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February 18, 2009

Stereotyping Brooklyn Nabes and Missing the Point

You guys are going to have a field day with this one: Some recent arrival who writes about Brooklyn for the Hartford-based Examiner tries to ~~stereotype~~ summarize some of Brooklyn's neighborhoods (those that don't qualify as “places that scare me," that is; Cringe!). A few of our not-so-favorite out-takes:

Brooklyn Heights: "Basically a Manhattan neighborhood that happens to be on the other side of the river."
Windsor Terrace and Kensington: "The few ungentrified (read: affordable, or, in the words of a white friend who lives there, “no white people”) areas left in Brooklyn that are still somewhat downtown Manhattan accessible."
Clinton Hill: "Still affordable without being crappy."
Prospect Heights: "A no-man’s land between Park Slope and whatever lays beyond."
Crown Heights: "Blacks + Hasidic Jews + other = race riots."

Xenophobic much?
Getting to Know Your Brooklyn Neighborhoods [Examiner]
Photo by sept1

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Comments

hmm. i dont know. they are slightly true-ISH. i guess. ? sounds like a terrible article but he's not totally off the mark. it just depends on your pespective. what did he have to say about park slope?

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at February 18, 2009 10:06 AM

Sounds like the writer has really taken the time to get to know her new home. Great reporting!

Posted by: plgdude at February 18, 2009 10:08 AM

This Asshats is spot-on. This is what you retards are thinking all the time and thank you Brownstoner for posting this garbage. This what I rail against! So I hope the collapse of the MAB takes all you retards with it...

The What

Someday this war is gonna end...

Posted by: Return of The What at February 18, 2009 10:09 AM

This writer is a moron....how about these two sentences:

" As such, many areas are not well-equipped to the housing needs of today’s cosmopolitan residents. Unless you have the privilege of living in a brand new condo, expect some problems with utilities, roads, heating, power lines, structural integrity, vermin, and getting around with or without a car almost anywhere you live."

Ever driven through Hartford on Route 84 on the way to someplace that matters???? It's a pimple on the ass of Connecticut. With that insurance company business base it'll be a ghetto in a year.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 10:11 AM

not really racist, just poor writing. worst offense was boiling crown hts down to "race riots".

girlongrand should have a ball with this after her wackadoo racist rant yesterday.

Posted by: goldie at February 18, 2009 10:12 AM

What...whenever you talk about the retards it always brings back visions of "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest," with you in charge.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 10:12 AM

What an idiot.

Posted by: buttermilk channel at February 18, 2009 10:15 AM

goldie...I didn't see that...where was she ranting???

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 10:16 AM

She ranted at the end of the fort greene thread

Posted by: dittoburg at February 18, 2009 10:20 AM

Not racist, but a poor writer. Disagree. She is a poor writer because she makes no attempt to investigate what she is writing about. Oh and yes, very RACIST!

Posted by: BrooklynIsHome at February 18, 2009 10:20 AM

I was under impression those weren't "hasidic" jews in Crown Heights - but chabad-lubavitch.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at February 18, 2009 10:23 AM

OH, you mean this.....

i just want all the haters out there who are white to raise their hands. that is the true story on whether you like fort greene. most white people who live in park white slope, cobble cracker hill, boerum project hill or brooklyn whites, hate fort greene. too many colored people right, too many black artists, interesting people? if you hate us all, i am a black woman, why don't you leave the US because guess what, a BLACK man runs your country. sure we have problems, but our diversity is our strength and people get mugged every day on park avenue but you haters never ever mention it, why is that?

Posted by: girlongrand62 at February 17, 2009 10:02 PM

NICE!!! And well thought out too!!!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 10:24 AM

"As such, many areas are not well-equipped to the housing needs of today’s cosmopolitan residents. Unless you have the privilege of living in a brand new condo, expect some problems with utilities, roads, heating, power lines, structural integrity, vermin, and getting around with or without a car almost anywhere you live."

Yeah, because when I lived in Manhattan, I NEVER had issues with spotty TV reception, road repairs, power failures, mice, getting around with a car, etc. etc....

Posted by: Biff Champion at February 18, 2009 10:24 AM

Park Slope = "The yuppieland of Brooklyn after the internet-startup boom 10 years ago. All-terrain SUV-type strollers, moms in Burberry and Lululemon, and well-groomed purebreds take up the width of sidewalks."

Huh? Burberry?? (I dont even know what a Lululemon is) - sorry but this isnt Park Slope maybe:

Rich ultra liberals wearing horrible clothes is much closer to accurate - and BTW - DUMBO, B Heights and Cobble Hill are all likely wealthier and more "yuppied" than PS.

Posted by: fsrg at February 18, 2009 10:26 AM

Where's PropJoe when we need him to sort this Jewish stuff out.

I'm oftentimes so confused in Bed Stuy with so many churches that I've never even heard of I could be a different denomination every day and never get to attend all of them!!!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 10:26 AM

Sounds about right for Prospect Heights.

Posted by: tiptoe at February 18, 2009 10:28 AM

Here we go again.

Posted by: italiana71 at February 18, 2009 10:29 AM

I gained an appreciation for the journalistic integrity of this piece when I clicked on their website and saw another item entitled, "10 Things you need to know to be a Great MMA Fighter #3".

Posted by: Biff Champion at February 18, 2009 10:30 AM

AND NO MENTION EVEN OF BED STUY, PROBABLY THE MOST WELL RECOGNIZED NAME OUTSIDE NYC OF ANY BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOOD.

She was probably afraid to visit.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 10:30 AM

what's the real deal with gravesend...? my only experience there i had to go pick up an old school video game system from some woman who was selling her son's stuff who moved away a long time ago. i get there and it was HER mother with a bag standing outside. she was like, hey you better be careful, it's gotten pretty dangerous around here lately. it seemed fine. a pretty fugly area but not really and kinda cool. i think it was under an elevated train. it was waaaaaaaay out there. before heading back home i decided to stop in a bar for a drink and this woman behind the bar REFUSED to serve me. wtf? i asked for a drink and she flat out said NO! i was like okaaaaaay lady and left on my way.

then i see this site and see that houses in gravesend for like 4 million dollars sometimes? it's so far out there and it didnt seem all that pretty to me granted i was only walking around a few blocks. so what is the real deal with that neighborhood.

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at February 18, 2009 10:35 AM

rob...you should have threatened to call the police if she wouldn't serve you.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 10:43 AM

How about that caption:

"Brownstones are common in all neighborhoods of Brooklyn."

Posted by: infinitejester at February 18, 2009 10:44 AM

Bonnie's brief bio:

After a fancy education, Bonnie worked at and wrote for some fancy publications about this and that. Priced out of Manhattan, she washed ashore with other 20-something dreamers and settled in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Rewrite:

After a fancy education, Bonnie worked at and wrote for some fancy publications about this and that. Fed up with her drivel, she was fired from one paper to the next. Priced out of Manhattan, she washed ashore with other 20-something morons and settled in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn and leads a thankless life as a bitter enter.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 10:47 AM

no dave. i wasnt in the mood for a hissyfit in a strange far away neighborhood. ahhaha. plus i didnt think it was illegal for someone to not be served. isnt it always under the discretion of the bar tender?

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at February 18, 2009 10:48 AM

There are no white people in windsor terrace? wtf?

Posted by: northsloperenter at February 18, 2009 10:52 AM

What stereotype did you not fit for this place not to serve you???

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 10:53 AM

"isnt it always under the discretion of the bar tender?"

I think that's only if you are already stinking drunk.

Posted by: northsloperenter at February 18, 2009 10:53 AM

yeah!
what's with the "No white people in Windsor Terrace"?
I mean that whole nabe was and IS still mainly white
Ugh I HATE slacker writers!

Posted by: gemini10 at February 18, 2009 10:54 AM

Bonnie mentions Bed-Stuy in her review of 'Do The Right Thing'
Check out this gem... and click on her page to view more.
What a hack.

"My first exposure to Brooklyn was as a child watching Spike Lee’s 1989 movie, “Do the Right Thing,” and what an introduction it was. The action revolves around the stoop-sitters and storefronts on a single block in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a predominantly black neighborhood of Brooklyn, where tensions of all kinds run high in the sweltering summer heat. The camera work is jumpy and erratic, the characters bombastic and larger than life, the 80s fashion and hairstyles spectacular. It’s also a remarkably incisive, particular film about race, not running away with its difficult emotions but also not forsaking the smoldering anger that informs every scene. In short, it made me terrified of Brooklyn from an early age, and the experience of city blacks became at once more real and more alien to me."

Posted by: buttermilk channel at February 18, 2009 10:56 AM

"One day when I have a real paying job, I will live here."

it wont be as a writer.

in her article about spike lee's do the right thing, she says "Brooklyn native Spike Lee’s most acclaimed film is virtually unknown to most non-New Yorkers"

and it wont be a job as a researcher. or anything involving, well, doing actual work.

Posted by: goldie at February 18, 2009 10:57 AM

"In short, it made me terrified of Brooklyn from an early age, and the experience of city blacks became at once more real and more alien to me."

Please tell me this is satire!!

Posted by: Biff Champion at February 18, 2009 11:00 AM

Where'd she learn this journalistic style???? Lifetime, TV?

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 11:00 AM

"city blacks" one of the funniest phrases I've heard on here in a long time!!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 11:06 AM

I think this journalist is way too terrified of Brooklyn to have ever visited.
DIBS, why not invite her over for a nice Bourbon Presbyterian?

Posted by: sam at February 18, 2009 11:06 AM

Does anyone have a tel number of the Examiner so that we can all call and complaign. I find the article so offensive and racist. This woman should not be writing articles about a subject she knows nothing about.

Posted by: crownheights2007 at February 18, 2009 11:06 AM

Does anyone have a tel number of the Examiner so that we can all call and complain. I find the article so offensive and racist. This woman should not be writing articles about a subject she knows nothing about.

Posted by: crownheights2007 at February 18, 2009 11:06 AM

Does anyone have a tel number of the Examiner so that we can all call and compaign. I find the article so offensive and racist. This woman should not be writing articles about a subject she knows nothing about.

Posted by: crownheights2007 at February 18, 2009 11:06 AM

I almost knocked the wig of some Hasidic Yenta this morning on the train. How many times a day can one read the Bible without getting sick of it. I'll never understand these people. Again, I want to know if the kitty is shaved too

Posted by: PropJoe at February 18, 2009 11:07 AM

She's Asian so we might want to give her a pass on the racism....

She's not Filipino....

YOU KNOW YOU ARE JAPANESE IF...
1. You're obsessed with your hair, your car, and your clothes
2. You want to marry a Korean American or Chinese American woman
(males); or you want to marry a white guy (females).
3. You're afraid of black people.
4. You know you are superior to all other Asians.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE KOREAN IF...
1. You smoke and drink too much.
2. You've got a bottle of Kimchi in your fridge.
3. You're afraid of black people.
4. You know you are superior to all other Asians.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE CHINESE IF...
1. You think you're the smartest people in the world.
2. You have a pager and cellular phone with you at all times.
3. Today's steamed rice is tomorrow's fried rice.
4. You're afraid of black people.
5. You know you are superior to all other Asians.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE VIETNAMESE IF...
1. You eat at restaurants that have "Pho" on their signboards.
2. You have some relative who is Chinese.
3. You're afraid of black people.
4. You know you are superior to all other Asians.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE THAI IF...
1. People offer to pay you for sex.
2. No matter what you eat, it's not greasy or spicy enough.
3. You're not afraid of black people, cause in some cases you're
scarier than they are.
4. You know in your heart you'll never be superior to all other
Asians, but you've learned to live with it.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE MALAYSIAN IF ...
1. You don't believe anything the newspapers tell you, but would
never say so in public.
2. The whole world (and George Soros) is out to destroy you and your
country.
3. You would never admit to being afraid of black people, because it
might disrupt racial harmony.
4. You don't think you are superior to other Asians, but your food,
culture, english, humor, etc is.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE SINGAPOREAN IF ...
1. You eat, sleep, smile and have sex according to Government
policy.
2. You don't think Lee Kuan Yew is a facist dictator.
3. Government policy is that you shouldn't be afraid of black
people so you aren't.
4. You know you are superior to all other Asians, cause the
Government says so.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE FILIPINO IF...
1. You want to be a dancer, a singer, or an actor, even though you
have a job as a nurse, a security guard, or an accountant.
2. Some member of your family is a politician or a movie star.
3. You're not afraid of black people; in fact, you wish you were
black.
4. You don't care if you are superior to all other Asians or not,
because being Filipino is cool enough just by itself.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 11:07 AM

By the way, I almost knocked the wig off by accident. She kept staring at me. I think the woman didn't like a black man standing over her while she read her Holy Bible. Racist.

Posted by: PropJoe at February 18, 2009 11:08 AM

sam...I'll invite her over to one of the street picnics during the summer.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 11:08 AM

Maybe it was because you smelled, PropJoe.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 11:10 AM

"She kept staring at me"

Not that anyone cared, but it's clear PropJoe is lying because these ultra-religious Jewish women NEVER look another man in the eye.

NEVER.

Posted by: 11217 at February 18, 2009 11:13 AM

Too bad this writer never actually went to look at some of these neighborhoods. Did she really say there were no white people in nearly-all-white Windsor Terrace / Kensington? Or was that a typo?

Posted by: Paul C at February 18, 2009 11:24 AM

"I think the woman didn't like a black man standing over her while she read her Holy Bible. Racist."

You are not a black person.

Posted by: East New York at February 18, 2009 11:24 AM

DIBS - when did you decide that it was okay to post your racist "jokes" here? Cause it is not.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at February 18, 2009 11:25 AM

Lighten up, PD^^^^^^^^. It's essentially a thread about racism. If you can't see beyond real racism and see the humor in that then that's your problem.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 11:28 AM

She didn't have anything to say about Bay Ridge?!
Definitely a racist!

Posted by: bayridgegirl at February 18, 2009 11:32 AM

BRG...what is the racial makeup of BR?? The only vision I've so far been able to formulate from everything I've heard is that there are apparently a lot of trashy girls walking around in clear heels.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 11:35 AM

I think the lesson learned here is if you are a "journalist" or would like to be one, please refrain from writing any misinformed pieces about Brooklyn. The Brownstoner faithful will be on your ass.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at February 18, 2009 11:35 AM

Ech, horrible. What is the Examiner? Clearly not run by any editors with any journalism or life experience. I have never seen such a hack piece as this. Makes Hamptons Life and the neighborhood grocery circulars look like Woodward and Bernstein.

Posted by: mopar at February 18, 2009 11:40 AM

I must admit, at first I was upset at the way our neighborhoods were described and how poorly this article was written. As I read it twice and digested the contents, I actually feel sorry for the writer because she is totally clueless when it comes to the borough that she calls home and that is quite sad. There is more to Brooklyn than Carroll Gardens, perhaps she should make CG her subject until she is capable of writing about other nabes. She should try visiting and get a feel for the nabes and not rely on movies and old news clips.

Posted by: faithful at February 18, 2009 11:50 AM

Journalists these days have absolutely no credibility throughout most of the media. They will write articles like this peppering them with anecdotal incidents and conversations with people that never actually took place. A lot of "experiences" being used in this type of pithy filler is simply made up by the writer to embellish his or her story. Its all so obvious as well. Its as annoying as when the likes of Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera and Ann Curry put on a "stern" face and pedantically inform the public of something that they think is new news and you better pay attention to it.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 11:58 AM

Certain people simply shouldn't be writers. Our beloved Rob has admitted to living in Park Slope and never going to Prospect Park, I believe. I think he even said he hasn't been outside a 5-10 block radius or so from his apartment. How can you have lived on 5th Avenue and never taken a 20 minute walk over to Smith Street?? I don't know, but I digress.

Some people just don't seem to want to know about their neighborhood or about Brooklyn.

And that's TOTALLY cool...but they shouldn't be writers!!!!!

Posted by: 11217 at February 18, 2009 12:01 PM

I think we may be over-reacting to this little article. It was obviously meant to be an arch, Paris Hilton-ey sort of fluff piece. I think we Brooklynties have tougher skin.
I liked the sentence that Clinton Hill was accessible to manhattan by stagecoach but not so much any more. I mean, why bother being upset?

Posted by: sam at February 18, 2009 12:03 PM

propjoe, you are a bon-a-fide jerk. get a life

Posted by: crownheightshood at February 18, 2009 12:05 PM

Prospect Heights as no man’s land? It has amazing train access (B,Q, 2, 3—two stations worth!)What about the main branch of the Library, The Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Museum and Grand Army Plaza? Vanderbilt Ave has several great restaurants and many cool and hip bars. The neighborhood has also been calendared for land marking….
I guess to each their own, but the writer has clearly never visited any of the neighborhoods that they wrote about.

Posted by: PHfamily at February 18, 2009 12:16 PM

Like Darth Vader said, "All too easy."

I suppose this is how people from out-of-town view us. There is definitely a learning curve to living here, that's nothing to get hammered for. But in one of the comments on that site someone writes it reads like it was written in 20-30 minutes.

Some places have a zero inferiority complex towards New York; we never cross their mind. Other places like Connecticut obviously do not. I dated a woman from Connecticut once and basically the fact that I lived in Brooklyn alone was good enough for her.

Posted by: infinitejester at February 18, 2009 12:17 PM

And what happened with that, infinitejester???

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 12:19 PM

The answer to that will cost you about seven pints, mate!

Posted by: infinitejester at February 18, 2009 12:28 PM

7 pints!!!!???? I can get someone home and in bed for fewer than that.!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 12:37 PM

East New York - he's a racist clown, no-one takes him seriously here.

Posted by: dittoburg at February 18, 2009 12:42 PM

quote:
Certain people simply shouldn't be writers. Our beloved Rob has admitted to living in Park Slope and never going to Prospect Park, I believe. I think he even said he hasn't been outside a 5-10 block radius or so from his apartment. How can you have lived on 5th Avenue and never taken a 20 minute walk over to Smith Street?? I don't know, but I digress.

lol. but i can read about every street from here! and i do plan on taking many trips around when it gets nicer out. when i first moved to bk i was in a bit of a funk. then winter hit full hard and im out of it. ill be up and around cruising all yall hoods soon enough! beware!

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at February 18, 2009 12:42 PM

LOL...it's the "cruising" part that scares us!!!! :)

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 12:47 PM

PropJoe: Um, Jewish women don't read Bibles.

The bakery case photo from the article is from Villabate Bakery in Bensonhurst (I'm positive). Funny, because she doesn't mention Bensonhurst in the article.

In the link below from Villabate's website you'll see the same case from a different angle in the photo right below that of the "pizza cake".

http://villabate.net/gallery

Jeez, what does it say about me that I can identify bakery cases??? Don't answer that!

Posted by: TownhouseLady at February 18, 2009 12:51 PM

THL...serious question...why don't Jewish women read bibles. I actually see a lot of people on the A train reading bibles all the time.

Oftentimes there's a lot of highlighting in them with 5 or 6 different colors at a time, which is rather scary.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 12:57 PM

You know I am not in the least upset by this because I've never even heard of the Examiner before! So who the hell cares!!

Posted by: italiana71 at February 18, 2009 12:59 PM

Only Orthodox men can read and study the bible, don't you remember that old Barbra Streisand movie where she dresses up like a man in order to go to Yeshiva?

Posted by: sam at February 18, 2009 1:02 PM

Huh. Maybe they do it as a learning tool? I personally wouldn't know first hand.

What I was referring to were the Hasidic Women on the trains (since he referred to their wearing of wigs) who are most times praying/reading/studying with their Torahs.

I've never seen one with a bible.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at February 18, 2009 1:03 PM

Thanks for the clarification Sam.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at February 18, 2009 1:04 PM

i am always suspicious of ALL peoples reading religious type books. i always like to give them the stink-eye being all like, im watchin' you!!

and 11217 i never said i never went to prospect park i said i went once and never went back after i saw horses off leashes there! (and you know im horrible afraid of horses and peacocks)

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at February 18, 2009 1:06 PM

Ah yes, of course Torah, not bible...of course. PropJoe said "bible" and he of course could not distinguish the English from the Hebrew. But like I said earlier, she probably gave him a look because he smelled.

rob....I've never seen a horse on a leash. Why are you afraid of horses and peacocks???

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 1:11 PM

rob...don't vacation at Las mananitas in Cuernavaca....beautiful Peacocks roam the grounds and can wind up on your room terrace!!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 1:16 PM

the being deathly afraid of peacocks is an inside joke. you ever see the maury povich episodes where people would be afraid of innoculous thinks like pickles and stuff? and maury would bring a pickle on stage and the chick would run off the stage screaming and crying and totally out of control? well i had a bunch of people in my real life believing i was deathly afraid of peacocks. to this day they still think it. with horses i find them gross animals and they smell and they have creepy wall eyes on the sides of their heads. i just dont like them and don't think they belong in human captivity. especially parks in the city. dont get me started on cops on horses. one time i almost got run over by a car on broadway when i ran across the street when i saw a gaggle of horses and cops coming down the street!

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at February 18, 2009 1:17 PM

And steer clear of this neighborhood if you find yourself in Houston:

- http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/pets/others/5918362.html

Well, better yet, just steer clear of Houston in general.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at February 18, 2009 1:18 PM

Animal Cops on Animal Planet always run into the most bizarre cases of abuse in Houston.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 1:27 PM

The best comment I saw on the article:

Wash Ave: I have to take a moment and not repeat what most people have said here. I just can't figure out how you felt that you were qualified to summarize such culturally and racially diverse neighborhoods so callously and feel comfortable that your byline for "internet eternity" would be on such an "article" with comments like "there are no white people" as if to imply that this would make or break a neighborhood or describing crown heights in assinine equation (that is written like, duh, any time you have blacks and jews, duh, you have like, race riots, my god what's wrong with you???) That's on you and its a shame that whomever "looks over your stuff" didn't yank this from going live for your own embarrassment. Or maybe you'll never see the embarrassment of it, who knows. Cause everyone reading it is gagging from your ignorance and arrogance.
February 18, 1:07 PM

She should take her nasty wannabe gossip girl/red hook reality tv show vomitous person to hoboken. People like her DESTROY neighborhoods.

Posted by: secondline at February 18, 2009 1:32 PM

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Matthew 6:5-6, Matthew being the gospel traditionally associated with appealing to Jews regarding Jesus's ministry.

Posted by: infinitejester at February 18, 2009 1:36 PM

^^^^^ wtf?? ^^^^^

Posted by: goldie at February 18, 2009 2:00 PM

I think we need to implement a separation of church and (real e)state here on brownstoner. No more prosyletizing.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 2:07 PM

i get really turned off when comment threads veer off into off-topic nonsense like the religious crap here.

i belive the site moderators should take a more proactive role in preventing this

Posted by: blackstoner at February 18, 2009 2:10 PM

btw, the "writer" of this trashy article gets paid in accordance to exposure (if i understand how Examiner works), so lets not do her any favors by giving her too many page views

Posted by: blackstoner at February 18, 2009 2:15 PM

Pretty sure we were talking about Jewish people praying in public.

Posted by: infinitejester at February 18, 2009 2:19 PM

Be careful what you wish for with that shout out to "site moderators," blackstoner.

infinitejester, there's a difference between praying in public and sitting quietly on the subway reading the bible (or Torah) to oneself until some idiot like PropJoe comes along.

Can we get back to discussing the article without any further hits on the Examiner website. Yes, these idiots are probably happy that the crap she has written is boosting the hits.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 2:23 PM

> "Can we get back to discussing the article"

What's left to say about it? It was a lousy article in a lousy paper.

Let's move on, shall we?

Posted by: SnarkSlope at February 18, 2009 2:47 PM

Let's take it all to the Open Thread then, Snark you're right.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 2:50 PM

11217,

That bald Yenta may not have been making eye contact but she definitely be staring - if ya know what I mean. I think she was intrigued by my Alabame Black Snake. Her beanie wearing husband(s) ain't never give her something that big.

Posted by: PropJoe at February 18, 2009 3:10 PM

PropJoe....in my experience, and it is vast, those that brag about it the most have the least to show for it.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 3:21 PM

DIBS, I think the fact he uses the word "prop" in his name tells us exactly from where the bulge in his pants comes.

Posted by: Biff Champion at February 18, 2009 3:25 PM

I guess he would be a sockpuppet then.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 3:31 PM

DIBs,

I didn't realize you were gay - not that there's anything wrong with that.

Posted by: PropJoe at February 18, 2009 3:33 PM

Yes, Propjoe, but not Jewish, despite my namesake King of Kings.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 3:35 PM

Jewish guys have big...bowl of dicks...an early happy bday to you!

Posted by: 11217 at February 18, 2009 3:40 PM

No one has mentioned it in the comments or here, even tho it's been commented on generally, but I think the 'no whites in WT' comment is a writing/editing error on her part. Naturally, given the stupidity of the article in general, and the fact that she obviously hasn't been there, how would she catch it?

I'd bet she meant to say no BLACK people.

Posted by: denton at February 18, 2009 4:06 PM

Wow - just checked the comments on the examiner page. harsh to say the least. good!

Posted by: dirty_hipster at February 18, 2009 4:22 PM

well, the Torah is part of the Bible. Christians call it the Old Testament. Same thing. It was translated to English from the Latin, which was translated from the Hebrew, so a few typos snuck in here and there but it's basically the same thing. Blood, guts, retribution, arks, apples, burning bushes, you name it.
In addition to the Old and New Testaments, Catholic Bibles have "apocrypha" which are like bonus books. And then there are the books that never made it in becaus they are kind of wacky. I like bible studies but I never do it on the subway. It kind of ruins it for me. The subway is meant for studying Liz Smith and page six.

Posted by: sam at February 18, 2009 4:22 PM

"Have I got your neighborhood wrong? Let me know in the comments below"

Yes

Posted by: dirty_hipster at February 18, 2009 4:26 PM

The subway is meant for looking for eye candy.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 4:46 PM

"Render unto the subway what is the subway's,and unto the Lord what is the Lord's."

Book of Sam:3.13

Posted by: benson at February 18, 2009 4:52 PM

benson....Ohio Gozaimus....you're up awfully early over there.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 18, 2009 4:54 PM

DIBS;

Up early to catch a train to our Tokyo HQ.

Posted by: benson at February 18, 2009 5:01 PM

Late to the party, so the point has been made - the child is an untalented idiot with that ever so annoying, hip, ironic attitude that feels it must "tell it as I see it" about everything. That posture usually comes out wrong on almost every occasion, but the wonder of the internet has given fertile ground to a large crop of know nothing bloggers, who are clueless, and also lousy writers.

A teabag in a cup has had more time in hot water than this child has had in any neighborhood other than her own. The hammering she's taken here and on the original site restores my faith in the good sense of Brooklynites. I feel no need to further elaborate on the point. Next idiot.....

Prop Joe, every time you post, you embarass yourself. Do us all a favor - smash your computer.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at February 18, 2009 5:03 PM

Lots of Jewish misinformation going on in this thread that I will attempt to correct:

1) Lubavitch is a type of hasid. Worldwide Lubavtich headquarters are in Crown Heights (770 Eastern Parkway). Satmar is a different sect of Hasidic Jews, they are located primarily in Williamsburg and in Upstate NY in Kiyas Joel (near Monroe). The third common Hasidic Neighborhood in Brooklyn is borough park, which has a mish mash of several types of hasidic sects.

2) Hasidic women are in fact allowed to read the bible. Thay are forbidden from reading the talmud, which is a book of rabinnic discourse loosely based on the bible. That's what Yentl is about.

3) In my own personal experience as someone who can read hebrew, most of the orthodox women you see reading hebrew books on the subway are actually reading prayer books, not bibles. Jewish Law requires one to pray 3 times a day: first thing in the morning, mid afternoon and evening. These people are just trying to efficiently use their subway time by using it to pray. Not sure why that offends anyone. There's a ton of way more offensive things that most people do other than sit quietly and praying to themselves.

4) Those women who shave their heads and wear wigs do so because it's considered immodest to let men who are not your husband see your hair. So unless they plan on lifting those skirts and flashing the public, they do not shave it off down there.

5) Pretty sure that DIBS is right and Prop Joe just smells and has a small package.

Posted by: Make My Heights the P Heights at February 18, 2009 5:03 PM

benson,
the book of Sam is apocryphal indeed.

Posted by: sam at February 18, 2009 5:13 PM

If I were still awarding SOTD, I'd give it to Montrose Morris for: "A teabag in a cup has had more time in hot water than this child has had in any neighborhood other than her own."

Posted by: SnarkSlope at February 18, 2009 6:09 PM

The three religions of Judiasm, Christianity and Islam are linked through the running narrative of the three holy books; the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Qu'aran.
Judiasm stops at the Old Testament and discount Jesus Christ as a false prophet. They still await the true Messiah.
Christianity (Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox) adds the new testament to the old testament. The new testament basically composed of various books by the desciples of Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God who gave his life to atone for the sins of mankind and was reborn to show man the way to salvation and the kingdom of heaven.
Muslims believe the words of the old testament, the new testament and the more recent words of God as given to Muhammed and written in the Qu'aran (and which supercede the prior two books)
All three religions are linked by their belief in the same God of the Old Testament who spoke to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jesus and Mohammed.
Similar themes run through the three books, for instance the Arch-angel Gabriel who in the Old Testament is sent to level the cities of Sodom and Gemorrah (two of the five "Cities of the Plain"), in the New Testament is the Angel of the Annunciation, telling Mary of her immaculate conception while in the Qu'aran, it is The Arch-Angel once again speaking the words of God to Muhammed.

Just clarifying some of the points for those here who are all too quick to dismiss 5000 years of religious history and tradition.

Posted by: Legion at February 18, 2009 6:41 PM

This article is so upsetting! What a pathetic idiot this SHPOS is? Does the moron really get paid to do this? Fancy education from where? We suggest she go back to the registrar of her school and request a full refund...seriously.
Talk about a piece of world class rubbish being published by a newspaper.
Please folks please stop insulting the journalistic profession by calling this dingbat a "journalist". Whatever happen to basic research? And yes she is the worst kind of RASCIST you know the ones that think and believe what they are doing is totally right.
Can you imagine our insensitive this fool is?

Posted by: pierre de taille at February 18, 2009 6:56 PM

Legion, you forgot to include Protestants among your Christians. It ain't just about Catholics and the Eastern Sects you know.
Some Protestants, unlike Catholics who believe the bible speaks in mysterious terms, believe literally every word of the bible as translated by the renaissance court scholars of England's King James in 1611.
Religion is odd, no doubt about it, but hey, we're trying to make sense of NYC real estate, which is not exactly an open book, so to speak.

Posted by: sam at February 18, 2009 7:08 PM

I haven't read the comments up to this one particularly...I don't have the time or eye-power any more to be that thorough...but, if you're reading my 2-cent comment, let me just say, that finally having read the article in question late in the day (evening), it was lousy.

At least Fort Greene wasn't knocked. Still, the article was just a junky attempt at cutesy. Plus, many, many neighborhoods were left out. Very poor attempt...but I guess this kind of article is what the website will continue to post since it got lots of comments and people looking at it...what is it called? Internet trafic?

hhh... Would be nice to have an educational article, not a college-student's take on things.

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at February 18, 2009 7:40 PM

wow- do i miss all the fun or what? MMHTPH- much appreciation for the clarification. i was going to post but you beat me to it.

Agreed, the article sucks a big one.Has anyone told that girl that riding your bike through the streets does not constitute in-depth research? Somehow I get the impression that accuracy was not her aim- more that she loves the sound of her own typing.

I vote that Mr. Snark resurrect the SOTD for MM.

Posted by: bxgrl at February 19, 2009 12:04 AM

Flavorwire response and 6 word nabe naming comp:

http://flavorwire.com/11473/bucking-stereotypes-your-hood-in-six-words#more-11473

Posted by: mr_rhone at February 20, 2009 12:39 PM

Wait. Who wrote this? Is it that social climber from Houswives of New York?

Posted by: superstooper at February 21, 2009 11:58 PM

Housewives, that is. Mucho vino.

Posted by: superstooper at February 21, 2009 11:58 PM

« Cortelyou Road the New Smith Street? Checking In on Nforth »

February 18, 2009

Stereotyping Brooklyn Nabes and Missing the Point

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