Brooklyn Dental Scam; Another Pervy Brooklyn Tech Teacher; Bogus No Parking Signs In Cobble Hill; Domino Park; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Endless flowers. By MK Metz

- Brooklyn Tech teacher busted asking student for ‘workout’ pics. [NY Post]

- Brooklyn dentist indicted for hiring unlicensed men to perform procedures on Medicaid patients. [Daily News]

- Some of the first votes in French presidential election were cast in an old church building near the Gowanus Canal on Saturday morning. [Slate]

- Bogus No Parking signs at LICH site piss off Cobble Hill residents. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- New York Rep. Yvette Clarke told a town hall meeting in Brooklyn that taxpayers “cannot continue to pay” for President Donald Trump’s family’s business and travel arrangements. [Roll Call]

-The Brooklyn Broadway Islamic Center was destroyed in a fire on Saturday. Now a LaunchGood campaign is crowd-sourcing funds to rebuild. [LaunchGood]

- The Brooklyn district attorney’s office has told prosecutors to avoid, when possible, the deportation or detention of immigrants charged with certain misdemeanors or nonviolent crimes. [NY Times]

- Developer releases big plans for Domino Park in Williamsburg. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Brooklyn Bridge Park announced the full lineup for its 18th annual outdoor screening series, "Movies with a View." Schedule here. [TimeOut]

- NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating Trump’s possible ties to organized crime, which could involve RICO charges. [Bipartisan Report]

#Great Job #NYPD Harbor's Brooklyn Bridge launch #317 when they rescued a jet skier who fell into the East River in the vicinity of Wall St. pic.twitter.com/SX3FQs7bFG

— NYPD Special Ops (@NYPDSpecialops) April 24, 2017

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Squibb Park Bridge Finally Reopens; Shortcut to Brooklyn Bridge Park

The popular "bouncy" Squibb Park Bridge finally reopened after almost three years.

No one knows exactly WHY it took so long to repair the $4.1 million bridge that connects Brooklyn Heights to Brooklyn Bridge Park, but there it is.

Photo by MK Metz

 The timber bridge doesn't bounce nearly as much as it used to but it's much more stable, engineers from Arup, the engineering firm brought in by the park for repairs, told the Brooklyn Eagle.

 McBrooklyn took a stroll along the bridge today and found it was sound. Kids jumped up and down on it trying to get some action, but not much bounce was found.

Photo by MK Metz

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Interview with Brooklyn Bridge Climber, Sewer Spelunker; Rally for Bushwick Inlet Park; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Photo of mural ad by MK Metz

-  Four things that were actually quite good in 'Suicide Squad.' [Hollywood Reporter]

- A Talk With Steve Duncan: Brooklyn’s urban explorer, daredevil and sewer man. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Rally at City Hall to save Bushwick Inlet Park on Mon., 8/8. [Greenpointer]

- Moped-riding 80-year-old man fatally struck by car in Brooklyn. [Daily News]

- Brooklyn prosecutor busted for drunken driving after running red light. [Daily News]

- Goodbye Jehovah's Witnesses in Brooklyn Heights. [Brooklyn Eagle|

- Game-changing asthma drug comes out. [Tech Times]


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2 Brooklyn Parks, 2 Dead Bodies; Apple Store Opening This Week; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Petition at dontcutlocalF.com

 -  One woman's body discovered by passerby in Brower Park in Crown Heights; another one discovered in McCarren Park in Williamsburg. [PIX11]

- Apple hyping this week's opening of first-ever Brooklyn retail store. [Apple Insider]

- Brooklyn Heights man is Pokeman Go champ. [BHB]

- Two injured after slamming into truck while riding stolen motorcycle in Brooklyn. [Daily News]

- Woman critically injured after Brooklyn stabbing. [NY Post]

- Highest and Best Use -- an exhibit at the Queens Museum -- wryly examines the ongoing effects of the 2004 rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn. [Atlantic Yards Report]

- Five of the best staycations for New Yorkers looking for a getaway not too far from home. [Brownstoner]

- The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Watch for NYC for Monday, July 25 from 11:00 AM until 6:00 PM. [NotifyNY]

- Democrats in disarray on eve of convention to nominate Clinton. Did Putin really have something to do with it? [Reuters]

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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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Murder at Brooklyn Bridge Park - Young Woman's Body Found

U/D Brooklyn: Atlantic Ave & Furman St, Active crime scene in regards to a 21 year old female found shot to dead. pic.twitter.com/5YgM0j6pZo

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) June 7, 2016

UPDATE: A 23-year-old woman was found murdered at Brooklyn Bridge Park on Monday night, the NY Post reports.

She suffered a gunshot wound to the head near 1 Brooklyn Bridge Park on Furman Street.
The site is now an active crime scene.

Investigators were scouring the area late Monday. No arrests had been made, although cops were questioning people at the 84th Precinct station house, the Post reports.


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Free Movies in Fort Greene Park Start Friday, Courtesy Alamo Drafthouse

BEST IN SHOW plays this Friday in Fort Greene Park.

 Three weeks of free movies with Fort Greene Park Conservancy and Alamo Drafthouse start Friday.
Alamo is bringing three distinct filmatic experiences to the park:

This Friday, May 27: 
Bring Your Own Dog Screening of BEST IN SHOW

Enjoy Christopher Guest’s uproarious mockumentary along with your pooch. Dog owners are welcome to bring their pets and will have the chance to parade them before the audience in a pre-movie dog show.

June 3: 
Quote-Along: LABYRINTH

Alamo’s version of LABYRINTH allows the audience to sing-along with the David Bowie tunes and quote the best lines of the movie. Free souvenir props will also be available for the first to arrive at the park.

June 10: 
Finding Nemo

One week before the release of FINDING DORY, kids big and small can revisit Pixar’s original aquatic adventure with the Tank Gang. Costumes are encouraged, and surprises are in store.

Screenings will take place at sundown on the Myrtle Avenue lawn and will be complimented by themed festivities before the show. DJ sets start at 7:30, with activities and films to begin at dusk.


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Thursday: NYC Parks Hosts Brownsville Community Meeting for New Newport Playground

Photo courtesy NYC Parks Dept.

Newport Playground in Brownsville is set to receive first major renovation in more than 50 years.

On Thursday, April 7, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., the Parks Dept. is hosting a public input meeting where the future of the playground — its complete Community Parks Initiative transformation and reconstruction — will be discussed.

The meeting will be held at P.S. 41, at 411 Thatford Ave.

NYC Parks’ planners and designers will share information about the park and the capital process before turning it over to community members for facilitated brainstorming. Parks says community members have their voices heard and dictate shared priorities for new and renovated park features, such as water play features, playgrounds, sports courts and fields.



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Boy Detective of Carroll Gardens; Cobble Hill's Problems with LICH; and More Brooklyn Briefs

#Brooklyn will celebrate Biggie's birthday w/ @barclayscenter concert featuring @iamdiddy https://t.co/49cuLaQL8d pic.twitter.com/o8Sr986yjr

— Brooklyn Daily Eagle (@BklynEagle) March 30, 2016

- Meet the boy detective of Carroll Gardens. [DNAinfo]

- Cobble Hill still awaiting answers from Fortis and NYU about LICH development plans. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- The city on Tuesday bought a seven-acre lot along the Williamsburg-Greenpoint waterfront for $53 million, to be used for the expansion of the long-promised Bushwick Inlet Park. [Brownstoner]

- A Brooklyn realtor has been arrested for allegedly pocketing deposits on apartments. [Gothamist]

- New York City bridge climbers may soon be faced with up to a year in the slammer. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Karate championship hopes dashed after Bushwick fire destroys dojo. [DNAinfo]

- Meet the guitar repair king of Greenpoint. [Brooklyn Magazine] 

- Join the Prospect Park Alliance for Opening Weekend in Prospect Park on April 2 + 3, with food, festivities and family fun. [Sheepshead Bites]

- New York native's brilliant performance on "Wheel of Fortune" is going viral. [abc7]

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BAM Park Toxic? Landmarks Looks at Green-Wood, and More Brooklyn Briefs

Is this Brooklyn criminal defense attorney the real-life Better Call Saul? https://t.co/wjJNa4dbZl https://t.co/1J20h0zPDS

— VICE Videos (@VICE_Videos) February 23, 2016

Is this Brooklyn criminal defense attorney the real-life Better Call Saul? [Vice]

- Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson is moving to vacate the second-degree manslaughter conviction of Vanessa Gathers, convicted in 1998. [Pix11]

- The scene at the wake for 'Big Ang' Raiola in Bensonhurst. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Nicole Byrdson has written an in-depth look at gentrification in Bushwick, as personified by artists with galleries "named for themselves in a neighborhood they recently came to inhabit." [Brooklyn The Borough]

- Neighbors: What’s under the ground at BAM Park? (Hint:It's toxic.) [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Tesla Motors’ very first showroom in Brooklyn will open in Red Hook, at the former Golten Marine Terminal. [Curbed]

- Study: Some creams, shampoos, after-shaves and toothpastes made by groups such as L'Oreal and Procter & Gamble, may contain potentially harmful substances. [Reuters]

- Landmarks Preservation Commission will decide the fate of seven Brooklyn historic sites on Tuesday -- including Green-Wood Cemetery, Lady Moody's House and others. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- 100 reasons everyone should live in Brooklyn. Reason #4: Because if you don’t live here for at least a little while, how will you ever write your own “Goodbye to All That” essay? [Brooklyn Magazine]

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NYC Parks to Build Ice Rink at McCarren Park

Photo by Malcolm Pinckney, NYC Parks Dept.

NYC Parks announced that a Request for Expressions of Interest (“RFEI”) has been issued for the operation of an ice skating rink and/or for winter activities at McCarren Park Pool.

The park's "recently renovated pool area has the potential to serve as a true year-round destination and NYC Parks is seeking ideas for programming, amenities and events that will enhance the site during the winter months, while improving the quality of life for the surrounding community,”said said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver.

Parks: Ideas for an ice skating rink may include varied layouts and sizes, be open or enclosed, include provisions for general skating, figure skating, ice hockey, skate rentals, and/or a pro shop. Ideas for additional concepts for the site include holiday markets, craft fairs, food fairs, concert/film/theater/dance series, restaurants/cafés/snack bars, public art installations, and/or Christmas tree sales.


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Thousands Rally for Charter Schools in Cadman Plaza Park, Brooklyn

Photos by MK Metz

That amplified music and cheering you might have heard in Cadman Plaza Park, Downtown Brooklyn Wednesday morning was the sound of 15,000 bused-in charter school kids and parents holding a pro-charter rally.

Most of the participants were from the Success Academy charter chain, run by former Councilmember Eva Moskowitz, who is trying to get more territory for her schools in NYC.

The kids got the morning off from school, and these nifty red T-shirts.

Star Jennifer Hudson put on a show, as did other musical entertainers.

After the rally, some of the kids went home, others were bused back to school and some went to City Hall to hold another smaller rally.

More photos and information here.


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Put In Your 2 Cents About Fort Greene Park's Pathways Tonight

Fort Greene Park received $3 million to improve its pathways, and wans to hear from you about how they should do it.

The meeting is at the Fort Greene Visitor Center tonight at 6 p.m.

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'Brooklyn Strand' Workshop Coming Up This Monday

 Community Board 2 is hosting a presentation and workshop on the Brooklyn Strand -- which would stretch from Borough Hall to Downtown Brooklyn to Brooklyn Bridge Park -- this Monday, September 21, at 6 p.m. at the Willoughby Senior Center,105 North Portland Avenue, between Park and Myrtle avenues.

The plan hopes to link green space together in the Strand area and includes a renovated (perhaps more cluttered) Cadman Plaza, more bike lanes and pedestrian walkways, retail spaces, cafes, and plazas. 

The stated goals of the Brooklyn Strand are:

1: Rectify "mistakes of urban renewal"
2: Repair urban fabric and neighborhood connections
3: Advance equity through public investment in open space in the area
4: Create real access to Brooklyn Bridge Park
5: Craft a world-class gateway into the Brooklyn Borough
6: Identify and create opportunities for affordable housing development on Strand site

In some areas there would be more green space, in others green space would be paved for the plazas or cafes.

The entire presentation can be viewed here.


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Time for Action: 'Occupy the Inlet' in Bushwick this Sunday

This Sunday, August 9th between 12:30 and 2pm, Occupy the Inlet plans to clog Bushwick Inlet’s waters with as many boats and kayaks as possible.

"We invite all the NYC area board clubs to join us in kayaks, canoes, outriggers, SUPs and rowing gigs and raft together to fill the remarkably calm and tranquil embayment on the Brooklyn side of the East River.

On land, we will be encircling with caution tape, art bombing and flying protest kites over the 28 acres of land promised by the City as a park in 2005 and now threatened by imminent sale to developers. Let’s inundate our park with boats, people and art!"

"The goal is to put the screws on City Hall to fulfill its promised 28 acre waterfront park before it’s turned into more luxury residential developments," reports Greenpointers.

“The park is being held hostage from us,” Steve Chesler, a local activist, told Greenpointers. “We’re getting angrier. Our base has been growing. We’re not going to relent until the administration starts talking about it and engaging our reps in the community.”


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Reminder: Hearing on Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6 Towers Tonight (Thursday)

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

 A public hearing on the proposed 31- and 15-story residential towers at Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park will be held this Thursday, July 30 from 6 to 9 p.m. at St. Francis College, Founders Hall, 180 Remsen Street.

Turnout is expected to be big for this important hearing.

More details here: Hearing on Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6 towers on Thursday

Opponents say the project planned for the park has not been proven necessary to support the park financially, and is actually a giveaway to a politically-connected developer. Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing the development as a way to get more affordable housing built.

Brooklyn Bridge Park says it needs the money the project brings in to support the park. BBP is expected to pull an independent financial study (paid for by BBP) out of its hat, minutes before the hearing, proving that the project is necessary.


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Why Brooklyn's Pacific Park Won't Actually Be a Park

Pacific Park, Brooklyn

Atlantic Yards Report had created an excellent in-depth analysis of why ballyhooed Pacific Park, the privately managed open space being planned for Atlantic Yards' Pacific Heights 14-tower mega-development, won't actually be a "park," despite the rhetoric of developer Greenland Forest City Partners.

The whole article is worth reading through, but here are a few points:

* The promised central promenade won't appear for years, and the open space won't be done until 2025

* Strip away the buildings, and the space resembles a spine with some squiggly vertebrae

* The green will abut construction sites for the next decade

* The "main lawn" is tiny, little more than one-third an acre

* The amount of open space is well below the city average for the population around it.

* The street trees pictured do not resemble the actual plan. Many won't actually be there at all.

Read more at:
"Just like a normal accessible park"? Misleading rhetoric and incomplete information behind the (inadequate) Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park open space [Atlantic Yards Report]


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Brooklyn Bridge Park, People for Green Space Reach Settlement on Pier 6 Issue

One of 14 proposals for Pier 6. Rendering by Asymptote Architecture

The Brooklyn Eagle reports that Brooklyn Bridge Park and the People for Green Space Foundation (Save Pier 6), which is fighting two high-rise towers planned for Pier 6 on the Brooklyn Heights waterfront, have agreed to settle a lawsuit by going through a process that would allow modifications to the park’s General Park Plan (GPP).

Because of the settlement, there will be a public hearing that will take into account expert testimony and the public’s comments about the GPP.

See Brooklyn Eagle for more on this breaking development.


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Kids' Flashmob Ask Mayor, 'Where's Bushwick Inlet Park?'

Kids ask the darnedest questions @BilldeBlasio #WheresOurPark https://t.co/iIG0sjXfMk pic.twitter.com/VeYlNlSYlv

— NAG Brooklyn (@nagbrooklyn) May 7, 2015

Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park posts:
The children of the GWYSL divide this one soccer field into 16 fields so the bursting child population of Greenpoint and Williamsburg get a chance to play despite their lack of park space. Here they are collectively asking #wheresourpark?

Background: In 2005, the City of New York promised the neighborhoods of Greenpoint and Williamsburg a 28-acre park along North Brooklyn’s waterfront.

Almost a decade later, tens-of-thousands of new residents have moved in, but very little of Bushwick Inlet Park has materialized.

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Cars Fill New Parking Lot at Brooklyn Bridge Park

Photo: MK Metz

Build it and they will come.

Shown: The recently-completed parking lot running along the uplands between Pier 2 and Pier 3 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. (The large brown structure is a noise-attenuating berm.)

The park map doesn't show the parking lot, but it's in the section shown above.

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