« Price Cuts at 357 Dean Street Last Week's Biggest Sales »

June 16, 2009

Burg Condo Unwelcoming to Children

A reader sent in a tip that a vacant new condo building on Metropolitan Avenue between Kent and Berry in Williamsburg has a creepy message written on a ground-floor window in what's meant to look like blood: I Hate Children. Ironic? Or not? GMAP

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/10205

Comments

Quick, someone rush that over to the MOMA immediately so it can be prominently displayed and hailed as a creative and groundbreaking, brilliant piece.

Posted by: Biff Champion at June 16, 2009 11:04 AM

NYU really needs to create some post-graduate dorms for people who aren't ready to be part of society yet.

Posted by: northsloperenter at June 16, 2009 11:05 AM

He who loves children loves life.

Posted by: Expert Textpert at June 16, 2009 11:11 AM

That is EXTREMELY creepy. I wonder what the message is... or rather who it's target is... or is there one. Hopefully it's actually meant as a message and not some sort of non-contextual Duchamp-y type thing.

I have to say, though, the composition is spot on. The trailing slope to the words, as the writer is weakening as he desanguinates.

Posted by: tybur6 at June 16, 2009 11:15 AM

Oh, what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to conceive.

Posted by: Biff Champion at June 16, 2009 11:16 AM

Wow - that's really scary. Very Mansonesque.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 16, 2009 11:18 AM

Very childish.

Posted by: IMBY at June 16, 2009 11:20 AM

R E D R U M

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 16, 2009 11:22 AM

i hate children as well, but that message is just lame and/or creepy. the building itself tho is rather ominous. very post apocalyptic amityville horror, which is perhaps what the "artist" was going for in writing that message. regardless it was most likely written by an adult child whose trust fund just ran out and a chip on their shouldar to begin with.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at June 16, 2009 11:23 AM

"I wonder what the message is"

The author hates children.

Posted by: East New York at June 16, 2009 11:27 AM

It would have been cooler if it said "I HATE FEDDERS"

Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 16, 2009 11:27 AM

"I am not young enough to know everything"

Oscar Wilde

Posted by: Biff Champion at June 16, 2009 11:28 AM

Anybody who sits around on online forums complaining about "NYU brats" and "trust fund kids" ad nauseum has issues more serious than a chip on the shoulder.

Posted by: collin85 at June 16, 2009 11:28 AM

The building looks like something on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 16, 2009 11:37 AM

I thought Tokyo was more known for its upskirts than its outskirts.

Posted by: Biff Champion at June 16, 2009 11:40 AM

"Anybody who sits around on online forums complaining about "NYU brats" and "trust fund kids" ad nauseum has issues more serious than a chip on the shoulder."

Issues more serious than someone who paints "I HATE CHILDREN" in imitation blood on someone else's property?

Posted by: northsloperenter at June 16, 2009 11:41 AM

"i hate children as well"

rob -- just a thought... you are getting too old for this pose.

nsr

Posted by: northsloperenter at June 16, 2009 11:43 AM

...except that it's a completely random assumption that it's in any way connected to an NYU grad.

Posted by: collin85 at June 16, 2009 11:44 AM

I agree with collin85. An NYU grad would likely spell "CHILDREN" incorrectly.

Posted by: Biff Champion at June 16, 2009 11:46 AM

I don't know, I think this collin85 guy is protesting too much. I think he is trying to protect someone...

Posted by: northsloperenter at June 16, 2009 11:54 AM

"Ironic? Or not?"

Oh, I'm sure it's serious -- DEADly serious.

Enter the copycats. I'll be the first to predict "I hate parents" somewhere near P.S. 321.

Posted by: tonewlots at June 16, 2009 12:26 PM

It must be "art". If I sprayed a message of any kind it would be a mess - this is very carefully rendered.

Posted by: Arkady at June 16, 2009 12:27 PM

Call me oversensitive, but a lot of children can READ. I would hate to try to explain this to my eight-year-old daughter if she saw it. Don't worry, honey, it's, um, "ironic" or something. The person who "wrote" it isn't dangerous, just childish in a sort of stupid way. He probably isn't dangerous to you. Um. Hey, let's go to the playground!

Posted by: Brooklyn Chicken at June 16, 2009 12:43 PM

"Call me oversensitive,"

You aren't being oversensitive.

There are many words you could substitute for "children" which would get this high profile treatment as a "hate" crime.

Posted by: northsloperenter at June 16, 2009 12:47 PM

"I would hate to try to explain this to my eight-year-old daughter if she saw it."

I think it would be pretty easy to explain. I'd tell my kid, "Unfortunately, there are some really sick people in the world." They'll need to learn that sooner or later.

Posted by: East New York at June 16, 2009 12:58 PM

"A reader sent in a tip that a vacant new condo building on Metropolitan Avenue between Kent and Berry in Williamsburg has a creepy message written on a ground-floor window in what's meant to look like blood"

How do you know if it was the tipster who wrote this shit????? Sent it to Brownstoner (He doesn't check shit anyway) and the Jagoff posted it! How about that???!!!!

The What (Don't believe the hype!)

Someday this war is gonna end...

Posted by: Return of The What at June 16, 2009 1:07 PM

'I Hate Asshats'

Posted by: Expert Textpert at June 16, 2009 1:08 PM

come on, you can't call this a hate crime. lets not be all melodramatic (this ain't the park slope parents message board, after all.) this graffitti is just plain stupid. and you can tell your 8-year old that there are some stupid people in the world.

Posted by: funkymonkey at June 16, 2009 1:35 PM

"come on, you can't call this a hate crime."

I can. Why can't you?

Because hating children is different from hating [insert racial and/or religious group that you don't think people should hate here]?

I know it's fun to be young and jaded, but there are lines that when you cross them you stop being cool and edgy and start being foul and dangerous.

Posted by: northsloperenter at June 16, 2009 1:41 PM

If they were really artistic and/or ironic, they would have used real blood.

Posted by: sheajc at June 16, 2009 1:46 PM

Who gets the land in the back, is it shared? I mean the grassy area beyond the divided sunken patios.

Posted by: Nomi at June 16, 2009 2:02 PM

it looks to me to read "--> HATE CHILDREN" (with arrow pointing down instead of toward right) not "I HATE CHILDREN"
.
Maybe advertising an indie rock band called Hate Children.

Posted by: Petebklyn at June 16, 2009 2:03 PM

YES

Posted by: MAT at June 16, 2009 2:06 PM

Hey, Pete, I think you're right. Heh heh. I guess I *am* oversensitive. I'm still struggling to explain the slasher flick posters in the subway, though.

Posted by: Brooklyn Chicken at June 16, 2009 2:07 PM

They have been filming for a movie all over Williamsburg/Greenpoint the past week (mta.info says buses are rerouted due to filming on clay st today)

Maybe this is just leftover from a movie shoot involving zombie senior citizens.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 16, 2009 2:12 PM

I was going to google it to see if it was a band, but then realized I didn't want "Hate Children" in my cache.

Posted by: 11217 at June 16, 2009 2:20 PM

As sheajc pointed out - not very convincing. It's hard to write that clearly in real blood, and it should have a slight yellowish hue!

Posted by: etson at June 16, 2009 2:21 PM

> Who gets the land in the back, is it shared?

The Children

Posted by: Expert Textpert at June 16, 2009 2:22 PM

"Who gets the land in the back, is it shared? I mean the grassy area beyond the divided sunken patios."

Oops. Is it obvious that this was meant for another post?

Posted by: Nomi at June 16, 2009 2:22 PM

"As sheajc pointed out - not very convincing. It's hard to write that clearly in real blood, and it should have a slight yellowish hue!"

Okay Etson - that was only mildly creepy!! ;)

Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 16, 2009 2:25 PM

Creepy, yes. Not funny, yes. But hate crime? Gimme a break.

Even if it's serious (and that's not at all clear), it's just somebody saying they hate kids. And every kid knows that there are some grownups who are just to grumpy to like them, maybe even grumpy enough to hate them. Kids have lots of names for grownups like that. Asshat?

Posted by: Isty at June 16, 2009 5:49 PM

northsloperenter, i couldn't disagree with you more. sure, you can replace the word "children" with a "[racial and/or religious group that you don't think people should hate here]" and turn it into a hate crime. but we can also take the "i heart NY" logo and replace the NY with the words nazis or racists or the KKK or some other offensive group and turn that a hate crime too. or you could take this graffitti and replace the word "children" with "rutabagas" and watch the pro-rutabaga lobby go cuckoo. the point is not about replacing the word and what it COULD mean. it's about what it says and what it does mean. and the person who painted it obviously does not like children. there is no evidence here that this person is a pedophile or a murderer. just a general nutcase. and this is not a hate crime.

it's just stupid graffitti.

funkymonkey

Posted by: funkymonkey at June 16, 2009 6:05 PM

funkymonkey -- i couldn't disagree with you more.

Perhaps in your world blanket hatred of gay men or african americans or jews is bad but blanket hatred of children is cool.

My world doesn't work that way.

The fact that the criminal in this case was being "ironic" does not change much in my opinion.

We are what we do, not how we rationalize what we do.

Posted by: northsloperenter at June 17, 2009 9:15 AM