The Brooklyn Headhunter: Find a Job in Brooklyn

From time to time, McBrooklyn puts on its Headhunting gear and scouts out a handful of Brooklyn employment opportunities.

Here's the featured job of the week:

- The US Department of Homeland Security is looking for a regional Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Planner. Build detailed and operational WMD response and recovery plans. Need a Master's degree and incident management experience. AllJobsFilled.com

More jobs:

- Starbucks on 86th Street needs a barista. Jobs.com

- Brooklyn Botanic Garden is looking for a part time website developer. BBG

- The Home Reporter and Spectator newspaper chain seeks a reporter and freelancers. Brooklyn resident preferred, especially Bay Ridge. Journalism Jobs They also need a political reporter for a weekly column.  Here 

- Barney's Co-op needs a full time stock person. Atlantic Ave. NY Times 

- Part-time consultant needed for start up retail store and internet business, about 25 hours/ week. Desire to learn about antique artifacts, art, and furnishings. Career Field

- Pies 'n' Thighs is looking for full and part time bike delivery people in Williamsburg. Craigslist

- UncommonGoods is looking for someone to take their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts to the next level. Mashable  They also need a copywriter. Here

- Artist assistants needed near Brooklyn Navy Yard, 10 hrs/week at $10/hr. Moderately skilled hand work... mostly with x-acto knife and glue brush. Craigslist

- A baby store needs a web person.  elance 

- Beginning paralegal position, $8 - $10/hr.  Craigslist

Find all Brooklyn Headhunter posts here.
Photo by MikeColvin82, Creative Commons license

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Exhibit: Any Sufficiently Advanced Technology is Indistinguishable From Magic

Any Sufficiently Advanced Technology is Indistinguishable From Magic -- an exhibition by Janos Stone -- will be presented by the Dumbo Arts Center from February 3rd - March 27, with an opening reception on Thursday, February 3rd, 6 - 8 PM at 30 Washington Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Stone will install a monumental sculpture bisecting the entirety of Dumbo Arts Center on a diagonal. Made of 112 3’x3’ gypsum board polyhedra, the sculpture, at first sight, reads as a hugely enlarged image of a reclining skeleton.

Printed on the gypsum "MeCube” tiles are more than 550 Youtube and Vimeo stills of night skies from around the world, acting like the pixels that form the image of the skeleton. More here.

Sponsored by Two Trees Management Co.

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Krrb Lets You Find Stuff for Sale in Your Neighborhood

 Krrb is a new online web site where you can find stuff for sale (or trade, or free) near you.

Pronounced 'curb,' Krrb, which launched in November, lets you type in an address and find a variety of merchandise, crafts, food or services in any radius around you. Slide the slider bar in or out to find things near or far.

Then you meet the seller in a public spot and exchange cash (or trade) for their stuff.

Krrb says one of their members describes it as "a love child between Etsy and Craigslist."

Visit Krrb.com; set your location to see what's being sold around you.

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Watch Out for Falling Ice, Snow in Brooklyn

Look up! The sidewalks around Downtown Brooklyn's skyscrapers are being splattered with falling snow and ice projectiles. Tall office buildings on Adams Street, Jay and Fulton Streets are letting 'em fly, along with the office buildings at MetroTech, seen above.

Photo by MK Metz

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Idiotarod This Saturday; Balloon Over Gowanus; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Developer to dismantle controversial addition to Carroll Gardens building. TRD

- Brooklyn College professor says he was fired for being pro-Palestinian. Gothamist

- The Apollo Theater will do something it has never done before — hold “Amateur Night at the Apollo: Brooklyn Night.” Brooklyn Eagle 

- The Idiotarod rolls off at 10 a.m. on Saturday.  Brooklyn Paper

- Students send camera up in seven-foot Mylar balloon over Gowanus Canal in homemade mapping project. Brooklyn Eagle

- The serial killer who once appeared on an episode of the "Dating Game" has been indicted for the murder of two New York City women. (BTW, he also worked at a summer camp for girls.) Bellingham Herald and NY Post

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A Few More Snow Photos from Brooklyn Heights

The snow is still beautiful and deep in Brooklyn Heights. Here are a few more photos from the great January 26 storm.

The snowplows still haven't gone up Hunt's Lane. Note the man in the background, trying to dig out the street all by himself.

The Parks Department has thoughtfully cleared a path around Cadman Plaza Park.

Cherry trees line Whitman Mews between Henry Street and Cadman Plaza West.

Traditional snowguy, with carrot nose and even a little pipe in his mouth, near Whitman Mews.

All kinds of snow fun in the park

There are cars under that snow.

A snowman looks out into the unanswerable unknown, and sees an iTunes billboard.

Photos copyright MK Metz

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African American Celebration: Dinner, Dance, Music at Brooklyn Friends School

 The 2011 Brooklyn Friends School African-American Celebration explores “The Great Migration.”

Pull out your vintage finery and hop over to this Downtown Brooklyn school on Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. for an evening of dinner, modern dance, blues and jazz. Brooklyn Friends is just around the corner from the Brooklyn Marriott, at 375 Pearl St. Tickets: Adults: $20, Children: $15.

What is “The Great Migration?” From 1915-1970, African-Americans living in southern states moved north and west to escape stifling Jim Crow laws, the sharecropping system, and the very real threat of lynching. As they moved, they influenced American culture — our literature, music, visual art and sense of style were forever changed by the newcomers and their descendants.

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Myrtle Avenue Redesign Workshop Feb. 1

A workshop focused on the redesign and reconstruction of Myrtle Avenue between Hall and Emerson avenues — including the two-block-long pedestrian plaza — will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 1, in the Benjamin Banneker Academy cafeteria, 77 Clinton Ave. between Myrtle and Park avenues.

More on this story at Brooklyn Eagle. 

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Hold on Broadway Triangle; Thundersnow! And More Brooklyn Briefs

- City loses bid to lift hold on controversial Williamsburg Broadway Triangle projects. TRD

- Brooklyn designer pixelates tiny apartment with 25,000 ping pong balls. Observer 

- City rejects paved-over Carroll Gardens garden.  Brooklyn Paper

- It's official: 2011 is the Winter of Thundersnow. Twitter  via Gothamist

- Unearthed: A Vest Pocket Guide to Brothels in 19th-Century New York for Gentlemen on the Go. NY Times  via Gothamist

- Those blueberries in your blueberry muffins and cereal ? They're fake. LATimes

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All Bus Service Suspended in NYC -- Stuck In the Snow in Brooklyn -- No Plows on Flatbush

Don't drive, stay home! Cars are getting stuck even on frequently-plowed streets like Cadman Plaza West, shown above.

All MTA bus service has just been suspended in New York City.  Expect delays on the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, A, M, and D trains. There is no S shuttle between the Broad Channel Station and the Rockaway Park-Beach 116th Street Station in both directions.

Preenmag : "Snow trapped at the brooklyn navy yardsHelp!! "

alexaizenberg: "Tons of snow already... Could this be worse than day after Christmas? @ Park Slope Brooklyn."

TJ_Kelleher: "No plows on flatbush! Snow is out of control in Brooklyn."

oilandmusic76: "Before I TRY to sleep, this snow storm is crazy. If you can, stay indoors man. Insane in Brooklyn! For real. Not looking forward to nothing"

Lindzter: "Oy. Thunder & lightning outside & snow pelting the ground. Need to get from manhattan to Brooklyn & car services not running! It's bad kids."

Photo by MK Metz

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Snow Over Brooklyn Heights

 The rooftops of the apartment buildings, churches and schools of Brooklyn Heights are white and the Brooklyn Bridge disappears into the snowy unknown.

Photo by MK Metz

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Due to Blizzard, South Brooklyn Blizzard Response Hearing Cancelled

Adding insult to injury, tonight's (Wednesday) South Brooklyn Blizzard Response Hearing is now cancelled. Please check http://council.nyc.gov/html/action_center/blizzard_publichearing_2011.shtml for future details on this public hearing.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has issued a Weather Emergency for the city and is urging residents to avoid driving if possible. The National Weather Service forecast says Brooklyn may accumulate 8 - 12 inches by Thursday morning.

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Martin Amis Moving to Cobble Hill; USDA Pushes Expanded Bird Slaughter; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Author Martin Amis and his wife Isabel Fonseca will soon be moving to Cobble Hill. He is wondering if there are any "cool places to hang out" in Brooklyn. Vanity Fair

- State Sen. Carl Kruger has revived a bill that would make it illegal to cross the street while listening to iPods, talking on cell phones, or texting. amNY

- New Asian street food place on Vanderbilt has "seriously good" dumplings and soups. Brooklynian

- Toxic PCBs found at another Brooklyn school.  Brooklyn Eagle 

- A public visioning meeting for a new park in the Columbia Waterfront District on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Brooklyn Eagle

- The USDA suggests expanding the bird slaughter to include Mute Swans, Double-crested Cormorants, blackbirds, crows, Rock Pigeons, and European Starlings.  Queens Crap

- Photos of Sunset Park's deteriorating precinct.  Gothamist

- You can't stop Facebook from using your life as an ad, from which everyone will make money except you. Gothamist


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Get Ready for More Snow in Brooklyn

Snow is still piled up all over Brooklyn from the last one, but it looks like more of the stuff is coming tonight.

According to the National Weather Service, there's "a chance" of snow before 2 p.m. today, then rain, snow and sleet, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

A winter storm watch is in effect from this afternoon through Thursday morning.

Tonight is when it starts coming down in earnest -- we can expect new snow accumulation of 3 - 7 inches in Brooklyn.

Thursday's forecast calls for a high of 37 degrees.

Photo by MK Metz

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A Cyclist Conspiracy; Tennis Fees; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- BP Markowitz says a cyclist conspiracy distorted Prospect Park West bike lane data. Gothamist

- All four bodies found near a desolate stretch of a barrier island have been identified as prostitutes who advertised online.  Brooklyn Eagle 

-  Bushwick Food Co-Op’s film series starts next week with movies about dirt, garlic and fracking.   Brokelyn 

- The Bosch showroom in DUMBO has closed, and Two Trees might consider putting a restaurant in there. Commenters lean towards Chinese. DumboNYC 

- 7 injured in Brooklyn school bus crash.  CBS

- Do you play tennis? Today is the LAST DAY to prevent the doubling of city fees. Brooklynian and Brownstoner 

- While we're freezing here in Brooklyn, it's freakishly warm in northeastern Canada and Greenland.  NY Times 

- Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura sued the Dept. of Homeland Security and the TSA Monday, alleging full-body scans and pat-downs at airport checkpoints violate his rights. Huff Post

- American Apparel sues after nail polish explodes.  Gothamist 

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Here's Your Chance for An Audit

Ever say to yourself, that agency (or company doing business with the city) oughta be audited?

Well here's your chance. New York City Comptroller John C. Liu -- who has uncovered massive amounts of waste and fraud throughout the city -- is taking his audit bureau on the road for a series of borough town hall meetings to give New Yorkers a chance to learn about the power of the auditing process. New Yorkers will have the opportunity to suggest an audit to the Comptroller’s ace audit team.

The Brooklyn meeting takes place Wednesday, 1/26, 6-8 pm at the Brooklyn Public Library, Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture, 10 Grand Army Plaza at Eastern Parkway

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Bococa and Gowanus Featured on Brooklyn Independent Television

Brooklyn Independent Television's upcoming "Neighborhood Beat" features Bococa and Gowanus on Thursday, January 27th, 12:30pm and 8:30pm.

Here's the plot: First viewers will learn how to make their own boots with resident Olivier Rabbath, and sip on classic egg creams at Brooklyn Farmacy. Next it's off to Film Biz Recycle for half-priced finds.

Finally BIT takes it old school at Paisanos Meat Market (photo left) on Smith Street.

Brooklyn Independent Television is a program of BRIC Arts|Media|Bklyn.

Here's the online program guide.

Photo courtesy of Paisanos Meat Market.

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The Brooklyn Headhunter: Find a Job in Brooklyn

From time to time, McBrooklyn puts on its Headhunting gear and scouts out a handful of Brooklyn employment opportunities.

It's  starting to look like things are looking up, employment-wise. Panera Bread is opening; Brooklyn Industries is expanding. Here's the latest batch of jobs in Brooklyn from the Brooklyn Headhunter:

- News 12 is looking for a Brooklyn reporter to gather information, produce and present stories, shoot and edit video. At least one year experience. Career Builder  They also need a sports anchor. Here

- Brooklyn Law School is searching for a Director of Development. HERC

- Panera Bread seeks an assistant manager for their new bakery-cafe to open in Downtown Brooklyn. "NO grease, NO alcohol and NO late nights." $40,000 - $60,000. Career Builder

- A law firm needs a full time assistant for daily errands including post office, dropping off documents in courts, answering phones.  Craigslist

- Brooklyn Industries is expanding; they're looking for managers, sales associates and more.  Brooklyn Industries

- NYC's 311 is hiring customer representatives to give parents information about the school system and keep track of cases. $27,349+  Hotjobs 

- Rocky Mountain Offender Management Systems seeks a person to monitor criminals wearing electronic ankle bracelets and other detention devices. Experience working with computers and in customer service.  Craigslist 

- A sales person with good wine knowledge is needed part time at a boutique wine store in Williamsburg/ Bushwick. $9 - $12/hr. Craigslist

- Have a B.A. or B.S. in something environmental or biological? The Brooklyn Botanic Garden needs a Project Green Reach senior instructor. BBG

- A barista/ counter person who knows how to use espresso machine is sought in DUMBO. Craigslist

- The Brooklyn Historical Society seeks a historian for a three year appointment working with college students exploring Brooklyn's history and the Civil War. $65,000 - $70,000  OAH 

- An E-commerce site is looking to hire a creative Social Media Assistant. $12 - $14/hr. Craigslist 

- Argington, Inc.​, a furniture manufacturing and distribution company on Meeker Ave., wants to hire a full-time office manager. Pays $60,000. Career Builder 

- Extra Space Storage is looking for an assistant manager/ storage consultant. $11 - $17/ hr.  Career Builder

- An elected official seeks a caseworker and community liaison. Craigslist

- Red Lobster and Apple Bee's are hiring servers, bussers, cooks, hosts and bartenders. Interviews Monday (Jan. 24) and Tuesday (Jan. 25) only! Checkin time 8:45 - 9: 15 a.m. only! Craigslist

- Brooklyn Bridge Park is planning to hire a horticulturalist.  BBP 

- Part time amanuensis needed in Park Slope. Modest pay.  Craigslist 

Find all Brooklyn Headhunter posts here.
Photo by MikeColvin82, Creative Commons license

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What Is It With School 'Co-locations' in New York City?

Across the city, the Department of Educations is "co-locating" schools inside of other schools -- cramming two or more schools into a space designed for one.

Instead of being excited about a new school in the neighborhood, parents are coming to dread it because the new school will cannibalize the existing one, draining resources and facilities from the original school's students and causing a two tier system -- one with all the old stuff and one with the shiny new furniture and half ownership of the original school's lab, gym, cafeteria and library.

Parents booed the new Schools Chancellor Cathie Black at Brooklyn Tech Wednesday night as the Panel for Educational Policy voted to allow a new Millennium High School to open on the John Jay campus. It appears likely that Ms. Black had no idea why people were booing or what they were upset about.

 P.S. 15 in Red Hook

Some parents are beginning to suspect that the Mayor and others actually want to destroy functioning public schools, like Red Hook's P.S. 15, infested with the PAVE Academy charter school for another two-and-a-half years; or P.S. 316 in Crown Heights, trying to fend off a charter school that will undermine one of the best educational options in District 17. (Read a letter posted in the Brooklynian here.)

Or like P.S. 9, where parent are protesting the plan to move in Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School. One parent told the Brooklyn Eagle, “We already have some gym classes in the auditorium. The kids have to do their laps around the seats."

City Massages the Numbers

In many cases the city uses suspect school utilization figures to imply there's more room at the target school than actually exists: at P.S. 15, with a large percentage of special needs kids, the city didn't account for the 37 percent of students needing services like speech or occupational therapy and simply did away with those facilities. At P.S. 316, the city's enrollment counts don't match the number of students actually enrolled.

According to Prospect Heights Patch, Kim Wong, of DOE’s Office of Portfolio Planning, told parents at P.S. 316 that DoE administrators “do not consider music, art and science rooms to be absolutely necessary.” But this understates the problem -- Parents and administrators said the two schools already in the building "are already struggling to share the library, gym and cafeteria, making the addition of a third school a logistical nightmare."

A study by Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and the Alliance for Quality Education says school closings and the practice of co-location "can disrupt students’ education and decrease their access to school facilities such as classrooms, gymnasiums and cafeterias." (NY Daily News) 

How would City Hall function if we co-located the Brooklyn and Queens Borough Halls inside its walls? How about if we co-located Pfizer inside of Google?

Things just wouldn't work very well, would they?

Photo courtesy of Google Maps

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Water Main Break on Court Street; Animal Tethering Bill; and More Brooklyn Briefs

 - Bloomberg brags on Brooklyn in his "State of the City."  Brooklyn Eagle 

- What a mess! Water main break on Court Street in Carroll Gardens brings out Con Ed, National Grid, DEP, DOT, NYPD, FDNY. Street will be closed again today.  PMFA 

- NYC Council passes bill that would bar pet owners from tethering their animals outside for longer than three hour.  Gothamist 

- You would have to run 17 miles to burn off the calories consumed in a meal at Peter Luger. WYDNKBYANM 

- E.L. Doctorow will speak at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights on Thursday, February 3. BHB 

- Parents protest: DOE plans to close P.S. 114 in Canarsie and replace it with a charter school and another elementary school. Brooklyn Eagle, NY1 

- Can Councilman Lander save the day for South Slopers? Here's Park Slope 

- The German government recently commissioned a piece of software that can erase photos from Facebook and other sites after a set amount of time. Fast Company

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Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, at Night

We were trying out our new camera's range of nighttime settings. This is the North Heights, DUMBO, entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge (looking north), shot using nighttime landscape mode. The buildings in the background are Manhattan.

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Nat Geo Continues Filming Atlantic Avenue Tunnel; Bob Diamond Files Intent to Sue City Over Tours -- UPDATED

We've been trying to find out how the National Geographic filming of the amazing Atlantic Avenue Tunnel is going. (And have they found What's Behind The Wall yet?)

Here's what we heard from National Geographic:

"National Geographic Channel is working on a show related to the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel that is intended to air later this year. We have been filming in the Brooklyn area and production is expected to continue over the next several months. The project has yet to yield any definitive results and, as our production is still in a preliminary stage, we can provide no further details at this time."

So there you go.

Meanwhile, the indefatigable Bob Diamond, champion* of the tunnel, has filed a notice of claim against the DOT, which has barred him from giving his immensely popular tours for safety reasons.

He says the DOT previously declared the tunnel safe for tours, and says the agency’s conduct is “arbitrary, capricious and constitutes an unlawful taking of property." (See Brooklyn Eagle for a bit more about this.)

UPDATE: A bartender at Montero’s Bar and Grill on Atlantic Avenue, confirmed that the Nat Geo crew had stopped into the bar for a break last week while they were taking images outside with a device called a magnetometer, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

*Diamond discovered the long-lost tunnel -- which runs under Atlantic Avenue between Boerum Place and Hicks Street) in 1981, after hearing about the legend of a Civil War era rail tunnel on a radio show. After an eight-month search (during which he was repeated advised by City officials to give up on his lost cause) he struck gold -- uncovering, intact, the world's first subway tunnel.

- Crazy Saga of Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Tours Continues
- National Geographic to Start Filming Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Documentary This Weekend
- Welcome Back Bob: Hundreds Take Sunday's Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Tour
- Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Tours Saved! BP Markowitz Prevails Upon Bob Diamond
- Atlantic Tunnel's Bob Diamond Leaving Brooklyn? Say It Ain't So!
- Quite a Crowd for Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Tour 
- Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Is Probably Haunted
- What's Behind the Wall? Atlantic Ave. Tunnel Mystery
- Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue Tunnel: What's Behind the Wall?
- Let Them Laugh: Bob Diamond's Brooklyn Trolley Idea Gains Traction
- Mole People Back in Brooklyn?
- Lineup For Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Tour
- Brooklyn Spelunking: Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Tours Return

Photo copyright MK Metz

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Fascati Pizza Reopens After Death in Family

 The popular Fascati Pizza, on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights, reopened yesterday after the death of the owners' mother, Josephine. The pizzeria was closed about two week and was sorely missed.

All of our sympathies go out to the family.

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Brooklyn Permafrost Thaws, Leaving Yuck In Its Place

The big, dirty glacier that has been Brooklyn since December 26, 2010 thawed yesterday, revealing lost items of clothing and primitive artifacts, and leaving in its wake six-inch-deep scummy puddles on every street corner. (The above photo shows Fulton Street near Bond in Downtown Brooklyn.)

Above: Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza/ Columbus Park, with two brave green market vendors freezing their buns off in the sleet and freezing rain.

According to the National Weather Service, today there is a chance of rain or freezing rain before noon, then a slight chance of rain between noon and 2pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 40.

Photos by MK Metz

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Steiner Studios to Start $90.5 Million Expansion

 One of America's largest film and TV production studios is about to get a lot larger:

Steiner Studios at the Brooklyn Navy Yard has completed a $90.5 million financing package that will allow it to add 11 soundstages to its existing 5, according to the Wall Street Journal. Steiner will break ground on the project in the next few months.

Film work at Steiner includes “Spiderman 3”, “Sex and the City”, “Enchanted”, “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and “Wanted” with Angelina Jolie. Major movies being shot at Steiner this year include "Men in Black III" featuring Will Smith and "The Adjustment Bureau" with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.

According to the NYC Regional Center, this project combines funding by the government of New York City with $65 million from 130 investors (plus funds from the U.S. government) and will create more than 1,600 jobs.

Photo courtesy of Steiner Studios 

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Steel Girders Going Up at City Point; Marshalls in Williamsburg; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- The steel girders are going up at the City Point construction site in Downtown Brooklyn. Brooklyn Eagle 

- Rash of thefts at 68 Jay Street in DUMBO. DumboNYC 

- Brooklynian commenter tag teams with his dog to kill rats, grosses out other commenters.  Brooklynian

- Brownstone Brooklyn sees new boom in rental housing.  Brooklyn Eagle 

- The discount chain Marshalls is considering moving to Williamsburg. Observer 

- Verge is starting a DUMBO art fair called Art Brooklyn, timed to coincide with the March Armory Show. NY Times 

- Freddy's Bar is reopening February 4.  Gothamist 

- 14-year-old's "Bubble Ball" app knocks "Angry Birds" out of top spot.  Huff Post 

- Weather hobbyist's stats show we're going to get a lot more snow this winter.  NY Times

- Shackleton's century-old Scotch, found buried in snow, flown out of Antarctica on private jet. Huff Post

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Brooklyn Artists Gym Winter Salon, Jan. 22

 Brooklyn Artists Gym's Winter Salon opening reception takes place from 6-10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22. The Salon showcases the works of their studio members and will include a Q&A session with each of the artists involved.

Participating artists: Rick Midler, John Azelvandre, Jee Young Choi, Meredith Alcarese, Ann Williams, Erin Barach, Andy Wellington, Brian Petro, Richard Kessler, Roberto Jamora, Jannell Turner, Maya Malioutina.

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Weather in Brooklyn Tuesday: Miserable

 NOAA radar image of approaching storm as of 10:02 p.m. Monday.

The National Weather Service says the approaching winter storm will bring bring a mixture of snow, sleet and ice to Brooklyn and other parts of New York City overnight, starting with 1 - 2 inches of snow in Tuesday's early a.m., followed by freezing rain, then cold and miserable rain around rush hour, causing hazardous driving conditions, slushy, dirty puddles, sopping coats and hats and general misery.

A high of 41 F is expected Tuesday.

Tuesday night brings a chance of rain, more misery.

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Rare 1770 Map Found by Brooklyn Historical Society

A rare 1770 Ratzer map of New York City was found in a warehouse and painstakingly restored by the Brooklyn Historical Society.  According to the New York Times, the society doesn't know how it got to their Connecticut warehouse but the name Pierrepont was clearly legible on the back of the linen.

The map shows Old Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue surrounded by farms and woods in "Brookland." The streets of lower Manhattan are shown in detail, with farms and trees to the north

The society plans a viewing sometime in the future. Until then, click on the interactive map at the Times to see it yourself.

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TV Special On Gun Violence in Brooklyn

At least five teenagers were left wounded when gunshots erupted Friday night as spectators were streaming out of a basketball game at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. NY Times

We had just read the above news item when we got the word from BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn that there will be a Brooklyn Independent Television Special program focused on the effects of gun violence in Kings County.

The B.I.T. Special features a panel discussion with Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes, Senior Deputy District Attorney and Youth and Congregation Partnership program director Joan Gabbidon and B.I.T.’s Public Affairs producer Brian Vines. Charge it to the Game, a documentary sponsored by DA Hynes’ office will follow the discussion.

The show airs on Monday, January 31st at 2pm and 10pm and Tuesday, February 1st at 2pm and 11pm on BRIC’s BCAT TV Network on channels Time Warner 56, Cablevision 69, RCN 84 and in all five boroughs on Verizon 44.

Photo by Smarter, Creative Commons license

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Bushwick Film Maker Survives Attack By Giant Corn Mutants

Matthew Silver is a film maker / performance artist who writes to say he's turning Bushwick streets into a public theater. In this vaguely disturbing video, he makes quite the impression on passersby as he screams at them that "The End Is Now," and is attacked by giant corn mutants.


On his web site Man In White Dress, Silver says, "I’m a brilliant performer.  I work for the UNIVERSE. DONKA MONKA boing.  I’m on a spiritual journey to make the entire world LAUGH at NOTHING.  Who will help me?" Videos on his site show tourists taking his picture as he acts crazy while wearing a white wedding dress.

In his email to McBrooklyn Silver says:

"There's a certain feeling of magic, on these Bushwick streets, that lingers in the air long enough to raise goosebumps, lining across the J-line. I feel it. 'Heartpocalypse' is a film that captured this magic, to remind us that it is all real! Living deep inside of us! Radiating outward, gravitating inward. Real Magic!"

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Events in Brooklyn

Sunday, January 16 at 3pm: Made in America: King's Dream in Today's Economy, A Martin Luther King Day Celebration at the Brooklyn Museum.

The Brooklyn Community Foundation is partnering with WNYC for its fifth annual Martin Luther King Day celebration. Join WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, WQXR’s Terrance McKnight and Princeton professor Melissa Harris-Perry host an afternoon of spirited discussion and performances. Admission is free but reservations are required. RSVP at rsvp@wnyc.org  More information at www.wnyc.org/events

Monday, January 17: BAM welcomes keynote speaker Walter Mosley, novelist and social commentator at the 25th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 17 at 10:30 a.m. in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House. Full details here.

More MLK events take place in Brooklyn Monday. See the Brooklyn Eagle for listings.

Photo courtesy of BlatentNews, public domain, Creative Commons license

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Today: Electronics Recycling Day at Prospect Park (Jan. 16)

Drop off those old computer monitors and phones today (Sunday, January 16, 2011) at the Prospect Park entrance at Prospect Park West and 3rd Street, Brooklyn, 10am to 4pm, rain or shine.

Sponsored by the Lower East Side Ecology Center, they'll accept working & non-working computers, monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, cables, TV's, VCR's, DVD players, phones, audio/visual equipment, cell phones & PDA's

More details here.

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Good Deal for Aliens at Siggy's

Siggy's restaurant on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights has a long-standing policy of feeding aliens for free.

Photo by MK Metz

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Killer on Facebook Memorial; Duane Reade Beer Bar; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Family members were upset to see the Facebook tribute page of a murdered woman had a new member -- the creep who killed her. Brooklyn Eagle

- A Duane Reade in Brooklyn with a beer bar. NY Times

- The MTA will not provide shuttle buses to those left stranded without an F train subway station starting next week. OTBKB

- Doomed Coney Island Boardwalk owner blasts councilman. Gothamist

- You saw the rat inside the subway car; now see the mouse at LaGuardia.

- An organic grocery store is now open and a daycare center will open soon at the Clermont rental development in Fort Greene. TRD

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Red Hook Murder Victim; Plump, Juicy Pigeons; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- RIP Ginger Root Cafe. Brooklynian

- Attendance was way down at public schools yesterday. Brooklyn Eagle

- More details on the Red Hook art gallery murder victim. Gothamist

- A Long Island doctor lost control of his SUV, plowed down a busy Brooklyn sidewalk and injured two pedestrians, then didn't lift a finger to help them. NY Post

- Video time-lapse of the recent snowstorm, featuring a balcony in Brooklyn. Gothamist

- This is what really happens to plump, juicy pigeons in Brooklyn Heights. Brooklyn Eagle

- Ted Williams is off to rehab. NY Magazine

- Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes for the first time since the shooting on Saturday. Huff Post

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Don't Complain About Hidden Cameras if You Go to Brooklyn College

Chinemerem Eze, a Nigerian student at Brooklyn College, was suspicious that her off-campus-housing landlord had planted a hidden camera in her apartment.

When she brought her suspicions to Campus Security, according to Forbes, they brought in a psychologist. "After asking her a few questions, the psychologist called an ambulance and had her committed to Kings County Psychiatric Hospital."

When she managed to extricate herself from the hospital two weeks later, she discovered that there really was a hidden camera in her apartment. And since she missed two weeks of classes and her final exams, she wound up losing a scholarship she’d received from the school.

There are more problems with this than we can even go into here. Better read the whole story at Forbes.

More info at Courthouse News, her lawsuit.


Photo by ky_olsen, Creative Commons license.

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Verizon Wireless Site Overwhelmed Last Night

We tried to check out our neighborhood's iPhone options on Verizon about 11:30 last night, and we got this page no matter what we tried.

Did iPhone break Verizon?

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Snow Blankets Brooklyn Heights; Subway and Bus Service Changes

UPDATE BELOW
Cadman Plaza West has accumulated an inch or two of snow now. It's been a while since a plow went by.

The Brooklyn Bridge and BQE are in better shape because of the volume of (slowly driving) cars.

Henry Street and the side streets in Brooklyn Heights are covered in snow. Don't drive if you don't have to!

According to the MTA, NYC Transit has begun to store trains underground which will impact scheduled express service in some areas (many express trains are running local). All planned service changes on the NYC subway have been canceled through mid-day.

Buses, especially those scheduled to run during the late and overnight hours have been outfitted with chains; salt trucks have been filled and equipped with plows to help keep bus stops clear of snow and ice. Service may be temporarily suspended or curtailed to avoid stuck trains and buses. Check here before you travel for the latest updates.

UPDATE Wednesday 9:40 a.m.:
Most subways are on time except for the uptown 2 and 5 trains, experiencing signal problems at the Freeman Street Station. Most buses are on time.

Many service changes at the LIRR -- check here for updates.

Access-A-Ride service is canceled for Wednesday, except for trips of medical necessity (e.g., dialysis, radiation treatment or chemotherapy). If you need to travel to an appointment of this nature, please call Access-A-Ride Reservations at 877-337-2017, and press 2 for Reservations.

Photo by MK Metz

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Snow Is Starting to Accumulate in Brooklyn Heights

The big snow seems to be underway. Not quite an inch of snow yet but we heard the first snow plow rumble by about 10 minutes ago. (That's Cadman Plaza Park above.)

Photo by MK Metz

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New York City Declares Weather Emergency

Shortly before 5 p.m. the city formally declared a "weather emergency" for tonight. (Mayor Bloomberg was criticized for not declaring a weather emergency before the December 26-27 blizzard.)

Here's the text:

At the direction of the Mayor, the public is hereby advised that significant snowfall has been forecast for tonight. 

The public is urged to avoid all unnecessary driving during the duration of the storm and until further directed, and to use public transportation wherever possible. If you must drive, use extreme caution. Information about any service changes to public transportation is available on the MTA website at http://www.mta.info/. 

Any vehicle found to be blocking roadways or impeding the ability to plow streets shall be subject to towing at the owner’s expense.

Effective immediately, alternate side parking, payment at parking meters and garbage collections are suspended citywide until further notice. 

The Emergency Management, Fire, Police, Sanitation, and Transportation Commissioners will be taking all appropriate and necessary steps to preserve public safety and to render all required and available assistance to protect the security, well-being and health of the residents of the City.

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Fifth Avenue Meltdown? And More Brooklyn Briefs

- New snag in Zamperla's plan to boot Ruby’s Bar and Grill, Shoot the Freak and the other beloved attractions off the Coney Island Boardwalk.  NY Post 

- Fifth Avenue meltdown? Here's Park Slope blogs about many shuttered stores on the avenue: Here and here and here and here. 

- There are a lot more fat babies than there used to be.  Fox 

- Walmart officials have declined to participate in a Jan. 12 joint City Council committee hearing on the potential economic impacts of opening stores in the city. Brooklyn Eagle

- Endlessly fascinating: a look at what fast-food chicken is made from. WYDNKBYANM

- Sounds like Verizon will announce its iPhone today at 11 a.m. . . Fast Company

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The Sign Lies, at MetroTech, Brooklyn

 Dog-free zone? Not likely, with Tony Matelli's "Stray Dog" -- a life-size resin sculpture of a lost seeing-eye dog -- roaming around Metrotech Commons.

Over the years, Stray Dog has endured rain, heat, and snow. For more photos of "Stray Dog" in all seasons, see:

- Man's Best Friend
- It's Not Always What It Seems
- Kid's Best Friend, at MetroTech
- Stray Dog Endures, at Metrotech

Photo copyright MK Metz

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Winter Storm Warning Tonight in Brooklyn/ New York City

The National Weather Service forecasts anywhere from 7 - 14 8 - 12 inches of snow in Brooklyn along with the rest of New York City (though NY1 puts it at 5 - 9 inches)  starting late this afternoon (we should make it through the rush hour OK) through Wednesday night, with a winter storm warning in effect from 7 p.m. tonight till 6 p.m. Wednesday.

New Yorkers are cautioned to travel through the storm only in an emergency:

IF YOU MUST TRAVEL KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...FOOD...
AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

Yesterday Mayor Bloomberg released a 15-point action plan to improve the city's response to snow emergencies.

The plan includes equipping every Department of Sanitation truck with a GPS device enabled with two-way communication; using live monitors (SCOUT) to stream video of trouble spots; make the critical equipment available; deploy city employees from other departments and more. (See the full details here.)

(When did snow become such a big deal in New York City?)

Photo copyright MK Metz

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The Bird Hoarder of Flatbush and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Neighbors are pissed about "the bird hoarder of Flatbush."  NY Daily News

- Brooklyn Law School will reportedly sell its 12-story dormitory building on Joralemon Street for $12 million. Brooklyn Eagle    BUT - a developer is suing the school for violating an agreement to sell the building to them instead. TRD

- Sewing clubs "popping up all over Brooklyn" encourage the repair and reuse of clothing. inhabitat

- Brooklyn music producer Roger Greenawalt is getting ready for his annual marathon concert of the Beatles on ukulele. NY1

- Yesterday was No Pants Subway Ride Day. Gothamist

- A thief stole $250 and a vibrator from a Keap Street apartment. Brooklyn Paper 

- How a blogger lost a Hotmail account to Nigerian spammers -- and how the blogger exacted their revenge.  Spamming My Spammer 

- Going viral: the rumor that Facebook will be shutting down March 15. Huff Post

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Applications Available for Affordable Units in DUMBO

Affordable? DUMBO?

If you meet income, household and other criteria, you could be included in a lottery for the 21 affordable units in the new condo conversion at 25 Washington St. in DUMBO.

Only the first 8,000 requests for an application will be honored. See Brooklyn Eagle for details.

Photo courtesy of Google Maps

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