The Brooklyn Paper

DEVELOPMENT: BREAKING NEWS: City buys out Sitt (mostly) in Coney

By Gersh Kuntzman — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:51:01 EST

Mayor Bloomberg has sealed his deal to buy Joe Sitt out of Coney Island, purchasing seven acres of the speculator’s 12.5-acre Coney holdings for a whopping $95.6 million.

DEVELOPMENT: City moving quickly to use its new Coney land

By Gersh Kuntzman — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:05:40 EST

The city is moving quickly to bring rides and other amusements this summer to seven acres of beach-front land that it bought on Thursday from landowner Joe Sitt — issuing a request for proposals from theme park operators this morning.

30 YEARS: Publisher looks back on ‘The Brooklyn Paper’ decades

By Ed Weintrob — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

We’ve come a long way in 30 years.

TRANSIT: Another F’ing lie! Shuttle buses return on closed F line this weekend

By Gersh Kuntzman — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:29:24 EST

The MTA lied! Read all about it!

TRANSIT: The truth behind the F-ing lie: MTA ‘screwed’ up

By Ivan Pereira — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:03:44 EST

Shuttle busses replaced regular F train service again this weekend — and a “screw-up” by the Metropolitan Transit Agency left Brooklyn straphangers frustrated and confused.

DEVELOPMENT: Astroland owner: I’ll be back (maybe)!

By Gersh Kuntzman — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:15:07 EST

The woman who kept Coney Island’s Astroland alive during the neighborhood’s long decline only to see it close down one season too soon says she wants back into the action.

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS: It’s a neckdown showdown on Hicks Street!

By Stephen Brown — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:49:02 EST

A new effort to make Brooklyn Heights more pedestrian-friendly may have taken a wrong turn, as new sidewalk extensions at Joralemon and Hicks streets will make the intersection a concrete obstacle course for fire trucks exiting the nearby firehouse.

PARK SLOPE: Subway suicide drama in Park Slope

By Will Yakowicz — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:16:26 EST

F and G train service in Brownstone Brooklyn was disrupted for two hours this morning after a man jumped in front of an incoming train at the Seventh Avenue station at around 7:35 am.

ATLANTIC YARDS: Dog pile on Ratner — another Yards suit is filed

By Stephen Brown — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:01:54 EST

A welter of community groups and politicians joined the legal pile-on on Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project on Thursday, claiming in a lawsuit that the state shirked its duties by approving major modifications to the project over the summer without a review of the environmental consequences.

30 YEARS: 30 years, 30 stories: Our biggest news stories

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Brooklyn has changed, and The Brooklyn Paper has been through it all the way. From urban renewal to the “brownstoners” to the young urban professionals, every newsmaker we covered had, in his or her small way, a role in creating “The New Brooklyn.”

This is ‘sick’: Bklyn councilmembers and boro biz group on opposite side of bill

By Ivan Pereira — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:10:40 EST

Brooklyn’s City Council delegation is pushing to give city’s workers more sick days, setting up a clash with the borough’s own Chamber of Commerce, which opposes the bill as too costly to Mom and Pop.

FORT GREENE: It’s lights out at Prison Ships memorial

By Will Yakowicz — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:09:41 EST

The eternal flame is not living up to its name — again.

WILLIAMSBURG: Miss G train pageant is rolling ahead

By Thomas Garry — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:33:45 EST

Finally, the beauty pageant for the little engine that could is generating some interest.

DOWNTOWN: From retail to residential

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When we started covering Brooklyn, Downtown was holding on as a major hub for high-end retailers like the flagship location of Abraham & Strauss or the Martin’s on Fulton Street.

DUMBO: A long journey from warehouse to hothouse

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

For 21 years, the St. Ann’s Warehouse performance space was in Brooklyn Heights before it moved to DUMBO in 2000.

DEVELOPMENT: ‘Shoot the Freak’ guy feels left out of the deal

By Gersh Kuntzman — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:05:41 EST

The owner of the Shoot the Freak booth — longtime Coney carny Andrew Berlingieri — crashed the Mike Bloomberg-Joe Sitt lovefest at City Hall yesterday to complain that the city’s billion-dollar dream for the amusement zone doesn’t include guys like him.

CLEANING THE GOWANUS: Feds: Navy and city could foot big bill for Gowanus clean-up

By Gary Buiso — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:10:36 EST

The federal government is now looking at charging the U.S. Navy and the city of New York for the clean-up of the fetid Gowanus Canal.

ATLANTIC YARDS: Is the state playing lowball with Daniel Goldstein?

By Stephen Brown — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:15:09 EST

State officials have finally put a price on Daniel Goldstein’s opposition to the Atlantic Yards project — it’s going to cost the activist $80,000.

FORT GREENE: Crime is gone and all are welcome

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Danny Simmons used to hang out in the clubs on DeKalb Avenue back in the 1980s, before he moved to the neighborhood in 1992.

30 YEARS: Shots from the heart from our best photographer

By Sabrina Jaszi — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Our photographer Tom Callan has been shooting Brooklyn for longer than a mob henchman. And he’s got the scars to prove it. Whether getting beaten up by Mike Tyson in 1998 or by thugs at the notorious Club Wildfyre in the late 1980s, Callan has been getting in people’s faces for years.

BROOKLYN ANGLE: The tallest building in the borough is NOT the ugliest!

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:50:42 EST

Our columnist certainl thought it was — until he called the architect and had it all explained to him.

PARK SLOPE: The epicenter of the brownstoners

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When Clem Labine, one of the first so-called “brownstoners,” moved to Park Slope, it was vastly different from the way that the neighborhood is commonly conceived these days. There was “nary a stroller to be seen,” he said,

30 YEARS: Our first two editors roast some old chestnuts

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Our first editor, Beverly Cheuvront, and our first features editor, Laurie Sue Brockway, sat down with our founding pubisher, Ed Weintrob, to share some memories, a few laughs, and expense-account pizza.

FORT GREENE: Shooting ends chicken wing gravy train at Buffalo Wild Wings

By Stephen Brown — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Buffalo Wild Wings has plucked the feathers off its weekly cheap wings promotion after hordes of rowdy students descended on the sports bar, resulting in two separate shooting incidents on Tuesday night.

WILLIAMSBURG: Have a beer and hear a great story

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Brooklyn Brewery beer is now a premier Friday night lubricant for hipsters and other young people who flood the bars and clubs that glut the major avenues of Greenpoint and Williamsburg.

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS: The story of Brooklyn Heights? Stability

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

To see Brooklyn Heights now is practically to see it as it was 30 years ago, if not more.

CARROLL GARDENS: An enclave holds on

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Buddy Scotto, a local funeral home director and community activist, once considered leaving Carroll Gardens and moving to Long Island. But his father didn’t want to move to the suburbs, as many New Yorkers did as the city was heading downhill in the 1960s. So Scotto stayed, too.

RED HOOK: On the waterfront, but not ‘On the Waterfront’

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Red Hook was hit hard by the failed containerization plan of the 1960s. In many ways, it’s still struggling to recover.

30 YEARS: Here’s the story of our first front page

By Ed Weintrob — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

I spoke this week for the first time in 30 years with Tom Bongiorno. Unbeknownst to him, his family played important roles in The Brooklyn Paper’s conception.

WILLIAMSBURG: Huge bust at hipster drug den

By Ivan Pereira — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:51:49 EST

Cops busted a Williamsburg super and two others on Wednesday for running a massive drug warehouse out of defunct bar and hiding their stash in a sauna.

BAY RIDGE: The new ethnic mix

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Robert Moses executed a one-two punch on Bay Ridge. With a right, he crossed the Gowanus Expressway through the neighborhood, parting it from Sunset Park. With the left, he hit Bay Ridge with an uppercut in the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

30 YEARS: Atlantic Yards nears its climax

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

If Bruce Ratner gets shovels in the ground by Dec. 31, this long-stalled project might actually happen.

30 YEARS: At Brooklyn Bridge Park, lots of fits, but few starts

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

It’s taken nearly 30 years for a park to be built on the old Port Authority piers. Work is almost done on a tiny bit of a glorious, $350-million waterfront greenspace to rival Central Park. Will it ever be done? Find out in our 60th anniversary issue!

30 YEARS: Still looking up Downtown

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Downtown has come a long way since it was a high-end retail hub. It may get back there someday.

30 YEARS: Along the Gowaus, a sense that past is prologue

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Will the Canal ever be clean? Of course it will! Mayor Gaynor promised as much in 1911.

COBBLE HILL: Swish! Cobble Hill School may get new gym

By Stephen Brown — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:09:40 EST

Plans are in the works for a real gym. No more half-court basketball games for these kids.

DINING: Thanksgiving? It all starts with a great turkey

By Melissa Murphy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:16:32 EST

Join our own “Sweet” Melissa Murphy as she offers up a full menu for Thanksgiving. Find your favorite recipes below — or start with Murphy’s turkey recipe by clicking above.

DINING: Who says bacon can’t get dates?

By Melissa Murphy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:16:31 EST

These are a great appetizer to serve while you are waiting for everyone to arrive. They can be prepped up to two weeks ahead and frozen. Pop them in the oven 20 minutes before your guests are expected. Early arrivals will hope the other guests get stuck in traffic.

DINING: Stuffing with a difference!

By Melissa Murphy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:16:32 EST

I love to use different types of sausage for this bread pudding. I recently discovered some wild boar and red wine sausage at our local Los Paisanos family owned butcher on Smith Street. It was an incredible substitution for the pork sausage here.

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS: Horrifying kidnapping near Bklyn Bridge

By Will Yakowicz — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:10:45 EST

A thug mugs her and tosses her in his car. Plus all the other crime news from Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Downtown and DUMBO’s 84th Precinct.

DINING: A killer mushroom soup

By Melissa Murphy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:16:34 EST

This is a great soup, full of wonderful earthy mushrooms. Roasting the mushrooms concentrates their flavor. It is an elegant first course that acts as a preview of the delicious meal to come.

CARROLL GARDENS: Mugged near the tunnel

By Gersh Kuntzman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:10:39 EST

A walk on Hamilton leads to a loss of Benjamins. Plus all the crime news from Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Red Hook’s 76th Precinct.

PARK SLOPE: Man on man crime

By Stephen Brown — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:10:42 EST

You just never know what’s going to happen when you invite a stranger over to your home. Plus, all the crime news from Park Slope’s 78th Precinct.

WILLIAMSBURG: Eighth rape of the year

By Simon McCormack — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:10:43 EST

A horrific rape in a bar bathroom. Plus all the other crime news from Williamsburg’s 90th Precinct.

DINING: Mashed potatoes with a parsnip twist

By Melissa Murphy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:16:35 EST

Everyone loves roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and the parsnips add a subtle sweetness that I adore. The toasted breadcrumbs sprinkled on just before serving may be gilding the lily, but I love the buttery crunch it lends to the creamy mash.

GREENPOINT: Dial ‘R’ for robbery

By Simon McCormack — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:10:44 EST

Thieves were stealing cellphones all over the place. Plus the other police news from Greenpoint and Williamsburg’s 94th Precinct.

DINING: These baked pairs are one great dish

By Melissa Murphy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:16:31 EST

I love something sweet next to all these savory dishes, and these baked pears are perfect. As an added bonus, they smell like absolute heaven in the oven. This is a great “signature” dish for you or your kids to make. It’s so easy and delicious, it’ll become a new tradition for sure.

DINING: And of course you need cranberry sauce

By Melissa Murphy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:16:34 EST

This recipe will help use up that box of clementines! The cranberry sauce can be made up to one week ahead and stored tightly wrapped in the refrigerator.

FORT GREENE: Woman shot in head

By Sabrina Jaszi — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:15:11 EST

Cops are still investigating a shooting near Myrtle Avenue. Plus all the other crime news from Fort Greene and Clinton Hill’s 88th Precinct.

SMARTMOM: Smartmom wins! She gets her couch!

By Louise Crawford — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:15:11 EST

The couch saga is finally resolved: Hepcat gives in and Smartmom gets to replace her 18-year-old Ikea couch. Whew.

VOX POP: What do you hear at a GOP health care rally?

By Will Yakowicz — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:15:12 EST

Our reporter went to a Republican anti-health care reform rally in Bay Ridge on Sunday. Here’s what he heard from the locals.

30 YEARS: The rise and fall and rise of a great public pool

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

From swimming hole, to model of urban decay, to hipster hangout to...swimming hole. McCarren Park Pool is a great New York story.

DINING: The meal is useless without this pie

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:16:30 EST

There’s only one way to punctuate the perfect meal — and that’s with Melissa Murphy’s perfect apple pie. We ran this recipe last year and offer it again as a tribute to its lasting greatness.

DINING: Finally, real British football with real British food

By Will Yakowicz — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:10:03 EST

Plenty of bars show European football matches, but at the long-awaited Black Horse Pub in Park Slope, you can watch Manchester United live while eating fried eggs, Irish bacon, black pudding, sausage, baked beans, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, and fried toast — and wash it down with a spot of tea or a pint of Guinness.

ART: Got something to say? Stick it in this artwork

By Will Yakowicz — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:51:01 EST

A piece of sculpture at the Pratt Institute asks you to scribble down your inner-most thought. Relax, it’s art.

SHOPPING: Finally, Tom Mylan is on our meat hook!

By Andy Campbell — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:43:26 EST

The celebrity butcher finally breaks his silence about his new butcher shop, the Meat Hook.

NIGHTLIFE: Comedy comes to the Knitting Factory

By Meredith Deliso — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:06:02 EST

Comedy is coming to the Knitting Factory.

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS: Check out the wheels off this Lexus!

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Thieves were in such a rush to get the tires off this Lexus that they even left their jack behind! This was the scene on the block between Henry and Hicks streets last Friday, a few hours after thugs stripped off the fancy wheels — which cops say have a street value in the thousands.

NIGHTLIFE: Bar owner defies tarot reading and opens anyway

By Shane Kite — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:16:58 EST

Jesse Levitt, owner of the Minor Arcana on Washington Avenue, is optimistic.

BAY RIDGE: Botched robbery with bullet

By Thomas Tracy — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:10:44 EST

Bullets over 80th Street as robbery goes bad. Plus all the other crime news from Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights’ 68th Precinct.

FORT GREENE: Ruth West, founder of Ruthie’s restaurant, is dead at 76

By Stephen Brown — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Ruth West, known as much for her delicious pineapple layer cake and barbecued ribs as for her love of Fort Greene and the exacting standards she upheld at her two “Ruthie’s” restaurants, has died from pancreatic cancer. She was 76.

30 YEARS: At Coney, is the past prologue?

By Michael P. Ventura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Not everything that looks bombed out is necessarily bad — particularly out on Coney Island.

BOERUM HILL: Now Boerum Hill has caught downzone fever

By Will Yakowicz — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:56:43 EST

The push to downzone Boerum Hill has begun!

CYCLONES: Cyclones go ‘Backman’ the future

By Ivan Pereira — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:15:08 EST

The Cyclones newest manager may have had one of the shortest stints as a major league skipper, but team brass said that former Mets infielder Wally Backman has the right stuff to take the team all the way next season.