Another Brooklyn Attempt to Kickstart Cardboard Boxes for Cats

We’ve now been asked for money by (at least) two Brooklyn-based cardboard cat-house companies on Kickstarters. A year ago, I wrote about the Cat Townhouse; essentially a cardboard box with a cat-hammock for the top and a scratch post at the bottom gussied up on the outside to look like a brownstone. Sadly their Kickstarter campaign did not do so well and they didn’t raised the $10,000 they were asked for.

This new “product campaign,” is for Meowses, which is literally just a cardboard box–without the hammock or scratch post–and they’re asking for $25,000 on Kickstarter. That’s 25K for a cardboard box. And Meowses expects to win you over with their spokesperson: a cat puppet named Smokey that speaks with a ridiculous Brooklyn accent by way of Jersey Shore. Some pledge rewards can get you an autograph from Smokey himself, along with a “dime bag” of organic catnip.

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Town Hall Meeting Held in Discuss Messed Up Cop Policy to Kick Kids Out of the Hood

Image via NY1This past Friday a town hall meeting was held at John Jay to discuss the bullshit policy under which cops tell kids to get the hell out of the neighborhood. Students and other community members were given an opportunity to speak their mind and share their experiences.

"Am I still looked at like a criminal? Can I walk down the street? That's technically how I look at it," said Steven Martin, an 11th-grade student, according to NY1. He is, obviously, a dark skinned kid and, at the rate things are going, only marginally better off in Park Slope than in Ferguson.

“Our children should be able to walk in any neighborhood... and not be stopped because of the color of their skin,” said Casey Robinson, the Co-Vice President of the Park Slope Collegiate PTA. Park Slope Collegiate is one of four schools housed in John Jay. I think it’s worth pointing out that their children ARE able to walk in any neighborhood; it’s not a freedom that hasn’t been established, it’s just a freedom the cops are choosing to deny them.

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Slope Cops Literally Tell Black Teenagers "Get Out of the Neighborhood."

Image via parkslopestoop.comCommanding Officer Capt. Frank DiGiacomo of the 78th Precinct told a Community Council meeting that "if [teens] are not playing basketball, you’re not playing soccer, you’re not doing something productive in the neighborhood, I can see [officers] moving them.” What the fuck? Last I checked, this was a free fucking country where being “productive” was not a prerequisite to walk around public streets. It’s also not a fucking crime. Of course, this only generally applies to black youth. Which should come as no surprise to anyone.

Some context: Park Slope resident Sara Bennett–who some dipshits would pejoratively label a “Social Justice Warrior”–witnessed two cop cars tailing a group of black kids on 9th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, telling them via loudspeakers to "get out of the neighborhood." She says there was about 4 or 5 kids, around the age of 16, just walking down the street. "I was really really upset and disturbed, not by the kids, but by the way the police were yelling at them to get out of the neighborhood," Bennet said to DiGiacomo and other officers at the Community Council meeting. At which point DiGiacomo explained the aforementioned “policy” about moving groups of teenagers out of the neighborhood.

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Vanity Fair Passes on Park Slope Mom Advice to Kate Middleton

Images via Brownstoner and Vanity FairVanity Fair recently rounded up a collection of pro-tips from Park Slope moms to the royal baby momma, Kate Middleton. Maybe? Honestly, these suggestions sound so absurd that it could be satire. Yet the absurdity seems right in line with the trend-chasing moms of the ‘hood. Take for instance this little nugget of wisdom:

“The good thing about having more than one is you worry less. With the first, you think things like, What if they die in their sleep? With the second, you simply don’t have time to watch them every second.”

When considering the Queen’s opinion on the matter, one Slope mommy points out:

“The Queen is likely going to favor George because one day he’ll have her job, whereas the new baby is kind of irrelevant.”

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Parole Office Coming To Gowanus. Predictable NIMBY Reactions Ensue.

DNAinfo/Nikhita Venugopa

Last week a public meeting was held about the new parole office being opened in Gowanus, not too far from the Whole Foods. The office’s relocation was announced in July, many complaining that the process was kept secret for too long and demanding answers. To which I say: you actually aren’t entitled to even that. See, parolees are no longer in jail because they’ve served their time; they don’t owe you any more explanation for conducting their business in your neighborhood than you’d expect from anyone else.

According to DNAinfo, people were left "shocked and worried about their safety." "The sheer numbers of traffic — 40 [parolees] an hour and 400 day — is terrifying, really," said Freida Lim of the Eight Street Block Association. I'm not going to pretend there's even a possiblity she is merely concerned by the amount of people as a matter of infrastructure. We're not naive and we know what she means by "terrifying." This fear is not based on fact but pure stereotyping. To address it in a forum meant to discuss tangible issues is to grant legitimacy to another narrow minded way of marginalize a group of people because you don’t like them. 

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