Dressing Up As Dead Mom To Steal $$$; Brunch; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- A member of the Secret Service mowed down a Brooklyn mother of five Thursday as she crossed Atlantic Avenue while on her way to day care. NY Daily News

- Brooklyn man guilty of stealing $100K in benefits by dressing up as his dead mom. NY Post

- Business war on mobile food vendors in Brooklyn picks up steam. Brooklyn Eagle

- There are nine open houses scheduled for this weekend in Brooklyn alone in anticipation of the Partners and Preservation grant awards. (Have you voted for your favorite restoration project yet?) Brownstoner

- Everything you wanted to know about Brooklyn's upcoming shuffleboard club. Gothamist

- Some Brooklyn Heights residents fear that the south Heights will be overrun by hordes of pedestrians and vehicles heading to the new $40 million sports facility planned for Brooklyn Bridge Park. NY Post

- A community leader is recruiting Greenpoint residents to tattle on restaurants that serve diners outdoors on Sundays before noon. Brooklyn Paper

- Artist and fashion designer Ramdane Touhami’s sumptuous Brooklyn townhouse was just featured in a glossy magazine spread — but it failed to reveal he is being evicted. NY Post

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OK To Come Packin' Heat To the Republican Convention in August

Water guns banned; handguns OK.

Water guns will be strictly prohibited in the sure-to-be turbulent streets of Tampa, Fla. during the Republican National Convention in August. Concealed handguns, however, will be perfectly legal.

According to ABC News, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said this week that banning handguns from downtown Tampa during the convention, as the city’s Mayor Bob Buckhorn requested, “would surely violate the Second Amendment.”

According to the Florida Courier, more than 800,000 Floridians have permits to carry concealed weapons.

The city did pass a temporary security ordinance, however, which prohibits sticks, lumber, chains and water guns

We have no problem with handguns at the Republican convention. But we protest the ban on water guns. As one Reddit commenter so eloquently put it, "If you ban water guns, only criminals will have water guns."

Photo by Johnthescone, Creative Commons license

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Handing Out Condoms At the High School Prom

Are American teens being encouraged to turn prom night into sex night?

The Brooklyn Eagle reports that NuVo Condoms -- “The Official Condom of Spring Break” -- has cheerfully announced that they will supply free condoms for prom night to any school that asks for them. The company says that research has shown that one in five seventeen-year-olds plan to have sex for the first time on prom night

“We’re not condoning sex for teens, but we want to make sure everybody’s safe and protected,” said a company spokesperson. This mature, researched-based attitude is belied, just a bit, by the company's tagline: “Get It On!” (They also say they are “making a bang” in the condom industry.)

The condom offer has prompted some soul-searching along the lines of, “What is the message we’re sending to these young people?”

Get the whole story at the Brooklyn Eagle.

Photo: Prom Night 1971 by Dok1, Creative Commons license


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Will Peas n' Pickles Challenge Gristedes' Supremacy in North Brooklyn Heights?

With the acquisition of the next door storefront on Pineapple Walk in Brooklyn Heights (shown above as workers were transferring goods from the original store), Peas n' Pickles market is expanding from a convenience mart into an supermarket/deli, with enough square footage to challenge Gristedes supermarket right across the walk.

While Gristedes is much larger and includes a pharmacy, their inventory control is chaotic and prices can be outrageously high.

If Peas n' Pickles can keep their friendly service and reasonable prices (cheaper than Gristedes anyway) the place should do very well.

Peas n' Pickles owner Jung Sook Lee told the Brooklyn Eagle the deli and salad bar portion will open in about two months, after the original section is renovated.

(Factoid: The Brooklyn Heights' Peas n' Pickles -- there is another branch in DUMBO -- has its own listing in the Urban Dictionary.)

Photo by MK Metz

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Domino Developer Loses Battle; Ratner's Modular Factory; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- The developer of the proposed $1.5 billion Domino Sugar Factory project loses court battle, handing the majority stake to the project’s senior lender. Observer

- United American Land has closed on the 50,000 square-foot commercial condominium at 210 Joralemon Street, commonly known as the Brooklyn Municipal Building, for $10 million. TRD

- Water Street Restaurant in DUMBO closed by Department of Health, in spite of getting an A on a recent inspection. Dumbo, NYC

- Caribbean girls discover Jewish neighbors in Crown Heights are really OK. Brooklyn Eagle

- MTA bringing big upgrades to Jay Street substation. Brownstoner

- Ratner wants to construct a modular building factory at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to go into the cheap skyscraper business. Globe Street

- Midwood High School's class of 1957 returns for their 55th reunion -- and puts on a new production of a play they first created over half a century ago. Brooklyn Eagle

- AG Eric Schneiderman is seeking $1.4 million from a Williamsburg developer who built a project that is allegedly “rife with construction defects,” including leaks, faulty windows and the use of flammable material on the roof. TRD

- Here's a map of all the abandoned bikes in New York City. Probably missed a couple. Transportation Nation

- Newtown Creek safe for kayaking, dangerous for swimming, iffy for seafood. Brooklyn Paper

- The biggest full moon of the year happens this Saturday at 11:35 p.m. EDT. Gothamist


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City Council's Proposals to Gut Landmarks Preservation Commission?

The City Council is holding a public hearing today (Wednesday, May 2, 10:00 a.m.) to discuss a batch of bills which seem intended to drastically limit the capability of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to do their job of preserving landmarks.

If passed, the bills would collectively swamp LPC in a sea of paperwork, impossible deadlines and appeals. Five of the bills in particular draw the ire of groups like the Historic Districts Council:

* One would require LPC to respond to Requests for Evaluation (RFEs) within a maximum of six months.

* Another creates a 21/33 month maximum timeline for landmark and historic district designations. (Under this law, Crown Heights North, the Park Slope Extension, the Grand Concourse, Douglaston Hill, Murray Hill NoHo, and Dumbo would have never been designated since they all took longer than 33 months.)

* A third would create an appeals process for denied RFEs.

* A fourth would mandate an online database of RFEs along with new rules about what language can be used when responding to requests.

* A fifth bill mandates that the City Planning Commission analyze the economic impact of designation on the development potential of proposed landmark and instructs City Council to strongly weight this analysis.

Some of the other bills aren't so hot either, like one which affects materials used in restoring the landmarked properties.

If these bills are adopted as written, says the Historic Districts Council, "they would risk overwhelming the LPC scant resources and could result in thousands of potential buildings in dozens of historic districts being rejected out of hand."

Says HDC: "That the City Council is hearing all these bills with almost no notice is very disturbing. That each speaker is only going to have THREE MINUTES to comment on 11 bills is outright appalling."

HDC urges folks to attend the meeting if possible (more here).

Brownstoner notes that if these bills are passed, the LPC is going to do more work -- but it’s not going to be getting any more money to do that work.

Photo of the Park Slope Extension courtesy of LPC

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Occupy May Day Wrap Up

As batteries die in cell phones and video cameras, here are some links to some interesting Occupy May Day photos, videos and livestreams:

* Photos of the march over the Williamsburg Bridge. (Where have we seen that officer with the Hefty bag before?) Brooklyn Eagle

* Boing Boing posts a large-format gallery of Occupy protests from around the world.

* Students rally for a lot of things in Fort Greene. The Local

* Video of marchers in NYC as far as the eye can see. Dicey Troop

* Police get violent. YouTube

* Union Square from the air. @mithaler

* Livestreams continue here. Occupy Brooklyn

* Is the Occupy party over? NY Magazine

Photo by skenmy, Creative Commons license

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What's Going On with Occupy May Day in NYC?

Here's a little snapshot of the May Day OWS activity as of 10:55 a.m.:

A march over the Williamsburg Bridge (ending up at Wall Street) has kicked off from Brooklyn's Continental Army Plaza. (Picture)

We can report that at the Brooklyn Bridge (Brooklyn side), the TV trucks have turned off their motors as absolutely nothing is happening.

In Manhattan, a midtown march is picking up more marchers at Madison and 47th. (Twitter) Picketers are marching outside Chase on 6th Ave. Scanner: Disordly group reported.

Scanner: Powdery substance reported?

Scanner: In Manhattan, police are chasing down a group of about 75 marchers trying to cut across 5th Avenue, going East.

A band is playing "Which Side Are You On?" outside hedge fund manager John Paulson's office. (Picture)

Scanner: "The guys on 4-2, get them out of the street. All the officers, get 'em on the sidewalk."

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Psychedelic Acid Bicycle-for-Two-Trip

Or maybe just a nice ride on a tandem bike...

On Tillary Street yesterday in Downtown Brooklyn. (Psychedelic effect courtesy of painted Jersey barriers.)

Photo by MK Metz

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Brooklyn Express Drumline In Cadman Plaza Park

Did you hear that drumming in Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn yesterday?

Members of the Brooklyn Express Drumline took advantage of the sunny weather to practice their routine in the park before competing in Sunday's "The Battle of the Drumlines" at St. Francis College.

Folks hanging out in the park applauded the free show of precisely-coordinated drumming.

Drumlines from across the country traveled to Brooklyn to compete in the event, which benefits the Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band.

Photos by MK Metz

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