Flatbush Streetlamp Project Draws Criticism
A $4.7 million project to replace 500 working streetlamps in Flatbush with antique bishop’s crook lamps has met with local resistance, reports the Daily News. Some residents do not understand the utility of spending $10,000 per lamp (standard streetlamps cost $4,000 each) when the current fixtures work just fine and when the neighborhood could spend…
A $4.7 million project to replace 500 working streetlamps in Flatbush with antique bishop’s crook lamps has met with local resistance, reports the Daily News. Some residents do not understand the utility of spending $10,000 per lamp (standard streetlamps cost $4,000 each) when the current fixtures work just fine and when the neighborhood could spend the money elsewhere, such as streets and sidewalks in disrepair. “It’s ridiculous,” Kent Thomas, 24, told the News. “The lights we have work fine. There are hungry people in this neighborhood who need help; we need shelters and soup kitchens.” The project, which is half complete, received funding from the borough president’s 2007 capital budget. In contrast, Brooklyn Heights has launched a similar, $2.7 million campaign to install bishop’s crook streetlamps, with support from the Brooklyn Heights Association. Whereas opponents of both projects decry the waste of funds, the BHA defended the new street lights, saying they are beautiful, they enhance the neighborhood, and they are historically significant.
Flatbush Street Lamp Replacement a Dud [NY Daily News]
Brooklyn Heights’ Lights [Brownstoner]
I really like the bishop crook lights. The Daily News article is about parts of Flatbush south of PLG, but they’re being installed in our Historic District as I write this and I haven’t met anyone who isn’t pleased.
I actually like the cobrahead lamps that are being replaced, even if they’re out of character in older neighborhoods. They have that mid-twentieth century George Jetson thing going. I especially like their name.
But the prevailing aesthetic does seem to be to hermetically seal Brooklyn’s late-19th century streetscape, and where that can’t be done, we’ll do our best to come up with an ersatz version. Because anything that’s old, or can be made to look old, is better than anything that’s new and looks it.
> most of the time i love snarkslope… but not in this thread
Sorry rob, I really should be nicer.
orestes, the very best time to spend public funds is during a recession. That is what the president’s stimulus bill is all about. This is the best time to spend money on goods and services. Spending money on tangible projects is not evil. Quite the opposite. Being stingy during a recession will not help one bit.
“BTW I’ve asked the whores on Putnam Avenue to dress like Victorian street-walkers…”
I was wondering where all those discarded pettitcoats were coming from.
absolutely, DIBS. Stupid people can’t keep track of their pets. If they lost a child, Child Protection services would be all over them. Next time I tear down one of the missing pussy flyers, I’m calling PETA and animal cruelty.
Minard- I think the moral objection relates to the fact that we are in a serious recession and unemployment is over 10%. This may not be the time to allocate funds for such a project.
Putnamdenizen,
I completely agree with you on both points. I don’t understand the Brownstone Disney urge or the design of the lamp posts. They’re not much different than the suburban McMansion interpretations of the French Chateaux or the Italian Villa that we love to mock.
“If the funds are withdrawn for this project what will it be used for? ”
I believe the suggestion is for street and sidewalk repair.
If the street lamps are being manufactured in NYC and most of the employees live in NYC, then I withdraw my objection to them.