Bedford Avenue "Preacher" Speaks Out...Some More

If you have been to Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, you have seen the ranting grey-haired man pacing up and down the middle of the street. Usually positioned between North 5th and North 7th, sometimes later in the day he'll make it all the way down to the South Side, probably on his way home. Lawrence LaDouceur lives at the Glenwood Hostel, and prior to that he's led quite a life. One brave soul has now gone one-on-one with him, making him the subject of a short film; Russel Fong captures LaDouceur's thoughts as they pour from his head, and he even visits his current home. Maybe next time you see him you'll give him a chance and have your own one-on-one (it's a bit heart-wrenching when he tells Fong of their talk: "you don't know how good this is for me.")

We recommend watching the full 15 minutes, even though it's a bit sad—and until you've got that sort of time, one Williamsboard poster summarizes as such: "Dude's fought in Vietnam and is poisoned by the depression drugs they give out at the VA. He had a wife and kids in Butte, MT, but when he and the wife moved to Utah, they both discovered swinging and he's not sure if he's the father of his youngest. He moved to the state of Brooklyn after being evicted from his public storage locker in Manhattan. He's very lucid when he speaks, but he does rant about sex and morality. He may be the Jewish messiah—moshiach. He thinks one of his parents was Jewish." And we're pretty sure he tossed his hat in the mayoral race during minute 9, noting "we need to de-seat that Hebrew." Watch out Naked Cowboy.

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By Jen Carlson in Arts and Events on July 29, 2009 9:46 AM

Comments [rss]

[mis]inheritance

Quite the interesting man. I have seen in plenty in Williamsburg. I once seen him scare a woman from park slope [she was wearing a Slope T-shirt] and her kid. That was not a pretty site.

NannyState

La Doucheur.

mrouge

We call him Subaru Sal. He makes me nutso. I wanna make a movie of him.

It will mostly be about his carbon footprint. That, and his limited repertoire. Yea, and his need to find a woman, or a hobby.

ChrisPinkus

what's the song at the end of the video?

SikBug

LoL@ chuzzlewit. While we are at it, no love for crazy PR bicycle guy?

jules1000

He used to hang out and rant in the East Village for years. I always felt sorry for him. Then he disappeared for a while, and then I saw him again in the East Village (years ago), with a briefcase, and this time not yelling at all. I thought that he must have been on medication then.

buttface

Russel Fong - find someone to mix audio for your work.

My subwoofer is going nuts.

chuzzlewit

sometimes i wish Singing Subaru Guy would run over Scary Preacher.

John Del Signore

Ha, I see that Singing Subaru Guy ALL THE TIME! Someone needs to interview him.

meowster

oh the solo subaru brunch singer. he is highly annoying and needs a new repertoire. he's been performing the same material for 5 plus years. there's something about him that screams pedophile to me, sorry.

mrouge

I am gonna go against the tide here, and say that if one were watching it on ch 13, they would think it is an excellent documentary. As a person that only sees (avoids) him once a week at the most, I can't imagine how much it would suck to have him ranting outside my building; or to be the object of one of his missives. I hope that he gets some help. Next time I see him I am gonna try to make myself say hello, or ask him how he is doing.

ixvnyc

This fuck yells at women with small children calling them whores and stuff right in front of their small kids.

I would not describe that as 'sad'. It's infuriating and makes you want to break his skull into a million pieces.

Manitoba

Keep calling 311 and filing complaints; eventually, city services will send someone out to evaluate him and get him help.

We used to have an alcoholic who slept and urinated all over our stoop. Every night he would start yelling, so we called 311 every night (as did our neighbors). Eventually, they came and took him to dry out. I still see him every now and then, and he's still homeless, but he seems to be in slightly better shape having received some support, apart from handouts for booze.

KiljoyWasHere

I had no idea that Brooklyn was a state.

beck

As someone who used to live across from the Chabad house on Bedford and north 5th which appeared to be the main area that he targets with his extremely loud yelling of anti-semetic conspiracy theories, I have to say that this man, while he may have mental problems that are not his fault, is a nuisance and a danger to himself and traffic on the street. It's not funny having to listen to him every day. The past couple of years he seems to be doing worse and worse - he definitely needs help and is either not getting it or refusing it.

Manitoba

Way to basically be snarky and condescending towards someone with a serious mental disease. Sometimes Gothamist can surprisingly sink even lower than usual.