The War of the 'Do Not Post' Signs in Brooklyn's 'Greenest' Neighborhoods

Everyone knows about the war between tenants and the deliverymen of unwanted advertisements that appear on our entry gates every day. But little do you know, there's another war going on. One being waged by members of the community you'd least expect.

Walking around with Caitlin O'Connell, a local Brooklyn blogger, this Saturday afternoon for just an hour, we spotted half a dozen different 'Do Not Post' signs. Albeit, we were in Park Slope and Fort Greene, which, according to Brooklyn Botanic Garden's recent contest, are two of Brooklyn's 'greenest' neighborhoods. So we expected to find more there than the average Brooklyn neighborhood. However, we didn't expect to find signs from so many different community associations.

There is a war going on, folks. And it's getting messy. All but two of the signs we found were from different local community associations. I talked to a local association member (he wishes to remain unnamed) and according to him, there have even been recent reports of certain members belonging to certain associations actually taking down other association's signs to replace with their own. In a way, and I agree, it's a form of free advertising for an association. But, what about working together. Can't we just agree on a sign and be done with it? We're all after the same cause, right? It's not just about promoting the local organization, is it?

Sadly, yes, I believe it is. We can't remain naive for much longer. Let's face it: they don't care solely about preventing your junk mail pile up, they also care about promoting their community association and increasing membership.

That's why I'm encouraging you to go out and take a stand. Make your own sign. Follow these three simple steps to make an effective 'Do Not Post' sign: 1) Make it red because it helps to reinforce the command 'stop'. 2) Make the text bold and keep it short; 'Do Not Post Unsolicited Advertisements on this Property' is the most concise syntax I can imagine. 3) Laminate it! You don't want your time spent on the beautiful calligraphy to be wasted after the first rain.

Check out the signs we discovered here:

'Do Not Post' Signs

If you decide not to make you're own, you can always download one here. I couldn't help but put our businesses information on there. What? Everyone else was doing it!