« Omissions and Lies in Atlantic Yards Study Con Ed Readying Demolition of 3rd Street Warehouse »

October 8, 2009

Corn Porn in BoCoCa

corn-planter-1009.jpg
You know those new corner sidewalk extensions that DOT's been creating in recent months? Their utilitarian raison d'etre's pretty clear but the vast expanses of concrete aren't much to look at so a local artist has an idea to pretty them up. One word: corn. Yes, corn. According to the brand-spankin'-new Boerum Hill Blog, Christina Kelly has floated a plan to the city to plant native corn on five street corners throughout Boerum Hill. The first spot she wants to do it is at the northwest corner of Bergen and Smith Streets. Fun idea, but we'll be a-maized if she can pull it off.
Native Corn May Grace Smith St. [Boerum Hill Blog]




Posted by Brownstoner at 10:14 AM | Comments (41)
Categories: Boerum Hill, Streets

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/11787

Comments

Why not something hardy & ornamental? You couldn't eat the corn because of toxins from car exhausts.

Posted by: Arkady at October 8, 2009 10:16 AM

I'd prefer a quinoa patch.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at October 8, 2009 10:25 AM

I think it's a great idea... but only for the summer, right?

Then in the winter they would just be dirt poop boxes for pets. They would have to put something there during the off months.

My suggestion would be one of those inflatable snowmen with the rotating skating penguins in their stomach. They should be available at Lowes pretty shortly.

Posted by: tybur6 at October 8, 2009 10:25 AM

the obligatory... GO BACK TO IOWA!

but seriously, really, go back if you miss cornfields :-/

i can think of 5000 gazillion things that would so much better there. jeez i hate new new yorkers sometimes.

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at October 8, 2009 10:29 AM

Or maybe some evergreens, DUH. Corn looks so white trash.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 8, 2009 10:30 AM

quote:
Corn looks so white trash.

LOL.

tho i must admit, the children of the corn movies are some of my fav. horror movies


*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at October 8, 2009 10:32 AM

- Corn looks so white trash.

Corn looks husk-y.

Posted by: brownjokester at October 8, 2009 10:33 AM

Are they really going to take up 8'-0" of the sidewalk??

Posted by: brownjokester at October 8, 2009 10:36 AM

It's 8 ft of the newly constructed football field size sidewalks... there's still plenty of sidewalk left.

Posted by: tybur6 at October 8, 2009 10:37 AM

well if this city keeps on trying to look more and more like iowa everyday, the average CITIZEN will be taking up 8 feet of sidewalk, that's fer sure.

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at October 8, 2009 10:38 AM

Maybe we'll get crop circles.

Posted by: Nokilissa at October 8, 2009 10:41 AM

haha rob

Posted by: dirty_hipster at October 8, 2009 10:43 AM

Rob... lay off with the Iowa comments. They're just ridiculous. I'm not from the midwest, but I never got all the uproar about folks that weren't born and raised in NYC. Why are folks from Iowa expected to "assimilate" but the immigrant populations from other countries are cherished?!

Why would you want Iowans to either give up their "culture" or not expect them to bring any of it with them... while whole ghettoized communities are filled with unassimilated Chinese, Koreans, Latinos, etc etc.

Oh, right... it's because they are ghettoized. You can be different as long as your separated. But if you try to live near me, you had better not annoy me. God forbid you want to add something green to the concrete!

Posted by: tybur6 at October 8, 2009 10:51 AM

The last thing this country needs is more corn. Maybe the artist is making a subversive comment about how fat we are as a country. What about growing medicinal "hemp"?

Posted by: IMBY at October 8, 2009 10:53 AM

quote:
Rob... lay off with the Iowa comments. They're just ridiculous. I'm not from the midwest, but I never got all the uproar about folks that weren't born and raised in NYC. Why are folks from Iowa expected to "assimilate" but the immigrant populations from other countries are cherished?!


because they are a bunch of PHONIES who want to live an "urban" lifestyle but then bring the corn husks with them. BARF! i will not lay off.

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at October 8, 2009 10:57 AM

rob, I went to Iowa. I am filled whith a white-hot rage for you that...oh, forget it.

They already did this in PS, on 6th between Union and Carroll. Like those invisible dogs, maybe it's not so corny.

Posted by: infinitejester at October 8, 2009 11:00 AM

I vote for Broccoli before corn - simply on the greener color

Posted by: more4less at October 8, 2009 11:07 AM

From an Iowa boy, living here nearly 20 years, FUCK YOU Butterfly.

Posted by: MAT at October 8, 2009 11:07 AM

Rob -- I'm not sure why I'm engaging you -- but, why is it that NYC and urban life has to be equated with living a hard life? Or something that is somehow "uniquely" NYC? (That's a position I find absurd on it's face... the only thing unique about NYC is the COMBINATION of everything that comes to the city from other places in the country and around the world.)

While i don't like the homogeneous world that is suburban America -- it's totally foolish to live a EQUALLY sheltered existence and not be open to POSITIVE aspects of life outside of New York City.

Football is a huge cultural thing in the Midwest and South... are the kids that play football at NYC high schools being very un-NYC? What if parents that have moved here decide to become more active in their kid's schools and want football to become more prominent... would that destroy the fabric of NYC's culture?!

Let's do a quick analogy...

Gay Marriage is to Heterosexual Marriage as Folks that Move to NYC are to Real New Yorkers.

Posted by: tybur6 at October 8, 2009 11:09 AM

Why even leave Iowa?
http://www.moviex.com/extras/IA.php

Posted by: IMBY at October 8, 2009 11:09 AM

Oh, and I think having random puny clumps of corn is a realllllly lame idea.

If it's not in massive fields, you never get that amazing optical effect from the rows when you drive by at 75mph!

Posted by: MAT at October 8, 2009 11:11 AM

The pigeons, squirrels and rats should have a field-day!
Silliest idea.

Posted by: bren at October 8, 2009 11:19 AM

excuuuuuuuse me for thinking midwestern, country life-ish, lame green things are hideous ugly aesthetics. we all have our opinions of what we like, and i like the concrete jungle to be that. CONCRETE!

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at October 8, 2009 11:23 AM


Corny.

Posted by: East New York at October 8, 2009 11:35 AM

It's just not that well thought out an idea. The question of what happens in the winter is valid. There are plenty of attractive, evergreen, low maintenance plants that could be used that would enhance the area year-round. Corn is not that attractive (sorry, just because it's green doesn't make it pretty) and it's not hardy. It also needs to be grown in much larger masses to pollinate properly and get a decent number of ears on it. Not that you'd eat it due to the toxins. Also needs a fair bit of water- and tree pits tend to dry out without a little bit of help.

I have a theory that the choice of corn is part of the "artistic statement" of juxtaposing something rural with city streets but it's really a one trick pony and not going to be an enhancement at all times and really ugly if no one bothers with watering.

Posted by: kensington gal at October 8, 2009 11:38 AM

Hmm... Rob. I'm actually starting to think that NYC is maybe the wrong city for YOU. I think you may be very much alone in thinking *more* concrete and less open spaces and living things should be the goal.

But I'm not sure where you should move (though I'm fairly certain you should)... Even Soviet concrete apartment blocks had trees and park areas...

Posted by: tybur6 at October 8, 2009 11:41 AM

Just wondering, is there any actual data to support the popular internet meme that large numbers of midwesterners are 'invading' New York? It just strikes me as unlikely that the proportion of midwesterners would be particularly high compared to any other immigrant groups. There really just aren't that many people in the rural midwest, and I don't get the impression that most midwesterners have either the financial means or the desire to move to NYC. The suburbs of the northeast, sure, but the midwest? I just don't think the facts support it.

If you can show me otherwise, I'll retract this, but it seems to me like a completely made-up trend used by to lash out against anyone who doesn't conform to our fantasy of what New York once was, or should be, which in itself strikes me as somewhat simple-minded, as the constant state of change and flux of populations is what has made NYC an interesting town from the very start. Stop NYC from changing, and we'll be on a fast track to irrelevance.

Posted by: ninethreesix at October 8, 2009 11:46 AM

Tyburg, it's simple, rob should contemplate a move to Detroit! Lots of city grit and concrete, and he can pick up a house for $100! :)

rob, forgive me, but I couldn't resist!

Posted by: bren at October 8, 2009 11:52 AM

it has nothing to do with stopping it from changing, but the kind of change that some people want is just lame.

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at October 8, 2009 11:53 AM

When I think of corn it's first georgia, then the carolinas, then NJ, then Pennsylvania.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 8, 2009 12:04 PM

Don't forget Maryland corn -- also extra sweet.

OTOH, what's so great about Carolinas' corn?

Posted by: Boerumresident at October 8, 2009 1:05 PM

and Jersey has corn too
I agree there are better "fauna" to put up than Corn and Husks. Bamboo lasts and looks pretty green in the winter, no?

Posted by: gemini10 at October 8, 2009 1:13 PM


Um, Nebraska?

Posted by: East New York at October 8, 2009 1:17 PM

top corn producers: iowa, illinois, nebraska, minnesota, indiana

this idea sucks. corn is not a pretty plant. and none of you will ever see an ear come to life on that b/c the city is loaded with a.holes who'll tear it off before it has a chance. so you'll just have a big patch of ugly stalk. might as well just plant bamboo.

Posted by: BSD at October 8, 2009 1:37 PM

f-ck fauna, the space doesnt need anything.

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at October 8, 2009 1:37 PM

I think corn is pretty lame for a street planting. A couple of years ago I planted some sweet corn on my low roof deck. I thought it would be a good way to get a tall hedge-like thing between me and my neighbor. Well corn takes a whole lot of water, not to mention the root system crowds out a pot pretty fast. I did get some ears, though. As far as polution goes, I would be concerned about soil polution, but don't see a huge difference between corn grown near an interstate vs. an urban neighborhood.

Posted by: bessie2 at October 8, 2009 1:46 PM

Most community gardens don't plant corn because it attracts rats.

Posted by: 16Street at October 8, 2009 3:56 PM

Why not install a recirculating fountain? Maybe a statue that doesn't look like a melted soda can or a tank trap? Or perhaps a public notice kiosk, such that all the poster and sticker people have a legit place to stick all their stuff without mucking up block after block.

Posted by: FenFen at October 8, 2009 4:02 PM

"f-ck fauna" - *rob*

I think you mean Flora if you are referring to the above mentioned corn plants, unless you are thinking of the roman goddess Fauna.

In Roman mythology, Fauna was the mother goddess of earth, rural life, fields, cattle and wild creatures. She was a protectress of women.

Faunus was a Roman god similar to Pan. He sounds more like your type.

Butterflies are free to fly both ways.

Posted by: IMBY at October 8, 2009 6:13 PM

Corn is a poor choice.

Corn is a high-maintenance plant, as bessie2 points out. It requires copious amounts of water to grow well. It needs full sun, which is not uniformly available in our streetscapes, even in relatively low-rise neighborhoods.

The idea of planting something in these spaces is a good one. Raised planting beds would fare better than surface plantings in high traffic areas like street corners.

Posted by: Xris at October 8, 2009 7:04 PM

ok im will to admit i just got schooled by IMBY hehehe

i always thought flora and fauna meant plants and animals.

*bfly*

Posted by: Butterfly at October 8, 2009 7:45 PM

Post a comment

Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.

Latest Restaurant Additions