Holiday Crafts Fairs in Brooklyn December 1 and 2, 2012

Photo by Eob

This weekend is a great one for holiday craft fairs and parties in Brooklyn.

From old favorites like the Winter Festival and Artisan Craft Fair at Brooklyn Friends School to the hip new Brooklyn Night Bazaar, Brooklynites looking for an alternative to the big chains will be buying their presents from small-time crafts people this weekend.

Here are a few:

- The Brooklyn Night Bazaar: A holiday fair with good food and music, this year's Bazaar is taking place every Friday and Saturday from November 23 until December 22. Williamsburg. More here.

- Brooklyn Holiday Book Fair: December 1, presented by the Old Stone House and Honey and Wax Booksellers. Features "rare and extraordinary books" from booksellers from across Brooklyn, and a reading of a rare first edition copy of The Gift of the Magi, by a (spoiler alert) surprise Brooklyn lit notable. More here.

- Holiday Handmade Cavalcade, a two day show of items crafted by the "Etsy NY Team" December 1 and 2 in Williamsburg. More at about.com

- Winter Festival and Artisan Craft Fair at Brooklyn Friends School:  A holiday shopping event combined with a children's carnival on on Saturday December 1. More than 40 vendors, food, plenty of activities for kids, book sale, skateboard demo and more. Pearl Street in Downtown Brooklyn near the Marriott. Details here.

- P.S. 8 Holiday Craft Fair: family annual fundraising event on December 1 is designed to bring the P.S. 8 community in Brooklyn Heights together for an afternoon of crafting, shopping and eating. Info here.

*** Many more holiday fairs and shopping ops listed at the Brooklyn Eagle. ***

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Perfect Gift for that Special Brooklyn Someone: A Rosie All-in-One Chicken Coop

Your shopping is over: Here's the must-have gift of a lifetime for that special Brooklynite in your life. We'll let the PR speak for itself:

"Victory Chicken, New York City’s premier provider of backyard chicken coops, has launched a special holiday version of its signature Rosie All-in-one coop-and-bird package just in time for the 2012 holidays.

The Holiday Rosie package includes a coop and run (built in Bushwick, Brooklyn) along with 3 adolescent hens, two months of supplies, Victory Chicken’s “Chicken 101” training for the new chicken keeper and a soon-to-be-iconic Victory Chicken T-shirt.

Purchasers also get an elegant Willy Wonka-esque Certificate Of Announcement for all of the above, made to be handed off on the holiday of your choice to the aspiring chicken keeper in your life."

The entire package costs $785 in Brooklyn only, or can be purchased on a rent to own basis with a $300 down payment and then $50/month for a year. (More to deliver outside of Brooklyn.)

To find out more, visit www.victorychickenco.com, email info@victorychickenco.com or call (347) 803-0777.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Quadrozzi Wants to Expand Brooklyn Shipping Empire with Toxic Sludge

Brooklyn concrete company head John Quadrozzi wants to dredge toxic sludge from the Gowanus Canal Superfund site, barge it to Red Hook and dump it into the Gowanus Bay to expand his shipping terminal, DNAinfo reports.

The proposal would allow Quadrozzi's Gowanus Bay Terminal to accommodate larger ships and enlarge the property that Quadrozzi rents to industrial businesses.

The EPA declined to comment. Many more details here.

Photo courtesy Dept. of City Planning

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Broker in Brooklyn Defrauds Customers Out of Millions

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has charged a Greenpoint, Brooklyn brokerage firm with defrauding three customers out of more than $4 million, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

The firm, TWS Financial, is headed by Polish-born Roman Sledziejowski and catered to the Polish immigrant community in Brooklyn.

Sledziejowski’s attorney told the Eagle that the charges have "only been made within FINRA, not within the legal system."

TWS's website says, "All client funds are deposited with top-rated and secure financial institutions, client funds are deposited with JP Morgan Chase Bank . . ."

Only maybe they weren't.

More here.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Caring for Imortal Jellyfish is a Full Time Job

Photo: Wild Guru Larry

There is a man in Japan that has spent the last 15 years caring for a brood of immortal jellyfish -- a form of life that, instead of dying when it gets old, ages backwards until it's a baby and then starts growing old again.

He's the only person who knows how to take care of them -- and it is a full-time job, caring for the immortal jellyfish. Full story at the New York Times.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn Dad Shows He Cares by Swinging Chain at Kid's High School

Brooklyn dad Michael Canaii (pictured above in FB) showed up at his daughter's Manhattan high school swinging a heavy chain with a padlock at students, yelling that his daughter was smoking weed, and demanding to speak to the principal.

The NY Post reports that he was arrested for criminal possession of a weapon, menacing and pot possession.

A number of Post commenters expressed the opinion that Canii (whose daughter lives with her mother) was "just looking out for his kid." Thanks, dad.


Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Madonna's Bra; New Gas Pipeline; Holiday House Decorations; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Court issues restraining order for Carroll Gardens homeless shelter. Brooklyn Eagle

- Coming to the Brooklyn Museum: Madonna’s provocative conical bra that she wore on her 1990 Blonde Ambition tour. NY Daily News

- A new natural gas pipeline is coming to Brooklyn and Queens, after President Barack Obama cleared the way for it to be built on Tuesday. DNAinfo

- Looters stole over $100,000 worth of equipment from schools after Hurricane Sandy. Gothamist

- The 10 best Dyker Heights holiday house decorations. The FW

- Awesome ‘Global Rainbow’ over NYC honors Sandy victims. Brooklyn Eagle  

 - Mock all you want, but if you want to write literary fiction or poetry, "Brooklyn is still the place to be." The Millions 

- A U.N. report says sea levels are rising faster than projected. Reuters

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Your Couch Is Probably Making You Sick

Photo by Chris H Connelly

Up to 85 percent of couches have been found to contain toxic flame retardants, a number of newspapers reported yesterday, including USA Today.

Flame retardants are linked to hormone disruption, cancer and neurological toxicity, according to scientists.

Children of mothers who had retardants in their blood during pregnancy had lower birth weight, lower IQ scores and other problems.

Devilishly, flame retardants are even more dangerous when they burn -- and they burn like crazy, researchers say.

After catching fire, they emit toxic gases, soot and smoke that account for most fire deaths and injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

So why use them? USA Today says: "An investigation earlier this year by The Chicago Tribune, citing tobacco industry documents, found that tobacco companies surreptitiously pushed for flame-retardant furniture -- rather than fire-safe cigarettes -- as the best way to reduce house fires."

More here.


Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

You Did Not Win the Powerball Lottery

The Powerball lottery numbers for November 28, 2012 have been announced and you can be fairly certain that you did not win the biggest jackpot in history -- $579 million.

A university math professor told ABC News that a person is three times more likely to die from a falling coconut than win the Powerball.

However, even if you didn't correctly pick all five white balls and the red Powerball numbers, don't throw away that ticket(s) until you see if you got any numbers right. There are smaller prizes for partial matches.

If you get all 5 white balls right (but not the Powerball) you still win a million dollars. If you got four white balls right you win $100. Even if you just pick the one red ball correctly, you win $4. There are nine possible winning combinations -- check them out here.

If you haven't yet crumpled your worthless tickets, the winning numbers are: 5-23-16-22-29-Powerball 6.

And if you did win, here's some advice from financial experts.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Shopping Deals and Holiday Discount Coupons 2012 on Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn

Attention shoppers: McBrooklyn has gathered a slew of holiday shopping discount coupons for stores up and down Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn.

Click on the image or on the name of the store to find the full-size coupons, print them, and bring them with you to the store. Don't make poor-quality copies -- they have to be scannable. Check the dates: Some run out November 30; others are good through December 3, 4 or 5; while still others are good till Christmas.

Good shopping!

Aeropostal offers $25 off when you spend $100 or more in the store through November 30. Aeropostal is located at 472 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn (and also at Kings Plaza). * * * A second coupon good through December 24 can be found here. * * *

Macy's has several printable coupons -- like this one for 25% off most items, good through December 3.
Get a WOW Pass for December 4 and 5 here. (422 Fulton Street.)

Here's a coupon for Children's Place good for 15% off through December 31. Located at 485 Fulton Street. (Note: We found this one on a coupon website, not the store website, so we can't swear it will work. Let us know.)

If you buy stuff worth $75 or more at the Gap Factory store at 400  Fulton Street, you can get 15% off through February 28, 2013.

Here's an interesting proposition: Modell's (at both 360 and 464 Fulton) will accept coupons from competitors! They have to be for the identical item, and can't be used for certain purchases. See rules here.

Conway is offering 50% off any item in the entire store with a purchase of $20 or more. Not bad! Expires 12/31/2012. (427 Fulton Street.)

Are you driving? Park for $12 a day using this coupon at Supreme 85 Parking, 85 Livingston Street (between Adams Street and Court Street) in Downtown Brooklyn. Good till Dec. 31, 2012.


Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.