The Dreamers, Spitzer’s Towers and Matt Damon’s Pricey Pad

Your weekly roundup of the latest Brooklyn business news, from The Bridge and its media colleagues

Meghan Ritchie, creator of Megpies (Photo courtesy of Megpies, via Instagram)

In our new podcast, Brooklyn baker Meghan Ritchie tells how her business started on her front stoop. In the news: Brooklyn makes a pitch to be the site of Amazon’s second HQ. A Brooklyn engineering school bridges the gender gap. The Dreamers make their mark on Brooklyn. Matt Damon is buying the borough’s most expensive home. Eliot Spitzer builds a giant apartment complex in Williamsburg. Loomia makes fabrics that light up. And a Booklyn pizza festival was so bad it’s refunding all the dough.

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1. New podcast episode, with Megpies creator Meghan Ritchie

Our podcast From Day One is a series of conversations with 12 Brooklyn entrepreneurs about how they got their start. In this episode, we find out how
the baked creation that Meghan Ritchie first sold on a Brooklyn stoop became a national brand. Listen to the podcast. [From Day One]

2. Could Brooklyn be Amazon’s new second home?

The borough’s leaders wind up their pitch for a facility that could bring 50,000 jobs, “the trophy deal of the decade.” Read more. [The Bridge]

3. Why young women flock to this engineering school

Brooklyn’s NYU Tandon is moving toward gender parity by making tech more welcoming to female students. Read more. [The Bridge]

4. How the Dreamers make their mark on Brooklyn

The borough is home to thousands of DACA residents–and their community is looking for ways to protect them. Read more. [The Bridge]

5. Matt Damon to buy borough’s priciest pad in Brooklyn Heights

The actor is reportedly in contract to buy the penthouse at the top of the one-time Standish Arms Hotel. With an asking price of $16.6 million, the six-bedroom home would be the most expensive sale in Brooklyn. Read more. [Brooklyn Daily Eagle]

6. A blockchain mogul launches a $50 million fund for startups

Brooklyn-based ConsenSys will be looking to invest in companies to build up the Ethereum ecosystem. Read more. [The Bridge]

7. Why Eliot Spitzer’s comeback starts in Brooklyn

Making bold moves in real estate, the former governor is building a massive apartment complex in Williamsburg. Read more. [The Bridge]

8. Downtown’s champion aims to take it up a notch

How Regina Myer, president of the Brooklyn neighborhood’s business partnership, plans to keep its remarkable growth on track. Read more. [The Bridge]

9. Loomia is a startup that wants your clothes to be smarter

Brooklyn-based Loomia makes fabrics that have electrical components built in. They’re touch-sensitive and can heat up and emit light. Read more. [Business Insider]

10. How The Yard thrives as the coworking space for grownups

The Brooklyn-based pioneer grows by keeping things calm and cozy, so the work can get done. Read more. [The Bridge]

11. Tales from the front lines of a restaurant start-up

Carroll Gardens newbie Sheila’s is banking on becoming a neighborhood mainstay. Read more. [The Bridge]

12. This pizza festival was so bad it's giving back the dough

The organizer of a disastrous $75-a-head pizza festival announced it would refund customers after the state’s top cop began investigating Saturday’s gathering in a Bushwick parking lot. Read more. [New York Daily News]