Grialdi's Kinda Dirty; Dognappings; Expanding Brooklyn Bridge Park; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Want flies with your pies? Grimaldi's racked up 56 violation points in their July Dept. of Health inspection. Eater  

- More gross news: Violations were found in nearly 60 percent of supermarket inspections. NY Times 

- "Rape cop" fights for child custody in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Eagle 

- Brooklyn Bridge Park is in talks with Con Ed to buy three acres. WSJ 

- “Everybody needs money and they’ll sell them." Dognappings rampant in Brooklyn. CBS Local 

- U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is hoping to save Fort Hamilton from closing by bringing in agencies like the FBI. Brooklyn Eagle 

- Legislation alert: Can you ride an electric bike in a bike lane? Carroll Gardens Patch 

- Fishing for crabs with condoms in Newtown Creek. Gothamist 

- Fun in Fort Greene? This week people were robbed on trains, on train platforms, in Fort Greene Park, in stores and banks, on their bikes and on the street. The Local

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Verizon Strikers Rally in Cadman Plaza Park, Brooklyn

You could hear them from a mile away: Striking Verizon workers flooded into Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn Wednesday afternoon to rally before marching over the Brooklyn Bridge to a mass protest in Manhattan.

The union members wanted the Mayor's Panel for Educational Policy to freeze a $120 million telephone and Internet contract it was about to sign with Verizon, but  the Panel ignored their urging and signed it anyway. The Panel also ignored a variety of officials including Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and City Comptroller John Liu -- who pointed out that Verizon was complicit in helping a contractor steal roughly $3.6 million dollars from the city.

La la, what's $3.6 million between friends?

More 45,000 Verizon land line (and Fios) workers across the country have been on strike for a week and a half. The company has asked for worker concessions including wage cuts and increased employee contributions to health care plans and pensions. The company has also proposed to freeze pensions for current employees and eliminate it for new hires.

- Striking Verizon Workers Protest On Montague Street

Photo by MK Metz

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Monk Parrots Chatting Up a Storm at Green-Wood Cemetery

Talk about a racket! It sounds like a jungle in the neighborhood around Green-Wood Cemetery. The famously chatty monk parrots of Brooklyn have built deep and seemingly permanent nests in the ornate cemetery gate and in a variety of high perches nearby.

We will not make a joke about it being enough to wake the . . . 

For more about the history of the monk parrots at Green-Wood, visit Brooklyn Parrots.

Photo by MK Metz

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Brooklyn Prepper Gives Survival Tips For When SHTF

 Worried about emergencies like solar flares, hurricanes, food riots or other disasters? Brooklyn Prepper tells you how to prepare for the worst.

Unlike other disaster preppers (who lean heavily towards isolated cabins, guns and beef jerky), Brooklyn Prepper has a uniquely urban perspective: the best way to navigate traffic when the power's out (he has a moped), 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, and best of all, how to construct a SHTF blow gun out of PVC pipe: "Now let me show you how to make the darts . . . this is where the fun stuff comes in."

Also, unlike most other preppers, Brooklyn Prepper has a sense of humor!

You can see more of Brooklyn Prepper's videos here.

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Prospect Park Bike Lane; House of Detention Mural; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Scores of fume-free natural gas buses are coming to Brooklyn. Brooklyn Eagle 

- It appears that the city has prevailed in the Prospect Park bike lane lawsuit, though an appeal is in the works. NY Daily News

- If you have kids, looks like DUMBO is the place to be this Saturday. BHPress

- Did you know that Buffalo beat out Brooklyn in the Best Place to Live list? About.com

- That's a really nice mural going up on the Brooklyn House of Detention! BHPress

-Confirmed: DUMBO is one of the most expensive NYC neighborhoods. DumboNYC

- Video shows a man attempting to steal a bag from a woman, but she won't let go of it. Crown Heights Info

- CB13 is hosting outdoor English classes. (Hope they don't have to learn the word for "rain.") Brooklyn Eagle

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A Long Banner Heralds the New York Transit Museum

Does this woman in Downtown Brooklyn realize she's standing under the new New York Transit Museum banner?

Photo by MK Metz

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Are You Thin With Long Legs? Then You're In Luck

Because an Express store is coming to Downtown Brooklyn's Fulton Mall, in the same building as a Filene’s Basement/Syms and (according to the rendering) retail, retail, retail!

The Brooklyn Heights Press has the rendering and copious details.

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Screw-Up in Brooklyn Child-Butcher Case?

Accused child-murderer Levi Aron gave an interview to the NY Daily News at Rikers Island last week for a story it ran on Friday. But Aron’s defense attorney Jennifer McCann told a reporter from the Brooklyn Eagle, “No one permitted this interview. It was not approved.”

McCann blamed the Daily News, but a law professor and media expert told the Eagle, “If his lawyer didn’t safeguard him and he didn’t know enough to say ‘no,’ then the journalist didn’t transgress.”

Another screw up took place last week when details of Aron’s court-ordered psychiatric report were released by The Associated Press, says the Eagle.

Legal Controversies Persist With Publicity in Child-Murder Case Brooklyn Eagle

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Register Your Stuff with NYPD at Brooklyn's Fairway on Wednesday, August 17

Don't say the NYPD never does anything for you.

On Wednesday, August 17, from noon through 6 p.m., the 76th Precinct Crime Prevention Officer will be in the Fairway Market parking lot, located at 480 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook, to register bicycles, laptop computers and other electronic devices in an effort to help protect your personal property.

There is no cost for the program.

Photo by Scaredy Kat, Creative Commons license

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Head to Coney Island for Free School Supplies, Wednesday, August 17

State Senator Diane J. Savino will host her 3rd annual Back to School Blast at Our Lady of Solace Church (Liberation Diploma Plus High School) 2865 West 19th St., Coney Island.

Last year over 1,000 kids attended the Back to School Blast -- the event featured free school supplies, face painting, fire safety, free smoke alarms and light bulbs plus information for kids and parents alike the event is free and open to all, from 3-5PM Wednesday, August 17th.

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