Monday: Brooklyn Dyslexia Awareness Night

Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, BP Eric Adams and Sen. Martin Golden are hosting Monday night's Brooklyn Dyslexia Awareness Night, where you can learn all about this condition and how to improve students' educational outcomes.

A panel of experts and teens will be there.

It's at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights starting at 6 p.m.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Diane Ravitch Speaks in Brooklyn Heights Tonight, and More Brooklyn Briefs

Grace Chorale will be performing J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio Dec. 18 & 20 in Brooklyn Heights.

- Despite EPA warning him not to, Christopher Swain swam the entire 1.8 mile length of the Gowanus Canal on Saturday. [PMFA]

- Education expert and author Diane Ravitch, 'Reign of Error' author, to speak at Brooklyn Heights Library benefit tonight. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Photos: Smorgasburg and Brooklyn Flea invade Industry City. [Brownstoner]

- Father of young boy was fatally shot in broad daylight in East New York. [PIX11]

- A man fell between the slats of a subway track up to his chest — and was then struck by an D train on Saturday. [NY Daily News]

- New Boerum Hill townhouse asks $7.5M. [Curbed]

- Spooktacular! Halloween listings for Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Marketing 550 Vanderbilt condos "with deception." [Atlantic Yards Report]

- Mobile food pantry comes to Farragut, Ingersoll and Whitman Houses. [BKReader]

- The history of the "Society to Prevent Disparaging Remarks about Brooklyn." [WNYC]

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Big Rent Vote Tonight; Real Estate Doubts Creep In; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board is scheduled to vote on Monday evening on whether to increase rents for more than one million rent-stabilized apartments. [NY Times]

- Did you miss the Make It in Brooklyn Innovation Summit? See video here. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Four people were stabbed when a crazed man pulled a knife in a Bay Ridge bar early Sunday. [Daily News]

- The mother of seven children who died in a March fire in their Brooklyn home was released from the hospital. [Forward]

- NYC bill would require some bathrooms to be gender-neutral. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Looks like there might be some funny business on those rescored Regents exams at Automotive High School in Greenpoint. [NY Post]

- [Blast from the past: 2006] Some doubts creeping in on Brooklyn real estate, says broker -- who says people are asking, “Am I really going to pay $600,000 to live next to an abandoned building?” [TRD]

- This week, Guernsey’s will auction the spectacular World War I poster collection of Colonel Edward H. McCrahon, a Brooklyn-born soldier passionate about the Allied cause. [Guernsey's]


Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn Tattoo Artist Hunted; Music Video Brings Guns to Fulton Street., and More Brooklyn Briefs

- NYPD hunting Brooklyn tattoo artist accused of 'brutally beating girlfriend whose arms and legs he tied together before whipping her stomach with a chain.' [Daily Mail]

- Fire rips through apartment of Williamsburg man living with nine pets, as cat and three dogs perish. [Daily News]

- The Public Design Commission is set to vote today on a company’s plans to construct a commercial vineyard, wine-production facility and event space on the roof of Building 275 in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. [WSJ]

- Five people have been arrested for allegedly bringing guns to Fulton Street in Brooklyn, scene of a video being made in tribute to a fallen rapper Chinx. [NY1]

- De Blasio restores funding for summer programs after push by parents, advocates. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- The Celebrate Brooklyn Performing Arts Festival for 2015 opens with a concert by Chaka Khan on June 3. [CaribbeanLifeNews]

- Verizon has installed new fiber optic cable, and the street fire and police call boxes around Brooklyn Heights are once again functional. [BHB]

- The band Mastodon was on Game of Thrones last night! [Brooklyn Vegan]


Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Common Core: Weird Stuff Going On with NYC's State Test Numbers?

Photo: Renato Ganoza

 Leonie Haimson, the Executive Director of Class Size Matters, reveals some odd discrepancies in the number of kids the state says took the NYS Common Core tests, and the number the city says took them.

The state initially said more than 22,000 NYC kids opted out of the NY state ELA exams and more than 26,000 the math exams. This is more than three times last year.

It seems the state would have failed its own math exams.

"State officials suspect there was an error in the way a large group of city students were coded in the state database of third- through eighth-graders who took the tests," the state told the News.

Haimson said, "My response to all this: with such erratic and unreliable information, how can anyone trust any of the test score data from NYSED?"

Full story by Haimson here.


Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

NYC Gave Kids' Private Info to Corporations; Parents Hit the Roof

Pissed-off parent from P.S. 49 at town hall. Photo: MK Metz

At a Town Hall at Brooklyn Borough Hall last night, Brooklyn parents went ballistic when told that the New York City Department of Education (along with NY state), has handed over to a private corporation -- inBloom, Inc. -- every detail of their kids' most private information.

This data includes: names, addresses, emails, photos, grades, test scores, learning styles, disciplinary, health and attendance records, the results of academic and psychological tests, race and ethnicity, economic and disability status and more, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

Teacher and staff data is also being "shared."

Even better?

Information is being stored on a vulnerable Amazon cloud built by Wireless/Amplify, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation – the company famous for violating the privacy of individuals in Great Britain and in the United States.

Leonie Haimson, executive director of Class Size Matters, put on a Powerpoint presentation guaranteed to make you feel like you stepped into a Big Brother dream. Parents have no ability to "opt out" of the data dump. Commercial vendors -- and inevitably criminal groups based in Russia and Eastern Europe -- will have access to the children's data in order to develop products to market to schools.

Former NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein -- as CEO of Wireless/Amplify -- stands to make mega bucks if Wireless/Amplify's wireless tablet device is given a NYC contract to plug into the inBloom data.

Which something tells us is gonna happen.

- Parents outraged over NYC schools data sharing program. Brooklyn Eagle


Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Pratt Expands Film School; Valentine Gifts for Guys; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- "Probably not the most artful phrase, but the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir just killed it." -- NBC anchor Brian Williams at yesterday's inauguration in Washington, D.C. Brooklyn Eagle 

- Eat your weight in meat: Fairway is giving away 130 pounds of beef, to one hungry carnivore. Brokelyn

- Stolen car with stolen $30,000 Torah inside found untouched in Brooklyn. NY Magazine

- Pratt Institute plans to quadruple enrollment at its film school after moving to new 17,000-square-foot home, while Brooklyn College will start a graduate film program from scratch. Crain's NY

- Shaving soap, steampunk gears cufflinks, black leather chest harness, vintage black derby: Eatsy has pages of Valentine's gifts for guys. Etsy

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Who Won the Third and Final Presidential Debate?

Did Romney scare voters with Iran and China? Did he convince voters our country's global influence is receding?

Did President Obama convince voters their money should go to schools and roads instead of Afghanistan? Did he mention enough examples of Romney changing his positions on important issues?

Who won the third and final Presidential debate?

Vote for the winner in the poll at the top of the column on the right. And then support the candidate of your choice with your vote in the real election.

(Cell phone users: use web browser version of the website, not mobile.)

McBrooklyn voters gave a slight edge to Mitt Romney in the second Presidential debate poll. (50% vs 46%, with 4% undecided.)

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn's Own Batman; Walcott Flops; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Just another night for Brooklyn's own Batman. Brooklyn Eagle

- A look at this year's Dyker Heights Christmas lights. Gothamist

- Due to construction, there will be no ice skating in Prospect Park this year. About

- Brokelyn's 25 gifts under $25 is up to number 12, and it's perfect for that single Jewish gal on your gift list. Brokelyn

- The former owner of the Brooklyn Heights Cinema, Norman Adie, pleaded guilty Monday to bilking investors out of $530,000. NY Daily News

- Parents disappointed in Chancellor Walcott and the DOE at big education meeting in Brooklyn. The Local  

- PMFA tells us where to buy one of those trendy Carroll Gardens necklaces. PMFA

- Private schools push for Pier 5 recreation bubble. Brooklyn Paper

- Is SantaCon over? Gothamist

- A database reveals that one of the five most popular words for New York lawmakers is "Brooklyn." NY Daily News

- The best free phone on every carrier. Gizmodo

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Hope Reichbach Dies; the Royal Wedding; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Hope Reichbach, a rising star in city politics and a key aide to Councilman Steve Levin, is dead at 22. Brooklyn Paper  and Carroll Gardens Patch

- Walcott tries to instill some civility at first Ed Panel meeting. NY1 

- Miss USA's vagina was aggressively frisked by the TSA. Four times. NY Magazine

- U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm (R-Brooklyn/Staten Island) held his first town hall in Brooklyn Wednesday night and got into a verbal fisticuffs with his constituents. Brooklyn Eagle

- 2,600-year-old mummy from Brooklyn Museum gets CAT scan, has perfect teeth. CBS

- In Prospect Park there are people who fly kites fitted with devices that make an annoying humming sound. Brooklynian

- Don't forget: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden's annual Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival will be in full swing this weekend. NY1

- Where to watch/celebrate the Royal Wedding in Brooklyn.  Brokelyn

- A Brooklyn fish importer is on trial for attempting to smuggle around 350 incredibly scarey live snakehead fish through Kennedy Airport last year. NY Magazine

- Now we're really sunk: Superman renounces his U.S. citizenship. Comics Alliance

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Iacono Knifing; Smorgasburg; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Brooklyn writers make strong showing in this year's Pulitzers.  Brooklyn Eagle 

- There will be no liquor license moratorium in Brooklyn. Gothamist 

-  The brutal knife fight between pizza maker Mark Iacono and a convict may have been over a woman. Daily Mail

- The Brooklyn Flea is starting the largest outdoor food market ever in Williamsburg, to be called "Smorgasburg." Brownstoner

- Despite foot-dragging by DOE, P.S. 8 families make mighty effort to expand to the eighth grade. Brooklyn Eagle

- NYPD ticket-fixing scandal runs from Harlem to Brooklyn? DNAinfo

- It's time for the Brokelyn Country Club Spring Gala! (Thursday) Brokelyn

- Forest City Ratner exec offered new details about the Barclays Center basketball arena. TRD

- A worst-case scenario looms for New York: two Wall Street losers may vie for Mayor. Marketwatch

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn Bridge Park Meeting; Domino Sugar Suit; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Dozens of Brooklyn residents spoke out Tuesday night against plans to put residential buildings inside Brooklyn Bridge Park.  NY1

- Opponents of the $1.5 billion mixed-use redevelopment of the crumbling Domino Sugar site in Williamsburg sued last week to overturn the waterfront plan.  TRD 

- Brooklyn Bridge Park has released a Request for Proposals for a full-service restaurant with an outdoor terrace and rooftop seating area on Pier 6. Brooklyn Eagle

- So we had a little earthquake yesterday.  NY Times

- Pedestrian islands are driving Borough Park CRAZY. CRAZY!  Gothamist

- Opponents of new Schools Chancellor Cathie Black will be wearing red Thursday to show their outrage. Brooklyn Eagle 

- The real story: the first groups of Christmas carolers were nothing but a bunch of rowdy drunks. AOLNews via Huff Post

- Even the otters are against us now.  CNN

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Bloomberg Has His Way with Cathie Black

Not much surprise here -- in spite of a "No" vote by his eight-member advisory board, state Education Commissioner David M. Steiner caved, giving Mayor Michael Bloomberg what he has been demanding: a waiver that would allow the tragically inexperienced Cathie Black to become chancellor of the nation's largest school system.

The legal out Steiner employed (which may not actually be legal) was Bloomberg's agreement to have an actual qualified educator serving with under Black, apparently whispering in her ear about all things educational. This qualified educator is Deputy Chancellor Shael Polakow-Suransky, who has experience running schools and has actual degrees and stuff.

Isn't that always the way? The guy with the real talent and experience ends up working as "assistant" to the boss's favorite.

Bloomberg says that Black, chairperson at Hearst Magazines (by the way, she seems like a nice person who somehow just got mixed up with the wrong people) doesn't need any experience in education because she's a talented manager.

Today a group of talented retired teachers are hoofing it over to Hearst Magazines in the hopes of snagging Black's job. Sounds fair.

Hey -- money saving idea! Why not cut out Black and just appoint Polakow-Suransky? We hear he's really qualified.

Stories about this: NY Times, NY1

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

A Few Thoughts About Preschool

- Even as the U.S. claws its way out of the current economic disaster, the groundwork is being laid for tomorrow’s economy in preschool classrooms across the country, says Jim Matison, executive director of the Brooklyn Kindergarten Society.  Brooklyn Eagle 

- China is investing money to make preschool available more widely as part of a push to develop a highly skilled work force. the-signal

- Average salary preschool teacher in the U.S.: $29,000.  indeed.com

- Average salary dog groomer in the U.S.: $36,000.  indeed.com   

- Average salary bartender in the U.S.:  $58,000. indeed.com


Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

YMCA Gets Theater Tenant; National Grid Gets Bedbugs; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Carroll Gardens dog owners want "savage" Malamutes put to sleep.  New York Post  via  Gothamist

- A 16-year-old boy driving a minivan at more than twice the speed limit crashed into a Brooklyn house Sunday, killing his 13-year-old female passenger. NY Daily News

- Now that New York has won the Race to the Top funds, the NYC Dept. of Education has cut funding for after-school tutoring, arts programs and sports practices.  Gothamist

- The YWCA, owner of the 11-story building at Atlantic and Third avenues in Boerum Hill, has found an arts tenant who will restore its historic and long unused Memorial Hall theater. Brooklyn Eagle

- National Grid offices at 1 MetroTech in Downtown Brooklyn are infested with bedbugs.  Brooklyn Paper

- The Brooklyn Waldorf School in Fort Greene is most likely moving to a new building in Bed-Stuy. A Child Grows

- OMG. Look at what chicken nuggets are made out of. Gizmodo

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

A Rabbi Visits Ricky's, Feral Eagles, and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Oy! Rabbi Aaron Raskin bought a load of cosmetics at Rickey’s on Montague Street, bucking protesters who rallied outside the shop last week.  Vicious Babushka 

- So it's 100 degrees and this guy's walking around Brooklyn Heights in a full-body Eagle costume. BHB

- The guy who replaced Stanley Bosworth at St. Ann's was nothing like Stanley. Wasn't that the idea?   NY Times

- Brooklyn BP Marty Markowitz accepted more free travel than any other elected official in New York City last year. WSJ

- Charles Rangel introduced a bill to bring back the draft for both men and women. Again. And again.  

- Thinking of visiting Alberta, Canada? Think again. Huff Post


Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn's 'Toxic Preschool' Head, Andy Lewis, To Be Sentenced Friday*

Remember Boerum Hill's infamous "Toxic Preschool"?

The Brooklyn Eagle reports that Andy Lewis, the director the Brooklyn Children's Academy Preschool — which closed in 2007 after shocked parents discovered that it had no heat, exposed wires, unpainted walls and noxious fumes — is scheduled to be sentenced Friday before Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto on charges of stealing more than half a million dollars in U.S. Department of Agriculture funds.

Lewis still owes thousands of dollars to the parents who signed up for his failed preschool in Boerum Hill. This past March he tried to open up a summer camp in Fort Greene; this idea was canned when angry parents planned a protest there to warn new parents not to leave deposits.

According to the Eagle, Lewis repeatedly tested positive for cocaine use after he was arrested in 2008. This past July, he was jailed after testing positive for cocaine the ninth time.

*(UPDATE: Oops -- we meant Friday, not Thursday as we originally published.)

- Sentencing for ‘Toxic Preschool’ Head Set for Friday Brooklyn Eagle


- Brooklyn's Toxic Preschool Owner Opening Up a Summer Camp
- Brooklyn's Toxic Preschool Boss Charged with Fraud McBrooklyn
- Brooklyn 'Toxic Preschool' Parents Out of Luck? McBrooklyn
- Promises of Refund to Parents Underline History of Scandal As Toxic Preschool Moves On Brooklyn Eagle
- 'Toxic' Preschool Families Get Help From Brooklyn Borough Hall Brooklyn Eagle
- 'Toxic Boerum Hill Preschool to Reopen, Director Says McBrooklyn
- 'Toxic' Brooklyn School to Reopen? Brooklyn Eagle
- More Trouble at 'Toxic' Preschool in Boerum Hill McBrooklyn
- 'Toxic' Preschool Parents Wonder: Where's the Money? Brooklyn Eagle
- Brooklyn Children's Academy Preschool Nightmares A Child Grows in Brooklyn
- Toxic Preschool in Brooklyn? Brooklyn Eagle
- 'Toxic' Preschool in Boerum Hill McBrooklyn

Photo by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn's 'Toxic Preschool' Head: Families' $$$ Went Up His Nose

It turns out that Andy Lewis -- the guy who ran Boerum Hill's "toxic preschool," the Brooklyn Children's Academy (left) and allegedly stole thousands from a wide range of families, teachers, landlords and the United States Dept. of Agriculture -- has many problems. One of them is a big fat coke habit.

That's one of the many little details that came out at yesterday's court appearance, as reported by the Brooklyn Eagle.

A representative from Pretrial Services told Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto that Lewis "tested positive for cocaine eight times since testing began about four months ago, and has evaded many of the mandated tests. 'He has repeatedly manipulated the system, repeatedly failed to show up for drug tests,' she said."

Join the club. Parents and teachers who have dealt with Lewis also feel that they were manipulated. Dozens of them were never paid back the thousands of dollars Lewis took from them in the form of preschool deposits and tuition. Now we know where their money is -- up Lewis' nose.

Judge Gives 'Toxic Preschool' Boss 'Last Chance' Brooklyn Eagle

- Brooklyn's 'Toxic Preschool' Owner Is Opening Up a Summer Camp

Photo by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn's 'Toxic Preschool' Owner Is Opening Up a Summer Camp

If at first you don't succeed . . .

Andy Lewis, the guy who ran the "toxic" preschool on Dean Street in Boerum Hill (left) -- and was subsequently indicted for defrauding the National Child Food Program of more than $500,000 -- is opening up a summer camp in Fort Greene.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, Lewis still owes thousands of dollars to the parents who signed up for his failed preschool in Boerum Hill.

Eagle: Lewis "is now looking for children to attend his new Fort Greene Day Camp, which he plans to operate out of either a public school or the Masonic Temple in Fort Greene."

Lewis is advertising a summer camp open house at South Oxford Space (on South Oxford Street in Fort Greene) for Wednesday night.

UPDATE: The open house was canceled! Angry parents were planning to stage a protest there to warn new parents not to leave deposits. Brooklyn Eagle

- Brooklyn's Toxic Preschool Boss Charged with Fraud McBrooklyn
- Brooklyn 'Toxic Preschool' Parents Out of Luck? McBrooklyn
- Promises of Refund to Parents Underline History of Scandal As Toxic Preschool Moves On Brooklyn Eagle
- 'Toxic' Preschool Families Get Help From Brooklyn Borough Hall Brooklyn Eagle
- 'Toxic Boerum Hill Preschool to Reopen, Director Says McBrooklyn
- 'Toxic' Brooklyn School to Reopen? Brooklyn Eagle
- More Trouble at 'Toxic' Preschool in Boerum Hill McBrooklyn
- 'Toxic' Preschool Parents Wonder: Where's the Money? Brooklyn Eagle
- Brooklyn Children's Academy Preschool Nightmares A Child Grows in Brooklyn
- Toxic Preschool in Brooklyn? Brooklyn Eagle
- 'Toxic' Preschool in Boerum Hill McBrooklyn

Photo by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Grammar Gods Save Brooklyn's Temple Bar Building

Earlier this month, McBrooklyn reported about the weird grammar on the Joseph P. Day sign running around the 13-story Temple Bar Building, at 44 Court Street (and Joralemon) in Brooklyn Heights. It read "Will Built To Suit."

We're happy to report that the Grammar Gods have spoken. When we passed by the building this morning, we saw that the sign had been changed: "built" has become "build."

Walk in peace, children. All is well, grammatically speaking, on the streets of Brooklyn.


Brooklyn's Temple Bar Building 'Will Built to Suit'?

Photos by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.