tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post3159985066129671374..comments2024-03-28T01:32:46.604-04:00Comments on 66 Square Feet (Plus): Prospect Park's litterMariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13632520557553405790noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-64970358210114038562011-05-03T19:10:15.777-04:002011-05-03T19:10:15.777-04:00I take your point Anonymous - I base my assumption...I take your point Anonymous - I base my assumptions on who I see when I am there, and hitherto it has been guys. But I'm sure the place is hopping at night with greater variety. It's pretty well known as a cruising area for male pick ups, though; and the Ramble, you are right, is much cleaner. This is because there is more money to fund clean up for the high profile park. Prospect Park seems to be a poor cousin, here.Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13632520557553405790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-21025491345675420002011-05-03T15:12:07.804-04:002011-05-03T15:12:07.804-04:00I commend you for bringing attention to this issue...I commend you for bringing attention to this issue, but I wouldn't be so quick to blame the gay men that cruise this area. The woods, especially around the zoo and Flatbush Ave, have a busy after-dark trade in prostitution and it's not uncommon to see women ducking into the woods with their johns.<br /><br />FWIW, plenty of gay cruising grounds in public parks aren't sullied by such trash... the Ramble in Central Park is relatively clean and probably sees much more action than these woods. I wonder if there's a general culture of littering that is just reflecting the activities taking place here. New York tends to be a pretty filthy city and people have few qualms about throwing trash on the sidewalk, subway floor, or in the forest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-38129863499284092982011-03-05T11:50:35.312-05:002011-03-05T11:50:35.312-05:00Thank you Margaret - from talking to parks employe...Thank you Margaret - from talking to parks employees, do you get a sense of what the official attitude might be towards the cruising grounds and its detritus?Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13632520557553405790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-30328706294520243632011-03-03T17:03:44.556-05:002011-03-03T17:03:44.556-05:00Thank you for the beautiful pictures of the Vale. ...Thank you for the beautiful pictures of the Vale. I'm a member of the Parks volunteer group that helps to take care of that area of the park and am always pleased when others appreciate it as much as we do.<br /><br />I'm also familiar with the kind of litter you refer to, alas. Although the Vale is not the cruising spot it used to be, we've picked up our share of condoms and lube packets, along with the more generic trash-- plastic bags, chicken bones, beer and liquor bottles, t-shirts, shoes..... Every Monday morning between mid-March and November at least a half-dozen volunteers fan out around the Vale with gloves, grabbers and trash bags to deal with the week's accumulation, before turning attention to sweeping, weeding, and other horticultural tasks. Cleaning up this kind of litter is very labor-intensive, and it's not just a shortage of trash cans; there can be as much litter behind the bench next to the trash can as in areas farther away. <br /><br />Parks has an active volunteer program and welcomes anyone who wants to get involved. Working in the park -- even on litter patrol -- is very satisfying; I recommend it. Here is the link:<br /><br /> http://www.prospectpark.org/support/volunteersMargaretnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-12353517262952530192011-03-03T11:13:10.199-05:002011-03-03T11:13:10.199-05:00MIT - publicity will get some action, but possibly...MIT - publicity will get some action, but possibly not enough that will last.<br /><br />Janet- yep, management is lacking.<br /><br />Anonymous 2 - if you come back, please leave your name. Trash cans are high on the list of what is needed, and I have seen previous discussions on the subject of litter where Parks say they don't have enough staff to empty additional cans. So we will see.<br /><br />I see no homophobia here, and if it lurks, it is unwelcome. <br /><br />Inevitably, since much of the litter I am talking about is the detritus of sex between men, the subject will arise. Denying that this is a well known cruising spot is to be deliberately obtuse. <br /><br />Some people may take the opportunity of venting their prejudices, which I will not tolerate, but I hope most people stick to the subject, which is people littering.Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13632520557553405790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-88147597831602979672011-03-03T07:41:57.769-05:002011-03-03T07:41:57.769-05:00How about getting the parks department to install ...How about getting the parks department to install a couple of trash cans? Most folks will not litter if there is an available receptacle nearby. What I do find troubling is the undercurrent of homophobia here, especially in the comments. Forcomm? Was that really necessary?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-55038477891813830292011-03-02T20:26:01.116-05:002011-03-02T20:26:01.116-05:00Sadly NYC is not unique. We have a local park tha...Sadly NYC is not unique. We have a local park that is "known" for gay pick ups. I suspect that if I walked there tomorrow I could pretty much the same trash as you found at Prospect. I wish you luck and will support from afar.webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15168174623602308906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-34627935801786207432011-03-02T20:17:05.453-05:002011-03-02T20:17:05.453-05:00You missed the little hill along Prospect Park Sou...You missed the little hill along Prospect Park Southwest where you can find oodles of little plastic zip lock baggies coated with white powedery residue, each about the size of a crack rock. They are always there, no matter what season, and always reappear sfter the area gets cleaned.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-54460503063124730412011-03-02T17:39:05.585-05:002011-03-02T17:39:05.585-05:00Maybe this just needs management, as its unlikely ...Maybe this just needs management, as its unlikely to stop. "Poop and Scoop" was a successful campaign back for dog-walkers, back in the day.<br /><br />How about "Pick up after your pick-up"? And some trash bins nearby...Janethttp://www.beautifulbotany.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-53902248068123361752011-03-02T16:27:30.566-05:002011-03-02T16:27:30.566-05:00Sadly, there is an "out of sight-out of mind&...Sadly, there is an "out of sight-out of mind" mentality and it does seem to extend to some officials.<br />Perhaps letters to Parks Depts. or newspapers might help?<br />A (big, burly)French-speaking man on a bus chucked his unfinished lunch out of a bus window. Foil plate, plastic cutlery and gravy-out the window. And no one said a thing.<br />But as I got off at my stop, I looked right at him and said:"Vous etes un cochon!"<br />I doubt it would hit his conscience, but I was cross.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-67001751041274519942011-03-02T14:14:47.686-05:002011-03-02T14:14:47.686-05:00Anne, I don't even know if these men are consc...Anne, I don't even know if these men are conscioulsy desperate. It's lifestyle, 'on the Down-low' - some of them leading straight lives out of the woods. Others who know about it (these woods are billed on websites as a great cruising ground)get their kicks from having sex with strangers.<br /><br />Phyllis - before you congratulate me, wait a few months :-)<br /><br />Frank - yes, being there is the best advice. And your slogan is hysterical.<br /><br />arcadia, ja nee, see above.<br /><br />Val, heheh.<br /><br />Mey - my contact details are in my profile pic on the blog, just click on the picture. Thanks.Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13632520557553405790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-29743209380330683492011-03-02T13:57:10.928-05:002011-03-02T13:57:10.928-05:00Excellent post,
I would love to contact you via em...Excellent post,<br />I would love to contact you via email. Let me know via reply if this is possible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-18287330052392051412011-03-02T11:53:22.103-05:002011-03-02T11:53:22.103-05:00Very sad, I wish you luck. Litter(ers) drive me cr...Very sad, I wish you luck. Litter(ers) drive me crazy(er).<br /><br />Oh, too funny... the word verification for this post is forcomm.Valhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02777527533860225646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-10439405351158205282011-03-02T09:25:07.106-05:002011-03-02T09:25:07.106-05:00Kan die mense nie net gaan seks he^ in hul huise n...Kan die mense nie net gaan seks he^ in hul huise nie? Okay, dalk het hul nie huise nie. Maar ek twyfel. Sug.arcadiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10369048073517347118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-80067451841076817472011-03-02T09:17:45.242-05:002011-03-02T09:17:45.242-05:00I cannot say exactly at what point the woods becam...I cannot say exactly at what point the woods became dangerous in the European mind, but maybe it had something to do with Christianity's sky god, who clearly favored the open air to the dark of woods. <br /><br />Since then, perception has it that those who inhabit the woods are criminal if men and if a woman, a witch! And so the woods, even deep in a city, is emptied, but for men behaving pathologically.<br /><br />Which is a shame because Prospect's woods are way cooler on warm days and low in mosquitoes. A nice place to have lunch, relax, read a book.<br /><br />The best way to get the woods back is to be present, as you are. I love the woods, but I am usually turned off by the creep factor, the pacing, the strange behavior enough to move along. The zeitgeist of the Midwood is sex, and I think park officials and police look the other way, keeping it off the streets by ceding the woods to this behavior.<br /><br />Are condoms biological waste? Cleaning up this area may require a couple of special precautions. That said, I don't think there is anything in there that I haven't already cleaned out of my garden. Maybe some "pack it in, pack it out" signs like those of the NP for the loiterers. Maybe not that wording.<br /><br />Gardening Prospect Park....Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02554893883207752597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-31106696304926089682011-03-02T09:08:21.440-05:002011-03-02T09:08:21.440-05:00Good for you for taking action! I have found that...Good for you for taking action! I have found that it just takes one person to get the ball rolling and then others join in.<br /><br />I abhoar the way so many people litter and deface Mother Nature. We are ruining her as fast as we can.Phyllishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02161905717646343288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603107829473043654.post-84891309201080669162011-03-02T08:17:30.233-05:002011-03-02T08:17:30.233-05:00Your pictures show the worst of times and the best...Your pictures show the worst of times and the best of times. I can't help but feel terribly sad about a seemingly large group of people who are desperate for sex, enough to be out in the cold "lonely" park, likely with strangers. Perhaps signs that say, "It may be safe sex but how smart is it to leave your DNA?".Anne Boleynnoreply@blogger.com