Climbing Drills at Ladder Co. 118 in Brooklyn Heights

Photo by MK Metz

 Ladder Co. 118 practiced their ladder climbs at the Brooklyn Heights firehouse over the weekend.

The drill followed the very real July 4 fire in DUMBO when firefighters from Ladder Co. 118 scaled a six-story loft building at 57 Jay St. to extinguish a fire reported on a lower floor.

You can see photos showing just how dizzyingly far the ladders extended at that fire here.


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Huma Abedin in Bk Heights; BQX Route Update; Bk Heights Library Work Starts Today; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Huma Abedin is off the trail for the fourth day in a row. She's working out of Clinton HQ in Brooklyn instead. [Twitter]

- And more: a video tour of Hillary Clinton's campaign HQ in Brooklyn. [NY Magazine]

- City unveils possible routes for streetcar in Brooklyn and Queens. [NY Times]

- Man in wheelchair clipped by train after falling onto tracks at Brooklyn subway station. [Daily News]

- Famous Brooklyn Heights firehouse doors headed to 9/11 Memorial Museum. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- NYU is building a real holodeck. [technical.ly]

- Developer files plan to demolish Brooklyn Heights Library; Asbestos removal begins Wednesday. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Photo shows $20K portrait Trump bought with foundation money. [The Hill]

You have the right to vote free from harassment on #ElectionDay - make sure you know all your #votingrights before November 8th. pic.twitter.com/mZmycSVTsS

— Tish James (@TishJames) November 1, 2016

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Three Alarm Fire in East New York, Brooklyn

There are no injuries to report at 3-alarm fire at 420 Lincoln Ave #Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/nzGFkdAN9X

— FDNY (@FDNY) November 2, 2016

FDNY posted the video above on its Twitter account showing a three alarm fire at 420 Lincoln Ave. in Brooklyn. No injuries were reported.

NBC is reporting that one person was killed.

NYC posted the video below of the same fire.

#Bomberos del @FDNY enfrentan un #incendio de 3 alarmas ahora en 420 Lincoln Ave #Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/S24yS5tbLk

— Ciudad de Nueva York (@nycgob) November 2, 2016

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Brooklyn Prison on Lockdown; Fire in Downtown Brooklyn; Matt Damon Tours Brooklyn Heights Mansion; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Joycleen Franklin, 79, was last seen Tuesday wearing a brown beret and a blue jacket. She was last seen near Flatlands and Pennsylvania avenues in Brooklyn. If you see her call 9-1-1.

- The Metropolitan Detention Center was on lockdown Wednesday after a violent brawl between MS-13 and Crips gang members at the federal lockup in Sunset Park. [Daily News]

- 76th Precinct criticized following 4-car collision on Clinton Street Tuesday night. [PMFA] 

- Public comment period opens on a cleanup plan for contaminated site on the Gowanus Canal. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- 4 films to get excited about at this year’s Bushwick Film Festival. [Brokelyn]

- Flames tore through a line of storefronts along Fulton Street near the intersection of Fulton and Flatbush Avenue on Wednesday. [Patch]

- Two former River Café employees claim they were subjected to homoerotic harassment by a manager at the landmark restaurant in Fulton Ferry. [Daily News]

- Cranberry Street Fair returns to Brooklyn Heights this Saturday. [Brooklyn Eagle]

-  The historic Lundy’s Brothers Restaurant building on Emmons Avenue will be getting some much needed improvements. [Sheepshead Bites]

- Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso toured the most expensive home in Brooklyn — the $40 million BH mansion at 3 Pierrepont Place. [NY Post]

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Fire & Disaster Drill in Downtown Brooklyn Monday (Aug. 1)

Don't be alarmed. Photo by MK Metz

There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for those fires and scattered bodies you'll be seeing next to Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn starting 6:30 p.m. Monday: They're part of a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training class (and the bodies are actually practice dummies).

The disaster drill will take place at Cadman Plaza East and Red Cross Place. FDNY and NYPD personnel will be action.

CERT members will practice aiding the injured, controlling traffic, calming the panicky, and putting out fires.

According to OEM, CERT members undergo "an intensive 10-week training program that raises awareness about emergencies and disasters and provides basic response skills needed for fire safety, light search and rescue, disaster medical operations, and traffic control." 

To learn more about CERT, visit http://www.NYC.gov/CERThttp://www.NYC.gov/CERT.


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Nine People Injured in Six-Alarm Brooklyn Fire Sunday Night

Brooklyn: *6th Alarm fire* Box 1784 at 268 Arlington Ave heavy fire in a private dwelling. pic.twitter.com/kuzAbAm2VJ

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) April 25, 2016

ABC News is reporting that nine people, including seven firefighters were injured in a six-alarm fire in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, Sunday night.

The fire broke out in a three-story residential home on 270 Arlington Avenue, according to ABC. It then spread to five houses and a nearby church.

More here.


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Serious Fire in Williamsburg Monday Night

U/D Brooklyn: *2 Alarm Fire* Box 125 at 232 Metropolitan Ave 1 fire victim being removed with CPR in progress. pic.twitter.com/MZuKF1iAFh

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) March 29, 2016

A two-alarm fire broke out on the first floor of a six-story apartment building at 232 Metropolitan Ave., between Bedford and Driggs avenues in Williamsburg, late Monday night, according to Patch.

Patch reports two persons were injured, while PIX11 reports that six adults and one child were hurt and ferried to local hospitals.

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Lay Off Pizza-Eating Car Crash Witness? And More Brooklyn Briefs

Take a moment to be inspired by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, performing Worthy Is the Lamb.

- The NYC Council approved controversial legislation which will require the city to use tax-payer dollars to pay for security guards at private and religious schools. [Capital NY]

- Capano calls on Sarsour to resign from Community Board 10. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Two men leap to their deaths from the same garage at Kings Plaza Shopping Center, in two unrelated incidents, 4 hours apart. [Sheepshead Bites]

- Should we be shaming the woman who saw that fatal car crash that killed Victoria Nicodemus, 30, of Brooklyn Heights, and walked away eating pizza? [Slate]

- The unlicensed driver who killed Victoria Nicodemus had been cited for speeding through school zones three times last month. [DNAinfo]

- After San Bernardino, NYC officials push city to divest from gun makers. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Street artist wraps Williamsburg bar, shut down Sunday in the face of an explosive rent increase, in “Gentrification in Progress” caution tape. [Patch]

- Two shootings in Brooklyn last night. [NY Daily News]

- Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams plans to run for mayor of New York City at some point in the not-so-distant future. [Patch]

- PHOTOS: All hands fire at 66 St. in Brooklyn. [NY Buff]

- Brownstoner has a list of every Brooklyn-branded thing on Earth. [Brownstoner]


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Men Disappear into Brooklyn Sewer; Macy's Transformation; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Marina, Brooklyn Bridge Park. Photo: MK Metz

 - The owner of Rockefeller Center has big plans for the Macy's site in Downtown Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A 10-year-old charged with mugging a Brooklyn grandmother earlier this week added arson to his list of offenses... The 4-year-old lookout was not arrested. [NY Daily News]

- FDNY didn't find 2 scavengers who climbed into the Brooklyn sewer system last night.  [PIX11]  UPDATE: Oh yes they did, and what a mess. [NY Daily News]

- Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams is in Istanbul, Turkey, this week to sign a “sister city protocol” with Istanbul’s hip Üsküdar borough. [Patch]

- The Coney Island Sand Sculpting contest’s 25th anniversary is this Saturday. [Brownstoner]

- New renderings of the 40-story tower to be built in Coney Island show it will be a bit higher than expected and will include retail and a community space. [YIMBY]

- The Brooklyn Whale Oil company building in Sunset Park is selling for $82.5 million. [Crain's NY]

- Bad news for Amplify, the NewsCorp subsidiary owned by Rupert Murdoch and run by ex-NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein. [NYC Public School Parents]  Specifically, "The nail is in the coffin for Amplify." [Edsurge]


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Brooklyn Firefighters Sizzle in 2016 FDNY Calendar of Heroes

Photo courtesy FDNY

 Check out "New York's Buffest" in FDNY's 2016 Calendar of Heroes.

February Firefighter Al Coombs is looking pretty good up there on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade...


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#1 Hotel in Brooklyn Coming to Dumbo Heights? Heights Cinema Plan OK'd; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Dumbo Heights

 - Ian Schrager is working on a new Public hotel at J. Kushner's Dumbo Heights office and retail project. “We ... intend for it to be the No. 1 hotel in Brooklyn,” said Schrager. [NY Post]

- New York City’s Landmark Preservation Commission gave JMH Development and Madison Estates the thumbs-up for their plans at the former site of the Brooklyn Heights Cinema. [CP Executive]

- More cops may be headed to Brooklyn’s 84th Precinct, and Brooklyn Bridge Park is part of the reason why. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A group burned an American flag during a protest in Fort Greene Park Wednesday night, but scattered when opponents stepped in. [CBS local]

- Possible fetus (!) found in Dunkin’ Donuts coffee cup left in Brooklyn public housing development’s stairwell. [Daily News]

- The NYPD will enhance counterterrorism efforts on Fourth of July this year in response to an increase in worldwide threats. [SI Live]

- $5.3 million will be spent to put high-speed broadband into the Southwest Brooklyn, Long Island City, North Brooklyn and Greenpoint-Williamsburg Industrial Business Zones. [Observer]

- Manhole fires along Bergen Street snagged multiple subway lines from downtown Brooklyn to Park Slope Wednesday afternoon. [CBS local]

- Suspects who stole over 50 phones, tablets from Park Slope AT&T store were caught on camera. [Daily News]

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Bill Murray to Lead Poetry Walk Across Brooklyn Bridge Monday Night, and More Brooklyn Briefs

Mentors and their high school mentees dance at the annual iMentor picnic in Cadman Plaza Park. Photo by MK Metz

- Bill Murray is going to lead hundreds of poetry lovers and poets across the Brooklyn Bridge in an on-the-go poetry reading Monday at 6:30 p.m. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Brooklyn DA helps nab crook who stole woman's wallet. [WSJ]

- 1,000 new Citi Bikes getting redesign by Olympic racing bike designer. [Daily News]

- Fire at NY Methodist hospital in Park Slope on Saturday diverts ambulances. [NY Post]

- Five hospitals in Brooklyn will be hit of the nurses union approves a strike. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Fascinating look at the sex life of Hasidic Jews. [Salon]

- Williamsburg's Northside Festival brings hundreds of performing artists, film screenings, art installations. [MetroUS]

- Brownstone in Carroll Gardens repeatedly defaced by gay slurs. [TRD]


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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]


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Fire at Beth Chana Girls School in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

The Failed Messiah blog posted this video of the roof of the Beth Chana girls school in Williamsburg on fire this afternoon.

(The video misnamed the site as the Klausenberg Yeshiva.)

According to NY Scanner, the kids are all safe.

U/D Brooklyn: Box372 at 136 Wallabout St @NYPD90PCT reporting all kids out safe from building. EMS staging. pic.twitter.com/v5vC3IXbug

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) May 12, 2015

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Giant Sinkhole Doesn't Completely Swallow a Firetruck in Brooklyn, but Close Enough

Photo by Brian Stansberry courtesy Wikipedia

 What does Brooklyn have in common with Florida and Russia?

Massive sinkholes that mysteriously open up and swallow large objects like fire trucks -- which, by the way, happened in East Flatbush today when a firetruck got "sucked into" a sinkhole, injuring two firefighters (thankfully, only minor injuries).

Despite getting hurt directly in front of Brookdale Hospital, the injured firefighters were taken to Kings County Hospital.

- Firetruck sucked into Brooklyn sinkhole, 2 injured [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Massive sinkhole caves under fire truck [News 12 - subscription]


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Snowden Again in Fort Greene Park; Brooklyn Paramount to Reopen; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Guerrilla #Snowden sculpture removed from Brooklyn park replaced by projection from @illuminator99. pic.twitter.com/coVpyP7Yg9
— As It Happens (@cbcasithappens) April 7, 2015

- Hours after police removed a 100-lb bust of Edward Snowden from Fort Greene Park on Monday, artists replaced it with a hologram. [Gothamist]

- The Brooklyn Paramount, at Flatbush and DeKalb avenues in Downtown Brooklyn, will undergo a 24-month renovation and reopen as the Paramount Events Center -- and operated by Bruce Ratner and Onexim Sports. [CBS] [Brooklyn Eagle]

- In one day: Fires in Flatbush, Bushwick and Prospect Park. [Brownstoner blog wrap]

- PETA is giving Brooklyn Councilmember Stephen Levin an award for his selfless cat rescue. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Unequal justice in Brooklyn under the reign of DA Ken Thompson: Longer sentence if you're not Jewish? [Failed Messiah]

- A pair of bald eagles have taken up residence just off Staten Island, building the city’s first eagle nest in at least 100 years. [Bensonhurst Bean]

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Pier 6 Lawsuit on Hold; '91 Photo Refutes Cop Claim; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6 lawsuit on hold pending talks, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

- This summer, the long-time directors of the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Brooklyn Museum will both step down. Brooklyn Magazine does exit interviews.

- Daily News photo from '91 shows ex-NYPD detective with man he says he didn't remember...

- With CB2’s withdrawal, there are questions about the role of the Brooklyn Bridge Park advisory council, says the Brooklyn Eagle.

- 6 firefighters injured fighting that huge 4-alarm blaze in Mill Basin on Monday, reports the Daily News.

- Police caught that woman who escaped police custody at Brookdale Hospital, CBS says.

- Known as “zennes,” male belly dancers make a comeback in Istanbul, reports the WSJ. Their costumes are almost identical to those worn by their female counterparts.


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Person Rescued from Red Hook Water Near Quadrozzi's Cement Plant

Brooklyn: 699 Columbia St Person fell into water, was removed from the water by PD FD being treated by EMS.
— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) February 2, 2015

An unfortunate person fell into the water at 699 Columbia Street on the Red Hook Waterfront on this freezing evening.

No word yet on the condition of the victim nor what hospital he or she was eventually transported to.

That is the location of the Gowanus Bay Terminal (GBX), which includes the large grain terminal and the Cement Silo Vessel.

According to the Waterfront Alliance, GBX is controlled by local cement businessman John Quadrozzi, Jr.

It's not far from the Brooklyn IKEA.

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Heartbreak at Brooklyn's 84th Precinct

Photo: MK Metz

Firefighters delivered food to Brooklyn’s 84th Precinct on Gold Street on Sunday, as neighbors left flowers at a memorial honoring police officers Wenjin Liu and Rafael Ramos.

The two officers were senselessly murdered in Bed-Stuy on Saturday.

Flowers, candlelight vigil for two murdered Brooklyn NYPD officers [Brooklyn Eagle]


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Kushner-Owned Brownstone in Brooklyn Heights Unsecured for Weeks

Photo by MK Metz

Brooklyn Heights activist Jeff Smith says that an unlocked $6.3 million brownstone on Monroe Place is "a bomb ready to go off," reports the Brooklyn Eagle.

The brownstone -- with a broken window and unlocked basement hatch -- is owned by real estate group Kushner Properties, which bought it from Brooklyn Law School in April, 2014.

Smith worries that squatters or kids may set off a conflagration in the building. FDNY and NYPD have been out to look at the brownstone, which has been gutted.

Smith's activism may be paying off. DOB is going to reinspect the site, and the Brooklyn Heights Association has reported the problem to the 84th Precinct.


Brooklyn Heights resident wants more security for $6.3 million brownstone [Brooklyn Eagle]

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