'La bohème' at Heights Players Next Weekend (Updated)

The Martha Cardona Theater, in association with the Heights Players, presents La bohème.

Performances will be Sunday, December 27, at 1 and 6 pm, at the Heights Players, 26 Willow Place, Brooklyn Heights. For tickets, please call 347-768-4182. All tickets cost $25.

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Atheists Sue Catholic Bishop In Brooklyn

The NYC Atheists and a group of clergy sex abuse survivors filed simultaneous lawsuits in Brooklyn Supreme Court yesterday, reports the Brooklyn Eagle.

They claim that Bishop Nicholas Di Marzio and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn endorsed political candidates, which is a illegal for a church.

The atheists and the victims of clergy sexual abuse say that Di Marzio recorded robocalls praising Lopez (and those candidates he backed) -- to reward Lopez for opposing a bill that would have tangled up the church in more sexual abuse lawsuits.

Our favorite comment by Lopez: “It’s a group that doesn’t believe in Christmas ornaments or trees.”

Hey. Tough talk.

More here.

Photo by Atheist Bus Canada, Creative Commons

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35703605@N06/ / CC BY 2.0

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Great Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn History Video by Mr. Junkersfeld

When you have eight minutes to spare, wander over to the Brooklyn Heights Blog and watch Mr. Junkersfeld's video about what the Cadman Plaza area in Brooklyn Heights/ Downtown Brooklyn looked like before they built the park and knocked down the Fulton Street El.

The sight of an elevated train running around Borough Hall Plaza is pretty shocking. Take a look at the photo we borrowed from that period from the Library of Congress (above left). We're looking north from Borough Hall.

Behind the elevated train is a building that, at first glance, appears to be the present day Post Office. But note the shape of the tower is slightly rounded. What we're seeing is actually the old Brooklyn Eagle building, which was north of the Post Office.

Present day Columbus Park and Post Office

It was a beautiful building but it was knocked down to build the present day Supreme Court building (left).


Henry Ward Beecher's statue
was moved from Borough Hall Plaza to its present location at the north end of Columbus Park, near the Post Office (photo, right).

It's amazing to see the El running along what is now called Cadman Plaza West (back then it was called Fulton Street). The tall Cadman towers were not yet built.

All in all, it appears that Cadman Plaza and the surrounding neighborhood was a much more congested urban environment than it is now. Kudos to Mr. Junkersfeld for this great effort.

To see an absolutely unbelievable photo of what is presently called Cadman Plaza East with the Post Office, Brooklyn Eagle building, Alcazar Theater, a dance academy and Brooklyn Borough Hall in the distance, see http://www.shorpy.com/node/4342?size=_original

Print on top left courtesy of Library of Congress
All other photos copyright MK Metz

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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:

- Hotel Toshi is looking for a strong "workhorse" type individual with great organizational and interpersonal skills to assist with the daily operations of the hotel. ("If you are an aspiring party planning mogul, this is the perfect job to start out in.") Craigslist

- Perelandra Natural Foods in Brooklyn Heights needs a cashier. $9/hr. Craigslist

- The Brooklyn Historical Society seeks a map cataloger for rare and old maps. Need a Masters in Library and Information Science. Publicboard

- A small jewelry company seeks a part-time production assistant with an interest in fashion. Craigslist

- City Aquarium, a custom aquarium design and fabrication company, is looking for a full-time aquarium installer. Interviewing Dec. 21. Craigslist

- A busy Gravesend office is looking for a Jack-of-all-trades. Craigslist

- The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is searching for a temporary website production assistant. 37signals

- Procter & Gamble is looking for a part-time field service technician in Brooklyn. May involve crawling under sink areas to install equipment. P&G

- A bakery specializing in Australian/New Zealand meat and vege pies and espresso is looking for a special "Person Friday." Craigslist

- A furniture maker in the Brooklyn Navy Yard seeks an entry-level workshop assistant to make furniture deliveries, perform maintenance, sanding and finishing. $9/hr. Craigslist

- The new Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites at 181 Third Ave. needs a General Manager and a Director of Sales. (Opening in July 2010.)

- The Brooklyn Youth Chorus seeks a development and marketing associate. Just Means

- Chuck E. Cheese's needs a mid-level manager. NYT/Monster

- A "very busy restaurant" in North Williamsburg is looking for a waitress and a hostess. Craigslist

- The Alex Figliolia Water and Sewer Company in area code 11215 needs a "gal Friday" to answer phones, assist in accounts payable, etc. NYT/Monster

- Sweet Melissa's on Court Street in Cobble Hill needs a brunch cook. Craigslist

- A Brooklyn-based, cause-related communications firm is seeking a part-time Communications Manager to write press releases, speeches, etc. Craigslist

- Packer Collegiate Institute needs a Director of Athletics and some coaches. NYT/Monster

- A faith-based Brooklyn television station is looking for a production coordinator. NYT/Monster They also need a Director of Finance.

- Brooklyn Workforce1 Career Center on Bond Street will have various employers, including the Census folks, at the office today. Craigslist


Find all Brooklyn Headhunter posts here.

Photo by MikeColvin82, Creative Commons license

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One Less Stalled Development in Downtown Brooklyn

City Point, the major development proposed for Albee Square in Downtown Brooklyn, has received its preliminary allocation of $20 million in triple-tax exempt bonds from the federal stimulus program and will restart construction in early spring, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

According to NYC's EDC, the bonds will be issued on Feb. 17, 2010. (The project was originally slated to be completed in 2010.)

That makes one less stalled development in Brooklyn, Land of the Frozen Construction Project.

The complex will now be built in two phases, according to the Observer.

Rendering courtesy of architects GreenbergFarrow

- More Changes Coming to Downtown Brooklyn (2009)
- Brooklyn's Municipal Building Facade Rehab Underway (2009)
- Brooklyn 2012 Video, In Celebration of City Point (2008)
- Brooklyn Office Building Slows, But Albee Square Mall Is Coming Down (2007)
- Brooklyn's City Point Compared to Time-Warner Center (2007)
- RIP Albee Square Mall (2007)
- Fulton Street Mall to get Quite the Overhaul (2007)


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'Brooklyn's Toxic Preschool' Boss Andy Lewis Gets 18 Months

Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto late Friday sentenced Boerum Hill's infamous "Toxic Preschool" boss, Andy Lewis, to serve 18 months, reports the Brooklyn Eagle. Lewis was convicted of misappropriating more than half a million dollars in U.S. Department of Agriculture funds.

With credit for time already served, this comes to about a year. Not bad for a half a million, plus maybe a hundred thousand more in unreturned deposits conned from unsuspecting families.

So where is the money? No one knows, except Lewis, who claims he spent it on staff salaries but seems to have no paperwork to back that up.

The money was supposed to be spent on hot meals for low income kids at his daycare and after-school centers. The kids never got a thing to eat aside from the occasional cracker.

Andy Lewis, Brooklyn's 'Toxic Preschool Director,' Sentenced to 18 Months Brooklyn Eagle

- Brooklyn's 'Toxic Preschool' Head, Andy Lewis, To Be Sentenced Friday
- Brooklyn's Toxic Preschool Owner Opening Up a Summer Camp
- Brooklyn's Toxic Preschool Boss Charged with Fraud McBrooklyn
- Brooklyn 'Toxic Preschool' Parents Out of Luck? McBrooklyn
- Promises of Refund to Parents Underline History of Scandal As Toxic Preschool Moves On Brooklyn Eagle
- 'Toxic' Preschool Families Get Help From Brooklyn Borough Hall Brooklyn Eagle
- 'Toxic Boerum Hill Preschool to Reopen, Director Says McBrooklyn
- 'Toxic' Brooklyn School to Reopen? Brooklyn Eagle
- More Trouble at 'Toxic' Preschool in Boerum Hill McBrooklyn
- 'Toxic' Preschool Parents Wonder: Where's the Money? Brooklyn Eagle
- Brooklyn Children's Academy Preschool Nightmares A Child Grows in Brooklyn
- Toxic Preschool in Brooklyn? Brooklyn Eagle
- 'Toxic' Preschool in Boerum Hill McBrooklyn

Photo by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn Drummer Troy Young Found Dead and More Brooklyn briefs

- Police are still investigating the shooting of Brooklyn drummer Troy Young, 29, who was found dead in his apartment Friday. Young lived on Fourth Street in Carroll Gardens. nbcnewyork

- Why Brooklyn Industries manufactures stuff in China. Business Week

- The MTA is toying with the idea of eliminating free MetroCards for hundreds of thousands of students. Daily News

- A Brooklyn man is charged to beating a cat to death with an umbrella. Gothamist

- OTBKB presents a Park Slope holiday gift guide. OTBKB

- The 'Bernie Madoff of Bay Ridge' is indicted in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Eagle

- Cosmo gets excited about Anne Hathaway's black Armani dress, blazer, and leggings at the BAM Belle Reve Gala. Cosmopolitan

- Google Easter egg -- a countdown brings us to January 1st -- but why? Tech Crunch


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The Infamous Ms. Brito, Bike Clowns and More Brooklyn Briefs

- The Brooklyner, Brooklyn’s newest and tallest apartment tower at 111 Lawrence St. at MetroTech, threw a little party Monday. Brooklyn Eagle

- The infamous Ms. Brito rumor Facebook page.

- Don't you hate it when bike clowns take over Brooklyn bike lanes? Brooklyn Vegan

- Menorah lighting and other Brooklyn Heights Chanukah events. Brooklyn Heights Blog

- The city is offering swine flu shots to all comers. New York Times

- Seems the cover on the salt pile at the piers along Columbia Street is starting to come loose and salt is blowing everywhere. The Word on Columbia Street via Curbed

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Update On Church vs. Bike Lane in Brooklyn Heights

Blogger Ink Lake created quite a stir with his crusade against car-parkers in the bike lane in front of the First Presbyterian Church on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights. (There are more than 80 comments about this issue on the Brooklyn Heights Blog.)

Every Sunday cars clog the bike lane, says Ink Lake: "Apparently, they have some 'understanding' with the 84^th Precinct, whereby if they put a sign in their window that they are attending church, they don't get ticketed . . ."

Here's an update: Ink Lake went out to the church again recently to see how the parking was shaping up. As he walked down the street, taking movies of all the parked cars, a reporter from News 12 Brooklyn showed up. Here's the result:



Ink Lake had a discussion with Reverend Stephen Phelps about the problem (which seems to pit church history against bike riders). Read about it here at Ink Lake.

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Brooklyn's 'Toxic Preschool' Head, Andy Lewis, To Be Sentenced Friday*

Remember Boerum Hill's infamous "Toxic Preschool"?

The Brooklyn Eagle reports that Andy Lewis, the director the Brooklyn Children's Academy Preschool — which closed in 2007 after shocked parents discovered that it had no heat, exposed wires, unpainted walls and noxious fumes — is scheduled to be sentenced Friday before Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto on charges of stealing more than half a million dollars in U.S. Department of Agriculture funds.

Lewis still owes thousands of dollars to the parents who signed up for his failed preschool in Boerum Hill. This past March he tried to open up a summer camp in Fort Greene; this idea was canned when angry parents planned a protest there to warn new parents not to leave deposits.

According to the Eagle, Lewis repeatedly tested positive for cocaine use after he was arrested in 2008. This past July, he was jailed after testing positive for cocaine the ninth time.

*(UPDATE: Oops -- we meant Friday, not Thursday as we originally published.)

- Sentencing for ‘Toxic Preschool’ Head Set for Friday Brooklyn Eagle


- Brooklyn's Toxic Preschool Owner Opening Up a Summer Camp
- Brooklyn's Toxic Preschool Boss Charged with Fraud McBrooklyn
- Brooklyn 'Toxic Preschool' Parents Out of Luck? McBrooklyn
- Promises of Refund to Parents Underline History of Scandal As Toxic Preschool Moves On Brooklyn Eagle
- 'Toxic' Preschool Families Get Help From Brooklyn Borough Hall Brooklyn Eagle
- 'Toxic Boerum Hill Preschool to Reopen, Director Says McBrooklyn
- 'Toxic' Brooklyn School to Reopen? Brooklyn Eagle
- More Trouble at 'Toxic' Preschool in Boerum Hill McBrooklyn
- 'Toxic' Preschool Parents Wonder: Where's the Money? Brooklyn Eagle
- Brooklyn Children's Academy Preschool Nightmares A Child Grows in Brooklyn
- Toxic Preschool in Brooklyn? Brooklyn Eagle
- 'Toxic' Preschool in Boerum Hill McBrooklyn

Photo by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.