NY Times Story Kills ‘Best Kept Secret’ In Brooklyn

Last week, the New York Times’ Fort Greene blog blew the cover off a “secret underground climbing gym” by publishing, then deleting the story, ensuring maximum exposure. Now, according to commenters, the “bizarre hybrid of subterranean climbing gym and hippie speakeasy” has been shut down. An ex-climber from the once covert space confirms, via email, that “the gym was closed due to this story. It is uncertain when or if it will ever be open again,” making Jed Lipinski the most hated man in Brooklyn. Well, to these people below at least. Read more »

New York Times Buries Urban Climbing Story

Apparently, if you’re going to infiltrate and blog about covert underground operations, say a subterranean rock climbing lair, you should get permission to blow up the spot first. “This is both the neighborhood-y, Local thing to do and simple journalistic ethics,” according to The Local, the Times’ Fort Greene/Clinton Hill-based blog. The site unpublished yesterday’s story about a “secret underground climbing gym.” Unfortunately, redacting the post about “one of the best kept secrets in Brooklyn” only generates more interest and it’s not like you can hide the cache (props!). Or the screengrab presented in its entirety after the jump. Read more »