The Million Dollar Jackie Robinson Glove; M.T.A. As Grinch; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- The glove Brooklyn Dodgers' Jackie Robinson used during the 1955 and 1956 seasons is up for auction -- and it may fetch as much as a million dollars. [NY Daily News]

- Effort underway to landmark Jackie Robinson house. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Hasidic sect looking to nab 3.2 acre National Guard fortress for sale in Williamsburg. [TRD]

- Some parents plan to boycott this week's new and harder math and English tests. [Record Online]

- M.T.A. bans collecting used MetroCards for charity. [NY Magazine]

- Is ferry service being expanded to bail out developers? [Queens Crap]

- On Children's Day, April 23rd, Masal Café is feeding children gratis, from early morning right through to beyond their bedtimes. [Examiner]

- NYPD in trouble for setting larceny traps for New Yorkers. [Gawker]

- Is New York losing its edge as Start Up City? [Entrepreneur]

- Do you eat KoJel kosher foods like instant pudding, hot chocolate mix and instant noodle soup? Ummn, better read this. [NY Times]

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New Brooklyn Heights Association President Tells All

Photo by Ellen Jaffe

Alexandra Bowie, new president of the Brooklyn Heights Association, provides an in-depth look at the mission of the famous neighborhood group in a Q & A with the Brooklyn Eagle.

Bowie discusses in detail the main issues the BHA is working on now: LICH, the sale of the Brooklyn Heights library, the completion of Brooklyn Bridge Park, trees and traffic.

About the Brooklyn Heights branch library sale: BHA is not opposing the redevelopment plan at this time, Bowie says, so long as three conditions are met: 1) ensure that the money from the sale of the building goes to the BPL; 2) ensure that there is continuity of service from now until the opening of the replacement branch in a new building; and 3) ensure that the replacement branch is of adequate size.

Traffic: Following the The Martha Atwater tragedy, the BHA is beginning a community outreach effort on making Brooklyn Heights a Slow Zone and other traffic calming efforts.  Slow Zone means 20 mph speeds and speed bumps, as well as signage. (Bowie would also like to see the speed cameras bill move forward.)

Bowie will replace Jane McGroarty.

For more about the BHA's latest plans, including what it is doing about LICH, the BQE rehab project and more, visit www.brooklyneagle.com


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Fresh Chick Peas at Pacific Green, Cobble Hill

At Pacific Green. Photo: MK Metz

What's the size of grapes and comes in fuzzy green pods? Fresh chick peas, and Pacific Green on Court Street in Cobble Hill has mounds of them for sale.

To eat them, you have to pop them from their pods and boil them in salted water for 4 - 5 minutes.

Or, you can char them right in their pods -- recipe here.


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'They Might Be Giants' Free Show; New Restaurant in Brooklyn Heights; More Brooklyn Briefs

- They Might Be Giants playing a free show in Brooklyn on Tuesday! [Brokelyn]

- Another person found locked in park bathroom -- second in three weeks. [A Walk In the Park]

- A mini-velodrome was set up in a Bushwick church. [Brownstoner]

- A new restaurant -- possibly Italian -- moving into 72 Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights. [Brownstoner]

- Former Vito Lopez campaign treasurer gets a year of probation. [City & State]

- Deadly accident at dangerous Bushwick intersection spurs victim's family to push for changes. [Brooklyn Ink]

- NYU Poly appoints a new president. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- No one really knows who is really behind Bitcoins; the creator Satoshi Nakamoto is just a pseudonym. [CNN] .


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No One Was Murdered in Red Hook Last Year

Where in Brooklyn are you least likely to get murdered?

Brooklyn Magazine has checked out the latest NYPD Comstat figures and picked the neighborhoods to stick to if you value your health.

Oddly enough, the 76th Precinct, covering Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Red Hook, reported no murders last year—and, so far, no murders this year. Even weirder, no one was murdered in Red Hook, not even after Sandy, in spite of the power being off for weeks.

More here.

Photo: Alan Cleaver

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Spring at Cadman Plaza Park, Brooklyn

Check out the garden at the north end of Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn, along the pathway leading to the Brooklyn Bridge. Every spring this little flower-filled garden presents a lovely greeting for residents and tourists heading for the Brooklyn Bridge. The Parks Department -- or is it the Cadman Park Conservancy? -- does a great job on this patch.

Magnolias in bloom on Cadman Plaza East just north of the park.

Daffodils and hyacinths at the north end.

Photos by MK Metz


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Quinn Doesn't Like Attack Ads; Priest Blasts Post; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Brooklyn ranks as the second most expensive place to live in the U.S. [Yahoo Finance]

- Quinn tries to strong-arm cable companies to take attack ads off the air. [NY Magazine]

- Bath Beach priest used Twitter to blast the FDNY’s ticket-writing inspectors, says the Post. One problem: The priest says a the Post's story is "propaganda." [Bensonhurst Bean]

- Pundits: Brooklyn BP Markowitz must lose some weight but can keep his accent if he wants to move to TV. Oh, and the hair. [NY Daily News]

- Lineup announced for Northside Festival in Williamsburg. [NY Times]

- Red Hook march to save LICH draws hundreds. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- The Tablet magazine calls Brad Lander "Brooklyn's Unofficial Mayor."

- The NYPD doesn't care about speeding drivers, data shows. [Gothamist]

- Brooklyn Conservatives praise Thatcher as a role model. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- By mid-afternoon yesterday, the editor of the London Daily Telegraph announced he had closed comments on every Margaret Thatcher story. "Even our address to email tributes is filled with abuse," he said. [Sydney Morning Herald] 

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The Jackhammers on the Brooklyn Bridge Stopped for a While Monday Night

Construction Brooklyn Bridge. MK Metz

Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO residents woke up just after midnight last night in shock at the eerie silence.

Brooklyn Bridge's jackhammers, drilling seemingly every single night since April 2011, had momentarily gone silent. The jarring lack of heart-attack-causing noise brought neighbors to their windows in confusion. It was as if the world had briefly stopped turning.

For a few minutes, other sounds -- cars, trains, radios, the wind -- could be heard.

Toddlers, having lived their whole lives with thunderous drilling filling every nighttime hour, woke restlessly in their cribs and briefly entertained the idea of someday going to college.

Then as always, the jackhammers returned.The world returned to normal, and the sound of chirping birds disappeared.

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'Keep the Promise' Rally in Downtown Brooklyn . . . Rev. Al Leads March Over Brooklyn Bridge

A stage was set up in Cadman Plaza Park. Photo: MK Metz

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation threw a big "Keep the Promise on AIDs" concert/ rally in Cadman Plaza Park on Saturday, with a full lineup of entertainment, speeches by AIDs advocates and pols, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, and a march over the Brooklyn Bridge.

The advocates called for funding to fight AIDs in New York City, which has been hit with budget cuts for HIV testing.

Steve Levin. Photo: MK Metz

Council Member Stephen Levin said that more people in NYC are getting their HIV diagnosed late, leading to an increased likelihood of dying from AIDs. State Senator Velmanette Montgomery spoke in favor of the "No Condoms As Evidence" bill, which would prohibit police for arresting people for carrying condoms. (Prosecutors have been claiming this shows intent to commit prostitution.)

'Stroke 'Em Condom Style'

Cassidy. Photo MK Metz

Rapper Cassidy ("I'm A Hustla") had the crowd dancing with "Stroke 'Em Condom Style." (A memorable 'Gangnam Style' take off: "Stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke, Stroke 'em condom style.")

Other entertainment included Grammy Award-winners Bridget Kelly and Miri Ben-Ari, Sway Calloway, DJ Lina, and The Rude Mechanical Orchestra.

Malina Fisher, Sway Calloway, Reverend Al Sharpton, and Michael Weinstein (AIDS Healthcare Foundation) Photo: MK Metz

Marching up the steps of the Brooklyn Bridge. Photo: MK Metz

The Rude Mechanical Orchestra. Photo: MK Metz

More at the Brooklyn Eagle and NY1.

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Nice Day for Outdoor Work in Brooklyn...

Sunny and cool -- Thursday was the perfect day for the NYC Dept. of Environment Protection's (DEP) Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) team to install something on a lamp post near a bridge in Brooklyn.

UPDATE: To answer our commenter's question, "What were they doing?" we've posted a picture of the monitor DEP installed on the post:

DEP's Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives team works with the Dept. of Homeland Security's BioWatch and Chemical Detection programs to monitor the air for dangerous chemicals, radiation, etc.

DEP has also installed detectors to monitor the air during the ongoing scraping and painting of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Photos by MK Metz

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