Jackson Heights Life

Well, if they were still young penguins ...

Then it would be chick-napped

Maybe that guy who played Rocky's coach and was on the old Batman show did it.  I used to love that "waah waah waah" in the reruns when I got home from school in the 70s.

I never connected the fact that Rocky's coach and the Penguin were the same guy... hmmm..

I noticed the missing penguin today - it does begin to irk you when people steal things like that. They will never get replaced.

I received this e-mail reply the other day: Thank you for your recent inquiry about the statues at the Elm Jack Mall. Former Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern was fond of animal statues and decided that penguins would be a fitting addition to this Greenstreet/traffic island, given the large number of Argentinean immigrants living in the area.
One of the penguins was stolen a few years ago; we fear that the second one has met a similar fate, as it was not removed by Parks for any reason. There are no immediate plans to replace them, although we are aware of how beloved they were by the community.
We appreciate your concern. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Joanne Amagrande, Chief of Staff to the Queens Borough Commissioner, at (718) 520-5938.
Sincerely,

Christine Wagner

Correspondence Liaison/Capital Projects

NYC Department of Parks & Recreation

(718) 760-6607

If we have a fund raiser to replace the penguins it will have to be a black tie affair!   :2funny:
 

See the blog post we did on this - http://www.openplans.org/projects/campaign-for.nyc/blog/2009/02/15/bring-back-wink/ . I've stretched our organizations' mission, tying in the open source Linux and its mascot, Tux the Penguin, to the success of the .nyc TLD, and Wink's return.

We've also created a wiki page where we're gathering info on the apparent "chicknapping" - http://www.openplans.org/projects/campaign-for.nyc/where-s-wink. If you've got any pictures or further information, post it here or there.

Also, there's a flyer requesting information at the bottom of the wiki page. Please post a few copies around the neighborhood as is, or perhaps enhanced to a "Wanted" type document. That's a busy corner, someone saw something.

Tom

 

Indeed.

It's little special places like that boulder with Wink that make a great community. Panorama's are great, but it's the occasional "find" that makes a place worth visiting and a neighborhood great.

When s/he returns, we should shine more light (figuratively and perhaps actually) on Wink. Maybe a plaque indicating his creator. (I doubt s/he popped out of an egg. And if s/he did, we should identify the mom and dad.)

Tom

P.S. Stopped by Helen Sears' office and spoke again with Jeremy. Told him that parks did not remove it and therefore it's safe that Wink's been stolen. I asked if I should call 911 and Jeremy indicated he would call the 115th Precinct.

We should have known!  Oh, this conspiracy runs deep.

P.S. This forum runs on free, open source software, so don't look at us!

Ye of little faith,

First, I don't believe Wink is gone forever.  Let's get the NYPD to do a proper investigation. What have they done so far? Is there a report? Let's plaster the neighborhood with "Bring Wink Back" flyers to help them out. Let's let the world know that we care about our community and will not abandon unique objects of civic pride. And I'm curious if it was stolen for scrap or resale, perhaps over ebay. Is there a registry of stolen art we can place Wink on?

Second, we need to raise a stink about this or else the slime will feel empowered to just grab another community treasure. If after a thorough investigation we conclude that he'll not be returning, we'll need to have a burial, in abstentia, to publicly signify and mourn our loss.

Third, only then might we seek a replacement.

Let's not let Wink go so easily. I believe he's out there. Let's tighten the screws on the slime.

Tom

There is Precinct Council meeting tomorrow night @ 8. See details http://www.cb3qn.nyc.gov/page/1623/index.v3page?c_v=evt&c_dt=2454908&c_eid=117173&c_mid=0.

I'm going. Hope some others will join me.

Tom Lowenhaupt

From the Connecting.nyc Wiki:

"At the March 17 115th Police Precinct Community Council meeting, Inspector John D. Lavelle, the precinct commander, was asked about the efforts taken to locate and return Wink. He reported that they are aware of the problem and have been working on the theft. Inspector Lavelle indicated that local scrap shops have been checked and the local antiques stores as well. But no trace of Wink has been found."

"Asked if there was an stolen art database to which the theft could be reported, the Inspector seemed interested in such an action. He also indicated that they were working with the Parks Department."

How do we get Wink into a stolen art database?