BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather.
FYI: April Fool’s Day; watch out for silly pranks.
SPRING FORWARD THIS WEEKEND: Though Europe switched over on Sunday, daylight savings time
for New York (EST, GMT -7:00) takes place NEXT weekend. Set your clocks
ahead (spring forward) one hour at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, 2005.
CITY NEWS: MTA picks Jets Stadium for the West Side Rail Yards.
_Court of Appeals declines to hear two gay marriage cases, a major setback to those who believe that marriage should be open to gay and lesbian couples.
_Study finds that New York City has the longest average commute to work in the nation. The average time in the five boroughs is 38 minutes compared to 24 minutes nationwide. Staten Islanders seem to have it the worst.
_The right to distribute leaflets in front of schools is upheld by a
Federal District Court. Under
the settlement, reached earlier this month, the New York Civil Liberties Union,
which represented the group, the Ya-Ya Network, and lawyers for the
city agreed that the department would instruct police officers that a
state law against loitering near schools and colleges "does not apply
to First Amendment activity."
The Police
Department issued a one-page directive to all precincts on March 21
instructing police officers not to enforce the loitering law against
First Amendment activity, including "the holding of signs, placards and
leaflets, chanting and singing."
_New York University will
limit student’s access to balconies in two
dormitories. The school also installed a plexiglass guard wall in the
school’s main library. This is all part of the school’s efforts to
prevent
student suicides. Last year there were five such deaths.
_iPods are getting stolen on the subway pushing up city’s subway crime rate, which is up for the first time in years.
_City to get hybrid buses instead of those powered by natural gas.
_Mayor kicks off major pot hole repair blitz attempting to fix damage caused by winter storms.
_As of last Sunday, children age seven and younger must be buckled into a car seat in New York State. This is up from age four.
_There’s a growing blog community of New York City public school teachers. MildlyMelancholy, Judysmoh, and others are sites where teachers can openly vent about what they really think and feel about their jobs.
BROOKLYN BEAT: "When more than 500 District 15 fifth graders received the disappointing news that they were not admitted to any of their three top choices for middle school, City Council Member Bill DiBlasio immediately appealed to the Department of Education to remedy the situation. He pressed Chancellor Klein at an Education Committee hearing, invited colleagues who also represent District 15 to follow up by letter, and joined parents at a Community Education Council meeting. ‘This situation should have been anticipated and avoided through better planning and communication,’ he said. ‘I’ve been working with my colleagues to ensure as many students as possible have their choices honored this year and that the process is improved next year. I’ve spoken to the Chancellor and Superintendent and now the DOE is expanding capacity at choice schools, reevaluating student applications, creating wait lists, and communicating with parents about next steps in the application process. Also, it must be a DOE priority to address the resource issues that lead other schools to be perceived as less desirable." From a press release from Councilman’s DiBlasio’s office.
_A Brooklyn yellow cab driver was shot in the back by a passenger at Pierrepont Street and Hicks in Brooklyn Heights at 8:45 p.m. on Thursday night. The driver, who is recovering from the incident, was completely surprised by the attack. The suspect is a white male in his twenties.
_According to the 78th Pct. there was a bank robbery in the South Slope (bank and date not specified) this week. On Thursday, a police helicopter was hovering over the neighborhood searching for the perp. More news to come as soon as there is some.
_A delivery man on bicycle was killed after being hit by a truck on 75th Street and Sixth Avenue in Bay Ridge.
_Brooklyn now has a city program aimed at treating sexual assault victims very quickly in the hopes of increasing the odds of catching the attackers. This program, which includes a response team with specially trained forensic examiners, and rape crisis counselors to treat every victim within one hour of their arrival at the hospital. started in the Bronx and now includes Brooklyn.
_There have been a number of muggings between President and Ninth Street
in Park Slope. The victims are women who are talking on their cell
phones. The suspect surprises them from behind, puts his hand over
their mouth and asks for money. According to the police, he hasn’t hurt anyone; he just takes the cash and runs. The most recent incident was on Tuesday at 4
p.m. on President Street on or near 8th Avenue. If you have any
information, please call the 78th Precint Pct., re: Pattern 29.
718-636-6484.
_New performance spaces for dance are flourishing in Brooklyn neighborhoods like Ft. Greene, Bushwick, and Williamsburg. Last year, more than a third of the audience that came to see events at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope came from Manhattan.
THIS WEEKEND: Pianist Anthony Coleman plays the music of Jelly Roll Morton at Barbes on FRIDAY night. April 1. 7 p.m. And at 10 p.m.: The Wiyos, a band that combines Django Reinhardt, Gershwin, Doc Watson, Fats Waller and vaudeville.
_Who’s Afraid of Mike Nichols Film Series. March 31 – April 19th. This BAMCinematek presents: "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf "The Graduate," "Carnal
Knowledge," "Angels in America, "Wit," and more.
_"Play Without Words," a dance-theater piece by Matthew Bourne, said to be one of the most
important contemporary choreographers in Britain. FRIDAY and SATURDAY AT 8 p.m. SUNDAY at 2 p.m. BAM.
_ Valentines. Portraits by Hugh Crawford at Fou Le Chakra. Opening 3 p.m. 4/2. 411 Seventh Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets.
_Too Cool for Shul: Festival of Contemporary Jewish Music. Various artists at the BAM Cafe. Weekends in April.
_First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum. April 2nd. 6:30 –
8:30: Use oil pastels to creat your own Basquiat-inspired symbol on
canvas. At 7 p.m. there’s a public reading of Whitman’s Leaves of
Grass followed by a musical setting of the poems by members of the
Brooklyn Philharmonic. Then it’s time to do some LATIN DANCING in the
Rotunda.
_Sunday is Recycle Your Electronics Day at Grand Army Plaza. 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Bring your old computers. Bring your friends. Help load the truck. You can bring: working and non-working computers, servers, fax machines, scanners, TV’s, radios, CD players, etc. Donations will go to Per Scholas, an organization that gives electronic equipment and training to South Bronx residents in need.
_Self-Care Fair at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. Food, health products, musical meditation, relaxation, chair massages, and more. On Sunday from 2 p.m. until 9 p.m. at 53 Prospect Park West.
_Forsythia Day at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Sunday all day.
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: OTBKB Daily Pix photographer, Hugh Crawford, has a show of portrait work on view at Fou Le Chakra 411 Seventh Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets until May 16th.
_ In the documentary, "Let’s Get Real" kids speak out about
bullying, name calling, and other root causes of violence in school. The
film explores a variety of issues that lead to taunting and bullying including
racial differences, perceived sexual orientation, learning
disabilities, sexual harassment and others. A panel discussion will
follow the screening on April 16th at The ImaginAsian Theater 239 East
59th Street in Manhattan between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. 10:00 am until noon. The film is appropriate for kids ages
10 and up. Reservations necessary: urbina9@aol.com
HERE/SAY: "Calling somebody else fat won’t make you any skinnier. Calling someone
stupid doesn’t make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George’s life
definitely didn’t make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to
solve the problem in front of you." – From the 2004 film, "Mean Girls."