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

This is how the Brooklyn bridge was painted in 1915. pic.twitter.com/bJkqpDok7g

— Darwin Award 🔞 (@AwardsDarwin) March 21, 2017

- 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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Techies 'Hack the Ban'; Brooklyn Artist Makes Real Bucks; Foreclosures; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Brooklyn Nets star Brook Lopez got the 'assist' of the night when he helped a small child get a layup. https://t.co/OwhfalaMTd pic.twitter.com/K7TXyMj5GT

— ABC News (@ABC) February 27, 2017

Something oddly satisfying about this video.

- Techies ‘Hack the Ban’ for undocumented immigrants in Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A power problem near the Jay Street-MetroTech subway station caused delays across several lines early Tuesday. [NBC] Check MTA for train status today.

- Why at least one Brooklyn artist doesn't need a day job. [Forbes]

- A report by PropertyShark showed that the Eastern half of Brooklyn was the source of the borough’s high foreclosure rates. [KingsCountyPolitics]

- Brooklyn film company owner donated to Mayor de Blasio fund-raiser over fear her business would suffer. [Daily News]

- A New York man who was convicted of assaulting the head of the Brooklyn Jewish Y at a basketball game in 2014 has fled the country for Turkey. [JTA]

- Travolta makes triumphant return to Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Today's the last day of the winter for free admission to Brooklyn Botanic Garden! [BBG]

Spotted last night outside the brownstone that Paul Manafort is renovating in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Seems the neighbors aren't fans. pic.twitter.com/AHNFDnqVgO

— Brian Montopoli (@BrianMontopoli) February 27, 2017

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Feds Probe de Blasio, Again; BHA: Pier 6 Unnecessary; Did Prison Feed Inmates Rat Poison? And More Brooklyn Briefs

Speeding Motorcyclist On Belt Parkway In Brooklyn Tackled By Passing Driver pic.twitter.com/wCIfK3VZ2Q

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 26, 2017

- Feds probe possible de Blasio role in re-opening troubled Brooklyn school run by fund-raiser. [Daily News]

- Brooklyn prison is sued for $16 million for 'feeding inmates Thanksgiving cake laced with rat poison.' [Daily Mail]

- A 12-year-old boy from Weeksville, Brooklyn has gone missing. [Patch]

- Infant who survived in 1920s Coney Island sideshow incubator dies at 96. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Lifelong motorcyclist dies after slamming on brakes and skidding on road in East Williamsburg. [Daily News]

- Brooklyn Heights Association: New data from city shows Pier 6 development unnecessary. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- This new bar is all about Mezcal.  [Grub Street]


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Another Body Found in Prospect Park Lake; Incurable Disease Hits Brooklyn Oak Trees; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Linus, Dachshund (10 m/o), Dekalb & Portland Ave., Brooklyn, NY • "He barely graduated dog school." pic.twitter.com/dJmEOb6yaf

— The Dogist (@thedogist) January 1, 2017

- A search for a missing person ended tragically Monday, when the body of a 19-year-old man was pulled from Prospect Park’s lake. [Daily News]

- Deadly, incurable & fast spreading oak wilt disease detected in Brooklyn trees. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Brooklyn cheerleaders need help getting to the national championship in Orlando. [abc7]

- Cops are looking for a man who tried to rip off a woman’s pants in an elevator in Ditmas Park. [Daily News]

- The big-money developers who lavished cash on Mayor de Blasio’s nonprofit appear to be behind the planning of the multibillion-dollar Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) trolley line. [NY Post]

- Brighton Beach is brought to life through the lens of Franck Bohbot in this 'Little Odessa' series. [fubiz]

- Brooklyn to show up in force at post-inauguration protest. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- To kick off the Trump era, the House votes to get rid of the Office of Congressional Ethics. [TPM]

WATCH: Nicki Minaj performs "Starships", from "The Pinkprint Tour: Nicki Minaj Live From Brooklyn" concert special. pic.twitter.com/HNJmWsqMVf

— Minaj Society (@MinajSociety) January 2, 2017

Nicki Minaj performs "Starships", from "The Pinkprint Tour in Brooklyn.

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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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LICH Development in Brooklyn Pushes Forward with Plans Filed for Two New Towers

Rendering courtesy of Rendering by FXFOWLE Architects

Fortis Property Group filed plans for two new towers in Cobble Hill at the site of the former Long Island College Hospital (LICH).

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, these include a17-story tower at the site of a seven-story garage at 350 Hicks St. at the corner of Atlantic Avenue, and a 15-story residential building at 347 Henry St., the former LICH the pharmacy/nurse’s residence at the corner of Amity Street.

The Eagle also reports that a building on Pacific Street will be demolished, and provides a map of the planned demolitions.

Fortis files plans to build towers on two sites at former Long Island College Hospital [Brooklyn Eagle]

Fortis Plans 17-Story and 15-Story Buildings on Long Island College Hospital Campus [NY YIMBY]


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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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Bill Murray Bartending in Brooklyn; Downtown Charter School Wins $10 Million; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Artist with giant portraits in Union Square, NYC. Photo by MK Metz

 - LIU-Brooklyn lockout ends amid contract negotiations with faculty. [Pix11]

- The operator of NYC's new Wi-Fi kiosks, LinkNYC network, is shutting off their internet browsers until it can figure out what to do about all the druggies and vagrants watching porn on the city's sidewalks. [NY Times]

- Bill Murray will be bartending in Brooklyn this weekend. [CBS]

- The NYPD is questioning the husband of a 45-year-old woman who was found dead late Tuesday night inside a car parked in East New York. [Gothamist]

- Sweet Jesus! Holy statue busted by drunken man in Williamsburg.(VIDEO) [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A Downtown Brooklyn charter school on Wednesday won $10 million in a nationwide contest that aimed to rethink high school. [WSJ]

- De Blasio helicopter had close call during trip to Rikers. [NY Post]

- A breakfast event on Friday about the state of Brooklyn politics will feature BP Eric L. Adams, Public Advocate Letitia James, NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, Brooklyn Chamber President Carlo Scissura and others. [Brooklyn Eagle]


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De Blasio to Sign Lactation Room Requirement Into Law at Brooklyn Borough Hall

BP Eric Adams.
Photo: MK Metz

Borough President Eric Adams will join Mayor Bill de Blasio today to sign a bill that will require municipal agencies offering services to the public to provide lactation rooms where new mothers will have the ability to breastfeed unmolested.

The legislation was introduced at BP Adams’ request in the New York City Council.

The ceremony will take place in Brooklyn Borough Hall, where Adams established the building’s Lactation Lounge that opened last Mother’s Day.


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Brooklyn Eagle Posts Massive LICH (Long Island College Hospital) Archive Online

The former emergency department at LICH in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Photo by MK Metz

Do you wish you knew more about the three-year saga during which the state of New York squeezed a Brooklyn hospital -- Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Cobble Hill -- to death and sold it to a developer?

Do you wonder what Mayor Bill de Blasio had to do with the debacle? (He's being investigated now for his role in the closure.)

Did you know there were numerous lawsuits, marches (one involved more than a thousand people with coffins and a New Orleans-style funeral band over the Brooklyn Bridge), and protests in the rain, heat and snow?

And an elected official-led storming of the hospital?

Did you know SUNY hired security guards who went rogue and waved guns around the neo-natal ward?

And if you live anywhere between Red Hook and Williamsburg, did you know your life is at risk in a situation requiring an emergency room?

If you hunger to learn more, the Brooklyn Eagle has just published a massive archive of hundreds of detailed articles they published on the topic of LICH since the battle pitting residents against the state began. (Great source material if you're investigating any of the parties involved, too!)

Read more at:

LICH: Everything you want to know (almost) about the deal to close Long Island College Hospital 


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Where to Find Harry Potter Parties in Brooklyn; De Blasio and LICH; Apple's First Brooklyn Store; and More Brooklyn Briefs

#Brooklyn residents speak out on the probe into #deBlasio's role in the closure of #LICH. https://t.co/OVuqLRWia6 pic.twitter.com/wIWle4aOFg

— Brooklyn Daily Eagle (@BklynEagle) July 29, 2016

- The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has reportedly lied about the horrific water quality of Newtown Creek in city reports—and former employees may sue. [Greenpointers]

- How to die in Brooklyn: This NYC woman gave her former teacher a powerful lesson on coping with mortality. [Daily News]

- Peek inside Apple's first Brooklyn store. [Fast Company]

- A string of brutal sex attacks took place in north Brooklyn over the past week. [NY Post]

- Online finance school opens branch in Downtown Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Mugglemania! Where to celebrate the new Harry Potter release in Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Paper]and [Brokelyn]

- Members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers were spotted shooting a music video for “Go Robot” on 86th Street wearing (almost) nothing. [Bensonhurst Bean]

- This Bushwick Pokemon Go party features a celebrity trainer and free booze. [Brokelyn]


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More on Brooklyn Pokemon Guy; Heights Library Closes; and More Brooklyn Briefs

#wherebkat
Brooklyn Native To Travel Around Globe To Capture All Pokemon Go. https://t.co/qY2279CMHW

— WhereBK@ (@wherebkat) July 28, 2016

- Brooklyn Heights Library closes, interim library opens on Remsen Street. (Photos) [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Man beaten with selfie stick in Downtown Brooklyn. [DNAinfo]

- In a feud between different sects of Jews, surveillance video captured footage that apparently depicts a vandal pulling down a controversial Brooklyn eruv. [Forward]

- Discussion about Mayor de Blasio's affordable housing achievements. [Atlantic Yards/ Pacific Park]

- Ikea food truck bringing free meatballs to Brooklyn all week. Check here to follow the truck. [Brokelyn]

- City pumps $64 million into cultural institutions; $12.7 million of this is coming to Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce seeks new hub, plans to open incubator and retail store. [Crain's]

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De Blasio to Attend Gun Violence Town Hall Tonight in Brooklyn

BP Eric Adams, Mayor Bill de Blasio and CM Williams are hosting a gun violence Town Hall tonight (Thursday, June 30), at 7pm. RSVP


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$100,000,000 in NYC Budget to Complete Bushwick Inlet Park

Photo by Daniel Avila, courtesy of NYC Parks Dept.

 The budget agreed upon late Wednesday by Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council allocates $100,000,000 for the acquisition of the CitiStorage parcels to complete Bushwick Inlet Park on the East River, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

The CitiStorage facility burned in a massive fire in 2015, taking Brooklyn's medical records and other paperwork down with it.

Councilmember Stephen Levin said in a release Thursday that the Williamsburg and Greenpoint communities "are beyond overjoyed." with the news.

More here.


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Brooklyn Bridge Park to Vote on Controversial Pier 6 Plan on Tuesday

Rendering courtesy of ODA-RAL Development Services - Oliver's Realty Group

 Despite vocal opposition, lawsuits and a vote by the ESD to stall the plan, the city says it's going ahead with it's own vote to approve the controversial Pier 6 towers next Tuesday.

The Brooklyn Eagle reports that the city released a tweaked plan on Wednesday. It lowers the number of affordable units (to 100 from 117) and increases the number of market-rate condos and rental unit.

Opponents of the plan say, "We hope the state will now intervene to stop this city action.”(Don't count on it.)

City tweaks Pier 6 tower plan; Brooklyn Bridge Park to vote on Tuesday [Brooklyn Eagle]


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Pier 6 Developer Tries to Pressure State; DUMBO Apocalypse; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Here's your chance to stroll around DUMBO armed to the teeth, in the middle of an apocalypse. [DumboNYC]

- How de Blasio sold out to an affordable housing trade group, why their business is booming and why many of the units of the "low income" housing the City Council just voted for will be too expensive for current residents of rezoned neighborhoods. [Gothamist]

- Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6 developer says financing could fall through if state doesn’t OK plan soon. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A Brooklyn traffic agent is accused of posing as a police officer to force prostitutes into providing free sexual services. [Patch]

- Bring your own containers: Prospect Heights resident Sarah Metz has set out to start an eco-friendly supermarket, to be known as The Fillery. [Brownstoner]

-  The insurance agent who admitted to ripping off seniors at his Dyker Heights office jumped off the 69th Street Pier. [Bensonhurst Bean]

- Brooklyn Heights author Helen Simonson discusses her long-awaited second novel, “The Summer Before the War.”  [Brooklyn Eagle]

- 'Saucy' DUMBO moving company ads rile religious Jews in Brooklyn. [Jewish Voice]

- Comedian Joe Pera talks you to sleep in this thoroughly weird bedtime comedy video. [Brokelyn]

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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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De Blasio's Affordable Housing Adenda Comes Home to Roost in Brooklyn

The “ULURP version” of the planned LICH development. Rendering courtesy of Williams New York

Mayor Bill de Blasio's affordable housing agenda has dropped a big, fat bomb in the middle of the once-quaint neighborhoods of Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights, not far from Mayor Bill de Blasio's home in Park Slope.

A rationale for the irrational (the Pier 6 towers, the Long Island College Hospital - LICH - skyscrapers, the Brooklyn Heights Library tower and other irresponsible Brooklyn developments) can be found in Bryan Burrough's article in Vanity Fair on de Blasio:

"... His agenda is one agenda and nothing else: income inequality and affordable housing. He doesn’t care about parks or potholes or anything else. He has two issues [income inequality and affordable housing] and two issues only."

"... But even more important is that the city’s builders love him, and they have always elected the mayor in New York City, by funneling more money than anyone else to their chosen candidate. Why do they love de Blasio? Because he doesn’t give a damn about urban planning, density, or architecture. He only cares about more affordable housing. For the builders that means they get to build an extra 20 floors and do it with fewer restrictions.”

Atlantic Yards Report adds:

"If only Burrough had actually delved into de Blasio's willingness to champion unaffordable affordable housing."


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More Affordable Apartments Going In at City Point in Brooklyn

Courtesy City Point

 The developers of City Point are increasing the number of affordable apartments at the mega-development in Downtown Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

Because of a deal the builders just finalized with the city, a whopping 80% of the units in City Point's Tower 1 rental-apartment building will be earmarked for low- and middle-income residents - up from 50% originally planned.

 Affordable housing is a top priority for Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Developers increase the affordable-apartment tally in City Point's Tower 1 [Brooklyn Eagle]


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It's Getting Hot: De Blasio, Bratton Launch 'Summer All Out' Crime Fighting Program

Photo: Demetrius Freeman/Mayoral Photography Office

With violent crime inching up, Mayor de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bratton announced the launch of "Summer All Out" program Wednesday.

De Blasio said officers would be focused on "high-crime areas across the city," and said it worked well last year, especially in Brooklyn's 77th Precinct. (Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Weeksville)

Last year, the 77th saw the greatest drop in overall crime, with a 24.8 percent decrease.

The NYPD will temporarily reassign 330 administrative officers to boost patrols in 10 high-crime precincts and four high-crime police service areas. The NYPD will also, with community partners, specifically target gangs and street crews.

"Summer All Out has a proven track record of success, and utilizes our best tactics - from state-of-the-art crime data analysis to dedicated on-the-ground officer patrols - to help keep all our city's residents safe and protected throughout the summer months," de Blasio said in a statement.

Bratton is still fighting off a flap that occurred when the Guardian reported that he said hiring black officers was hard because so many have spent time in jail.

“We’re asking, we’re not even asking we’re demanding, a retraction and a correction because the story was a total misrepresentation of the original story,” Bratton said.


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