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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, DECEMBER 8, 2019
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
A Kings County carpenter has
developed a low-tech security device
that he claims would defeat
the scourge of package pirates
plaguing the borough — if only
people would buy it!
Inventor Bob James chained
his anti-thievery device, called a
“Bob Box,” to a light post at Remsen
Street near Borough Hall last
Wednesday, as part of a guerrilla
marketing campaign designed to
drum up interest in what’s undeniably
an awkward-looking creation.
But the Bob Box, which appears
like a cross between a wood
chipper and a mailbox, met a lukewarm
reception from passersby,
including one woman who noted
that the box, while good in theory,
might not work so well in practice.
“I can defi nitely understand
the need for that because I’ve always
said, society is not ready
for all this online shopping,” said
Evaleen, who didn’t give her last
name. “I think it could be a little
more compact, the design needs
to be jazzed up a little, because I
don’t know if anyone is going to
want that in their yard like that.”
James, a Bedford-Stuyvesant
retiree, designed his namesake
box — which serves as a secure,
curb-side package receptacle
that’s accessible by key — as an
answer to the dramatic rise in
package thievery throughout the
borough.
But the handcrafted security
device costs a whopping $199, is
made entirely out of wood, and features
a comically large nozzle jutting
out from the storage compartment,
which one local said made
the Bob Box less than ideal for the
mean streets of Brooklyn.
“I think it’s an interesting idea
if you have a private home, but
here in the city, I can’t imagine it,”
said Jon Berall. “One more thing
like this in front of the apartment
house? It’s just another big thing
that’s going to fall apart.”
However, the inventor said it’s
exactly the Bob Box’s low-tech nature
that makes it an ideal deterrent
for Kings County package pirates.
“You don’t need to maintain
batteries or give codes to deliverers,”
he said. “The only thing you
lose is the package pirate blues.”
So far, James has yet to sell any
of his Bob Boxes, despite a guerrilla
marketing campaign that’s
seen him install devices outside
subway stops in Bedford-Stuyvesant
and Williamsburg, in addition
A “Bob Box” appeared outside Borough Hall Wednesday. Photo by Kevin Duggan
to the Borough Hall box.
But those stunts unfortunately
violate the city’s administrative
code, which makes it illegal to
leave any box, barrel, bale of merchandise
or other movable property
on a public street or place,
and James relocated the Remsen
street container shortly after installing
it.
“I have to move that box — it
can’t be there,” he admitted.
OUT OF THE BOX
Brooklyn inventor debuts packagetheft
deterrent outside Borough Hall
3guysfrombrooklyn.com
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