Brooklyn Artists Tats His Unconscious Dog, Can Never Show His Face in Brooklyn Again

Instagram

 Tatoo artist "Mistah Metro," (aka "Orangatang Joe" aka Alex) who works out of Flastbush Ave. parlor Red Legged Devils, has attracted a shitstorm of criticism after posting a photo of his (unconscious) dog, Mel, on Instagram -- with a fresh tatoo on its shoulder.

According to the Daily News, Mistah Metro said his vet let him tatoo the dog while it was unconscious after a spleen operation. (Also reported by the Post.)

 Mistah Metro bragged on Instagram, "One of the many reasons my dog is cooler than your[s]! She had her spleen removed today and the vet let me tattoo her while she was under."

The reaction from the Entire World came fast and furious.

"What the f***ing Hell is wrong with you?"was a fairly typical sentiment.

Also, "that is Disgusting how could you do that to a poor dog"

As people started bad mouthing the tatoo parlor, the owner of Red Legged Devils tried to distance himself:  “The dog didn’t get tattooed at this shop. It has nothing to do with this shop whatsoever."

After social media threats, Mistah Metro shut down his accounts and website. (While he took down his landing page, you can still get inside his site through a side door here.)

Mistah Metro is now officially a pariah in Brooklyn.

@nadiner_weiner @MistahMetro7 I am so sickened, I hope he rots in jail
— Jordan burmeister (@JordanBurmeis) March 5, 2014

@MistahMetro7 I hope I find you and I can murder you.
— (☄ฺ◣д◢)☄ (@LLSMOOTHJ_) March 5, 2014

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Brooklyn BP Adams in Trouble; 16-Year-Old Girl Steals Robber's Cell Phone; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- And so it begins: Brooklyn BP Adams in hot water for asking corporations to donate to non-existant charity. [NY Post]

- Brooklyn man arrested for beating his 94-year-old mother with her cane. [Daily News]

- A 16-year-old Brooklyn girl tackled a robber who stole her cellphone in the subway -- and ended up with his cellphone. [NY1]

- Jay Street Safety Community Planning Forum on March 10th, 6:30 pm at 1 MetroTech Center, National Grid lobby. [Transit Alternatives]

- A celebration of the life of Brian McGorry, Cranberry Street resident, will be held at the Superfine Restaurant in DUMBO on Saturday, March 8. [BHB]

- VIDEO: Williamsburg art gallery owner stops thief who tried running off with pricey painting of Basquiat. [Daily News]


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Developers & Health Co's Show Up to Hear About LICH RFP

Photo: MK Metz (McBrooklyn)

After hearing the presentations put on last night by Long Island College Hospital (LICH) supporters for potential bidders for the hospital, we wanted to buy LICH ourselves.

 Some of the positive reasons put forth to buy LICH included a ferociously dedicated staff; a storied history; the need for the hospital; loyal patients; and  a top-flight medical program (before SUNY cratered it).

A most persuasive argument was presented by Jeff Strabone, spokesperson for the Cobble Hill Association and, at the forum, speaking for six community groups. Strabone's description of a very  wealthy Brownstone Brooklyn -- a demographic profile that reminded some of a nascent Upper East Side -- suddenly brought into high definition LICH's potential to be not just a successful hospital, but a very, very successful hospital.

Add to that booming Gowanus, Red Hook, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, and  other expanding neighborhoods, and the shortage of hospital beds in Brooklyn -- and all of a sudden you're talking about a real money-making opportunity. 

The Brooklyn Eagle reported that new faces in the crowd of potential bidders included Toll Brother and Memorial Sloan Kettering.

They also report that at least one of the previous bidders, Fortis, is mulling over increasing their health care offerings at LICH.

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This Is Why Henry Street in Cobble Hill Is Closed

Henry St. at Pacific St. Photo: MK Metz, McBrooklyn

A water line replacement job continues to keep cars off Henry Street  in Cobble Hill, from Atlantic Avenue to Kane Street.

According to the Cobble Hill Association, in order to safely replace it the water line, Natural Grid had to relocate an adjacent gas main currently too close to the water line for Department of Design and Construction to do the replacement work. This leads to concerns about the area's historic bluestone sidewalks, which National Grid is supposed to replace (but won't necessarily).

According to the Department of Design and Construction, the project will "install distribution water main extensions for new buildings" and "replace existing extensions, valves and hydrants." 

According to DOD. the project is supposed to wrap up by March 24. 

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Brooklyn / NYC: UPDATE - Big Fat Monday Snow Storm Will Probably Fizzle Out

Photo: snowcrystals.com/CalTech

The National Weather Service's Winter Storm Watch for Brooklyn, New York City, Long Island and the surrounding area for Monday has pretty much been called off.

NOAA now is predicting 4 - 8 inches 3 - 6 inches maybe one inch, maybe two.

So drive carefully, it will still be plenty cold, but the big blizzard of 2014 isn't in the cards for Monday in New York City. (NOAA says it may hit further south, like D.C.)

IMPACTS...HAZARDOUS TRAVEL DUE TO REDUCED VISIBILITIES AND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS... ESPECIALLY DURING THE MONDAY MORNING COMMUTE.

Rain could mix with the snow on Sunday between noon and 6 p.m., then it will turn to all snow.

Travel will be hazardous; try to stay off the road if you can.

NYC Sanitation Department has isssued a 'snow alert' for Sunday, 3/2, @ 11 a.m. "Salt spreaders and plows will be ready."

Temperatures will be in the 20s and 30s teens and twenties. By comparison, on Friday, the coldest spot in the country was in Michigan's Upper Peninsula city of Newberry, where the mercury plunged to -41°F, according to Dr. Jeff Masters.

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There He Goes Again: NYC Officials Protest Gov. Cuomo's Raid on MTA Transit Funds

Assembly Member Jim Brennan. Photo: Riders Alliance

What does Gov. Cuomo have against New York City? From public school kids, to Long Island College Hospital, to the mass transit system, the Governor seems to feel he can solve the state's budget problems by raiding the city's budget.

 State legislators, transit advocates and subway and bus riders rallied on Sunday to oppose what they called Governor Cuomo’s "proposed raid of $40 million from dedicated transit funds in the state budget."

According to a press release from the Riders Alliance, in his proposed 2014-15 budget, Governor Cuomo requested to remove $40 million from a fund that is supposed to be dedicated to mass transit, and to move it to the General Debt Service Fund.

Governor Cuomo wants to use the funds to pay debt service on the MTA’s Service Contract Bonds—bonds the State had committed to pay for, not the MTA, for the express purpose of alleviating the MTA’s debt burden and the negative impacts it has on service and on riders.

The advocates released a letter from more than 30 members of the State Assembly, led by Assembly Member Jim Brennan, opposing the Governor’s proposed raid and pushing for the funds be restored to the transit budget.

In addition to siphoning off $40 million from dedicated transit funds this year, Governor Cuomo’s budget proposes to take an additional $20 million every year for years into the future. Advocates say that the Governor’s proposal would cumulatively steal nearly $350 million from the cash-strapped transit agency. State Comptroller DiNapoli, in his analysis of the Governor’s proposed 2014-15 budget, pointed out that these are “resources that could have otherwise gone to the MTA.”

The MTA has still not restored the level of service riders had before bus routes and subway lines were eliminated in 2010 cost-saving measures, and the Authority has predicted that there will be additional fare hikes in 2015 and 2017.

State Assembly Member Karim Camara said, “I think everybody should consider how $40 million could be used to help riders in New York City. In Central Brooklyn, certainly some of this money could be used to alleviate overcrowding and delays on Utica Avenue, which is served by the B46, the second busiest bus line in New York City."

State Senator Martin Golden said, “I join with my colleagues and with the Riders Alliance in calling for an end to transit fund raiding. As a sponsor of the Lock Box Bill which would have prevented raids like this from happening, I know how important it is to ensure that funds that are dedicated for transit operations remain. It's just simply wrong.”

State Senator Daniel Squadron said, “We've seen time and again that the best way to keep transit fares down and service quality up is dedicated funding. That's why we need to protect every dollar that is meant for transit -- and keep finding new ones.


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This Is Not What You Want To See Running Towards You When You Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge

Photo: MK Metz. McBrooklyn.com

Because plastic green toy soldiers should be no more than three inches tall and should hold still, dammit.

No casualties were reported.

More sightings at Twitchy.

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Massively Developing Northwestern Brooklyn Needs More Hospital Beds; Comptroller Warns Closing LICH Would Be Mistake Like St. Vincent's

Downtown Brooklyn. Photo: MK Metz

A staggering number of developments, both residential and commercial, are on the drawing board or in the beginning stages of construction  in Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Bridge Park, DUMBO, the waterfront, Gowanus and beyond.

But hospital access in these areas is already stretched to the breaking point, with Long Island College Hospital's (LICH) service levels reduced by SUNY, and the next closest hospital, Brooklyn Hospital Center already clocking two-hour average waits in its ER. Further away, at New York Methodist, patients are spending nights in the hallways of the ER.

More developments have just been announced that will bring thousands of workers to the area.  The new owners of five former Watchtower buildings in DUMBO are getting ready to convert the towering properties into offices for techies, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

They will join employees at the new hotels and retail developments under construction in Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Brooklyn Tech Triangle, and Downtown, and the tens of thousands of new residents who will soon be moving into the towers springing up in Downtown Brooklyn (see this report by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership), DUMBO, the waterfront and Brooklyn Heights.

More thousands are expected as NYU expands its footprint utilizing its air rights at Metrotech, and CUNY does the same at City Tech.

If LICH disappears, as developers are trying to make happen, those thousands will be forced to rely on Brooklyn Hospital Center, which cannot physically take care of them. Its location is also a problem. From DUMBO during rush hour it already takes more than a half hour to drive there.

If developers are successful, another thousand units of housing will be built where LICH now stands.
The thousand new units will have no hospital to serve them except, once again, Brooklyn Hospital.

NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer warned on Thursday:
 "Dismantling a hospital --- you can’t rebuild from scratch a hospital, you have a network and you have the brick and mortar of the hospital. You can’t bring that back.”

He told the Brooklyn Eagle, “When we realize that five or ten years from now, what do we do? It will cost us twelve times, twenty times more in terms of construction, so I think we’re at a health care crossroads, where creativity is needed and same old, same old isn’t going to cut it."

Based on the current census data, Brooklyn has just two certified hospital beds for every 1,000 residents. Manhattan, by comparison, has five hospital beds for every 1,000 residents. Those figures don't include the recent developments.

We need to be add more hospital capacity to northwestern Brooklyn right now, not subtract capacity. If we don't, the lack of critical health care infrastructure could cripple the economic boom that northwestern Brooklyn is experiencing, and leads to preventable tragedies.

This kind of planning is the job of government, not developers.

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Only Three Brooklyn Restaurants Participating in NYC Restaurant Week

Google Maps

 Only three Brooklyn reataurants are offering discounted lunches and dinners in this year's NYC Restaurant Week, which continues through March 7.

These are: Benchmark Restaurant in Park Slope, The Greenhouse Cafe in Bay Ridge, and Saul in Prospect Heights.

A three course lunch will cost you $25; three course dinner is $38.

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If You Park Your Bike at Brooklyn Boulders . . . It Will Be Gone On Monday

If your bike is at @BKBoulders better run fast! Your free storage is up 3/1! All bikes will go. #brooklyn pic.twitter.com/b6tDDdiRsb
— ParkSlopeGossip (@ParkSlopeGossip) March 2, 2014

If your bike is at Brooklyn Boulders, run (obviously you can't ride) to the place ASAP. ParkSlopeGossip reports that any bike still there on Monday will be disposed of.

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