Did you know that May is bike month in Brooklyn? It’s time to start stretching!

Although we’re often lighthearted at Brooklyn NY News, serious topics are sometimes more pressing. Today is one of those days.

Syed Hashmi, a 30-year-old former Brooklyn College student, pled guilty Tuesday for aiding in the delivery of military supplies to al Qaeda. Hashmi admitted to helping a roommate transport outdoor military gear to the terrorist organization in Afghanistan from London in 2004.

The three other charges against Hashmi were dropped, reducing a potential life sentence to 15 years. Hashmi awaited trial in custody for four years, and could be released in as few as 10 years for time served and good behavior.

In related news, two Brooklyn residents were arrested today for providing technology aid to al Qaeda. The residents, Wesam El-Hanafi and Sabirhan Hasanoff, also face 15-year sentences.

A member of the Brooklyn NY News team recently returned from a stint below the Mason Dixon line, and her travels reminded us of the few — but critical — goodies that our dear borough does not provide. (And neither does Manhattan, for that matter.)

What are we talking about? Southern fooderies mostly, like Sonic, Denny’s, Shoney’s, and — wait for it — Zaxby’s.

But while these establishments are sorely, sorely missed, we can think of another Southern staple we’re happy to do without. Unfortunately, it’s knocking on Brooklyn’s door.

We’re talking about Walmart, the super-duper chain that’s tried and failed to forge a location in various NYC locations. The latest site is the Gateway II shopping area in Jamaica Bay, Brokelyn reports.

Could a Brooklyn Walmart survive? Brokelyn posits that residents’ loyalties to local shops (and Target) will prevail, but bargains are bargains.

Also, the combined retail square-footage of the Walmart corporation is apparently larger than that of Manhattan. Ouch.

Many women make it to 27 without ever setting foot (or hip) inside an Oscar de la Renta dress, but the New York-based Operation Fairy Dust has trimmed that figure by about 10 years.

The organization, which offers high schoolers used and donated prom dresses, hosted its most recent giveaway on Saturday, April 17 in Borough Hall. The selection featured hundreds of de la Renta dresses, as well as a strapless number donated by a certain Kim Kardashian.

For more info, check out the story at NYdailynews.com.

Whoever said “ignorance is bliss” probably never had to wait for the 2/3 on a daily basis. In New York, said ignorance usually means peering desperately into a dark Subway tunnel and wondering how late for work you’re going to be this time. Which is why we’re excited for the new countdown clocks — those nifty devices present throughout the L — on the Brooklyn red line.

According to Gothamist, the Bergen St., Eastern Parkway, Nostrand Ave., and Kingston Ave. stations received clocks on Tuesday, and can expect more in the near-future.

There are only 15 stations with legit countdown clocks in all of NYC — not including clocks still in testing — however the MTA hopes to install clocks at 152 locations by the beginning of 2011.

(Confession: The above picture is actually from the Bronx, where some countdown clocks were installed in February. Jerks.)

As residents all over Brooklyn are laboring to fill out those 10 tedious questions, those in Williamsburg as laboring a little less strenuously. Gawker reports that Williamsburgers have only a 30% return rate for the census, significantly less to 50% return rate in all of NYC.

Oh well, at least Williamsburg is pretty, as depicted in this photo via [charlie cravero] on Flickr.

New York Magazine recently published a ranked list of the 50 most liveable neighborhoods in the city, and Brooklyn fared very well — not that we’re surprised. Of the top five neighborhoods, three were in Brooklyn: Park Slope (first place!), Cobble Hill & Boerum Hill, and Greenpoint (#5).

What makes a city liveable? NYMag relied on a complicated formula involving everything from cost of housing to the quality of public schools. Fortunately, they also created a Livability Calculator, allowing you to find the perfect neighborhood based on your own specific priorities — as well as certain handy presets for empty-nesters, childless couples, etc.

Photo via ms.flux on Flickr.

Tired of trekking into Manhattan for your iPads and Pods? Maybe someday you won’t have to.

Marty Markowitz, the borough president of Brooklyn, is pushing for a BK Apple Store. The Prez recently emailed Steve Jobs from his new iPad, praising Brooklyn as a mecca for collegiate and creative types — two of Apple’s major clientele. Markowitz even included a promo video:

TUAW (The Official Apple Weblog) adds that Brooklyn has continued to prove its retail value over the years; the Brooklyn IKEA, for example, is one of the company’s top outlets in the country. But, as TUAW also points out, many Brooklyners probably pass one of Manhattan’s four Apple Stores on a regular basis.

Harsh toke, dude.

Following two months of undercover investigation, NYC police raided six Crown Heights businesses on Tuesday for selling marijuana alongside products such as jerk chicken, t-shirts, and CDs.

The offending businesses are all within a ten-block radius – four are on Nostrand Avenue alone – but police say that the drug dealings were not part of a coordinated effort. But coordinated or not, the area saw 170 pounds of drug traffic every week, NYT reports.

Aside from the facts, The Times’ coverage includes two quotes worth repeating:

• Raymond W. Kelly, the NYC police commissioner, described a “veritable pot-luck event” occurring every day at lunch, when marijuana was available in back rooms, over the counter, and even in the food.
• Letitia James, a Crown Heights councilwoman, called the busted scene “an open drug bazaar on Nostrand Avenue.”

Whether or not any of the businesses will be able to stay above ground by actually selling jerk chicken and the like is anybody’s guess. For now, though, they remain closed.

The already smokin’ Atlantic Avenue shopping stretch in Brooklyn should get even hotter this September, when Barneys Co-op — a division of Barneys New York — opens its doors at this MTA nexus of the universe.

What is Barneys Co-op? Barneys.com describes its hipster branch in a strategically typefaced list of four points:

1. It’s the wayward offspring of Barneys New York.
2. It’s always Downtown even when it’s Uptown.
3. It’s–

Alright, we get the point.

Much of the Barneys merch will cost in the hundreds, however the Co-op does have some nifty sales allowing prices to dip into double-digit territory.

Photo via jackiew on Flickr.