Knitta Please Hits Brooklyn Heights

Last night Magda Sayeg gathered up the knitting troops to bring these colorful knit "tags" to Brooklyn. 69 Meters is a public art installation commissioned by the Montague Street Business Improvement District and created by Knitta Please (the group which Sayeg is the founder). They've tagged everything from city buses to the Great Wall of China, so why not Brooklyn Heights? Let's hope the rain this morning didn't make the crafty pieces as soggy as that puppy did.

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I hate this ever so much, on so many levels. "Nitta Please"?! "...a "tag crew of knitters"!?!?!? I hate to make this a race issue, BUT WHITE PEOPLE ARE REALLY REALLY REALLY FUCKING LAME sometimes

Lame people are really lame sometimes. This would be just as pathetic if "Knitta Please" were a gang of black knitters.

I think this is great. We're all a bunch of miserable fu@ks, and these folks want to add some fun. It costs you nothing. It doesn't hurt you at all. Shut the FU@K up, you tw@t.

Huh. Is pointless self-censorship another "white person" pastime that I don't know about?

Dude you are lame for hating on something like this. I like this a lot. And how does it affect you in any way? Maybe someday it'll bring a smile to your face. And why say white people? Stop being racist.

I'm in complete agreement. Keep this sort of shit at Vassar college please.

Also I find the term "knitta please" completely unfunny and borderline insensitive.

I dare someone to lick the bottom of that meter cozy.

Oh, chill out Klaus. Sheesh. People doing something quirky and fun for their neighborhood: what a crime!

Please. They are co-opting inner city culture and twisting it into a pretentious, lame, caucasianized, yuppie-craft retardation. I hope they all get stolen and thrown into a furnace

Fine if you don't like the name, but what they're doing is completely harmless. You, kind sir, are a killjoy.

Co-opting inner city culture? Puh-leeeze! They're knitting. You need a hug or something. Lighten up, dillweed.

They're called "Knitta Please" and we all know the origin of THAT phrase. And they call what they do "Tagging." So, yes, it's a co-opt of inner city culture. Undeniably so.

Love how you resort to name calling. Really validating for both of us

Really, I resorted to name-calling? When you began with a sweeping generalization that "WHITE PEOPLE ARE REALLY REALLY REALLY FUCKING LAME" (caps yours)?

Later, hater.

Inner city culture? Haha, if my granma had only known how street she was being when she used to knit me booties living in her country home on the vineyard.

so what if they're co-opting inner-city culture? graffiti has long since escaped the inner-city, and half of american culture comes from what you think is the inner-city. why is this not okay, but pop music is?

if it's because they're yuppies, say that. everyone can relate to a little yuppie-hate.

I don't get it either and I am an obsessed knitter. But I value my knitting time and would not waste it, or yarn, on a project like this.

Can someone please explain the point of this to me?

It's called whimsy, having fun, saying "what the fu@k, why not?" L'art pour l'art. It's nothing serious, and certainly nothing worhty of this much debate. With that, I depart.

Yet, there you are. All worked up. Calling people names.

OK, sheesh! Whimsy it is! And a nice colorful place for dogs to piss.

i'm a miserable bitter fck and this doesn't bother me.
you should seen what I've done to cars. would have gotten me killed nowadays or at least a good internet lashing.
like I kare. I got nothing to lose.

Why does anything need a point? Why do blog commentators get dark about everything? On Gothamist we get everyone pissing and moaning about someone doing something to break the monotony of every day life by doing something harmless. I might as well read BrooklynVegan to hear a bunch of assholes saying how every band sucks.

Jesus Christ, people! It's fucking knitting! What the hell have you done today?

You have to understand how the Gothamist comment section works. A majority of the rational, normal commenters left a long time ago. Now all that is left are a few norms and a huge amount of trolls. Trolls get their kicks posting inflammatory stuff and pissing people off. But with few people left to piss off, the trolls start to get hungry and jump at the nearest meat, much like a pack of ravenous hyenas. What is worse, they begin to cannibalize each other by attempting to troll other trolls.

I'm a Torontoist reader, not a Gothamist reader, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of your characterization, but it really made me laugh.

I am going against my usual instincts against this kind of stuff and saying I like it. Why? What's different? Well, this is just as stupid, trivial, and whimsical as any other nonsense...but this doesn't come off as self-aggrandizing whimsy.

If this wasn't self-aggrandizing, they wouldn't have their own website and send out press releases for their little project.

I suppose the haters will be carrying lighters and burn that by evening's end.
I like the knit flowers. don't burn those, you haters.

someone has to say it but... why not knit for people in need? not as hipster quirky enough to be visible for blogs like this?

or maybe they're doing that in addition to this, which would be great.

That's what I was thinking. There are hundreds of charities out there that are specifically for knitters to contribute blankets, hats, socks, gloves, etc. for those that need them. I think that's a much better use of their time (and yarn) than keeping some lamppost warm.

Why do anything purely for fun, ever, when there is Inportant Work to be Done?

Let's all meet up and shout at people in all of this city's theaters, cinemas, museums, and playgrounds until they all march their recreation-loving asses to the soup kitchens.

"But what about the war? What about Darfur??" ;)

It's not unlike when people actually do reach out to a community with good deeds, and a scold snaps, "well why are they only doing it for those people?" Not only are we allowed any fun, but if we want to extend our kindness to strangers we have to do so with everyone. Otherwise, don't bother.

The dog liked it. LOL, that was a great picture. I can't stand all the Bloomberg Ads and Bloomberg mailing and calls, I actually dreamt about him.

I enjoy knitting big, warm colorful tarps that drape nicely over fatal car wrecks.

WOW SO MUCH ANGER OVER KNITTING...WHY SO SERIOUS PEOPLE

This is all extremely harmless, and probably fun for the people involved. Why would anyone get so worked up over it?

This is LAME. But the woman in the white sweater in photos 5 and 6 definitely is NOT lame. Wow.

contact@knittaplease.com

I cannot believe the incredibly hateful comments about this project. I would have expected vitriol like this on sites like TMZ, not Gothamist.
I participated in this project. Used yarn I already had. Took an evening in front of the tv to do it.
And for the person who said charity knitting is a better use of time, I've done that too. I've made hats for preemies, for people who lost their hair due to chemo, scarves and hats for people in need and blankets, too.
Ditto #35. It was fun.

Now I don't know Magda Sayeg personally, but it seems like she must be friends with Jen Carlson to be getting 2 gothamist stories in a month. I mean is this really significant?

And how many Knitta Please t-shirts have y'all sold?

To everybody else reading this, are there any websites that you guys look at that do quick NYC news and culture with better taste and a better sense of priorities than gothamist? Hard to find sites that don't dwell on celebrities, shitty bands and other bad taste stuff... As much as I like getting riled up over this kind of horseshit, it's probably not a good use of time.

Is it just me or do these chicks look like a bunch of bored housewives?

What does the attached sign say??

Knitta please...thats pretty funny. Why not

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