84th Precinct Meeting to Discuss North Brooklyn 'Crime Wave'

Everyone's talking about it. Now, the 84 Precinct Council meeting tomorrow night (Tuesday, June 19) in Dumbo will address the recent "crime wave" in North Brooklyn.

According to the NY Post, the number of murders in North Brooklyn jumped 34 percent in the first half of the year.

In the 84th Precinct (Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, Downtown Brooklyn), robbery is up 21 percent, assault increased 12 percent and grand larceny is up 4 percent this year. Meanwhile, crime is down just about everywhere else in New York City.

The meeting will be held at Phoenix House, 50 Jay Street, between Plymouth and Water, 7^th floor. Refreshments will be served and transportation will be provided. (Call Community Affairs, 718-875-6850, to arrange transportation within the 84^th Precinct.)

Speculation: The Son of Planet PLG blog notes that Brooklyn North features many of the neighborhoods -- Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed Stuy -- that have had "a certain amount of frenzied real estate interest as of late."

Commentary on the Brownstoner blog: Everything boils down to real estate.

Photo (Sunset_Park_91) courtesy of Pro-Zak, Creative Commons license.

Lawsuit to Save 'Duffield Seven' from Downtown Brooklyn Plan

A lawsuit has been filed against the city which aims to save the seven houses on and near Duffield Street that may have been part of the Underground Railroad, amNewYork reports.

These houses are in the footprint of parts of the Downtown Brooklyn Plan, and slated for demolition.

"There is no debate at this point that prominent abolitionists lived at 227 Duffield St.," said Jennifer Levy, a lawyer with South Brooklyn Legal Services, which filed the suit Friday.

In May, City Council members criticized a $500,000 report commissioned by the city’s Economic Development Corporation that found "no conclusive evidence to support claims that seven houses along Duffield and Gold streets in Downtown Brooklyn were involved in Underground Railroad activities."

Councilman Charles Barron blasted city consulting firm/lapdog AKRF for not hiring an archeologist to investigate claims that the homes were connected by tunnels and had other unusual features, such as extra stoves, escape chutes etc.

Underground Railroad Consultants Try to Pull Another Fast One
Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million
Council: Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

All previous post on this topic here.

Photo by MK Metz

'Walking Brooklyn' -- An Adventure Around Every Corner

We just love to trek around Brooklyn neighborhoods on foot. Now, the Between Productions blog brings us news of a new book by Adrienne Onofri called Walking Brooklyn, which Wilderness Press will publish next month.

The book offers 30 walking tours exploring "historical legacies, neighborhood culture, side streets, and waterways." Could be a nice way to explore Brooklyn this summer.

'F Train Express' Petition Drive On Track, But MTA Says Changes Could Take a L-O-N-G Time

Our friends at the Kensington (Brooklyn) blog sent us the news that there are more than 1300 signatures on a petition that asks for the "restoration of express service on the F line to Brooklyn and extension of the V line for local service to Brooklyn." The petition was started by the Brooklyn Streets blog.

A McBrooklyn reader says that an "F Train Express" meeting will be held on June 25, and supporters want to pump up the number of signatures on the petition to help persuade the MTA.

While the MTA may be open to the idea, Brooklyn commuters shouldn't hold their breath. According to an article in the Brooklyn Eagle, the MTA says that any such changes would have to be postponed until work on the F line’s elevated viaduct over the Gowanus Canal (the “Culver Viaduct”) is completed -- in 2012.

The petition is here: http://www.petitiononline.com/bkln4fnv/petition.html

UPDATE: A source says that the general public is NOT invited to the June 25th meeting. "Its an internal MTA thing," they said.

Photo courtesy of MShades, Creative Commons license.

Saturday Night Fireworks Over Brooklyn Waterfront Had Nothing to Do With Brooklyn Bridge Park, Ratner or Paris Hilton

Last night's spectacular fireworks -- shown here from the eastern tip of Orange Street in Brooklyn Heights -- were the big bang at the end of Children's Day NYC at the South Street Seaport. The Brooklyn Philharmonic played a free concert at 8 p.m., followed by Target-sponsored fireworks, which were accompanied by a live performance of Handel’s “Royal Fireworks Music."

Photo by MK Metz

Effeminate Brooklyn Dog Has Two Daddies

Window display at Perfect Paws pet store in Brooklyn Heights.

Photo by MK Metz

Gonna Be a Long Hot Summer for Drivers in Bay Ridge

Bay Ridge was a parking lot again last Friday due to construction on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, reports the Brooklyn Eagle.

Better get used to it -- two summers of Verrazano Bridge construction lie ahead. MTA officials who were at the Dyker Heights Civic Association meeting on June 12 tried to explain away the traffic jams, but residents said that since June 4, when construction began on the bridge, traffic has been backed up through the Gowanus Expressway.

“In Staten Island, the traffic gets backed up on the toll plaza, not on your lawn. We get traffic on all the tributary streets,” said one resident.

The most "challenging" traffic situation will most likely arise from the four to five weekends in which the lower-level Belt Parkway exits may be closed entirely, the Eagle reports.

More here.

Photo of Verrazano Bridge by Pudstah, Creative Commons license.

New York Needs Release -- Religion Is Laziness

Truck parked on Court Street near Barnes & Noble in Downtown Brooklyn, Friday.

Photo by MK Metz

Rape Reported in Prospect Park

Police are investigating a rape in Prospect Park Friday morning, according to a.m. New York via Gothamist.

The 34-year-old woman was walking with her boyfriend near the ballfields about 1:30 a.m. when a man confronted them,saying he had a gun, according to a.m. New York. The couple ran off but split up and the suspect tracked down the woman and raped her.

More here.

UPDATE: Victim's boyfriend is a cop: here.

UPDATE: Prospect Park rapist may have attacked women in Queens: here.

UPDATE: Olympic athlete from Trinidad arrested in Prospect Park rape: here.

Another Brooklyn Real Estate Record Set -- This Time in Ditmas Park

The Real Deal reports on the sale of a "lovingly restored Victorian house in Ditmas Park," which closed yesterday for $1.9 million, setting a sales record for this neighborhood in central Brooklyn. "It's the highest sale in the neighborhood by far," says broker Mary Kay Gallagher.

More here.