Message in the Sand: Are We Washout?


(Photo from Found in Brooklyn by Lisanne McTernan)

There has been so much going on in Sheepshead Bay and its nearby neighborhoods — maybe, even more so than usual — that it gets tough to cover all the stories.

New Yorkers tend to just get used to all this police and fire department activity. It’s just everyday happenings when someone gets stabbed, shot, or a building gets damaged in fire. On the development side of things, controversy abounds every day and residents are at work to smooth them out.

Find out more about the writing in the sand after the jump.

With regard to crime and danger, some who are not from around here, read New York news and wonder how we survive in this place. Here’s what a Virginia blogger, who calls himself the New Cubemonkey, said in 2006 about activities he saw on the Gothamist map:

Basically this map shows me that NY is dangerous and I probably don’t want to live there. Seems to have a fire or accident or perp search every other block. This cool Google Map shows the latest incidents in NY.

If you visit his Cool Google Maps site, you might want to take a look at some of the maps. You might even like to add some of our local businesses to a couple of them, since Sheepshead Bay (or South Brooklyn, for that matter) is not very well represented on most of them.

Brooklyn is a tough place, for sure. But, the good far outweighs the bad for most of us, it seems. At least that’s the impression I got from the picture from the blog Found in Brooklyn: Most of the Time. Posted by blogger and photographer, Lisanne McTernan, the photo above is just one of many she loves to take in and around Brooklyn.

Like photographer Lisanne Anderson, this Lisanne is based in Brooklyn and enjoys snapping pictures of discarded items — things that we might see on garbage day (d’oh, who doesn’t?). Check out her post where she outlined the amazing coincidences between herself and her lifestyle twin.

After the New Year settled in, she went to the beaches at Coney Island and Brighton Beach to clear her head with some sea air. Having been overloaded with too much New York holiday excitement, she had forgotten her camera, but Lisanne is so skilled that even the picture she took with her cell phone came out pretty nice.

At first glance, it appears that someone wrote a message in the sand cursing Brooklyn. Then, she explained what the complete message was — and even though I don’t express myself in profanities — I could understand what the writer in the sand meant by saying, “This city is my fav place (Manhattan & Brooklyn)”. The part of the scribble that we can’t see says, ” I AIN’T LEAVING!…”

Life may be getting tougher in Sheepshead Bay and the writing in the sand may be long gone, but I think those of us who love the Bay, are not leaving.

What do you think? Is South Brooklyn by the water all washed out or is it still your “fav place”?