Happy Couple Picked Halloween Day to Get Married

Photo: MK Metz

But that "'til death do us part" business has us a little worried...

Happy Halloween, all!

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De Blasio/ Lhota Wrap Up; Halloween Light Show; and More Brooklyn Briefs

 - A good live-blog of last night's de Blasio / Lhota debate can be found at the Staten Island Advance.

- On Council, de Blasio blended idealism with push for power. [NY Times]

- Heights writer, model celebrates debut novel at Red Gravy. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Enough with stop and frisk. Why not try writing tickets for speeding instead? [NY Daily News]

- 65 gallons of blue paint are used to mark the 26.2 mile NYC Marathon course. [DOT]

- Crazy Halloween light show at the Empire State Building tonight. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Beyond the bunker: preppers go mainstream. [Vocativ] 

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Brooklyn Borough Hall Farmers Market

From the point of view of a sea gull.

Photo by MK Metz

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Political Consultant to Ratner, Samson, and Other Hot Shots Busted

A political consultant for indicted state Sen. John Sampson (D-Brooklyn), Andrew Cuomo (pre-Governor) and developer Forest City Ratner has been busted for fraud and tax evasion, the NY Daily News reports.

Among other things, Melvin Lowe bilked the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee out of $75,000 that he used to install a swimming pool and other renovations at his second home in Georgia.

More at the Politicker.

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'What the Heck Is Going On at LICH?' Focus of Cobble Hill Association Meeting

Jane McGroarty, past president of the Brooklyn Heights Association, asks a question. Photo: MK Metz

At a packed Fall Meeting of the Cobble Hill Association (CHA) Monday night, the question was "What the Heck Is Going On at LICH?"

It turns out a lot, and in spite of SUNY Downstate's sleazy moves, much is good. Leaders of CHA, attorneys for LICH's many supporters, and elected representatives updated the community on the  legal actions in the works to save LICH. Attendees also heard about Monday’s decision by SUNY to abort their plans to lay off 500 LICH employees.

CHA's Jeff Strabone pleased the crowd when he said, “The Cobble Hill Association is very interested in pursuing criminal proceedings.”

Attorneys Jim Walden and Adam Cohen of the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Dr. Toomas Sorra and Dr. John Romanelli of the Concerned Physicians of LICH; and the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) were awarded “Cobble Hill Heroes”plaques.

More here.

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LICH Nurses Light Candles in Red Hook, Remembering Sandy, One Year Ago Tonight

@nynurses #saveLICH nurses in Red Hook remembering 1 yr ago tonight, #Sandy hit our community. pic.twitter.com/iPHBFN6B6h
— Eric Smith (@Esspring) October 29, 2013

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SUNY Downstate Derails It's Own Plan to Lay Off 500 LICH Staff

The drunken-driver management of SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn swerved suddenly yesterday when it canceled its just-announced decision to lay off 500 nurses and other healthcare workers at Long Island College Hospital (LICH), the unfortunate Cobble Hill hospital SUNY took over two years ago.

The last-minute decision may have had something to do with LICH supporters' plan to march back to court and slap papers on individual SUNY board members.

Or, it may be just another part of SUNY's tactic of total LICH disruption, all the time. SUNY is still trying to crater LICH in spite of multiple court orders demanding they keep it open.

Or, it may be just another sign of the the lack of any decision-making process at SUNY. Does anybody know what's happening inside the money-losing bomb known as SUNY Downstate? Their tactics at LICH have cost the hospital $88 million since they took it over, according to their own statement. (Their figures have never been audited, however.) No one is even looking at what their mismanagement is costing SUNY Downstate itself.

SUNY is hallucinating that it can sell LICH, a crucial hospital located in an area with no other hospitals, and build itself a new, $1 billion hospital -- across the street from King's County hospital, which has said it has two empty floors.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, the NYS Nurses Association (NYSNA) and members of 1199 Healthcare Workers, part of the coalition working to save LICH (other members are Patients for LICH, Concerned Physicians of LICH, and six influential community groups) made the announcement at a rally outside LICH yesterday.

More here.




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$30 Million Brooklyn Mansion; Another Severed Subway Leg; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Brooklyn History: Gossip Girl in Brooklyn Heights in Oct., 2008. Photo: MK Metz

- One year after Sandy, hundreds still homeless. [TRD] and [NY Magazine]

- Most expensive mansion in Brooklyn on sale for $30 million. [NY Daily News]

- The Chinese immigrant who killed a mother and four kids in Sunset Park was "jealous" of his relatives' success. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Grand Central Oyster Bar's Park Slope outpost is one step closer to opening at the end of this year. [About]

- A young woman's leg was severed by a passing train while she was walking on the tracks in Brooklyn yesterday. This is the FIFTH leg that has been severed by a NYC subway train since January. [Gothamist]

- Final Mayoral debate postponed to honor Sandy anniversary. [Politiker]

- A Yiddish language booklet attacking Orthodox City Councilman David Greenfield for his alleged "treason" of the Orthodox community was distributed throughout Borough Park this weekend.[Failed Messiah]

- The NY Post dumps on Bloomberg's public toilet failure.

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Even NYC City Councilmen Pay Tribute to Lou Reed

Lou Reed-a true original and inspiration, and one tough New Yorker. Thank you, Lou. http://t.co/Rizb63qFq1
— Stephen Levin (@StephenLevin33) October 28, 2013

Brooklyn Councilman Stephen Levin remembers rock legend and godfather of punk Lou Reed, Brooklynite and founder of The Velvet Underground, who died at age 71.

- On January 7, 1987 Reed and former VU bandmate John Cale played St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church. [BHB]

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Huge Recall of Salads, Meat and Salsa May Affect NYC

Reser's Fine Foods of Beaverton, Oregon is expanding its October 22, 2013 recall of refrigerated ready-to-eat products because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

According to the FDA, Listeria can cause serious and sometime fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly and people with weakened immune systems. Healthy people may suffer only short term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant woman.

The recalled foods were distributed nationwide to stores like Walmart, 7-11, Costco and Safeway, and to restaurants and institutions by SYSCO.

Last week the company recalled chicken, ham and beef products. Now the list includes scores of prepared foods:
Numerous types of pasta salads, potato salads, cole slaw, seafood, chicken and tuna salads, pimento spreads, bean salads, Buffalo chicken, fruit ambrosia, all kinds of vegetable dips like spinach dip, raspberry parfait, baked potatoes, Creole potatoes (and other potato products), prepared antipasto, Cookies & Cream, Hawaiian Delight, Pistachio Delight, apple salad, pumpkin mousse, Strawberries & Cream, varieties of salsa, meatloaf glaze, corn and bean salad, rotisserie chicken base, orange/cranberry relish, tabouli salad, BBQ/ Smokehouse beans, and more. The list is here.

The packages are marked with a Use-by-Date or Best By Date and followed by a plant identifier code of 20.

The company says there are as yet no confirmed illnesses associated with these products.

The recalled products were manufactured at the Topeka, KS salad manufacturing facility.
For more information please contact Reser's Fine Foods Consumer Hotline 1-888-257-7913 (8am-10pm EST).

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SUNY Downstate Not 'Yolking,' Really Want to Keep LICH

Another big hearing in the long fight to keep Long Island College Hospital (LICH) open took place in Brooklyn yesterday before Justice Carolyn Demarest.

The Brooklyn Eagle reports that SUNY attorney David Dunn made the argument, “This transaction has been consummated and can’t be undone," adding, “You can’t unscramble the omelet.”

In one of the better rejoinders we've heard in a hearing, LICH supporters' attorney Jim Walton snapped back, "All of [SUNY’s] arguments are premised on ‘you can’t unscramble the egg’ –- but this is a sausage and they don’t want you to see what’s in it."

While SUNY attorneys maintain that Justice Demarest has no right to reverse her 2011 ruling turning LICH over to SUNY (even if they didn't keep up their end of the agreement, which was to simply keep the hospital open), LICH supporters pushed for an evidentiary hearing -- which will allow them to spill the beans about SUNY's numerous misdeeds.

More here.


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Landmarks To See New Designs for Brooklyn Heights Cinema

The Brooklyn Eagle is running previously unpublished design drawings for the 50-foot, five-story building that landlord Tom Caruana wants to build on top of the Brooklyn Heights Cinema, which requires city Landmarks Preservation Commission approval.

The cinema plans come in a white or a red brick version. The movie theater in the proposed design has 98 seats (currently it has 150), and next to it there's a room labeled “amenity” that has gym equipment. Above the movie theater there is a 1,200-square-foot outdoor recreation space. 

See the photos at the Eagle. 

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With McBrooklyn At the Sheep and Wool Festival

Photos by MK Metz

McBrooklyn made our annual pilgrimage this weekend to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, held in Rhinebeck, New York. It seemed like half of Brooklyn was there!

Above, Angora goats, where mohair comes from. Their owners steer them by their horns when they walk them around. (There were very docile and snugly.)

If you needed a sweater or a warm winter hat, this was the place. Besides all kinds of wool and fleece crafts and clothing, there were sheering demonstrations, herding competitions, cooking demos, all kinds of farm activities and breed displays.

Young sheep farmers anxiously await word from the judge to see who will bring home the blue ribbon.

Wonder if we can sneak this baby llama into our apartment back in Brooklyn?

If you like animals, knitting or cool craft demonstrations, we recommend you take the train ride to Rhinebeck next year for a day with the sheep.

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De Blasio 'Hit List,' Brooklyn Heights Library Gala, and More Brooklyn Briefs

Avonte Oquendo, 14 and autistic, is still missing.

- Mayor Bloomberg rejoices over housing shortage? [TRD]

- Crain's compiles a de Blasio 'hit list.' [Crain's NY]

- An officer has been hospitalized in critical condition after being hit by a car at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. [CBS]

- The Friends of the Brooklyn Heights Branch Library will hold its 20th Anniversary Gala fundraiser tonight, honoring Evan Hughes, author of “Literary Brooklyn." [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Missing autistic teen's family desperately seeks volunteers.[Gothamist]

- One of the Brooklyn Navy Yard's biggest tenants will be moving upstate. [Crain's NY]

- Sad Republicans call Lhota's campaign 'painful.' [Gothamist]

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Brooklyn's Barclays Center Not As Profitable As Projected

Photo: MK Metz

Barclays Center has showcased big names during its first year and sold tickets like hot cakes -- but according to the Wall Street Journal, financial performance has been "far from a show-stopper."

Forest City Ratner Cos., which owns the arena with Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, had projected the arena would make more than $76 million in its first year of operation. But Barclays earned only $19 million in the nine months ended in July.

While Forest City expects to cut expenses and boost income in the coming quarter, experts say boosting income will be tough.

More: WSJ
More comment: Atlantic Yards Report

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More Than 5,000 Compete for Work at Kings Plaza Job Fair

Nobody can say Brooklynites don't want to work.

More than 5,000 job hunters competed for 1,200 positions at clothing and electronic stores and other retailers on October 17 at the Kings Plaza Job Fair.

“People started showing up at 8 o’clock and, by the time I got there, the line was wrapped around the corner, around the aisle, and then back towards the corner again,” Alicia Deflorimonte told Brooklyn Daily.

Did you miss the job fair? Here are some other job opportunities, courtesy of the Brooklyn Headhunter:

- Whole Foods is hiring in all departments.

- Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst is hosting a job fair on Oct. 24. (Includes financial institutions, health care, retail and others.)

- Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow Employment Fair: Nov. 7 at 25 Thornton St.

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More About Grimm; De Blasio Donations; Messy DUMBO Post Office; And More Brooklyn Briefs

Always-messy Post Office, Front Street, DUMBO. Photo: MK Metz

- Eco dock opens at 69th Street pier in Brooklyn, and anyone can use it. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A Democratic committee started a Tumblr compiling things Republican Congressman Michael Grimm “could have done in 17 minutes” (instead of you-know-what). [Politicker]

- Brooklyn Night Bazaar scores 24,000 sq. ft. Greenpoint digs.[TRD]

- The idea of residential parking permits near Barclays Center seems to be going nowhere. [Atlantic Yards Report]

- Top donations to the de Blasio mayoral campaign came from ZIP Codes 11201 and 11215 in Brooklyn, and 10021, 10028 and 10024 in Manhattan. [Brooklyn Ink]

-Carroll Gardens woman to celebrate her 80th birthday by jumping out of an airplane. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Smith Street's 4th Annual Festivale des Soupes (soup crawl) takes place this Saturday. [McBrooklyn]

- Ukrainian astronomers have discovered a "massive" asteroid that has a slight possibility of hitting Earth on August 26, 2032. [io9]

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Subway Air Monitor, 34th Street, NYC

Photo: MK Metz

 Here's a type of air monitor we haven't seen before:

McBrooklyn saw the above DEP air monitor at the 34th Street subway station in Manhattan. While looking for an exact explanation of what the unit was monitoring, we found this plausible-sounding explanation on Reddit:

"These are being used to detect and monitor particulate matter and various gases. The noise you hear is a vacuum pump, sucking air in through the silver mechanism on the top of the pole. There, it pulls the air into various filters set to catch particulates of certain sizes. The filters are removed and examined on a regular basis.

"From there, the air travels into the box portion where several sensors check for toxic and/or radioactive gases (VOCs, CO2, etc). The data is logged and retrieved when they collect the filters.
They usually set up the portables in and a few stations away form where work is taking place, or in crowded/busy stations, to make certain the air in the station isn't too bad."

Other types of air monitoring devices have been installed near bridges, such as those in DUMBO near the Brooklyn Bridge. These check for for dangerous chemicals, radiation, etc.

In addition, over the summer the city installed 200 air monitors around the city as part of a test to see where perfluorocarbon gas goes after being released in Manhattan. The gas is a stand-in for whatever airborne toxin some sicko decides to drop in the subway, such as "radiological contaminants or weaponized anthrax."


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Hearing On Controversial Carroll Gardens Homeless Shelter Thursday, Oct. 17

Google Streetview

The city is pushing ahead with its somewhat smelly plan to place a 170-man homeless shelter in a building meant to house a 10-unit luxury condo in Carroll Gardens (165-167 West 9th Street).

What sounds like a banana-republic hearing is being held Thursday, October 17, at 49 Chambers Street at 10 a.m.

Not that the city doesn't need more homeless shelters -- but the plan was cooked up "with no community input under an emergency dictate," and given to an organization that is "run by the former Dept. of Homeless Services Housing commissioner, where the owner of the building is on the board."

Additionally, in Dept. of Homeless Services paperwork to Mayor Bloomberg, the mayor "was never informed that CB6’s board had resolved by a vote of 31 to 1 (with 3 abstentions) to oppose the use of the site 'based on both defective process and lack of merit.'"

More here.

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Program Could Turn NYC Manhole Covers into Wireless Charging Stations for Cars

New York City’s manhole covers may soon star in a pilot program as wireless charging stations for electric cars and trucks.

According to Wired (via Gizmodo), you’ll be able to use an app to find an open spot, then park above one of the covers. The app’s integrated payment system will let you track and pay for the amount of energy you’re sucking up from the energy pad below.

The program will roll out in 2014.

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Futuristic Automatic John Coming to Downtown Brooklyn

What the city calls a "state-of-the-art" automatic pay-to-pee toilet will be installed, if the city has its way, on Tillary Street next to Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Eagle reports:

"The box-shaped automatic john, to be installed on Tillary Street outside of Cadman Plaza Park, will cost 25 cents for a 15-minute session."

After 12 minutes of use, an alarm goes off and lights flash for three minutes before the door opens and the unit begins power-washing itself. 

Warning: Users are allowed just three 16-inch strips of toilet paper.

More at the Eagle.

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Congressman Grimm: I Did Not Have Sex with That Woman (in That Brooklyn Bathroom)

Congressman Michael Grimm denied having sex in the bathroom of a Brooklyn wine bar (the Owl's Head in Bay Ridge) right before the Washington shutdown began two weeks ago.

The story was first reported by Brooklyn Magazine and commented on by many, including Politicker.

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'Taste of Red Hook' Features 45 Fabulous Eateries

Come sample food and drink from 45 of Red Hook's popular dining and food retail establishments at Red Hook Initiative's 7th Annual Taste of Red Hook.

The benefit takes place on Tuesday, October 22, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

You can also bid on a silent auction item, and meet the youth who make up Red Hook Initiative.

This year's event is sponsored by Kamco, M&T Bank, Koya Leadership Partners, Williams Capital Group, and aptsandlofts.com.

Featured Tastes

Alma
Baked
Blue Marble
Brooklyn Crab
Brooklyn Ice House
Brooklyn Southern
Buttermilk Channel
The Chocolate Room
Country Boys
Court Street Grocers
Defonte's
Fairway Catering
Fort Defiance
Good Fork
Greenhook Ginsmiths
Grindhaus
HBH Gourmet Sandwiches
Hometown
IKEA
Jack from Brooklyn
Jake's Bar-B-Que
Kevin's
Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pie
La Slowteria
Smith & Vine
Margaret Palca Bakes
Mark's Pizza
Mazzat
Mile End
Naturally Delicious
Nightingale 9
Pok Pok
Posh Tomato
Red Hook Bait & Tackle
Red Hook Lobster Pound
Red Hook Winery
Restaurant Depot Wines
Shelsky's Smoked Fish
Sixpoint Craft Ales
Smith Canteen
Stumptown Coffee Roasters
The Treats Truck
Uncouth Vermouth
Van Brunt Stillhouse
Widow Jane

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Clinton Hill To Be 'Slow Zoned' in 2014; Crown Heights and Prospect Heights by 2016

Photo: Jonas B.

On October 11 the NYC Department of Transportation’s Neighborhood Slow Zones Initiative announced five new slow zones for the city, including one for Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

The 2014 slow zones, which lower speed limits from 30 mph to 20 mph where needed (in addition to adding new signage, street markings, and speed bumps to city blocks) will help combat speeding in a neighborhood that is seeing increased commercial and residential development, as well as a sharp increase in bike riding.

According to Council Member Letitia James, Clinton Hill was selected for the program following strong community support. The administration also announced an additional 10 slow zones to be placed throughout the city — including the 35th District neighborhoods of Crown Heights and Prospect Heights, in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

For the 2014 slow zone, the area borders Lafayette Avenue to Fulton Street, and Washington Avenue stretching beyond Classon Avenue, extending two blocks into Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Council Member James said, “Clinton Hill is beginning to experience record high traffic, on par with its neighbor Fort Greene. With numerous schools and day care centers that span this strip of Clinton Hill and Bedford-Stuyvesant, I hope that these traffic calming measures will create a safer community for all.”

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50th Anniversary of JFK: Author Talk at St. Francis College in Brooklyn

James Pierson, author of Camelot and the Cultural Revolution: How the Assassination of John F. Kennedy Shattered American Liberalism (Encounter Books) will speak at St. Francis College on Wednesday, October 23 at 7:00pm to talk about the upcoming 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The free talk will be moderated by Scholar in Residence Fred Siegel.

James Piereson is a Manhattan Institute senior fellow and director of the Institute’s Center for the American University.

St. Francis College –- Maroney Forum for Arts, Culture & Education -- 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201

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McBrooklyn's Gone to a Wedding

McBrooklyn's out of town for a couple of days to celebrate a happy couple's wedding.

We'll be back soon with more Brooklyn news.

--MK

Photo: Alice Williams and Robert Wallace, 1945, Flickr

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Fireworks Over NYC on Monday, Oct. 7, 2013 Are For the Rich

 The fireworks display in New York City tonight, Monday, 10/7/13 (over the Hudson River off Pier 84 in Manhattan) is being sponsored by Flexjet, a company that sells ownership shares in jets to the rich so they can avoid being groped by the TSA like the rest of us.

Motto: "At Flexjet, our focus is to create a premium private travel experience tailored exclusively for you."

In celebration of Learjet’s 50th anniversary, Flexjet –- "the first fractional jet ownership company to offer shares on the all-new Learjet 85 aircraft" –- is on a six-city U.S. tour offering guests the opportunity to "experience firsthand the aircraft poised to redefine the private aviation industry." The tour hit NYC today.

Attendees are invited to take a private tour of the Learjet 85 model; Aston Martin will offer test drives of its newest models, including the Vanquish, Vantage, DB9 and Rapide S, while Napa Valley-based Ackerman Family Vineyards and Bespoke Collection pour their finest wines.

What the hell are you doing here? Rush right out there and take a test drive!

http://www.flexjet.com/news-and-events/press-releases/291/


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Cranberry Street Fair a Tradition In Brooklyn Heights

Photos by MK Metz

For the 35th year, Brooklyn Heights residents celebrated the coming of autumn weather at the Cranberry Street Fair. The Atlantic Antic it's not -- the Cranberry Street Fair is called by some the "sweetest little street fair in Brooklyn."

Year after year the same families and new neighbors play, volunteer and visit the fair, organized by (96-year-old) Richanda Rhoden and the Cranberry Street Association.

Entertainment on Saturday was provided by jazz performer Eric Loffswold and The Manhattan Tribal Belly Dancers, shown here. Other attractions included a guess the number of cranberries contest, belly-dancing lessons, a fire engine visit, guess the weight of the pumpkin, a book sale and a "treasures" sale, the fabulous pet parade and a fortune teller.

Hope you can make the fair next year!

- Cranberry Street Fair, 2007
- Cranberry Street Fair 2008  
- Cranberry Street Fair 2009
- Cranberry Street Fair 2010

(Sometimes called Cranberry Street Festival)

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Get Ready for Smith Street 'Soup Crawl' in Brooklyn

Photo: South Brooklyn LDC

 Smith Street's 4th Annual Festivale des Soupes takes place on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 1 - 4 p.m.

That's French for Soup Crawl, and it's delicious, fun, affordable aand family-friendly.

And it's for a good cause -- South Brooklyn LDC shares this fundraiser with aa culinary arts program at the local public school, the School for International Studies.

Walking along Smith Street from from Atlantic Avenue to 2nd Street, the delicious 4 oz. soup tastings are from:

Lunetta, Bar Tabac, Coco Roco, Cibao, Ceol, Hop Hap Thai Restaurant, Hunter’s, The H.S. for Int’l Studies, Stinky Brooklyn, Angry Wades, Pazzi Pasta, Jolie Cantina, Peoples Republic of Brooklyn, Shelsky’s Smoked Fish, Bombay Dream, Provence En Boite, Dassara Ramen, Cubana Café, Savoia, , VIP Thai, Zaytoons, Etons, The Jakewalk, Kittery, Seersucker/Nightingale9, Avlee Greek Cusiine

A panel of Celebrity Judges will rate the soups and award Gold, Silver, and Bronze Ladles in three categories - Veggie, Meat/Chicken, & Fish/Seafood based.

Purchase Tasting tickets from the High School students at tables on the corners of Smith & Bergen, Butler, and President Street starting at 1PM. Each ticket entitles you to a 4 oz tasting at all the restaurants of your choice from the list above. F or G Train to Bergen or Carroll Street .

$5.00 for a 5 Tasting sampler.

$10.00 Couples/Gourmets for 12 Tastings,

$20.00 for Families - 25 Tastings.

www.smithstreetbk.com

- 2012 Soup Crawl
- 2010 Soup Crawl


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'Tree Deserts' of Brooklyn; Perverted Pervert Test; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- 18 wheeler tractor trailers are illegally idling for over 24 hrs at a time next to Barclays Center. [AY Report] and [AY Watch]

- Huge development site at the corner of Franklin and Dean in Crown Heights going for $18,000,000. [Brownstoner]

- Someone is stealing catalytic converters in Carroll Gardens. [PMFA]

- New tree map of shows the "tree deserts" of Brooklyn. [NY Daily News]

- Court rules sex offender should not be subject to oddly perverted penile test [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A 46-year-old man was found shot to death in a car in Crown Heights Sunday night. [NBC]

- Green-Wood Cemetery is offering a pre-Halloween tour with gorgeously ghoulish appeal: a tour inside a mausoleum. [About]

- New Coney Island YMCA to create a time capsule. [Bensonhurst Bean]

- Yeah yeah: Lhota says he'll cut the city's work force but won't reduce services. [Crain's NY]

- The FDA isn't inspecting food during the government shutdown. [Gizmodo]

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'Watch Out for Cyclists and Bring Locks' to Brooklyn Bridge

Photo: MK Metz

A Tripadvisor reviewer advises tourists to "watch out for cyclists and bring locks" to the Brooklyn Bridge.

Locks of Love are so popular on the bridge that the Dept. of Transportation has to periodically remove them.

As can be seen in this photo taken Sunday, as fast as DOT removes them, the locks keep coming back..

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Fireworks Over NYC, Brooklyn on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013

Those fireworks that went off tonight over lower Manhattan were in celebration of the 26th annaual Deepavali celebration. They were sponsored by the Associations of Indians in America.

They were shot off over the East River, Pier 16 at South Street Seaport at 7:20pm. as part of the Festival of Lights.

The holiday attracts more than 50,000 people every year.

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Sidewalk Memorial for Jeffrey Davis, Court Street Regular, Downtown Brooklyn

Photos: MK Metz

Friends and family of Jeffrey Davis, a Court Street fixture in Downtown Brooklyn, honored his passing with a touching sidewalk memorial.

Kind messages and rememberances are on display, along with candles.

Contact Erika if you want to help out with a donation.

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Dish Dumbo Restaurant Opening Soon

Photo: MK Metz

We've been walking by the old Rice Restaurant at 81 Washington Street in DUMBO for many months now waiting as the incoming eatery got the place fixed up.

Now, the new Mediterranean restaurant, Dish Dumbo is ready for its ‘soft opening’ on October 8, according to DumboNYC.

At a private tasting, dishes ranged from appetizers like grilled octopus served with artichoke puree and chickpea ragu, and "Johnny blue" mussels, and entres including braised lamb shank and grilled branzino.

More at DumboNYC.

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Miriam Carey, Killed in DC After Ramming White House Gate, Grew Up In Brooklyn

Facebook

Miriam Carey, the 34-year-old mom and dental hygienist from Stamford who shut down the Capitol after ramming the White House gate, attended school in Brooklyn, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

She had a whole handful of degrees and even briefly interned at Long Island College Hospital (LICH).

While her motivation for ramming the White House gate and leading cops on a wild chase is not yet known, an ex-employer said that she had suffered a significant head injury. 

More here.

UPDATE:

* ABC News reports that her mom says she suffered from post-partum depression.  Dr. Steven Oken, her boss of eight years, described Carey as a "non-political person" who was "always happy."

* The Washington Post reports that she has four sisters, one of whom is an NYPD officer.

The Washington Post reports that she has four sisters, one of whom is an NYPD officer.

Read more at: http://www.heavy.com/news/2013/10/capitol-building-shooting-dead-white-house

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Motorcyclists Who 'Swarmed' West Side Highway Started Their Ride in Brooklyn

Photo: MK Metz

The large group of motorcyclists who took over the West Side Highway on Sunday, resulting in a nasty incident with the driver of an SUV and the tragic injury of a cyclist, started their "swarm" in Brooklyn on the approach to the Brooklyn Bridge.

This photo, taken at 1:24 p.m., shows the group massing near a Jehovah's Witness plant at the foot of the bridge. Members of the group can be seen chatting with police officers stationed for security at the entrance there. (Click to enlarge.)

About 15 minutes after this photo was shot, McBrooklyn asked a traffic officer a block from this area why there were so many motorcyclists. "Just out for a ride," he said.

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At $69 a Vote, Letitia James Beats Daniel Squadron in Public Advocate Runoff

In unofficial but conclusive results, City Councilmember Letitia James won the Democratic primary runoff election for NYC Public Advocate by a margin of almost 20 percent over state Sen. Daniel Squadron.

James received 59.4% of the vote (111,654) vs. Squadron's 40.6% (76,223), as of 12:13 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to abc election returns.

There doesn't seem to be a Republican running for Public Advocate -- the person next in line to take over should anything happen to the mayor -- so it is likely that James will be the city's next public advocate.

James has effectively advocated for her district all along -- standing up for the Pacific branch library, union wages, renters rights, and more recently, Long Island College Hospital, and standing against stop and frisk and the closing of day care centers. Impressively, she was a thorn in Mayor Bloomberg's side when she blew the whistle on the corrupt CityTime deal, and she consistantly fought against the use of public domain in the Atlantic Yards project.

So we have pretty high expectations.

The NYC Board of Elections says that this runoff election cost the city $13 million dollars. If roughly 188,000 people voted, that means each vote cost roughly $69.

More on this story as it unfolds.

Photo: MK Metz

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Marty Markowitz Says He Is Disgusted By the Tea Party's Government Shutdown

At the stroke of midnight, as the U.S. government shut down, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz sent out a statement saying:

"I am disgusted and dismayed by the action - or rather, inaction - of a few, extremist Tea Party Republicans who have ground our nation to a standstill. The economic impact this will have on Brooklyn, from civil servants to small businesses to families in need, is sizable and frankly unnecessary.

"All of this commotion is due to the stubbornness of a factional wing of the GOP that hopes to achieve a pyrrhic victory by obstructing the Affordable Care Act, a law that represents bipartisan compromise and has been fully vetted legislatively and judicially.

"Americans expect and deserve a democracy that is of the people, by the people and for the people. The shutdown of the federal government is certainly not for the people; it is rather to satisfy a select number of radicals that would prefer chaos to common-sense."

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Republicans Have Finally Shut Down the U.S. Government

The government has #shutdown, so now it's time for us to rise up.
— YK Hong (@ykhong) October 1, 2013

Midnight in America has struck, and House Republicans have decided to shut down the government in their fight to eliminate a law they don't like, the Affordable Care Act.

Eight thousand 800,000 government employees will be out of work Tuesday morning, and a million more may be required to work without knowing when they're getting paid.

What will be affected:

- National zoos and parks will close

- The Statue of Liberty will close

- Passports likely won't be processed

- The military will be paid in IOUs; businesses won't get small business loans; research at the National Institute of Health is shut down; a small number of Head Start programs will close and more as time goes on.

- According to US News and World Report, telephone assistance for tax payers is cancelled; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's ability to respond to outbreak investigations is curtailed.

- The Federal Judiciary will remain working through Oct. 15

- According to the Boston Globe, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, could shut down. Middle- and low-income borrowers probably won't be able to get mortgages. Federal occupational safety and health inspectors will stop workplace inspections except in cases of imminent danger.

- Economic reports such as the jobs report won't be available.

UPDATE: The Federal Highway Administration website just went dark.

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Watching the events live on C-SPAN we heard:

Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland: "President Obama won the election, and they won't accept that."

Pete Sessions, R-Texas: the House has tried to "compromise" and that "Mr. Reid refuses to negotiate."

Louise Slaughter, D-NY: "The proposal before us is just another way to run out the clock. At midnight the government will shut down, because they are trying to stop the bill you hate that is the law of the land, . I don't believe this is just a few people with odd ideas, this is the Republican Party.

"What the Republicans are doing to the psyche of American will be a long time to heal. There are no Democrat fingerprints on any of these bills. Democrats had no input at any time in these bills. The whole Democratic side has been shut out, not only this term but last term as well. It's not on us."

She said this train wreck is likely just a prelude to the debt limit fight that will break out in two weeks.

"We're hearing when we get to the debt limit in two weeks, they're putting together a Christmas list of everything they've ever wanted, and... they will shut the government down. When this is over and all that pain is out there, I hope we can work to (rectify that)."

Jim McGivern, D-Massachutsetts, "After six months of rejecting going into conference, Republicans say now they want to go into conference. It's over now, you own this. Your constituents are going to be hurt by your inability to do your jobs. You knew all along the President would never sign a bill that dismantled the Affordable Care Act. Your candidates lost badly. Your Senate candidates lost badly. The American people rejected your call to throw out the Affordable Care Act, and they do not want you to shut the government down. You're supposed to represent your constituents. This is a failure of your leadership."

Jared Polis, D-Colorado, called it a slow train wreck. "I understand many don't like the Affordable Care Act, the law of the land. Republicans said, "We've been unable to follow the constitution to get what we want, so we'll shut down the government."

"It is now midnight, and the great government of the United States is now closed."

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