Smart Gun Challenge; Model Agency Scam; and More Brooklyn Briefs

#NYC to feds: Release #Zika funding before it gets worse. 111 #Brooklyn cases. https://t.co/Xn6SlYPBBD pic.twitter.com/YbAreY2Ps6

— Brooklyn Daily Eagle (@BklynEagle) August 17, 2016

- Pollution in Sheepshead Bay is getting disgusting. [Sheepshead Bites]

- Brokelyn salutes a probably fake Pog store. [Brokelyn]

- BP to local colleges: Make us a Smart Gun. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Surplus of Manhattan and Brooklyn rentals driving prices down, report says. [DNAinfo]


- Brooklyn woman scammed by modeling agency that asked her to pay for a 'Talent Imaging Package.' [NY1]

- A redwood forest will grow in Downtown Brooklyn (sort of). [Curbed]

- Beat the heat idea: This new (air conditioned) mini golf course is a cheesy fun tribute to Brooklyn. [Brokelyn]


Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Shake Shack Slashing Lockdown, Midwood Fire, Pinball and More Brooklyn Briefs

#ShakeShack lockdown after vicious slashing in Downtown #Brooklyn. https://t.co/aFHpgfKgKL pic.twitter.com/X6dXHxK95A

— Brooklyn Daily Eagle (@BklynEagle) August 12, 2016

- Shake Shack lockdown after slashing on Fulton Street. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Five firefighters injured battling Midwood fire in extreme heat. [abc7]

- The best pinball bars in mid-Brooklyn. [Brokelyn]

- Robbers targeting deliverymen in Brooklyn. [Pix11]

- Treyger picks up key endorsements in district leader race. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Barbra Streisand performs in Brooklyn. [Fox5]

WANTED: Suspect for arson to vehicles near Stanley & Essex Streets, Bklyn. Call #800577TIPS with info. @NYPD75Pct pic.twitter.com/JtrkW7G8Xj

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) August 11, 2016

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Automatic Gunfire Near Brooklyn Bridge Park; Racist Journal Sold on Brooklyn News Stands; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Sign from art project in MetroTech says, "The truth is I love you." Photo by MKMetz

 - Automatic gunfire shatters calm at Brooklyn’s Fulton Ferry Landing, next to Brooklyn Bridge Park. 1 man hit. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A racist Hasidic journal for teenage boys, on sale in Brooklyn book stores, calls blacks "lowly people" and "animals on two legs." [Failed Messiah]

- Pay $1,950 a month to live with 18 other people in Brooklyn for some crazy reason. [Gawker]

- Advertising for the New York Islanders, which covered the much-promoted "green roof" at the entrance of Barclays Center, disappeared soon after an article in Atlantic Yards Report. [Before] [After]

- Tomorrow, demonstrators protesting police shootings will march from Brooklyn Borough Hall at 2 p.m., headed to Barclays Center.  [Rise Up October]

- A completely intact apartment by American Postmodern architect Michael Graves has been in storage at the Brooklyn Museum since it was acquired in 1986. [Observer]

- A new game app brings the Battle of Brooklyn to your phone. [Village Voice]


Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Google Turns Any Map into PAC-MAN Game for April 1

Playing PAC-MAN on the streets of Brooklyn Heights. Google

Google has done a bang-up job this year for April 1, allowing Google Map users to turn any neighborhood into a maze for the classic arcade game PAC-MAN.

Avoid Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde and eat the dots as you swerve around the streets of Brooklyn Heights, Bay Ridge or even someplace in New Jersey. (Whatever.)

Just go to Google Maps, enter an address and look for the little PAC-MAN icon to start play.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

'Cards Against Brooklyn,' Montague Citibank Building Sold, and More Brooklyn Briefs

Brooklyn City Council Member Arrested For Protesting Senior Center Closing http://t.co/cNY7A3BKq8 pic.twitter.com/k5VaT93b08
— Brooklyn Magazine (@brooklynmag) March 26, 2015

- There's a Kickstarter for a fresh new card deck: Cards Against Brooklyn, designed to deflate Brooklyn's image of being a cool place. [Gothamist]

- Ideas aired at first Brooklyn Heights Library workshop (plus video). [Brooklyn Eagle]

- 'Brooklyn Game Lab’ creates new versions of existing board games. [Pix11]

- Remembering the wild times at Brooklyn’s DIY venues. [Slate]

- Goosebumps! R.L. Stine, king of kids horror books, to read at BookCourt. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Jonathan Rose Companies closed on the Brooklyn Heights Citibank building at 181-183 Montague Street for $36.5 million. [TRD]


Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Some Guy Is Letting the Whole World Control His Christmas Tree

If you visit this Ustream video page, you'll see a live video of a Christmas tree whose lights are blinking on and off in a bizarre barrage of colors and patterns.

Red, white, blue, white, white, red, red, blue -- WTF? (If you tend towards epilepsy you might want to avoid the whole thing.)

What's happening is the Internet is controlling the tree. You can join in by opening another page called "Control Our Tree" at "Patrick Easters Christmas Tree."

The site explains, "Christmas is a big deal here at The Broth. Enjoy it with us by controlling our Christmas tree. Change whatever you want, but don't get crazy." You can click on buttons to control the color, blink pattern and rate. Or you can turn it off.

The rest of the world will also be clicking on colors and rates, so it's not likely your color scheme will prevail. You can join the discussion running alongside the video where different groups try to get everybody to cooperate and make the tree lights blink just red, for example.

A large contingent visiting from the Reddit website got the tree to turn all red for a while.

The tree's owner placed a fire extinguisher right next to it Sunday night.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Cripes, Black Friday 2012 is Almost Upon Us

Photo: Jbhthescots

Black Friday 2012 (November 23, 2012, the shopping day after Thanksgiving) is creeping up on us and the crazy rush of sales and hype will soon be here.

As part of the orchestrated Kabuki dance that accompanies the date, retailers "leak" "secret" Black Friday ads. According to i4U, that's called "taking control of your ads."

According to the cleverly-named blackfriday.com, several retailers -- including Harbor Freight and Fred's Super Dollar -- have already given permission to websites to publish partial Black Friday ads that they leaked themselves.

Here's a real Black Friday deal, however: Engadget reports a Sprint Black Friday ad that reveals $50 Galaxy S III on November 23rd only.

Deal News offers their predictions for upcoming Black Friday deals. For example, look for notable discounts on the iPad2, they say; and start looking for computer game deals before Thanksgiving. (Recently-released, popular game titles for 50% off retail, or about $30.)

In terms of toys, Deal News says, "It's not unrealistic to predict that many popular toys in late September and early October could eventually be marked down up to 50% off during the last week of November." And if you're traveling, Virgin Atlantic and Jet Blue should be offering great deals on Black Friday. See Deal News for more Black Friday predictions.

BTW, they also report that some Walmart workers may walk off the job on November 23 to protest the store's unfair labor practices, including low worker pay. (Sounds like American workers are learning from Foxconn.)

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.