Closing Bell: Flyer-Free Fort Greene?
Until there’s a law with some teeth regarding the undiscriminating dissemination of menus and circulars, it falls upon residents of buildings to fight the good fight by posting signs blocking junk mail on stoops and in vestibules. To that end, Green Fort Greene and Clinton Hill is coordinating a “No Ad” sign blitz of Fort…
Until there’s a law with some teeth regarding the undiscriminating dissemination of menus and circulars, it falls upon residents of buildings to fight the good fight by posting signs blocking junk mail on stoops and in vestibules. To that end, Green Fort Greene and Clinton Hill is coordinating a “No Ad” sign blitz of Fort Greene and Clinton on April 24th (two days after Earth Day). The goal is to post 1,000 of the signs around the two ‘hoods. If you’d like to get involved, please contact brian.bohan@gmail.com.
@forbiddenplanet
You can call me stupid, lazy, douchebag, etc., all of which are partly true and all of which point up character defects that I need to work on. But when you call someone “retarded,” you use a hurtful term used to stigmatize people with developmental disabilities which they really have no control over.
Not a big deal, but worth pointing out, I think.
The signs are ugly and annoying, but I came a believer because I got sick of picking up all the trash that delivery people and etc. leave behind. We’ve since had a reduction in the amount of stuff left behind, but there are certainly still the odd menus, etc. And there seems to be no stopping the Friday plastic bag coupon people, who are probably instructed to distribute all of their baggies under penalty of death, regardless of how many anti-litter signs are posted on a property. (I called the company number listed on the bag, but fat lot of good that did) If you own a single family house, you can file a complaint with the city against the littering company, but if you’re in a multi-unit building, you need EVERY unit owner to sign a petition, so that’s harder to coordinate. Major pet peeve!
These signs work. The times they don’t I have made an effort to call the business to tell them that they are posting menu’s to our property and that it’s a fine, and they have thanked me for the call and never posted again. The one time it did continue after the call I then 311’d the establishment and they were fined. We don’t get any more fliers from them. It’s a great law if you just follow up on it. The biggest violators at the moment are the illegal locksmiths and the Jehovah Witnesses. I can get the Witnesses taken care with some effort but illegal locksmiths I have yet to take on.
Maybe Its a matter of taste and I’m elitist but I’m frustrated by the amount of negativity on these posts: people are volunteering to do what they believe is good for their neighbors, their neighborhood and the environment and getting ridiculed and pigeon-holed by people who probably care about none of the above.
Caller ID serves a similar purpose – I know the telemarketers are calling and I don’t pick up. Should I feel bad for the people manning the phones on the other side?
Regardless of my reasons, I believe WE should have a choice in the matter without being called elitist, killers local small businesses barely scraping by, oppressors of poor junk-mail distributors, pegged as rich homeowners with multiple cars, douche bags, lazy, etc. — all easily refuted, unsubstantiated and in all ways disrespectful of one’s neighbors.
Civility and tolerance go both way. And that’s why I chose my language.
Maybe it’s a matter of taste, but I still find the signs creepy and elitist.
And flaming someone as “retarded” is, well, not very bright.
In my neck of the woods (lower slope), the Park Slope Civic Council tags work really well – to be honest, I was very surprised at how effective they are.
Heather yes you’ve pegged us wrong! We take public transportation, live in a small place with no AC and recycle rigorously…not ”trendy fixes”.
The amount of garbage over a single year from just one area like Fort Greene is astronomical and doesn’t qualify as your trendy fix.
Oh btw try not to get cranky environmental responsibility is real for most folks and economically sound as well….some of us have seen poverty and do not appreciate massive amounts of waste. Good day!
Not to belabor a dead horse, but when I’m cranky I get very tired of the “environmentally responsible” argument, given as it always seems to come from people living in larger houses, with more cars, who take more plane trips than I do.
If I’ve pegged you wrong, forgive me, but it’s something to think about. There are a lot of quick and trendy “fixes” people take to be green that really don’t do much at all. This, I’d say, qualifies.
I’ve posted the Lefferts Manor Association’s version of this sign. I still get occasional flyers, but the bags of advertising junk have stopped. My neighbors who haven’t posted the signs still get MULTIPLE bags on the stoops of their one family homes.