Tolls on East River Bridges, and More Brooklyn Briefs

Invertebrates, St. Ann's School students. Photo: MK Metz

- Barclay's Center is about 63% behind its profit goals. [Atlantic Yards Report]

- Move NY plan to charge tolls on East River bridges gets airing in Boerum Hill. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Nothing official, but word is that Brooklyn City Council Member Vincent Gentile is the most likely to get the nod as the Dem candidate in the special election to replace Michael Grimm. [Gotham Gazette]

- Juice Press is coming to Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights. [Brooklyn Heights Blog]

- Billboard in ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood angers many of the locals. [Failed Messiah]

- Brooklyn Heights Association Annual Meeting on Tuesday features music & architecture critic Justin Davidson. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Brooklyn BP Adams launches Access-Friendly NYC, promoting more accessibility in public buildings across the city. [NY Daily News]

- The NYPD is searching for a woman accused of “handle surfing” cases in Staten Island and Brooklyn. [CBSlocal]

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Snow Scenes on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade

The Brooklyn Heights Promenade on a snowy day is quiet and picturesque.

Nothing much has changed in 60 years.

Photos by MK Metz

A moment in time.

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2-Hr. Amazon Deliveries to Brooklyn; Brooklyn Folk Fest Coming to Brooklyn Heights; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Brooklyn #NYPD officers are trying to find the owner of this dog found out in the cold: http://t.co/noQpRr4CUS pic.twitter.com/i6iT9XWvoJ
— NY1 News (@NY1) February 20, 2015

- The father and uncle of a Brooklyn boy killed in elevator attack are arrested in Montague St. bank heist. [CBS local]

- Almost-instant gratification: Amazon's 2-hr deliveries now comes to Prime members in Brooklyn. [re/code]

 - Brooklyn folk festival will expand -- and is moving to St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights. [NY Times]

- A troubled Park Slope assisted living facility has agreed to pay $750,000 to the family of Brooklyn's "Kung Fu" judge who died after being locked up there seven years ago. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- It's so freezing out that snowy owls from the Arctic have descended on Brooklyn. [NY Magazine]

- Brooklyn's most dangerous intersection is Eastern Parkway and Utica. [amNY]

- Autistic Brooklyn man with diabetes, 20, is missing since Tuesday. [PIX11]

- A man was shot to death in East New York Thursday night. [CBSlocal]

- TSA found 2 guns in 2 separate ladies' handbags at JFK on Thursday. One belonged to a Brooklyn resident.  [Brooklyn Eagle]

- The leading candidate in the special election to replace Michael Grimm in Congress says it's worth the cost. [NY1]

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Convicted: Hit-and-Run Con Who Killed Young Williamsburg Couple

"Sorry, it was an accident," convicted killer Julio Acevedo said in this jailhouse interview posted on YouTube by JewsOnTelevision.

Acevedo was driving a borrowed BMW 70 mph in 2013 when he crashed into a car carrying Williamsburg couple Nathan and Raizy Glauber, who was pregnant, on their way to Long Island College Hospital (LICH). The prematurely-born baby also died.

He was convicted Thursday in a Brooklyn court.

The NY Daily News says Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson "personally attended the evening verdict ... a signal of the importance of the trial that was closely-watched in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community where the victims were members."

Acevedo was caught for DWI two weeks before the incident but was released without bail "by a judge who didn’t suspend his license as required," the News says.

He previously killed the "original" 50 Cent, Kelvin Martin, a Brooklyn murderer who killed as many as 30 people, according to the Daily Beast. Acevedo was a member of Martin's "crew."


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Fresh Landmarking Push for Crown Heights North, and More Brooklyn Briefs

Photo: MK Metz

- Tax season: Free filing help available in Brooklyn. (But if you're e-filing, watch out for tax scams.) [Brooklyn Eagle]

- How to get that Brooklyn real estate look everybody's talking about -- and still have room for a large furnace for disposing of medical waste. [The Owl]

- CUNY research team unveils storm resiliency ideas for Jamaica Bay. [Sheepshead Bites]

- Hipsters to start composting: Official mainstream composting coming to Williamsburg this spring. [Brokelyn]

- Forum on implementing tolls on East River bridges and other transportation questions, in Downtown Brooklyn on Thursday. [Brownstoner]

- Fresh landmarking push for Crown Heights North. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Heat waves, storms, flooding and droughts: Two new studies paint a somewhat grim portrait of New York City in 100 years from now. [Sheepshead Bites]


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DUMBO's Snow-Clogged Streets Rated "Secondary" by NYC

PlowNYC Designation Map

Did you wonder why there was so much yucky gray snow on the streets of DUMBO long after other Brooklyn streets were plowed? Here's the answer: The PlowNYC snow removal designation map shows that NYC rates just about all of DUMBO's streets "secondary." (They are in blue; primary streets are shown in red.)

That means DUMBO gets plowed only after the primary streets are plowed.

So there, all you co-working, startup incubator venture-fund hustlers! Seeecoondaaary.

_______________

Other Brooklyn stories:

- An in-depth look at the legal issues in the Akai Gurley shooting in Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A proposal to construct a new building at the corner of Court and Congress streets didn’t fly at the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday morning. [Cobble Hill Blog via NYyimby]

- After viewing a video, charges have been dropped against a Sunset Park street vendor who was kicked in the back by a NYPD officer. [DNAinfo]

- Three out of the four bridges proposed for tolls of more than $5 connect to Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- 800 Carnegie Mellon applicants were told they had been accepted for its master of science in computer science -- then were told it was just a mistake. [AP]

- Daily consumption of beetroot juice for four weeks significantly lowered blood pressure in patients. [WSJ]

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Those Fireworks Over NYC on Tuesday, Feb. 17

Fireworks celebrating the Chinese new year explode in front of @OneWTC in NYC. Photo by @GaryHershorn pic.twitter.com/aFYuVHlvLq
— New York City Alerts (@NYCityAlerts) February 18, 2015

Did you see fireworks over NYC? They were from the Grucci Fireworks spectacular celebrating Chinese New Year tonight.

According to the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, this is the first time in U.S. history that a large-scale fireworks show will celebrate the Lunar New Year (and nearly equal the Macy’s Independence Day Fireworks Spectacular).

Gary Hershorn, above, caught a great photo of the show.

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Those Were Bronies You Saw in Brooklyn Heights Over the Weekend

Photo by MK Metz

It was a long and cold weekend, maybe the coldest in a decade.

So maybe you thought those pointy-eared creatures on Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights -- the ones with the orange and yellow manes --were just what happens in this city when it gets too damn cold for the native wildlife.

You'll be happy to know that those critters were bronies -- and about a thousand of them came to town for the "My Little Pony" convention, called PonyconNYC.

It was held at St. Francis College -- and because of it, we're all a little happier now, somehow.


Ponycon brings sweetness, smiles and bronies to Brooklyn Heights [Brooklyn Eagle]


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Ice Floes Disrupt NYC/ Brooklyn Ferry Service

A tug boat pushes a large vessel through ice floes on the East River. Photo by MK Metz

Ice floes in the East River are disrupting NYC's ferry service. The East River Ferry said Monday evening that they "are currently operating with a larger vessel for the safety of passengers, which does not allow us to keep our posted schedule. We are also experiencing sporadic terminal closures due to unpredictable ice flow. We expect this to continue for the balance of the day."

Due to the ice, the only accessible ferry locations on Monday were Pier 11, Greenpoint, Long Island City, and E. 34th St.

Before trying to catch the ferry on Tuesday, check out the East River Ferry website.

According to the Old Salt Blog, the East River froze at least a dozen times between 1780 and 1888.

For more photos of the frozen East River, see Gothamist's "Freezepocalypse" compilation.

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NBA All Star Game Artwork Wraps the NYC Subway Inside and Out

You may not have made it to one of the NBA All Star games this past weekend, but you can still appreciate the NBA-themed wraps on some of the city's subway trains.

Photos by MK Metz

This is the way the 4 train looked on Monday. The effect on the inside was impressive. You couldn't tell where the old subway paint ended and the NBA artwork began.

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