Neighborhood: April 2005 Archives

Living in Carroll Gardens, I'm used to non-living entities popping up in gardens: Easter bunnies, twirling plastic flowers, shiny balls, statues of the Virgin Mary. But still, no amount of statuary could prepare me for what popped up in front of Julienne Catering on Clinton Street a few days ago: Someone "planted" fake mini Christmas trees--with the lights attached--in front of the cafe.

I'm assuming it's the crazy owner who blasts jazz music from his outdoor speakers at all hours of the day to create a perfectly uninviting environment. Now, Julienne has never been known for its good taste in outdoor decorating (the ill-used outdoor copper fire pit) or for its effective selling of food products (the bagels and muffins sit outside in the sun wrapped in plastic wrap all day), but planting fake Christmas trees takes this to a whole new level.