by Geoff Cobb 
Greenpoint has a nickname, “The Garden Spot,” which was given at a time when our area was truly a bucolic haven. Although it later became one of the most industrial areas on planet earth, today our community is trying to live up to the verdant image of its nickname and Greenpoint is rapidly becoming a “green point” again,…
3
Free to read, funded by readers. Join as a member and get a free gift.
Greenpointers has covered Greenpoint & Williamsburg since 2007 — community boards, rezoning fights, local businesses, and the people whose lives and work give the neighborhood its character. Local news is collapsing across the country, but we're still here: independently owned, no corporate backing, no paywall. 18+ years, 280k+ monthly readers and followers, funded by the community we serve.
Why your support matters
61 Franklin St was not a burned down hose from the 60’s or 70’s…. if you lived in Gpt for 20 years you would remember it being an old wood framed house that the owner ( who was always jogging the neighborhood with his 2 dogs ) was trying to fix and the city eventually condemned it , then he lived in a tent on the property , then a camper. after that i dont know , but the idea that the neighbors saved a garden for themselves from the 70’s sounds like a good enough story. Also being named greenpoint because of its gardens sounds good , only thing is is that when ships came down the river the land was a grassy field that came to a sort of point , thats how they knew where they were.
That man who lived at 61 Franklin is named Jerzy. Does anyone know what happened to him? Nicest guy. Lived a few houses down for a few years and you would always catch him out front, reading a book or tending to his knick-knacks.
Yes, Thanks to local government he got housing in Manhattan.