Ambulances Return to Former LICH, but Patient Numbers Low

Photo by MK Metz

NYU Langone has brought back Basic Life Support ambulances to the "walk-in" emergency department (read urgent care center) at the former Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Cobble Hill, the Brooklyn Eagle reports. BLS ambulances handle less critical emergencies.

Patient volume is low -- NYU claims 25 patients a day -- even with the ambulances.

Not quite sure what niche the facility hopes to occupy. Is it a walk-in clinic for basic colds and upset tummies? EMTs say serious cases are transferred to hospitals. Wouldn't these patients be better off going directly to hospitals without a delay (and double-billing)?


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Gunfire in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, Early Monday

From the scanner:

Between 5 to 8 gunshots were reported by multiple callers to 9-1-1 early Monday morning from the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn.

The gunfire was reported at 3:15 a.m. at and around Grand Ave. and Lefferts Pl.; east of St. James and Atlantic Ave.; and at 269 St. James Pl.

Dispatchers asked police to carry out a canvass of Brooklyn hospitals to see if any injured persons showed up.

At 3:30 a.m., dispatchers asked the 84th Precinct if there was a hospital in the 84th. Police replied, "No hospital in the 84th."

Dispatch then asked the 88th Precinct to carry out the hospital canvass.


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Brooklyn Housing Court to Move; Massage Parlors; Spacesuits and More Brooklyn Briefs

Chop on the East River. Photo: MK Metz

 - Brooklyn Housing Court may move to the Municipal Building. [NY Times]

- Brooklyn now the most unaffordable place to buy a home in America. [Gothamist]

- Investigators shut down nine massage parlors in Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst following an investigation into alleged human trafficking. [AMNY]

- Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner William Bratton unveiled a new training program for cops they hope will strengthen relations between the NYPD and the community. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- The city officially took over the McKinley Park Library branch in Dyker Heights using eminent domain. [Commercial Observer]

- What it's like to wear a spacesuit in Brooklyn. [Space]


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Another Wild Night of Eric Garner Protests in NYC

What if they all just sold loosies in protest? @JohnGGalt: BREAKING PHOTO:Brooklyn Bridge completely full #EricGarner pic.twitter.com/vLgF6q7mZQ
— Will Gaston (@wpgaston) December 5, 2014

Large groups of marchers protesting the Eric Garner grand jury decision have been disrupting spots across the city, from the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn Bridge to Union Square to 1 Police Plaza to midtown.

Earlier, police arrested 16 at the Manhattan Bridge, part of a group of roughly 100 that hit the bridge around 10:30 p.m. Thursday.

Around midnight, there were reports that protestors were destroying property at Reade Street and Church Street.

 At 1 a.m. Friday, police dispatch said at least two groups of marchers were milling around 57-58th streets and headed from 6th to 7th Ave. in Manhattan. One group had about 100 marchers; a nearby group had 200.

P.O. said, "We have to corral these guys."

At the same time, at 51st Street and 8th Ave, a police officer had difficulty breathing and briefly went unconscious (around 1 a.m. Friday morning). Dispatch announced at 1:10 a.m. that  he had regained consciousness and became alert.

Police officer fainted at West 51 St & 8th Ave. Appears to be okay. Taken to the hospital #EricGarner Via @ShimonPro https://t.co/6OTojaZ7gV
— New York City Alerts (@NYCityAlerts) December 5, 2014

Stephan Keegan reported via Twitter that a call is out for marchers to head to Gracie Mansion.

"Mass arrests" are ongoing, according to Breaking911.  Police have brought in white Corrections buses.

At 1:25 a.m., a group going east on Madison at 57th Street was reported to be throwing garbage intothe street. Tweeter Adam T. James reported a "riot" and cops with mace.

PHOTO: Dozens of people in handcuffs are being booked at NYPD booth in Times Square. #EricGarner - @MedinaMora pic.twitter.com/rgW8M1vEPK
— Nancy Hennen (@tweetbrk) December 5, 2014

Another group of 200 was reported at 61th and Lexington headed northbound.  Police hope to split the group into smaller, more managable segments.

At 1:35 a.m., another group was headed for the Triboro Bridge.

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In Brooklyn Dinosaur News....

Alioramus*

 A Brooklyn judge ruled on Tuesday that the owner of what was supposed to be fake dinosaur bones must forfeit them because they are actually 65 million-year-old Alioramus bones.

Alioramus -- related to the Tyrannosaurus Rex -- was a dinosaur that lived in the late Cretaceous period.

The bones were falsely described as a French replica in January 2014, when they were shipped to the United States by Geofossiles, Inc., a French fossil dealer. Geofossiles charged the buyer a quarter of a million dollars for what was supposed to be a cheap fake.

Judge Brian M. Cogan, in federal court in Brooklyn, agreed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which said the bones were stolen Mongolian property that was smuggled into the United States using false declarations.

The forfeiture was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James T. Hayes, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, HSI.

Lynch said, “Lies and forgeries are no match for the vigilance of our partners at CBP and HSI."

Under Mongolian law, fossils like these are national property and cannot be sold to non-Mongolians or permanently exported.

*Photo: By Texas A&M University-Commerce Marketing Communications Photography (14365- dinosaur 4155) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons


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Bad Landlord; Bad Chef; Bad Manservant; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Brooklyn landlord gets 6 months in jail for bogus 911 calls. [Daily News]

- New Catholic ad campaign targets Brooklyn hipsters for Christmas. [IB Times]

- A chef at the ritzy Brooklyn Fare Chef's Table eatery is accused of serving the worst meat to Asian patrons and demanding they were not seated near him. [Daily Mail]

- The bad old days: When a "trusted manservant" robbed restauranteur Irving Lundy blind. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Barclays Center driving people to drink. [Nets Daily]

- Atlantic Yards Report rebuts Barclays' claims about bar business, whatever they are. [Atlantic Yards]

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Eric Garner Protesters Shut Down Brooklyn Bridge

Photo: MK Metz

Marchers protesting the grand jury's failure to indict the police officer who choked Eric Garner shut down the Brooklyn Bridge around midnight Wednesday night.

A very large number of police vehicles surrounded the marchers as they walked over the bridge. Many sat down on the Brooklyn-bound roadway.

David Mack ‏tweeted: "'They can't arrest us all. There's too many of us,' another #EricGarner protester yells to Brooklyn Bridge crowd."

"They can't arrest us all. There's too many of us," another #EricGarner protester yells to Brooklyn Bridge crowd. pic.twitter.com/z3vig20K9W
— David Mack (@davidmackau) December 4, 2014

But it appears they are arresting many.

According to NYPD dispatchers, the Queensborough Bridge was also shut down --  along with  the Lincoln Tunnel, Grand Central and West Side Highway.

Protesters in #NYC storm the Brooklyn Bridge https://t.co/xegNTmjmcA #EricGarner
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 4, 2014

Around 1 a.m. Thursday morning the marchers poured onto Tillary, then procededed to Flatbush Ave.

The Brooklyn Bridge remained closed while those arrested were loaded into police vehicles.

Around 1:30 a.m., marchers were at Atlantic Ave. and Flatbush; the bridge was not yet fully open.

UPDATE: The Brooklyn-bound side of the Brooklyn Bridge has now been reopened. (Manhattan-bound is closed due to bridge work.)

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Eric Garner: DOJ to Investigate; PA James Calls for Special Prosecutor in Police Misconduct Cases

#ericgarner His last words were as followed pic.twitter.com/XEnnUk9iaK pic.twitter.com/2bLP4Aekw1
— Anonymous*LosAngeles (@creativerobd) December 4, 2014

- Holder: Justice Department to open investigation into death of Eric Garner [Brooklyn Eagle]

- De Blasio statement about the grand jury decision on Eric Garner [Mayor's Office]

- It was never supposed to be a chokehold, the officer testified. It was a wrestling move. [NY Times]

- Even some conservatives not happy about the Eric Garner decision. [Huff Post]

- NYC pols react to Eric Garner decision... Tish James calls for a special prosecutor in cases of police misconduct. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- LRAD military equipment brought in by NYPD to deal with thousands of Eric Garner protesters. [Twitter]

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Eric Garner Protests: NYC West Side Highway, Times Square, Rock Center Overrun

At 8:40 PM, NYC issued the following alert:
Due to protest activity expect a heavy police presence and extensive traffic delays on the West Side Highway near West 49th Street, Manhattan. Consider alternate routes.
They issued similar alerts concerning Rockefeller Center and Times Square.

Here is why:

From @KeeganNYC: Photo of the West Side Highway in New York City moments ago pic.twitter.com/9flFmftvHt #EricGarner
— Michael Rusch (@weeddude) December 4, 2014

#EricGarner about 1k protestors join 500 who were being kettled on FDR, NYPD can no longer handle them pic.twitter.com/4oVuXq15Wt
— Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) December 4, 2014

Hey Hey Ho Ho These Racist Cops Have Got To Go, as they force us off the highway. #EricGarner https://t.co/oGOE4NgZMa
— Keegan Stephan (@KeeganNYC) December 4, 2014

Several more #EricGarner marches convening in Times Square, headed North. pic.twitter.com/g7V1qtlUi2
— Keegan Stephan (@KeeganNYC) December 4, 2014

Arrests have begun to the chant of 'I Cant Breathe!' #EricGarner https://t.co/ErXATEsPo9
— Keegan Stephan (@KeeganNYC) December 4, 2014

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Brooklyn Artists Plan Funeral for Williamsburg; 11-Year-Old Jeopardy Star; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Brooklyn artists are planning a funeral for the death of the neighborhood of Williamsburg. The wake is set for Saturday. [Cheryl & Daily News]

- An 11-year-old Park Slope boy, Cerulean Ozarow, was the star of "Jeopardy!" on Monday, winning $25,158 on the first night of the game show's "Kids Week." [WNYC]

- Public libraries in New York City will be making about 10,000 portable Wi-Fi units available for their patrons. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- A Brooklyn man stabbed his father to death and attacked his sister before committing suicide by jumping out of a second-floor window early Tuesday. [WSJ]

- Brooklyn man shaves his beard, preserves it in Lucite. [Gothamist]

- Andrew Cuomo's totally fake, entirely cynical and completely disposable Women's Equality Party is broke and in debt. [The Albany Project]

- Just when you thought it couldn't get worse: Bill Cosby was sued Tuesday by a California woman who claims the comedian molested her in a bedroom of the Playboy Mansion when she was 15 years old. [AP]


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