Robber with Ice Pick On Fulton Street; Cops Plant Drugs On the Innocent; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- A man armed with an ice pick robbed the Duane Reade on the Fulton Mall yesterday. Carroll Gardens Patch

- Gothamist interviews pedestrian safety managers on Brooklyn Bridge: "The only problem is that they ride the bikes way too fast. They're almost like missiles." Gothamist

- The largest affordable home ownership opportunity in the history of Red Hook is welcoming new residents. Brooklyn Eagle

- Walentas' Williamsburg hotel will open by May 1st and will probably be called "The Wythe." Brownstoner. Interview with Jed at TRD.

- P.S. 29 embezzler pleads guilty, pays $50,000 and stays out of jail. Carroll Gardens Patch

- Tip of the iceberg: A Brooklyn NYPD officer was convicted yesterday of planting drugs on a woman and her boyfriend, probably to meet his quota for arrests. Brooklyn Eagle

- In a discreet yet festive ceremony in a Brooklyn Heights apartment last week, the final charitable act of the former Orphan Asylum Society in the City of Brooklyn, founded 1833, was performed. Brooklyn Eagle

- Fringe militia members in Georgia arrested in  plot to spray deadly ricin in cities across America "to save America." Reuters  

- The San Francisco Zoo is opening the first zoo for gay animals. Actual quote: "These animals sing and dance together in a style not unlike that of the Village People." Huff Post

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Video of Texas Judge Beating Daughter Goes Viral

Seven years ago Aransas (Texas) County Court-At-Law Judge William Adams beat his teenage daughter Hillary Adams as punishment for using the Internet to download music and games.(Warning: video is disturbing.)

Five days ago, after being berated by her father over the phone, Hillary released this (secretly recorded?) video of that beating on YouTube and yesterday on Reddit. It has become an Internet sensation, and bloggers around the country are demanding that Judge Adams be charged with child abuse.

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Halloween Headgear In Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

Halloween in Boerum Hill was a scene as usual, with crowds surging up and down Smith and Court Streets. Super Mario Brothers red hats, Luigi green hats, Wario yellow hats and as-yet-unidentified headgear with pink polka-dots were a definite trend this year.

Wigs were worn by all ages.

There's that pink polka-dot hat again!

Another Mario Brothers red hat. Mom did a bang-up job with the face paint, btw.

Mom went all out as a mad hatter; daughter decided to stick with standard witch headgear.

Photos by MK Metz

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Quite a Brew-Ha-Ha at Cobble Hill Success Academy Charter School Meeting

It became "Occupy Success Academy" at the Carroll Gardens branch library on Saturday as a large number of local parents disrupted Eva Moskowitz, head of the Success Academy charter school chain, when she attempted to give a presentation to parents curious about a Cobble Hill Success Academy.

The number of parents actually interested in enrolling their kids in the school appeared to be significantly smaller than the number of parents protesting the incursion of the charter school into the district.

After an increasing number of Moskowitz's statements rubbed audience members the wrong way even mild-mannered grandmothers were shouting at her.

The main bone of contention for many parents centered around Success Academy taking over space from three public schools located at 284 Baltic Street, where DOE plans to co-locate the charter school.

DOE says there is almost enough room to fit grades K-4 in the facility (this will bring the complex to 108 percent capacity). Grades 5 - 8 will have to be located somewhere else.

Parents say that co-located charter schools take over science labs, art rooms, and pull-out rooms for speech therapy and small-group instruction, and that DOE consistently underestimates the amount of space existing schools actually need.

As the shouting intensified Moskowitz called it quits and parent demonstrators took over, using the people's microphone to announce the screening of the anti-charter school film "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman," to be aired on Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. at P.S. 261.

More details of the brew-ha-ha can be found at the Brooklyn Eagle and Carroll Gardens Patch.

Photos by MK Metz

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Big Crowd for Brooklyn Heights Halloween Parade

Brooklyn Heights munchkins and their parents crammed into Pierrepont Playground Sunday morning for the annual Brooklyn Heights Halloween Parade. (It was snowed out on Saturday.)

Before the march along the Promenade folks paused to eat cupcakes baked by members of the Brooklyn Heights Playground Committee, grab balloons (provided by Heights Kids) and show off their Halloween costumes. BP Marty Markowitz stopped by to officially kick off the event.

This little princess led the parade.

Not sure what his costume was but he loved his balloon.

A subway car, what appeared to be a hunk of cheese, a Superman and a few other superheroes as they strolled into Pierrepont Playground.

It was a perfect day for a penguins costume.

Brooklyn's own  little Martha Stewart hands out homemade cupcakes.

A slew of Halloween events are taking place today all over Brooklyn, including the Annual Park Slope Halloween Parade, at 6:30 p.m.; the Cobble Hill Halloween Parade at 4 p.m.; the Greenpoint Children’s Halloween Parade at 2 p.m.; and many more. See here for a full schedule of today's Halloween events. 

Photos by MK Metz

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Residential Parking Permits for Atlantic Yards Neighbors; Section 8 Crime; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- MTA may skip some bus stops today because of Halloween vandals. Last year teenagers at Gerritsen Beach threw hammers and rocks at cars and buses. Gothamist

- A subsidized housing tenant was charged on Friday with defrauding the New York City Housing Authority by approximately $96,674. Brooklyn Eagle

- The City Council will hear testimony Wednesday on legislation authorizing residential permit parking programs in the five boroughs. Folks living near Atlantic Yards want this enacted ASAP. Brooklynian

- How Superintendent Campbell got rid of ghosts in Brooklyn. The Bowery Boys

- The gritty Brooklyn Bike Kill took place in spite of the snow, sleet and hail. Gothamist

- The McRib is made of pig innards like tripe and heart and loads of chemicals -- but no ribs? Gothamist

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Snow and Ice Cover Brooklyn, NYC: Parks Closed, Power Out, Subway, Amtrak Changes

Record ice, snow and freezing rain have caused New York City to order all city parks closed as tree branches crash to the ground in the biggest pre-Halloween snowstorm ever recorded. Heavy snow and strong wind gusts, combined with full leaves still on trees, are damaging thousands of trees in parks throughout the City.

According to Con Edison, nearly 600 customers were without power in Brooklyn at 8:40 p.m. while in Staten Island more than 8,000 customers were out. In the Bronx and Westchester, tens of thousands have lost power.

The subways are experiencing system-wide service changes and service delays affecting the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, A, B, C, and D among others. Amtrak is currently holding all eastbound Amtrak Northeast Corridor trains (that travel between New York and Boston) in Penn Station, New York, due to signal issues on Metro North's New Haven Line. Several other Metro North lines are also experiencing delays or suspensions. Amtrak customers should contact Amtrak at 1-800-USARAIL, for information on their specific train. Visit www.mta.info for updates concerning Metro North.

A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 2 a.m. Sunday, along with a coastal flood advisory and high surf advisory.

Photo by MK Metz

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Rally Against Cobble Hill Charter School Saturday - 'Success Academy Cobble Hill'

Parents from several District 15 public schools say they will protest the planned Success Academy Cobble Hill charter school at an 11 a.m. rally Saturday.

The protesters will gather outside a planned presentation by Success Charter Network chief Eva Moskowitz at the Cobble Hill Library as she pitches the community on the new school.

Parents say that the charter school -- which applied to open in District 13 or 14 -- aims to take over prime real estate in Cobble Hill's District 15 instead, sucking resources and facilities from existing students.

Cobble Hill Carroll Gardens Library is located at Clinton Street between Union and Sackett, Brooklyn.

- Controversial Cobble Hill Charter School Raising Eyebrows Brooklyn Eagle

- Success Charter School Co-Location Threatens Improving School for Global Studies Carroll Gardens Patch


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Fireworks Tonight Over Statue of Liberty Celebrates 125th Anniversary

Today (Friday, October 28, 2011) is the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, and the National Park Service will be holding a gala ceremony with Macy's fireworks over the Hudson at 7:45 p.m.

A number of events will be taking place: a water flotilla, actress Sigourney Weaver reading Lazarus' poem and a naturalization ceremony for 125 candidates for citizenship. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior will present gifts of friendship to the French Government and a choir from the Brooklyn High School of the Arts will perform “Huddled Masses” from the off-Broadway-bound musical "Liberty," along with other performances.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, five webcams will be turned on in the torch tonight. See the Eagle for today's schedule of events.

The National Park Service has been tweeting "125 tweets in 125 days." Since June 26th they've tweeted about notable events since the Statue's dedication in 1886. Today is the last tweet!


Photo courtesy of National Parks Service

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MTA Building Not Only Plans NYU Has for Downtown Brooklyn

Wednesday's renderings showing NYU's dreams for the old MTA building at 370 Jay Street (see here) aren't the only changes NYU has in mind for Downtown Brooklyn.

Appearing on the NYU-Poly web site are two renderings (below) that show a transformed Jay Street with two new towers on the MetroTech campus, replacing the striated Jacob's building shown above.

In 2010 NYU-Poly described their long-term strategy to the Brooklyn Eagle and provided a diagram of their air rights (roughly 300,000 square feet). The renderings above show two possible configurations.

The towers, part of the NYU 2031 master plan, includes a number of changes in the Metrotech area which will enhance and expand the existing campus.

Top photo courtesy of Google; bottom renderings courtesy of NYU-Poly.

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