babiana
05.11.06, 14:11
is perhaps the last form of politically correct prejudice, as well as the most
accurate wrote David Langlieb. Angry Poles describe the artcle as "pure ethnic
slander".
November 3, 2006
Satire or Stupid to Slam Greenpoint
Haverford graduate, Parks Department project manager, and Greenpoint resident
David Langlieb is under fire for writing an essay about his neighborhood in
his alumni magazine. According to the Daily News, the essay, ripe with
complaints about the old-school Polish residents and self-deprecation about
not being an Ivy League graduate, has incensed the Polish American Congress
and Councilman David Yassky, who said, "my eyes pretty much popped out of my
head when I read this."
Here's a good chunk of the essay "Moved to Speak" in the Haverford alumni mag:
Communities like Greenpoint are a dying breed in America, and thank God
for that. Try ordering a Venti Caramel Macchiato at the Franklin Street
“coffee shop” and you’ll see what I mean. While the community has several
problems, most of them come back to the high density of Polish people
infesting its rowhouses. Mocking Poles for being stupid is perhaps the last
form of politically correct prejudice, as well as the most accurate. The other
day I asked a local Polak shopkeeper if he’d heard the one about the Polish
guy who tried to fill up his gas tank by driving the car in reverse. The
shopkeeper didn’t respond because he’d accidentally put his pants on his head
that morning and the waistband was cutting off his hearing.
I’m kidding, of course, but Greenpoint’s problems are no laughing matter,
and they won’t be solved by teaching the locals how to wear pants. The
Greenpoint business district, for example, is even uglier than the morons who
work there. Shoddy hand-made signage pollutes the storefront windows, and some
of the signs aren’t even in English. A friendly corporate logo or two would do
wonders for the place. The good news is that it looks like they’re opening a
Blimpie on Calyer Street, where Ula’s Deli used to reside. I’m not sure what
they’re doing with Ula, but maybe if she promises to clean her ears once in
awhile they’ll let her work the cash register.
...
Not to toot my own horn, but I’ve done wonders for the community. My
non-ethnic whiteness, above average hygiene, and dependable income have
already attracted new investments to Greenpoint. Private developers are within
months of breaking ground on a massive high-rise condominium complex on the
Greenpoint waterfront. There’ll be a rooftop pool, a fitness center, and
gorgeous views of the Manhattan skyline from across the East River. It’s not
quite perfect—a small percentage of the apartments will go to low-income
families—but nine tenths of a loaf is better than none.
One thing I do worry about is that Greenpoint will gentrify incorrectly. This
is what’s happening in adjacent Williamsburg, where the Hasidic Jews are being
displaced by hipsters. Sure, their parents give them enough money to keep the
neighborhood looking decent, but the new population is almost as annoying as
the old one. And yes, they do wear suits and ties sometimes, but only to be
ironic. No thank you.
I’d hate to see that happen to Greenpoint, because it has so much potential.
It’s a place I’d like to raise my kids: Within a stone’s throw of Manhattan,
amidst lawyers and investment bankers, and as shut off from civil society as
humanly possible. I dream of a Greenpoint where Banana Republic is open all
night, where groceries are ordered over the Internet, and where the churches
are converted to mixed-use parking facilities. Mine is a Greenpoint of the
future, sensitive to the desires of its residents who so desperately need a
racquet club and driving range. Or who will, anyway, after the vermin are gone.
So join me, my fellow Greenpointians. That is, if you’re literate enough to
understand what I’ve written.
Langlieb tells the Daily News, "This was aimed at certain Haverford graduates
who move into cohesive communities with little interest in giving back to
those communities." (His mother adds that Polish-Jewish relatives died during
the Holcaust.) It seems like satire, but is an alumni magazine a place for it?
If you didn't know anything about Greenpoint and read the essay, you might
think anyone who lived there was crazy. What do you think?
Oh, and the Parks Department says Langlieb's views "do not reflect the views
of the agency."
Posted by Jen Chung in News: NYC | Link | Comments (72) | Recommend this!
www.nysun.com/article/42890
www.gawker.com/news//polacks-protest-haverford-alums-satire-212162.php
justsayin2000.blogspot.com/
