'Q At Parkside' Shuts Down Amid Protest Threats

PROSPECT-LEFFERTS GARDENS, BROOKLYN — A local blog that’s been covering neighborhood news for almost a decade shut down amid allegations that its content was libelous and racially charged when protesters threatened to rally in front of the writer's workplace.

Blogger Tim Thomas announced Friday he would no longer be publishing articles on “The Q at Parkside” after community activist Alicia Boyd of Movement to Protect the People and fellow activists said they would protest outside the Manhattan nonprofit where he works, Thomas wrote.

“I thought we were engaging in political debate, but she believes I have attacked the black community as a whole, which she says she represents,” Thomas wrote in a post that has since been edited.

“I enjoy vigorous back-and-forth; I guess I went too far and for that I apologize…. This will be my last post.”

While Thomas contended “The Q at Parkside” provided a valuable perspective on local news, MTOPP organizers said he crossed the line with headlines such as “Not In My Black Yard,” references to anti-gentrification protesters as “marginalized and fearful and angry” and a recent post accusing Alicia Boyd (whom he admitted to referring to as an “a--holic”) of electioneering.

“His hateful messages contribute to serious division along racial and gender lines in Flatbush and Crown Heights,” MTOPP organizers wrote in a recent Facebook post.

“In the age of Trump, we cannot allow white men in our community to spew their hatefulness as we work to protect our homes, our community and our families.”

Thomas recanted accusations of electioneering, which were recently reported on by Politico, but defended the racial tone in the more than 2,000 blog posts he’s written since launching “The Q at Parkside” in 2015.

“I love my black, brown, pink and tinted brothers and sisters. I really do,” Thomas wrote. “I love black Brooklyn, and if that post title hurt feelings then it wasn’t worth the wordplay.”

Thomas said he shut down the blog not because he agreed with Boyd’s critiques, but because MTOPP and the Brooklyn Anti-Gentrification Network began organizing a rally outside Bang On A Can, the nonprofit where he serves as a development director.

“What brought me to my knees was that MTOPP and BAN planned to protest and call me a racist in front of my job, my colleagues, bosses, and very critical donors to my workplace that I love dearly,” Thomas wrote. “I simply can’t let my reputation and job be destroyed for...for what, a blog?”

Thomas, a former member of Community Board 9, and Boyd have a long history of battling out in Brooklyn. Boyd launched a petition calling on Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams not to reappoint the blogger when his term expired in March 2015 and Thomas has frequently used his blog to speak out against Boyd.

A main point of contention is recent efforts to rezone Prospect Lefferts Gardens and allow for more development. While MTOPP has actively fought against housing projects, such as the Cornell Realty high-rise they argue would cast the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens in shadow, Thomas argues for the need for more housing in the area.

But in his final post, Thomas said he would no longer be an advocate for change in the neighborhood.

"Nobody wants to hear what a paunchy middle aged white guy has to say about race anyway. Or anything, really," he wrote. "It’s time for us to shut up and listen."

Neither Boyd nor Thomas immediately responded to Patch's requests for interviews.

Correction: The original version of this story mistated how many years “The Q At Parkside” has been running. Thank you to the sharp-eyed readers who spotted the mistake.

Photo courtesy of GoogleMaps/Sept. 2017