P.S. 8 Paddlewheeler: Brooklyn Heights' Multi-Colored Hair Kids, Explained

Have you seen a large number of kids walking around Brooklyn Heights today with multi-colored hair?

The reason is the P.S. 8 2013 Paddlewheeler Festival, which took place Saturday. There were a number of popular activities (like the terrarium-making table, above) but the most popular by far was the crazy hair coloring booth.

Kids with blond hair became rainbow-headed; kids with red hair got it sprayed green. There's no telling when it will wear out.

This was the 10th annual Paddlewheeler -- and the tenth anniversary of its celebrated principal Seth Phillips.

This year's festival featured rides, a bouncy castle, food court, arts & crafts and more. We always hear about a dunk-the-principal booth but we always miss it...

- 2012 Paddlewheeler

- 2009 Paddlewheeler


Photos by MK Metz

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6 Legs, a TV and a Chair Walk Into a Bar . . .

Photo by MK Metz

... And order 20 shots of tequila. The bartender looks on as they gulp down one after another. The bartender says, "I don’t think you should be drinking those so fast." The chair says, "You would if you had what we have." "Well, what is it you have?" The chair throws back the last shot and says, "Fifty cents."

And there they are on Love Lane in Brooklyn Heights.

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Cadman Plaza Park Rocked with Year-End iMentor Party

The nonprofit organization iMentor held its end-of-the-year picnic (called the "2013 iMentor Extravaganza") for mentors and their high school mentees in Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn all day Saturday.

iMentor connects more than 2,000 high school kids with volunteer adult mentors every year. A lot of the connection is online, and the program is structured to give the mentors lots of guidance and activities to do with their mentees.

Music and food, T-shirt making and games in the sunshine were some of the day's activities.

Panera Bread catered the lunch, and the day wrapped up with a big group photo.

Photos by MK Metz

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City Tech's Klitgord Building Will Soon Be Demolished

City Tech’s Klitgord building on the corner of Jay and Tillary streets will be demolished soon, according to the Brownstoner blog.

In April the DOB approved permits for a full building demolition.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, Klitgord will be replaced with this eight-story, 356,389-square-foot academic/community facility building with 20 parking spaces.

An earlier version of the Klitgord replacement was to be this 65-70-story tower -- a combined residential-academic complex —  a joint effort with Forest City Ratner, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. That plan was scrapped.


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Brooklyn Ultra-Orthodoz Rabbi Orders Complete Internet and Cellphone Ban

Photo: Dullhunk

Williamsburg's chief Satmar rabbi has ordered complete compliance with an Internet and cellphone ban.

Hasidim who do not comply will be excommunicated from the Satmar Jewish sect and their children will be expelled from school, the Failed Messiah blog reports.

Hasidim who need Internet access for their jobs can only use the specific filtered Internet access Satmar approves, which gives Satmar complete access to every hasid's Internet logs and a list of every website visited.

Sort of like the NSA.


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Brooklyn Real Estate News: 10 MetroTech; Childs; Pierhouse and More

- Plans are afoot to transform the landmarked Childs Restaurant and lot in Coney Island into an amphitheater and park with a high-end eatery and rooftop cafe. [Brooklyn Daily]

- Forest City to demolish 10 MetroTech office building on Fulton Street for new residential structure. [Atlantic Yards Report]

- Design for 19-story Brooklyn Heights building at site of old Hallmark store revealed. [Brownstoner]

- Redesigned ‘Pierhouse' condos in Brooklyn Bridge Park will be raised 3 feet off the ground. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Developers bought the Williamsburg White Castle. [Observer]

- Artist plasters plaques on Brooklyn's ignored historic sites. [Curbed]

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Councilmember Levin: Put a Moratorium On NYC Charter $chools

Photo by Tax Credits, Flickr

New York City Councilmember Stephen Levin said that charter school spending is “out of control” and called for a moratorium on the opening of all new charters in the city.

In Mayor Bloomberg’s preliminary budget, charter school funds were originally proposed to grow by $70.9 million for Fiscal Year 2014, to a total of $899.3 million.

But somehow, when the budget was updated, funding for charter schools magically increased $210 million – topping $1 billion.

“To increase funding for charter schools by 25 percent in a single year, at a time when the executive budget calls for the decimation of programs that New York City children, families, and seniors depend on, is outrageous," Levin said.

Success Academy Charter Schools told the Brooklyn Eagle, "The reason the city is spending more on charter schools is that more children are attending them, plain and simple."

Simple!

So because more children are attending libraries across the city, libraries, too, should get more funding -- right?


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NYC Ready for Return of Sandy? Plus, Outdoor Pianos and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Is New York City ready for another Sandy? Sadly, no. [NY Magazine] 

- Public Hearing Tuesday: To discuss SUNY Downstate Hospital and Long Island College Hospital in regard to the sustainability plan. [NYS Senate]

- The outdoor pianos are back, with more than 20 Brooklyn locations. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Councilmember Stephen Levin started a petition to bring Citi Bike stations to Williamsburg and Greenpoint. [Brownstoner]

- Just another night out for a Brooklyn lawyer: Skip out on a $6 taxi fare, strip off the underwear and lunge at police officers. [Observer]

- With accident rates between 5 and 30 times the statewide average, help is on the way for disintegrating Kosciuszko Bridge. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Official Quinn Twitter account balloons by 20,000 dummy followers overnight. [City & State]

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Report: MakerBot Opening New Factory in Sunset Park

Photo: MK Metz

Brooklyn 3D-printer company MakerBot announced that they will open their big new factory and warehouse in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, on Friday, according to TechCrunch.

The company is looking to hire 50 new employees at the Sunset Park location to assemble and ship Replicators.

MakerBot demonstrated the Replicator2, shown here, at this past Saturday's World Science Festival in Downtown Brooklyn.


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Dancing In the Street in Brooklyn at Lebanese Food Festival

Due to a family emergency, the Dance Troupe could not appear at Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral’s annual "Flavors of Lebanon" food festival this past weekend, according to the Brooklyn Eagle update.

Life went on as everyday folks danced on Remsen Street to live music.

Attendees enjoyed the carnival games, rides and most of all, delectable Middle Eastern food, including tabbouleh, kibbeh, and sweets.

The Mega Raffle prize was a 2013 Hyundai Sonata!

If you're in Brooklyn Heights, take the opportunity to check out the interior of the landmarked church and its famous bronze doors, taken from the Normandie, a famed French luxury liner.

Photos by MK Metz

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