Brooklyn's Best Set for Tonight's MetroFocus on THIRTEEN

The award-winning series MetroFocus premieres new episodes in the New York and tri-state region weeknights at 5 p.m. on WLIW21, 5:30 p.m. on NJTV and 6 p.m. on THIRTEEN. All episodes are available at metrofocus.org following the broadcast.

The episodes description for tonight, Thursday, June 30 follow below. Please note episode descriptions are subject to change. Please visit metrofocus.org for the latest information.

Thursday, June 30 at 5:00 p.m. on WLIW21, 5:30 p.m. on NJTV and 6:00 p.m. on THIRTEEN THE STORY BEHIND Famous Nathan's Hot Dogs - No trip to Coney Island would be complete without a stop at Nathan's Famous in Brooklyn, but do you know the history behind those iconic hot dogs? Author, filmmaker, and grandson of its founder, Lloyd Handwerker talks about his recent film and subsequent book titled Famous Nathan that chronicles the story of how his grandfather, Nathan Handwerker, started THE FAMILY business and grew it into the American success story it is today.

Under the Sea in New York City - The New York Aquarium in Brooklyn is the oldest continually operating aquarium in the United States. The Wildlife Conservation Society oversees it and four other zoos in New York, and now this beloved aquarium is getting a face-lift. So what can the city's marine-life-lovers expect from the changes? Cristian Samper, President and CEO of The Wildlife Conservation Society gives us a preview.

Disco Era Bushwick in Photos - Meryl Meisler first stepped off the subway at the intersection of Myrtle and Wyckoff Avenues in December of 1981. She was about to start a full-time job as a public school art teacher in the neighborhood that hadn't recovered from the riots four years earlier. Instead of letting devastating scenery get her down, she started a photo project in which she took photos of the people and places that celebrated the spirit of Bushwick. For decades, she kept her photos to herself, but in 2007, she started showing them in galleries, eventually pairing these photos with pictures of the disco era snapshots she had from 1970's disco clubs. She tells us about her book, and we get a glimpse of the Brooklyn she saw in 1981.

Getting the Full Brooklyn Experience - From Coney Island to Williamsburg, Brooklyn's varied and eclectic neighborhoods that have been home to names like Barbra Streisand, Jay-Z, and the Brooklyn Dodgers, it's easy to be overwhelmed by which place to visit first. Luckily, Ellen Freudenheim is a veteran of the Brooklyn scene after living there for more than 30 years, and she's written four comprehensive Brooklyn guides over 25 of those years. Now, she stops by to talk about the ultimate Brooklyn guide that covers the borough's history, culture, and cutting edge in her new guide The Brooklyn Experience.