Cabs to Brooklyn Getting Scarce, Lamp Post Lady Gets Off, and More Brooklyn Briefs

 - How did we know this would happen? Cabbies don't want to drive to Brooklyn at night anymore.  Brownstoner

- Hurricane riptides roil the Atlantic Coast; one dead, one missing.   Huff Post 

- A creep threw his pit bull off a roof in Red Hook, and nobody knows how much time he should spend in jail.  Brooklyn Eagle 

- A bill has been introduced that would require the city to trap raccoons at the request of the public.  Queens Crap

- 13 hurt in suspicious Bed-Stuy fire.  NY Times

- Brooklyn woman who tried to claim a downed lamp post fell on her is getting off scot free.  Brooklyn Eagle

- ChatRoulette version 2.0 is still totally gross.  Fast Company

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Happy Labor Day East Coast (Now Stay Off the Beach)

HURRICANE EARL ADVISORY NUMBER 21

NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL  AL072010
1100 AM AST MON AUG 30 2010

...EARL BECOMES A MAJOR HURRICANE...

More at NOAA National Weather Service. 

weather, Brooklyn, New York, Labor Day

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Checking In at the Brooklyn Bedbug Registry

It's been a while since we checked in on the Bedbug Registry. As of this past weekend, 228 Brooklyn residential addresses are listed. (Caveats: These are not confirmed by any official organization. The infestations may be cleaned up by now. This is not an inclusive list -- most people don't even know about this registry.)

260 Moore St
Brooklyn, NY
822 Ocean Ave
Brooklyn, NY
625 President St
Brooklyn, NY
620 President St
Brooklyn, NY
54 Sutton St
Brooklyn, NY
383 S 3rd St
Brooklyn, NY
243 Jackson St
Brooklyn, NY
467 39th St
Brooklyn, NY
822 Ocean Ave
Brooklyn, NY
99 Ocean Ave
Brooklyn, NY
1975 83rd St
Brooklyn, NY
724 Bergen St
Brooklyn, NY
33 Westminster Rd
Brooklyn, NY
252 Melrose St
Brooklyn, NY
82 Schermerhorn St
Brooklyn, NY
152 Gates Ave
Brooklyn, NY
Downing St
Brooklyn, NY
433 16th St
Brooklyn, NY
2112 64th St
Brooklyn, NY
281 Flatbush Ave
Brooklyn, NY
88 Adelphi St
Brooklyn, NY
1780 W 3rd St
Brooklyn, NY
7420 Ridge Blvd
Brooklyn, NY
164 Russell St
Brooklyn, NY
246 Troutman St
Brooklyn, NY
7002 Ridge Blvd
Brooklyn, NY
59 Jefferson St
Brooklyn, NY
619 Willoughby Ave
Brooklyn, NY
315 Ovington Ave
Brooklyn, NY
182 Franklin St
Brooklyn, NY
227 2nd St
Brooklyn, NY
16 Ocean Pky
Brooklyn, NY
318 Warren St
Brooklyn, NY
98 Bedford Ave
Brooklyn, NY
114 Forrest St
Brooklyn, NY
674 Lexington Ave
Brooklyn, NY
151 Kent Ave
Brooklyn, NY
398 Sheffield Ave
Brooklyn, NY
131 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY
56 Prospect Park Sw
Brooklyn, NY
326 Prospect Ave
Brooklyn, NY
654 Dahill Rd
Brooklyn, NY
31 Diamond St
Brooklyn, NY
981 Dean St
Brooklyn, NY
Manhattan Ave
Brooklyn, NY
157 Diamond St
Brooklyn, NY
477 Hicks St
Brooklyn, NY
451 Clinton Ave
Brooklyn, NY
676 6th Ave
Brooklyn, NY
138 Kingsland Ave
Brooklyn, NY
250 Moore St
Brooklyn, NY
80 Saint Marks Ave
Brooklyn, NY
150 Prospect Park W
Brooklyn, NY
874 43rd St
Brooklyn, NY
180 Driggs Ave
Brooklyn, NY
99 Meserole Ave
Brooklyn, NY
1085 Willoughby Ave
Brooklyn, NY
27 Arion Pl
Brooklyn, NY
345 Eldert St
Brooklyn, NY
235 Ainslie St
Brooklyn, NY
160 Columbia Hts
Brooklyn, NY
248 Mckibbin St
Brooklyn, NY
359 Ovington Ave
Brooklyn, NY
156 Dupont St
Brooklyn, NY
64 Lincoln Rd
Brooklyn, NY
147 Conselyea St
Brooklyn, NY
100 Caton Ave
Brooklyn, NY
256 Pacific St
Brooklyn, NY
175 Troutman St
Brooklyn, NY
99 Ocean Ave
Brooklyn, NY
624 Grand St
Brooklyn, NY
1155 E 35th St
Brooklyn, NY
301 Hooper St
Brooklyn, NY
99 Sutton St
Brooklyn, NY
674 47th St
Brooklyn, NY
1010 President St
Brooklyn, NY
166 Russell St
Brooklyn, NY
Willoughby Ave
Brooklyn, NY
776 Classon Ave
Brooklyn, NY
132 Greenpoint Ave
Brooklyn, NY
280 Ocean Pky
Brooklyn, NY
8500 4th Ave
Brooklyn, NY
105 Lincoln Rd
Brooklyn, NY
215 Saint James Pl
Brooklyn, NY
255 Mckibbin St
Brooklyn, NY
424 Senator St
Brooklyn, NY
118 Huron St
Brooklyn, NY
390 Hooper St
Brooklyn, NY
54 Maujer St
Brooklyn, NY
193 Green St
Brooklyn, NY
716 Ocean Pky
Brooklyn, NY
Lorimer St
Brooklyn, NY
162 Dupont St
Brooklyn, NY
798 Washington Ave
Brooklyn, NY
222 Bushwick Ave
Brooklyn, NY
195 Underhill Ave
Brooklyn, NY
349 Saint Johns Pl
Brooklyn, NY
509 72nd St
Brooklyn, NY
44 Jefferson St
Brooklyn, NY
452 Park Pl
Brooklyn, NY
105 Lincoln Ave
Brooklyn, NY
90 Downing St
Brooklyn, NY
8414 4th Ave
Brooklyn, NY
299 Adelphi St
Brooklyn, NY
1 Chester Ct
Brooklyn, NY
392 E 4th St
Brooklyn, NY
39 Ainslie St
Brooklyn, NY
477 Saint Johns Pl
Brooklyn, NY
92 Gates Ave
Brooklyn, NY
486 De Kalb Ave
Brooklyn, NY
640 E 2nd St
Brooklyn, NY
1412 Ocean Ave
Brooklyn, NY
994 Bushwick Ave
Brooklyn, NY
730 Beverley Rd
Brooklyn, NY
210 Humboldt St
Brooklyn, NY
Sterling Pl
Brooklyn, NY
856 Willoughby Ave
Brooklyn, NY
1350 Ocean Pky
Brooklyn, NY
572 Lincoln Pl
Brooklyn, NY
175 Stockholm St
Brooklyn, NY
524 E 22nd St
Brooklyn, NY
7201 Ridge Blvd
Brooklyn, NY
2020 Avenue O
Brooklyn, NY
2635 Nostrand Ave
Brooklyn, NY
20 Bleecker St
Brooklyn, NY
242 Prospect Park W
Brooklyn, NY
255 Mckibben St
Brooklyn, NY
218 Kingsland Ave
Brooklyn, NY
168 Freeman St
Brooklyn, NY
145 Borinquen Pl
Brooklyn, NY
135 16th St
Brooklyn, NY
2300 Ocean Ave
Brooklyn, NY
Driggs Ave
Brooklyn, NY
206 Scholes St
Brooklyn, NY
520 Lincoln Pl
Brooklyn, NY
Carroll St
Brooklyn, NY
241 Taaffe Pl
Brooklyn, NY
259 Powers St
Brooklyn, NY
48 Driggs Ave
Brooklyn, NY
612 Argyle Rd
Brooklyn, NY
730 De Kalb Ave
Brooklyn, NY
110 Lenox Rd
Brooklyn, NY
148 Freeman St
Brooklyn, NY
234 Skillman Ave
Brooklyn, NY
179 Kingsland Ave
Brooklyn, NY
15 N Henry St
Brooklyn, NY
950 E 14th St
Brooklyn, NY
136 S 2nd St
Brooklyn, NY
310 Jefferson St
Brooklyn, NY
321 20th St
Brooklyn, NY
Green St
Brooklyn, NY
588 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY
206 E 4th St
Brooklyn, NY
218 Troutman St
Brooklyn, NY
305 Ocean Ave
Brooklyn, NY
68 Chester Ave
Brooklyn, NY
745 Lincoln Pl
Brooklyn, NY
580 6th Ave
Brooklyn, NY
131 Huron St
Brooklyn, NY
149 Norman Ave
Brooklyn, NY
541 59th St
Brooklyn, NY
159 Ellery St
Brooklyn, NY
4515 12th Ave
Brooklyn, NY
75 Henry St
Brooklyn, NY
496 Bergen St
Brooklyn, NY
372 Jefferson Ave
Brooklyn, NY
95 Norman Ave
Brooklyn, NY
236 E 16th St
Brooklyn, NY
680 Washington Ave
Brooklyn, NY
1051 Greene Ave
Brooklyn, NY
319 Hooper St
Brooklyn, NY
362 58th St
Brooklyn, NY
155 India St
Brooklyn, NY
595 Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY
65 Roebling St
Brooklyn, NY
401 Schenectady Ave
Brooklyn, NY
209 Irving Ave
Brooklyn, NY
336 Melrose St
Brooklyn, NY
262 Gates Ave
Brooklyn, NY
28 Locust St
Brooklyn, NY
223 13th St
Brooklyn, NY
55 Pineapple St
Brooklyn, NY
135 Ocean Pky
Brooklyn, NY
140 E 2nd St
Brooklyn, NY
286 S 2nd St
Brooklyn, NY
272 Grand St
Brooklyn, NY
1535 Shore Pky
Brooklyn, NY
120 Garfield Pl
Brooklyn, NY
130 S 2nd St
Brooklyn, NY
231 Stanhope St
Brooklyn, NY
1355 E 18th St
Brooklyn, NY
387 S 4th St
Brooklyn, NY
204 Ross St
Brooklyn, NY
307 Grove St
Brooklyn, NY
182 Meserole St
Brooklyn, NY
Flushing Ave
Brooklyn, NY
86 Eagle St
Brooklyn, NY
178 Ocean Pky
Brooklyn, NY
455 Ocean Pky
Brooklyn, NY
794 Washington Ave
Brooklyn, NY
716 Grand St
Brooklyn, NY
N 7th St
Brooklyn, NY
Wythe Pl
Brooklyn, NY
293 20th St
Brooklyn, NY
111 Hicks St
Brooklyn, NY
2530 Ocean Ave
Brooklyn, NY
W 6th St
Brooklyn, NY
318 6th St
Brooklyn, NY
1562 Ocean Ave
Brooklyn, NY
1111 Greene Ave
Brooklyn, NY
14 Irving Ave
Brooklyn, NY
135 Clarkson Ave
Brooklyn, NY
139 N 9th St
Brooklyn, NY
266 Washington Ave
Brooklyn, NY
666 Ocean Ave
Brooklyn, NY
65 Lafayette Ave
Brooklyn, NY
1045 Union St
Brooklyn, NY
676 Lincoln Pl
Brooklyn, NY
1010 Dorchester Rd
Brooklyn, NY
160 Havemeyer St
Brooklyn, NY
33rd St
Brooklyn, NY
16 Waverly Ave
Brooklyn, NY
377 Eastern Pky
Brooklyn, NY
128 Marine Ave
Brooklyn, NY
345 Saint Johns Pl
Brooklyn, NY
80 Green St
Brooklyn, NY
379 Washington Ave
Brooklyn, NY
561 Henry St
Brooklyn, NY

 Also, 7 hotels in Brooklyn are listed in the registry. (Again, these are not confirmed by any official organization):

Days Inn New York Hotel
437 39th St Brooklyn, NY

Greenpoint YMCA
99 Meserole Ave Brooklyn, NY

Hotel Prince Spafford
315 93rd St Brooklyn, NY

Holiday Inn Express Brooklyn
625 Union St Brooklyn, NY

Comfort Inn Brooklyn Bridge
279 Butler St Brooklyn, NY

Golden Gate Motor Inn
3867 Shore Pky Brooklyn, NY

Sleep Inn Brooklyn
247 49th St Brooklyn, NY

There were 112 hotels reported in Manhattan, by the way.

-Bed Bugs on Four Floors of the Brooklyn DA's Office 
- All of Mayor Bloomberg's Friends Have Bedbugs
- NYC Starts Taking Bed Bugs Seriously
- Bed Bugs hearing Coming Up at NYC Council
- Six Bedbug-Filled Mattresses in Brooklyn Heights?
- The Secret Life of Bedbugs Brooklyn Eagle
- Bedbugs in Brooklyn: They're Here. Get Used to It Brooklyn Eagle
- Brooklyn Bed Bug Complaints Soar 1,900 Percent!
- Brooklyn Living: Beware of Garbage With Something Written on It
- Brooklyn's Bed Bug Club: Everybody Welcome

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Beware of Clowns with Backpacks

 The Sneaker Spot Clown takes a break in front of the shoes etc. store at 519 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Yelp commenters don't exactly love the place. Maybe the clown is a way to keep 'em laughing.

Photo by MK Metz

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Assault in Vinegar Hill and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Fire devastates row of businesses on Flatbush Ave. early Sunday morning.  NY Daily News

- New data suggest the summer of 2010 is the hottest on record.  Huff Post 

- That's low: A guy broke into his ex-girlfriend's apartment in Sunset Park and broke her turtle tank.  Brooklyn Eagle 

- Stabbed cabbie worries about feeding his family.  NY Magazine

- A Brooklyn woman was caught on surveillance video sneaking under a light pole after it fell down - then claiming it fell on her.  NY Daily News

- A couple was robbed and assaulted with a knife in Vinegar Hill. The thieves got away with a shirt, purple tights, orange sneakers and woman’s heels. Brooklyn Eagle

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Help the Children of Pakistan

Millions of children who survived the floods in Pakistan are now vulnerable to a second wave of death caused by waterborne disease.

Save the Children has staff in the region and is mobilizing to aid displaced children and families who need essential supplies. If you want to help these desperate children and families, give now Save the Children's Pakistan Children in Emergency Fund. 

Other organizations accepting donations for Pakistan:
Oxfam
UNICEF
CARE

If you'd rather text some money for general Pakistan relief:
Text "FLOOD" to 27722 (State Department Fund for Pakistan Relief)
or
Text "SWAT" to 50555 (United Nations)

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Inside the Mysterious World of Trader Joe's

 Fortune spent two months digging inside the mysterious world of Trader Joe's (whose management is said to be "obsessively secretive"). Fortune's Beth Kowitt spoke with former executives, competitors, industry analysts, and suppliers, most of whom asked not to be named.

Few customers realize the chain is now owned by Germany's ultra-private Albrecht family, says Kowitt. (The original Joe, now 80, opened the first Trader Joe's 43 years ago in Pasadena.)

Brooklynites are crazy about their Cobble Hill TJs. Read here to see behind the Trader Joe's veil.

Photo by MK Metz

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Reward for Return of Grandmother's Corpse, and Other Brooklyn Briefs

- Court Street attorney offers $30,000 reward for return of grandmother's corpse.  Brooklyn Eagle 

- Wouldn't be Brooklyn without him: Ronny "The Seltzer Man" Beberman is delivering bubbly again.  PMFA

- Open seams, torn patches and wavy folds: A City Limits investigation finds that many synthetic turf fields are falling apart.  City Limits

- Ex-con Eion Klass, 34, accused of killing kosher Flatbush liquor store clerk Yoseph Robinson, was ordered held without bail.  Brooklyn Eagle 

- A Brooklyn artist is looking for a mattress-sized oven to bake a bread bed.  Gothamist

- Downtown Brooklyn's be@schermerhorn sells 102 units in 90 days.  TRD

- A judge rules that the government can creep into your driveway and stick a GPS tracker on your car -- without a warrant.  Fast Company

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Magical Color Film from 1922

When you have a quiet five minutes with no distractions, enlarge this video so it fills the screen and turn on your speakers. Then get comfortable and watch some of the earliest color motion pictures that you will ever see. This magical clip, put together by Kodak, was a test of Kodachrome color motion picture film from 1922, shot with a hand-cranked camera. The first full length color feature film did not appear until 13-years later.

Read more about this at Gothamist.

This footage is from the George Eastman House collections. Preservation was completed by the museum's Motion Picture Department, a project of Sabrina Negri, a student in Eastman House's L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation and a recipient of the Haghefilm Foundation Fellowship. More information can be found at 1000words. 

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Free Bob Haircuts, an All-Bug Dinner, and More Brooklyn Briefs

- An ex-con who served a decade in prison for attempted murder was arrested for killing a brave kosher Brooklyn liquor store clerk. NY Daily News

-  A Brooklyn Heights hair school is offering free graduated bob haircuts by licensed stylists.  Brokelyn

- Accused Brooklyn identity thief: "You got me by the balls."  NY Post via Gothamist

- Brownstoner reports on delicious Brooklyn dining ideas including a best under-the-radar choice from Eater (Jack the Horse Tavern), an all-bug dinner, and a handful of new dining spots.  Brownstoner

- Tree down on Orange Street in Brooklyn Heights; and there's a pizza truck belonging to small budget movie nearby.  BHB

- Video catches British woman throwing cat away for no earthly reason.  NY Magazine

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RFP Issued for Tobacco Warehouse in DUMBO

 Brooklyn Bridge Park Corp. (BBPC) Wednesday announced it is seeking proposals for "the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the former Tobacco Warehouse on the waterfront in DUMBO,"according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

BBPC is seeking applicants "who are interested in leasing, redeveloping and being the primary user of the site as a cultural or educational facility with community uses."

The roofless warehouse has almost iconic status in DUMBO.

The city has recently opted to open up the bidding to "for-group" companies as opposed to just non-profits, according to the NY Post, meaning that on-site revenues raised could go towards maintaining the park as opposed to just maintaining the warehouse.

Full RFP here.

Photo by MK Metz

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Serious Accident Sends Car Flying into Building on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights

 Two cars smashed into each other sending one flying into a building and the other hurtling down Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights this afternoon. The car above crashed thunderously into 30 Henry Street, the offices of the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper. The driver  (seen sitting with a brace around his neck) appeared to be in better shape than the driver of the car below, who was carried away in great pain.

The noise was tremendous. Reporters from the Brooklyn Eagle rushed out of the building with cameras and firefighters came running from the firehouse just around the corner. The full story appears here. 

Luckily, school is still out for the summer, as this corner would normally be crowded with kids and parents walking home from P.S. 8 at this time of day.

Photos by MK Metz

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Kennedy and Sorensen Visit Park Slope, Black-Market Lobster Rolls, and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Caroline Kennedy and Ted Sorensen visit Grand Army Plaza to rededicate JFK memorial.  Brooklyn Eagle 

- Here's a good reason not to hug people in Brooklyn.  NY Magazine 

- Good food + BYOB = Brooklyn's best.  Brokelyn 

- Black-market lobster roll man busted.  Brooklyn Paper

- The Domino project is at least as important to Brooklyn as Atlantic Yards:  Brooklyn Eagle 

- Donate school supplies in Brooklyn Heights to benefit homeless children. BHB 

- Stumptown Coffee Roasters, opening next month in Red Hook, will serve coffee made by the cup.  NY Times   

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Tio Pio Menu: "Cheap and Delicious" in Downtown Brooklyn

 A lot of people seems pretty happy about the prospect of a Tio Pio restaurant moving into the old F. Martinella deli space on Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Here's a bit of the menu (click to enlarge):

They specialize in Latin dishes featuring chicken with sides like yucca, platanos, rice and beans, but ther menu is quite large.

There's another Tio Peo on Willoughby Street between Lawrence and Bridge, which has favorable reviews on Yelp. "Cheap and delicious."

- Brooklyn's F. Martinella Deli, Open for Business

Photo by MK Metz

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The March of the Starbucks iBots

There were 17 customers in Starbucks on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights at 2 p.m. yesterday afternoon. Of these, 11 were working on Apple computers. One was working on a Dell.

Think different?

Photo by MK Metz

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Atlantic Yards: The Musical; Disabling Facebook Places; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Atlantic Yards: And now the musical.  Brooklyn Eagle 

- P.S. 58 playground now all bright and colorful.  PMFA

- The Brooklyn terminal of the Long Island Rail Road experienced more disruption than any time in recent history. Brooklyn Eagle 

- The city says it will finally crack down on Carroll Gardens homeowners who have been illegally using their front yards as parking spaces. The Real Deal 

- This guy's locking himself in his bathroom for five days to get a few things done.  Gothamist

- How to disable Facebook Places so the world can't track you down.  Tech Update

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We Found the Problem: Brooklyn Heights' Zodiac Is Missing Its Pisces

Have you been feeling a bit unbalanced lately? Maybe it's because some jerk pried the two-fish Pisces symbol off the armillary sundial at the north end of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. (Well they didn't just swim away, did they?) The light areas in the photo above show where the Pisces had its place in the Zodiac ringing the wrought-iron sundial.

 Obviously, this has been disrupting the karma of the entire Promenade. The armillary needs to be restored to its former glory so Brooklyn Heights can regain its balance.

Description of missing pieces:

Imaginative and sensitive
Compassionate and kind
Selfless and unworldly
Intuitive and sympathetic

On the dark side....

Escapist and idealistic
Secretive and vague
Weak-willed and easily led

Photo by MK Metz

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Nested Doors at The Moxie Spot, Brooklyn

 Which one is just right? Look carefully and you'll see that the entrance of The Moxie Spot diner on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights has an adult-sized door, a kid-sized door and an adorable wee tiny door (doll-sized? Elf-sized?) all nested inside each other.

Photo by MK Metz

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Jewish Big Brother in Flatbush, Black Tie Swimming at Coney Island, and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Hundreds of people dressed in tuxedos and gowns showed up at Coney Island Saturday, confusing the regular beachgoers as they played in the sand and swam in their formal wear. Gothamist 

- Canceled pool party concerts in Williamsburg reinstated.  NY Times

- A Jewish school in Flatbush is telling parents that they have to install software on their home computers to monitor the entire family's internet activity and send it to a chaver, or friend.  Gothamist

-  Bed bugs found in the Empire State Building!  NY Daily News via  Huff Post 

- Hard times for a pawnshop on Fulton Street.  Brooklyn Eagle

- About 11 sharks -- and a school of stingrays -- cleared swimmers out of the water at Rockaway Beach Saturday.  NY Post

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Can't Get to Manhattan Over Brooklyn Bridge Starting Tonight

Reminder: All Manhattan-bound lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge will be closed at night beginning tonight -- August 23 -- continuing until 2014. On top of this, there will be up to 24 weekends when the Manhattan-bound lanes will be closed all weekend.

More here

- 'Avoid the Need to Enter Manhattan' On Closure Weekends

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A Peaceful Place In Brooklyn

 A small oasis in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Photo by MK Metz

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Housing Authority Bait and Switch? And Other Brooklyn Briefs

- No more over-easy: egg-related salmonella is spreading. NY Magazine

- Did the NYC Housing Authority pull a bait and switch when it took over a public housing complex in Brownsville and kicked out the tenants? City Limits

- The oldest sailing square-rigger in the U.S.is docked at Pier 11 in Red Hook for tours and an on-board cabaret show.  Brooklyn Eagle 

- "Green cremation's" downside: Explaining to the kids that grandma has been dissolved like an Alka-Seltzer. Fast Company

- Sheriff's deputies in Seattle arrested a man dressed in a banana costume after he allegedly exposed himself to a woman at a restaurant. Seattle Times

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The Cars Never Stop On the BQE

 Did you ever stand at the south edge of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade at night and watch the never-ending stream of cars drive underneath? Eventually the fumes will kill you, but there's still something hypnotic about it.

Photo by MK Metz

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Hundreds of Children with Cancer March Over Brooklyn Bridge

Campers from Camp Simcha and their counselors gathered in Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn Heights Wednesday evening for a celebration and a speech from Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Then they marched over the Brooklyn Bridge and let off hundreds of ballons signifying their hope for the future.

Camp Simcha is a special summer camp in upstate New York for Jewish children with cancer and related diseases. There they can go swimming, play sports and have the same good times other kids have.

 Mayor Bloomberg welcomed the campers and proclaimed them to be official New Yorkers.

 Campers danced for the Mayor to the tune of "King of New York" before setting off over the bridge.

UPDATE: More here. 

Photos copyright MK Metz

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Reddit Co-Founder Moving to Brooklyn, Digging Up Bobby Fischer, and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit is moving to Brooklyn, and he's looking to invest in early stage startups. Business Insider 

- About half of all supermarkets in New York City were found to violate pricing regulations; problems include inaccurate scanners and lack of prices on products.  Gothamist 

- So they dug up the remains of Brooklyn chess genius Bobby Fischer and found out that he was not the father of Jinky Young.  Brooklyn Eagle

- Crappy end to a concert series in Williamsburg.  NY Times

- Guy selling unauthorized South Brooklyn Casket Company T-shirts is given an ultimato.  Brooklyn Paper 

-New Monopoly properties for a changing economy.  College Humor  via  Huff Post

-Sleezy "agricultural sweatshop" egg factory linked to nationwide salmonella outbreak.  NY Times

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Thor Begins Demolishing Historic Henderson Building Without Permits

We received this email from Save Coney Island the other day but we had trouble with our Google server yesterday and couldn't load the photo till now. So here it is:

Thor Equities has begun demolition work on Coney Island’s historic Henderson Music Hall building, "apparently without receiving any permits and without taking appropriate safety measures," Save Coney Island says.

"Workers were seen and photographed (above ) Monday August 16 on the building’s roof using mechanical equipment to remove bricks from the top of the façade of the 1899 Henderson Music Hall, where Harpo Marx made his stage debut with his brothers Groucho and Gummo.

"Thor does not appear to have acquired any permits for this sort of work. According to the New York City Department of Buildings website, no new permits have been issued for the Henderson building in the past several years. (See here.)  

"Moreover, there was no scaffolding or sidewalk shed present to protect pedestrians during the demolition work.

"While no permits appear to have been issued for the Henderson Music Hall, Thor did receive demolition permits on Friday, August 13, for two other historic Coney Island buildings: the Bank of Coney Island (a 1923 classical revival building that testifies to Coney’s past prosperity) and the Shore Hotel (built in 1903 and Coney Island’s last operating hotel).

“We urge Thor to immediately halt its demolition work and preserve these historic buildings, and we urge the City to make sure that Thor abides by the law,” said Save Coney Island spokesman Juan Rivero.

More here.

Photo courtesy of Save Coney Island

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'Avoid the Need to Enter Manhattan' On Closure Weekends

It took 13 years to build it, and now it will take four to fix it.

A huge construction project on the Brooklyn Bridge is about to commence, and all Manhattan-bound lanes will be closed every night till 2014, inevitably leading to delays and annoyance.

There seems to be no way around the project. Inspections found in 2007 that the bridge was in "poor" shape.

The New York City Department of Transportation is also warning motorists to plan carefully to “avoid the need to enter Manhattan on closure weekends.” Closure weekends are the (up to) 24 weekends that the Manhattan-bound lanes can contractually be closed (all weekend!) while construction is underway.

More at the Brooklyn Eagle.

Photo by MK Metz

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Inexpensive DUMBO Apartments, and More Brooklyn Briefs

- The five least expensive apartments in DUMBO.  DumboNYC

- Don't worry, the vegetable garden praised by Mayor Bloomberg is coming back to Cobble Hill's P.S. 29.  Brooklyn Eagle 

- A Brooklyn man's frantic search for his pants.  NY Times

- Hoards of attacking raccoons push Brooklyn couple to the brink.  NY1

- Bloody bedbug nightmare turns Brooklyn man into pariah.  Gothamist

- Ghost stroller spooks out Park Slope.  NY Times 

- Smartmom is being axed from The Brooklyn Paper. BP 

- Why is it that people with $150,000 of alleged drug money hidden in their cars always get pulled over for speeding? Brooklyn Eagle 

- Only one frozen yogurt shop left on Court Street in Brooklyn Heights. Brownstoner 

- China declares war on disposable chopsticks.  Huff Post

- 25 million trees are chopped down each year to make disposable chopsticks. Waribashi Project

- There is an amazing burst of brain activity after you are technically dead. Huff Post

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Leo the Lion Returns to Cobble Hill Ledge

 A Cobble Hill tradition, a (nearly) life-size lion returns to a ledge at 368 Clinton Street during August every year.

Celebrating all things Leo, the lion is usually accompanied by a sign describing Leos as artistic, generous, sincere, warm and protective. But it was raining when we passed by and the sign was not out. So here it is from a past year.




Leo has changes a bit, too. Here's how he looked in 2007.








- The Cobble Hill Lion Awakens (2009) 
- In the Jungle, the Cobble Hill Jungle, the Lion Sleeps Tonight

 Photos by MK Metz

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Bedbugs On Four Floors at the Brooklyn DA's Office

Bed bugs were found on four floors of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office on Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn Friday, reports the Brooklyn Eagle, and now lawyers at Brooklyn Supreme Court are a wee bit worried that the critters might spread to the courthouse hidden in files and paperwork.

We'd be worried, too.  If the bugs have already spread to four floors, that's a massive infestation.

The Brooklyn D.A.’s office "shares a roof" with the Brooklyn Marriott. But the Marriott told the Eagle that the foul insects "didn’t breach hotel security."

UPDATE: The Above the Law blog has gotten ahold of amusing internal Brooklyn D.A. emails about the bed bug crisis.

- All of Mayor Bloomberg's Friends Have Bedbugs
- NYC Starts Taking Bed Bugs Seriously
- Bed Bugs hearing Coming Up at NYC Council
- Six Bedbug-Filled Mattresses in Brooklyn Heights?
- The Secret Life of Bedbugs Brooklyn Eagle
- Bedbugs in Brooklyn: They're Here. Get Used to It Brooklyn Eagle
- Brooklyn Bed Bug Complaints Soar 1,900 Percent!
- Brooklyn Living: Beware of Garbage With Something Written on It
- Brooklyn's Bed Bug Club: Everybody Welcome

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Ridiculous Lines at Grimaldi's Expected Till November, 2011

The line in front of Grimaldi's Pizza on Old Fulton Street in DUMBO now extends all the way to Pete's Downtown restaurant at the end of the block. Cars cruise slowly by, causing traffic backups, and tourists on tour buses cruising to Fulton Ferry Landing crane their heads to look at the circus.

The ridiculous lines are expected to keep up until November, 2011, when Grimaldi's lease expires and the whole shooting match will be shut down.

The owner of the building housing Grimaldi's was ordered by a judge Friday to accept late rent payments and allow the restaurant to stay open, according to the Brooklyn Paper, in spite of a 2008 contract stipulating that Grimaldi’s would be evicted if its owner was ever late on payments again.

Meanwhile, some customers are dismayed to find that Grimaldi's doesn't accept credit cards. Instead, staff members point to an ATM Grimaldi's placed right outside -- where the fee is $4.50 a swipe.


Photo by MK Metz

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Sometimes You Can See Faces in Trees

 It's funny how sometimes you can see faces in clouds or, in this case, a tree on Clinton Street at Sackett in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.

Photo by MK Metz

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Pulling Strings in Brooklyn Bridge Park

 A crowd of kids and caregivers enjoyed an updated production of “Sleeping Beauty,” put on by the City Parks Foundation PuppetMobile in Brooklyn Bridge Park this past Friday. This version of the story had multiple suitors, a unicorn (above) various magic figures and a skeleton.

Here are some cast members, backstage. The two guys on the right are the losing suitors. 

Photos by MK Metz

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