Gawker: richard martin

Crazy Old Bay Ridge Man and His Little Dog Fired

Sheila — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:35:43 EST

The angry old building super/tabloid star over in Bay Ridge with a penchant for posting crazy-ass notes threatening to kill his tenants, Richard Martin, has been fired. We're sad!

How do we know this? The self-styled media critic ("shit") phoned the news in to the Daily News himself, at three in the morning.

I'm being fired. It's because of you and all that coverage - some Russian lady is buying the building and she asked me to leave... You know, Russian people don't mess around."

Take that, Brooklyn. He also told the paper that his tenants were still not depositing their garbage correctly. (He once penned a note announcing he would leave the trash cans in the lobby as punishment: "You can all live with the smell; it don't bother me.")

The all-caps, Sharpied missives, which ignored all basic rules of syntax and punctuation—yet still rang true—ranged from "To the scumbag who ripped my Christmas decorations down from ceiling and put in front of my door. If I catch you I will kill you where you are" to "You tenants better stop being so stupid & retarded."

People bitch and moan about how New York has lost its cast of crazies to gentrification, and this guy was all character. Can't take a couple threatening notes calling people "low life cheap bastards who stole my big black umbrella"? Get outta here.

Beehive Hairdresser adds, "No one wants to take a picture of you and your dog for two bucks!" But how can you dislike anyone who takes his doggie for a ride on a mechanical pony?

Crazy Old Bay Ridge Man Faces Tenant Revolt

Hamilton Nolan — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:22:58 EDT

Richard Martin, the crazy sign-posting super in Bay Ridge who enjoys insulting tenants and watching his little dog ride the mechanical pony, is back in his proper place: the newspaper. The Daily News, determined to win the Martin-related tabloid war, reports today that the crazy old coot has finally moved the garbage cans out of his lobby, where he had placed them to piss off his tenants. He clarifies that those tenants are still, however, "disgusting slobs." But one anonymous tenant has struck back by lighting one of Martin's crazy signs on fire "and scorching the wall behind it." War! Could this be the end for our hero's reign of textual terror? Heaven forbid. In remembrance, a photo of our all time favorite Richard Martin sign [via BeehiveHairdresser] after the jump. We call it "Irish Fucking Christmas."

Might Crazy Old Bay Ridge Man Be Rude?

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:39:45 EDT

A blogger (inherently untrustworthy) alleges that he saw Richard Martin, the crazy old sign-posting, doggie horse-riding super of Bay Ridge, littering in the subway! Which would be ironic, considering Martin rants at his own tenants for their littering sins. Even worse, the witness says he saw Martin littering right in front of an MTA worker who was sweeping up trash. Hard to believe such a man would do something so callous and unfeeling. To be fair, this really could have been any old guy in a Korean War Veterans' hat. We must protect this mean old coot's reputation! [lines in the street]

Crazy Old Bay Ridge Dog Ride Photo Splash!

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:12:58 EDT

Richard Martin, the crazy old Bay Ridge building manager whose penchant for leaving psychotic, insulting signs all over his front door has turned him into a New York tabloid sensation and, consequently, media critic, has finally been captured on film in his natural habitat enjoying his favorite activity: helping his tiny dog ride the mechanical horse. A complicated man, Richard Martin is. Click to enlarge this picture of a lifetime. [Bay Ridge Rover via BeehiveHairdresser]

Crazy Old Bay Ridge Man Now A Press Critic

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:22:19 EDT

Richard Martin, the crazy old super in Bay Ridge who enjoys posting abusive signs about his tenants and filling his lobby with garbage to teach them all a lesson, is now aiming his strongly worded sign-based commentary at the free press. The newly minted media critic has taken aim at Daily News reporter Matthew Hysiak, whom Martin accuses of being "shit" for misquoting him in an article. Already, Martin has achieved a more insightful level of press criticism than Howard Kurtz. In further news, somebody has stolen Martin's umbrella! Did he post a sign about it? You bet! Photos of his news critique and his arch rejoinder to the umbrella thief [via BeehiveHairdresser], after the jump.

Crazy Old Bay Ridge Man Gets Dirty, Famous

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:45:12 EST

The tabloid frenzy over Richard Martin, the crazy old Bay Ridge super who enjoys posting crazy signs insulting his tenants, continues to escalate. The Daily News gains the edge today by breaking the story that the cranky old man is letting his building's lobby fill up with garbage. To teach those dirty tenants! The city's other media outlets are surely deploying crack investigative teams to Bay Ridge at this very moment, intent on uncovering all the serpentine twists and turns of this developing, inconsequential matter. After the jump, an actual photo of the abrasive sign that the coot posted warning his tenants of his rotten scheme.

[via Beehive Hairdresser]

Crazy Old Bay Ridge Man Sparks Tabloid Frenzy

Hamilton Nolan — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:08:10 EST

While media watchers speculated about the backstory over the Times' John McCain article, another journalistic tug-of-war was underway; this one over Richard Martin [photo via NYP], a crazy old coot handyman in Bay Ridge who leaves crazy, rude, threatening notes for his tenants. The blogs have been laughing at Martin for a while now, but today both the Post and the Daily News have stories about the man. For no apparent reason. It's a full-fledged tabloid war! What's the backstory here? We won't rest until we figure it out. [UPDATE: Could this link in an NYT blog have been the spark? Also, much more info and pictures of Martin's work here]. Below, two of Martin's helpful notes to his tenants—keep in mind his explanation that "They're Arabs, they don't give a fuck."

[Photos from Right In Bay Ridge]

[UPDATE 2: Right In Bay Ridge has more backstory on the viral spread of Richard Martin's media fame.]