Afropunk 2017, Soap Box Derby and Parking Your Dog in Brooklyn

#Impressionism

Theodore Earl #Butler
Brooklyn Bridge,1900
Private collection@Asamsakti @RitaCobix @artmajcar @LuisaM56_ @FedericaAnto2 pic.twitter.com/WYCtPGxk5M

— ludovico vico (@VicoLudovico) August 27, 2017

- Woman who was battling cancer dies alone in blaze at Brooklyn apartment building. [Daily News]

- Check out the creativity at the10th annual South Slope Soap Box Derby. [cbslocal]

- BP Eric Adams will be giving his recommendation this week on the controversial plan to develop the Bedford-Union Armory. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Afropunk 2017 Saturday pics (Solange, Soul II Soul, Little Simz, more). [Brooklyn Vegan]

- Battle of Brooklyn re-enactment held at Green-Wood Cemetery. [News12]

- A 1-year-old girl was badly burned by hot tea in East NY. [Daily News]

- Cops say gang of men made anti-gay comments and beat up a social worker in Bed-Stuy. [abc7]

- Now you can park your dog in Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Eagle]



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More Than One Way to Stuff a Rat; the Beer ATM; Pols Express Alarm about Haiti and Puerto Rico; and More Brooklyn Briefs

.@myfabolouslife receives the key to Brooklyn https://t.co/Ahk9QI8iej pic.twitter.com/vq72zPtHqo

— XXL Magazine (@XXL) June 12, 2017

- Former Brooklyn prosecutor in NYPD gun permit scandal gets bail modified to allow travel for competitive dog shows. [Daily News]

- Brooklyn pols express alarm about Puerto Rican referendum, Haitian protected status. [Brooklyn Eagle]

-  A man shot by police in Brooklyn Sunday night has been arrested and charged with stabbing his roommate in front of officers. [NY1]

- Brooklyn Pride parade draws massive, boisterous turnout. Photos. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Fabrication studio Smart Department is hosting a rat taxidermy class on Saturday where you can learn to make either one- or two-headed stuffed rats. [Patch]

- A bar in Williamsburg has created one of the greatest inventions known to mankind – a Beer ATM. [Konbini]

- Former NBA star Sebastian Telfair was arrested in Bed-Stuy Sunday morning in a pickup truck stocked with loaded guns, drugs and a bulletproof vest. [Patch]

- DUMBO’s Live at The Archway this Thursday: musician Rodes Rollins, artist Melanie Hope Greenberg. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Dirty dancing: Floating company twirls on the Gowanus Canal. [Brooklyn Paper]


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Park Slope, Brooklyn is as Big as Monaco

Map data copyright Google

 Once in a while we play with Wolframalpha.com, the computational knowledge engine, to figure out something pointless.

Today's useless exercise was computing the area of different Brooklyn neighborhoods.

We started with Brooklyn Heights. Wolfram Alpha quickly figured out the neighborhood's area is 180 acres, or .28 square miles.

What's nice is W/A then goes on to give us comparisons:

- The area of Brooklyn Heights is, for example, equal to 1.2 times the total floor area of the Pentagon.

- It's also 1.7 times the total area of Vatican City.

- It is also 13 times the area of the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Nice to know!

Plugging in different Brooklyn neighborhoods, we found that Cobble Hill's area is smaller than Brooklyn Heights, at 89 acres.

But the area of Bedford-Stuyvesant, at 4.2 square miles (a whopping 2,700 acres), is equal to one eighth the area of Manhattan.

Whereas Park Slope is 639 acres, equal to one square mile or .... the area of an adult male cougar's home range! Or the total area of Monaco!

To research weird factoids or perform calculations yourself, visit Wolfram Alpha and type in an English language query, such as "area williamsburg, brooklyn, nyc."

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

Line to get into Trader Joes in Brooklyn right now #blizzard2017 pic.twitter.com/NMO6rGhqkn

— JohnyActionSpacePunk (@JohnyAction) March 14, 2017

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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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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Get Your Kwanzaa On In Brooklyn This Friday

Brooklyn Cultural Arts Coalition presents a great afternoon and evening of Kwanzaa activities this Friday, Dec. 30, at Boys and Girls High School.

Activities include African dance, movement and drum workshops, performances and community ceremonies.

See the poster above for full details.


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High School Lockdown; De Blasio Grand Juries; BQX; Electoral College Craziness and More Brooklyn Briefs

 - A school bus overturned in East New York Thursday afternoon, injuring seven people. [Daily News]

- Conversation with Brooklyn’s Jeff Strabone on how his Electoral College website went crazy viral. Print and VIDEO. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A Williamsburg high school was briefly put on lockdown Thursday afternoon after a student threatened another student with a gun and took his cell phone. [PIX11]

- Man nabbed at JFK Airport in $100M JPMorgan Chase customer data hack. [Daily News]

- A 25-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after shooting his ex’s boyfriend in Bed-Stuy. [DNAinfo]

- You can barter stuff for a cup of coffee at El Museo de Los Sures in Williamsburg. [FOX5]

- A 1-year-old boy died Wednesday from injuries he suffered when flames broke out at a high-rise apartment building in Brownsville. [PIX11]

- Brooklyn Queens Connector: To build a trolley, or not? Pros and cons. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Two grand juries hearing testimony linked to criminal probes of Mayor de Blasio’s fund-raising tactics. [Daily News]

- Apple's AirPods finally head for shelves. [CNBC]

- Amuse yourself with New York Verification Questions on Twitter. Example:

Have you ever been to Times Square for New Year's? #NewYorkVerificationQuestions

— Odell Porzingis Jr. (@_payDay) December 15, 2016

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New Apple Store Coming to Brooklyn; BQX Route; Spike Lee's 'She's Gotta Have It'; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Proposed BQX route. NYC

 - Here's the city's report on the proposed Brooklyn-Queens Connector streetcar. [BQX]

- Apple locked in a deal for its next Brooklyn store location --  in Fort Greene. [TRD]

- Where to find free bar food in NYC. [Gothamist]

- This neighborhood has the cheapest rentals in Brooklyn. [NY Post]

- One by one, students have been getting sick at a Brooklyn school, and teachers are wearing face masks. [CBS]

- A student was hit by a car outside a Bedford-Stuyvesant school Wednesday afternoon. [DNAinfo]

- Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It" filming locations and street closures in Brooklyn. [Patch]

- 22 Brooklyn schools have been awarded by the Walentas [Two Trees] Family Foundation. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Park Slopers have banned a developer from replacing the Fifth Avenue Key Food with upscale grocery chains like Whole Foods, Citarella, Balducci’s, Grace’s Marketplace, or Eataly. [Brooklyn Paper]

Final word from Louis C.K.: "If you vote for Hillary you're a grownup; if you vote for Trump you're a sucker; if you don't vote for anybody you're an asshole."

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King George Returns; Orthodox School Pays Off Molested Kids; Halloween Events and More Brooklyn Briefs

A lone protester, whose sign reads "Stop running from the truth," stands outside Hillary Clinton HQ in Brooklyn Heights. MK Metz

 - A gunman shot a man sitting in his car in Bed-Stuy early Saturday. [Daily News]  And in Greenpoint, a cabbie was shot at stoplight by a couple of thugs. [Daily News]

- Parades! Haunted houses! Festivals! Halloween in Brooklyn 2016. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Long-toppled statue of hated King George III to ride again, from a Brooklyn studio. [NYT]

- Off-duty city correction officer arrested for boozed-up mayhem at a Sunset Park hookah bar. [Daily News]

- Prominent Orthodox Jewish school in Brooklyn to pay $2.1M to two students who charged teacher Rabbi Joel Kolko of sexually assaulting them. [NY Post]

- The white powder found in an envelope at Hillary HQ in Brooklyn Heights turned out to be harmless. [NBC]

- Inside of 11 of Brooklyn's top recording studios. [Brooklyn Magazine]

- Your iPhone's "secret" undo button. [Slate]

I repeat: I will represent pro bono anyone #Trump sues for exercising their free speech rights. Many other lawyers have offered to join me. https://t.co/LJf6TtmGZU

— Ted Boutrous (@BoutrousTed) October 22, 2016

Dozens of law firms have joined this offer.


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Jumbo Sized Buildings in D'town Brooklyn? Myer Departs Brooklyn Bridge Park; Bike Lane Blues and More Brooklyn Briefs

Hazel Scott (with Paul Robeson in the background) performing at a dinner in Brooklyn in honor of Hugh Mulzac pic.twitter.com/GEBM0Hwjb5

— Franck Biyong (@franckbiyong1) September 20, 2016

- More on the proposal that would allow construction of new buildings of any size in densely populated areas like Downtown Brooklyn. [Brownstoner]

- Look who left Brooklyn Bridge Park: Downtown Brooklyn Partnership names Regina Myer as new president. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A 20-year-old man was fatally shot on a Bed-Stuy street Monday night. [Daily News]

- Why Mayor de Blasio was wrong about cars standing briefly in bike lanes. [Brooklyn Spoke]

- The 10 best cheap things to do in Brooklyn this week, skee-ball edition. [Brokelyn]

- Screenings, parties and talks in Brooklyn for IFP Film Week.  [IFP]

- The Standish, a hotel-turned-condo in Brooklyn Heights launches sales. [Curbed]

- Experience a day at the races in 1904 with this footage from Gravesend’s long gone horse racing track. [Bensonhurst Bean]

- Man sues Samsung, saying Note 7 exploded in his pants. [CNET]

- Twitter's new character count, explained. [TechCrunch]

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Coworking Spaces in Brooklyn; Security After Nice Attack; Anthony Bourdain and More Brooklyn Briefs

The "Mayor's Restroom" at an East New York town hall. pic.twitter.com/pXuLeuFjST

— Matthew Chayes (@chayesmatthew) July 14, 2016

- Brooklyn driver indicted on manslaughter charges after failure to get his car repaired led to a fatal car crash on Fulton Street in December. [Daily News]

- Young Orthodox Jewish man committed suicide on Wednesday -- the 26th such suicide the New York-area's Orthodox community over past ten months. [Forward]

- Squibb Park Bridge to reopen next spring, 50 percent less bouncy. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- K2 protest held outside Bed-Stuy deli. [CBS]

- A complete list of Brooklyn coworking spaces — locales where you can rent a desk or office by the day, week, or month. [Brownstoner]

- Gov. Cuomo: After Nice attack, NY law enforcement stepping up security at airports, bridges, tunnels and mass transit. [Twitter]

- Globe-trotting foodophile Anthony Bourdain will perform "brutally honest" monologue
 The Hunger at BAM in late November. [Gothamist]

- The historic Lundy’s building on Emmons Avenue continues to deteriorate, despite promises from the owner to patch up the property. [Sheepshead Bites]

- The  Jalopy Theater is putting on Dump Trump Night, a musical revue of satirical songs. [Brokelyn]

- Woman, 60, beaten and raped in Brooklyn building's boiler room by man in maintenance uniform. [Daily News]


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That Brooklyn K2 Zombie Video; Buy Some Pokeman Go Help; and More Brooklyn Briefs

'It looked like a scene out of the Walking Dead'... Brian Arthur Spmg captures shocking footage on his cell phone of multiple people overdosing on the synthetic marijuana K2 in the streets around Brooklyn Community Garden.

- A rash of K2 overdoses that swept through a Brooklyn neighborhood Tuesday has been linked to two shops in Bed-Stuy. [Daily News] Plus: the victims looked like the Walking Dead. [Market Watch]

- That didn't take long: New Yorkers are now offering their Pokemon Go services on Craigslist, for money. [Brokelyn]

- Brooklyn family worries missing mom is being held against her will as her baby marks 1st birthday.[Pix11]

- 3 places to rent affordable camping gear in Brooklyn. [Brokelyn]

- Police are asking the public for assistance locating a Coney Island teenager who went missing last week. [Sheepshead Bites]

- Bay Ridge Summer Stroll starts July 15. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A list of stupid or dumb places people have wandered into while playing Pokeman Go. [Brooklyn Eagle/AP]

- Trump's VP search enters frenzied phase. [CNN]


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Vigil for Orlando Victims Takes Place in Brooklyn Tonight / Plus: Fund for Enrique Rios

 Public Advocate Tish James is hosting a vigil to honor the dead in Orlando on Tuesday, June 14 (tonight) at 7:30 p.m. at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn.

Enrique Rios, a Brooklyn social worker and Bedford-Stuyvesant resident on vacation in Orlando for a friend's birthday was among the 49 innocent people slain Sunday. Please support his mother by contributing to her GoFund to cover funeral costs.

Enrique Rios

 In a related matter, Senator Jesse Hamilton and Council Member Robert Cornegy pledged "to work with other elected officials and law enforcement to strengthen legislation and reduce the probability of mass attacks on innocent civilians. As people of good conscience from every faith, sexual orientation, and background, we will work together to eradicate hatred and inspire love."

#‎PrayforOrlando

#WeAreOrlando


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So Much to Do This Weekend in Brooklyn (June 4 and 5)

The weather Saturday is expected to be nice, so why not get out there and have fun? (Sunday's forecast is for rain...) Here are a few of the fests in the works:

- Spike Lee is throwing a Prince Purple People Party in honor of the musician's birthday this weekend. The party stars at noon on Saturday, June 4 at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration. See "Spike Lee on WhoSay."

- Also this Saturday Go Green! Brooklyn Festival is taking over McCarren Park. Participants can engage with and learn about sustainability initiatives while sampling local food, participating in live-action art projects, music performances, and more. [Greenpointers]

- On Saturday at 7 p.m., enjoy stargazing at the World Science Festival in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Includes a meet-and-greet with astronaut Anna Fisher, an interactive light show, soccer-playing robots, skateboard demonstration and “Star Chat” conversations about the cosmos with leading scientists. [BBP]

- Bay Ridge is the place to be this Sunday if you like food, live music, dance performances and pizza-eating contests. The Fifth Avenue Spring Festival takes place from noon to 6 p.m. along Fifth Avenue from Bay Ridge Avenue (69th Street) to 85th Street. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Art of Brooklyn Film Festival, focused exclusively on the borough of Kings, will kick off on Saturday with a free outdoor showing on Sunset Park’s central lawn. [Brooklyn Daily]


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After Cops Tasered & Beat Him, 86-Year-Old Brooklyn Man Cleared of Charges of Making Soup

See video at NBC.

A judge dismissed criminal charges Monday against an 86-year-old Brooklyn man who was Tasered in his kitchen by NYPD cops who were supposed to be looking for a man in his 20s....

John Antoine was making soup and chopping an onion when cops burst into his Bedford Stuyvesant apartment last October and zapped him twice, the Daily News reports.

NBC reports that Antoine was also kicked in the stomach by the cops.

Antoine was charged with “harassment" for holding a knife while making soup, according to Rolling Out.

His lawyer, who thanks God his client didn't have a heart attack, says the city is looking at a $5 million lawsuit.

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Brooklyn Sex Perv Teacher Gets 5 Years; Carjacking Leaves Trail of Mayhem; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Brooklyn Tech teacher gets five years in prison for sharing pornographic images with seven students, kidnapping one. [Daily News]

- East New York residents worry that de Blasio's rezoning plan will end them up in homeless shelters. [NY1]

- Politicians are calling for the Jehovah’s Witnesses to fulfill promises the group made in 2004 to fix a DUMBO park and subway station. [Brownstoner]

- Tough Russian cookie: A carjacking in Brooklyn leaves a trail of mayhem. [NY Times]

- Map: How crime ridden is your Brooklyn neighborhood? [Patch]

- Manhattan is so ho humm: Brooklyn is becoming an increasingly attractive option for corporate conferences. [Skift]

- Brooklyn wedding shop closes, leaving customers scrambling. [NBC NY]

- Brooklyn has more walk-up apartments than any other borough. Bed-Stuy had the highest percentage in the city. [MetroUS]

- Covered in gold? Williamsburg restaurant sells $100 donuts.  [Fox]

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Chase Personal Bankers Ripped Off Seniors in Brooklyn

Brooklyn D.A. Ken Thompson, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton and other officials said Monday that personal bankers employed by J.P. Morgan Chase and two other defendants have been indicted for allegedly stealing approximately $400,000 from the bank accounts of senior citizens.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the bankers worked out of a Chase in Bedford-Stuyvesant. They allegedly issued Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) cards for the defrauded accounts and used the ATM cards to systematically withdraw money. 

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Shot Spotter Picks Up Shots Fired at Bed-Stuy's Sumner Houses

Shots reported from 995 Myrtle Ave. Photo, map data courtesy Google

From the scanner:
Police are investigating a report from Shot Spotter of three rounds fired from the roof of the Sumner Houses at 995 Myrtle Ave. at Marcus Garvey Blvd. at 2:46 a.m. early Tuesday morning.

Dispatch confirmed Shot Spotter picked up "shot spatter" at that location and on the other side of the same project at 68 Marcus Garvey Blvd.

Cops on the scene at 68 Marcus Garvey at 2:59 a.m. reported negative results when they searched the area.


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De Blasio Pays Off Bet (Ouch), Protests at the Brooklyn Museum, and More Brooklyn Briefs

We have to give it up to @BilldeBlasio for keeping his end of the bet with @MayorSlyJames! https://t.co/3D80nQs0iz pic.twitter.com/qqxMpm9OT5

— Royals (@Royals) November 17, 2015

Somehow we thought he could sing better than that...

- Anti-gentrification activists protest real estate summit at the Brooklyn Museum. [Hyperallergic] and [Gothamist]

- Brooklyn the brand vs. Brooklyn the mega-city: Are we killing the goose? [Brownstoner]

- Just in time: Elite NYPD anti-terror squad deploys following Paris attacks. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Two people were taken to a hospital after a shooting at a Bedford-Stuyvesant subway station Tuesday that caused disruptions in train service. [NBC]

- Brooklyn man sentenced to 4 years in divorce scheme. [Times of Israel]

- Some people just have it: R&B icon R. Kelly showed up to sing the national anthem at Tuesday's Brooklyn Nets game . . . sinking a 3-pointer while wearing sunglasses, with a cigar in his mouth. [Billboard]

- Meet CAM, the DUMBO artist who is responsible for all your favorite Brooklyn murals. [Brooklyn Magazine]

- Levi’s has opened a new store in Williamsburg that will contain a tailoring shop where you’ll be able to customize your denim. [StyleFashionNews]

- Beware of ads that use inaudible sound to link your phone, TV, tablet, and PC. [Ars Technica]


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7-Year-Old Girl Brain Dead After Choking at School; 'Dwight Schrute' Coming to DUMBO; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Watching the World Series Game 1 at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Photo: MK Metz

 - A 7-year-old Brooklyn girl has been declared brain-dead after choking on her public-school lunch. The EMT who tried to save her was suspended from his job. [NY Post]

- Velázquez introduces gun bill that would tax sales, and fund anti-violence and mental health programs. The NRA is going to hate it. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Police are looking for a Canarsie man wanted for allegedly shooting his wife in the face. [NY1]

- A man was charged Tuesday night in a shooting in Bushwick that left one man dead and two others hurt. [CBS]

- Rainn Wilson -- beet farmer Dwight Schrute on “The Office” -- is coming to DUMBO to talk up new book. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- After a surge in ridership, Coney Island’s elected officials are calling on the MTA to restore F train express service. [Sheepshead Bites]

- A "mixed-race" wedding in 1907 in Bed-Stuy attracts unwanted attention. [Brownstoner]

- A list of all the weird things that happened during the first game of the World Series last night. [Slate]

- Florida man is in a coma after e-cigarette explodes in his face. [Daily News]

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