STOOP JUSTICE
Loiterers on Village house’s steps are doused
There’s “Get off my lawn,” and then there’s this.
A contractor for a Greenwich Village brownstone owner has rigged a highpowered water sprinkler above the building’s entrance to deter loiterers and drug users from hanging out on the stoop.
Andrew Blanke said the “No Loitering” signs outside 114 Washington Place were not enough to keep undesirables from littering the front with drug needles and relieving themselves on the stoop.
For the worst offenders, the creative contractor has two words: “Motion sensing.”
High above the seven steps that lead to the front door, Blanke installed a rapid-fire oscillating sprinkler that jets water on unwelcome visitors who set off the contraption’s motion detector.
When Blanke rigged the sprinkler Monday, he also posted signs warning loiterers about the shower.
But that didn’t stop at least one unsuspecting visitor from getting doused like a morning lawn.
“Drug addicts, they sit here all night,” Blanke said, showing off his device. “They have a party here. There are dope needles when we get here in the morning. The neighbors were complaining.
“If they sit on the stoop, they get blasted. It’s pretty funny. “
Blanke and his company, Gee Bee and Sons of Maspeth, Queens, are renovating the three-story brownstone for owner Scott Dolan, who bought the property last year for $5.5 million.
The contractor had the option of building a shed around the steps at night to keep loiterers away, but said the sprinkler — which is also accompanied by a surveillance camera — is more effective.
“We could enclose the stoop with plywood,” Blanke said. “But we’d have to install it and remove it daily. That’s a lot of time and work.”
Neighbor Andrew Brill said Washington Place residents have been trying to keep the drug users away for years. He said Blanke might be onto something.
“We’ve done everything from Guardian Angels to lighting up the whole block,” Brill said. “It’s a brilliant idea. Everybody should do it. Last night, someone got sprayed. He didn’t get angry, but started to laugh. And he did go away.” Mission accomplished. Will Blanke branch out and install his go-away gizmo anywhere else? There’s a whole city full of bill collectors and process servers just waiting to get splashed.
“It hadn’t even crossed my mind,” Blanke said. “But now I have to think about it. Putting them up all over the city would really be funny.”