The Red Hook Ahava Nut Has Given Up—Maybe

For many years, a certain protest sign on Van Brunt Street has been a familiar landmark to Red Hook residents. It is sturdily posted to a telephone pole (yes, Red Hook, unlike many New York neighborhoods, still has those) outside a house covered with aluminum siding. I assume it was placed there by the owner of the house, for it complains bitterly about the horrible noise that comes from the Ahava kosher dairy plant just down the street on Beard Street.

Ahava has been hated by the neighborhood since it moved into Red Hook in 2001, at the behest of the City. The sign entreats Mayor Bloomberg and Marty Markowitz to "Stop the Noise" and implores locals to call and complain.

The sign is crazy but the author has a point. The factory generator never stops humming, day or night. If I lived nearby, I'd be pissed to.

Recently, weather and wear and tear have caused the sign to fade and, now, crack in two. Only half of its there, and the half remaining would make no sense to a pair of new eyes. So what happened? Did the author of the sign move away? Lose hope? Die? Run out of wood and markers?