LPC Makes It Official at Alice & Agate Courts

Congratulations to the residents of Alice and Agate Courts. I know some of them, and they worked like crazy to get landmarked.

Nice to see Al Vann(ished).

Ditto to what ditto and LC said. Spending city money to help preserve and beautify the city is money well spent. Every dime of that grant has to be backed up with paperwork, receipts, inspections, etc. We'll be able to appreciate that work for years to come. Goodness knows those homeowners will. Besides, 5 people splitting $84K is not a lot of money, considering what LPC approved windows and exterior work entails and costs.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 18, 2009 11:42 AM

Benson, please. You've become the wet blanket of sour grapes on this site.

This has NOTHING to do with stimulus money, the LPC has given out the same grants for about thirty years. The money, a drop in the bucket in any budget, provides those same "true investments" to the people receiving them. Would you rather our city fall down on itself, especially in lower income neighborhoods, than homeowners - those people who care enough about their homes, communities and neighborhoods, to get their block landmarked, get some needed aid? Would it be better to have the Agate and Alice Courts of our city turn into an abandoned and falling down wasteland that was many parts of our city? Neighborhoods that were synonymous with crime, dire poverty, fires, urban unrest, and disinfrancised and angry people? See how much more it costs than a couple of small home improvement grants to police, house, rebuild, reinvest and repair those neighborhoods, to say nothing about the vast amounts of money needed to take care of the purely human cost of this disintegration. WOuld it be more impressive and less navel gazing to have to repair entire neighborhoods in order to justify what you think is a waste of money?

I don't understand how you can begrudge a stoop full of people the opportunity to improve their lives, their homes and their neighborhood. THat's what's sad.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 18, 2009 12:28 PM

Benson, agreeing with me is not a prerequisite of this site, and I have no problem with healthy debate. The fact that you have commented on my supposed "Amen Choir" several times really tells me that its "existence" bothers you more than pleases anyone else.

Your explanation now is very different than your first post. The navel gazing remark is still unexplained, as you agreed so enthusiastically with Rob's ignorant remarks.

As architerrorist mentioned, England has had a long and strong preservation movement for over 150 years, when people in the time of William Morris were noting that much of their architectural history was being lost. He started the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings, one of the first preservationist organizations. Thank goodness, for them, and for the American movement it inspired.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 18, 2009 12:53 PM

Benson, no one called anyone names on this thread. Where? Whenever you find yourself in a position where your points can't be backed up, you then proceed to take everything personally. An argument can only get ugly if it's taken there. I simply asked you to clarify your points, since your first remarks were very different than your later remarks. If that is going to cause you to pack up your ball and leave the park, then fine.

Basta, finito.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 18, 2009 1:33 PM

Rob, I like you, as well as Benson, so I'm going to spare you a drubbing down the likes of which you have never had since being on this site. Mostly because it will make me seem to be the mean spirited, self righteous, arrogant sod some people think I am, but mostly I'm not going to do it because too many people will enjoy it too much, and I don't have the time.

Suffice it to say, however, that despite your comments to the contrary, where you insist that your are quite "ghetto" yourself, you are getting pretty out of hand with some of your flip remarks about people, places and events that happen in those so-called ghettos. Keeping neighborhoods "like 1899" is much of what makes YOUR neighborhood desireable.

"Preserving stoops in some ghetto neighborhood." is part and parcel of what I do, and who I am. Don't you dare belittle it, most especially when you have absolutely NO CLUE as to what you are talking about.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 18, 2009 1:51 PM

Oh please, Benson, what are you? Five? I said you've BECOME a wet blanket, and bxgrl called you a sourpuss.

Oh, I just called you "five". Please feel free to get all worked up over that, too.

I have better things to do today, enjoy the rest of your trip.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 18, 2009 1:57 PM

Not today, rob. If you live in a neighborhood, it's your neighborhood. Your comment makes as much sense as me saying that although I live in Crown Heights, my "real" neighborhood is actually Clinton Hill, because I like the vibe over there.

You live in Park Slope for the same reasons as most everyone else there: perceptions and realities of personal safety, well kept, sound, and attractive housing, transportation and amenities, whether you choose to partake of them, or not. It's all fine to be down with your peeps, your pit and your 40, like in Bushwick, but when it comes down to it, you couldn't survive your lifestyle if you were anywhere else. No one could dump your passed out drunk self out on a corner in too many other neighborhoods and expect to see you again. Count yourself lucky.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 18, 2009 2:20 PM

Well said, I disagree. Dave, too.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 18, 2009 3:06 PM

Benson, the tax photos taken of every property, public and private, came out of WPA money. Preserving a facade in a neighborhood is as much a public benefit as a private one. The disintegration of a neighborhood affects everyone, especially in the pocketbook.

And if there are no grand public works projects, so what? And who is to say there aren't? The stimulus package is what 6 - 8 months old? Is the administration supposed to wave its wand and fix everything that has been broken for decades in 6 months? So much is wrong with the infrastructure of this country that we don't need another Hoover Dam, we need the current dam fixed. We need the levees in New Orleans rebuilt correctly and soon. We need our bridges and crumbling highways repaired. Those things may not be as thrilling as a Hoover Dam, but are just as necessary. I'd be just as happy telling my nephew's kids that the roads and bridges they are riding on are there because 2009 stimulus money was spent on it, than pointing to some grass strewn macadam, ala NY in Legend, telling them that used to be one of our highways, but they didn't spend the money to fix it.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 18, 2009 3:21 PM

"bxgirl, you thrown around racism WAY too much. it's actually insulting. i have not said a single racist thing."

Rob, you don't have to throw the "N-word" around to qualify for racist comments. In fact, it's comments like your Bed Stuy taxpayer remark that do more damage than simple name calling, and are inherently more racist than not. It is NOT "kinda/sorta true". It's a very non-thinking, flip, ignorant and stupid remark that gets you the scorn and derision you sometimes deserve here. Do yourself a favor and shut up now.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 18, 2009 3:27 PM

Yes, Benson, but hardly the Hoover Dam in scale. The fact remains that tax photos served both the public and private good during the Depression, in smaller projects, as well, which is the same thing that lampposts and intact facades do.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 18, 2009 3:51 PM

Checks and balances are necessary in this day and age. We won't accept a "King" like Moses making enormous decisions about our neighborhoods and lives without our imput, especially with our money. That is the reason AY is still a hole in the ground. It may make it difficult to get anything done, and I understand the frustration, and often agree with it, but in the long run, this is fairer, better, and forces some serious thought as to the long term consequences of what we do, and what kind of city we want to live in.

We can't rebuild Penn Station,(not Moses, I know) or the thousands of homes lost in all of the boroughs when those roads were cut, when alternatives were not considered, solely because Moses didn't have to be bothered to do so. But this is now, and we don't have to be as beholden to authority and power, and thus powerless, as in the past.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 18, 2009 4:12 PM