A Daily News reporter reads the story in OTBKB and never once mentions that that’s where they sourced the story or that Hugh Crawford is a blogger.
When Park Slope resident Hugh Crawford complained to a city work crew that their jackhammer was too loud, he expected to get blown off.
He didn’t think one of the hardhats would chase him down the Brooklyn street with a shovel.
But according to Crawford, that’s exactly what happened, and now the Department of Environmental Protection is investigating.
"They sort of had an extreme ‘Mind your own business’ reaction. And a guy started waving a shovel at my head," Crawford said.
The run-in happened Tuesday while a DEP crew was replacing a sewer on Sixth Ave. near Third St., using a jackhammer without a required muffler.
Crawford, a 51-year-old software engineer and photographer who lives half a block away, approached to tell them they should have noise-reducing equipment.
The workers told him to buzz off and call 311. So Crawford did – on the spot.
"When I took my phone out, the guy started chasing me down the street," said Crawford. "I wasn’t sure how sincere they were, but I really didn’t want to find out. Anytime a shovel is above head level, I take it pretty seriously."
He filed a noise complaint with 311, but opted not to press charges with the police.
DEP spokeswoman Anne Canty confirmed the agency had received a noise complaint and had a crew in the area Tuesday. But she knew nothing of a threatened physical altercation.
"DEP takes allegations of this nature very seriously; we will be investigating and interviewing all of the crew members involved," she said.
hey jim,i agree the law is the law. i did not deny that. mr crawford also broke a law by walking thru construction barriers,compromising his safety and that of the work crew.as for the worker with the shovel,if hugh did feel threatened why didnt he call the cops.probably because it was made up.whats done is done.i just think there should be more respect and consideration on both sides.
“i am 5th generation brooklyn”
Disgruntled bluecollar – nobody cares.
I’m 1st generation Brooklyn and the law is the law. Muffle your jackhammer and suck it up when you get caught. Don’t threaten the citizens!
probably some truth in all comments.
rashoman in the gslope.
i could totally easily imagine a scenario whereby the worker just got pissed off and set out after the heckling civilian. not good. or acceptable. or okay just because he’s from brooklyn. or that it happened in brooklyn. this has ZERO to to with any particular place, and everything to do with BEHAVIOR. public workers run amok is uncool. uncool old style, uncool hepcat style, uncool.
that said, maybe hc was kinda asking for it on account of his hippish arriviste sacntimoniousness. i dunno. i don’t know him. i wasn’t there. i didn’t see what kind of shoes he was wearing. but he certainly has a right to call 311 and complain about a mufflerless jackhammer. i would, too. i’m a dick that way and think we all have the right to not be blasted out of own sanity by jackhammers from hell.
dep will “investigate”. humm….do we believe that? personally, i don’t. i suspect that the workers jobs are safe. it would be totally totally crappy for them to lose their jobs over this kind of complaint (unless, of course, the dep dood really did chase down hc with intent to slam him upside the head with a shovel. if that’s the case, put him in jail) of course, i’m not gonna believe hc on this one, just cause he says so. no way. not unless he can show me the video. after all, he is a blogger, right? sm? a blogger, right? you are, too, right?
Ahem yourself, “Hey There!” !
#1 – I don’t think Hepcat’s actions, resulting in trouble for some poor working stiff, were “very nice” either. He sounds provocative.
#2- Hey, blogland is often a visceral response. I enjoy OTBKB but people — you, me, the guy with the shovel,HC, “Disgruntled Blue Collar” above, can be over-the-top and do and say dumb things at times, so why not acknowledge that..Why do you feel obliged to defend HC and the site against a few critical comments? OTBKB and HC were certainly willing to capitalize in the NYDN on the dumbness of the shnook with the shovel.
Have a nice day and believe me, I wish full employment for all (including the guy with the shovel). Thank you
in regards to mr crawford’s complaint of noise pollution by said jackhammer:you are correct a muffler should have been in place. the answer to that complaint is one that you should have asked to see a supervisor at the location. if the supervisor was not present,you should have requested his prescence. these men were out there to remedey a dangerous situation that one of your neighbors felt credible enough to call 311 for. you blantantly walked into an off-limits construction zone,just to break chops. nobody likes construction or the noise and traffic that comes with it,but it is a necessary evil. how dare you try to ruin a hardworking man’s career with your clearly made-up fabrications!you try to tarnish a man’s reputation with your embellishments of the truth. i am 5th generation brooklyn,where are exactly are you from,sir? for awhile i have been watching outsiders move in and destroy neighborhoods,for a while i longed for black,irish,italian,polish,etc neighborhoods to come back. i know now brooklyn is mostly gone,gone to yuppie scum who have infiltrated the neighborhoods my family helped to police and build.q
Ahem! Nobody deserves a shovel waved at them, even if you imagine the scenario–what with your keen omniscience–to be in jest. I think you need to reflect a bit, yourself. And finding employment is a personal journey–you have no idea how much he’s looked. (That said, I don’t either, so whatever…but still…Not nice!) Why are you so emotionally invested in a blog that you would be “very disappointed,” yet make sweeping, cutting comments?
Glad Hepcat emerged unscathed from his run-in with the Working Classes, but this only convinces us more that Hepcat needs to get out there and pound the pavement until he finds some Gainful Employment. Don’t wait until Smartmom finds a job for you..Get off the sofa and layoff the sauce (you mentioned hangovers didn’t you?), go to some agencies, cause you are just going to get into more trouble…. Hep Cat sticks his nose in while these hard-working stiffs are operating heavy equipment and then instigates/foments Conflict and now some unfortunate working slob (who was probably doing the equivalent of a Bad Joke by waving the shovel) is now gonna lose his job…do you think that you are striking a blow for the Great-Liberal-PC-Slope-Culture by engaging in this type of behavior? Or just frustrated by your lack of Employment? And then for both OTBKB nd HC to see this as just fodder for the media mill (“the NYDN didn’t mention HC is a blogger” — who really cares?), without a thought of the impact on these poor working stiffs..well, I am very disappointed in OTBKB..Grow up HC….and SmartMom — time to reflect on your mission and purpose.