Brooklyn Man Vs. Manhattan Verizon Sign

Photo by Tien Mao.

There's nothing quite like walking hand in hand with the one you love on the Brooklyn Promenade, gazing across the East River into Manhattan, watching the sunset, and remembering you have to pay your Verizon bill. The Brooklyn Paper reports that one man is so angry about the glowing Verizon logo affixed to the equally uninspired building, that he's "vowing to ramp up the fight." Brooklyn Heights newcomer Richard Brown, "who now spends significant time on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade with a new significant other, said he first noticed the 'unsightly blemish' as he and his lady were enjoying a sunset a few weeks ago." Ever since, the sign, housed at 375 Pearl Street, has become the Moby Dick to his Ahab.

He isn't the first to try to take down the corporate ray of light, but that's not stopping him from rallying support and making t-shirts for his cause. A Verizon spokesman told the paper that nothing will happen immediately, however. Last year the company "sold part of the building to developers, who plan to open up the stony façade with a new glass curtain wall and create one million square feet of new office space. The new owners are also reportedly offering the sign space as an additional enticement to potential companies."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on September 18, 2008 3:10 PM

Comments [rss]

west side Michael

China will buy that building and put

a big illuminated face of Mao smiling

at Brrooklen.

MrCow

i see that shit from my window. hate it.

citizenerased

Can't sell Verizon short now! Ahhh Richard Brown, foiled at every turn!

MurphGuide

Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job!

Kevin Walsh

That's FAR from the uglliest building in NYC. You could put your thumb on a map of Greenpoint or Flushing, take the train there, and find a flock of Fedders with concrete lawns and water meters by the front door that vie for the ugliest buildings on the planet.

I'm mystified by the disgust accreted to that Verizon building.

www.forgotten-ny.com

Pull My Finger

I find Richard Brown to be the most annoying ass hat in New York. Can we get rid of him?

NannyState

He should just sell Verizon short.

Spirit of 76

Somehow, in this economy, I don't think adding a million square feet of new office space to lower Manhattan is going to happen. Especially if it competes with Ground Zero.

Alex

blow that ugly piece of shit up

ides_of_march

Bloomberg clearly needs to put together a demolition task force to take down any structure that offends the delicate sensibilities of Richard Brown.

brooklynbs

The soaring price of giving people gas was the cause.

brooklynbs

If only the guy put his energy towards something that mattered.

qbertplaya

I love how when I'm riding in a car down the FDR and in the vicinity of the Verizon building, if I'm on my Verizon cell phone on a call, it usually drops, ironically.

RevWaldo

A note on why the building is so ugly. The building is (or was?) a massive telecom switching center, so its full of machinery instead of people. Hence the lack of windows which improves security, reduces costs, etc. etc. It's a great big box built for functionality rather than looks.

All this doesn't explain the need for the big lighted logo though. If they stuck with the unlit Bell logo no one would've said anything. (People *like* the Bell logo.)

fuckthesign

That sign does say "fuck you." It says "Fuck you, you live in Verizon City."

jaems

It's among the ugliest buildings in all of Manhattan and fittingly, has one of the ugliest corporate logo's in all of existence.

Richard Brown is likely to lose, but good on him for having the balls (and time) for fighting the good fight.

TRBoater

I would rather look at a sign that says 'fuck you.'

nomnomnom

The new owners should put a sign up that says, "FU Richard Brown" - that would be awesome.

citizenerased

Has to be one of the ugliest, shittiest large buildings in the city.

Must be miserable inside too, can I get a window up in here?

Get rid of it.