Thursday, March 23, 2017

Preserving Brooklyn Heights Library's Stone Friezes; That Poor Cat Shot with an Arrow; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Photo by MK Metz
- Preserving the Brooklyn Heights Library’s stone friezes (shown above). [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Brooklyn subway stations on R line facing six-month shutdowns. [amNY]

- Pictures of that poor cat shot with a crossbow in Brooklyn. (Cat survived.) [ABC7]

- Brooklyn woman says she endured a decade of abuse at the hands of a former NYPD Officer that ended with her boyfriend dead. [CBS]

- Family of slain Brooklyn security guard brought to tears at trial. [Daily News]

- Some pretty dramatic photos: Portraits of gunshot survivors featured in "SHOT" photography book. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- GOP rep changes healthcare vote from 'no' to 'hell no.' [The Hill]

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Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Bad Date Arrested; the Turtle Lady of Williamsburg; and More Brooklyn Briefs


- Bad date: A woman who murdered another woman in Russia was discovered living a glamorous life in Brooklyn, drugging and robbing men she met on dating websites. [CBS]

- A Brooklyn couple who fleeced New Yorkers out of funeral money for a 5-year-old boy who's actually alive were arrested again while using a child in another scam. [DNAinfo]

- PHOTOS: The Turtle Lady thrives in Williamsburg. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Missing Brooklyn man with autism found in Mexico. [Pix11]

VIDEO: A 60-something-year-old woman walked into a jewelry store in Williamsburg and took four diamond pins while a 60-year-old man stood by as a lookout. [NBC]

- Judge in El Chapo case limits release of info, orders appointment of ‘firewall’ attorney. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Young Brooklyn woman wonders if she was in suspected serial killer’s grasp. [Pix11]

- VIDEO: Assemblywoman Diana Richardson took to Facebook Live on Thursday morning to blast Mayor Bill de Blasio, city hall and others. [Patch]

S.A.D. Party 2017 will raise money for Planned Parenthoo.


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Friday, March 17, 2017

'Dine in Brooklyn' Starts This Monday, Features 90 Brooklyn Restaurants and Bars

From Monday, March 20th to Thursday, March 30th, diners can enjoy great deals at 90 Brooklyn restaurants.

Dine In Brooklyn offers three-course dinners for $28, two-course lunches for $15, and weekend brunches for $12.

Some noted restaurants are participating this year, including Friend of a Farmer in Brooklyn Heights, Chez Oskar in Bedford-Stuyvesant, La Palina in Bensonhurst, BKW by Brooklyn Winery in Crown Heights, Boqueria in Fort Green and many more.

Go to the restaurant page to find your newest favorite by location, style or number of views.

(More here.)

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Thursday, March 16, 2017

BB Gun Shootings; Dine in Brooklyn Kicks Off Monday; Sunset Park Landmarking and More Brooklyn Briefs

Hahaha we just saw this one.

- Three people — including a 13-year-old boy — have been shot with a BB gun in Brooklyn this week, apparently by the same attacker. [Daily News]

- The future of urban farming is in shipping containers. In Brooklyn, of course. [Motherboard]

- Three Brooklyn Web series to watch. [Brownstoner]

- What's next in Sunset Park residents' landmarking quest? [Brooklyn Eagle]

- 37-year-old victim speaks out Wednesday, after he was brutally beaten by four men inside a Brooklyn restaurant after offering them a gesture of kindness. [CBS]

- 2017 Dine In Brooklyn kicks off Monday, and its shaping up to be delicious. [Brooklyn Eagle]

Sorry, Fabolous, you're not getting a Brooklyn street. [Steriogum]

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Wednesday, March 15, 2017

MTA Fare Hike Goes Into Effect This Sunday

Photo by MK Metz
 The MTA’s MetroCard fare hike kicks in this Sunday, March 19th.

The fare for a single ride will remain $2.75 ... but weekly and monthly MetroCards will see increases. 

- A 7-day pass will increase from $31 to $32.
- A 30-day pass goes from $116.50 to $121. 

More details at BKLYNER.


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Tuesday, March 14, 2017

De Blasio Declares State of Emergency in NYC, Due to Storm Stella and Blizzard2017

Photo by MK Metz
 Due to winter storm Stella and the blizzard, Mayor Bill de Blasio issued Emergency Executive Order 92, placing NYC in a State of Emergency as of midnight Monday night.

This order means people have to stay off the roads until midnight Tuesday (or longer) and use public transportation whenever possible.

Those who must drive due to an emergency must exercise extreme caution. Vehicles blocking snow plows will be towed.

Here is a partial list of the things that are closed in NYC Tuesday:

Public schools are closed; after school programs and PSAL activities are canceled

CUNY colleges and central offices are closed

Alternate side parking is suspended; meters are in effect

MTA subway express service is suspended

MTA above-ground subway service is suspended starting at 4 AM

MTA underground subway service is running; expect delays

MTA bus service is likely to be suspended; check MTA.info for the latest status

LIRR service is likely to be suspended; check MTA.info for the latest status

MetroNorth service is likely to be suspended; check MTA.info for the latest status

Garbage, recycling, and organics collections are suspended

Post offices are open; mail will be delivered

Courts, including the Office of Court Administration, are closed

Libraries are closed

ACS EarlyLearn Child Centers are closed

DFTA Senior Centers are closed

DPR Recreation Centers are closed

Some IDNYC Enrollment Centers are closed

NYC Business Solution Centers are closed

NYCHA Senior Centers are closed

TLC offices are closed to customer transactions

Workforce1 Centers are closed

NYC government offices are open unless otherwise noted

Some civil service exams are canceled or rescheduled

***DMV offices are open***

For more on what's closed and what's open, visit NYC.gov.


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Monday, March 13, 2017

Brooklyn Events Cancelled Due to Blizzard: Bedford Union Armory Update, Chag Purim Sameach


NYC Council Member Laurie Cumbo sent out an eblast announcing that some events have been cancelled because of the expected blizzard, part of incoming Winter Storm Stella.

These include:

○ Chag Purim Sameach

○ Bedford Union Armory Status Update Part 2 (Medgar Evers)

No doubt more events will be cancelled as the day goes on.


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NYC: Prepare For Winter Storm 'Stella' Bringing Blizzard, Up to 18 Inches of Snow

Snow on Cadman Plaza West. By MK Metz
 If you are short of food, beer, cash, toilet paper, meds or any of the necessities of life, Monday would be a great time to pick them up.

NYC Emergency Management is advising everyone in the NYC area to prepare for a nor'easter*, forecast to bring cold temperatures, 12-18 inches of snow, and winds of 20-30mph with gusts up to 50mph. Winds and the weight of the snow could cause tree damage and power outages.

The mysterious governing body that name storms have dubbed this one "Stella.

Bullet Points:

○ Heaviest snowfall is expected in the morning through the afternoon, with rates as much as 2 to 4 inches per hour possible.

○ Slippery roads and visibility of one quarter mile or less at times. Avoid driving.

○ Coastal Flood Watch from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesday.

○ Alternate Side Parking regulations are suspended on Tuesday and Wednesday. Meters remain in effect. Garbage/recycling collections will be suspended once snow operations begin.

○ If this thing drags on, check in on housebound neighbors. 

__________
*According to Wikipedia,a nor'easter is a "macro-scale cyclone."Nor'easters differ from tropical cyclones in that nor'easters are cold-core low-pressure systems, as opposed to warm ones.


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Friday, March 10, 2017

Meeting About Controversial Crown Heights Homeless Shelter Taking Place Tuesday

A controversial new shelter for 100+ homeless men is set to open on Bergen Street in Crown Heights soon.

A public meeting about the shelter, at 1173 Bergen Street, is scheduled for Tuesday, March 14, 2017 from 6:30-8:30pm at Uncommon Charter School, located at 1485 Pacific Street, Brooklyn NY 11216, between Brooklyn and Kingston Avenues.

Please note, there is an allotted two hour time limit by the school, so arrive on time.


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Thursday, March 9, 2017

Developer Preps Brooklyn Heights Library for Demolition

Workers set up barriers around Brooklyn Heights Library. Photo: MK Metz
 Demolition of the Brooklyn Heights Library will be starting next week. Workers from the demo company began installing fencing around the site at 280 Cadman Plaza West on Thursday.

The city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) recently gave its official approval for the demolition.

Locals fought the sale of the library to a private developer, Hudson Companies, for years, but in the end, the city and Brooklyn Public Library prevailed.

A 36-story luxury residential tower is going up on the site. A newer, somewhat smaller library will be built on the ground floor, a mezzanine and on a lower level.

Hudson told the Brooklyn Eagle it has not yet closed on the site, but expects to in the coming weeks.


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Tuesday, March 7, 2017

4 Missing Sisters Found; Cop with 'Anger Issues' Blows Away Neighbor; Heights Library About to be Demolished; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Photo courtesy Brooklyn North

More on this story about the missing kids at ABC.

- Former police officer with "anger issues" shoots, critically wounds neighbor outside Greenpoint apartment building. [Daily News]

- NYC approves demolition of Brooklyn Heights Library, paving way for luxury tower. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A Brooklyn Supreme Court justice says he was harassed in Borough Park on Sunday by a man who shouted “you f–king Jew.” [NY Post]

- Powerful ‘RESIST’ sign illuminates Gowanus building. [Brooklyn Pulp]

- There's a parking space  in Park Slope for sale for $300,000. [CBS]

- Brooklyn-Queens Connector panel to be held at Brooklyn Law School. [amNY]

- Owl’s Head Park killer still at large. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A Danish starrchitect's firm, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), has signed a 50,000-square-foot lease at Two Trees' 45 Main Street in DUMBO. [Commercial Observer]

- Many Brooklyn and New York officials trash Trump’s reissued travel ban. [Brooklyn Eagle

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Monday, March 6, 2017

NY's Finest ... Subway Technicians

Photo by MK Metz
Seen in a subway station: NYC transit technicians do their job and they're proud of it!


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Thursday, March 2, 2017

'Muslim Slayer' Threatens Mosque; Shot in the Back in Bushwick; Catsimatidis Explores Run for Mayor; and More Brooklyn Briefs

The Fort Greene Park Conservancy and Eric Frazier Productions will present the first-ever Fort Greene Park Winter Jazz Festival, at The Five Spot on March 12.
- A woman was shot in the back while walking on a Bushwick street Wednesday afternoon. [NBC News 4]

- Fire rips through Brooklyn family’s nearly-finished new home, further displacing them less than five years after Hurricane Sandy. [Daily News]

- Five (more) important takeaways from Brooklyn Heights Assn's annual meeting. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Police hunt for ‘Muslim Slayer’ who threatened Brooklyn mosque. [Daily News]

- Brooklyn BP Eric Adams launched the website for the 2017 edition of Dine In Brooklyn. 60 restaurants have signed up so far.  [Dine In Brooklyn]

- The curious case of the woman walking along the train track in Brooklyn. [NY Post]

- Bitingly funny 'Skin of Our Teeth' at Theatre for a New Audience's Polonsky Shakespeare Center. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Meet the people who spend countless hours making the macabre masks of J'ouvert and the sexy spandex of the West Indian Parade. [Vice]

- John Catsimatidis is exploring another run for the position of mayor. [Gothamist]


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These Hornbills at the Prospect Park Zoo Date Just like Humans, then Mate for Life

Photo: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS
These beautiful wreathed hornbills can now be seen year-round at the Prospect Park Zoo.

The zoo tells us that hornbills mate for life, and that the pair see above are bonded together.

The new exhibit was created to provide a home "conducive to breeding with hopes that they produce offspring in the future," the zoo says.

Prospect Park Zoo staff says it's looking pretty good -- they have already witnessed "courtship behavior" between the two, "with the male making food offerings to the female."

Just like humans on a date!

A few drinks might speed the process. Just saying.

The pair at the Prospect Park Zoo are in their twenties. Wreathed hornbills live to about 40 years in the wild and have been known to live into their 50s in zoos.


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Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Brooklyn Heights Association Awards Activists; Bed-Stuy Girl Best Doodler in NY; Katz's Deli and More Brooklyn Briefs


- Brooklyn Heights Association looks at BQX, honors community activists at annual meeting. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Bomb threat at Midwood HS empties school for a while. [NBC]

- Sixth-grader Gwendolyn McNamara of Bedford-Stuyvesant won the New York State Doodle 4 Google Competition. [Daily News]

- Is this Brooklyn’s Jack the Ripper? [Daily Beast]

- "Weirdo disco king" Arthur Russell's archive of photographs, lyrics and unreleased music will go on display at Brooklyn Academy of Music. [OKPlayer]

- Katz’s Delicatessen to open Brooklyn outpost in April. [amNY]

- Wicked woman robs date at gunpoint. [Brooklyn Paper]

- Supporters and opponents alike amazed that Trump's first speech to Congress was delivered in normal tones with no odd facial twitches. [Politico]


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