National Grid's Catell Says Buh-Bye to His Million-a-Month Brooklyn Office

Newsday has a great story about the goings-on at National Grid's MetroTech headquarters.

National Grid (remember when it was called KeySpan? And before that Brooklyn Union Gas?) confirmed that it is in discussions with the landlord of its Downtown Brooklyn building. National Grid wants to vacate the top three floors to reduce costs and consolidate.

But there had been a little hitch, says Newsday: Former KeySpan chief executive Robert Catell, now executive chairman of National Grid USA, had "expressed a strong desire" to remain in his spellbindingly impressive 23rd floor office, which two sources said is leased for around $1.1 million a month.

After what we can assume was a bit of pushing and shoving -- Catell is said to have a "special bond" with his executive aerie -- we're told that the matter is now settled and that National Grid will fix up another office for Catell -- a bit lower.

Of course, hundreds of regular National Grid employees live in a different reality: All National Grid office employees below the vice president level are being shifted to workstations six by eight feet in size.

Catell's stock, retirement and potential separation package from National Grid has a value of $81.4 million if he departs this fall.

A Lower Perch for National Grid Chief Newsday

- It's Official: KeySpan is Now National Grid
- KeySpan Cleanup, and More Brooklyn Thursday News
- KeySpan Workers on Tinderhooks as Merger with National Grid Looms
- KeySpan/ National Grid Merger: Another Snag
- What Does KeySpan/ National Grid Merger Mean for Brooklyn?
- KeySpan, National Grid Merger One Step Closer
- British Co. to Take Over Brooklyn-Based Electric Business
- National Grid Offers Concessions in Pursuit Of Keyspan

Photos by MK Metz

TWU's National Grid Protest Jams Jay Street, Downtown Brooklyn - UPDATED

(See UPDATE at bottom of post.)
The rain didn't dampen a noisy, high-spirited TWU (Transit Workers Union) Local 101 protest at rush hour Thursday evening on Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The rally was staged right in the street outside of the Brooklyn MetroTech headquarters of National Grid (which used to be called KeySpan, once known as  Brooklyn Union Gas).

Traffic slowed to a crawl as music blared, union workers chanted and blew whistles and sympathetic bus drivers leaned on their horns.

 The signs called National Grid "National Greed." TWU represents roughly 1,600 workers at National Grid, which, according to union workers, is threatening layoffs.

UPDATE: The Brooklyn Eagle has published a statement by National Grid.

Previous posts on National Grid / KeySpan / Brooklyn Union Gas:
- National Grid's Catell Says Buh-Bye to His Million-a-Month Brooklyn Office
- It's Official: KeySpan Is Now National Grid 
- KeySpan Cleanup, and More Brooklyn Thursday News
- KeySpan Workers on Tinderhooks as Merger with National Grid Looms
- KeySpan/ National Grid Merger: Another Snag
- What Does KeySpan/ National Grid Merger Mean for Brooklyn?
- KeySpan, National Grid Merger One Step Closer
- British Co. to Take Over Brooklyn-Based Electric Business
- National Grid Offers Concessions in Pursuit Of Keyspan

 Photos by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

It's Official: KeySpan Is Now National Grid

The old KeySpan signs are coming down at the Jay Street headquarters of the KeySpan Corporation (once Brooklyn Union Gas). They are being replaced by silvery letters spelling out the name of the new corporation, 'National Grid.' (A graffiti artist loved the brushed metal simplicity of the new signs.)

After a lot of give and take, (including whistle blower suits, charges of collusion and rate-making tricks, a DOJ investigation and toxic site clean-up promises) the New York State Public Service Commission unanimously voted to approve UK-based National Grid's acquisition of KeySpan on Aug. 22. (Kudos to Newsday for their continuous coverage of the merger.)

The deal calls for a freeze on base gas delivery rates through 2012.

A member of the maintenance staff at KeySpan HQ in Brooklyn told McBrooklyn Wednesday that "it 's going to be a big job" changing all the signs, but that "National Grid is a better name. KeySpan... what kind of name is KeySpan?"

The best name, he said, was Brooklyn Union Gas. "But those days are gone."


Previous posts on the KeySpan/ National Grid merger:
- KeySpan Cleanup, and More Brooklyn Thursday News
- KeySpan Workers on Tinderhooks as Merger with National Grid Looms
- KeySpan/ National Grid Merger: Another Snag
- What Does KeySpan/ National Grid Merger Mean for Brooklyn?
- KeySpan, National Grid Merger One Step Closer
- British Co. to Take Over Brooklyn-Based Electric Business
- National Grid Offers Concessions in Pursuit Of Keyspan

Photo by MK Metz

National Grid Down One Truck on Brooklyn's Atlantic Ave.

The front of this National Grid truck was totally staved on Monday morning around 8:30 when it ran into the rear of another truck (the MXI truck, shown below) at the intersection of Atlantic Ave. and Bond in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.

The MXI truck appeared to suffer no particular damage, while the National Grid truck appears to be a total loss. We didn't see the moment of impact, so we're not sure if anyone was hurt -- but no one seemed to be carrying on.

Through the rear window of the National Grid cab, you can read the words "No Rats!"

National Grid used to be KeySpan, which used to be Brooklyn Union Gas.

Previous posts about National Grid/ KeySpan here.

Photos by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

What Does KeySpan/ National Grid Merger Mean for Brooklyn?

Long Islanders seem to be expressing themselves much more than Brooklynites about the soon-to-be-accomplished KeySpan/ National Grid merger. Do the Islanders have more of a beef?

At a public info session in Smithtown Friday Long Islanders expressed "a mix of concern and optimism" about Long Island Power Authority's proposed service agreements with National Grid and KeySpan, reports Newsday. Long Island residents want National Grid to overhaul the region's "antiquated" power plants, Newsday says.

A representative for Assemblyman Marc Alessi said he was concerned Long Islanders were signing on to "subpar service for their hard-earned money" given National Grid's much criticized service record in the Northeast. So what does that mean for Brooklyn?

(History: The Long Island Lighting Co. (LILCO) merged with Brooklyn Union Gas in 1998 to form KeySpan.)

Previous stories about the KeySpan/ National Grid merger here.

British Co. to Take Over Brooklyn-Based Electric Business

Prelude to Merger?

England's National Grid and (Brooklyn and Long Island's) Keyspan have announced an "amended agreement" with the Long Island Power Authority to operate the electricity and power transmission business on Long Island until 2013. This brings us one step closer to the controversial merger of National Grid and Keyspan, expected to go through mid 2007.

Not everyone sees this as a good thing, of course. According to Newsday, legislators and experts who were "already wary of the proposed buyout of KeySpan by National Grid" were unmoved by the news, saying that the $236 million-plus in promised benefits "fall short."

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said, "I remain skeptical that the merger will benefit ratepayers."

According to Long Island Business News, "The State Department of Public Service issued a 200-page report that slams the proposed merger between KeySpan and National Grid, calling it a bad deal for customers."

For a previous story about the merger, see here.

National Grid Offers Concessions in Pursuit Of Keyspan

But What About the Ducklings?

Bloomberg.com carries an analysis of the moves England's National Grid Plc is making in its bid to win New York State approval for its purchase of KeySpan Corp (once called Brooklyn Union Gas, with headquarters at MetroTech -- and a window full of ducklings every spring).

Among the concessions offered: National Grid says it will share merger savings with natural-gas customers (for three years) and spend $1.4 billion upgrading its Niagara Mohawk utility, blamed for an unusually high number of blackouts. Debt at National Grid would rise $11.4 billion to finance the purchase, an amount that threatens its credit rating unless the state agrees to "unreasonably high rates'' for gas customers, reports Bloomberg.

"Staff's testimony appears to consist largely of a series of speculative assertions about 'worst case' possible outcomes,'' KeySpan Chief Executive Office Robert Catell said in written testimony, adding that the merger will moderate rate hikes that would otherwise hit 11 percent.

The Public Service Commission is expected to rule on the merger this summer.

Update: The Times reports that the former top spokesman of KeySpan claims in a federal lawsuit that he was improperly fired four years ago as punishment for alerting executives to allegations of accounting irregularities involving hundreds of millions of dollars. See story here.

(Duckling photo courtesy of Gamenerd under Creative Commons license.)

Brooklyn's Bear Stearns' Employees to 'Jump Ship?'

The mood is "basically one of panic,” one of Bear Stearns' 1,500 MetroTech employees told the Brooklyn Eagle Monday. “I’m young, so I don’t care,” he said. “But many of the older guys who have families, I expect many of them to be jumping ship during the next year or so."

One-tenth of Bear Stearns' employees currently work at MetroTech in Downtown Brooklyn.

Bear Stearns was sold to JPMorgan Chase for $2 a share, in a deal brokered by the Federal Reserve Bank. (Bear shares had been as high as $172.61 a share last year.)

Check out the 47-page Merger Agreement and 5-page Guaranty Agreement, as seen on the Bear Stearns Web site Monday. How in the world did they whip that together so fast?

Many Brooklynites aren't aware that the Brooklyn outpost of Bear Stearns is located at 1 MetroTech Center, in a building it shares with National Grid (once called KeySpan, before that called Brooklyn Union Gas).

There's no telling how long Bear Stearns will stay at 1 MetroTech, though legal considerations (such as a lease with landlord Forest City Ratner Companies) may keep them for a while. (Luckily, JPMorgan Chase is just a hop, skip and a jump away, at 3 MetroTech.)

National Grid is giving up a few choice floors in the same building, and that has KeySpan chief executive Robert Catell, now executive chairman of National Grid USA, a bit miffed.

Catell had "expressed a strong desire" to remain in his spellbindingly impressive 23rd floor office, said to be leased for around $1.1 million a month, according to Newsday.

Probably can't expect Bear Stearns to take over the space.

- Former Bear Stearns’ Offices Seen Staying in Brooklyn Brooklyn Eagle
- National Grid's Catell Says Buh-Bye to His Million-a-Month Brooklyn Office

Photo by MK Metz

KeySpan/ National Grid Merger: Another Snag

Newsday reports that Long Island Power Authority chairman Kevin Law demanded today that Brooklyn-based KeySpan Corp. present "in writing" a detailed plan for investigating and cleaning up old, toxic gas-plant sites before LIPA votes on a lucrative service agreement for KeySpan and its prospective owner, National Grid.

This unexpected move adds to the "rising chorus of calls for KeySpan to take action on the manufactured natural gas plants and gas storage sites, which have languished for decades under prior owners and which KeySpan acquired in 1998," Newsday says. LIPA has decided to delay a vote on the National Grid agreement.

See full story here.

See previous postings (with other possible merger complications) here.

Photo of the KeySpan logo, taken at company headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn, by photojournalist MK Metz.

KeySpan Workers on Tinderhooks as Merger with National Grid Looms

Both Brooklyn-based KeySpan and National Grid -- the British company close to taking over KeySpan, once known as Brooklyn Union Gas -- have initiated an early retirement offer for management-level employees in an effort to cut some 700 jobs, according to Newsday.

The job cuts are crucial for "the promised hundreds of millions of dollars in so-called synergy savings" from the merger. If the voluntary program doesn't do the job, however, the two companies will "review other options."

One KeySpan veteran said the planned cuts have affected worker morale. "Everybody is walking on eggshells," said the worker.

More here.

Previous posts about the KeySpan/ National Grid merger here.

Photo by MK Metz

KeySpan, National Grid Merger One Step Closer

National Grid, a British utility, has agreed to give pay raises to its 3,210 unionized employees across upstate New York in return for union support of the company's contested merger with Brooklyn-based KeySpan Corp., reports the AP via Newsday.

As recently as two months ago, union officials had criticized the KeySpan deal in testimony to state regulators, according to this report.

See here for previous posts about the KeySpan/ National Grid merger.

Gas Main Break on Flatbush Ave. Thursday Night; FDNY, National Grid on Scene

From the scanner:

At 10 p.m. Thursday night, numerous FDNY units were called in to respond to a broken 8-inch gas main break at 2900 Flatbush Ave., 200 feet north of the Belt Parkway (near Ave. V).

Dispatch reported that it is a "high-pressure main." An excavator hit the gas main while working there.

A further report came in that a building was evacuating.

National Grid told to 9-1-1- that they would be there "within the hour."

UPDATE: National Grid shut down the valve at roughly 10:23 p.m.

UPDATE: OEM reports situation is under control.

CORRECTION: Broken Gas Main at 2900 Flatbush Avenue (BK) is under control; no fire.
— NYC OEM - Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) August 22, 2014

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Rally Saturday! Bizarre Plan to Run Gas Pipeline to Brooklyn Under Beaches and Only National Park

Brooklynites are burning about the scheme to allow National Grid and the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company (TRANSCO) to install a natural gas pipeline beneath the nation’s oldest – and one of its largest – urban national parks, including some of New York City's nicest beaches.

Companies and government have been developing the project clandestinely for years, reports Sheepshead Bites.

A coalition has just formed to fight the harebrained scheme and NYC Audubon has put up a call for citizens to come down to Jacob Riis Saturday (tomorrow, August 4) to rally from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The plan is to connect a primary natural gas artery in the Atlantic, just off the coast of the Rockaways, to a National Grid hub in Brooklyn. The pipe will go under the Rockaways, across the Rockaway inlet and underneath Floyd Bennett Field.

The bizarre plan flies in the face of a new management agreement between the federal government and New York City.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

The Brooklyn Portfolio's Second Monthly Report

It seems hardly possible, but it's time to issue The Brooklyn Portfolio's second monthly report.

The portfolio (the Brooklyn Fund put together by McBrooklyn and McBrooklyn readers) became a reality Friday, October 23,2009 with the purchase of 10 shares of eight different Brooklyn-related stocks or ADRs.

The fund, as of Dec. 23, is up 8.02 %.

This compares favorably to the S&P 500, which gained 4.34% during the same time period. (Future performance has nothing to do with past performance, however. This fund may tank tomorrow.)

Here are the initial stocks and their cost when we purchased them on Oct. 23:

National Grid plc (ADR) - NGG - 48.22/share * 10 shares = 482.20
Pfizer Inc. - PFE - 17.25/share * 10 shares = 172.50
Bristol Myers Squibb Co. - BMY - 22.24/share * 10 shares = 222.40
Corning Incorporated - GLW - 15.65/share * 10 shares = 156.50
Nathan's Famous - NATH - 14.38/share * 10 shares = 143.80
Dime Community Bancshares - DCOM - 11.59/share * 10 shares = 115.90
Novartis AG (ADR) - NVS - 51.89/share * 10 shares = 518.90
Brooklyn Federal Savings Bank - BFSB - 12.10/share * 10 shares = 121.00

Performance (click on chart to enlarge):

The initial cost of the all the shares was $1933.20. The shares are now worth $2,088.24, a gain of $155.04.

General comments:
The fund really hasn't gained anything in the last month -- in fact it's lost a few bucks, mostly because National Grid gave up some of its incredible gain of the previous month. Corning, however, is flying, making up most of the loss -- it's gone up 23 percent since we bought it two months ago. Brooklyn Federal Savings Bank had been the dud of the fund so far, losing about 12 percent in the last two months.

(At this point we are not including dividend yields nor are we subtracting fees to purchase the stocks. We'll add these at the end of the year.)

To read about the history of The Brooklyn Portfolio and the stocks that make it up, see the following links:

- The Brooklyn Portfolio: One Month Report
- The Brooklyn Portfolio: Fully Funded and Ready for Business
- The Brooklyn Portfolio Takes Shape
- The Brooklyn Portfolio: Investing In Brooklyn

Photo by Don Hankins, Creative Commons license

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23905174@N00/ / CC BY 2.0

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

The Brooklyn Portfolio: One Month Report

It's been a month, so we thought it would be a good time to see how The Brooklyn Portfolio is doing.

The portfolio (the Brooklyn Fund put together by McBrooklyn and McBrooklyn readers) became a reality Friday, October 23,2009 with the purchase of 10 shares of eight different Brooklyn-related stocks or ADRs.

We are pleased to report that the fund, as of Nov. 25, is up 8.72 %.

This compares favorably to the S&P 500, which gained 2.87% during the same time period. (Future performance has nothing to do with past performance.)

Here are the initial stocks and their cost when we purchased them on Oct. 23:

National Grid plc (ADR) - NGG - 48.22/share * 10 shares = 482.20
Pfizer Inc. - PFE - 17.25/share * 10 shares = 172.50
Bristol Myers Squibb Co. - BMY - 22.24/share * 10 shares = 222.40
Corning Incorporated - GLW - 15.65/share * 10 shares = 156.50
Nathan's Famous - NATH - 14.38/share * 10 shares = 143.80
Dime Community Bancshares - DCOM - 11.59/share * 10 shares = 115.90
Novartis AG (ADR) - NVS - 51.89/share * 10 shares = 518.90
Brooklyn Federal Savings Bank - BFSB - 12.10/share * 10 shares = 121.00

Performance (click on chart to enlarge):
The initial cost of the all the shares was $1933.20. The shares are now worth $2,101.70, a gain of $168.50.

As can be seen from the chart above, National Grid and Bristol Myers Squibb soared this month, gaining 16.67% and 15.33 % respectively. Pfizer, Corning and Novartis are each up roughly 7.7% this month. Nathan's and Dime Bank are both down slightly, a bit over 1% each. The only loser of note during the first month of the Brooklyn Portfolio's existence is Brooklyn Federal Bancorp, which sank 6.36%.

(At this point we are not including dividend yields nor are we subtracting fees to purchase the stocks. We'll add these at the end of the year.)

To read about the history of The Brooklyn Portfolio and the stocks that make it up, see the following links:

- The Brooklyn Portfolio: Fully Funded and Ready for Business
- The Brooklyn Portfolio Takes Shape
- The Brooklyn Portfolio: Investing In Brooklyn

Photo by Don Hankins, Creative Commons license

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23905174@N00/ / CC BY 2.0

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

It Pays to Be a Lobbyist in Brooklyn

A couple of weeks ago it came out that State Senator Carl Kruger was accused of taking $1 million in bribes including money from Richard Lipsky, a lobbyist on behalf of developer Forest City Ratner. (See NY Times)

Forest City Ratner is not alone in hiring lobbyists to get what it wants from the city, however. It seems like nearly every big company, developer and organization in Brooklyn (and greater New York) has a lobbyist working behind the scenes.

 The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, National Grid, Walmart, St. Francis College, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn Tech Alumni Association, Pfizer, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Navy Yard, 360 Brooklyn Investors (1 Brooklyn Bridge Park), Two Trees Management Co. -- they all shell out cash to lobbyists to get their message in front of city council members, borough presidents and city agencies.

For the most part, there's nothing illegal about this. Some programs that benefit Brooklynites have eased their way through the State Legislature or City Council because of lobbyists.

The Ratner/ Lipsky case, however, shows the seamy side of lobbyists and the unhealthy effect all that money can have on business and politics in Brooklyn.

Follow the Money

We took a little survey of prominent Brooklyn organizations to see how much they spent on lobbyists.

Two government web sites provide data concerning lobbyists: the New York City Lobbylist database (most figures we cite come from here) and the NYS Commission on Public Integrity's lobbyist online filing system.

It turns out the money flowing to and from lobbyists from Brooklyn organizations is like an underground stream crisscrossing the landscape, from DUMBO to Borough Hall to Downtown Brooklyn to City Hall to the offices of city council members and government agencies.

Last year, for example, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce paid $60,000 to lobby council members about the budget and local law. National Grid paid $60,000 for similar services; St. Francis College laid out $72,000. Maimonides spent $120,000; Brooklyn Tech Alumni coughed up $60,000; the Brooklyn Historical Society paid $48,000; SUNY Downstate spent $90,000. And these are just the small fry.

Why Do They Hire Lobbyists? 

Because that's how business is done in this town. Here's one example: In 2008, DUMBO developer Two Trees, working to get the controversial Dock Street project approved, paid three lobbying firms roughly $212,000 to twist arms at a long list of city agencies plus borough presidents and council members. Officially, the subject of the lobbying was "discretionary land use approvals and local law."

In 2009, Two Trees paid five different lobbyists roughly $211,000 to lobby the above groups plus the Brooklyn Office of the Dept. of City Planning and the School Construction Authority. (Two Trees said it would include a 300-seat school in the building.) In 2010, Two Trees spent roughly $140,000 on lobbyists.

It Takes an Army

Life is good for lobbyists in Brooklyn. One developer alone, Forest City Ratner, paid roughly $3,819,600 over the past five years to lobbyists pushing his controversial Atlantic Yards mega project. (It must be hard to keep track of a few bribes when that kind of money is flying around.)

The Forest City Ratner company (under the name Atlantic Yards Development Co.) paid lobbyists $1,023,000 in 2009 and $298,000 in 2010. In 2008, the company paid lobbyists under two names: $72,000 to lobbyists under the Forest City Ratner name and $298,000 under the name Atlantic Yards Development Co. In 2007, under the name Forest City Ratner, they laid out $980,000. In 2006 they paid lobbyists $1,148,600.

Hiring a lobbyist isn't always a guarantee of success. Ex-councilman Kenneth Fisher was paid $7,500 by the Hannah Senesh School in Carroll Gardens in 2008 to lobby government groups for the "acquisition of a lot currently owned by the City of New York" -- one of the protected "gardens" of Carroll Gardens. The resulting uproar, which involved outgoing Councilman Bill de Blasio, derailed the scheme.

Photos by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE

The Brooklyn Portfolio: Fully Funded and Ready for Business

The Brooklyn Portfolio, the Brooklyn Fund put together by McBrooklyn and McBrooklyn readers, became a reality Friday, October 23, with the purchase of 10 shares of each Brooklyn-related stock or ADR in the fund.

The fund (not public but anyone can copy these purchases if they like) now holds 80 shares, 10 each of the eight stocks listed below.
.
National Grid plc (ADR) - NGG - 48.22/share * 10 shares = 482.20
Pfizer Inc. - PFE - 17.25/share * 10 shares = 172.50
Bristol Myers Squibb Co. - BMY - 22.24/share * 10 shares = 222.40
Corning Incorporated - GLW - 15.65/share * 10 shares = 156.50
Nathan's Famous - NATH - 14.38/share * 10 shares = 143.80
Dime Community Bancshares - DCOM - 11.59/share * 10 shares = 115.90
Novartis AG (ADR) - NVS - 51.89/share * 10 shares = 518.90
Brooklyn Federal Savings Bank - BFSB - 12.10/share * 10 shares = 121.00

The initial cost of the all the shares was $1933.20. (We are ignoring transaction costs at the moment, but these will have to figure in later.)

As we explained in our original post about The Brooklyn Portfolio, every once in a while we'll review how the portfolio is doing. (We might even create a fancy bar chart.) If the portfolio is up, that will be good news for Brooklyn. If it's down we'll cry and pound the table.

The Brooklyn Portfolio includes shares in companies that have a strong Brooklyn presence, started in Brooklyn or have some other significant connection to Brooklyn. Several companies were recommended by McBrooklyn readers. (See post one and post two.) The fund doesn't include every business founded in or related to Brooklyn -- just the companies that seem to be sound and offer opportunities for growth and/or income.

These companies are subject to change, but our aim is to hold onto them as long as is prudent.

Yield: We notice that the yield is rather generous on many of the stocks in The Brooklyn Portfolio. [NOTE: These are the yields reported by Google Finance. We've noticed that sometimes yields vary depending on who reports them] National Grid, for example, reportedly yields 7.23 (as of Friday, Oct. 23). Pfizer yields 3.71. Dime yields 4.83. Bristol Meyers Squibb yields 5.58. Novartis yields 3.30; Brooklyn Federal Savings Bank yields 3.31. Corning, however, yields less -- 1.28 -- and Nathan's pays no dividends at all -- but they do make good hot dogs.

So there you have it. We sincerely hope the Brooklyn Portfolio makes us all rich, but even if it doesn't it will be interesting to see how this fund performs compared to other funds based around equally flimsy principles.

- The Brooklyn Portfolio Takes Shape
- The Brooklyn Portfolio: Investing In Brooklyn

Photo by Don Hankins, Creative Commons license

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23905174@N00/ / CC BY 2.0

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

YMCA Gets Theater Tenant; National Grid Gets Bedbugs; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Carroll Gardens dog owners want "savage" Malamutes put to sleep.  New York Post  via  Gothamist

- A 16-year-old boy driving a minivan at more than twice the speed limit crashed into a Brooklyn house Sunday, killing his 13-year-old female passenger. NY Daily News

- Now that New York has won the Race to the Top funds, the NYC Dept. of Education has cut funding for after-school tutoring, arts programs and sports practices.  Gothamist

- The YWCA, owner of the 11-story building at Atlantic and Third avenues in Boerum Hill, has found an arts tenant who will restore its historic and long unused Memorial Hall theater. Brooklyn Eagle

- National Grid offices at 1 MetroTech in Downtown Brooklyn are infested with bedbugs.  Brooklyn Paper

- The Brooklyn Waldorf School in Fort Greene is most likely moving to a new building in Bed-Stuy. A Child Grows

- OMG. Look at what chicken nuggets are made out of. Gizmodo

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Oil That Spilled Into Paerdegat Basin Has High level of PCBs

Oil spilled into Paerdegat Basin was found to be contaminated with PCBs. Photo: NYC Parks Department

The good news: Most of the oil that spilled into the Paerdegat Basin bordering Canarsie on September 28 has been collected, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Coast Guard said yesterday.

The bad news: A test of a sample of oil from the pipeline that caused the spill showed a highly hazardous level of PCBs -- 10,000 parts per million (ppm) -- at one location, DEC said. (PCBs at levels greater than 50 ppm are said to “present an unreasonable risk of injury to health.” )

PCBs in water build up in fish and marine mammals, and can reach levels thousands of times higher than the levels in water, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
 
What this means: The PCBs in the Basin may pose health risks to people with direct contact to the oil through swimming, wading, or fishing, or by eating fish or shellfish from the Basin. This may go on for years.

This could be bad news for the Sebago Canoe Club on Bergen Avenue, the four yacht clubs, and those who launch their canoes and kayaks from the Basin's launch sites.

It is uncertain for what this means for the Paerdegat Basin Park Preserve, 161 acres of Grassland and Salt Marsh, declared "Forever Wild," home to black- and yellow-crowned night herons, clapper rails, ducks and other wildlife.

PCBs can cause cancer, brain damage and learning deficits in children, liver disease, fertility problems, and more.

DEC is requiring National Grid to: complete an environmental investigation and perform any additional required cleanup.

How the spill happened: National Grid decommissioned an underground gas pipeline and was pumping concrete into the pipe to plug it when the spill occurred in the early morning of Sep. 28. Oil, containing several hazardous substances, was spilled onto the ground and entered storm drains during fire department response operations. Approximately 800-1,400 gallons of oil spilled into the Basin.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn Heights Manhole Cover Explosions: Crews Work Into the Night

Well into the evening, emergency repair crews worked at the scene of Monday's spectacular manhole explosions on Joralemon Street at Willow Place in Brooklyn Heights. The general picture we've gathered from the sources listed below and from word on the street is that National Grid subcontractors, installing gas service at 25 Willow Place, struck an electrical line causing several manholes to explode near the transit substation on Joralemon Street.

Those plugged into the Notify NYC system received alerts all afternoon about the explosions and disruptions to the 2,3,4 and 5 trains at Borough Hall Station. (The alerts, issued by the Office of Emergency Management, worked pretty well we thought.)

- Notification 1 was issued at 1:21 p.m.:. "Emergency personnel are on the scene of multiple manhole fires near Joralemon Street and State Street in Downtown Brooklyn."

- Notification 2 was issued at 2:04 p.m.: "Previous manhole fires at Joralemon Street and Columbia Place have delayed or rerouted the 2, 3, 4, and 5 trains."

- The next notification was issued at 3:45 p.m.: "Due to previous manhole fires in Brooklyn the following area is closed to vehicles: Joralemon Street to State Street from Garden Place to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway."

- At 6 p.m. we received the final alert: "The MTA advises that the 2, 3, 4, and 5 subway lines have resumed normal service."

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, about 10 Joralemon Street and Willow Place homes were evacuated. We heard one woman on her cellphone, telling her shocked husband that they might have to spend the night at the nearby church (we're assuming St. Charles Borromeo?). Dangerous levels of gas were still being detected in some homes into the evening.

Gothamist has a good coverage of the day's events. Also visit: the Brooklyn Heights Blog for contributor photos, the Brooklyn Eagle and Yeshiva World News.

Finally, check out poster Bklyn20's comments on the Brooklyn Heights Blog. Bklyn20's points include: "National Grid et al must stop using upstate contractors on Brooklyn Hts jobs, unless they brief them first about the morass of water/electric/gas lines right under the pavement;" and

"Will this incident finally prove to the ESDC/BBPDC/DOT — to whomever is necessary — that Joralemon Street CANNOT be a vehicular entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park?"

UPDATE: The aftermath.

Photos by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.