An Open Letter to Fedders re: Fedders Houses
Think of this letter as a form of group therapy. A concerned Brooklyn resident writes an open letter to the president of Fedders, trying to convince the exec of the damage to his company’s image by being associated with the lowest form of architecture known to man: Seemingly profitably for FEDDERS, these buildings—ghastly in their…
Think of this letter as a form of group therapy. A concerned Brooklyn resident writes an open letter to the president of Fedders, trying to convince the exec of the damage to his company’s image by being associated with the lowest form of architecture known to man:
Seemingly profitably for FEDDERS, these buildings—ghastly in their plain-as-cardboard architecture from the get-go—require an air conditioning unit under every other window. Unfortunately, each FEDDERS air conditioner is giganticly emblazoned with the word FEDDERS across the public-facing side of the unit. So an unsightly edifice in the first place becomes [number of windows with FEDDERS air conditioners] times uglier. It’s about as repugnant as seeing the word FEDDERS boldly capitalized 29 times here in this letter. The net effect I describe is now commonly referred to as a FEDDERS House.
Letter to Fedders [Open Web Letter]
David, I live in a house built 100 years ago in a working class neighborhood, for the immigrant blue collar population–and people now spend $1-$1.5 million for the quality and details it was taken for granted all homeowners, even lower class or uneducated newcomers, would expect and could demand. Jacob Riis wrote about people living in tenements–not the houses we live in and, in many instances, houses that had been built for the wealthy in the 1820s and later converted for poor renters. Houses and quality apartments were indeed built for the lower echelons–you just don’t know much about history.
Anon 6:36 – I suggest you read some history (try Jacob Riss to start) before you make retarded statements like
“when developers built for the poor and working class [100 years ago], they actually built quality product that showed respect for who would live there.”
The quality of the housing for poor peope 100 years ago was horrific; most even more frightening then your level of ignorance.
Of all the posts defending these pieces of crap, the one about Fedders housing lending “diversity” to Brooklyn is the most senseless. What’s this about going back to the suburbs–like the suburbs are’t bastions of bad, cookie-cutter architecture. I also love this cry of “elitism” — the very term the right wingers are always tossing about in their attempt to turn quality and intellect into dirty words.
Seamus, what right do you have to dictate who can post or not post?
The fact that someone disagrees with you should give them more right to post, not less.
The letter writer displays an uncanny financial mind, attributing the decline in a company’s stock price to the display of their logo on buildings deemed to be unattractive. The logic of the argument is only surpassed by the tenuous grasp said letter writer has on the english language and basic grammar.
Contractors here are cheap. How come no one puts in central air in a new building when the apts cost $555555, Look at the crappy thing on park place and flatbush, is this good design NO and it aint Fedders either. So we are F>cked, MOVE , NY is not really known for its cutting edge architecture. And by the way is a brownstone really all that great. I can hear my neighbors water pipes bang. I have to climb stairs. Maybe I should move to a McMansion.. HA At least then I would have mirrors on my ceilings…
Brooklyn wasn’t working class 100 years ago? What does that even mean? My family’s been here for about 125 years, and I can assure you there were rich poor and in between all along. Look at the old Brooklyn Eagle online–lots of poor, immigrants, blue collar–I mean, c’mon.
Hey–to the guy saying workers had no rights 100 years ago–you’re right–most advances made by labor have been in the 20th century–but that doesn’t change the fact that when developers built for the poor and working class, they actually built quality product that showed respect for who would live there. They had a forward attitude and also ego to be seen as guys of taste, etc.
The ironic thing is that the Fedders boxes wouldn’t be so bad if the Fedders name wasn’t so large, and they didn’t feel the need to have that huge name printed on each and every one. But then we couldn’t call the houses “Fedders houses” then. We’d have to come up with something shorter than “those awful new houses with the air conditioning boxes and small windows and too many stair cases and doors made out of strange colored bricks and dubious building materials, that are popping up like mushrooms after a rainfall all over New York city, especially in formerly underpriveleged areas now coveted by developers and realtors.”
For what it’s worth, I really hate it when people punch holes in walls for a/c units too. I don’t like window a/c’s either, but I certainly wouldn’t try to ban them, I think that’s unfair and unrealistic.