From Jorgiana (11/6/09):

LOL….Thanks!You are my hero!Here’s a story that you might appreciate.My father is a famous artist from Brooklyn who left it after returning from WW2….took art lessons in NYC,got a scholarship to go there on the GI Bill,,,,,,left for carreer opportunities in Colorado where he became famous,also left his Brooklyn love who lived around the block,and guess what?I was stuck growing up in Brooklyn as an adopted kid who waited for highschool to end and then fled to NYC to the LES where my life began and has continued.I have never fit into Brooklyn,and now it is full of every kind of ethnic mafia that exists.Bayridge IS that wrestler guy,in various forms,and the whole borough is one big queazy ,bus terminal in some other country where the restrooms and the restaurants seem questionable and iffy.I’m only here because my 98 year old Brooklyn do or die mother died last year.She wouldn’t leave this harsh borough,and I was forced to always come back to the place of sad and f….ed memories.We hope to move.The irony is that wherever a Brooklynite travels to someplace else,in hopes of escaping the lowdown,provincial,paranoid and nasty mentality of Brooklyn someone always says,”Hey! Brooklyn!,like it’s your nickname,your branding of being from the borough of assholes,…before they try to get rid of you! Yes,there are some deep remembrances and sad memories that tie you to the place, but man!You can keep it!Goodbye for good,Brooklyn.I think you screwed up my heart and brain enough for one lifetme!

From Kenny (10/11/09):

Did you know your site is illegal? It’s considered Internet slander and defamation due to the false and non-factual information you’ve provided to your extremely small audience. Your site was reported and you will recieve a cease and desist in the mail, along with information pretaining to the court date that you will be required to attend as a defendent against the City of New York.

Thank you for your time and cooperation!

PS, I am a lawyer so I know you are bullshitting! As a wise man once said, “that Brooklyn bullshit, we on it!”

You can see the data-driven justification for why Brooklyn sucks by clicking the image above, or by clicking here.

http://curbed.com/archives/2007/10/23/williamsburg_car_toastathon_continues.php

http://curbed.com/archives/2007/10/22/toasted_car_livens_south_williamsburg_streetscape.php

http://curbed.com/archives/2007/07/16/monday_south_brooklyn_car_flambe.php

Seriously, has Brooklyn devolved into some kind of shit smelling third world country?

From Curbed

From AM NY

Also From Curbed

Didn’t read the article. Don’t need to. Am constantly reminded by everyone I know who lives in Brooklyn every chance they get how GREAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYTTTTTTTTTT (grating is more like it) it is and how JEALLLLLLOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUSSSSSSS I am not to live there. (See above: re: Alison Bass). Alison, I don’t know you, but I can tell you this: as a former seven-year resident of the GREATTTEEEESSSSTTTTTTT borough EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR I will tell you why the last thing I am jealous of is your shitty borough: It sucks. Did you happen to read the title of this blog? From the bowels of Bay Ridge to the trust-fund nose-bleed sections of Brooklyn Heights, IT. SUCKS. I have never been mugged by a crackhead in any other borough other than Brooklyn. I’ve never fallen asleep to the sound of gunfire other than in Brooklyn, I’ve never had a black kid sitting on a tricycle throw cans at me and yell at me to “Go home, Snow White” other than in Brooklyn, I’ve never had illegal cock fighting rings be formed anywhere but right outside my window other than in Brooklyn. I’ve never had crack vials crunch under my feet other than in Brooklyn, I’ve never had apartment(s) structurally suck (and cost) more than in Brooklyn, I’ve never had the unearned arrogance of a clueless trust fund baby cut me off in the grocery line/bar/gallery/lame-ass, middle of nowhere party in someone’s structurally unsound, illegal-sublet Brooklyn apartment other than in Brooklyn, I’ve never had more arrogant, ignorant, hypocritical, myopic people tell me how great Brooklyn is other than in Brooklyn. Please leave this space at once and instead do what you most crave: drowning yourself in like minded, lock-step pod people at your Park Slope co-op coffee house surrounded by Sister-school educated stroller mommies in sexless marriages having their monthly global warming Meet Up discussion while their SUVs idle outside and their Jamaican/Filipina/Polish nannies (who get paid under the table and make $6 bucks an hour and haven’t personally seen their own children in years) manufacture a play date for all the afore-mentioned double-wide stroller mommies “precious” little obnoxious snotty tykes two feet away. This is all for the children, of course: Max, Madison, Ashley and Dakota will all grow up thinking Brooklyn is so great that they will inbreed into your ever-homogenized gene pool and thus may eventually kill off, or at least make even more retarded, the loathesome above-described type known as Stroller Mommy, hallelujah. Alison, we on this blog don’t like Brooklyn, because get this! It! Sucks!

At least 8 million gallons of petroleum remain under Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Soil tests have revealed toxic vapors emanating from the spill. A 1990 agreement between ExxonMobil and state environmental officials had required the company to recover the spilled oil, but specified no deadline or penalties. Despite record profits, Exxon did nothing.

read more

“Kruger says he will introduce legislation on Wednesday to ban the use of gadgets such as Blackberry devices and video games while crossing the street.”

Full story here. Well done Carl. Apparently, because three geniuses from Brooklyn proved Darwin right, he wants to tell real New Yorkers that they are children that cannot be relied upon to walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. Literally. What a great legislator you are. Thanks for saving us from the real terrorists, Carl.

Carl, here’s to you:

Carl says that “[t]his electronic gadgetry is reaching the point where it’s becoming not only endemic but it’s creating an atmosphere where we have a major public safety crisis at hand.”

You know what I think? I think that this example of overzealous legislation is reaching the point where it’s becoming not only endemic, but its creating an atmosphere of power hungry bureaucrats trying to legislate every aspect of our lives by dreaming up with twisted new ways to enrich the government’s coffers. Someone stop the madness before it’s too late!

BAD PLACES

Bad dealers tend to be located in Brooklyn, NY (area code (718) for customer service, at your expense). The good NY dealers tend to be in Manhattan. I have no idea why.

…

A reader writes that he got scammed by CCI Camera City dba Royal Camera and Video. He thought he bought a D70 for a great price, only $749 (usually $900). After placing his order he got a call from them asking if he wanted the charger and battery along with it, since the camera “didn’t include them.” They hit him up for another $200, since of course the D70 is useless without the dedicated battery and charger. OF COURSE the D70 comes with those, and this way he wound up paying more than he would have just by buying from a legitimate dealer in the first place. This reader is now busy reporting this to the appropriate attorney generals. This practice isn’t necessarily illegal, just deceptive. If this happens to you just call your bank, cancel the credit card charge, return the item, notify the manufacturer and tell everyone you know about the shifty antics. Then buy it again from a legitimate dealer. Here’s a whole page about Royal Camera on RipoffReport.com. I don’t make this stuff up.

In any case, it has become common knowledge that all or nearly all Brooklyn camera dealers are bait and switch crooks.  Today, ConsumerAffairs.com published an article that reported that Brooklyn camera stores generate complaints nationwide. The article refers to the site WawaDigital.com and StargatePhoto.com, both based in Brooklyn as is CCI Camera.  Most people in the know about camera shopping or about Brooklyn seem to acquiesce in this fact, but it has always confused me: why hasn’t anyone done anything about it?

Not only do these Brooklyn dealers employ bait and switch tactics, they are rude, sneaky, and sometimes threaten bodily harm. And how is this for customer service:

Brown admitted that they do hang up on customers because, “These customers call us and they don’t shut up about their problems.”

That these stores thrive in Brooklyn is a testament to the apathy of Brooklyn law-enforcement.  This is not a new phenomenon, it has been going on for YEARS. 

Brooklyn Sucks invites your comments, horror stories, and links to more of these scam-artist camera shops.  I will list the places NOT TO SHOP below, but not link them lest some hapless newbie click and be directed to those deplorable shops.

Where NOT to Buy Cameras or Camera Equipment (list will be updated regularly):

Wawadigital.com
StargatePhoto.com
CCIcameracity.com
Royal Photo Camera

Ok, so where do I buy Cameras and Camera Equipment?

Definitely read Ken Rockwell’s article on the subject.

Caneras at Amazon is where I bought mine.

B&H Photo Video is another great MANHATTAN retailer.  Very reputable, perhaps the best.

Buy.com is another reputable place to buy cameras.