Profiles in Courage: Todd Bieber, Guerilla Gardener & Viral Video Sensation

Photo by Park Slope Lens

In 2007, Todd Bieber -- no relation to the tween sensation -- migrated to Park Slope from rural Pennsylvania, where he made commercials for local businesses.  Last winter while cross country skiing in Prospect Park, (Editor's Note: That's pretty badass) he spotted a lost film canister buried in the snowy banks of the Audubon Center. The documented find and ensuing adventure to locate the canister's owners resulted in a series of Youtube videos yielding over 2.5 million hits.

These days, the budding filmmaker shows his outdoorsy roots again in a another video as a vigilante gardener. In late spring, Todd and some friends donned headlamps and snuck into a fenced-in garbage patch on on the corner of 8th Ave and 5th Street. They cleaned the area and planted various flowers, herbs and vegetables. Todd continues to care for the garden, and one of his neighbors said of the effort, "Anyone who doesn't love this garden is demented." Well put, neighbor.

Recently I spoke with Todd about the documented adventures, his job working for the UCB Theater and what kind of movie he would make about Park Slope if given the chance (spoiler: it's about bed bugs).

When and why did you move here?
In November 2007, so three and a half years ago. I grew up in a small town. I like to come home to quiet. I’m not saying Park Slope is boring, but it has a different energy that’s more livable than Manhattan.

What do you like most/least about Park Slope?
My favorite thing is the park. It is the best part of living here. I jog there about every other day, I take walks, and it lead to one of the most amazing adventures of my life. I grew up in the country so having 500 acres I can explore is great. I’m there at least two days a week and always find something new. It makes me feel less claustrophobic.

My least favorite thing are people who think we shouldn’t have a bike lane. They are idiots.

What’s your experience with the Food Coop or any other coops?
I’ve been a member of the Food Coop since we moved here. My girlfriend, Juliana, and I are both food nerds. 90 percent of the members are normal humans. Then there is the 10 percent who represent the cliche you always hear about. You encounter them but they are the minority. I think I need to make up 3 or 4 shifts, actually. I’m not sure I can shop there today. The best way to make up shifts is to go to the general meeting which is two and half hours of members ranting their ridiculous personal gripes. It's better than a Christopher Guest movie.

Which Park Slope approved accessory do you have: a dog, a baby or a book deal?
No baby. No book deal.  We don’t have a dog because of our building doesn’t allow them. Sometimes we go to the off-leash area in the park and my girlfriend who is obsessed with dogs, sneaks them treats.

What’s the strangest/funniest thing that’s happened to you since you moved to Park Slope? 
Last winter I was cross country skiing in Prospect Park when I looked down and saw a film canister. I picked it up and in an effort to find the owner I got it developed. It led to the most amazing experience of my life. I ultimately ended up in Paris.

Here's part 1 of the video:

How does a film canister bring you to Paris?
I thought the film would probably be blank or maybe there would be something strange. Instead, I found beautiful black and white photos of Park Slope, Brooklyn and NYC. I have a background in storytelling so I made a video to find the owner of the pictures. In a day, the video had 10,000 hits and in 3 days, over 1 million views. I ended up on the national news and got thousands of personal messages from people all over the world. Six weeks went by and I made a second video thanking all the people who had reached out to me.

I had given up on finding the owner of the pictures when I received an email from Stephanie who lives in Park Slope. She said the girl in the photos was Camille, a student from Paris who had stayed in her apartment, who later confirmed those were her pictures.

Todd and Camille

It felt really anti-climatic to put the film in an envelope and send them to Camille, so my girlfriend and I booked tickets to Paris. When we realized that we wouldn’t be able to meet with Camille until the end of our trip, we decided to visit people who had emailed with kind offers of places to stay. We made a circle, stopping in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy before meeting Camille back in Paris to return the photos.

Here are parts 2 and 3 of the video series:

Some commenter on the Youtube page said how odd it was that a photographer loses her photographs and a filmmaker finds them and makes a film. But not if you live in Park Slope. Everyone here is either a photographer, filmmaker, musician, painter, or poet. Or at least we all want to be one of those things.

So you make a viral video with 2.5 million views and decide to take up guerrilla gardening next?
There is a dirty little patch on the corner of 5th Street and 8th Avenue. It was such a waste. I felt like no one cared about it. I got together some friends and in the middle of the night, we cleaned it up and filled it with dirt. Then we planted herbs, tomatoes, strawberries. Where my peas died, we now have cucumbers and squash. Every morning I go out and water it and I weed it for a few hours on the weekend. People kept stopping and talking to me about it. Some have given me plants to put in the spot and someone dropped off a bunch of tomato stands.

If you could do a movie about anything in Park Slope, what would you do? 
A horror film about bed bugs.

Working at Uprights Citizens Brigade as the Director of Production and Content for the website, you’re involved in the comedy scene. Who is your favorite Park Slope comedian?
Andrea Rosen and John Gemberling.  Bonus: They're an adorable Park Slope COUPLE.  Double Bonus: They're about to have a (probably adorable) Park Slope BABY.

What is your favorite Park Slope comedy show?
Gentrify Brooklyn is my favorite.  The Brooklyn Lyceum is a really unique venue and the comedy is always funny.  It always ends with a dance party - mostly for a bunch of awkward, self-conscious Brooklynites.  I feel right at home. 

What are your favorite local:

Restaurants: I regularly go to 'sNice, Red & Hot, Dizzy's.  Once a year I can afford to go to Palo Santo - and it's glorious.  

Coffee joint: I don’t really drink coffee.

Place to hang: my stoop

Unleashed by Petco just opened up. What do you think of the chain stores moving into the area?

I don’t shop at big chain stores, it doesn’t matter where I am.

What pisses you off about Park Slope?
Definitely people against the bike lanes. All of the Park Slope cliches don't really bother me: the COOP, and the baby strollers... I hear people get angry about that stuff but those are the things that make Park Slope an okay place to live. 

So the angry people of Park Slope sets you off?
It’s either extremes that irritates me. Actually it just bores me. Just do what makes you happy.

So what's up next for Todd? He's in the midst of editing his Turtle Derby documentary, which chronicles a 50 year-old Pennsylvania turtle-racing competition that Todd won at the age of ten. The sleepy hometown race faces environmental implications as its most popular contestant, the snapping turtle, has become endangered. You can watch the sneak peek trailer HERE. 

Keep up with Todd and his adventures on his Tumblr page or by subscribing to his Youtube Channel.