Yankees Persevere in Brooklyn Heights

Brooklyn's 14th Civil War Regiment established an encampment, complete with drills, at Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims' Yankee Fair Saturday.

It was an excellent neighborhood event (taking into account that the neighborhood is historical Brooklyn Heights, i.e. George Washington Slept Here), with a lot of stuff for the kids -- a petting zoo, pony rides, bouncies -- and satisfying amusements for adults, including a book fair (50 cents for paperbacks, a dollar for current hardcovers, carried away bags-full) and holiday shopping galore. Nice food too -- chili, sandwiches and sweets, served by church elders. Neighbors chatted with neighbors at the tables. All in all, a relaxing and fun gathering, in the heart of Yankee Country.

BTW, Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims was the “Grand Central Depot” (via NY Times) of the Underground Railroad in New York City. If you ever get a chance to take a tour of its basement -- a honeycomb of interconnected rooms and tunnels to freedom -- jump on it. (Ask for church historian Lois Rosebrooks.)

From Plymouth Church, it’s a quick walk to the corner of Fulton and Duffield Streets, where the new "Abolitionist Place" sign hangs. But the city will likely soon demolish other reputed sites of the Underground Railroad here, in order to build an underground parking garage as part of the grand Downtown Brooklyn Plan.

- Second Hearing on Underground Railroad Properties in Downtown Brooklyn
- Second Chance for Duffield Street Underground Railroad Homes
- Buildings Shooting Up in Downtown Brooklyn, Why Offer Incentives?
- Goodbye Duffield Street Underground RR Homes
- Video Explains All: Brooklyn's Duffield St. Houses
- Lawsuit to Save 'Duffield Seven' from Downtown Brooklyn Plan
- Brooklyn Underground Railroad Home for Sale for $4.5 Million
- Underground RR Consultants Tried to Pull (Another) Fast One
- Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million
- Red Hook Lane Demapped, No Longer Exists
- Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

Photo by MK Metz

Norman Mailer, Dead at 84

Norman Mailer has died at the age of 84.

McBrooklyn studied his "Armies of the Night" in Journalism class in college. Never thought that we would eventually end up in Brooklyn, and actually meet the man himself. Ran into him from time to time at Eastern Athletics, where he tried to keep his body in fighting trim. Ran into Norman again on Cape Cod, where he's actually lived for some years.

Times calls him "Towering Writer with Matching Ego."

Recommended to McBrooklyn the Mu Shu Chicken at Fortune House on Henry Street. Excellent!

Many things have been said about Mailer, but he was always kind to a nondescript writer. For a serious remembrance, see the NY Times obit here.

This 'Mom Song' Video Got 3.8 Million Hits on YouTube as of Thursday

This is not specifically about Brooklyn, but it's spreading like wildfire, so we thought we should mention it -- It's the famous video of the "Mom Song," sung to the William Tell Overture, by Anita Renfroe. What a mom says in 24 hours, condensed into 2 minutes and 55 seconds. The delivery is perfectly imperfect. Turn the sound up slightly.

How to Escape 'Airport Hell'

New York airports ruining your life? This week, New York magazine presents a comprehensive guide on “How to Escape Airport Hell.” Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about JFK, LaGuardia and Newark including:

- How to Beat the Traffic (from various starting locations, including Park Slope). Even if you get a car service, just print this out and give it to your driver.

- Where to Eat: Dining secrets of local airports revealed. From where to get the best breakfast at La Guardia, to the new Balducci's outlet at JFK.

- How (and Where) to Kill Time: Where is there a "comfortable row of Macs and charging stations with Wi-Fi access" at LaGuardia? Where's a day spa at JFK?

- Plus:The Best Flights: to 8 major cities.

See it here.

Photo by Sittered, Creative Commons license

Jones Soda? Official Soda of the Brooklyn Nets

No Coke? No Pepsi?

Seattle-based Jones Soda Company will be the exclusive carbonated soft drink and bottled water provider once the Nets, owned by Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner Companies, moves into the Barclays Center (named after the British bank for a reported $400 million).

The company declined to disclose the terms of the seven-year deal, but Conde Nast reported it as $1.7 million per year.

Little-Known Jones Soda Gets Exclusive Rights at Brooklyn Nets Arena -- Brooklyn Eagle

The Foster, Court Street, Brooklyn

Photo by MK Metz

Brooklyn Super Throws Acid on Tenants

One witness said that the tenant went after the super, and the super threw acid on him and his girlfriend. Their clothes literally melted off.

Walking Tours About Brooklyn Development

McBrooklyn received an email from Samara Smith about Anyplace, Brooklyn, an audio walking tour about development and public space in downtown Brooklyn. The tour takes place every Saturday in November, noon to 2 p.m. One hour tours begin every 5 minutes.

The tour "... will replace that vague notion of yours about what Brooklyn is becoming with something concrete." Brooklyn Based

"Smith compressed two years worth of research into a 60-minute walking tour, allowing one to walk in her steps, listening to interviews with area residents and activists, and seeing this space in a whole new way." Citynoise

Where to Go: Come to the public tables @ Willoughby and Adams Streets in downtown Brooklyn to pick up materials and begin the tour. One-hour tours begin every 5 minutes between noon and 2 p.m. on every Saturday in November.

What to Bring: You must bring a CD player or an mp3 player with the downloaded files from anyplacebrooklyn.com to participate.

Dutch Days in Brooklyn

At the end of World War II, there were over seventy Dutch American farmhouses and barns remaining in Brooklyn. Today there are only thirteen. The history of the Dutch in Kings County and in New York has long been overshadowed by the history of the English and Americans, but the Dutch influence still remains today. Using historical archeology combined with a new look at historical documents, scholar Christopher Ricciardi will explore the history of the Dutch in Kings County and New York on Sunday, November 18, 2 p.m. at Lefferts Historic House.

The lecture is part of 5 Dutch Days, a citywide celebration (www.5dutchdaysnyc.org) sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities. The celebration includes the reopening of the Jan Martense Schenck House at the Brooklyn Museum.

Photo: The Jan Martense Schenck House at the Brooklyn Museum.

MTA: More Riders Than Ever, Huge Surplus. So Why the Fare Hike?

Hundreds of MTA patrons showed up in Downtown Brooklyn to protest the perhaps inevitable fare hikes. Some called on Gov. Spitzer to step in and do something.

Hmmn: According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the MTA projects a $6 billion funding shortfall in the next four years, despite a 50-year high in ridership and an expected $966 million surplus for this year and $377 million for next year.

Here's another point: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said that fare increases on mass transit would result in increased traffic, and that runs counter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “bold” congestion pricing plan.

Brooklyn to MTA Board on Fare Hike: The Answer Is Still No-- Brooklyn Eagle