Mario Cuomo graduated first in his class at St. John’s University School of Law School in 1956 but his job application was rejected by 50 law firms. As Charles Hynes, the longtime Brooklyn District Attorney, put it: “in those days, bigotry was not confined to matters of skin pigmentation.”

This excerpt from The Atlantic in December, 1990 describes his years at the Brooklyn firm of Corner, Weisbrod, Froeb and Charles.

When Mario Cuomo went into private practice, he joined a firm in Brooklyn, becoming part of the throng of lawyers whose offices crowd Court Street to this day. The term “Court Street lawyer” has curious connotations in the city’s legal profession; it is used to refer to the mob of assembly-line attorneys who fill the borough’s personal-injury and nuisancesuit courts. (In one legal broil a professor at Brooklyn Law School actually countersued a colleague for calling him a Court Street lawyer.) Cuomo, as it happens, worked for Corner, Weisbrod, Froeb, and Charles, one of the two or three prestige firms in the area. But, as the firm’s first litigation specialist, he was not entirely separate from the contentious ambience of Court Street.

Going to trial requires a fantastic level of commitment. When court is in session, good litigators work round the clock in a state of meticulously controlled fury. Cuomo loved it.

Continue reading →

December 27, 2014 by sdwaldman

Dunkin Donuts beats Starbucks; BK New Years Eve events; reflections on police slayings

Week In Review

December 22-28, 2014

5 times as many Dunkin’ Donuts as Starbucks in BK [Brokelyn]

“Dunkin’ Donuts rules the chain store landscape with an iron fist full of fake Cronuts”
52 new chain stores in Brooklyn in 2014. Full report. [NYC Future]

The 15 biggest stories about the Brooklyn tech world (including Etsy’s decision to plant deeper BK roots) [Technical.ly Brooklyn]

The ultimate guide to Brooklyn New Years Eve shows [Brooklyn Paper]

Video: a boogie-woogie video tour of the Dyker Heights lights [BK Bugle]

Nets 7th in NBA in fan cost but have 3rd most expensive beer [Atlantic Yards Report]

A Brooklyn congressman, Michael Grimm, pleads guilty to federal tax evasion [Brooklyn Eagle]

LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR: A Dyker Heights man sprayed a neighbor with a hose. She responded by throwing dog poop at him. So he choked her. Then her bulldog bit him. He sued. Finally, a judge ruled: the dog behaved appropriately. [NY Post]

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Commentary about the Police Killings, the Second Wave

Last week Guiliani blamed Obama for creating anti-cop environment. This week he called on De Blasio critics to “Stop this stuff with ‘the blood is on his hands.’” [Crown Heights Info]

Protester explains why he’s defying De Blasio’s request to pause protests [City Limits]

911 charity to pay off mortgages of slain police officers [Daily News]

De Blasio was engaging in profiling, too, when he told Dante to be suspicious of cops [Charlotte Observer]

Two blue lines on the parachute jump in Coney Island, in tribute to the two slain police officers [Amuzing the Zillion]

Quotes of the Week

“I know that being a cop is dangerous but I must do it. If I don’t do it and you don’t do it, then who is going to do it?”
— The explanation given to a friend by Wenjian Liu, one of the slain police officers, on why he chose this profession

“I tell the kids, there are 766 of you, and there’s two of us.”
–Midwood High School guidance counsellor on why she can’t spend much time with students (in contrast to BK’s private schools)

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Food

10 best new local beers of 2014 [BK Mag]

Wheated’s mushroom pizza makes Adam Kuban’s ‘8 Pizzas that haunt my dreams’ list [Serious Eats]

10 old-fashion Italian restaurants in BK [NY Eater]

Why Bay Ridge has the most under-rated food scene [Brooklyn Based]

Brooklyn delivery services [Technical.ly]

Change

Brooklyn gets first windmill since 19th century, in Sunset Park [Brooklyn Daily]

Sustainable Brooklyn: Ft. Greene butcher turns meat fat into scented candles [DNA Info]

A 70-story building on Flatbush, and other big BK development announcements of 2014 [The Real Deal]

Re-imagining BK libraries to include after-hours centers, emergency hubs, battery-charging venues and more [Ft. Greene Focus]

Why Greenpoint isn’t exactly the next Williamsburg [Bedford and Bowery]

Longtime Sheepshead Bay diner to become a condo [Crains]

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BK Culture

Ft. Greene resident stars as Coretta Scott King in ‘Selma‘ [Ft. Greene Focus]

Best BK art shows of 2014 [The L Magazine]

Obits

James Gelfand, 62. Park Slope artist. “Every object in his apartment is placed with the symbolic purpose of an Egyptian tomb, though dedicated to the present.” [Psychology Tomorrow Magazine]

Karen Hagopian, 39. Prospect Heights artist, office manager, fun-loving “cookie-monster” [Make Me Stronger]

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Sports

The big question: should the Nets bench Brook Lopez? [The Brooklyn Game]

Nets win three straight! [The Brooklyn Game]

Video: Mason Plumlee’s BIG night [The Brooklyn Game]

2014 All-Brooklyn high school football team [Brooklyn Eagle]

History

Rare photos from 1966 subway [Gizmodo]

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December 21, 2014December 21, 2014 by sdwaldman

Accusations fly after cop assassinations. + Best BK gifts; Nets Superfan dies; & rabbis compare sizes of their massive…

Uncategorized

Career criminal assassinates two BK cops in Bed-Stuy; police union and pols blame DeBlasio and Holder

The murders:

Video: The Bratton/DeBlasio press conference [WCBS]
Con ed workers attempted to stop killer after shooting [NY Post]

Anger and accusations:

Former Gov. Pataki blames Eric Holder and DeBlasio [NYTimes]
Video: Cops literally turn backs on DeBlasio [NY Post]
Police union says DeBlasio has “blood on [his] hands” [Daily News]
Guiliani: Obama “propaganda” led to “anti-police” hatred [Talking Points Memo]
Sharpton denounces killing [USA Today]
From “a statement purporting to be from the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association”: “We have, for the first time in a number of years, become a ‘wartime’ police department. We will act accordingly.” [NYTimes]

The victims:

13-year-old son of victim of Rafael Ramos: “I will never forget you. RIP Dad.” [Daily News]
Wenjian Liu recently married [Daily Mail]

The shooter:

Suspected of being part of anti-cop prison gang Black Guerrilla Family [Daily News]
The shooter’s threat: “they Take 1 of Ours……Let’s take 2 of Theirs.” [Daily News]

Probably not-representative Tweets:

#BlueLivesMatter Tweeters blame DeBlasio, Obama, Sharpton [TheBKBridge]
People celebrating the killing [The Blaze]

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In Other News….

BK rabbis compare sizes of their massive….menorahs [Brooklyn Daily]

The 10 Best Dishes in Brooklyn in 2014 [Brooklyn Magazine]

One of BK’s top rappers, Bobby Shurdas, arrested for 24 shootings [DNA Info]

Coney Island to host New Year’s Eve ball drop [NY 1]

Video tribute to Nets superfan Jeff Gamblero who died under mysterious and tragic circumstances [The Brooklyn Game]

BK Gift Guides

From Brokleyn:

From Brooklyn Magazine

Holiday Activities

Where to go and what to listen to [Brooklyn Magazine]

Rock your holiday [Brooklyn Based]

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“Best Of” for 2014

Best new BK bars [The L Magazine]

Best donuts [BK Magazine]

Holiday Spirit

New York is a city where people poop in public, so it makes sense that we find ourselves crying in public, too. [Brooklyn Based]

Trade a blanket for beer to help the homeless [BK Mag]

Pet Justice

The BK man who ruined pet tattooing for the rest of us [NY Post]

City Council bans sale of rabbits at pet shops

Cuomo goes after mute swans [Daily News]

History

Amazing photo of Luna Park in 1903, displaying the miracle of electricity [Brooklyn Historical Society]

Civic Dilemmas

Parents flood 311 to protest kids being killed by cars [DNA Info]

Hindus protest BK Museum “insulting” mural of Hindu god, Kali [CBS]

Greenpointers vote on how to spend proceeds from Exxon oil spill settlement [DNA Info]

One result: 500 new trees [Greenpointers]

Students can’t pass tests, but teachers are ‘A’ OK [NY Post]

Where will the immigrant refugee children go? [The Brooklyn Ink]

How wealthy foreigners can buy their way to the head of the immigration line, with the help of BK developers [Atlantic Yards Report]

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December 21, 2014December 21, 2014 by sdwaldman

#BlueLivesMatter tweets blame DeBlasio, Sharpton and Obama for the killings

Analysis

#BlueLivesMatter #PoliceLivesMatter RIP pic.twitter.com/xNuax0esn1

— Sad NY Sports Fan (@knoto77) December 21, 2014

As a born and raised New Yorker, I can assure you @BilldeBlasio, you are NOT a fellow New Yorker. #BlueLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/fb643ArUbh

— Annie Morgado (@Annievmo) December 21, 2014

@PolitiBunny Obama, Holder, Sharpton and de Blasio all have blood on their hands! #NYPD #BlueLivesMatter

— Bob (@Iburyyou) December 20, 2014

Where is the picture of the killer of #NYPD is this racial or are people not allowed to mention race since a black wasn’t killed #ASharpton

— Susan Mondie (@SusanMondie) December 21, 2014

You know who else can’t breathe right now? Two NYC police officers. #BlueLivesMatter #ShutItDown

— Dan Gainor (@dangainor) December 20, 2014

America is with you #NYPD. Decent America that is. #Brooklyn #BlueLivesMatter #RIP #tcot #p2

— Christianne V. Willi (@SisMarvy) December 21, 2014

I wish all you fake #ICantBreathe protesters really couldn’t breathe. I’ve had it with your lies. #BlueLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/0jUXdKudnS

— SecureOurBorder (@yobynnad1127) December 21, 2014

These fools have blood on their hands. #BlueLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/LPEb5wmYdr

— SantaBunnyFooFoo (@PolitiBunny) December 21, 2014

@FoxNews @BilldeBlasio #BlueLivesMatter HYPOCRITE, Traitor, Communist Cop KILLER!!

— April Moon (@OkieHen) December 21, 2014

When you support the side of cop killers, don’t be surprised the cops turn their backs on you. #deblasio #BlueLivesMatter

— Lesley (@Cl3v3r_G1rl) December 21, 2014

@NotreDame Ask your misinformed basketball players if they’re happy now. #BlueLivesMatter

— Joe Lyon (@TheLyonDen560) December 21, 2014

@xfinity @comcast FIRE Al Sharpton from @MSNBC, or we will FIRE you. #BlueLivesMatter #tcot #NYPD

— John Smith (@HateSocialists) December 21, 2014

#NYPDLivesMatter #BlueLivesMatter #ArrestSharpton #ThinBlueLine

Entire NYPD should call in sick NYE & not show up in Times Square unless De Blasio resigns. #BlueLivesMatter

— ThomRog1621 (@ThomRog1621) December 21, 2014

How many sports teams or celebrities will wear shirts that say “All I did was go to work” #NYPD #BlueLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/hd96We8536

— suzy75 (@suzy75) December 21, 2014

Meanwhile, some Tweeters tried to counter the notion that the protests led to this violence:

#BlackLivesMatter #EricGarner #MichaelBrown #BlueLivesMatter #NYPDLivesMatter #ICantBreathe pic.twitter.com/n9lh1nGtF5

— Time_for_ Change (@du_haast) December 21, 2014

The war between blacks and blues is turning America black and blue. #BlackLivesMatter #BlueLivesMatter #AllLivesMatter

— Dominic Detwiler (@DomTheTubaGuy) December 21, 2014

Police murdered for being police. A predictable result when president/mayors support criminals just because of their color. #BlueLivesMatter

— Meagan Elizabeth (@VodkaThursday) December 21, 2014

#BlueLivesMatter degrades this tragedy. #blacklivesmatter is about institutional violence and lawlessness. Today was act by 1 sick man.

— Shannon Manning (@shannonmanning) December 21, 2014

And some Tweeters tried to make peace:

#BlackLivesMatter #EricGarner #MichaelBrown #BlueLivesMatter #NYPDLivesMatter #ICantBreathe pic.twitter.com/n9lh1nGtF5

— Time_for_ Change (@du_haast) December 21, 2014

The war between blacks and blues is turning America black and blue. #BlackLivesMatter #BlueLivesMatter #AllLivesMatter

— Dominic Detwiler (@DomTheTubaGuy) December 21, 2014

Police murdered for being police. A predictable result when president/mayors support criminals just because of their color. #BlueLivesMatter

— Meagan Elizabeth (@VodkaThursday) December 21, 2014

Police murdered for being police. A predictable result when president/mayors support criminals just because of their color. #BlueLivesMatter

— Meagan Elizabeth (@VodkaThursday) December 21, 2014

December 14, 2014December 14, 2014 by sdwaldman

Fred Armisen’s Park Slope accent, Eric Adams’ “silent majority” on policing, and more

Week In Review

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December 8-14, 2014

Does Borough President Eric Adams represent the “silent majority”?

Criticizes both anti-cop protestors and Giuliani [Observer]
Describes his brutalization as a teen by NYPD [NY Times]

Apparently, torture did NOT save the Brooklyn Bridge [TheBKBridge]

Brooklyn has the least-wired neighborhood in all of NYC

47% lack high-speed connection in Borough Park, Kensington, Ocean Parkway vs. 14% in Park Slope [Kensington BK]

Map of the racial makeup of every public school in Brooklyn [DNA Info]

Brooklyn Paper photographer attacked by welcome-host drone at TGIF restaurant [Brooklyn Daily]

Video: Fred Armisen does Park Slope and Bay Ridge accents at Bell House [Brokelyn]

Pictures from the historic day when UK royalty met BK royalty and Cleveland Royalty (King LeBron James) at a Nets game.

Technically Brooklyn

Apple store to open in Williamsburg [Brokelyn]
The idea has “haunted gentrified Williamsburg like a spectre”

586 new BK wi-fi locations at old pay phone booths [Bensonhurst Bean]

Broadband connectivity is crucial in tackling NYC’s racial inequality [City Limits]

More of the best BK Instagrams

BK Rennaissance

Once critical to NYC, the humble oyster attempts a comeback [BKLYNR]

NYC ranked the most livable city for people under 35 [Vocativ]

Bed-Stuy is booming [Brownstoner]

Rents up 10% in Brooklyn since January [Brownstoner]

Diana Ross concert marks unveiling of spectacularly renovated King Theatre [Ditmas Park Corner]

BK Passions

Curling! [NY Times]

Santas race through Bay Ridge [Brooklyn Daily]

BK African-American stylists crusade for natural hair [BK Independent Media]

Williamsburg man turns trash into sculpture garden [NY Times]
The best BK Instagrams of the week

BK Celebrities in the News

“No right way to survive rape”: Lena Dunham responds to critics of her rape story [Brooklyn Magazine]

Joan Rivers leaves money for Brooklyn charity [Brooklyn Eagle]

Sports

2 BK high schools battle in snowy NYC football championship [Brooklyn Independent Media]

Video: Mirza Teletovic’s dipsy doo reverse layup [The Brooklyn Game]

Amidst rumors that the Nets Big Three are on the block, fans weigh in with weird and funny trade ideas [The Brooklyn Game]

Crime & Policing

Eric Garner’s widow denies race was chokehold motive [NY Post]

Bratton: Kelly’s stop-and-frisk caused minorities to fear cops [NY Post]

Brooklyn District Attorney sends NYPD shooting case to Grand Jury [Brooklyn Eagle]

BK and Obama’s Immigration Move

15 year old boy flees gangs in Honduras and lands in Brooklyn [NY Times]

Immigration reform gets mixed reviews in Sunset Park [Brooklyn Ink]

The first snow

Passings

Anthony La Rossa, 18. Killed in the Korean War, his remains were recently identified.

Joan Hale, 71. Run over by car, steps from her apartment in East Flatbush [Daily News]

Evelyn Dahab, 33. Founder of Gowanus bar, Lucy’s lounge, dies in fire [Brooklyn Paper]

Katrina Wang, 9. Run over by car on Ave U while walking with grandmother. [Daily News]

Fatoumatta Camara, 41. A Guinea immigrant, at first thought to have died from Ebola in a Brooklyn hair salon. Struggled to make in Brownsville after family tragedy struck. [Brooklyn Ink]

December 13, 2014December 13, 2014 by sdwaldman

BK Captured, December 14, 2014

Images

By Alignnone via Instagram. Dyker Heights

By Minoritychic. Dyker Heights lights. Via Instagram.

By Roselovesarturo, “Checking out the Christmas lights in Dyker Heights in the rain from the comfor of a dry, warm car.”

By Jwilcox79. “Giant Santa is terrifying.” Dyker Heights lights. Via Instagram.

By Roomzoomproject. The Royals take in a Nets game.

By Drewdowdey. BK royalty meets UK royalty.

By Tabecc. A protest before the game.

By Billiethakidd. “Monday night was epic. Royal shutdown. Everyone worried about the Kingand Queen but we #ShutItDown #ICantBreathe.”

By Becrind. The first snow.

By Facelessnyc

By Ericaglyn

By x.alvino

December 13, 2014December 13, 2014 by sdwaldman

Apparently, torture did NOT save the Brooklyn Bridge

The CIA repeatedly — and falsely — claimed that torture kept the Brooklyn Bridge safe, according to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s torture report.

In briefing materials, the CIA claimed that it was the torture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) that led to the capture of Iyman Faris, an Ohio truck driver who later pled guilty to trying to blow up the Bridge. National Review cited the case in its article, “waterboarding has its benefits.”

But the Senate report stated:

“Over a period of years, the CIA provided the “identification,” “arrest,” “capture,” “investigation,” and “prosecution” of Iyman Faris as evidence for the effectiveness of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques.

These representations were inaccurate.

Iyman Faris was identified, investigated, and linked directly to al-Qa’ida prior to any mention of Iyman Faris by KSM or any other CIA detainee. When approached by law enforcement, Iyman Faris voluntarily provided information and made self-incriminating statements. On May 1, 2003, Iyman Faris pied guilty to terrorism-related charges and admitted “to casing a New York City bridge for al Qaeda, and researching and providing information to al Qaeda regarding the tools necessary for possible attacks on U.S. targets.”

Indeed, at one point a CIA official cautioned that the continued use of Faris as an example would end up embarrassing them.

“TC Legal, expressed concern that “the examples cited, while true, and perhaps as far as we can go, are not… striking examples of lives saved.” Referencing KSM’s reporting on Iyman Faris, noted that “we risk making ourselves look silly if the best we can do is the Brooklyn Bridge – perhaps we should omit specific examples rather than ‘damn ourselves with faint praise.'”

Another CIA official mocked the seriousness of the Bridge plot:

“A senior CIA counterterrorism official, who had previously served a chief of the Bin Ladin Unit, commented on the intelligence obtained from Iyman Faris on the Brooklyn Bridge plotting, stating: “i guess we have to take these guys at their word, but if these are the types of attacks ksm was planning, [KSM] was more of a nuisnace [sic] than a threat and you have to wonder how he ever thought of anything as imaginative as the 11 sept attacks. i wonder if he had two tracks going: ops like 11 sept and a whole other series half-baked, secular palestinian-style ops like those majid khan, faris, and the other yahoos are talking about. perhaps he believe [sic] if we caught the yahoos, we would relax a bit and they would be better able to hit us with an effective attack?”

December 7, 2014December 7, 2014 by sdwaldman

BK leads NYC in chokeholds, leads US in unaffordability

Week In Review

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December 1-7, 2014

Abbyallender bkb via Instagram

Brooklyn leads the city in chokeholds [The BK Bridge]
37% of complaints are in Brooklyn (vs. 13% for Queens)

BK now the most unaffordable place to buy a home in U.S. [Gothamist]
Those earning median incomes would spend 98% of their salaries on median-priced homes of $615,000

Crime in NYC drops again [NY Times]

Rookie cop who shot East NY man Akai Gurley texted his union rep before calling for medical help [Daily News]

Inside BK’s underground boxing parties [Bedford and Bowery]

Jesus pops up in selfies, via Brooklyn Diocese marketing campaign [Brokelyn]

Quotes of the Week

“I feel like I’m laying in the morgue with him right now.”
–Sylvia Palmer, mother of Akai Gurley. [Daily News]

“The sludge never stops.”
–Gordon Arnold, captain of a new boat to haul NYC human excrement and other waste to the Newtown Creek treatment plant [Brooklyn Paper]

“Williamsburg has become like a giant Hollywood set of what the rest of the world thinks Brooklyn is like.”
— Nick Schiarizzi, an artist who helped throw a “funeral for Williamsburg” [Brooklyn Daily]

“Racism is exactly the same as species-ism.
–Natalia Tasic, a Bensonhurst resident who helps run the Empty Cages Collective which saves rats, squirrels, pigeons and more [Brooklyn Paper]

“Yes, I am an imbecile, but she seems to love me anyway, so I’m going to try to lock her in now while I can.”
–Hector Irakliotis, who married Tatyana Sandler on the N train [Bensonhurst Bean]

c/o Bensonhurst Bean and YouTube

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Tale of Two Cities (#1)

Park Slope house sells for $10.8M, sets neighborhood record [Curbed]

Bushwick church sells off its properties for $2.9 million [Brownstoner]

Tale of Two Cities (#2)

HIV still a huge problem in two BK neigbhorhoods [BK Mag]

Seventy-eight computers left un-opened for years at Boys and Girls HS [NY Post]

BK X Mas

13 places to see awesome Christmas tree lights in BK [DNA Info]

Cool picks for BK-made gifts [Brooklyn Based]

Fiftheen things to do with kids this season [South Slope News]

Holiday events round up [Brokelyn]

By 5mariola via Instagram

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And Now for Some Happy Police Stories

Complaints against the NYPD down [NY Post]

East NY takes the lead with body cameras for cops [Brooklyn Eagle]

Cops comfort barefoot boy [Bensonhurst Bean]

BK Innovation Isn’t Just Artisanal Pickles

New store caters to “gender queer” fashion for selective self-identified butch lesbians [Brooklyn Independent Media]

DUMBO firm proposes poor neighborhood sell off air rights to finance development [Technical.ly Broooklyn]

BK Flags

Designers create flags representing nine BK neighborhoods [Brooklyn Based]

c/o Brooklyn Based

Good News About Ebola and Mentally-Ill Criminals

With more than 100 people tested, hipster Ebola doctor infected no one [NY Times]

DeBlasio proposes diverting mentally ill from jails ‘revolving door’ [NY Times]

The Mystery of Barclays

Barclays boosting neighborhood…. [Capital NY]

Yet tickets sales are slumping… [Atlantic Yards Report]

…And a media mogul wants to buy it for half its asking price [Atlantic Yards Report]

When the Nets Resort to Biting…

This is the worst period in NYC sports in the modern sports era [The Brooklyn Game]

Nets are now the best pro basketball team in all of NYC [The Brooklyn Game]

Kevin Garnett tries biting Joakim Noah [The Brooklyn Game]

Nets have the most expensive Big 3 in the NBA [The Brooklyn Game]

Passings

Blima Friedman, 10. Died when she and her pregnant mom were hit by a car in Borough Park. The baby was delivered by C-section. The mother is in an induced coma. [The Yeshiva World]

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