Hillside Park, Brooklyn Heights

Though from the placement of this sign Hillside Park appears to be a highway, the park on Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights is actually one of the nicest (and largest, at more than two acres) dog parks in the city.

Photo by MK Metz

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Pratt Student Attackers Caught on Video

The Local/Fort Green blog obtained this surveillance video of the five suspects in last Tuesday night’s vicious beating of a 22-year-old Pratt student at Grand and Lexington Avenues. See The Local for more details.

This is not the first assault in the area.

The Local also has video of a man robbing a Verizon store on Myrtle Ave. here.

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The Brooklyn Headhunter: Find a Job in Brooklyn

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

Here's the latest batch:

- Trader Joe's is looking for an entry-level grocery store supervisor. Long hours, decent pay ($14 - $21/hr.). Craigslist

- Jacques Torres Chocolate in DUMBO needs someone to work in the chocolate factory. Must be able to lift 50 pounds. $10/hr. plus benefits. Craigslist

- The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music needs a part-time registrar for its Park Slope location. About 20 hrs/week, some evenings and weekends. idealist

- Open call: A new bistro at Smith and Pacific Streets will be interviewing for all positions this Thursday. Craigslist

- An e-commerce company in Williamsburg is looking to hire a couple of people to deal with pricing, database, other commerce-related things. Craigslist

- A vet in Windsor Terrace seeks a part time veterinarian's assistant. Must be a dog and cat person. Craigslist

- A Brooklyn Councilmember seeks a full-time Community Liaison. Spanish a must. Craigslist A Central Brooklyn Assemblymember needs a liaison, too. Low-to-mid 20s. Craigslist

- The Brooklyn Workforce1 Career Center is seeking a Center Director in Downtown Brooklyn. The NonProfit Times

- A small cafe in Clinton Hill is looking for an experienced barista who lives right nearby. Craigslist

- An afterschool and summer program seeks teaching artists for elementary schools serving children ages 5-12 in Bushwick. Craigslist

- A new real estate brokerage firm in Brooklyn Heights needs an office manager. Craigslist

- The National Park Service has a job for a carpenter/painter in Gateway National Park. Federal Gov Jobs

- A Japanese restaurant seeks experienced servers. Craigslist

- The Brooklyn Economic Development Corp. is looking for an experienced project manager. Pay: high 30s to mid 40s. idealist

- A toy store in Park Slope needs sales people. Craigslist

- A Carroll Gardens technology startup that helps consumers digitally convert their old photos and videotapes is looking for a paid media intern. 16 hrs/week, $12/hr. Craigslist

- A baby care company in DUMBO seeks an executive assistant with many responsibilities. $40K plus benefits. Craigslist

- NYCOED Soccer is looking for an experienced soccer coach. Craigslist

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Find all Brooklyn Headhunter posts here.

Photo by MikeColvin82, Creative Commons license

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Helicopter, Aircraft Crash Update: No Survivors

Sadly, Mayor Bloomberg just announced that there were no survivors in this afternoon's tragic crash of a helicopter and an aircraft over the Hudson River. The helicopter crashed with five Italian tourists and a pilot onboard; the aircraft was carrying three passengers, including a child.

The two crafts are in murky water with two feet of visibility, and divers are still trying to find all the bodies. Two have been recovered. It's not yet known what caused the crash.

Earlier posts here.

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Photo Shoot, DUMBO

On a sunny day in DUMBO, all kinds of photographers and models appear. Here's one of a couple of photo shoots on Washington Street.

Photo by MK Metz

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Helicopter and Small Aircraft Collide Over Hudson River -- Update 4

NotifyNYC sent out an alert at 12:37 that a helicopter and a small plane collided over the Hudson River.

According to NY1, a witness said that both aircraft "spiraled down" and immediately submerged under water. Sources told NY1 that at least one person has died. UPDATE: NY1 confirms one dead.

According to Firefighter Hourly, six people were reported on board the helicopter and an unknown number of people on the fixed wing aircraft.

National Terror Alert reports that one victim has been airlifted to an area hospital. UPDATE: NY1 says this is not confirmed.

UPDATE 12:51: Various sources say the helicopter was a Liberty Tours chopper.

UPDATE 1:20: Marcambinder via Twitter reports: FAA says plane was Piper Aircraft PA32 wing #71MC. Departed KTEB (Teterboro), headed south, collided with Liberty Helicopter. Also: Witnesses report plane was carrying ad banner.

UPDATE 1:47: Newsday reports that at least one person has died and six people were rescued. Divers are still searching for victims. UPDATE: Not true.

UPDATE 1:58: Liberty Helicopter website says, "Flying safely for over 20 years."

UPDATE 2:02: Liberty Helicopter Tours website has crashed.

UPDATE 2:25: NY1 reports that three people were aboard the plane.

UPDATE 3:15: No survivors. More here.

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Sunset Over Decaying Pier 4, Brooklyn

Pier 4, to the left in the photo above, will be left in its slowly decaying state as Brooklyn Bridge Park is developed. The theory is that the rotting pier will provide shelter for sea life.

There's a new gap towards the end of the pier, visible in the photo to the left -- another chunk recently collapsed into the East River.

Photos by MK Metz

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The 'Most Luxurious Day Care Center in Brooklyn' and More Brooklyn Briefs

- There are five cafes in this city just perfect for writers. Two of them are in Brooklyn. New York Magazine

- A body recovered in Jacob Riis Park was identified yesterday as the swimmer who went missing in the waters off the Rockaways earlier this week. NY1

- Merci! A group of French volunteers are working to restore monuments in historic Green-Wood Cemetery. Brooklyn Eagle

- F.B.I. agents arrested two Brooklyn men yesterday for running a multimillion-dollar mortgage theft scheme that left victims penniless. City Room, NYTimes

- Good wings, cheap beer on Smith Street. Brownstoner

- Central Brooklyn -- wild card in the Comptroller's race? Room 8

- Coming soon: The "most luxurious day care center in Brooklyn." Sheepshead Bites


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Twitter and Facebook Attack: All To Get One Guy

CNET and the New York Times report that, unbelievably, the denial-of-service attack that brought down Twitter and Facebook this morning was most likely the result of of a massive attack aimed at just one guy.

A pro-Georgian blogger who uses the account name "Cyxymu," (the name of a town in the Republic of Georgia) apparently pissed off someone who tried to shut him up.

There is evidence that the attacks had originated from the Abkhazia region, a territory on the Black Sea disputed between Russia and Georgia, according to the Times.

Way to go, geniuses.

UPDATE: The Guardian reports that Russian and Georgian troops were on high alert today, on the eve of the first anniversary of their war over the disputed South Ossetia region.

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Twitter Down (updated)

Twitter has been down for hours this morning; the site is defending against a denial of service attack. The Twitter Status blog says only:

"We are defending against a denial-of-service attack, and will update status again shortly."

An update says the site is back up, but at 11:25 a.m. it was down again.

Other reports say Facebook is also under attack.

UPDATE: Twitter is back. Here's PC World's take on why this outage mattered.

UPDATE 2: Today's attack was all aimed at one guy! More here.

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