3 Days, 7 Film Projects In DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights

Wednesday, Tommy; Thursday, Fiat, DUMBO

It used to be maybe a film or two a week would take over DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights. This week, seven projects in three days have filled the narrow streets with film trucks and production equipment.

On Wednesday, Tommy was filmed on Front and Washington Streets.(Two years ago another Tommy was filmed in DUMBO.)

On Thursday, a company called Supply and Demand filmed a commercial for Fiat in DUMBO.

A commercial for Tiffany's filmed in Brooklyn Heights Wednesday.

Thursday, Now You See Me, DUMBO

A feature film called “Now You See Me” -- a thriller about “FBI agents tracking a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances --  filmed in DUMBO Thursday. (Starring Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Mark Ruffalo and Morgan Freeman.)

Wednesday, Cablevision project; Friday, Golden Boy, Brooklyn Heights

A Cablevision project filmed in Brooklyn Heights Wednesday.

CBS's Golden Boy cop drama will be filming or parking film trucks and equipment on Cadman Plaza West and many other streets in Brooklyn Heights, including Remsen Street and Montague Terrace today.

Friday, Golden Boy, DUMBO

Golden Boy is also filming in DUMBO today.

Friday, People Kissing, DUMBO

French indie film “People Kissing” will be filming in DUMBO today, and in Brooklyn Heights today as well (along Clinton Street and on Montague Street). They may trip over the crews filming Golden Boy.

We didn't count the promotional piece being filmed by the Jehovah's Witnesses on Jay Street in DUMBO this week because they took over their own parking lot, not a city street.

Photos by MK Metz

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Bizarre Bus Blaze; Stoners Get Free Pass; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- A mattress caught under an MTA bus is being blamed for sparking a bizarre Brooklyn blaze that left the bus and six parked cars torched last night. NY Daily News

- Huge rooftop farm -- possibly the largest in the world -- will open in Sunset Park. NY Times

- Cargo inspections at Red Hook pier will continue, to the relief of local residents. Brooklyn Eagle

- DA offers Brooklyn stoners -- and those guilty of a dozen other crimes -- a Get Out of Jail free Card. Today only! Village Voice

- Judge to determine fate of Domino Sugar factory within a month. TRD

- The 10 creepiest apps for phone, Facebook, etc. Gizmodo

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Fireworks Over Brooklyn, Liberty Island, Friday, April 20

The Brooklyn Heights Association sends word that we can expect a fireworks display, sponsored by event-planning company AlliedPRA, near Liberty Island in New York Harbor on Friday, April 20 at 9:30 PM. (NYC.gov claims it will take place at 10:30 p.m.)

In Brooklyn, the display will be visible from waterfront areas from DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and south to parts of Red Hook. (The photo to the left shows an earlier Liberty Island fireworks display, taken in Brooklyn Heights.)

Photo by MK Metz

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$9 Million to Fix P.S. 29, After $5 Million Repair a Decade Ago

After a years-long renovation project that cost about $5 million (completed a decade ago), P.S. 29 in Cobble Hill is again being repaired, this time to the tune of $9 million.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the work includes exterior masonry, roof and parapet replacement, flood elimination, and may also require asbestos abatement.

$9 million seems a bit much, considering the extent of the previous job.

Two Trees Management plans to spend about $9 million building a middle school in DUMBO.

Photo by MK Metz

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Barclay's 'Official Hotel;' Norwegian Boy Shot; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Real estate biggie says Barclay's Center will draw more retail, like an Adidas store and maybe a Lululemon, Y-3, or Intermix. Racked

- A 10-year-old Norwegian boy visiting his father in Williamsburg was released from a hospital Tuesday hours after he was hit by a stray bullet. NY Daily News

- Brooklyn Marriott chosen as Barclays’ ‘Official Hotel.’ Brooklyn Eagle

- Inspectors wear hazmat suits to inspect school DOE says is perfectly safe for the kids. NBC New York

- The city’s drive to plant as many street trees as possible has had the unintended consequence of making people’s allergies worse during high pollen counts. Brooklyn Eagle

- Carroll Gardens Library is low on books. Carroll Gardens Patch

- This weekend marks the return of Smorgasburg to the Williamsburg waterfront -- and they might even have a liquor license this summer. Gothamist

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Weird Weather: U.S. Wind Map Shows Crazy Swirling in North Texas Today

Video shows large tornadoes ripping through Texas near Dallas today, "lifting tractor trailers off the ground and tossing them like toys." (NY Daily News)

Above is a snapshot of the wind map of the U.S. taken around 4 p.m. The map shows an awesome convergence of swirling wind in north Texas, moving to just north of Texas.

The wind map is a project of Hint.fm, based on surface wind data from the National Digital Forecast Database.

UPDATE: Massive damage is being reported in the Dallas area and north of Dallas.

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Occupy Wall Street Marches Over Brooklyn Bridge, Rallies for Health Care

Several hundred Occupy Wall Street activists marched across the Brooklyn Bridge and rallied in Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn Sunday afternoon, on the six-month anniversary of the massive OWS bridge arrests.

The overall theme was access to healthcare. Several of groups -- including Healthcare for the 99%, the Granny Peace Brigade and Act Up -- spoke about the Brooklyn hospital crisis.

Five hospitals in Brooklyn are in severe financial distress: Interfaith Medical Center, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center and Brooklyn Hospital Center.

OWS asked: Why did Gov. Cuomo appointed Stephen Berger, a Wall Street millionaire financier, to be in charge of restructuring health care in Brooklyn?

Among other things, Berger (as head of the workgroup) wants to shut down SUNY Downstate's inpatient services and move them to SUNY LICH in Cobble Hill. Thousands of central Brooklyn residents would lose health care services, including an Emergency Room, and more than 1,500 jobs would be lost. 

Berger also wanted to close Kingsboro Psychiatric Center and move its services to Staten Island, leaving Brooklyn -- with more mental health needs than any other county -- without any long-term mental health services. (The Cuomo Administration backed off this plan Friday after Brooklyn legislators interceded on the Flatbush facility’s behalf.)

Berger also stood in the way of the effort to include an emergency room at SUNY Downstate at Bay Ridge, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

Berger is recommending that New York change its laws to allow for-profit investors to invest in financially-distressed public hospitals.

Incidentally, the New York Times recently detailed the mismanagement and lavish life style of Wyckoff Hospital's chief executive and board members, who appear to be sucking Wyckoff dry before the place folds.

A special meeting will take place Thursday night at 6 p.m. at Brooklyn Borough Hall to discuss the Brooklyn Hospital Crisis. All are welcome.
More about this issue at the Save Our Safety Net website.

Photos by MK Metz

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Spring Fling at Brooklyn Bridge Park -- Plenty of Eggs, Carousel Rides

It seems like rain scared off many families from the seventh annual Spring Fling event at Brooklyn Bridge Park on Saturday, but the kids who showed up had a blast -- and all the plastic eggs filled with candy they could grab.

The Easter Bunny wandered around the activity tents saying hi and posing for photos, and kids musicians AudraRox and The Wiyos were crowd-pleasers.

Above, kids are decorating their eggs with all kinds of stickers and decorations.

This girl is hammering a mast into a slab of wood with the help of "Construction Kids."  When she's done she'll have a sailboat.

And there weren't any lines at Jane’s Carousel.

Activities were provided by NY Transit Museum, Metro Soccer NY, Jacques Torres, Inventgenuity Workshops, Jane’s Carousel, Karma Kids Yoga, and Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92.

Photos by MK Metz

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Orthodox Abuse Cover Up? Williamsburg's New Concert Space; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Brooklyn DA Hynes accused of failing to tackle Orthodox Jews' cover-up of sex abuse. The Guardian via Failed Messiah

- Renderings released of Williamsburg's newest summer concert space. Brooklyn Eagle

- Will you renovate the Carroll Gardens library -- or fix the bathrooms at P.S. 124? If you live in Brad Lander's district (Columbia Waterfront, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, Park Slope, Prospect Park, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Borough Park) cast your vote on how to spend a million dollars. Brad Lander via Brownstoner

- Brooklyn's Whole Foods to face City Counsel next week. TRD

- A project that would have CB 10 teaming up with hundreds of high school students to clean local parks is facing a possible postponement -- due to the crazy, hectic schedules of the teens. Brooklyn Eagle

- Montague Street Starbucks is moving. BHB

- How one couple traded their way up to a $2.3 million, 2,187-square-foot, three-bedroom penthouse in DUMBO. Dumbo NYC

- Occupy Wall Street to hold a 6-month anniversary march to commemorate the Brooklyn Bridge arrests -- on April Fools Day. OWS

- OWS protest: free subway rides for everybody! Brooklyn Paper

- You are not going to win the lottery, you fool. Gawker

- California man attacked by lion, rescued by bear. NY Magazine

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Solutions for Public Place: One Involves a 'Hydrokinetic Bridge'

Public Place, the area once known as Citizens Gas Works, a manufactured gas site, is a highly contaminated plot of land along the Gowanus Canal, bordered by Smith, 5th, and 9th Streets in Carroll Gardens. 

The Hudson Companies' idea for the Public Place site.

An extensive cleanup plan is unfolding, and the Hudson Companies is apparently working with the city to create a park at the site. But people have been brainstorming different approaches anyway. Here's one just unveiled Monday -- Plan “Rebuild Public Place Greener” (R.P.P.G.) hopes to provide clean energy, efficient housing and fresh produce, and build a bridge as well.

R.P.P.G. proposes building a "High Line-esque" bridge crossing the Gowanus Canal from Public Place to a redeveloping side street. According to the blog "Our 2030 Plan," the authors would "creatively slope the Gowanus Canal to make our hydrokinetic bridge."

"Attached at the bottom of the bridge are two hydrokinetic wheels to power the redesigned Public Place and hopefully the neighborhood. Although the Gowanus may not move very fast, we will strategically slope this part of the Canal so that way we will create a maximum amount of electricity."

If you want to brainstorm ideas too, attend the Public Voice. Public dream. Public Place: A Collaborative Mural Making Workshop to come up with "creative solutions for Public Place," which will take place  at Old Stone House, 336 Third Street, Park Slope, on April 28, from 5 –7 p.m. The event is sponsored by CORD.

Top photo by MK Metz; rendering by Hudson Companies

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