mcbrooklyn

iPhone Box Selling for $15,098 on eBay

2012-01-29T03:10:00.000-05:00

A bidding war has broken out over an empty iPhone box on eBay. Over the last two days, the bids have climbed from $4.99 to $15,098.

The headline states: "Apple iPhone 4s Black -Box only for a 16GB (Unlocked) Smartphone SHIP WORLDWIDE!"

The item's description at the bottom of the page clearly says,
"I am selling an ORIGINAL iPhone 4s BOX which can be used to hold a 16GB iPhone (or any iPhone 4). This comes with the original manual!!! but not the phone. Great condition only a few minor scratches on the back like normal. The front is perfect! Email me with any questions. Others like this have sold for over $450. No Phone inside the box! All Sales Final. No refunds. Understand what you are buying. This auction does not come with the phone at all - just the box."

The seller is the Holy Land Gifts Store located in Jerusalem, Israel. But the seller will not sell it to anyone in Israel.

This item was first reported on Reddit after the price hit $180. It quickly increased to $3,000. Some Redditers jumped in and bid it higher -- but mysterious bidders counter-bid it into the stratosphere.

Why does anyone want an empty box?

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72 Poplar Landmarks Application Approved by CB2 -- Brooklyn Heights

2012-01-27T07:02:00.001-05:00

The Executive Committee of Community Board 2 voted this week to approve, with modifications, a Landmarks Preservation Commission application for 72 Poplar St., the former police precinct building.

The application calls for extending the existing fourth floor, constructing a new fifth-floor addition and constructing a one-story rooftop addition on the building’s adjacent garage, according to the Brooklyn Eagle, which has more details.

Photo courtesy of Google Streetview

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Senior Citizens Are Cocked and Locked; Gun Buyback This Saturday

2012-01-27T06:30:00.007-05:00

What's going on with senior citizens lately? Over the last two weeks we've heard several stories of oldsters who "did what needed to be done."

- West Reading, Pa.: A 65-year-old man shot two teens, one fatally, as they tried to rob him Wednesday morning on a bike trail near the Schuylkill River. The teens knock the man off his bicycle and assaulted him, so he whipped out a handgun and shot them both. After investigating, police released the senior citizen and charged the surviving attacker and another participant. Berks Regional News via Reddit

- In Daytona Beach, Fla: Karen Granville, a 64-year-old fan of John Wayne, held a young car theft suspect at gunpoint in her backyard this past Tuesday morning as she waited for police to arrive. "I was watching 'Rio Bravo' before the scumbag came into my yard," Granville said. News Journal1 and News Journal2

- Also in Daytona Beach, Fla: On January 13, an 82-year-old Daytona Beach man grabbed his WWII-era handgun and killed an intruder wearing a ski mask and gloves. The man was trying to bang his way into the senior's house with a hammer and screwdriver. "I did what I had to do," Charles A. Robbins said of the 6 a.m. shooting. Daytona Beach News Journal

In the United States, more than 17 million people aged 65 years or older own a firearm. (APHA) The actions above fall in the general category of public service -- but public health officials are starting to worry about what will happen when a sizable chunk of these people get dementia.

Handgun manufactures, seeing a good thing, are increasingly designing and marketing guns just for seniors, and seniors are some of their best customers.

Is your grandmother packin'?

Unless she's gaga, better leave grandma's guns alone. She can probably shoot better than you.

But if she's too old to drive, she's probably too old to carry. Try to convince her to drop off her spare firearms at the 66th and 77th Precinct's Gun Buyback Program, which takes place this Saturday, January 28.

According to Kensington Prospect, the buyback takes place at the Bedford Central Presbyterian Church, located at 1200 Dean Street at Nostrand (in Brooklyn).

Gram will get a $200 bank card for each operable handgun and a $20 bank card for operable rifles and shotguns. If your grandma's like mine, that's roughly a cool thousand right there.

For more information, call the 66th Precinct Community Affairs Office at 718-851-5601.

Photo by Slushie, Creative Commons license

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Find the Changes In New Improved 30 Henry Street Proposal -- Brooklyn Heights

2012-01-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

The Brooklyn Eagle has published a rendering of the modified 30 Henry Street design -- the one that was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on January 18. The approved design is the lower photo.

The original proposal for the new five-story, five-unit building at 30 Henry St. in Brooklyn Heights (the former site of Brooklyn Eagle headquarters) -- the one that wasn't approved -- is shown on top.

Aside from the poor quality of the newer rendering, how many differences can you spot?

We notice the chimneys are white in the newer version.

The Eagle notes, "To the untrained eye, the new plan looks very similar to the original design that was submitted to the commission recently."

In December,the Brooklyn Heights Association's Executive Director Judy Stanton told the Brooklyn Eagle the building site "cries out for a distinctive and much more contemporary design than that which was shown to the BHA last week.

“Fortis has hired excellent architects in BKSK, and the BHA has respectfully asked them to return to the drafting board to create a building that celebrates our time."

Mission accomplished?

Modified Design for 30 Henry Street Unveiled Brooklyn Eagle
- LPC Approves New 30 Henry Street Design in Brooklyn Heights
- A Century of Changes at 30 Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights

Design by BKSK Architects

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Pretty Sewer Tunnels; Biased Lubavich Landlord; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2012-01-26T06:45:00.001-05:00

- Brooklyn Art Hackathon this weekend. Makerbot

- An open letter from one Brooklyn Lubavich (Orthodox Jewish) landlord demands that other landlords stop renting to non-Jews. Joe.My.God.

- Shooting in Sunset Park possibly a gang rubout. NY Daily News

- Southpaw closing? Brooklyn Vegan

- Bars with wifi AND Happy Hour. Brokelyn

- Charles Hynes will conduct a review into the death of cyclist Mathieu Lefevre, after revelations that NYPD withheld details of the crash from the victim’s family and failed to gather evidence at the scene. Streetsblog

- Diving into surprisingly pretty sewer tunnels beneath Bushwick. Gothamist

- The National Labor Relations Board has filed for a federal injunction to end an ongoing lockout at a 59-building apartment complex in Flatbush. TRD

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Baluchi's Extends Its Indian Empire Into Brooklyn Heights

2012-01-25T07:10:00.001-05:00

Brooklyn Heights is soon to have its very own Baluchi's Indian restaurant, on the north end of Henry Street near Cranberry Street. The spot, which will be ready "soon," according to the owner, can be seen to the right of Cranberry's, above.

This will bring to three the number of Indian restaurants in Brooklyn Heights, including Gandhi Palace on Montague (replaced Amin) and Curry Heights on Remsen.

According to their website, there are roughly a dozen Baluchi's restaurants, most in Manhattan. (The Smith Street Baluchi's closed a couple of years ago.)

The Park Slope Baluchi's gets fairly decent reviews on Yelp, scoring 3.5 out of 5 stars. More reviewers rated it a 4 than any other grade.

A Grab-Bag of Park Slope Yelp Comments:

"The Chicken Tikka Masala was solid and the samosas crispy and delicious. The black daal was a little odd in that it included kidney beans."

"The restaurant also offers $9.95 lunch specials, and a $14.95 prix fixe menu. The prix fixe menu is the better of the two deals as it includes an entree (I recommend the chicken jalfrezi), rice, naan cucumber, raita, and mango chutney."

"All in all, not mind-altering Indian food, but good, solid Indian food when you crave it. I'll definitely go back."

"Great naan, great service, reasonably priced, and a great atmosphere. Very impressed overall."

"Solid tasty Indian food. Not the best I've ever had but the best in the area without a doubt. "

"The decor is gorgeous, the service is amazing, and the food is great. Baluchi's is our ultimate date spot in the hood. "

"We opened with samosas, I had a chicken spinach dish, Saagwala, my date had chicken curry. We also ordered poori. I thought the food was very good. "

Here's the menu from the Park Slope Baluchi's.

Photo by MK Metz

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Gowanus Whole Foods Decision Delayed for a Month

2012-01-25T06:30:00.001-05:00

Chairwoman Meenakchi Srinivasan and the rest of the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals put off making a find decision at yesterday's hearing on the Whole Foods Gowanus variance. They'll make a decision on February 28th.

Whole Foods Market is proposing to build a mega-market in a manufacturing district on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, at 3rd Street and 3rd Avenue.

More details, photos and a video of today's action at the Pardon Me For Asking Blog.

- Whole Foods Hearing Today at 1:30; End of Manufacturing In Gowanus?

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While We're On the Subject of Portland, and More Brooklyn Briefs

2012-01-25T06:29:00.001-05:00

- Venn Diagram: Portland Vs. Brooklyn. The Frisky

- Just like Portland: A free lecture on cooking bears, beaver and moose, in Brooklyn. Featuring a terrifying moose-face stew recipe. Brokelyn

- Ever more like Portland: Brooklyn guy offers artisanal pencil-sharpening class. Really. Gothamist

- Old Fulton buildings in search of new owner. Commenter says it's a flip. Brownstoner

- City Council Landmarks panel approves historic skyscraper district in Brooklyn. NY Times

- In a bid to nail down $60 million in funding, Mayor Bloomberg is planning to close, transform and then reopen 33 struggling city schools, and fire up to half their staff. Brooklyn Eagle

- MTA adds buses to Brooklyn's B61 bus route (Van Brunt, Columbia St., Atlantic Ave.) during evening rush. Brad Lander

- "Backwards wheelchair lady" is a locally-famous Bensonhurst character. MBTR and The Danja Zone via Brooklynian

- Google has changed its privacy policy, but that doesn't make it evil. TechCrunch

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EPA Gowanus Canal Superfund Meeting Tonight in Brooklyn

2012-01-24T08:30:00.001-05:00

Community Board 6 sent us a reminder that the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration's public meeting on the Gowanus Canal Superfund Feasibility Study takes place tonight (Tuesday, Jan. 24) at 7 PM. The location will be the auditorium of P.S. 58, 330 Smith Street.

The Draft Feasibility Study is available for download and review at:
http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/gowanus/fs_docs.html

Photo courtesy Dept. of City Planning

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Whole Foods Hearing Today at 1:30; End of Manufacturing In Gowanus?

2012-01-24T07:15:00.001-05:00

The second, and likely the last, public hearing at NYC Board of Standards & Appeals on the Whole Foods variance application is today, Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 1:30 p.m.

You may be eager for organic roof-grown lettuce, but the Gowanus Institute sent us an email saying hold up a minute: allowing the Whole Foods (planned for 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street, shown above ) will "be the beginning of the end of manufacturing activity in this immediate area, and that includes The Can Factory."

From the on-line petition: "Whole Foods Market is proposing to build regional, suburban-style mega-market in a thriving manufacturing district on an active industrial canal in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The proposed store will be nearly six times the allowable area for food stores in manufacturing-zoned areas in New York City. The Gowanus Institute studied Whole Foods Market's variance application, and in its report, recommends that BSA reject the application." (More explanation on the petition.)

There's also a a Facebook page.

The hearing takes place at NYC Board of Standards & Appeals at 40 Rector Street (near West St) Manhattan. ‘R’ train to “Rector St.” A bus will leave from the Can Factory at exactly 1 p.m. if you want to comment.

- Gowanus Whole Foods Brownfield Cleanup Meeting

- Gowanus Whole Foods Going Even Greener, Building Half-Acre Greenhouse

Photo courtesy of Google Street View

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Family Wants Criminal Investigation of Son's Death in Bushwick; Police Stonewall

2012-01-24T07:00:00.001-05:00

Last October, a truck dragged cyclist Mathieu Lefevre 40 feet on a street in Bushwick, then left the scene of the crash. Lefevre died, and police said he was at fault.

It took a Freedom of Information Act filing, but now the cyclist's parents have discovered that the NYPD took no data from the truck’s event data recorder, made no written description of the scene, and never sampled blood and paint marks on the truck’s front bumper.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the driver has been issued traffic summonses for failure to signal and failure to exercise due care -- but the NYPD has said there will be no criminal investigation.

Video evidence, which the police never looked at, show the truck turning right without signalling, running over Lefevre. As to the lack of photos of the blood smeared over the truck's bumper? A police checklist shows that the camera was broken.

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Who Knew 'High-Risk' Cargo Entered Country In Red Hook? And More Brooklyn Briefs

2012-01-24T06:30:00.001-05:00

- New York pols are sounding an alarm over a plan to stop inspections of “high-risk” cargo entering the country at the Red Hook Container Terminal in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Eagle

- Rapes and sexual assaults have tripled in Williamsburg and Greenpoint this year. L Magazine

- Elected officials gathered outside of Barclays Arena to express frustration over the broken promises at the Atlantic Yards site. Carroll Gardens Patch

- The last Brooklyn outpost of Blockbuster's once vast empire. Bensonhurst Bean

- Crop circle in Cadman Plaza Park. Brooklyn Eagle

- Greenpoint “Nature Walk” is actually bleak, post-apocalyptic, and nearly devoid of nature. Brooklynian

- Elderly testify against alleged Brooklyn fraudster. NY Post

- Kiku Asian bistro and sake bar opens on the corner of Fifth and Lincoln Thursday. HPS

- Extremist Orthodox Jewish newspaper in Brooklyn pictured the White House controlled by Nazis. Then an extremist Jewish newspaper in Atlanta proposed assassinating President Obama. What happened next at Failed Messiah and Gawker

- Beautiful time-lapse video of Yosemite has also gone viral. Turn sound on, settle back. Vimeo

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Brooklyn Crab Opening Up Next to Ralph's Place

2012-01-23T06:45:00.000-05:00

A new crab shack is going up in Red Hook, Brooklyn, right next to that unequaled monument to the human spirit, Ralph's Place.

The owners of Alma Restaurant on Columbia St. in Brooklyn are building the giant new eatery, Brooklyn Crab, at 24 Reed Street in Red Hook.

Brooklyn Crab's Facebook page says:
"This time around these two visionaries of Alma will whistle entirely to their own tune with food and a vibe that reflects their own passions; fishing, family and seafood.

"Brooklyn Crab, built on two decks overlooking the New York harbor, will offer seafood fare from all the way up the Atlantic coast and down to the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to an extensive raw bar, Brooklyn Crab will also serve, salads, soups, sandwiches and steak to please both vegetarian and carnivore pallets."

Hope it doesn't disturb the vibe at Ralph's.

More about Ralph's here.

Photos courtesy of Brooklyn Crab, Facebook

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Rainy Day in Brooklyn Monday, With a Mother of a Geomagnetic Storm Tomorrow

2012-01-23T06:35:00.002-05:00

Herman Behr Residence by MK Metz

UPDATED BELOW

Much of the ice and snow on the ground in Brooklyn will probably wash away this afternoon. According to the National Weather Service, get ready for rain, especially after 1 p.m., along with some fog.

Chance of precipitation is 80 percent, and temperatures will be in the 40s. Tuesday will be better, says NOAA: "Mostly sunny, with a high near 51."

Photo courtesy of NOAA

In addition to the rain, NOAA has extended its recent Space Weather Alert into ~~Monday~~ Tuesday, warning of the possibility of a ~~minor~~ massive magnetic storm, with an expected Geomagnetic K-index of 4 9. The highest possible is 9.)

There is a ~~slight~~ fair chance of power grid or radio fluctuations. With a 3 on the Solar Radiation Scale of 1 - 5, passengers and crew in high-flying aircraft at high latitudes may be exposed to radiation risk.

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72 Poplar On Tonight's CB2 Agenda; NYU Expands; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2012-01-23T06:30:00.001-05:00

- Is Brooklyn's D.A. Charles Hynes hiding the details of sweetheart plea deals with Orthodox Jewish pedophiles from the public? Failed Messiah

- Plans for 72 Poplar Street, the former NYPD building in Brooklyn Heights, will be considered at CB2 meeting tonight. BHB

- They censored the nipples in the art at the Tea Lounge! Brooklynian

- NYU expands its empire in Downtown Brooklyn. Brooklyn Eagle

- Franny's will be moving into the former Blockbuster space further up Flatbush, doubling its size and adding a private party room. Here's Park Slope and Grub Street

- The NYPD committed a Virginia man claiming to be a Navy SEAL to a psych ward, and later found out that he was in fact a Navy SEAL. Gothamist

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Man Killed By Subway at Nostrand Avenue Stop in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn

2012-01-21T23:06:00.003-05:00

A man was struck and killed by a southbound A train at the Nostrand Avenue station in Bedford-Stuyvesant Saturday afternoon, according to DNAinfo.

The man was hit by the train shortly after 4 p.m. inside the station, at Nostrand Avenue and Fulton Street.

In an unrelated incident, a man was struck and killed by an L train in the East Village Saturday morning, halting service and forcing nearly 200 passengers to evacuate the subway.

And on Friday a person was killed on the tracks at the Borough Hall station in Downtown Brooklyn. More here.

UPDATE: Dangerous weekend on the subway leaves four dead. More here.

Photo courtesy of MShades, Creative Commons license.

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Spike Lee's 'Red Hook Summer' Premiers at Sundance Sunday

2012-01-21T22:30:00.000-05:00

Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer will premier at 6:30 p.m. Sunday (Jan.22) at the Sundance Film Festival. This is Lee's first premier at the festival.

The film tells the story of a young boy from Atlanta whose mother leaves him for the summer with his preacher grandfather in a Red Hook housing project. The entire film was shot within a 10-block radius.

According to Rolling Stone, ten songs by Judith Hill ("Heal the World"), mostly soulful ballads, are featured in the film. (Mookie, the Sal's Famous pizza delivery boy who first appeared in Lee's 1989 film Do The Right Thing, will be making a reappearance as well.)

Lee gives an interview about his work on the film to Hollywood Reporter, here.

Photo courtesy IMDb

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Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow . . .In Brooklyn

2012-01-20T16:44:00.000-05:00

The National Weather Service is calling for up to 4 inches of snow mixed with sleet and rain in all five boroughs between Friday night and Saturday afternoon, with the heaviest snow occurring Saturday morning.

A Winter Weather Advisory and Hazardous Weather Outlook remains in effect until 4 p.m Saturday. Temperatures will be in the upper 20s.

Use caution when driving.

Photo from January 2011 snow storm in Brooklyn Heights by MK Metz

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Century 21 and Target NOT Coming to Downtown Brooklyn; TJ Maxx Is

2012-01-20T06:33:00.001-05:00

It is not true that Century 21 will be taking space at the new City Point development on the Fulton Mall, according to Tom Montvel-Cohen, a spokesperson for the City Point development team.

The New York Post report that the store would be taking 100,000 square feet “is incorrect,” Montvel-Cohen told the Brooklyn Eagle Thursday.

The Post's report that Target was also moving into City Point is also wrong, reports the Eagle.

In related news, the Eagle reports that TJ Maxx is coming to Fulton Mall. More here.

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After Complaints, DOT Tows Trucks Illegally Parked Along Bay Parkway

2012-01-20T06:30:00.000-05:00

The NYPD and city Department of Transportation got praise from Brooklyn Councilman David G. Greenfield yesterday for towing commercial vehicles that have been parking and idle illegally overnight in residential areas along Bay Parkway in the Bensonhurst/Mapleton area.

This week the 66th Precinct towed trucks, vans and buses parked near Washington Cemetery that violated motor vehicle regulations such as not having an attached cab or license plates.

According to an email from Councilman Greenfield, this problem has plagued that section of Bensonhurst/Mapleton for years, but has become worse in recent months as commercial vehicles have encroached into Midwood.

Residents submitted numerous complaints to Greenfield about air and noise pollution from idling engines, lack of visibility for drivers and pedestrians from parked trucks, suspicious individuals hanging out between the trucks and large amounts of trash left behind by the drivers.

Greenfield says he's been working with the DOT, Department of Environmental Protection and NYPD over the past few months, and has requested that new signage be posted that clearly prohibits overnight commercial parking.

Photos by Google Streetview

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Fire at Pratt Institute Professor’s Summer Home Reveals Child Porn

2012-01-20T06:23:00.001-05:00

Firefighters found a magazine with child porn while battling a blaze in a Brooklyn architecture professor's home at the Jersey shore. The magazine was stuffed behind a wall panel.

The Brooklyn Eagle reports that 76-year-old Gamal El-Zoghby designed and built the home more than 10 years ago. He named the house “The Parousium” from the Greek word “parousia,” meaning “presence or appearance.”

More here.

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LPC Approves New 30 Henry Street Design in Brooklyn Heights

2012-01-19T06:32:00.001-05:00

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) yesterday approved a revised design for the "boring" five-story building (above right) proposed for 30 Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights. The current building (above left), constructed in 1963, has housed the Brooklyn Eagle and its sister publications for about a dozen years.

According to the Eagle, Brooklyn Heights Association's Jane McGroarty told the LPC on Jan. 10 that the initial design was: “a mishmash of contextualism. There is nothing special about it, nothing that represents the best of this era. It’s too restrained, too timid, the whole result is boring.”

After hearing a range of opinions that generally expressed dissatisfaction with the proposal's sheer blandness, the LPC asked the design team to consider making some additional changes. These changes were approved by a vote of 9 - 1 yesterday. (No new rendering is available yet.)

The new design is not likely to please Henrik Krogius, editor of the Brooklyn Heights Press (which has moved from 30 Henry Street to offices in DUMBO). In a comment published yesterday, Krogius says the original design 'springs from a total misunderstanding of the building’s context, as well as a total lack of design “guts.”'

Curious to see what changes spurred the LPC to approve the design.

- A Century of Changes at 30 Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights

- Photo of present-day Brooklyn Eagle courtesy of Property Shark
- Rendering of proposed condo courtesy of BKSK via Brownstoner

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Brooklyn Heights Cinema Gets Reprieve?

2012-01-19T06:31:00.001-05:00

Landlord hits pause button on presenting plan to CB2.

Fresh popcorn with real butter for a while longer?

According to the Brooklyn Heights Blog, the landlord of 70 Henry Street has withdrawn his proposal for a new structure there to Community Board 2’s Landmarks Committee. The building currently is the home of the beloved Brooklyn Heights Cinema.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the plan is to demolish the existing movie theater building and construct a new five-story residential building, which will ultimately require approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

According to the cinema's Facebook page, if it has to move, the business hopes to relocate at a location near by its home in Brooklyn Heights. In the meantime, a roster of special events is in the works, including Silent Films with live music by Liz Magnes on Sunday, February 26th at 7 .pm. More here.

- Landlord Wants to Tear Down Brooklyn Heights Cinema, Build 5-Story Building

Photo by MK Metz

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New Indian Restaurant Coming to Brooklyn Heights; Century 21 at CityPoint? And More Brooklyn Briefs

2012-01-19T06:29:00.003-05:00

- Ditmas Park has been reeling since Josh Rubin, the owner of Whisk Cafe & Bakery was found murdered earlier this month. Now the entire contents of his cafe will be up for sale this Saturday. Brokelyn

- Century 21 may joining Target at the new CityPoint project on Fulton Street. New York Post

- An Indian restaurant is coming to the North Heights. Brooklyn Eagle

- Guy who looks like someone you might know sought in the holdup of Greenpoint Dunkin' Donuts. NY Times

- Public plaza coming to Fulton and Flatbush. Brownstoner

- Wrap-up of the CB2 meeting about traffic changes at the BQE entrance ramp leading to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Brownstoner

- Mentally challenged people had no idea why Wikipedia went black yesterday, even though Wikipedia provided a full explanation. Typical comment: "If there's no more Wikipedia how am I going to do book projects, will I actually have to read the book." Gawker

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The Love Life of Guglielmo Marconi

2012-01-18T06:30:00.001-05:00

Guglielmo Marconi -- inventor, father of long distance radio transmission, and winner of the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand Braun (Wikipedia) -- had a tangled love life, and the Brooklyn Eagle of 1902 payed close attention to the affairs of his heart.

On January 21 the Eagle questioned Marconi in depth about his breakup with his fiancee, Josephine Holman. "He Appears Much Downcast," the headline ran. "The distinguished electrician was evidently much broken up and in a state of the deepest dejection."

To enlarge type right click and "view image."

The Eagle reporters went on to question Marconi at great length, and the "the appallingly driven inventor," as Erik Larson describes him, showed remarkable restraint as he patiently and repeatedly declared that the decision was final, and that he and his ex-fiancee were no longer speaking.

The next day, January 22, Marconi prepared to set sail on a voyage across the Atlantic on the cruise ship Philadelphia. His ex-fiancee had already set sail with her mother on a different cruise ship, the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.

The Eagle took this opportunity to question the heartbroken inventor again. "I can add nothing to what I said yesterday about the breaking of my engagement," he told the reporters. As Marconi examined the ship's wireless teleegraphy instruments, the Eagle noted, "He looked careworn and like a man who had undergone a heavy bereavement." The end of the article gives brief mention to the possibility of wireless communication between Cuba and Tampa.

It appears that Marconi got over the rejection. Three years later, in March of 1905, he married the Hon. Beatrice O'Brien, a daughter of Edward Donough O'Brien, 14th Baron Inchiquin. They had three daughters, Degna, Gioia and Lucia, and a son, Giulio.

The marriage lasted 19 years. The Marconis divorced in 1924, and, at Marconi's request, the marriage was annulled in 1927, so he could remarry. (Beatrice also remarried.)

In June of 1927, Marconi married again -- to Maria Cristina Bezzi-Scali. According to Wikipedia, Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was Marconi's best man at the wedding. They had one daughter, Maria Elettra Elena Anna. This marriage also ended in divorce.

For unexplained reasons, Wikipedia says, Marconi left his entire fortune to his second wife and their only child, and nothing to the children of his first marriage.

Somewhere in between these marriages and proposals, Marconi was also romantically linked to native Brooklynite Inez Milholland Boissevain, an athlete, attorney, WWI news correspondent and women's rights activist. She died tragically at a young age, soon after collapsing while riding "a huge white horse" at the head of a parade, "draped in robes, and looking startlingly beautiful."

* * *

A Few Brooklyn Marconi Connections:

Marconi established one of his Marconi Land Stations (an actual "radio shack") in Sea Gate, Brooklyn. In 1909, David Sarnoff was appointed as night manager of the Sea Gate station. Eventually he ended up as head of RCA -- Radio Corporation of America.

The German scientist Ferdinand Braun, with whom Marconi shared the Nobel Prize, lived the last year of his life under house arrest during the Great War at his son's Brooklyn apartment. He died in Brooklyn in April 1918.

Marconi's daughter Gioia Marconi Braga founded the Guglielmo Marconi International Fellowship Foundation (now called the Marconi Society), headquartered for years at Brooklyn's Polytechnic Institute (it has since moved to Columbia). George Bugliarello, Polytechnic's President and founder of MetroTech, was an ardent supporter, a president of the Marconi Society, and on the board.

Gioia Braga was also on the board of Brooklyn Polytechnic. Her son Michael is presently on the board of the Marconi Society.

There may be a Brooklyn branch of the Marconi's still around. (Drop us a line!)

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Hazardous Weather Outlook Issued for Brooklyn Tonight (Tuesday)

2012-01-17T17:41:00.001-05:00

The National Weather Service has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for Brooklyn and the surrounding areas for tonight (Tuesday)and Wednesday morning:

WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH ARE POSSIBLE LATER TONIGHT WITH THE PASSAGE OF A COLD FRONT. THIS MIGHT KNOCK DOWN SOME WEAK TREE BRANCHES OR LIMBS.

DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY:

WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY MORNING BEHIND A COLD FRONT. THIS MIGHT KNOCK DOWN SOME WEAK TREE BRANCHES OR LIMBS.

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New Venture Capitalist In Brooklyn

2012-01-17T17:32:00.001-05:00

According to Crain's, Charlie O'Donnell, a veteran in the city's burgeoning tech community, Tuesday announced the launch of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, which will provide seed money of $300,000 to $500,000 to tech startups in the New York City area.

Mr. O'Donnell is starting Brooklyn Bridge Ventures after working at First Round Capital and Union Square Ventures, two of the city's standout venture capital firms.

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Columbia Waterfront Park Meeting; More On Brooklyn Heights Cinema; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2012-01-17T06:31:00.001-05:00

- Join the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative and Regional Plan Association for a meeting on January 18th to plan for Columbia Waterfront Park -- a new public open space on Columbia Street between Kane and Degraw Streets. Cobble Hill Association

- Brooklyn Heights Cinema owner comments about what's going on at 70 Henry Street. BHB

- Brooklyn Councilman Lew Fidler has officially launched his campaign for a State Senate seat left open because of scandal. NY1

- The Brooklyn Historical Society has launched an exhibit about the Lefferts family that you can visit from the comfort of your own home. Brooklyn Before Now

- Perk of the job: Two TSA screeners who stole $40,000 from an air traveler's luggage at JFK were sentenced to just six months in prison. WSJ

- National housing analyst warns that the U.S. housing market may be in a “death spiral,” CNN reported. Via TRD

- The EPA worries about risks to our drinking water in New York fracking rules. Propublica

- Tickets to The Dark Knight Rises are already on sale. The movie opens July 19. NY Magazine

- Pets can eat real food. Fast Company

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Jewish Man Charged in Antisemitic 'Hate' Crimes

2012-01-17T06:30:00.001-05:00

In a bizarre turn, police have charged a Jewish man in the latest string of antisemitic hate crimes, including spray-painted swastikas and the words “Die Jews” on garage doors in Midwood, Brooklyn.

According to the NY Daily News, David Haddad was arrested at work Monday after the NYPD traced at least one of his harassing phone calls.

This news comes just a few days after finding that another anti-Jewish "hate" firebombing in Midwood was probably an insurance scam, according to the the Daily News.

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Wikipedia Going Black Wednesday

2012-01-17T06:29:00.001-05:00

You may find yourself staring at a blank screen tomorrow when you try to look up some bit of essential information on Wikipedia.

Sue Gardner, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director, has announced that the online people's encyclopedia will "black out the English-language Wikipedia for 24 hours, worldwide, beginning at 05:00 UTC on Wednesday protest against proposed legislation in the United States of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives (and the same bill called the PROTECTIP Act -- PIPA -- in the U.S. Senate).

Wikipedia and many other major online content providers say that the new bills would seriously damage the free and open Internet. Social media sites like Facebook or YouTube— or any site with user generated content—would have to police and preemptively censor their own sites, forcing huge liability costs onto countless Internet companies.

You can read more about SOPA and PIPA at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

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New York City's 2012 Idiotarod Announced, Probably

2012-01-16T06:35:00.001-05:00

Idiots, get your shopping carts ready: The 2012 New York City Idiotarod will take probably place on Saturday, February 4.

We say probably because not only do the organizers sometimes deny they are the organizers, but because "sabotage such as tripping competitors . . . and the spreading of misinformation such as false route information is common."*

The Idiotarod consists of costumed teams of five idiots pushing lavishly decorated shopping carts over a five-mile-long course in the freezing cold, usually winding up in Brooklyn. There are multiple rules, the most important being that "any team wearing spandex is disqualified."

You should probably be ready to roll out from Zucotti Park at 10 a.m. Registration may or may not open on January 24. For full information, visit Idiotarod NYC 2012. Or maybe not.

* In 2009, team Violent Gnomes won the award for Best Sabotage. Two members dressed as judges, taking bribes and giving bad directions.

- Idiotarod 2008
- Idiotarod 2009 photos in National Geographic

Photo: Team Remus; courtesy of Corporation X

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Ratner Celebrates Barclays Topping Out; Perv Caught Taking Girl's Picture; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2012-01-13T06:30:00.001-05:00

- Bruce Ratner, Nets Basketball, and city officials Thursday celebrated the topping out of Barclays Center arena. Brooklyn Eagle

- Police arrest 40-year-old man taking picture of 9-year-old girl in hallway. cbs local

- Meet the Miss NYC contestant who wants to eat dinner with Hitler. Gothamist

- The Occupy encampment has become a band of homeless protesters with no place to go. Brooklyn Eagle

- Even the author of the SOPA copyright bill is a copyright violator. NY Magazine

- Stephen Colbert to explore run for president in South Carolina. Politico

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Internet Slowdown: Space Weather? Chinese? Friday the 13th?

2012-01-13T02:38:00.000-05:00

Is the Internet broken? 16 major routers in the U.S. are experiencing 100% packet loss as of 2 a.m. according to Internet Traffic Report (see graphic on left).

According to a poster on Reddit, some online gamers were informed mid-game that "the internet for all of north america was having issues."

Today's space weather is pretty active, too. According to SpaceWeather, "The partially-eclipsed C-flare was strong enough to make waves of ionizaton in Earth's upper atmosphere. This, in turn, disturbed the normal propagation of low-frequency radio waves over Europe."

Or, maybe it's the Chinese.

Or maybe it's Friday the 13th!

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Landlord Wants to Tear Down Brooklyn Heights Cinema, Build 5-Story Building

2012-01-12T06:32:00.002-05:00

The next little N. Henry Street building to go.

The landlord of the Brooklyn Heights Cinema wants to tear down the sweet little Brooklyn Heights Cinema at 70 Henry Street to make way for a new five-story structure, the Brooklyn Paper reports.

Next Wednesday, building owner "Tom Caruana" will present plans for a new structure at 70 Henry St. at Community Board 2’s Landmarks Committee, according to the Brooklyn Paper.

The theater’s proprietor, Kenn Lowy, told the paper that he won’t let the theater disappear — even if it means moving the cinema to DUMBO.

Lowy bought the cinema last year from Norman Adie, who was convicted in a Ponzi scheme. At that time, Lowy signed a one year lease.

Here's a puzzler: Property Shark lists the building's owner as Ridgeton Poultry Inc. as of last June 22.

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Three Crappy Charter Schools Being Shut Down; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2012-01-12T06:31:00.001-05:00

- Historic District preservationist Otis Pearsall urged the LPC to reject the proposed building design at 30 Henry Street as “antithetical to the goals of the district.” Brooklyn Eagle

- Cabbie accused of raping passenger in Williamsburg: "I do not know how my DNA got in her vagina." Gothamist

- Brooklyn Paper's ex-editor Gersh Kuntzman wrote the CB2 roundup for The Local last night.

- Three crappy charter schools are being shut down in Williamsburg. Brooklyn Eagle

- Eight official Brooklyn neighborhoods L Magazine refuses to recognize. L Magazine

- Does Fort Greene really need two Targets? And more real estate questions. Racked

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Donate to Victims of Tuesday's Fire in Bushwick

2012-01-12T06:30:00.001-05:00

Hayley Blatte has started a Fundly fund-raising effort for his friends who lost everything in Tuesday's fire in Bushwick that left one man in critical condition.

Here's is his post:

Yesterday I helped my dear friends Monica Yi, Darrelle Vary and Robin Newman as their Brooklyn apartment was destroyed by an electrical fire. Thankfully they are all alive, but one of them is in critical condition at Bellevue after a five story fall. They lost everything including their brand-new puppy. Luckily their two other animals, a cat and dog, were pulled from the rubble but are in critical condition and being treated for smoke inhalation at Blue Pearl in Carroll Gardens.

Any help, resources, or donations for food/CLOTHING(men's and women's - they are both small so any size is ok)/pet supplies/medical bills would be much appreciated. Darrelle and Monica are staying with me until they find a more permanent home.

Donate here.

Or, if you don't want to donate via Fundly, a fundraiser is being held Wednesday, January 18. Details here.

More at Brooklynian.

Photo by Dave Hogg, Creative Commons license

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Oy! Midwood 'Hate Crime' Probably Insurance Scam

2012-01-12T06:25:00.002-05:00

They thought they were marching to protest a hate crime.

After vandals torched cars and scribbled Nazi swastikas in an Orthodox Jewish part of Midwood back in November, residents and representatives from all over the city marched to protest bias and hate. Even members of Occupy Wall Street showed up for the lovefest.

It was touching, really, how many supporters from so many religions and races showed up on a Sunday morning: there was Council Member Jumaane Williams, Council Members Brad Lander, Tish James and Steve Levin, Assemblymen Dov Hikind and Bill Colton, State Senator Eric Adams, mayoral candidates Scott Stringer and Bill Thompson, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel and others.

Time to get back to the cynicism, folks! The "hate" firebombing was probably an insurance scam, the Daily News reports. As for those 27 Corona beer bottles found at the scene? They appear to have been wiped clean of fingerprints, suggesting the work of someone meticulous, not someone lashing out in hate, a source told the News.

Photo from video by Gifterphotos

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You'll Probably Be Drinking This Tea Very Soon

2012-01-11T06:30:00.002-05:00

It's called guayusa tea, it's from the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador, it's being sold by a company called Runa, which is run by a couple of guys from Brooklyn, and it's the beverage you will probably be drinking from now on.

This is more than just a hipster trend. Guayusa has been cultivated for over 2,000 years by the indigenous families of Ecuador, who treasure it for it's ability to both keep them up all night to hunt, and to remember and understand their dreams in the early morning.

Guayusa has more caffeine than any tea and double the antioxidants of green tea. Its flavor, according to those who have tried it (we haven't) is pleasant, mild and sweet. The native Kichwa people say the tea gives them "mental strength and courage," which in English translates to "Kick Ass Tea."

The nice thing about Runa is that the company purchases 100% of its guayusa leaves from indigenous farming families (roughly 1,000 farmers), and puts money into a “social premium fund” for workers to use for development projects.

According to Huff Post, the partnering Runa Foundation has two goals: to allow Kichwa farmers to "participate in the global economy using renewable resources" and to conserve the rainforest.

The company's socially-conscious business plan has won all sorts of awards and grants, according to the New York Times, and the tea is now available at several outlets including Whole Foods, Kings, the Vitamin Shoppe and Wegmans.

Or you can visit their website and read about the history of guayusa.

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Brooklyn Kindergartens and 'The Boa Constrictor Problem'

2012-01-10T06:36:00.001-05:00

A combination of neighborhood demographics and “the boa constrictor” problem may make for some very overcrowded kindergartens in Brooklyn next September, District 15 CEC President Jim Devore told the Brooklyn Eagle.

Not only are certain Brooklyn neighborhoods baby magnets, but it seems a virtual tsunami of young'uns were born across the country peaking in 2007, creating a baby boomlet and a "bulge" of 5-year-olds that schools will have to deal with next year and every year thereafter as they work their way through the grades, like a goat working its way through a boa constrictor. More here.

Photo by Brno Vaňkovka, Wikipedia

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Brooklynites Do Weird Things with Dead Christmas Trees; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2012-01-10T06:35:00.001-05:00

- Sad comment about a closing shop on Smith Street. PMFA

- Dead Christmas trees suspended under BQE, for art. Gothamist . . . Meanwhile, vandals torch 25 Christmas trees in Fort Greene Park. Brooklyn Paper

- The rather dull brick condo building proposed for a 30 Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights -- the present home of the Brooklyn Eagle -- is going before the Landmark's Commission today. WSJ

- Noted educator Diane Ravitch (The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education) will be talking about education tonight at P.S. 29 in Cobble Hill. Brooklyn Eagle

- Professional kid critics review Downtown Brooklyn's new Shake Shack. Excerpt: "We obviously ordered shakes because it's the Shake Shack." Eater

- Brooklyn man critical after jumping five stories from a burning building. NY1

- The family of a Canadian man struck and killed by a truck while riding his bike in Brooklyn has sued the NYPD to release the accident records. Brooklyn Eagle

- This is why everyone is suddenly talking about Downton Abbey. Gawker

- The TSA is frantically defending its decision to confiscate a frosted cupcake from a Massachusetts woman at a Las Vegas airport. Huff Post

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Shut Off That D*mn Alarm! On Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn Heights

2012-01-10T06:30:00.001-05:00

Posted at the corner of Pierrepont and Clinton Streets in Brooklyn Heights:

"Burglary! Burglary! You are violating the peace and quiet of the neighborhood continuously.
Fix or disconnect your alarm system immediately!"

The sign is posted next to the Brooklyn Historical Society. Here's our question:

Wonder if the BHS's ongoing renovations, which include include "updated HVAC and ventilation system, security and alarm systems and fire protection technology," have anything to do with the noise?

Photo by MK Metz

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'Yoga' In Brooklyn Bridge Park Is Sculpture and It Moves

2012-01-10T06:25:00.001-05:00

We forgot to report about the important art installed last month in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

We thought they were giant chopsticks at first. Turned out to be Mark di Suvero's "Yoga." According to GalleristNY, it moves.

Wonder if you can turn it to get better reception?

Photo by MK Metz

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Is Brooklyn Passé? Did NYPD Force Suspect to Pay for X-Ray? And More Brooklyn Briefs

2012-01-09T06:30:00.002-05:00

- A Brooklyn man is suing the NYPD for allegedly forcing him to submit to X-Rays and CAT scans to find "contraband" in his stomach, and then making him foot the $9,530 hospital bill even after the charges were dropped. Gothamist

- Caught red-handed on video: Atlantic Yards construction worker uproots newly installed "No Standing" sign on Pacific Street. Again. Atlantic Yards Report

- The CB 2 Land Use Committee will recommend approving stoops at four new townhouses planned for State Street in Boerum Hill, even though they extend into the sidewalk. Brooklyn Eagle

- Brooklyn is passé; a city cannot thrive on hipsters alone. Burgh Diaspora

- The MTA is planning to shut down much of the 4, 5 and 6 line for four nights this week, from Grand Central Station to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn from 10 p.m. Monday until 5 a.m. Friday. DNAinfo and MTA

- Man finds MetroCards with money left on them, sells them, gets arrested. NY Post

- A new report on health care shows that Brooklyn has big problems. Atlantic Yards Report

- Man who tried to rescue a drunk on the subway track is in critical condition; drunk is fine. NY Magazine

- If you take Excedrin, NoDoz, Bufferin or Gas-X, you better check the label. ABCLocal

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A Beautiful Day for a No Pants Subway Ride

2012-01-09T06:26:00.002-05:00

It was almost balmy for the 11th annual No Pants Subway Ride in New York City yesterday, and nearly 4,000 riders took advantage of the non-freezing weather by taking their pants off.

The photos are still coming in. Check out the links here (Improv Everywhere) to see this year's event in all its glory.

UPDATE: Check out Brokelyn's No Pants photos here.

Photo of Improv Everywhere's 2012 official T-shirt design

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ABC: Romney Avoids U.S. Tax by Using Offshore Bank Accounts

2012-01-09T01:55:00.000-05:00

According to ABC News, Mitt Romney -- worth at least a quarter of a billion dollars -- is avoiding U.S tax by using offshore bank accounts. He has refused to release his tax returns.

In other news, the FBI may be investigating Romney's old company Bain Capital. According to this source, about two weeks ago, the FBI evoked FOIA exemption 7(a) and denied access to all Bain Capital records on the grounds that "there is a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding relevant to these responsive records; and that release of the information contained in these responsive records could reasonably be expected to interfere with the enforcement proceedings." (original FBI letter here.)

(Thanks to Reddit.)

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Notorious Escapes From the Brooklyn House of Detention

2012-01-06T06:30:00.033-05:00

Now that the Brooklyn House of Detention at 275 Atlantic Ave. is about to swing back into full operation after being closed /barely operational for years, (see yesterday's post) we thought it'd be fun to take a walk back in time to the exciting days of yesteryear -- to revisit notorious escapes from the Big House:

- Let's start with society horse-trainer, inn-owner, embezzler and sensational murderer Buddy Jacobson, who escaped from the Brooklyn House of Detention in 1980. The escape was orchestrated by Buddy and carried out by his innkeeper "Tony Two-Suits," a not-very-bright fellow who was wearing two suits into the jail when he visited Buddy -- but only one when Buddy left him behind in his cell. After he escaped, Time Magazine wrote: "The Fox Is On the Run." Full story here and here.

- Then there was Edward White, 27 years old, a vicious murderer who was serving a 25- to 50-year sentence when he escaped in 1991, becoming one of the city's most wanted fugitives. Police re-captured him by accident when they knocked on the door of a Brooklyn apartment and he answered wearing only a bathrobe. (Full story in the NY Times.)

- Convicted of sniping a police station, Black Liberationist Kuwasi Balagoon and a fellow traveler escaped from the Brooklyn House of Detention in the early 70s. An outlaw, he escaped prison twice and led units in the "expropriation" of banks, including the infamous Nyack armored car heist in 1983 (an incident that served as a basis for the film Dead Presidents). He also identified as a queer anarchist. More here.

- Joseph James, a Brooklyn House of Detention inmate awaiting trial on robbery and murder charges, mortally wounded an unarmed correction officer, George Motchan during a "precisely planned escape." Accomplices hid a gun in a Kings County Hospital clinic bathroom and had a car waiting with its motor running at the nearby exit. James-- handcuffed to Motchan for a dental visit -- shot him while in the bathroom. Full details here.

- Henry Brown escaped in a similar manner. In 1973 he was sent under guard to the Kings County Hospital for treatment of an ulcer. His handcuffs were removed for the X-ray. After he returned to the dressing booth, guards heard a door slam. The booth was empty. More here.

Near Misses:

- Melvin Kearney (aka Rema Olugbala), indicted in a holdup with infamous Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur, died in 1975 or 76 from an eight-floor fall while trying to escape from the Brooklyn House of Detention.
In 1979 Shakur herself escaped the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey and is presently enjoying political asylum in Cuba. The FBI has placed a $1 million bounty on her head. Councilman Charles Barron, a former Black Panther, has called for the bounty to be rescinded.

- In 1974, several prisoners overpowered their guards and tried to scale a fence at the Brooklyn House of Detention. A Black Liberation Army prisoner was shot and recaptured. More here.

And Riots:

- In 1970 hundreds of prisoners rioted at the jail, demanding more humane treatment and taking 26 hostages -- as crowds outside cheered them on. No one escaped, but a "number of people" were arrested for throwing missiles from rooftops at police who surrounded the prison. Those were the days! More here.

Today, the Big Worry is . . . Parking

As the jail prepares to reopen, community leaders today are no so concerned about jailbreaks and riots, but rather about quality of life issues like parking. Democratic District Leader Jo Anne Simon told the Brooklyn Eagle that neighbors were worried about corrections officer parking on the sidewalk on State Street and parking problems caused by court officers, attorneys and others connected with the system.

Photo by MK Metz: The Brooklyn House of Detention has been officially renamed the Brooklyn Detention Complex.

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Brooklyn House of Detention: City To Refill Boerum Hill Jail

2012-01-05T06:31:00.001-05:00

Fill 'Er Up:

After lawsuits, rallies, cost overruns and redesigns, a reopened Brooklyn House of Detention is set to start filling up with inmates early next month, city officials told the NY Daily News.

The Boerum Hill jail will “be refilled slowly over a period of several months” starting in early February, eventually filling all 759 beds.

Since the jail was first opened -- and then shuttered -- the area surrounding it has become increasingly upscale, including expensive condos, hotels, high-end retail and destination restaurants.

Neighbors fear the return of the blight that accompanied the jail when it was last operating at full capacity -- garbage, hypodermic needles and crime.

It could have been worse:

In 2007 the city wanted to "supersize" the Big House, with a proposed 165,000 expansion and two huge towers of residential or commercial space.

Previous Stories About the Jail:

- Brooklyn House of Detention Contract Rejected by Comptroller Thompson
- Anti-Jail Rally on Brooklyn Courthouse Steps Almost Didn't Happen
- 'Stop the Brooklyn House of Detention' Rally
- Don't Get Your Pants In a Twist Over Brooklyn House of Detention, Says Eagle
- Brooklyn House of Detention, Now With Retail
- Goodbye Supersized, Butt Ugly Brooklyn House of Detention Condos, Hello Bigger Jail
- Brooklyn House of Detention Forum Thursday -- Commissioner Horn Will Answer All Your Questions
- House of Detention Site May Be 'Most Valuable Square Block in Downtown Brooklyn'
- Brooklyn House of Detention Could Get 'Super-sized'

Photo by MK Metz

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Nets HQ at Metrotech; Schools Lose Funds; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2012-01-05T06:30:00.001-05:00

- The Nets are relocating their corporate headquarters to Downtown Brooklyn, where the organization is leasing (for 10 years) 35,145 square feet at 15 MetroTech. NY Observer

- A State Supreme Court judge yesterday granted a preliminary injunction barring the city from developing an affordable housing project that would have given priority to Jewish people in Williamsburg to the detriment of their overwhelmingly black neighbors. Failed Messiah

- Sugar Hill Capital Partners -- founded by Ariel Sharon's personal private emissary -- has purchased 50 Orange Street in Brooklyn Heights for $7.1 million from the Jehovah’s Witness. BHB and NY Observer

- 13 struggling Brooklyn schools could lose millions in funding because the city and the teachers union can't come to an agreement on teacher evaluations. Brooklyn Eagle

- City and state agencies are about to allow the test of a green "Sponge Park" that would absorb and manage excess poop, toxins and heavy metals in the Gowanus Canal. Brooklyn Heights Press

- Brooklyn Public Library eBooks: extremely easy and incredibly free. Brokelyn

- Eleven months after opening on Union Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, it appears as if gastropub PSbklyn has closed its doors for good. Here's Park Slope

- Comcast provides free roach installation with that cable box. Gawker

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No Pants Subway Ride 2012 Details Exposed

2012-01-03T17:55:00.000-05:00

Improv Everywhere has released details about the 11th Annual No Pants Subway Ride. The event will take place at 3:00 PM on Sunday, January 8.

Requirements

1) Willing to take pants off on subway
2) Able to keep a straight face about it

Details

When: Sunday, January 8 at 3:00 PM, Sharp! (Over around 5 PM, afterparty to follow)

Where: Six meeting points spread out all over New York City.

Bring: A backpack/bag and a metro card.

Wear: Normal winter clothes (hat, gloves, etc)

Get full details here.

Photo courtesy of Improv Everywhere's Facebook page.

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Hazardous Weather Outlook: Artic Cold To Hit Brooklyn Tonight

2012-01-03T16:34:00.000-05:00

Think it's cold now? You haven't felt anything yet.

The National Weather Service has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for Brooklyn and all of New York City for late afternoon and tonight.

According to NOAA, an arctic cold front will usher in "the coldest air mass of the season so far." Wind chills should fall to around zero after midnight tonight as temperatures fall into the teens (roughly 14 degrees Fahrenheit) and northwest winds gust as high as 25 mph.

Stay inside if you can, and check on elderly neighbors to make sure they have heat.

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Brooklyn Heights Vet Closes, End of An Era

2012-01-03T06:33:00.001-05:00

We were sad to hear that the Brooklyn Heights Veterinary Hospital at 59 Hicks Street has closed, but we weren't surprised. The last three times we took our cats there for shots, etc., the place was nearly deserted.

__________________________

UPDATE: An employee at Atlantic Animal Care told the Brooklyn Eagle that Dr. Richard Turoff, owner of the Heights Veterinary Hospital, had decided to retire.

__________________________

In years past the clinic would normally be packed on weekends and during after-work hours. But it seems that the somewhat old-fashioned style of veterinary care provided at the Heights office fell out of favor as shiny new (and more expensive) clinics on Atlantic Ave. and Vinegar Hill opened.

Dr. Richard Turoff's associate Dr. Norton left a while back (we hear she does house calls, however), leaving Dr. Turoff and an assistant. (We're not familiar with Dr. Burger, who is listed on several sites as also working from this location.)

According to the Brooklyn Heights Blog, a sign in the window refers pet patients to Dr. Greenberg at 85 Atlantic Avenue, 718-797-0070.

Dr. Wasserman Lived Upstairs

Dr. Turoff bought the business in 1985 from Dr. Bernie Wasserman, who just died this past November, a month after his wife Bernice died.

Dr. Wasserman, who lived upstairs, bought the house in 1957. He gave a fascinating description of the neighborhood at that time to the Brooklyn Eagle. "Fifty-seven Hicks St. at the time I moved into 59 was a disreputable rooming house. One could see men sitting in the windows with their legs dangling down the outside of the building, a bottle of beer or wine in their hands and shouting obscenities."

Sorry To See Them Go

While other pet owners told us they preferred to travel to Cobble Hill or Vinegar Hill for their pet care, we always experienced kind and knowledgeable care from both Drs. Turoff and Norton -- and before them, Dr. Wasserman -- over the many years we have been bringing our animals to the office.

They were especially compassionate when it came to end-of-life care. I remember one time when Dr. Turoff had to "put to sleep" my sweet, old and very sick best-friend cat as I was crying. When I looked up, bleary-eyed, I saw that Dr. Turoff was also crying, as was his assistant.

Needless to say, I remained a loyal customer.

Photo by Google Streetview

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Antonio's Pizzeria Coming to Court Street, Downtown Brooklyn

2012-01-03T06:30:00.001-05:00

We walked by 32 Court Street last night after seeing a movie and noticed that Antonio's Pizzeria is coming in, at Court near Remsen Street in Downtown Brooklyn.

According to DOB, Sal Casaccio was issued a permit on December 12, 2011 to renovate the interior.

Mr. Casaccio owns Tony's Famous Pizzeria at 547 Fulton Street (between Hanover Place and Flatbush Ave.) Reviewers on Yelp give Tony's 3.5 stars (out of 5). Representative comment: "This place is like a pizzeria you'd expect to see in a movie that's set in New York. It's crowded, kinda dirty, and the servers were berating the customers. . . "

According to The Real Deal, the pizzeria signed a 10-year lease with options.

32 Court was most recently the site of Yofiore Yogurt, which opened in September, 2008 with a lot of music and ceremony, free yogurt and proclamation by BP Marty Markowitz.

Photo by MK Metz

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'The Queens of Montague Street'

2012-01-03T06:28:00.011-05:00

NY Times writer Sam Sifton and Brooklyn Heights Blog commenter /Brooklyn Heights resident Teresa Genaro tweeted about a great essay by author Nancy Rommelmann called “The Queens of Montague Street.”

Says BHB: "For St. Ann’s alums of a certain age this serves as a trip down memory lane."

In her essay, Rommelmann describes her messed up life growing up on the rougher side of Brooklyn Heights.

It starts: "By June 1976, after two years spent playing hooky, I was finally 'asked to leave' my progressive private school . . ."

Warning: Once you start, you won't be able to stop till you read it all.

The Queens of Montague Street

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Brooklyn Heights Shooting; Pete's Downtown Closes; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2012-01-02T06:31:00.001-05:00

- Crazy shooting and car crash on Willow Street in Brooklyn Heights on New Year's Eve. Brooklyn Heights Blog

- Pete's Downtown restaurant at Fulton Ferry closes. Lost their lease. Brooklyn Heights Press

- The first murder of 2012 took place in Brooklyn, naturally. NY Daily News

- A convicted sex creep accused of masquerading as a cop to molest a Brooklyn teen blames his brother. NY Daily News

- Beyonce (still pregnant) and Jay-Z were spotted dining at Buttermilk Channel on New Year's Eve. Food Republic via Popcrush

- Number of "Top Restaurants in NY" from Brooklyn rises to 10. Grubstreet via Brooklyn Eagle

- Now you tell us: What is a hangover? Gizmodo

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It's Still Christmas In Brooklyn

2012-01-02T06:30:00.001-05:00

Last night this hand-made Christmas tree was suspended in front of the Saint George student housing on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights. Kudos to its creator(s).

Photo by MK Metz

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The Stupidist Brooklyn Stories of 2011

2011-12-30T06:31:00.002-05:00

Giant corn mutants by Matthew Silver

Many important things happened this year, but we're not going to talk about any of them.

Instead, McBrooklyn looks back fondly on the stupidest stories of the year. How could we forget these powerful moments:

January
- Bushwick filmmaker attacked by giant corn mutants. McBrooklyn
- American Apparel sues after nail polish explodes. Gothamist

February
- Taxidermy craze sweeps Brooklyn: dead mice are used to create cute human-like figurines. McBrooklyn
- The wizards at the TSA start groping women and children getting off trains before allowing them to go home. McBrooklyn
- Freakishly large Brooklyn rabbit rings in Chinese New Year. Brooklyn Eagle

March
- Disturbing trend: happy hour clowns. McBrooklyn
- Support groups form for close encounter and paranormal “experiencers.” Brooklyn Eagle

April
- Scientists say that people growing marijuana indoors use 1 percent of the U.S. electricity supply, adding to global warming. McBrooklyn
- Cathie Black. South Bronx School, Brooklyn Eagle, Time
- Brooklyn Pol wants stupid neighborhood naming to stop. Funky Apple

May
- New hipster trend: living in houseboats in toxic Gowanus Canal. Hypervocal
- On Rapture Day, all the good folks disappear off the face of the Earth. McBrooklyn

June
- Weiner's weiner. McBrooklyn
- Brooklyn woman travels to your house to read you bedtime stories. At night. Gothamist

July
- Manhattan atheists sue the city for installing a street sign in Red Hook named “Seven in Heaven Way,” to honor seven firefighters who died in 9-11. Brooklyn Paper
- BP Markowitz proclaims Monday to be Meatball Day. McBrooklyn

August
- "I never gave up hope. I prayed, meditated, and now he's with us again," 47-year-old Bonni Marcus said upon being reunited beloved monkey doll Bongo, who went missing in Park Slope. Gawker
- Urban fishermen use raw chicken and used condoms to catch crabs in Newtown Creek - a Superfund site. Gothamist
- Giant red crayfish wander around IKEA, freaking out small children. McBrooklyn

September
- Schweddy Balls. Gawker
- New York photographer unsure what diamond-shaped object is. Examiner

October
- Guy biking home across the Manhattan Bridge stumbles upon a man jumping rope nude there. Gawker
- People freeze-dry their pets. NY Times

November
- NYPD's unconvincing terror suspect tried to circumcise himself. Gawker
- Park ranger who captured a gun-slinging pervert in Prospect Park is reprimanded by the city for the deed. Brooklyn Paper

December
- 85-Year-Old grandma stripped-searched in her wheelchair at JFK, misses flight. McBrooklyn
- Norway runs out of butter because the entire country ate it for their fad diet. Gizmodo

What wonders will the new year bring? Can't wait!

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

While Debating SOPA, Congress Illegally Downloads Stolen Files

2011-12-30T06:30:00.001-05:00

U.S. Department of Hypocrisy

The U.S. House is currently debating the Stop Online Piracy Act, known as SOPA. Computer experts say SOPA has the potential to devastate internet businesses, as it allows websites -- from Google to eBay to blogs to commerce sites -- to be shut down if anyone posts links to infringing content.

Even as Congress debates bringing down the entire internet, techies have discovered that computers belonging to this same Congress have been downloading content illegally.

According to Daily Tech, members of Congress and their staff have illegally helped themselves to books, Microsoft software and porno. Other illegal downloaders include the folks at the Department of Homeland Security and staff at Hollywood studios -- the same people pushing SOPA.

More at Daily Tech.

Photo and more info by DonkeyHotey, Creative Commons license

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HSBC Knows Nothing; Man Jumps Off Roof; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-29T06:30:00.001-05:00

- A Brooklyn judge ridiculed HSBC's "know nothing" defense for filing a false document in a foreclosure case and slapped the bank with the max. NY Daily News

- A troubled man jumped to his death from a Brooklyn rooftop Wednesday in front of horrified bystanders. NY Daily News

- Subway riders sue: MTA admits it "forgot about" a subway trapped in a blizzard for eight hours in last year's snowpocalypse. Brooklyn Eagle

- Gersh Kuntzman: King of Brooklyn. Capitol NY

- Brooklyn's five biggest real estate sales of 2011. TRD

- Fatal elevator accident company faces eight previous injury lawsuits. Gothamist

- Occupy geeks are building a Facebook for the 99%. Wired via Gawker

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

New Year's Eve Fireworks In Brooklyn

2011-12-29T06:29:00.001-05:00

There will be two fireworks displays visible in Brooklyn on New Year's Eve -- Marty Markowitz's big Prospect Park celebration with entertainment and hot chocolate for all, and the Statue of Liberty display viewable from the Brooklyn waterfront, including the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and Brooklyn Bridge Park.

For more details visit the Brooklyn Eagle.

Photo by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Perv Molests Teen; Official Menorah; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-28T06:33:00.001-05:00

- Pervert impersonating a cop molests teen boy he met in subway station in Sunset Park. NY1

- Dog stolen from animal shelter tracked down after alert employees noted license plate of suspicious-looking woman. Brooklyn Eagle

- NYC's crackdown on Brooklyn's DIY spaces. Village Voice

- What Brooklyn hipsters got for Christmas. Die Hipster

- Now there's a fight about which is the official menorah of Brooklyn. F**ked In Park Slope

- Cyclist crackdown promised by city in 2012. Gothamist

- What to do with your Christmas tree after the holiday. Carroll Gardens Patch

- We're not blogging any of these words. Gawker

- Giant alien prawns invade Gulf, threaten native shrimp. Chron

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Shake Shack, Downtown Brooklyn, 7 p.m.

2011-12-28T06:30:00.003-05:00

About a dozen employees were working at the new Shake Shack in Downtown Brooklyn the other night.

The place was busy but the beeper system kept everyone happy.

Photo by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Hundreds of DUMBO Tech Jobs? Rolex vs. Rolex Deli; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-27T10:28:00.000-05:00

- Flow CEO and founder Eric Alterman says that his DUMBO tech company plans to hire hundreds of skilled workers over the next few years. “Nine workers to 900 is not a pipe dream; it’s a five-year plan,” he told the NY Daily News.

- Rolex wants Brooklyn's Rolex Deli to change its name. CBS Local

- Crown Heights building has most violations in New York City. Brownstoner

- BUGS: Get ready for another charter school getting crammed inside a District 15 (from Red Hook to Park Slope) public school. Brooklyn Daily

- Here's a list of 100 car services in Brooklyn. About

- Beautiful pictures of the disappearing mom and pop storefronts of New York City. Business Insider

- A walking tour into the world of Brooklyn's Hasidic Jews. National Post

- Got a gift card you're not going to use? You can invest its value in mutual funds. Market Watch

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

A Holiday Proposal in Brooklyn Heights

2011-12-27T09:32:00.002-05:00

"Rene, Will You Marry Me" was on the marquee Friday night at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema -- but it was not a movie. Staff at the cinema said a young man surprised cinema customer Rene with his marriage proposal on the sidewalk under the marquee.

Happy ending: Rene said yes. Awww.

Photo by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Petition Against Girl-Themed Legos; a Story About Windows; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-26T06:31:00.001-05:00

- A 15-year-old was shot to death in the lobby of his Brooklyn apartment building on Christmas Eve. All Media NY

- The long, strange journey of the new arched windows at 345 Adams Street. Brooklyn Eagle

- A Brooklyn woman started a petition against girl-themed Lego Friends. NY Daily News

- Don't forget to visit the Christmas lights in Dyker Heights. Brooklyn Based

- Pete Hamill at St. Francis College: "Who would want to reach the end of their lives and realize they never read Moby Dick?" Brooklyn Heights Press

- Some people outsourced Christmas. WYDNKBYANM

- New York State is "thrilled" it can start offering online gambling. Gothamist

- You may want to rethink donating your car to Kars-4-Kids. Failed Messiah

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Was Rabbi Lebovits Stepping Out For Matzo Balls?

2011-12-26T06:30:00.001-05:00

The Failed Messiah blog displays pictures that allegedly show Rabbi Baruch Lebovits – who is supposed to be on house arrest -– out clubbing on Christmas Eve at Club Dream's Matzo Ball party.

The question is -- is that Rabbi Lebovits? Compare the blurry photos to the Rabbi's photo at left, published previously on Failed Messiah.

Lebovits was sentenced to a lengthy prison term last year for sexually abusing a then-16-year-old boy from his neighborhood, according to WPIX.

According to the court decision, Lebovits "shall remain confined to house arrest and shall wear an electronic monitoring bracelet."

Photo courtesy of Failed Messiah

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Last Minute Christmas Shopping In Downtown Brooklyn (2011)

2011-12-24T06:36:00.001-05:00

Oh, oh, it's Christmas Eve! Still have some holiday shopping to do? We hit the stores on Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn yesterday and had pretty good luck -- both inside the stores and out. The guy shown in the photo above was selling sweaters for $2! Needless to say they were selling like hotcakes (though hot sweaters is probably more like it).

The music was fabulous at Macy's. We finally figured out that a live DJ was cranking it up in the Men's department. Good times.

According to Brokelyn, Dekalb Market is one of just three local craft markets that are open Christmas Eve, and you can also get your photo taken with Santa (in a shipping container). Brokelyn recommends the Pratt Pop-Up shop featuring products from Pratt faculty, students and alumni, including Design Hype’s Metro Cuff’s, and Leather Jewelry by Melissa Zook. We will be there later today. (138 Willoughby near Flatbush Ave. Extension.)

Take advantage of these discount coupons at Aeropostale and Children's Place, both on Fulton St.

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Aeropostale Coupon Here

$25 Off $100 Purchase

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30% Off Children's Place Coupon Here

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After hitting the stores Downtown, it's just a couple of blocks to Atlantic Avenue. At the west end of Atlantic, start with Sahadi's (187 Atlantic) and load up on 10-pound bags of pistachios, plus cheeses, gift baskets and Turkish delight.

A Cook's Companion (197 Atlantic Ave. near Court St.) is open till 6 p.m. tonight. If you have a cook on your list this is your store. You can pick up sweet little Oxo stocking stuffers and the finest cookware, coffee and pepper grinders.

Another winner: City Foundry -- a store "packed with vintage goods in Boerum Hill," as the NY Times recently put it. Exclusive dealer in Bennett Robotworks robots. 365 Atlantic Avenue (between Bond & Hoyt)

Know a knitter? If you buy them $50 of yarn at Knit-A-Way of Brooklyn (398 Atlantic Ave.) this coupon will get you a 10% discount:

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Knit-A-Way 10% Coupon Here

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Good luck and Merry Christmas!

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn Bridge Havoc; Missing Cafe Owner Murdered in PA; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-23T06:30:00.001-05:00

- Brooklyn Bridge sandblasting debris wreaks havoc, at least two hospitalized. BHB

- Joshua Rubin, who ran the Whisk Bakery Cafe in Ditmas Park, missing for weeks, was discovered murdered and burned in Pennsylvania. NY Times and Ditmas Park Blog

- Artists plan to create an interactive public sculpture and light installation under the BQE in Red Hook. L Magazine

- The hipster Christmas tree stand of Brooklyn. Gawker

- Bay Ridge parents had a deal to move kids to a school across the street, but then DOE forgot about it. Brooklyn Eagle

- Jonathan Ames ("Bored to Death") showed up at the Brooklyn Inn like he promised and bought everyone drinks. Carroll Gardens Patch

- There are 129 storefronts in DUMBO, and the vacancy rate is 10.2 percent. Brooklyn Heights Press

- Illegal wolf-dog found roaming the streets of Brooklyn will be sent to a sanctuary. NY Daily News

- Developer hopes to sell Carroll Gardens condo for $15.5 million. TRD

- Did Levi Aron kill and dismember the 8-year-old because of inbreeding? His lawyer thinks so. Gothamist

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Busing New Jersey Nets Fans through Brooklyn?

2011-12-22T06:30:00.001-05:00

Ron Shiffman, a professor at the Pratt Institute’s Center for Planning and the Environment and treasurer for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, is looking for ways to cope with the massive influx of traffic Barclay's Center is expected to generate.

According to The Brooklyn Ink, Shiffman suggests that "there should be ferries to take fans from New Jersey to the Brooklyn waterfront, then a shuttle or trolley to take them to the arena. This service is needed since the Nets are a New Jersey team, with a fan base in that state."

The maps above show two possible routes the shuttles could take through Brooklyn -- one from the ferry landing at Pier 6 at Brooklyn Bridge Park, another from Red Hook.

How many Nets fans will drive to Brooklyn from New Jersey, and how many would travel to Brooklyn if they could take a ferry?

John Brennan of the North Jersey blog interviewed Dan Lefton, vice president of suites sales and premium seating for the Barclays Center. According to Lefton:

"Some Nets officials sensibly have theorized that the Nets could draw a respectable Jersey crowd for Saturday and Sunday afternoon games, when the least amount of traffic would be expected. But automobile-riding suburbanites may find it difficult to find parking, so the best hope for a Jersey audience is from those willing to take a subway or two. Of course, those lines run less frequently on weekends. That means the Nets may find it challenging to come up with a way to attract Garden Staters."

Adding ferries and shuttles would certainly attract more Garden Staters. How many shuttles would be needed and what would the impact be on Atlantic Avenue and local Brooklyn streets before and after games?

According to Nets Daily, ferries may already in the works for the players:

"So in that first season in Brooklyn, how do the Nets get from New Jersey, where most of the players and coaches live, to Barclays Center? One possibility we hear: chartered ferries which would pick up players at a slip in New Jersey, possibly Jersey City, and then down the Hudson (past the ice floes?) and around the Battery to a slip in Brooklyn, where buses would whisk them to the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush."

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Changes Coming to Boerum Hill; Stabbed in Head with Scissors; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-21T06:30:00.001-05:00

- Brooklyn student stabbed in head with scissors. NY Times

- Someone shot cellphone video of the firefighter -- engulfed in flames -- who was pulled to safety out of the third floor of a Brooklyn brownstone. LiveLeak

- Imagine that: Now the city has to tell you if your kid's school is contaminated with toxic PCBs. Brooklyn Eagle

- Legislation legalizing the hailing of livery cabs in the outer boroughs probably will become law. Brooklyn Politics Blog

- Jonathan Ames, creator of the cancelled Bored to Death, invites all fans to come "to the Brooklyn Inn tomorrow night, Wednesday, and I'll buy you a drink." Gothamist

- Do you recognize this thief? Brooklynian

- Big changes coming to Boerum Hill. Brooklyn Eagle

- Seasons restaurant on Henry Street in Broolyn Heights is gone, and an Indian restaurant may be coming in. BHB

- The 1st Annual Brownstone Dreidel Spin-Off: Friends, latkas, sushi, craft beer, doughnuts, music and your dreidel wager...what more can you ask for? Brooklynian

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn Heights' P.S. 8 May Get Its Middle School

2011-12-20T06:31:00.001-05:00

Parents at P.S. 8 in Brooklyn Heights (shown above) are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping a site proposed for their new middle school in Downtown Brooklyn comes through.

The Brooklyn Eagle reports that the city hopes to locate the P.S. 8 extension in a building housing George Westinghouse High School and City Polytechnic High School at 105 Tech Place, fronting Tillary Street.

Let's hope it all works out. Families in the Heights haven't had a public middle school option for decades.
Many P.S. 8 children have gone on to a Fort Greene middle school, the Urban Assembly School of Arts & Letters, but that school will be cutting its enrollment in half soon.

More here.

- P.S. 8 Annex Going Up Fast; Now Parents Want a Middle School
- Put Middle School in Brooklyn Heights' P.S. 8, Says Yassky

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

A Century of Changes at 30 Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights

2011-12-20T06:30:00.001-05:00

Big changes are coming to 30 Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights, the present home of the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper. According to Brownstoner, a five-story, six-unit condo will rise in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, and an LPC hearing on the design is scheduled for today.

The photo above shows what 30 Henry Street (which includes 78 - 82 Middagh Street) looked like at the beginning of the 20th century. The automobile on the right looks to be 1920s or 30s. The four-story building all the way to the left is still there today, and can be seen on the contemporary photo below.

In 1884, Mr. Charles G. Kahl ran an ad in the Brooklyn Eagle trying to rent out a small store for candy and stationary, with apartments for adults. Those interested were to see him at 82 Middagh, corner of Henry.

Those residing at 30 Henry / 82 Middagh over the years included Susan Dunn, a widow of carey Dunn (1840); John O'Neal, a glasscutter (1867);and Alexander Mills (early 1920s). Sadly, in 1922, Mills tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat with a razor. While the surgeons and nurse at Long island College Hospital were bending over him preparing to sew up his wound, he leaped from the operating table and out the window before he could be stopped. "Death greated him silently in the busy street." (Fulton History)

A 1938 Certificate of Occupancy shows at least part of the building being used for storage for the confection of bagels. The first floor was used for parking trucks. In 1951 the first floor was used for storing paint and tools; the second floor was used as an office staffed by 5 men and 2 women.

Here's the corner as it looks today, as the headquarters of the Brooklyn Eagle. (The property also includes the apartment at 78 Middagh Street.) It was probably built in the late 50s or early 60s. Notice the building's "stepped" roofline. The Midcentury Mundane blog describes the building in this way:

"This building in Brooklyn Heights at the corner of Henry and Middagh Streets is the most mundane of the mundane, but somehow pleasing with its stepped roofline, attractive brick color and original metal and glass display windows."

Ace Wire Brush Company

By 1964 the building was the home of Mr. Levy's Ace Wire Brush Company, where you could get five different sizes of radiator brushes, round or square chimney brushes, all types of brooms, or special brushes that cleaned the chimneys of over-sized model trains. A friendly woman named Martha helped behind the counter and sometimes gave away miniature brooms to neighborhood children. Several of the company's industrial lifts are still inside the Eagle offices.

Vintage-toys.com sells this historic Ace Wire Brush Co. blotter.

From the historical 1940s-era blotter shown above, it appears that the Ace Wire brush Company had its first factory on Cadman Plaza East where the Cadman Towers are now (it was called Fulton Street back then.)

Tomorrow

Mr. and Mrs. Levy are gone, Martha has moved on, the children have sold the building, the Eagle will be moving, and a five-story, six-unit condo will be built.

Notice the new condo will fit in five stories where the building next to it, though the same height, has only four. Brownstoner has more details and renderings of the new condo.

The Brooklyn Heights Association thinks the new building's design is pretty blah. Executive Director Judy Stanton told the Brooklyn Eagle the building site "cries out for a distinctive and much more contemporary design than that which was shown to the BHA last week.

“Fortis has hired excellent architects in BKSK, and the BHA has respectfully asked them to return to the drafting board to create a building that celebrates our time."

Photos:
- Top historical photograph of old Brooklyn heights, photographer unknown. Roughly 1929.
- Photo of present-day Brooklyn Eagle courtesy of Property Shark
- Rendering of proposed condo courtesy of BKSK via Brownstoner

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Everybody Was Christmas Shopping At the Brooklyn Flea This Weekend

2011-12-19T06:30:00.001-05:00

Were you at the Brooklyn Flea this weekend? We dropped by to do some not-quite-last-minute-Christmas shopping and it seemed like half of Brooklyn was there.

The Flea is located at Skylight One Hanson at the former Williamsburg Savings Bank. Besides the usual Saturday and Sunday hours, the Flea will be open additional dates for Christmas shopping: Wednesday, December 21; and Thursday, December 22, from 2 to 9 p.m.

You can pretty much find anything at the Flea, from old typewriters to handmade glass objects to clothing to jewelry made out of old LP records. Here are a few things that caught our eye:

Porcelain milk-bottle vases and coasters by Alyssa Ettinger. The vases come in several sizes, feature delicate colors on the interior, and range from $30 - $50. The coasters are wafer-thin and have different textures.

Antique Hudson River brick planters filled with easy-care alpine succulents (you can leave them out all winter). Roughly $40, at Little Gardens.

Antique seltzer water bottles. They don't make these anymore. (Not sure who the vendor is, but they're on the ground floor on the left side.) About $35.

Tiny little moss terrariums built inside light bulbs, glass jars and blown glass orbs made by Twig Terrariums.

Beside plant life (easy to maintain, they say) each terrarium contains a little scene with teeny-tiny people.

There are hundreds of other vendors at the Brooklyn Flea. Here's a list. With three floors of antiques, clothing, jewelry, crafts and oddball collectibles, you'll likely find something there that you'll want to buy for someone.

Don't forget to get some lunch in the food court downstairs. (Vendors include Asia Dog, Milk Truck, Red Hook Lobster Pound and others.) Head back upstairs to finish off with some maple bacon cupcakes from Kumquat cupcakery.

- Christmas shopping at the Flea in 2010

Photos by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

New Grimaldi's; Bob Diamond's $100 Million Lawsuit; Restaurants; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-19T06:29:00.001-05:00

- They lined up around the block to try out the new Grimaldi's this weekend. NY1

- City blocks Whole Foods until the grocer proves it won’t mess up the Gowanus. Brooklyn Paper

- Bob Diamond of Atlantic Avenue Tunnel fame has a new lawyer and a new strategy in his $100 million lawsuit against the City of New York, the city Department of Transportation (DOT), the Fire Department and others. Brooklyn Eagle

- $6.8 million Brooklyn Heights townhouse is in teardown condition. Curbed

- Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes’ refusal to name Orthodox Jewish child molesters prosecuted by his office has the community outraged. Failed Messiah

- In two weeks 2,000 office cleaners and building service workers across the city could go on strike. Brooklyn Eagle

- A new restaurant opened on Atlantic Avenue on Friday night, complete with 50 Cent on the sound system, a comic book for every customer, and house-made kale chips while you wait. Carroll Gardens Patch

- Marty Golden endorses Mitt Romney. Brooklyn Politics Blog

- A Stuyvesant High School senior died after a he was struck by a boozed-up driver while standing on a Brooklyn street divider. NY Daily News

- Brooklyn junior high school racks up most suspensions in city for sexting. NY Post

- The 10 most insane delusions of Kim Jong-il. Gawker

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Success Academy Gets Prime Brooklyn School Buildings; NYC Parents Becoming Increasingly Radicalized

2011-12-16T03:45:00.007-05:00

Wednesday night's meeting of the Mayor's Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) was a riot in slow motion.

Hundreds of Brooklyn parents and supporters made the long journey (more than an hour for most) to Newtown High School in Corona, Queens. They came to protest Eva Moskowitz's plans to co-locate one of her Success Academy charter schools in the complex at 184 Baltic Street (near Court) that already holds three schools: Brooklyn School for Global Studies, School for International Studies and P.S. 368 for special ed children.

DOE had changed the location of the meeting to this inaccessible school in Queens to discourage attendance but it didn't work.

Parents took to the mic to explain how, with three schools already in the building, the children eat lunch at 10:30 in the morning, and have trouble meeting graduation requirements because there's not enough time in the gym. They also said the DOE didn't take the special ed kids' needs into account in the space survey. Elected representatives spoke about how the charter schools were draining the resources out of public schools.

Other parents warned that the PEP was setting a terrible change in motion and that they would someday reap what they had sown.

A couple of charter school supporters said that a charter school would give children more choice.

No one was listening. The PEP voted to give Moskowitz a couple of nice public school buildings -- one in Cobble Hill and one in Bed Stuy, and approved another charter school co-location in Bed-Stuy.

Vote of 'No Confidence'

Parents have become much more radicalized in the past year or two. Before the official meeting began, the attendees joined Occupy DOE and held their own noisy vote. By an overwhelming majority, the crowd voted "No Confidence" in Mayor Bloomberg's Panel for Educational Policy.

Here's a speech many of them read together before the PEP meeting.

People yelled and spoke over the panel members throughout the meeting. Some wore sock puppets on their hands and yelled at PEP members that they were "Puppets for Educational Policy."

A feeling of lawlessness was in the air. Parents said they had no voice and no representation in the school system. There were many more police and security guards at this meeting than at school board or PEP meetings we've attended in years past.

Sadly, Borough president Marty Markowitz sold out Brooklyn by telling his appointee to the panel,Gbubemi Okotieuro, to vote in favor of the Eva Moskowitz's charter school co-location. Shame!

The Queens and Bronx appointees abstained.Only Patrick Sullivan of Manhattan showed integrity by voting no. (Here's a great speech he made about his experiences on the PEP.)

There were three sections in the auditorium. Two were packed. This empty one was for the supporters of the Success Academy charter schools.

This may not be the last hearing for the Cobble Hill Success Academy.

District 15's CEC President Jim Devore told the Brooklyn Eagle that "another question needing to be resolved was Success Academy’s stated plan to change its focus from English Language Learners and children attending failing schools out of District 15" to relatively well-off District 15 kids. "A hearing would likely be required to make this change."

For the full story:
Cries of ‘Shame’ Accompany Vote For Cobble Hill Charter School Brooklyn Eagle

Last Night's PEP Meeting NYC Public School Parents

Brooklyn Success Academy Cobble Hill charter school approved, and foes bolt raucous meeting NY Daily News

Charter School Approved for Affluent Brooklyn Enclave NY Times
(Several factual errors in the Times story: 1.Success Academy Cobble Hill wants to expand to 8th grade but only has approval for K-5, and can only squeeze K-4 grade into 184 Baltic Street. 2."The teachers’ union brought opponents by the busload" is not exactly accurate. The teachers' union agreed to supply buses after DOE refused a request by six elected officials to move the meeting back to an accessible location. Many people, including this blogger, took the subway.)

Past posts on this subject:
- Too Bad Chumps: Red Hook, Gowanus Parents Won't Be Able to Attend DOE's Ed Panel Vote On Success Academy Charter School

- Explosive Cobble Hill Success Academy Hearing

- Quite a Brew-Ha-Ha at Cobble Hill Success Academy Charter School Meeting

- Rally Against Cobble Hill Charter School Saturday - 'Success Academy Cobble Hill'

Photos by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

'Reuse' Craft Show in Gowanus (and Satan Clause, Just because)

2011-12-14T06:30:00.010-05:00

Build It Green! and Sustainable NYC present a Holiday Reuse Craft Fair this weekend, which features local artisans selling fair trade, handmade or "reuse" items.

Reclaimed Home shows examples of what's for sale here, like "gifty tile creations made out of cabinet doors and sewing machine drawers," and "recycled t-shirt pillows" made by TuraLura, who also hand-makes "Satan Clause," an anatomically-correct Santa that is actually Satan under that beard. You read that right. (She won't have any more of these before Christmas, however, but you can order one for later.)

"Frankly Santa and Satan have a lot in common," she writes on TuraLura.com. "Fond of the color red. Inciting envy and stirring up temptations and lusts and whatnot. And Santa does all of this on Jesus’ birthday! Stealing the spotlight from the baby Jesus- how much more satanic can an entity be?"

The fair takes place on Saturday-Sunday, December 17-18th from 10am-5pm at Build It Green! NYC – Gowanus, 69 9th Street, Brooklyn NY 11215

More here.

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Festive Holiday Program by Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra in Brooklyn Heights

2011-12-14T00:46:00.000-05:00

The Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the holiday season in a concert to be held on Sunday, December 18, 3 p.m., at the Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn Heights.

The program, conducted by Artistic Director Nicholas Armstrong, will feature two works by Tchaikowsky, the Overture “1812” and the Duke Ellington arrangement of the Nutcracker Suite.

The orchestra will also perform Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Dance Rhapsody #1 by Delius and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, A Symphonic Picture.

A holiday reception to meet the musicians will follow the concert with free refreshments. Shoppers can also find some last minute gift items, many featuring the orchestra’s favorite landmark, the Brooklyn Bridge.

Admission is suggested donation of $15. Children are free.

The Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity is located at the corner of Clinton and Montague Streets in Brooklyn Heights, next to the Court Street subway station.   The Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, comprised of talented amateur, semi-professional and professional musicians, is one of New York area's finest community orchestras. Founded 36 years ago as the "Brooklyn Heights Orchestra," the group joins under the baton of Artistic Director Nicholas Armstrong to present five symphonic concerts per season of classical, romantic and 20th-century music.

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Brooklyn's Own Batman; Walcott Flops; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-13T06:35:00.002-05:00

- Just another night for Brooklyn's own Batman. Brooklyn Eagle

- A look at this year's Dyker Heights Christmas lights. Gothamist

- Due to construction, there will be no ice skating in Prospect Park this year. About

- Brokelyn's 25 gifts under $25 is up to number 12, and it's perfect for that single Jewish gal on your gift list. Brokelyn

- The former owner of the Brooklyn Heights Cinema, Norman Adie, pleaded guilty Monday to bilking investors out of $530,000. NY Daily News

- Parents disappointed in Chancellor Walcott and the DOE at big education meeting in Brooklyn. The Local

- PMFA tells us where to buy one of those trendy Carroll Gardens necklaces. PMFA

- Private schools push for Pier 5 recreation bubble. Brooklyn Paper

- Is SantaCon over? Gothamist

- A database reveals that one of the five most popular words for New York lawmakers is "Brooklyn." NY Daily News

- The best free phone on every carrier. Gizmodo

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn Prepper Part 5: What To Do In a Pandemic

2011-12-13T03:19:00.003-05:00

From our most favorite disaster prepper ever, the Brooklyn Prepper tells us what to do when the pandemic happens. Especially if it gets really crazy out there.

In this video (warning: 51 minutes) we learn: How do you set up a quarantine room? What do you do if a distant branch of the family shows up at the door? What do you put in your Pandemic Box?

Unlike your typical Walmart-style disaster preppers, Brooklyn Prepper has a uniquely urban perspective. His many videos outline the best way to navigate traffic when the power's out, how to map out your survival plan before the S* Hits The Fan, what emergency items to pack in your kids backpacks, water sources, getting food together, how to construct a blow gun out of PVC pipe.

Favorite quotes from this video:

"Once a weapons-grade flu goes airborne, all bets are off."

"When it comes down to survival, the more the merrier. You think you're going to go to your buggout situation and survive by yourself? What if you break your legs? Who's going to go out hunting, go fishing?"

"I can teach someone to defend themselves with a rifle in two days. It's not rocket science."

- Brooklyn Prepper Gives Survival Tips For When SHTF

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Downtown Brooklyn 'Genius School' Campaign; God Kills Hasidic Man? And More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-12T06:36:00.001-05:00

- New ad campaign backs NYU bid to build city’s "genius school" in Downtown Brooklyn. NY Daily News

- The Brooklyn DA's office has arrested 85 sexual predators and identified 117 victims after an investigation into sexual abuse in Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community. NY Magazine

- What Abe Lincoln and the G spot have to do with Brooklyn. Atlantic Wire

- Bikers and pedestrians are increasingly victims of fatal accidents and drivers have been getting off nearly scot-free. Brooklyn Eagle

- Authorities shut down two subway lines under Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Saturday night after an iPhone thief dashed into the tunnel. Gothamist

- A rabbi says that a Hasidic (Jewish) man hit by a car in Williamsburg Friday night was killed by God because he used the eruv, a "fence" made up of wires that encloses an area so Orthodox Jews can carry objects outside on Shabbat. Failed Messiah

- After a park ranger was dressed down for arresting a pervert in Prospect Park, all park rangers are getting stepped-up police training. Brooklyn Paper

- Now the government is occupying Zuccotti Park. WYDNKBYANM

- EPA's report on hydrofracking in Wyoming may influence debate in New York. Gothamist

- Norway is entirely out of butter because a fad diet has them stuffing their faces with it. Really. Gizmodo

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Live From the Statue of Liberty

2011-12-12T06:35:00.001-05:00

We shot this view of New York Harbor (lower Manhattan on the left, the Brooklyn shoreline on the right) and we didn't have to leave McBrooklyn headquarters to do it. We grabbed the photo using one of the live webcams at the top of the Statue of Liberty.

EarthCam provides several different cams providing live, streaming video from different parts of the statue as well as from across the harbor. In panorama mode you can magnify and scroll around the image.

It's fun to look around the harbor and see what's going on. Visit EarthCam to try it yourself.

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Thousands of Drunken Santas Invade New York City, Overwhelm New Apple Store, at SantaCon 2011

2011-12-11T16:16:00.001-05:00

They were everywhere.

Thousands of boozed-up Santas, reindeer, elves and other Christmas icons invaded New York City Saturday for SantaCon 2011 -- the annual Running of the Santas through the bars and BBQ joints of NYC.

Half of the Santas started out in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn at 10 a.m., (see video by Karl Junkersfeld at the Brooklyn Heights Blog) and drank and sang their way through six bars open at that ungodly hour: the Water Street Restaurant, Galapagos Art Space, Pub One, Rebar, 68 Jay Street and Superfine.

Then they made their sloppy way over the Brooklyn Bridge to join the Manhattan Santas at South Street Seaport, where tourists thought they had stepped into an alternate North Pole universe.

The crowds of zany Santas intensified in waves as the day wore on. Pubs and BBQ joints had long Santa lines. Rick's Cabaret and Striptease was overwhelmed. Thousands were heard singing dirty Christmas carols outside the main branch of the New York Public Library.

Tens of thousands invaded Grand Central Station, where they tried to take in the huge new Apple Store, which just opened Friday.

While the majority of the revelers wore Santa costumes, other personified the spirits of domesticated elves, dreidles, sugarplum fairies, biblical figures and Christmas trees.

And other things.

After a day of non-stop debauchery, one tired Santa heads home.

The Brooklyn Cacophony Society was the original sponsor of Santacon in 1998. The secretive Society said in 2005 that SantaCon is: “a not-for-profit, nonpolitical, non-religious demented Santa Clause convention. We do it for no reason. SantaCon happens in major cities all over the world.” (Here's a photo from that first SantaCon.)

SantaCon participants donate cans of food to charity and patronize bars that give a percentage of their proceeds to Toys for Tots.

UPDATE: Now that hipsters have discovered SantaCon, is it sooo over? Gothamist

More photos of Santacon 2011:
SantaCon Revelers Say 'Ho, Ho, Ho!' DNAinfo
Photos at Gothamist
Drunk Santas Take Over NYC for Christmas: Daily Mail
Photos at NBC

Past Articles:
- You Better Watch Out: SantaCon Is Coming to Town
- SantaCon 2010

Photos by MK Metz
Video by TechServeUSA

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City Council Agrees with OWS: Banks Should Turn Over Foreclosed Properties

2011-12-09T17:30:00.000-05:00

Following the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in East New York Wednesday, the City Council called for big banks to turn over vacant foreclosed properties to nonprofit groups involved in affordable housing.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, council members, and representatives from VOCANY and NY Communities for Change were "responding to the growing demand by the 99 percent to hold the banks responsible for the damage that foreclosures cause to neighborhoods in the city."

Occupy Wall Street and elected officials chose East New York because that community has a foreclosure rate five times the citywide rate.

More here.

Photo by MK Metz

- Occupy Wall Street's Day of Mass Action
- Occupy Wall Street's 99% March Over Brooklyn Bridge into Brooklyn Heights
- Occupy Wall Street Protesters Arrested Inside Brooklyn Supreme Court
- OWS Protesters Occupy Cadman Plaza Park and Get Arrested On Brooklyn Bridge
- Livestream OWS March Oct. 5
- More here
- More here.

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P.S. 8 Holiday Craft Fair Saturday

2011-12-09T16:46:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow (Saturday, December 10, 2011) from noon – 4 p.m., P.S. 8 in Brooklyn Heights will host a Holiday Craft Fair featuring homemade crafts, jewelry, toys and more. Come hungry – the event includes yummy food, pies and other treats.

The event includes live music, fun activities for kids, family photographs and a reading by children’s book author and illustrator Melanie Hope Greenberg.

P.S. 8 is located at 37 Hicks Street between Middagh and Poplar in Brooklyn Heights.

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Where to See Santa in Brooklyn

2011-12-09T06:30:00.002-05:00

They're only kids once. Bring them to see Santa while they still believe.

…Fairway Market in Red Hook Brooklyn (450-500 Van Brunt St.) on Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11, from 11a.m. to 3 p.m. A photographer will be on hand to capture the kids with Santa. Pictures are $5.

…Kings Plaza Shopping Center, available for photos through Dec. 24, Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Kings Plaza is at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Avenue U.

…Melt at 440 Bergen Street at Fifth Avenue (Park Slope) on December 18, 2-5pm

…Santa Parade and Pancake Breakfast in Greenpoint on Saturday, December 10th. Gather at 11:30 a.m. in front of the Greenpoint Y at 99 Meserole Ave (between Manhattan Ave and Lorimer St). March down Manhattan Avenue and back again to the Y for a yummy pancake brunch by Boy Scouts Troop 26, photos with Santa, arts/crafts for kids, a holiday concert by P.S. 34’s Chorus, a Greencycle Swap, and more. (718)789-3700

…the DeKalb Market through Dec. 24. The Sant-A-Box photo booth will be open every day through Saturday, Dec. 24, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. On weekends, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Santa will be holding court in this specially decorated shipping container while wearing a suit designed by Sylvia Heisel and Scott Taylor of Post Modern Production. On weekdays, when Santa is not in residence, visitors are welcome to take their own photos at the Sant-A-Box photo booth, complete with costumes.

- My Brooklyn Baby and Habana Outpost (757 Fulton Street) are teaming up to bring you Santa's Village on December 10th and 11th from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Photos, arts & crafts, goody bag. $15

…and at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Children can have their photo taken with Santa in his sled for $7 on Thursday, Dec. 15, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 17, from noon to 3 p.m. The museum is at 145 Brooklyn Ave.

For more seasonal activities see the Brooklyn Eagle.

Photo by Tumbleweed, Creative Commons license

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Garbage Truck Kills Woman in Williamsburg; More Media Companies in DUMBO; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-08T06:30:00.001-05:00

- A garbage truck struck and killed a 25-year-old woman crossing a street last night in Williamsburg. Fox

- Brokelyn guide to Brooklyn holiday markets. Brokelyn

- Three more media production companies just signed leases in DUMBO. Brooklyn Eagle

- Outer borough street hail bill is dead. No it's not. Yes it ... Brooklyn Politics

- L Magazine goes inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard's new museum. L Magazine

- Sickening faux pot sold in Bay Ridge delis and tobacco shops. Brooklyn Paper

- Photos from the second annual Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival. Publishers Weekly

- Ten of history's most insanely awesome gingerbread houses. Curbed

- NASA: About 1,000 asteroids big enough to cause catastrophic damage if they hit Earth are orbiting relatively nearby. Reuters

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You Better Watch Out: SantaCon Is Coming to Town

2011-12-07T06:35:00.002-05:00

(UPDATE: Photos of SantaCon 2011 here.)

Some cities have the running of the bulls. New York City has its own death-defying event: the New York City Santacon, which takes place this Saturday.

That means hundreds (if not thousands) of Santas in cheap suits, along with gingerbread men, giant presents, Hannukah Harries, snowflakes, sugarplum fairies, frisky reindeer, toy soldiers, and Santa mash-ups will be rampaging along the streets of New York, lurching from bar to bar, dancing, drinking and engaging in general lunacy with gay abandon.

The Brooklyn Cacophony Society was the original sponsor of Santacon (since at least 1998). The secretive Society said in 2005 that Santacon is: “a not-for-profit, nonpolitical, non-religious demented Santa Clause convention. We do it for no reason. SantaCon happens in major cities all over the world.”

- SantaCon 2010

- The March of Zany Santas: From Downtown over Brooklyn Bridge Brooklyn Eagle

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New 'Restaurant Row;' Brooklyn Heights Noise Complaints; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-07T06:30:00.001-05:00

- New high-end "restaurant row" coming to Adams and Willoughby Streets in Downtown Brooklyn. Brooklyn Eagle

- Poor old Brooklyn: Almost 21 percent of the elderly in Brooklyn live below the poverty line, compared to about 11 percent in NY State and 9 percent nationwide. The Brooklyn Ink

- Late-night construction at 25 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights has neighbors burning mad. BHB

- A Brooklyn bus passenger was robbed of his iPhone — but police found it using an app and busted the deli worker who bought it off the thieves. NY Daily News

- The Gap -- coming to 400 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn -- is moving full speed ahead. Brownstoner

- The renovation of Ozzie's Coffee, on Fifth Avenue and Carroll Street, has been well worth the wait. Here's Park Slope

- The L train has been shut down on so many weekends this year it's killed Williamsburg businesses. Crain's NY

- Here's the full cop Facebook page with negative comments about the West Indian day Parade, courtesy of Gothamist.

- Con Edison has decided not to pull the plug on a holiday art show featuring “pagan”-themed pieces by a Park Slope artist. Brooklyn Paper

- Bank of America says it has opened customer assistance centers in Brooklyn and elsewhere so that borrowers can discuss options for alternatives to foreclosure. Marketwatch . . . But Occupy Wall Street has developed a quicker, more efficient solution to the foreclosure crisis in Brooklyn. Gothamist

- Now there's an app to make complaining about the taxi that wouldn't take you to Brooklyn even easier. Village Voice

- Brian Lehrer to host school choice discussion at Pratt on Thursday. Brooklyn Eagle

- Amazon launches appalling attack on local shops. Gawker

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40-Foot Christmas Tree Lights Up Brooklyn Borough Hall

2011-12-07T01:36:00.000-05:00

Brooklyn Borough Hall is looking spectacular.

On Monday Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz threw the switch and illuminated the 40-foot-tall Christmas tree in Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza. The balsam fir will sparkle with holiday colors each night through the holiday season.

Joining BP Markowitz at the tree lighting ceremony were elected officials and 4-year-old Akeelah Freeman of Bed-Stuy.

Free holiday cookies were handed out and, of course, there was a special guest appearance from Santa himself.

Photos by Kathryn Kirk

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Too Bad Chumps: Red Hook, Gowanus Parents Won't Be Able to Attend DOE's Ed Panel Vote On Success Academy Charter School

2011-12-06T06:36:00.012-05:00

After Brooklyn parents loudly protested (here and here) about the "co-location" of a charter school owned by ex-Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz into a Cobble Hill building already housing three public schools, DOE changed the location of the December 14 PEP vote to Newtown Creek High School in Queens.

Newtown Creek High School was chosen because you can't get there from here. (DOE says the Manhattan site where the meeting was originally scheduled suddenly became unavailable.)

With the closing of the G station at Smith and 9th (until sometime in 2012) Success Academy Charter School's target audience in Red Hook and Gowanus won't be able to attend the meeting at all unless they take the bus routes shown above, which take over an hour from Cobble Hill (if they're running on time) and won't be able to carry the hundreds of interested parents and advocates.

Add 35 minutes and another bus if traveling from Red Hook.

Subway time from other sections of District 15 add up to more than an hour.

Moskowitz has been spending literally millions of dollars pushing her Success Academy Cobble Hill charter schools plans. Buses for her Manhattan supporters will magically appear -- maybe even city buses. (Mayor Bloomberg's "private bus company.")

According to the NY Daily News, the Success Charter Network spent $1.6 million in the 2009-2010 school year just for publicity and recruitment of new students, the group's financial reports show. The money comes from private hedge fund executives and conservative foundations.

BP Markowitz Weighs In

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz sent a letter to Schools Chancellor Walcott yesterday saying that he has received hundreds of emails requesting that the December 14 PEP meeting be switched to Brooklyn Tech.

His letter reads in part: "I believe that if the lower Manhattan space suddenly became unavailable, it should have been moved to Brooklyn in the first place. Considering that so many of the proposals on the agenda for this meeting directly affect school communities and proposed co-locations in Brooklyn – I would like to strongly urge you to change the location to Brooklyn Technical High School."

"The placement of Success Academy has many in the community concerned about why their needs are not being heard. Perhaps a meeting at Brooklyn Tech could be an opportunity to ask the community for their suggestions going forward."

DOE's kowtowing to wealthy hedge fund managers is becoming more and more obvious in this fiasco.

184 Baltic Street (near Court), where Moskowitz wants to put her Success Academy Cobble Hill, currently houses three schools: Brooklyn School for Global Studies, School for International Studies and P.S. 368 for special ed children.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

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So Many Brooklynites In Prison It Affects Legislative Districts

2011-12-06T06:31:00.001-05:00

From the Brooklyn Eagle: "In a decision that will likely add more 'voters' to Kings County than any other county in the state, a court ruled last week that prisoners must be counted among voters back in their home neighborhoods rather than in upstate prisons for the purpose of redrawing state legislative districts, a likely blow to the slim Republican majority in New York’s Senate."

It's kind of shocking that so many Brooklynites are in prison upstate it actually affects the number of seats we're entitled to. More here.

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Brooklyn Friends School Winter Festival 2011

2011-12-06T06:30:00.001-05:00

We got a lot of Christmas shopping accomplished at Brooklyn Friends School’s Winter Festival /craft fair on Saturday, and it was all for a good cause.

The Downtown Brooklyn school throws a whale of a carnival / shopping extravaganza with an emphasis on hand-made, sustainable, unusual and high quality. The kids had their bouncy rides and were also rocking out with a DJ in the auditorium

The money raised goes to benefit the Horizons at Brooklyn Friends School summer enrichment program for public school children in Downtown Brooklyn.

Shopping Local, Doing Good at Brooklyn Friends Winter Fest Brooklyn Eagle

- BFS Winter Festival 2010
- BFS Winter Festival 2009
- BFS Winter Festival 2008

Photos by MK Metz

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Chaos in Brooklyn Supermarket; Jewish Magazine Says 'Gentiles Are Evil'; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-05T06:35:00.001-05:00

- Occupy Wall Street heading to East New York, Brooklyn, on Tuesday. NY Daily News

- A Hasidic Jewish monthly magazine, Der Blitz, based in Borough Park, Brooklyn has begun blotting out the faces of non-Jews in its photographs because "gentiles are evil." Failed Messiah

- The Seddio family has opened their 48th annual no-holds-barred holiday display in Canarsie. The display includes lights, animated figures, a hot air balloon, Ferris wheel and talking animatronics. Brooklyn Eagle

- Brooklyn man sues mother-in-law for spreading rumors that he is infertile and ridden with so many venereal diseases he will be dead in a few months. Gothamist

- Courageous cops rescued a dangling worker from death after a scaffold collapsed in Crown Heights on Saturday. NY Daily News

- Brooklyn artist sculpts "Futurama" characters in 3-D. Technobob

- Video: SUV crashes into Brooklyn supermarket on Nostrand Avenue, causing chaos and injuring man buried under wall of canned goods. Looters rush in, strip store. Gothamist

- Changing demographics in Downtown Brooklyn: Battles over evictions continue at Willoughby Square, the planned park that would displace the only remaining rent-regulated apartments in the neighborhood. The Brooklyn Bureau

- The U.S. Postal Service is pushing ahead with unprecedented cuts to first-class mail that will eliminate next-day delivery. The Street

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85-Year-Old Grandma Strip Searched at JFK: May Sue

2011-12-05T06:30:00.081-05:00

An 85-year-old grandmother from Long Island plans to sue the TSA after a humiliating strip search by agents at JFK Airport, according to the NY Daily News.

Lenore Zimmerman, 4-foot-11 and in a wheelchair, said TSA officers brought her to a private room, pulled down her pants (even her underwear, she told the New American and ABC News) and made her raise her arms above her head.“Why are you doing this?” she said she asked the agents, who did not respond.

Her walker banged against her leg and left a bleeding gash which soaked her sock. The wound was exacerbated by the elderly woman's use of anticoagulants. A medic had to treat her injury and she missed her flight.

TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said “proper procedures were followed.” The screening was not recorded on video tape, according to the Miami Herald.

Illustration courtesy of this French artist: http://mojito.over-blog.net/article-20125009.html

TSA agents are also targeting screaming toddlers and terrified children. (See here and here.)

Airport screeners in Florida look like total idiots for detaining a pregnant teenage woman over a purse with an embroidered antique gun image on the outside. Apparently TSA told her possession of the purse was a “federal offense.”

The New American quotes a recent Congressional investigation which found TSA screening was based on “theatrics” and had failed to catch one single terrorist so far. "And despite close to $60 billion spent on the apparatus since the attacks of September 11, air travel is no safer."

Past posts on this issue:
- More Stupidity: TSA Pats Down Infant at Kansas City Airport
- TSA Airport Scanner Tests Show More Radiation than Expected
- TSA Now Groping People Getting Off Trains
- Opt Out of Airport Scanners, TSA Groping
- TSA Harassment Video Shows Lack of Real Security
- Brooklyn Councilman Greenfield Launching TSA Abuse Web Site; Working to Ban Airport Scanners
- Full Body Scanners Rolling Out at LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark Airports
- TSA criminals are having a field day stealing your stuff at JFK airport. Queens Crap
- TSA orders cancer-stricken 95-year-old woman to remove adult diaper for creepy security pat down. CNN

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Brooklyn Friends School Winter Festival - Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011

2011-12-02T22:30:00.000-05:00

Get a jump on your holiday shopping and bring the kids to this popular Downtown Brooklyn holiday extravaganza.

Brooklyn Friends School’s popular Winter Festival (their 32nd) includes an “all by hand” craft fair with dozens of local artisans; a holiday plant and wreath sale; Bingo; a book fair; a children’s carnival with bouncy rides, mazes and games; children’s crafts; and readings by local children's book authors.

New this year: the Style House, where you can get hair feathers, henna tattoos and hair wraps. Also new: the Middle School Funhouse featuring Rock Band, martial arts interactive performance and a DJ dance party.

The festival takes place this Saturday, Dec. 3, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Brooklyn Friends School is located at 375 Pearl St., (one block from Borough Hall and the Marriott Hotel). (718) 852-1029 or www.brooklynfriends.org/winterfestival.

Proceeds benefit the Horizons at Brooklyn Friends School summer enrichment program for public school children in Downtown Brooklyn.

- BFS Winter Festival 2010
- BFS Winter Festival 2009
- BFS Winter Festival 2008

Photos by MK Metz

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Gersh Kuntzman Leaving Brooklyn Paper!

2011-12-02T11:04:00.002-05:00

Editor Gersh Kuntzman is leaving the Brooklyn Paper to join the CUNY School of Journalism to teach and to oversee its joint effort with the NY Times on The Local – Fort Greene according to the Observer (via the Brooklyn Heights Blog).

A new generation of journalism students will be learning their trade from the man who published a podcast of himself posing nude, having a faux real-estate orgasm described by some as "vomit-inducing," and publishing one too many X-rays of his broken foot.

He also was named “Editor of the Year” by The Suburban Newspapers of America in 2008 and was applauded by many for always being in the mix. We wish him well in his new role.

The Brooklyn Paper was bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation in 2009.

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Prada, Chloé and More Found at Plymouth Church's 'Underground Thrift Shop' in Brooklyn Heights

2011-12-02T06:30:00.002-05:00

Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights -- the "Grand Central Depot" in the historical Underground Railroad -- recently opened a thrift store — the Underground Thrift Store Upstairs at Plymouth Church.

The store is only open Sunday afternoons, but shoppers have found it to be a veritable treasure trove of upscale and designer clothing and accessories (Prada, Oscar de la Renta, Rick Owens, Chloé, Balenciaga, Donna Karan) along with collectibles for the home.

Even better: the Underground Thrift Store donates 25 percent of its proceeds to organizations fighting modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

Founded in 1847, Plymouth Church began under the ministry of well-known abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher (seen above holding a Prada purse), who is known for his connections with the underground network of people who helped slaves escape to the North and Canada.

More at the Brooklyn Heights Press.

Photo and retouching by MK Metz

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Questions Raised About Brooklyn Bridge Park's Hotel and Residential Complex

2011-12-02T06:29:00.004-05:00

While the members of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation have hailed the seven responses to their Request for Proposals (RFP) for a hotel and residential building in Brooklyn Bridge Park, many expressed concerns about the sheer impact of the project and its overall lack of transparency and public involvement.

As reported in the Brooklyn Eagle, members of the park’s Community Advisory Council, Community Board 2 and the general public at a recent meeting were told that no financial data would be disclosed to the public, and that the names of the members of the selection committee would not be released.

David Lowin, a vice president at the BBPC, "repeatedly deferred questions and concerns" about the proposals re the Environmental Impact Study. Questions were raised about the short amount of time that was allotted for public input, how the BBPC planned on incorporating public comment, the huge project's impact on traffic at Fulton Ferry and the residential segment's impact on overcrowded P.S. 8.

Read the full story here.
Comments on Brownstoner here.

- Seven Different Proposals to Build Huge Hotel and residential Complex in Brooklyn Bridge Park McBrooklyn

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Brooklyn Prostitution Kidnapping; New Restaurant in BB Park; and More Brooklyn Briefs

2011-12-01T06:36:00.001-05:00

- 28-year-old woman kidnapped off Brooklyn street by couple who tried to beat her into prostitution. ABClocal

- Brooklyn Bridge Park seeks full-service eatery. South Brooklyn Post

- Free ride for cyclists ending in Prospect Park. Brownstoner

- The Brooklyn Paper pays tribute to famous Brooklyn pornographers. BP

- Scaffold collapse on Cranberry Street. BHB

- Brooklyn's champion chess team held in check by budget cuts. NY Daily News

- Judge to Bloomberg: Release email correspondence with Cathie Black. Gothamist

- Bloomberg thinks the NYPD is his own army. Gawker

- At Brooklyn Jewish Wedding Expo, where were the brides? JTA

- Holiday shopping alert: Brooklyn Friends School Winter Festival is this Saturday. Brooklyn Eagle

- Watch the creepy software that may be spying on your phone. Gawker

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Explosive Cobble Hill Success Academy Hearing

2011-12-01T06:32:00.007-05:00

Guess it was no surprise that Success Academy charter school chain founder Eva Moskowitz was ~~nowhere to be seen~~ hiding in the back of the rowdy hearing held in the School of Global Studies auditorium Wednesday night.

Hundreds of seething District 15 parents hissed and chanted over the course of the event, which lasted at least four hours.

The hearing was designed to give parents and advocates a chance to comment -- for the first time -- on Moskowitz's plans to co-locate one of her Success Academy charter schools in the complex at 184 Baltic Street (near Court) that already holds three schools: Brooklyn School for Global Studies, School for International Studies and P.S. 368 for special ed children.

DOE says there is almost enough room to fit the charter school's grades K-4 in the facility (this will bring the complex to 108 percent capacity), but even DOE admits there is no room for the planned fifth grade.

Parents and teachers said the facilities are maxed out already, especially after the federally-financed turn-around of Global Studies. Over the course of one year Global Studies has gone from an F on its school report card to a B, and hopes to expand. "But we will not be allowed to grow with another school in the building,” said teacher Clare Daley.

Teachers said that there was barely enough time in the gym for the middle and high schoolers to get their mandated PE in before they graduated. DOE plans to give Success Academy one third of the gym time the first year, when they will only have a kindergarten and first grade in the building. "That is only year one. How will our students get time in the gym as they expand?” asked Jeff Trip, a teacher at International Studies.

Parents also said the needs of the children at the special-ed school, P.S. 368, were not taken into account in the Environmental Impact Statement.

A Few Interesting Notes

In between the yelling (and after one man was hauled away by the police) several adversarial exchanges between Jim Devor, president of District 15’s Community Education Council, SUNY Charter Institute’s Tom Franta and Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg brought out a few surprising points.

One, SUNY doesn't care that Moskowitz changed her mind about serving the poor and underserved children of District 13 or 14 after she got a hold of the charter. When District 15's Devor asked if someone could go through the charter process in Bed-Stuy and and then turn around and open the school in far-away Dyker Heights, Franta said "Yes."

To SUNY all of Brooklyn is apparently the same neighborhood.

Two, DOE thinks that Sunset Park parents will put their five-year-olds on buses to send them to school in Cobble Hill. "Parents will do anything to give their children a good education," Sternberg said in response to Devor's repeated questioning about why the school is not put in a neighborhood where it is actually needed.

“My neighbors, most of them don’t even speak English, are not going to send their kindergartners to BoCoCa,” said Eddie Rodriguez of Community Education Council 15.

Three, Moskowitz decided where to put the school, not DOE. At no time did DOE assess any needs, or ask any District 15 representatives what the district's needs were.

A small number of Success Academy supporters held a presser before the hearing.

A half-dozen or so charter school's supporters held a press conference before the hearing. They said that Success Academy looked like a good school option for their children, and said there were not enough slots for kindergarteners in their neighborhoods.

There is an urgent need for more pre-K and kindergarten space in District 15 and across the city. Kindergarten is not mandatory in New York State. Since first grade is mandatory, all children are accepted into their zoned schools, but this is not true for kindergarten.

Assemblywoman Joan Millman and others have come up with an alternate plan which would house an early childhood center of limited size in the building, instead of the K-4 academy. More on that here.

Read more about this story:
Carroll Gardens Patch
Brooklyn Eagle
New York Times
Gotham Schools

Photos by MK Metz

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'A Couple of Artists' Hosts Holiday Art Fair in DUMBO

2011-12-01T06:30:00.001-05:00

'A Couple of Artists' send word about the opening of their second annual Holiday Art Fair in Rabbit Hole Gallery, exhibiting about 50 contemporary artists. The fair will also feature live performances by members of Brooklyn’s music scene, along with cutting edge video-art screenings inside moving tracks.

The Holiday Art Fair will take place during two weekends in December, 12/10/11 - 12/11/11 & 12/17/11 - 12/18/11, and will be open to the public between 12 noon and 7 PM. The opening reception will take place on Saturday, December 10, from 6-9 PM, at 33 Washington Street in DUMBO.

A sample of what you'll find at the fair. Courtesy Rabbit Hole

A Couple of Artists’ aim is to sell artworks (photography, prints, paintings, and drawings) in various sizes and editions at affordable prices. All works at the fair will be no more than $300 and no larger than 11x14.

For more information visit facebook or contact A Couple of Artists at studio@acoupleofartists.org

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