Community Spirit Outshines Vandalism At Hootenanny Art House

Hootenanny Art House (428 15th Street, between 8th Avenue and Prospect Park West) owners Kira and Pete woke to a sad sight Tuesday morning. A vandal chopped down the beautiful 10-foot-tall sunflowers that stood outside the family play space, leaving nothing but mutilated stems in their wake. Although initially devastated, it wasn’t long before that fantastic South Slope community spirit proved once again that we have the greatest neighborhood in all of Brooklyn…quite possibly the world.

From the Hootenanny Facebook page:

My heart and mind went pretty black and I was forced to contemplate the kind of person that would do such a thing… but before I could spend too much time in that frame of mind, the first kids started to arrive for music class. Sweet kids and grown ups all…and shortly after my spirit began to lift with the laughter and the singing…THEN…people started showing up bearing SUNFLOWERS…lots and lots of them…they started filling the windows up…beautiful as all get out.

I can’t thank you all enough…you all turned this into the most amazing day and I can’t stop smiling. I love this community…you remind me everyday that beauty, music, art, and creativity, will always be the most defiant act against ugliness…

Photo via Hootenanny Art House