Scenes from Saturday's 2013 Willowtown Spring Fair, Brooklyn Heights

Neighborhood and family fun was the theme at the 2013 Willowtown Spring Fair in Brooklyn Heights on Saturday. Kids hopped and jumped in the potato sack and three-legged races, and grownups showed their muscle in the tug-o-war competition. There were jumpy castles and face painting, and a self-guided architectural tour, too.

Mona’s Hot Four had the street hopping with old-fashioned jazz. (Musicians: Dennis Lichtman, clarinet;Jared Engel, bass; Nick Russo, banjo; and Gordon Webster.)

Iris Cafe and Waterfront Wine and Spirits provided food and drinks, and the Willowtown Community Garden sold plants and filled a snack table with vegetables. One of the raffle prizes was an East River boating adventure by the Village Community Boathouse, illustrated by the above boat docked in the middle of Willow Street.

The annual fair raises money for the Willowtown Association. Tree planting is one of the projects supported by the fair.

Above photos by MK Metz. You can see more photos at the Brooklyn Heights Blog.

- 2012 Willowtown Spring Fair

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More Bicycles Than You Could Shake a Stick at in DUMBO on Friday

Bicyclists flooded into DUMBO after work on Friday for the Bike Home from Work Party, sponsored by Transportation Alternatives and Giro.

Food and bicycle accessory pop-up shops lined Pearl Street, and hundreds of people sat at the picnic tables under the Manhattan Bridge Archway to eat Brooklyn Flea food and be entertained by a fashion show of reflective nighttime biker-wear.

Vita Coco and Brooklyn Roasting Company gave out free drinks, Cabot Cheese gave away probably cheese (we missed this one) and Kind was handing out free nut bars -- yum, thank you.

Above is part of the bicycle valet parking lot.

Photos by MK Metz

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Turkey Comes to Brooklyn

A military drumbeat rang out over Downtown Brooklyn on Thursday and we rushed to Brooklyn Borough Hall in time to catch an impressive performance of an Ottoman military band and teams of Turkish dancers.

The event was Brooklyn’s annual Turkish Cultural Celebration, and was attended by both Turkish natives and Turkish wanna-be's like Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who officiated along with the Consul General of Turkey.


BP Markowitz said Brooklyn is “the Turkish capital of America.”

More about the celebration here.

Photos by MK Metz

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Amazing Tent in Tobacco Warehouse for Brooklyn Half Marathon Party

Photo: MK Metz

The most amazing transparent tent has been installed inside the Tobacco Warehouse in DUMBO, the venue for the “Brooklyn Half Pre-Party” and registration for this Saturday's Brooklyn Half Marathon.

The structure fills the main section of the warehouse and lets in the sunshine, unlike the white tent more often used in the iconic roofless warehouse.

There's all kinds of racing-related merchandise, a Polaroid station, exercise equipment etc. inside the tent.

MK Metz

Food, beer and music are located in the next section of the warehouse. The party lasts till 9 p.m. tonight -- and the race starts Saturday at 7.

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Great GoogaMooga Promises More Googa, Less Mooga

The organizers of the great mash of hungry hipster humanity known the Great GoogaMooga say they have learned from last year's snafus in Prospect Park and promise more food, water, cashiers, crowd-control and cell towers, and less endless lines, according to their website.

While some who attended last year's music and food fest swear they will never go back, the $79 VIP tickets (and the freebies) for this weekend's festival are sold out.

Restaurants told the NY Daily News they are coming prepared: Do or Dine, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, is getting ready to sell 4,000 foie gras doughnuts for $10 each. (Wonder how many geese it takes to make one doughnut?)

The kickoff concert tonight features the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Flaming Lips and the Darkness.

Photo: Great GoogaMooga

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Lunch Break On the Manhattan Bridge

Photo: MK Metz

Hard-hat workers on the Manhattan Bridge climb a long way down for lunch break on a temporary, enclosed stairway.

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Yet Another Fireworks Display: NYC, Brooklyn, Queens, May 16 -- UPDATED

Photo: MK Metz

The third fireworks display in a week eight days exploded over New York City Thursday night (May 16), surprising folks in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

According to the city, the fireworks display was sponsored by "XA Experimental Agency," and were set off from Pier 36, East River, on the Lower East Side.

From Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights, where we were standing when we took the photo above, it appeared the fireworks were coming from Williamsburg.

The company name is actually "XA the experiential agency" (not "experimental"). They do branding, live events, gorilla marketing, stunts and PR. No word what particular client (if any) they were celebrating tonight.

UPDATE: Flyingflashlight shot a video of the display from a bridge. We think we see several letters at the beginning of the show -- maybe USA? or XAU?

Photo: MK Metz

 Yesterday (Wednesday, May 15) another fireworks display was set off from Liberty Island. We caught this one from Brooklyn Bridge Park (photo left). (That's the Statue of Liberty in the lower right corner.)

The sponsor was Allied P.R.A. – Pet Smart.

And on May 8 we had the Norwegian Cruise Lines/ Rockettes /Peter Max cruise ship fireworks.

If that's not enough for you, on both Friday and Saturday (May 17 and 18) more fireworks will be shot off (at 10:50 p.m.) from Citi Field in Queens, as part of the Electric Daisy Carnival.


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White Powder Alerts at Brooklyn Federal Courthouse Getting to Be a Habit

Photo: MK Metz

For the second time in eight days, an envelope filled with white powder mailed to the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Downtown Brooklyn triggered an anthrax scare, the NY Daily News reported.

NYC sent out alerts warning shortly after 6 p.m. that traffic at Tillary Street and Cadman Plaza East was snarled due to police activity and emergency personnel.

On May 7, the Clerk's Office at the same courthouse was placed under quarantine after an employee opened a letter filled with white powder.

According to the News, both letters were sent by inmates serving time in separate prisons and appear to be unrelated.

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Bomb Sniffing Dogs to Brooklyn Half Marathon; City Closes Preschool; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Bomb-sniffing dogs will be out in force at this weekend's Brooklyn Half Marathon. [NY Times]

- Parents left in the lurch after city closes Cobble Hill preschool. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Jittery Brooklyn Dems look for alternative to Adams. [City & State]

- Another CitiBike rack bites the dust in Brooklyn Heights. [NY Daily News]

- Vikings coming to Bay Ridge this weekend for the annual Viking Fest. [Brooklyn Paper]

- Finally, a TV show in Brooklyn not about young people screwing up. [Brokelyn]

- Like swallows to Capistrano, measles return to Borough Park. [DNA Info]

- NYC newsstands may soon sell more stuff: umbrellas, batteries, earphones. [Brooklyn Eagle]

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Brooklyn Man Arrested in $6.7 Million Facebook Scam

The FBI and IRS arrested three men including Aaron Muschel, 63, of Brooklyn yesterday on charges they stole $6.7 million in a Facebook scam.

The trio told an investor they had special access to hard-to-get Facebook shares prior to the company’s initial public offering. The investor ("G.C") wired them millions of dollars between February and March 2012.

The alleged fraudsters used the money to invest in other businesses and make loans.

Besides Muschel, the other men arrested are Eliyahu Weinstein, 37, of Lakewood, New Jersey and Alex Schleider, 47, of Lakewood.

Weinstein used some of the money to pay lawyers representing him in a pending $200 million real estate investment fraud scheme.

Logo graphic by Lawton Chiles

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Paul Giamatti, Andrew Garfield in DUMBO Filming 'Amazing Spider-Man 2'

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was filming in DUMBO again on Monday. The neighborhood was taken over by police cars, the "Midtown bus," crowds of extras and all sorts of action.

In this scene actors repeatedly ran across the Pearl Street Triangle away from some horror.

Andrew Garfield plays Peter Parker (Spidey). Above, Garfield (or a body double) prepares for a scene.

Paul Giamatti, who plays a villain called the Rhino, can be seen on the left. (As his alter ego the Russian thug Aleksei Sytsevich, he's got tattoos on his neck and forehead.) Other stars include Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, Jamie Foxx as Electro and Sally Field as Aunt Mary. Plot spoilers here.

Spider-Man holds a mysterious object. There was a lot of waving it around and discussing it. Anybody know what it is?

Photos copyright MK Metz

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Coney Island Mermaid Parade Close to Halfway Funded

Mermaids and sea creatures are contributing swimmingly to the Kickstarter campaign to save this year's world famous Coney Island Mermaid Parade, which has reached close to half its goal of $100,000.

By Sunday night more than 1,000 backers had pledged $46,548, with 21 days to go before the effort closes.

Because of the damage Hurrican Sandy wreaked on Coney Island, parade organizers said the budget shortfall of $100,000 would probably spell doom to the wacky, exotic and anywhere else probably illegal symbol of all that is Coney.

There are lots of perks for contributors. Just a few examples: Those pledging $40 will receive seashell pasties. Starting at $100: A mega-pack of 3D Mermaid Parade photos by Jay K. and a pair of 3D viewing glasses, plus a mermaid swag pack.

Pledge $150 and you'll get a spot on the VIP deck. A pledge of $250 will buy you untold treasures, including partying and marching with the Sexcamaids and custom-made mermaid/merman gear.

Here's one we love: pledge $5,000 or more and receive a Private Personalized Porta-potty: "Why wait on line when you can sit like a king and/or queen on your throne? Special Mermaid-themed, air-conditioned port-a-potty with security to prevent the mer-serfs from getting in. Oh, and also it's a parade float."

With swag like this, it's no wonder the donations are pouring in.

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