Are you trembling, Councilmember Eric Ulrich? Transportation Alternatives has asked its supporters to send you angry faxes, a result of your “draconian” bike bill wherein we have to wear license plates like scarlet letters on our bicycles. It’s kind of an asshole proposal on your end, bicyclists say, and for that, you’re about to get yo’ ass faxed.

From their email:

As reported by the NY Post, Councilmember Eric Ulrich wants to introduce a draconian anti-bicycling bill that would require all New Yorkers to register their bicycles. Councilmember Ulrich has made bicyclists a scapegoat. His proposal will stop people from riding bicycles and make bicycling less safe. We need your help to stop his plans.

They ask you send an e-fax–which I assume is like making someone’s fax machine print out your email–telling the Councilmember “I strongly oppose your bicycle registration proposal and urge you to withdraw it without delay.” What’s your bike stand?

Brooklyn band The Ks sent us a photo video in honor of the night. All we can say is we’re never drinking tea or wearing our three cornered hats again. Still keeping our fingers crossed that Sharron Angle loses.

Are you going? Seems like every other person we talk to is making the trip. Here’s the schedule, after the jump, via DCMetromix:

(more…)

This is guaranteed to be the most absurd thing I see all day. 4chan founder Chris Poole was called to testify in the Sarah Palin email hacker trial. Here are some highlights from the transcript where he’s asked to explain “b-tards” and rickrolling: [via]

(more…)

This has got to be a joke, (I think)… but here he is again on Jimmy Kimmel. At least he seems more competent that Paterson. The sad thing is, he actually seems smarter than your average TeaBagger.

Rubulad, the carnival-like art party powerhouse located on Flushing Avenue in Bed-stuy, is having a pretty tough few days. Last week city officials stopped by to tell them the years-long party was over. They had one hour to get everything out of the building, or risk losing it all.

Hundreds of helpers heeded the call to help move an insane amount of art, furniture, and residents’ belongings across the street and into storage.

Now, they’re under an “Order to Vacate,” which prevents residents from entering the building. But here’s the suck: it’s starting to sound like a false alarm, “some element of harassment” by NYC fire marshals who have for years put up with Rubulad’s semi-frequent parties.

Sari Rubinstein and Chris Thomas, Rubulad’s “co-conspirators,” wrote in to Laughing Squid with the story.

On the morning of Tuesday, July 20th, NYC fire marshals entered Rubulad and announced we were being ‘evicted.’ We were informed that representatives of the Department of Buildings were on their way to padlock the space and that we had an hour to remove our essential belongings.

There appears to be some element of harassment at work here as, at the close of business on the third day of this ongoing fiasco, the DOB has not arrived to padlock the premises and indeed we have spoken with them on the phone and they have assured us they have no intention of doing so.

However, the fire department has issued an ‘Order to Vacate’ disallowing us from entering the ground floor of our space. The DOB represents that they can and will undo the Order, but again nothing further has happened and as of now the Order stands.

So, while they’re not sure exactly what they should do or where they should go, they are looking for potential new digs to continue throwing the parties they’ve become so well-known for:

We are asking: If anyone has any ideas of alternative spaces we might hold our next event(s) Do pass them along. We like large space, multiple rooms, outdoor space if possible.

[h/t & photo via Laughing Squid, previous coverage at Brooklyn Paper]

Urban Infidel:

Williamsburg, Brooklyn is a haven for the metrosexual, trust funded left and their ilk.

Their ilk!

Some insane woman from Alaska is ranting on Facebook about how an Islamic community center built near Ground Zero would be a “stab in the heart of the families of the victims.”

Quite frankly, she’s being a racist loon.

Go report her post on Facebook for being “Racist/Hate Speech” to the admins. Let’s see if Mark Zuckerberg has any balls left.

Update: Oh, hey. If you’re on Tumblr, reblog me!

Adam Quirk is a Park Slope-based video producer behind “Vuvuzelas for BP,” a Kickstarter project that’s been getting some traction lately for its aim to buy a shitload of vuvuzelas, pass them out around BP headquarters in London, and have people blow on them all day, every day, until BP fixes the gushing oil spill in the Gulf. Quite frankly, it’s genius. His goal of raising $2,000 is nearly 75% complete, and with 7 days to go on the Kickstarter timeline, it’s looking quite likely that this will happen.

We reached out to Adam to get the story and ask a few questions after seeing a link to the project blow up on Reddit. Adam told us, “I’m very happy that people have gotten behind this. I think the response has been so positive mainly because it’s seemingly a fun mixture of memes, and the end result is a net positive in that BP gets real-world pressure, and the Gulf Fund gets real money.”

FREEwilliamsburg: What gave you the idea?

Adam Quirk: It was inspired by the incredible annoyance of millions of people by the vuvuzela drone on all the World Cup broadcasts, and the seemingly cold indifference postured by Tony Hayward in his Congressional hearings. I am a video remix artist, so it’s sort of my job to combine memes and current events to make new things.

FW: How has the internet community’s (namely: reddit) attention, feedback, and/or support affected your plans & expectations?

(more…)

It’s a go. The 36-floor project, which will create 2,200 apartments (660 of which will actually be affordable), 143,000 sq. feet of community, office, and retail space, keep the iconic sign, and create some new waterfront space, will break ground in one year and take ten years to complete.

Here’s the good:

During last-minute negotiations, the developer agreed to reduce two planned 40-story towers to 36 floors. The lost space from those floors will be added to other buildings on the site. The corporation also agreed that construction, building service and eventual supermarket workers at the New Domino would be paid prevailing wages.

and from before, the bad:

Levin (D-Williamsburg) and his mentor, Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez (D-Bushwick), had railed against the project, leading rallies against it and charging that thousands of new residents would overwhelm the neighborhood, especially already-packed subways and buses.

The spin cycle is on full throttle…

(more…)