Brooklyn Heights' Powertrusion Disappears, As Mysteriously As the Day It Came

Right there -- where the red cone is stuffed upside-down inside a hole in the sidewalk -- there used to be a Verizon Powertrusion. That's right, a Class 5, 25-foot model, installed right outside Plymouth Church's playground on Cranberry Street.
It showed up one day in 2010 out of the blue, straighter than one of them Saturn V rocket boosters.

The folks at Powertrusion 2000 International Inc. said it was made "from the same synthetic materials that make the military's Apache attack helicopters virtually bulletproof."

They said the dang thing would be there longer than the trees, the cars, and almost everybody alive today.

But now it's up and disappeared.

Brooklyn Heights' bulletproof, Class 5, 25-foot Verizon Powertrusion is just plumb gone, as mysterious as the day it arrived.

- We Got Us a Verizon Powertrusion Right Here in Brooklyn Heights

Photos by MK Metz

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Jamaica Bay Pipeline; Nervous Wallabies; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Residents faced off with officials at a Jamaica Bay Task Force meeting, saying the government is quietly pushing through major projects like an ecologically troubling natural gas pipeline. Sheepshead Bites

- Details of the Barclays Arena liquor license meeting, where community members expressed their feelings about the drunken aftermath of games and concerts. Brooklyn Eagle

- Eight properties are set to be sold today at Brooklyn Supreme Court's weekly foreclosure sale. Village Voice

- A car jumped the curb and slammed into the front of Fatoosh Deli in Brooklyn Heights. Driver injured. DNAinfo

- New dingoes at Prospect Park Zoo: their natural prey, the wallabies, are spending more time up on their rock, silently observing . . . WSJ

- The new Hotel BPM Brooklyn features music streaming throughout its public areas, guest rooms and bathrooms.  Guests can make song requests when they make their  reservations. Brooklyn Eagle  

- Why didn't we think of this? Brooklyn woman uses Kickstarter to raise $1,500 for her birthday parade over the Brooklyn Bridge, including a 20-piece marching band, balloons, streamers, bubbles, etc. Brokelyn

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'Lost' Man at Cobble Hill Nursing Home Reawakened Through Music

An old man named Henry, living at the Cobble Hill Health Center in Brooklyn for more than 10 years, habitually sits in his wheelchair with his head hanging, appearing to be barely alive.

In the emotional video above (which has more than two million views on YouTube) we see reception therapist Yvonne Russell fitting him into an iPod loaded with music from his own era. Like flipping a switch, Henry comes back to life.

Famous neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks comments in the video, "His face assumes expression, his eyes open wide, he starts to sing."

The clip is from a new film called Alive Inside, by by Michael Rossato-Bennett. The film follows the reawakening of ‘lost’ patients through music.

Alive Inside is premiering on April 18 at the Rubin Museum in New York.

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Bus-Jumping College Students; St. Ann's New Digs; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- St. Ann's Warehouse, moving soon, seeks approval to alter the facade and install signs and lighting at their new building on Jay Street. Brooklyn Eagle

- College students leap out of emergency exits onto Brooklyn streets. NY1

- Wiseguy's Brooklyn basement got makeover after 2 gangland hits, mob rat says at trial. NY Daily News

- Introducing Court Street's newest soon-to-open Middle Eastern eatery. PMFA

- The much-maligned Kensington Post Office can't even spell "Brooklyn" right. Brooklyn Paper

- Guy steals food stamps meant for 26 food-stamp recipients. Brooklyn Eagle

- A vaccine that targets 90 percent of cancers has been tested on humans with promising results. Medical Daily

- How to delete your Instagram account but keep your photos. Mashable

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That Rumbling Sound You Hear Is Cherry Blossoms Opening at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

The CherryWatch Blossom Map provided by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden shows that the majority of cherry trees at the garden are in "first bloom!" Seems like this weekend would be a great time to visit.

In any case, the Sakura Matsuri Festival takes place April 28–29.

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Snack Man Breaks Up Fight on Number 6 Train, Becomes National Hero

They call him Snack Man.

A lone chip eater breaks up a kick-fight on the Number 6 train without pausing in his snacking, or even looking at the fighters.

So cool, so uncaring. He's being called the Snack Boss; the Nacho Man; the Brad Pitt of subway snacking.

He is described on Reddit as, "Not the hero they wanted, but the one they deserved."

He is Snack Man, and he has gone viral.

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Puking, Pissing Nets Fans; Brooklyn Law Professor Dies; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Locals fight Barclay's Center liquor license, fearing puking, peeing Nets fans. Gothamist

- Carroll Gardens eatery Prime Meats is hosting a 10-course Titanic dinner on April 17. It will be "the very same menu served on the Titanic in First Class." Eater via Gothamist

- Beloved professor at Brooklyn Law School dies. Brooklyn Eagle

- Brooklyn Industries unveils the seed-bomb bracelet, made in DUMBO. ecouterre

- Thousands of kids are waitlisted for kindergarten again, many in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Eagle

- Why does this 102-year-old Bronx parking valet look like 80? How come his sisters (aged 93 and 98) still go bowling? NY Post

- Brace yourself: A number of people using Twitter never realized the Titanic was real, not just a movie. Gothamist

- The five funniest Google Glasses parodies. Gizmodo

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Blow-Out Crowd at Brooklyn Heights' Pierrepont Egg Hunt

A perfect storm of good weather, publicity and holiday spirits led to an ENORMOUS crowd at Pierrepont Playground's Spring Egg Hunt Saturday morning in Brooklyn Heights.

The line led from the the playground, along Pierrepont Place, past Montague Street, and all the way to Remsen Street.

The candy-filled eggs were quickly snatched up by the first wave of kids and parents, long before the second and third wave even got through the gates.

The grass section was reserved for younger children, where there was less competition.

The three-egg limit was not strictly adhered to -- though some parents did make their kids share.

Luckily, the cavalry -- in the form of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz -- arrived, armed with hundreds of cute stuffed bunnies.

Kids were thrilled and parents thankful.

And there were plenty of other fun activities to enjoy, like face painting and a bake sale put on by members of the Brooklyn Heights Playground Committee.

Families lined up for face painting.

Monkey Monkey Music entertained the crowd with upbeat, kid-oriented rock.

Heights Kids decorated the playground with colorful balloons, and Lassen & Hennigs provided coffee.

Because of the beautiful weather the Pierrepont egg hunt drew a bigger crowd than last week's soggy Spring Fling at Brooklyn Bridge Park, which has a lot more room for these crowds. The egg hunt at BBP in 2008 drew more than 10,000 people!

A similar huge crowd packed Pierrepont in 2010, when there was no egg hunt at all in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Karl Junkersfeld’s created a video of the scene, posted at the Brooklyn Heights Blog.

- Brooklyn Heights Spring Egg Hunt 2011
- Egg Hunt at Plymouth Church, 2011 
- Brooklyn Heights Sprint Egg Hunt 2010
- Egg Hunt at Plymouth Church, 2009 
- Egg Hunt at BBP, 2008 

Photos by MK Metz

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Sheepshead Bay Shootout; NJ Fans Over the Nets; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Wild shootout in Sheepshead Bay leaves four cops injured. CBS

- Die-hard Jersey fans ready to divorce Nets. WSJ

- Gowanus property across from Whole Foods site on market for $5.8 million. Brooklyn Eagle

- New York's disgusting pay phones will be replaced with touch-screen Internet kiosks capable of being cleaned with a jet hose. NY Magazine

- The new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, the Mets' new Citifield in Queens, and the emerging Barclays Center arena (for the Brooklyn Nets) are all financed via a clever scheme, fully tax-exempt. Atlantic Yards Report

- Brooklyn woman claims ex-boyfriend posted her photos and address on hardcore porn website. NY Post

- Your olive oil is probably fake. Gothamist


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Brooklyn IKEA Not As Much Fun As It Used to Be

The lines at Brooklyn's IKEA have turned the shopping experience into a nightmare. This past Friday afternoon we really need some storage units. The shopping itself took maybe 20 minutes. The line, however, took 40 minutes, possibly longer. There were only five check out counters running and the lines extended past several aisles of the packaged tables and chairs.

Making it worse, the lines were unsupervised, with desperate people jumping ahead by cutting around displays, out of sight of the people in the line behind them.

Another pain: While the shuttles are supposed to run every half hour on weekdays to Brooklyn Borough Hall, we waited a full half hour and there were many people who had been waiting before us.

On the way back, several passengers sat in the shuttle bus for more than a half hour waiting for a driver. We got the last seats, and after us people had to stand (with all of their bulky purchases). One of the passengers left the bus to tell the driver (chatting on the sidewalk) that the bus was full, let's go. (He said he had to wait 10 more minutes but we took off after 5.)

As we got off at Borough Hall, we both agreed it was no longer fun to shop at IKEA. Much of what we buy there can be purchased online from other vendors without the hassle.

Photo by MK Metz


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