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.
look at it this way…some poor schlub is making a few $$ distributing all this stuff. Then he spends it in this city and helps economy. All you need to do is pick up and put in trash can. Burn a few calories. everyone is a winner.
On other hand, the people that toss litter are bigger headache and add nothing to economy.
As the one coordinating this, definitely appreciate the debate. Just to clarify a few points:
– the signs we’ll be hoping to get posted are rather small (5×7)
– they are not the bright red/yellow ones. they are fairly tasteful, green, white, and black
– they are not ‘flyers’ themselves, they are laminated and durable
– they do work. I’ve had one on my gate for the past year and rarely ever get papered whereas my signless neighbors do
– it is against the law to put flyers and ads on houses that have these signs posted
– we are also trying to work with the businesses that produce the ads themselves. I agree we need to address the source as well.
– the trash and litter is bad, but it’s more than that. it’s a huge waste of paper and resources associated with printing.
– if folks like the flyers and ads and find them useful they are obviously free to say no to our signs.
Thank you!
My block association in Crown Heights handed out similar signs – albeit much more discreet and tastefully designed, in my opinion – and most of us homeowners, including me, put them up. Much to my amazement, they’ve worked.
I don’t think anyone hear is admitting to themselves how many unwanted flyers are actually left around.
In Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights it’s a constant. I don’t want four menus from a sushi place on 15th St. when I live on Bergen St. and have two within baseball throwing distance.
I don’t want to order ironwork just because I have a cast iron fence, either.
Or, the look on the face of the man leaving shit on my doorstep at 7 am when I happened to come out and catch him redhanded will tell you they know they’re being a nuisance. getting rid of nuisances is what community action does.
Therefore, I support.
I want one of those signs! Half our paper recycling each week is crap I never asked for. Menus are no big deal, but the plastic-bagged coupons are ridiculous. I would be more sympathetic if they left one or two bags per house, but it’s usually three or four.
I don’t find the signs unsightly–they’re quite small in person.
I use them as doggy doodie bags. I go around and take tons of them all the time.
Neatly left on the vestibule table [or whatever accessible common area] I might think, “Hey, maybe *this* will be the non-mediocre Chinese takeout of my dreams!” Left in a grungy pile on the stoop/vestibule floor I think, “Great. More ‘littering as a marketing campaign.’ Screw that place.” It’s all about the presentation.
I too am wondering at the efficacy of posting signs to reduce… signs. But I’m thinking maybe this an elaborate joke? Art project done by Pratt student?
BTW many of the people who distribute the signs do it for small businesses who don’t have the money for other forms of advertising. They are very cost effective. Personally I like some of them but I am sure that makes me odd man out(or just odd sometimes)….