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Brooklyn Today July 25: A Replacement For The ‘Watchtower’ Sign?

July 25, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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Weather, Brooklyn Borough Hall (NWS): Day 72°, Night 64°, slight chance showers.


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THE LEDE: Happy Tuesday, Brooklyn! The U.S. military is poisoning people in Radford, Virginia. Great white sharks are coming dangerously close to the shores of southern California, and a Borough Park-based company has hired more than 100 blind workers. Plus, Prospect Park has some new wild animals, and they aren’t in the zoo. Finally, the iconic “Watchtower” sign has a potential replacement.
      
IMPRINT: The latest series of covers for ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue leaves it all out there.

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The Rundown
 

~A REPLACEMENT FOR THE ‘WATCHTOWER’ SIGN?: In June, we wrote that it was time to say farewell to the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ famed “Watchtower” emblem that has stood perched over Brooklyn Heights for decades after the religious group filed permits to remove the 15-foot-tall letters. Now, one writer is proposing the red “Watchtower” sign be swapped out for a Dodger blue “Brooklyn!” one. The writer argues that the new logo would become an immediate icon much like the famous Hollywood sign, the St. Louis Arch and the Eiffel Tower. Plus, it would establish Brooklyn’s identity and location day and night in no uncertain terms, and act as a powerful welcome.(via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
 
~NO NEED TO BUILD AN ARK: Five years after Superstorm Sandy, the city is moving forward with its plan to repair extensive flood damage at theBrooklyn Army Terminal and Industry City in Sunset Park, and its making the two waterfront sites more resilient in the face of future storms. The projects include installing flood barriers at the Brooklyn Army Terminal and elevating the electrical substation at Industry City. The total cost of the projects is roughly $21 million, with the funds coming from FEMA and the city.(via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
 
~IT’S A ZOO OUT THERE: With a squirrel on the loose biting park-goers and goats munching on invasive plant species, Prospect Park’s biodiversity runs the gamut. The city’s Health Department recently issued a warning against a potentially rabid squirrel that went on a feeding frenzy, biting five people in the park last week. Since 1992, city officials have never identified a rabid squirrel, but they have reason to believe this one may be foaming at the mouth. Meanwhile, over on Lookout Hill, four goats were set loose to mow the park’s invasive species that sprouted after Hurricane Sandy. The international goats — like the ones released at Brooklyn Bridge Park last summer — are expected to clear the ground so workers can plant seeds and rehabilitate the land. (via NYDN, DNAinfo and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
 
~BLIND REPRESENTATION: A Brooklyn company throws discrimination to the wayside in its hiring of more than 100 blind workers. Alphapointe — a 106-year-old manufacturing company based in Borough Park — employs blind people in a host of roles from floor workers to management. “People who are blind are capable, productive, skilled and loyal employees when given the opportunity to prove themselves,” said the company’s CEO, Reinhard Mabry. Alphapointe’s fully-sighted employees also receive sensitivity instruction and exercises so that they can see what it’s like in the world of the visually-impaired. And when it comes time for employees to leave, the company helps advocate for and place blind workers in other supporting companies. (via the New York Post)
 
~MEATBALLS AND MERLOT: The charismatic entertainment impresario Vito Bruno, who is currently running for Brooklyn Borough President, hosted a tasty meet and greet at Delia’s Lounge in Bay Ridge. He cooked up a batch of his renowned meatballs and pasta for guests and supporters who stopped by to wish him well. Bruno just recently auctioned off the iconic dance floor from 2001 Odyssey, the nightclub made famous by John Travolta in the classic Bay Ridge movie “Saturday Night Fever.” (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

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Staff Picks:    
 

LONG READ: “Bombs in Our Backyard: How the Pentagon’s Handling of Munitions and Their Waste has Poisoned America” (via ProPublica)
 
HEALTH: There’s a condition called “Exploding Head Syndrome,” and roughly 15 percent of people have had it. (via Time)  
 
LOOK: Silicon Valley boasts hundreds of salt ponds, and they’re surprisingly beautiful(via Co. Design)
 
SPORTS: Extended safety netting at Citi Field is causing a rift between fans.(via NYT)

 
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NATIONAL BULLETIN: Great white sharks are coming increasingly close to the shores of Southern California…YouTube is tricking users who search for ISIS related content…And one company is adding QR codes to tombstonesso people can learn about the lives of the deceased. (via USA Today, WaPo and AL.com)
 
FOREIGN FLASH: The British Lynx, thought to be extinct for 1,300 years, is set to make a comeback…Hong Kong is running out of places to put its garbage…And the St. Peter’s Square fountains at the Vatican are being turned off due to Italy’s drought. (via WaPo, Motherboard and AP via the Miami Herald)
 
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 ROYAL WATCH: 
There have been hundreds of tributes to Princess Diana, but HBO’s newest documentary “Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy”has one key difference. For the first time ever, it will feature both Prince Harry and Prince William, who open up about their mother’s death. (via NYT)

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BROOKLYN TONIGHT  
 

7:00AM — Yoga Tuesdays at MetroTech Commons. Details.
 
10:00AM – 4:00PM — Next Stop: Second Avenue Subway at New York Transit Museum. Details.
 
6:00PM — CHA Summer Concert Series at Cobble Hill Park. Details.
 
6:20PM — The Amazing and Incredible History and Future of Brooklyn Animation at Brooklyn Historical Society. Details.
 
6:30PM — Summer of Know: Surveillance and Civil Liberties in the Age of Hacking at Guggenheim Museum. Details.
 
6:30PM — Brooklyn Winery Tour & Tasting at Brooklyn Winery. Details.
 
7:00PM — Cyclones vs. Aberdeen at MCU Park. Details.
 
7:00PM — Death & Dharma at Green-Wood Cemetery. Details.
 
7:00PM — NYRR Open Run at Pier 6 at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Details.
 
7:00PM — Astronomy Live: Stars of Summer at American Museum of Natural History. Details.
 
7:30PM — Julie Klam: The Stars in Our Eyes & Matthew Klam: Who Is Rich? at Books Are Magic. Details.

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 EAGLE SPORTS: 
Hockey season is right around the corner, and the Islanders have released their schedule for the regular season. The team’s home opener is Saturday, October 7 at 7 p.m. against the Buffalo Sabres. The first Islanders-Rangers game in Brooklyn is set for February 15; the Islanders will also host their cross-town rivals on April 5.

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MILESTONES
 
Happy birthday to Midge Decter, Illeana Douglas, ImanJames Lafferty, Matt LeBlanc and Evgeni Nabakov!


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