Results tagged “brooklyn”

Brooklyn has waited far too long for a French Dip Combo, but soon enough the borough's first Arby's will be opening and putting an end to its curly fry-less days. And boy oh boy, is it the fanciest Arby's you ever did see.

This past Wednesday the Community Board 2 committee voted against a dance club at the corner of Front and Old Fulton streets in DUMBO. The cabaret license request was made by the owners of One Front restaurant, who want to add dancing to the 2nd floor of their establishment, which includes a restaurant on the ground floor and mezzanine.

The off-duty officer who fatally ran over a woman hailing a cab in Brooklyn on a rainy night in September pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, and other charges yesterday. Officer Andrew Kelly, a seven-year veteran assigned to the 68th Precinct, was driving with another off-duty officer and three civilians when he struck Vionique Valnord, 32, around 1 a.m. on September 27th.

Eco-experimenter Mary Mattingly is taking her next project ashore. Earlier this year she was living in her waterpod, and now she's off to Metropolitan Exchange Building at 33 Flatbush Avenue to create something called “Air Ship Air City," according to the Brooklyn Paper.

Revel New York has released another video in their amazing series, which profiles all sorts of New Yorkers. You already met the Pigeon Lady, but they've also talked to Hester Diamond (Mike D's mom) and now their latest piece delves into the world of Brooklyn boxer Danny Jacobs.

A pigeon in Brooklyn was recently rescued by some animal lovers after being "dangled upside down from a piece of string that was caught around her leg and tangled on a tree branch two stories above a busy sidewalk."

Remember that free building in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens? Unsurprisingly, the whole thing was a prank. Reportedly a local resident was fed up with the rundown building (located at 205 Parkside Avenue) and decided to put up a sign and a Craigslist ad advertising it for free. The prankster told the Daily News: "We want to see something positive happening with the building [not just a] festering rathole on what could be a lively thriving commercial strip."

Yesterday morning around 5:20 a.m., a woman on her way to work was fatally struck by a driver on Flatbush Avenue at St. Mark's Avenue. The driver, off-duty corrections officer Damon Padmore, was arrested for driving with a suspended license; other charges against him are pending.

This tweet from Laura Holder just caught our eye: "Seen at polling station (e.g. grade school): 1 man, over-6-foot tall, towering, 100% naked. Number of police: 12. Number of police cars: 4." The Local also heard about the naked man, and a volunteer for Bill Thompson says he saw the unidentified man near PS 56 in Clinton Hill, which was closed for Election Day. The volunteer says the man approached "talking all kinds of crazy stuff — he said he was a direct pure-blood descendant of Jesus." (Sounds like a Rev. Billy voter?)

Terrifying! There are reportedly tiny, pink, hairless rodents falling out of their nests and, lucky for them, into the hands of rescuers. The Daily News reports that the number of baby squirrels in town has grown, and Sean Casey at Animal Rescue in Windsor Terrace says it's because "The warmer climate is allowing squirrels to breed later into the season, and so they have more babies. That's probably what's been causing the influx."

In late September, two black detectives and one Pakistani detective were going door-to-door in Gravesend, Brooklyn, canvassing residents to investigate a possible hate crime. They were dressed in suits, not uniforms, and not one of them is white, so naturally someone assumed they must be pretending to be police officers. The Shomrim Jewish Community patrol raced to the scene, and 911 was called. When the detectives heard the call over the radio they identified themselves to the dispatcher, but a fight almost broke out when local cops arrived.

So let’s get this right. If you're a Moscow mogul looking to buy the New Jersey Nets and move them to Brooklyn, you don’t have to do any of the legwork that comes with finding an apartment in the bustling borough?

The list of Rikers Island guards accused of abusing inmates continues to grow longer. Correction Officer Timothy Munroe, 24, of Brooklyn was indicted on charges of assault, falsifying business records and offering a false instrument for filing, among others, the NY Times reports.

Do you want 14 residential units and 3 commercial units in beautiful Brooklyn for the low low price of: Free? The blogger at Hawthorne Street points to Prospect Lefferts' 205 Parkside Avenue, "an abandoned rathole" that has been vacant since 1979 and is now being advertised as free (though they doubt it's really free). There's even a Craigslist ad backing up the sign on the building. Any takers? UPDATE: The new rumor is that this is a prank. We still bet squatters could get in a few months of free rent, however. [via Curbed]

What's really behind the bar at Brooklyn watering holes? Hopefully you'll never find out, but the Brooklyn Paper reports on some of the makeshift security systems barkeeps keep hidden from their patrons.

Get ready for Curly Fries and Onion Petals® and Roast Beef galore, Brooklyn—Arby's is nearly ready to open its doors. Lost City reports from the landmarked Gage & Tollner space at 374 Fulton Street, and says the franchise will open in a few weeks. "Construction was underway today, with lots of activity inside. I must say, the famous interior, gas lights and all, looked in fine shape." Nothing a giant, neon Arby's hat won't fix.

       

The New York Public Library is pitting Philly and NYC against each other in this fantastic catalog of old baseball images they put online. They say: "The 2009 World Series brings together two cities uncommonly rich in baseball history. Some of the game's earliest years are chronicled in over 500 photographs, prints, drawings, caricatures, and printed illustrations donated in 1921 to the New York Public Library by early baseball player and sporting-goods tycoon A. G. Spalding (whose name to this day is printed across every ball used in the National League)."

       

Nestled between a Williamsburg condo construction site and another building occupied by a battalion of fashion models, the swank new tapas restaurant Bar Celona seems poised to cash in on (and advance) the neighborhood's steady drumbeat of gentrification. At first glance, one might assume this chic place is just a tad out of step with the still slightly scruffy South Side, but let's not forget that the well-appointed Dressler is just a few blocks away, and Aurora isn't exactly a dump, either. Bar Celona's interior design may be seductively or surreally luxurious, but that doesn't take anything away from the stellar cocktails or chef Jordy Lavanderos's first-rate menu. Also: fireplace.

Hate crime task force detectives Stephon Garland and Gregory Wilson, who are black, and detective Faisal Khan, who is Pakistani, were going door-to-door in Gravesend, Brooklyn, canvassing residents to investigate a possible hate crime. They were each wearing suits, and soon enough 15 members of the Shomrim Jewish Community patrol pulled up, accusing them of impersonating police officers. Things got heated, and white uniformed cops from the 61st Precinct arrived at the scene to handle the situation. And handle it they did!

At a vigil, the family of Malachi Cotton begged for the community's help in finding the 16-year-old's killer. The teen was shot multiple times at a bus stop outside Metropolitan Diploma Plus High in Brownsville, Brooklyn on Monday afternoon. City Councilman Charles Barron added, "If you see something, say something. And all those who don't want to snitch, tell me. I'll snitch. If you're afraid to snitch, I'll snitch. They say snitches get stitches, bring it. You tell me and I'll do the snitching."

It's not even Halloween yet and Christmas has already popped up on Court Street in Brooklyn! Pardon Me For Asking has photos of the festive decor, have you seen any more around? Send us your photos of any over-the-top or way-too-early holiday decorations. We haven't spotted nearly enough haunted houses this year.

The notoriously Luddite NYPD—they still use typewriters for most paperwork—has a technological visionary in their midst. Though most people know the Internet is just a passing fad, crazy Capt. Kenneth Corey at the 76th Precinct in Brooklyn thinks it should be used to communicate with concerned citizens. So he frequently sends electronic mail, or "e-mail," to a growing subscriber list, informing them of local crime news. But is the NYPD brass going to stand for this? What do they pay spokesman Paul Browne for?

Yesterday afternoon, a 16-year-old boy was fatally shot outside Metropolitan Diploma Plus High in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Malachi Cotton was standing at a city bus stop by when, the Daily News reports, "Three men approached him around 3:15 p.m., police said. The armed trio, who were targeting Cotton, fired several shots at him and then fled."

If you spend enough time in Williamsburg, sooner or later you'll be passed by a man driving a red Subaru, blasting oldies and singing along at the top of his voice. That's just how Anthony Delia, aka Subaru Dude, rolls. Filmmaker Russel Fong recently rode around with Delia for Free Williamsburg, and the guy is exactly as ebullient as we always hoped. Take a look at Hipsterville through his happy eyes:

A Brooklyn mother charged with beating her 4-year-old son to death over the course of two days told a friend she was "possessed by a spirit" during the savage attacks. Suspect Myrna Chen Phang was visited Sunday at the NYPD's 71st Precinct station house by a friend, Rosa Adrien, who tells the Daily News, "[Phang] said something came over her, almost like a spirit. She said she didn't know why she let it happen." 4-year-old Jayden Lenescar died Friday afternoon after being beaten repeatedly with fists, a clothes hanger and belt buckle.

Yesterday afternoon the Martha Stewart dropped by the Brooklyn Flea, causing a commotion and getting vendors worked up into a tizzy. It was a good thing! Martha says she loves Brooklyn, and it seems like the feeling might be mutual... except for some who sneered, calling her entourage "fucking ridiculous." Can we just file "Martha Stewart is at my designer flea market" as a Hall o' Fame White Whine?

This weekend there were reports of a bomb going off on South 3rd Street in Williamsburg, during the early morning hours of Sunday. Now the Daily News has more details, confirming that the block between Roebling and Havemeyer was the stage for an explosion around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday.

There’s one thing you don’t mess with while on the grounds of school that’s struggling financially: a parent and their homemade brownies and cookies. But it seems as though the city Department of Education doesn’t know the deal. Parents in School District 21 in Brooklyn are heated over the DOE’s new regulation that allows only one bake sale a month and desserts to be sold after 6 p.m. on weekdays.

Yesterday morning, two fire trucks collided in Brooklyn on Ashford Street between New Lots Avenue and Hegeman Street. A truck from Engine 236 and a truck from Ladder 107 were both responding to a gas emergency, but Engine 236's truck hit Ladder 107's at an intersection, causing Ladder 107's rig to overturn. A witness said, "It went up in the air. I could see the wheels. It spun, and then it slammed down on its side, and then it slid and stopped, wrapped in the tree. To think you could turn that thing over."

A little bit before 1 a.m. word came across the newswire that at 221 South 3rd Street, at Roebling Street in Williamsburg, there was a search in progress for "secondary devices" in regards to an explosion. There was a bomb squad on the scene and a staging area set up for EMS at South 5th Street.