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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Hurricane Joaquin Update: Gov. Cuomo Says Pack Your Go Bag

Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged residents to prep for the possibility of Hurricane Joaquin heading to New York, in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The National Hurricane Center’s computer models show an increased possibility of Hurricane Joaquin hitting the East Coast of the U.S. on Sunday, then edging up to New York on Monday.

Still, other models predict different trajectories. A European model has the hurricane headed harmlessly out to sea, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

John Melville, Commissioner of the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services said residents should take preparation seriously.

“Having emergency supplies on hand such as flashlights and batteries, and water and canned goods is essential. Residents should begin monitoring weather conditions through local media reports and broadcasts, and be sure to follow any protective orders issued by emergency officials,” he said in a statement.

Even more telling, Ms. Levi's seventh-grade science class informs us that Joaquim is now a Category 2 hurricane . . .

How many of my 7th graders are following the storm?! We are now at a cat. 2, folks!! Joaquin is strengthening! ☔️☔️☔️ #7thGradeScience

— Mrs. Levi (@MrsCoach_Levi) October 1, 2015

Gov. Cuomo: Get ready for possible hit from Hurricane Joaquin [Brooklyn Eagle]

Hurricane Joaquin poised to hit Bahamas, could target U.S. next [CNN]

Hurricane JOAQUIN Forecast Discussion [National Hurricane Center]

NASA Does Hurricanes [NASA]

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J'Ouvert Fest in Brooklyn Marred by Shootings, Stabbings Again

9-11 Tribute in Light rehearsal. Photo by MK Metz

 - Photos: Brooklyn gets the party started at J'Ouvert parade in Crown Heights. [Gothamist]

- One dead, four wounded during J'Ouvert celebrations. [Breitbart]

- 43-year-old Carey Gabay, Gov. Cuomos first deputy counsel, was shot in the head during J'Ouvert. [NY1]

- Sunday night, two different hit-and-run drivers injured two different NYPD officers patrolling different parts of the borough. [Patch]

- Residents in Brooklyn and Queens may smell smoke from a large fire that burned Monday evening in South Jersey. [NBC]

- Drew Barrymore to co-host massive Brooklyn rave. [Post]

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Fresh Landmarking Push for Crown Heights North, and More Brooklyn Briefs

Photo: MK Metz

- Tax season: Free filing help available in Brooklyn. (But if you're e-filing, watch out for tax scams.) [Brooklyn Eagle]

- How to get that Brooklyn real estate look everybody's talking about -- and still have room for a large furnace for disposing of medical waste. [The Owl]

- CUNY research team unveils storm resiliency ideas for Jamaica Bay. [Sheepshead Bites]

- Hipsters to start composting: Official mainstream composting coming to Williamsburg this spring. [Brokelyn]

- Forum on implementing tolls on East River bridges and other transportation questions, in Downtown Brooklyn on Thursday. [Brownstoner]

- Fresh landmarking push for Crown Heights North. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Heat waves, storms, flooding and droughts: Two new studies paint a somewhat grim portrait of New York City in 100 years from now. [Sheepshead Bites]


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Close to 400 Customers Still Without Power in Brooklyn

Courtesy of Con Ed

 Scattered power outages across Brooklyn have lingered into Thursday.

 362 locations in the borough were without power early Thursday morning, according to Con Edison's Storm Center.

Many are related to the non-Blizzzard of 2015, which left close to a foot of snow -- and much corrosive ssalt -- on many Brooklyn streets.


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Ebola Drill Wed. Night from Kings County Hospital, Brooklyn, to Bellevue

Ebola virus by NIAID

Don't be alarmed: This is just an Ebola drill.

New York City warns us that a "full-scale FDNY exercise" is scheduled to take place tonight, 11/5, from 6 to 11 p.m. at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn and Bellevue Hospital, Manhattan.

"The exercise will involve the simulation of a patient transport between the two facilities, and an increase in the presence of emergency personnel and vehicles should be expected. This is only an exercise," NYC says.

SUNY hospitals not in Brooklyn -- Stony Brook University Hospital and the SUNY Upstate Medical University -- are part of a statewide network of hospitals that will treat potential Ebola patients.

SUNY Downstate -- across the street from Kings County -- in Brooklyn, however, is not one of the chosen treatment hospitals.  

SUNY says its Ebola Steering Committee is led by Dr. John Williams, president of SUNY Downstate Medical Center, which "will meet on a regular basis to monitor the situation locally and will work to ensure information is up-to-date."

Now are you alarmed? 

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Brooklyn's Disaster Kind of Day Wednesday

Downtown Brooklyn started out the day with a massive disaster drill at the Office of Emergeency Management.

In the scenario, a 10-ton nuclear blast in Times Square went off at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, killing roughly 100,000 on impact, reports the Brooklyn Eagle.

If the OEM building is still standing, “This would become the seat of government,” OEM Commissioner Esposito said. Good to know!

Wednesday night, a town hall on Ebola and the enterovirus was held at Brooklyn Boro Hall.

More on this  disaster event tomorrow.

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Film and Talk: Coney Island Creek After Sandy

On October 29, the second anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, the Coney Island History Project presents:  "Coney Island Creek After Sandy: Planning for the Future."

Will the Creek be a community asset or a liability? A talk and film presentation by Charles Denson, director of the Coney Island History Project, will be held at the Coney Island Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library at 6pm. The Wednesday evening event is free and open to the public. The Coney Island Library is located at 1901 Mermaid Avenue at the corner of West 19th Street.

Charles Denson, a Coney Island native, has been documenting the Creek for over 40 years and is working on a book and film about the waterway. In 2013 Denson received the Herman Melville Award from the New York State Marine Education Association.

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Emergency Preparedness Forum at Brooklyn Boro Hall Tuesday, 9/16

Photo: MK Metz

Tuesday at 6:00 PM, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams will host a forum on emergency preparedness with Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Commissioner Joseph Esposito in the courtroom of Brooklyn Borough Hall.

As a part of OEM’s efforts for National Emergency Preparedness Month, the group will explain the measures that city residents can use to be storm-ready during hurricane season as well as response procedures to follow in the wake of a natural disaster.

Also speaking at the forum will include partnering representatives from FDNY, NYPD, FEMA, the American Red Cross, National Grid, and Con Edison.

Residents can get answers to questions like: Where is the closest hospital to Cobble Hill / Red Hook during a disaster; what should we do with the kids now that pediatric surge capacity has been eliminated; how to survive Brooklyn Hospital's emergency room during times of crisis; which hospital will our elected officials go to during a major health event, and how can we get there?


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Brooklyn CB2 Meeting Tonight to Discuss Food Vendor in Cadman Plaza Park and Other Topics

Photo by Amanderson2, Creative Commons

At a CB2 committee meeting on Monday night (tonight), Eitan Adler, a project manager in the revenue division of the Department of Parks and Recreation, will brief the committee and obtain feedback on a pending request for proposals for a food vendor in Cadman Plaza Park. 

(That will be so nice for the rats.)


Also, Tucker Reed, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, will present on the local development corporation's plans for "BAM Park," and a string of "open spaces" between Borough Hall and Brooklyn Bridge Park.

September 15, 6 p.m., in the Dining Room A (off of the cafeteria), The Brooklyn Hospital Center, 121 DeKalb Avenue at St. Felix Street, in Fort Greene.


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R Train From Brooklyn to Manhattan Opens Again Monday Morning

Office of the Governor

Governor Andrew Cuomo personally went down into the Montague Street tubes on Sunday and OPENED UP THE R TRAIN TUNNEL again.

More here.


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Brooklyn Residents Smell Fire for Hours Early Monday Morning

Hey #Brooklyn (esp folks in Bensonhurst, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, etc.): anyone else smell weird burning/fire odor around midnight?
— Jennifer L. Pozner (@jennpozner) April 7, 2014

Brooklynites reported the strong smell of fire from midnight to 2:45 a.m. or later Monday morning. McBrooklyn can smell it in Brooklyn Heights, and residents of Bensonhurst, Bushwick and Staten Island report smelling it, too.

It's a very very strong smell! Go outside. check it out! #Brooklyn
— #LechaimYidden (@LechaimYidden) April 7, 2014

Update: the odor is likely from a large forest fire in Burlington /Wharton State Forest in New Jersey. #Brooklyn #FDNY
— Breaking/news/wx (@YYB69) April 7, 2014

Due to a brush fire in the Wharton State Park in New Jersey, residents in Staten Island & Brooklyn may smell smoke.
— NYC OEM - Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) April 7, 2014

The city confirms the smell is from a fire in New Jersey.

There's something on fire outside. It stinks. #Bushwick #Brooklyn
— Johnny Ford (@PistOffJohnny) April 7, 2014

Why #Brooklyn Smell Like That
— James Cash Penney (@_MusicSoulChild) April 7, 2014

Terrible Smell in #Brooklyn comes from brush fire in #NewJersey
— mark kennedy (@marksmile100) April 7, 2014

According to SILive, approximately 30 acres of the park burned on Sunday.

Smoke could be seen for miles, said NBC 10 Philadelphia. Crews dropped water on the fire from airplanes and used backfires to contain the fire, and the fire did not threaten structures or people, the report noted, adding how the fire started is under investigation.

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8.2 Chile Quake Recorded Here in NYC

This seismogram below recorded at the LCSN station in NYC recorded Tuesday's 8.2 quake in Chile.

The 8.2 Chile quake was felt even here. Seismograph reading from Central Park. http://t.co/pU9eTYQFPJ #Earthquake
— Dave Curren (@DaveCurren) April 2, 2014

According to the US Geological Survey, more than a dozen sizable aftershocks followed. The quake triggered a tsunami alert for Latin America's Pacific coast, and thousands are evacuating the coast.

incakolanews: Otto Rock reports two deaths in Iquique due to quake. "Also 300 women prisoners escaped from local jail, not evacuated. 16 recaptured so far."
 

This video shows some scary shaking inside a house near Iquique.

Reports: The tsunami wave swept three blocks inland in Iquique.  The mayor is asking for thousands of blankets as residents spend the night in the hills.

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Help Kids in Philippines Now: Text RELIEF to 864233 to donate $10 to UNICEF

Photo: UNICEF

UNICEF is rushing emergency supplies to areas of the Philippines ravaged by Super Typhoon Haiyan (AKA: Yolanda) on November 8, as the latest estimates indicate that up to 4 million children could now be affected by the disaster.

Death estimates have been as high as 10,000.

Text RELIEF to 864233 to donate $10 to UNICEF

Food for children, health kits, water and hygiene kits to support up to 3,000 families in the affected areas have already been mobilized, with distribution prioritized for the Tacloban area as soon as access is possible.

UNICEF’s warehouse in Copenhagen is airlifting US$1.3 million worth of additional supplies for another 10,000 families, including those affected by the recent earthquake in Bohol. The shipments contain water purification tablets, soap, medical kits, tarpaulins, and micronutrient supplements.

More here.

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Beyonce's 'Mrs. Carter Show'; Vito Lopez; Bomb Prop Fail; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Woman drives from Queens to Brooklyn with man clinging to roof of her SUV. It doesn't end well. [ABC News]

- 15 thoughts on Beyonce’s 'Mrs. Carter Show' in Brooklyn. [Vibe]

-  NYC's health insurance company, EmblemHealth, has raised the city's rates every year for the last 15 years. Now they finally have to bid. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Vito Lopez campaign mailer doctors photo featuring Hillary Clinton. [NY Daily News]

- Time Warner Cable may blackout CBS for weeks -- even online. [Gothamist]

- Instead of caring for maybe six patients, some nurses at Methodist Hospital in Park Slope have to care for more than 20 since LICH went on ambulance diversion. [ABC News]

- Playwright's suicide bomb prop put cops on alert, cleared Bedford Street. [Gothamist]

- Pregnant woman sits on bench in Queens park on Sunday. Tree falls on her and she dies. [NY Daily News]


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Because of GoogaMooga, Sections of Prospect Park Will Be Closed Most of the Summer

After the Great GoogsMooga food fest, "Nethermead meadow is in severe distress and is in far worse condition than it was left in from the fiasco last year," parks advocate Anne-Katrin Titze told Brooklyn Magazine.

Sections of the Nethermead will be off limits for most of the summer while the meadow is reseeded.

Really, GoogaMooga? Why was this mega-production held in a park and not in a parking lot?

The Parks Department used to allow the same thing to happen at Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn Heights/ Downtown Brooklyn. Ironically, after they replaced the "Dustbowl" with artificial turf, they finally forbid news trucks from driving on the field.

- Great GoogaMooga Promises More Googa, Less Mooga
- Great GoogaMooga Festival Coming to Brooklyn

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A Birther Doesn't Fare Well in Brooklyn; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Muckrack followed the Tweets at last night's Mayoral Forum in Brooklyn Heights. [also following: BHB]

- Brooklyn judge slams birther and calls his claims: "fanciful, fantastic, delusional, irrational and baseles." [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Police arrest the creep in the violent subway mugging caught on tape. [NY1]

- A 40-year-old man was killed by a tractor trailer at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues in Brooklyn on Wednesday. [Carroll Gardens Patch]

- After months of protests, the controversial Jamaica Bay Pipeline project is now in construction.[Sheepshead Bites]

- Guy walks from Brooklyn to Garden City, has adventures along the way. Reluctant Habits

- There is a thing in Brooklyn called Walleyball, and it has a king. [Brooklyn Eagle]

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Brooklyn, NYC, Under a 'Fire Weather Watch' All Day Wednesday, April 3

February's Pratt fire. MK Metz

We didn't even know there was such an alert -- but now the National Weather Service is warning Brooklyn, New York City and the surrounding area that a "Fire Weather Watch" remains in effect from 8 a.m. Wednesday through Wednesday evening.

Low humidity combined with "gusty west winds" and "dry fine fuels" will lead to "increased fire spread if ignition occurs."

From NOAA:

* AFFECTED AREA...NEW YORK CITY...LONG ISLAND...THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY...SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT AND NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY.

* WINDS...WEST 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 21 PERCENT.

* TIMING...THE STRONGEST WINDS AND LOWEST RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL OCCUR WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.

* IMPACTS...INCREASED FIRE SPREAD IF IGNITION OCCURS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FIRE WEATHER WATCH MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE FORECAST TO OCCUR.


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FEMA Extends Sandy Assistance to April 13

FEMA.gov

The deadline to register for Hurricane / Superstorm Sandy disaster assistance has been extended to April 13. If you need to apply, visit this page soon.

BTW -- FEMA is pretty busy lately -- more than half the states in the U.S. are under active disaster declarations.

These range from the recent declarations of disasters in Maine and Rhode Island -- hit by severe winter storms -- to flooding in Louisiana, tornadoes in Mississippi, and the devastation caused in twelve states by Sandy.

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Why We Don't Swim in New Jersey Rivers

By jlitch

This is what swims in the Raritan River in New Jersey.

Read all about it in the comments at Reddit, where it was first posted, and at Gawker, which freaked out about it. It was caught by arrow-fisher Doug Cutler.

UPDATE: The NY Daily News says scientists at Outdoor magazine seem to think the creature is a very large sea lamprey, a species of parasite that lives in certain northern Atlantic waters.

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