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Around Brooklyn: Professor writes books about video gaming

March 6, 2020 Noah Singer
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Professor writes books about video gaming

A local gamer and professor has already made his mark in the literary video game world with a successful book, according to the Brooklyn Reporter website. Patrick Hickey, who is the assistant director of the journalism program at Kingsborough Community College, released “The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews with Cult and Classic Video Games” and recently completed a sequel, “The Minds Behind Adventure Games.”  “The adventure genre is essentially the father to every other genre except sports,” he told the Brooklyn Reporter, “and every genre in gaming has some adventure to it.”

Mexican restaurant has ‘El Chapo’ hot dog

Gordo’s Cantina, a new restaurant on the eastern border of Bushwick, offers authentic Mexican food without a high price tag, said the Bushwick Daily website. Co-owner J.R. Savage, who is of Italian heritage, became acquainted with Mexican food after high school, when he lived in the Cancun area for three years. Previously, Savage, along with partners Reyna Morales and Paulina Loyo-Grigoris, owned another Gordo’s in Long Island City. One of their offerings, a bacon-wrapped hot dog, is known as “El Chapo.” Other offerings include the Gobernador, shrimp and cheese on a taco; the Rajas Quesadilla, featuring edible cactus; and several items made with moles, not underground animals but a variety of Mexican sauces.

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Atlantic Ave. bar pulls ‘Ladies’ Burger’ from menu

After some protests, restaurateurs Toby Cecchini and Joel Tompkins of the Long Island Bar on Atlantic Avenue in Cobble Hill have removed the “Ladies’ Burger” from their menu, according to New York Eater. The burger is the same as the restaurant’s signature Long Island Burger, only smaller. It has been replaced with an option to order a single-patty burger. Some customers have been criticizing the name of the smaller burger as being “sexist” and “humiliating,” New York Eater said. Rodriguez insisted that the burger’s name was a reference to the three women who founded the bar in the 1950s, Emma Sullivan and her cousins Pepita and Maruja.

Men accused of stealing cash for ATM machines

Seven men have been charged with stealing more than $1 million from trucks carrying cash to refill ATM machines in Brooklyn, according to ABC7.  The defendants allegedly watched two Brooklyn warehouses, targeted cars that were carrying cash from machines at those locations and used various methods such as releasing air from tires to enter the cars and steal the money. They are believed to have committed 15 heists throughout the city between December 2017 and July 2019. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez identified the defendants as Brooklyn residents William “Smoke” Jackson, Lance “Lo” Spearman, Jamel “Coop” Cooper, Jeffrey Blount, Sherrod Coleman, Johnnie Corbett and Freddie Barnes.

Family Art Magic at Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum is hosting Family Art Magic classes for children ages 4 to 6. The children and their adult companions discover the world through art, play fun games and create their own masterpieces in the studio.  In the spring, the group will journey through the museum’s global collections and special exhibitions. Guest artist Erin Gallagher led last week’s adventure as the youngsters learned about feminist artists from Europe and worked with glow-in-the-dark paints.

Brooklyn business offers reusable packaging

A Brooklyn business is giving area restaurants the opportunity to go green, says News 12 Brooklyn. When people order from certain eateries, the food comes in reusable packaging from Deliver Zero to promote zero waste.  “We thought, why don’t we solve this problem the way we solve it already in our own homes, which is you wash the dishes when you’re done and you reuse those dishes,” said Adam Farbiaz, with Deliver Zero. “The only twist is and it’s a big twist: The food shows up in this reusable packaging.” The service is only offered in Brooklyn now, but more restaurants are being added each day, according to News 12 Bronx

Treyger calls for basic hygiene materials in schools

Councilmember Mark Treyger (D-Coney Island-Bensonhurst-Bath Beach-Gravesend) recently urged the Department of Education and the city administration to provide basic hygiene materials to public and private schools. “The New York City Department of Education and the city administration need to proactively reach out to all public and non-public schools to offer to provide hygiene supplies, soap and hand sanitizer to combat the transmission of coronavirus,” he said.

Waterfront development continues despite dangers

Eight years after Superstorm Sandy devastated southern Brooklyn’s coastal communities, developers there continue to erect multifamily and single-family luxury waterfront homes, according to the Brooklyn Paper. “People want to live in specific communities along the water,” said Alexander Lotovsky of Citiscape Consultants, an architecture firm based in Sheepshead Bay. While such areas are considered flood zones, Lotovsky has designed his buildings with flood protection in mind, the Brooklyn Paper said. His new buildings feature mechanical and electrical equipment installed above the designated flood elevation.

Officials call for street redesign

The deaths of two children on the streets of East New York earlier this month prompted renewed calls among those seeking expanded street safety measures in the community, according to amNewYork. Gathered at a memorial on the corner of Blake and Pennsylvania avenues on March 1, community leaders placed the blame for the deaths of Payson Lott, 7, and Patience Heaven Albert, 10, on reckless drivers. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams highlighted a lack of attention paid to poor communities and people of color regarding the need for redesigned streets. “Clearly there is a failure to [extend redesigns] to East New York, South Jamaica, Queens, South Bronx,” Adams said.

Brooklyn couple make home into karaoke bar

A Brooklyn couple have made their home into a karaoke club, according to The New York Times. Roberto Williams and Zaida Soler-Williams have hosted up to 30 singers and instrumentalists at one time at their “Lion’s Roar Karaoke.” In the early 2000s, the couple owned a for-hire DJ and karaoke service, which has since closed. However, many people misinterpreted the website and started showing up at their front door. Roberto Williams, who calls himself “a big believer in spirituality,” told his wife, “Maybe somebody is trying to tell us something.” The Times described Lion’s Roar as “pricier than other karaoke bars” but attracting many 20- and 30-somethings. Last year, the couple cleared six figures for the first time.

Walgreens-Duane Reade closes some Brooklyn stores

The parent company of Duane Reade and Walgreens closed four locations in Brooklyn last week as part of a cost-cutting scheme that involves closing 200 storefronts nationwide, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The stores are a Duane Reade at 1418 Avenue U near East 17th Street in Homecrest; a Duane Reade at 750 New York Avenue in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens; a Walgreens at 285 Kings Highway between West Sixth and Seventh streets in Gravesend; and a Duane Reade at 1401 Kings Highway near the B and Q trains’ Kings Highway station in Homecrest. In all four cases, prescriptions were transferred to other, nearby Duane Reade and Walgreens stores, the Brooklyn Paper said.

Online camera marketplace moves to Industry City

Online camera equipment marketplace MPB has moved its United States headquarters and fulfillment center from the Flatiron District in Manhattan to Industry City in Sunset Park, according to the Commercial Observer.  MPB signed a 10-year lease at 147 41st St. in the 16-building warehouse complex on the Brooklyn waterfront, the Commercial Observer said. “With the addition of MPB, we have services that accommodate all levels of creators from freelance photographers to established production houses,” said Kathe Chase, director of leasing at Industry City.

Brooklyn is the noisiest borough, says survey

An analysis of all noise complaints filed with 311 from January 2019 through February 2020 revealed that Brooklyn is the noisiest of the five boroughs, according to amNewYork. Property Club, a real estate consultant website, ranked the 50 noisiest streets in the city by the number of complaints. While the three noisiest streets are in Queens, Brooklyn is the noisiest borough overall, with 73,444 complaints. These complaints were organized into four categories: Banging/Pounding, Loud Music/Party, Loud Talking and Loud Television, amNewYork said. 

Compiled by Raanan Geberer. 


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