Flatbush Avenue’s two Victorian-style street-clocks will tick-tock-tick again by the end of October.
The free-standing, 12-foot clock towers — originally hoisted in 1982 where Flatbush intersects with Sterling Place and Sixth Avenue — have had one bad stroke of luck after another.
At 3:11 on a still-undetermined day in 2004, the clock Sterling Place clocked stopped ticking. The hands of time remained frozen — telling the right time just twice a day! — until repairs were made in July, 2005.
Five months later, a bad driver knocked it over. So much for the repairs. Meanwhile, the sister clock at Sixth Avenue had also rebelled against the passage of time, refusing to mark another minute.
Fortunately, North Flatbush Business Improvement District Executive Director Dawn Torres has made it her mission to wind up these beloved clocks again. By June, the clock at Sixth Avenue (above) was again ticking.
At the same time, Torres had lined up $15,000 to resurrect the car-destroyed clock at Sterling Place — mostly by finally getting the driver’s insurance company to pay up. By the end of October, that clock should also be running.
That’s good for Murat Uyaroglu, owner of Prospect Perk coffee shop — though not because he needs help keeping time.
“It’s going to be a good landmark for my business,” said Uyaroglu. “Let’s say you want to meet someone; you can meet him under the clock, right near my shop.”
