stolen. The smart thing to do is to SELL my home and move to CIVILIZATION upstate. People in this neighborhood live like ANIMALS. They take what they want and have a ZERO CONSCIOUS. I spoke to detective Donahue @ 88 Precinct who said I should go to the community meetings in Clinton Hill. Ha! Let the residents chat and blog about it as the cops sit in their cars doing NOTHING. Great city.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 6:19 PM

Miss Sweetie, aka the t'What.

"When is the meltdown, t'What? Give us a day, a month or even a year. Then, when you are wrong, we can chase you out of town."

Make up your mind ...

"After the Olympics, Asshat"
"My guess also is after the Democratic Convention"
"My guess is abound the Fall, when a MAJOR bank goes Ka-Boom! Citibank, WAMU, Wachovia or just take your pick. These institutions are insolvent, Asshats"
"Nope Asshat, My bet is for January 21, 2009."

Obviously you don't even understand t'what you mean by the meltdown. If every piece of bad financial news is a meltdown, then you are crazier than anyone could imagine.

You have no credibility.

The war is over. You are the asshat. Get out. (And stop stealing people's gates to make a living. Ghetto ass punk bitch)

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 7:31 PM

6:19 is right.
i paid 40 bucks for a 10'run of vintage gate,to 2 hustlers on the scrap metal line at 6th st. Go there for your gates!

Posted by: guest at June 24, 2008 12:49 AM

Hello 1:39

"In case anyone is wondering, the NYC economy shed more jobs in the recession of 2001 and things were much worse off then, than they are now. So far..."

"So for all those predicting the end of the world, did NYC not make it post 2001??"

It's your city memory that is failing you, we made it out of the 2001 recession with free cash to fuel the real estate bubble, now the recession wants it's payback with interest.

Posted by: guest at June 24, 2008 12:50 AM