Squadron Applauds Brooklyn Bridge Park Funding Approval

Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation board approved $66.5 million in funding from the City, which includes the (fully-restored) funding commitment secured in Senator Daniel Squadron's and Assemblymember Millman's agreement with the City last summer, and a $40 million donation for recreation in the park.

Today, Squadron issued the following statement:

Today, there were two pieces of great news for Brooklyn residents and the entire city regarding Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The BBPC board voted to approve $66.5 million in funding from the City. By including the funding in this year's budget, the City will officially restore its full $55 million commitment to the park -- which was a major win for the community under the agreement Assemblymember Millman and I reached with the City last summer to move the park forward. The funding means real progress on the path to complete Brooklyn Bridge Park and is great news for all of us who have been fighting to make a real world-class park a reality.

The community has also long fought to bring year-round active recreation with real community access to the park. The news that the park has been offered an incredibly generous $40 million donation to achieve this goal is a welcome step forward. We look forward to participating in a robust and open community conversation about how this donation can make such year-round, active, accessible recreation a reality in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

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Brooklyn Ramen Event! Gowanus Cleanup Meeting; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- CB6 meeting tonight (Wednesday) about the EPA's Superfund Site investigation and sewer overflows into the Gowanus Canal. Carroll Gardens Patch

- Brooklyn state Sen. Eric Adams wants transit workers to be armed with Tasers. NY Daily News

- The city will open 54 new schools next September -- but wants to close another 23 this year, bringing the total closed this year to 49. Brooklyn Eagle

- Hot ramen pop-up Yuji and Japanese restaurant Chuko will team up for the Brooklyn Ramen Event. Eater

- The MTA has ordered 328 more buses equipped with three doors. Not as popular as you would think. NY Magazine

- Guys on trial in Brooklyn came disturbingly close to bombing innocent subway riders in Manhattan. Brooklyn Eagle

- History of a Brooklyn character and the church community that he founded here in Brownstone Brooklyn. Brownstoner

- The deadline for registering for this year's Dumbo / Vinegar Hill CSA is April 28. DumboNYC

- The same vandal(s) who defaced the Avenue Z Jewish Center in Brooklyn before may have struck again. Forward

- Every New Yorker has wondered how television characters can afford their spacious homes. And now Barbara Corcoran explains it all. TRD

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iCrave Yogurt shop 'Opening Soon' In Downtown Brooklyn

The little Greek diner Z-7 Cafe at 115 Court Street between Schermerhorn and State (where Yogo Monster used to be) closed a while back, and now an iCrave yogurt shop says it will open soon with "Self Serve" frozen yogurt and dozens of toppings.

Photo by MK Metz

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Unconfirmed: Man Shot On Herkimer Street and Eastern Parkway

Unconfirmed report that a man was shot on Herkimer Street and Eastern Parkway (between Fulton and Atlantic), in Brooklyn.

A Level 1 Mobilization has just been called.


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Body Removed from Hudson River Near Edgewater, NJ UPDATE: Maybe Two

Just heard on the scanner that a body has been removed from the Hudson River off the shore of Edgewater, NJ.

Police reported that there were no other victims UPDATE: there might be another victim in the water.

UPDATE2: 10:18 p.m. Edgewater police say a second victim is on the shore.

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Didn't Finish Your Taxes? Here's How To Get an Extension

Taxes are due today -- Tuesday, April 17.

But if you aren't ready to file, don't freak -- you can get an easy, automatic six-month extension, courtesy of the IRS. You just pay what you guestimate you owe, and avoid all late-filing and late-payment penalties. Then you get till October 15 to find all that missing paperwork and do it right.

Anyone and everyone can get an extension. Even Mitt Romney filed an extension!

One way to get the extra time is through the Free File link on IRS.gov.  (Select "browse the list" from Step 2 and look for "free extensions.") This connects you to private company that will allow you to file an extension online. (There is an $57,000 income limit for free service.)

Or you can just print out Form 4868, fill it in (it takes 30 seconds tops to fill in) and mail it in today with at least $1 (check or money order). The form tells you where to mail it. Filing this form gives you until Oct. 15 to file an actual return.

By filing this tiny form, you will avoid the late-filing penalty, normally five percent per month based on the unpaid balance. In addition, any payment made with an extension request will reduce or eliminate interest and late-payment penalties.

Some taxpayers get more time to file without having to ask for it. These include:

* Taxpayers abroad. U.S. citizens and resident aliens who live and work abroad, as well as members of the military on duty outside the U.S., have until June 15 to file and pay. However, interest is still due on any tax payment made after April 17.

* Members of the military and others serving in Iraq, Afghanistan or other combat zone localities. Typically, taxpayers can wait until at least 180 days after they leave the combat zone to file returns and pay any taxes due.

* People affected by certain tornadoes, severe storms, floods and other recent natural disasters. Currently, parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia are covered by federal disaster declarations, and affected individuals and businesses in these areas have until May 31 to file and pay.

More at IRS.gov

Photo by John Morgan, Creative Commons license

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Brooklyn Poet's B-Day Surprise; Stealing Food from Babies; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- From the mouths of babes: Couple admit to stealing $2.7 million in funds meant to feed toddlers at Red Apple day care centers. Brooklyn Eagle

- The real reason Ed Towns hung it up: golf. And the wife. The Local

- Brooklyn poet Tracy K. Smith wins Pulitzer on her birthday. NY Daily News
 
- GZA, one of the founders of the Wu-Tang Clan, will perform in this year’s Northside Festival in Brooklyn, along with more than 350 other bands. NY Times

- Parents left son in institutions to die, then tried to take settlement money. Brooklyn Eagle

- Is artisanal Brooklyn a step forward for food or a sign of the apocalypse? NY Magazine  (Naturally, DieHipster is having an obscenity-laden fit about this.)

- A veteran fire lieutenant died Monday after battling a blaze at a warehouse in Brooklyn. NY Times

- The Atlantic Yards project is already tarting up the neighborhood. NY Times

- Western wages have plummeted so low that a two-income family is now (on average) 15% poorer than a one-income family of 40 years ago. The Street

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Pier 6 Playground Design Criticized; Reaper Drones; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Controversy about Brooklyn Bridge Park's design -- including the "isolated" sections of the Pier 6 playgrounds. WSJ

- Reaper drones hover around Brooklyn Courts; MTA bus driver wants one on his bus. Brooklyn Eagle

- Rep. Ed Towns will not seek 16th term. Politico via The Local

- Vacationing deaf boy mowed down by cab in Cobble Hill is brain dead. NY Daily News

- A 13-year-old Brooklyn boy killed after falling from his bicycle and being hit by a car. NY Times

- Two 'Parades of Ships' coming to Brooklyn. Brooklyn Eagle

- Nets players will probably end up living in Jersey City. NY Daily News

- Beware spicy tuna rolls. Gawker

- How to make ice cubes shaped like tiny baby heads. Gizmodo

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Orthodox Holy Friday Procession, Court Street, Downtown Brooklyn

Believers at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral carried a flower-bedecked bier late Friday night along Court Street and down Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn Heights / Downtown Brooklyn.

The event was the Great and Holy Friday Procession, part of the Greek Orthodox Holy Week services.

While most Christian celebrated Easter last week, Eastern Orthodox churches follow the older, Julian calendar, and celebrated Easter yesterday.

Today is Easter Monday, also known as "Bright Monday," part of Bright Week, which lasts through Saturday. According to Wikipedia, the entire week is considered to be one continuous day.


Photos by MK Metz

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Prospect Park Lurker; Teen Catatonic After Electric Shocks; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Jarring video of Brooklyn teen receiving electric shocks at a Boston clinic stuns courtroom. NY Daily News

- CB2 board recommends approval of City Point II, Fowler Square designs. Brooklyn Eagle

- Brooklyn father and son called deadbeat slumlords, blamed for Philadelphia fire that killed two firefighters. Failed Messiah

- Police in Brooklyn are looking to speak with a man who's been lurking around Prospect Park, taking photos of young children. MSNBC

- This is what fishermen pull out of the water off Owl Head Pier, next to the sewage plant. WYDNKBYANM  

- Brooklyn couple came up with "Hunger Games" logo. NY Daily News

- Williamsburg charter school founder charged with tax fraud. Brooklyn Eagle

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