vanburenproud's Profile
Author's Posts
April 18, 2008
Alternatives to Con Ed and Keyspan: Worth It?
Uh, first of all I want to warn anyone in Bed Stuy that IDT energy is coming around doing door-to-door bait-and-switch. Here are a couple of consumerist posts that explain what IDT is all about:
http://consumerist.com/consumer/idt-energy/
But you know, it got me thinking about whether it's worth it to look for a different energy supplier than Con Ed and Keyspan. Anyone else have a positive story to tell about switching suppliers?
March 7, 2008
When To Start Planting?
Hey Brownstoners,
I am excited to start planting some shade-lovin'
perennials in my front yard. I am from the Southwest, where you can basically plant anything anytime (as long as it likes heat), so I don't know when to start planting in a place where there are seasons.
Any advice on planting?
December 16, 2007
Moisture Under Window
Beautiful People:
I am working on my garden apartment. Right now, the area underneath the front windowsills is exposed, on the inside, to the brick (as is much of the rest of the house).
On a nasty wet day like today, the rest of the brick is nice and dry, but the area underneath both the windowsills is as damp as can be.
We pulled out lots and lots of rotten wood from this area: rotten floors, molding, wainscotting, etc. So I don't think this is a new problem.
There were real gaps that let light in, so we filled those cracks with steel wool and expanding foam and figured we solved the problem. But it is still as wet as can be down there under the sills!
How do I best troubleshoot this? Do I look at the grade of the cement in front of the windows? The windows themselves (it's not the window casing that's leaking, it's the wood frame underneath the casing)?
I certainly don't want to replace all that wood only to let it all rot again.
December 3, 2007
Tipping Postal Worker
I moved to Bed Stuy this year, and for the first time in my adult life I have a fantastic postal worker.
She keeps stamps that I can buy from her, deals with packages, showed me how to deal with international postage by myself, and generally acts like this mobile post office with no wait.
I should tip this woman at Christmastime, right?
How much? What's the standard? I want to exceed it. Anyone?
Author's Comments
And no, I don't work for tips myself, but have in the past. This woman basically makes it possible for me to work efficiently from home. She seriously kicks ass.
Posted by: vanburenproud at December 3, 2007 8:20 PM in response to Tipping Postal Worker
Joe is right. If the landlord doesn't understand the plumbing strategy, then 12:44 is right.
Posted by: vanburenproud at December 3, 2007 8:27 PM in response to No lease in a commercial loft
There is a lot of hostility toward artists here... but you should all remember that artists are the Original Gentrifiers!
Posted by: vanburenproud at December 6, 2007 7:39 AM in response to Report: NYC Artists an Endangered Breed
I especially like how I can be sued if I shovel, but I can't if I don't.
Posted by: vanburenproud at December 6, 2007 12:57 PM in response to Snow removal
I think it's spelled "frat-tacular," with two T's and a hyphen. "Fratacular" doesn't run out of my mouth right.
Posted by: vanburenproud at December 6, 2007 3:20 PM in response to StreetLevel: Watering Hole Replacing Aquarium
I don't think that money is a verboten topic on this site. We all know how much money this costs, and many of us are wondering exactly how we are able to afford it.
This post is a slam against, it sounds like, a bunch of rich people who can't understand that you don't have the money to do the work yourself. But the people who have been leaving you negative comments are the people who are in your shoes--the ones without heat and without kitchens.
I know because I am writing this with cold fingers, huddled next to a space heater, in a construction zone myself. I kinda compulsively follow this reno blog because you are in my neighborhood, because you are doing it like we are. But it feels bad to do so. Reading your posts drains me and makes me feel bitter and tense.
Taking your advice and signing off,
--VanBurenProud
Posted by: vanburenproud at December 16, 2007 6:59 PM in response to Reality Check
Contractor, painter, plumber and the like, would probably be offended if you tipped them. They're professional skilled laborers, they're not waiting on you.
I have done skilled labor for people in the past, and found that the *very few* tips I was offered (and declined) were from those people who always seemed to be looking for another way to create/reinforce a Me Master-You Servant dynamic.
Cleaning lady? To me a different story. Tipping unskilled labor is completely appropriate.
Posted by: vanburenproud at December 16, 2007 8:11 PM in response to How much do I tip people working on my house?
Tipping unskilled labor is appropriate. I always tip the garbage hauler's assistant. I tipped my demo crew. I wouldn't tip a painter's or plumber's assistant. These people are learning professional trades.
A tip is an acknowledgment of a service relationship. The person who hauls your trash or cleans your house is performing a service with their body for you that you are unwilling/unable to do, but do technically have the *skills* to do. If you had less money or more muscles or whatever, you'd be doing that work. This makes the person you employ merely a stand-in for your body. A tip acknowledges that relationship.
A plumber, on the other hand, is a professional who has a world of specialized information under his belt that you don't have. You are paying him a *premium* day rate to get access to it. The power relationship is totally different.
Think of it this way: how would your doctor look at you if you slipped him a twenty?
Posted by: vanburenproud at December 16, 2007 8:32 PM in response to How much do I tip people working on my house?
To answer guest 9:06's question, I have waited a lot of tables and worked in a couple of galleries and done quite a bit of custom metalwork in people's houses. And I have to say that sometimes rich people are amazingly rude.
Not all rich people, but some are. And when they are rude, they are often rude along this Insecure-About-Their-Power axis.
Again, tipping any nonskilled labor is completely appropriate. Tipping someone who is already charging me for their skills (unless they are cutting my hair) feels rude to me. Manipulative. See MP's $300 tip story. It makes sense, but IMHO, it's crass to pull this kind of shit with skilled grownups. At that level, it's buying people.
About the nicest thing a client ever did for me was bake me a pie. It conveyed exactly what he wanted it to convey: that he understood that I took time to make something right for him, and that he appreciated that time and humanity with some of his own.
What's wrong with a small gift? It seems like a less loaded, more genuine way to appreciate someone who has already given you a price.
Posted by: vanburenproud at December 17, 2007 8:07 AM in response to How much do I tip people working on my house?
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
Fake post or not, makes you think twice about buying all that "vintage" furniture and clothing at the flea market.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 12:25 PM in response to Bed bugs
doesn't make me think twice, 12:25.
makes me think there are a lot of liars and filthy people who troll around on this website.
namely you and the original poster...
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 12:35 PM in response to Bed bugs
Since we're all detectives now, here's my view: OP used to own, now she rents. She bought the couch, got an infestation, and now wants permission to make someone else pay for it.
Oh, and she's a loser.
Posted by: curiositykilledthecat at May 9, 2008 12:56 PM in response to Bed bugs
Bklyn Fire Alarm and Dave-- Why so hostile to OP? As another poster points out it's not clear if (s)he brought in the offending sofa or if another tenant did. That said, can we just tell OP that if (s)he brought the bedbugs in, it's his/her obligation to hire an exterminator to get rid of them? Or if another tenant brought in the bugs, that other tenant should be paying for the exterminator? How easy was that?
I agree that both of you post helpful comments on this board, but that doesn't mitigate baseless hostility.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 12:58 PM in response to Bed bugs
Perhaps, daveinbedstuy, if you weren't so continually overexcited (oh boy!!!) you'd notice fire alarm guy's posts tend to be obvious and dull.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 12:58 PM in response to Bed bugs
maybe Mina and Ysabelle are roomies. Or even more likely, the same person. Think about it, one is a laywer looking for legal advice and the other is an interior designer that dispenses dubious information while looking for european cabinet makers. Curious this is.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 1:04 PM in response to Bed bugs
At this time last year when we were renting in Carroll Gardens we had a horrible bedbug experience. We have no idea how they were brought into the apartment (no used furniture). I notified the landlord and he gave me the name or the regular exterminator he used. We had to empty all closets and launder EVERYTHING and put it in garbage bags. The exterminator came for an initial visit and then one or two follow ups at an expense to me of close to $600 for a tiny 1BR plus den apt. We continued to live out of garbage bags and saw occasional bedbugs for another month until fortunately we were moving anyway. It was a nightmare! As for who is responsible for paying the exterminator, both the exterminator and the city of ny (311) advised me that the landlord should be responsible. I paid and then the landlord screwed us anyway on the security deposit and I would venture to say did not mention bedbugs to the next tenant.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 1:07 PM in response to Bed bugs
12:58 thanks for the exciting post...brooklynfirealarm is informative...which is what people need here unless it becomes clear that they are bogus which Ms Mina Simon, Esq. certainly is...you take yourself way too seriously
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at May 9, 2008 1:39 PM in response to Bed bugs
Actually the landlord of a three unit building is exempt from responsibility for extermination.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 2:00 PM in response to Bed bugs
While I understand that Mina's posting record is fishy, those of you who think an atty would do legal research *here* need to get over yourselves!
Posted by: vanburenproud at May 9, 2008 2:18 PM in response to Bed bugs
SHE IS ACTUALLY A DEEP ORANGISH-RED COLOR. WITH HINTS OF PURPLE IN HER HAIR AND BLUE LIPS.
Posted by: vanburenproud at December 3, 2007 8:18 PM in response to Tipping Postal Worker