Wonder What the Neighbors Think?

There was a post on the blog Apartment Therapy in January about a pink brownstone in Park Slope. What was creepy about the responses wasn't that some people thought the color was ugly, but that everyone seemed so horrified in a gated-community, block-association, keeping up with Joneses type way:

"I feel it's flat out tacky. Wonder what the neighbors think?"

"when you have to subject passersby to such a bold statement, it seems a bit discourteous. Soon you'll have a street of rainbow houses."

"This is a shameful. The outside of a home should be RESPECTFUL to the context of it's surroundings. This is like giving the middle finger to all of the neighbors."

"I would not buy the house across the street from this house."

"Oh, how dreadful. This horrid should not be allowed in urban environment. If people with no taste want to project their personal “style” onto the exterior of their houses they should move to the country side and do as they’re pleased."

Wait, an urban environment is where it shouldn't be allowed? I thought being exposed to different things is exactly what you should appreciate about an urban environment. Go back to the suburbs, lady!

By contrast, one commentor wrote:

"I've lived near that house since the mid-80s. The neighborhood used to be a lot funkier, with bicentennial-painted fire hydrants, old clawfoot tubs overflowing with plants, "cheap landlord" paint colors, and many of the brownstones in disrepair. Then came the real estate boom, the money, the mass renovation/restoration movement, and the movie-set perfection that is Park Slope today...

Garish as it is (the pic doesn't do justice) it pleases me every time I walk by, and reminds me of what Brooklyn (and life?) used to be like before The Fall (when Eve bit the apple and understood that her pink house was wrong)."

Anyway, this discussion certainly reinforces the idea that people want to live in places like Park Slope so they can fulfill their suburban fantasy and further neutralize the neighborhoods personality to suit their own bland, tasteful, and ultra- expensive aesthetics.

$300 Off Every Puppy

Sure, there didn't seem to be anyone in the old, locally owned business I passed in the West Village, but there were plenty of people in the boutiques and the designer dog stores. Usually the puppies in the windows are capering about, but on this day every puppy seemed to be slumped over forlornly, adding to the pathos of the situation.

Yuppie Apocalypse

It's amazing how people go into any place with this vibe and outdoor seating. According to the internets, this is a very popular restaurant and it is 100% organic, started by a South American businessman and confessed "foodie" who polled NYC diners on what kind of restaurant they want. They advertise gluten-free pasta on the awning. Like other Manhattan restaurants, this would not look at all out of place in an airport or mall:

Sure, I complain about the ubiquity of subway tile and pressed tin ceilings in Brooklyn, but at least those elements have some character and link to what New York is supposed to be about. I think the bottom line is that yuppies especially don't have good taste. How could you voluntarily spend all day in a Starbucks? Does no one notice that it's ugly and gross in there?

Also, watch out for lime green! Everything is lime green!

Slobbily dressed yuppie couple out for a stroll.

Here's a similar business, advertising nothing over 500 calories on the sign. And the lime green.

Okay, so I guess I should just go up to people and ask to photograph them instead of taking these blurry photos, but I just wanted to point out how poorly these people dress, and how men and women of this social group are constantly in workout clothes. A blight!