Breaking news and Brooklyn perspectives http://www.brooklynpaper.com en-us Copyright 2008 The Brooklyn Paper Fri, 9 May 2008 19:23:19 EDT  Fri, 9 May 2008 19:09:26 EDT By Mike McLaughlin Embattled Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge) will reportedly not seek re-election — a stunning bombshell that capped a topsy-turvy week that began early last Thursday with the congressman’s arrest for drunk-driving in the Virginia suburbs and subsequent reports of a possible extra-marital affair. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_vitos_shame.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_vitos_shame.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:10:37 EDT The Brooklyn Paper calls for Rep. Vito Fossella to resign now rather than drag his constituents through the ongoing scandal over his drunk-driving arrest and extra-marital affair. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_vito_must_step_aside.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_vito_must_step_aside.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:10:37 EDT By Cristian Fleming Our artist’s take on the Fossella drunk-driving arrest. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_all_drawn_out.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_all_drawn_out.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:10:37 EDT Vito Fossella is certainly not the first politician to get in trouble with the law. Here’s a handy chart. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_rogues_gallery.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_rogues_gallery.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:09:26 EDT By Ben Muessig What do Bay Ridge residents think of Rep. Vito Fossella since his May 1 drunk driving arrest? We hit the streets to find out. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_vino_fossella_the_people.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_vino_fossella_the_people.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:19:18 EDT By Gersh Kuntzman Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner and his foes presented starkly different visions for the mega-project this week — one, a scaled-back, Frank Gehry wonderland, the other, a collection of bulky buildings and a basketball arena surrounded for decades by parking lots. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_tale_of_two_rallies_tale.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_tale_of_two_rallies_tale.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:09:26 EDT By Gersh Kuntzman Issue Project Room, a cutting-edge performing arts center, will leave its Gowanus Canal zone and create a theater inside the former Board of Education offices at 110 Livingston St. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_walentas_has_issue.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_walentas_has_issue.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:09:26 EDT By Gersh Kuntzman The Hotel Bossert, the swanky Montague Street accommodation that was the site of the Dodgers’ knock-down, drag-out World Series victory party in 1955 and, more recently, was a dormitory for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, has apparently been sold. Then again, no one’s talking. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_bossert_sold.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_bossert_sold.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:19:15 EDT By Ben Muessig Union hardhats faced off against with stroller moms — and a half-dozen local elected officials — at rival protests in the footprint of the proposed Atlantic Yards project on Saturday. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_dueling_protests_at.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_dueling_protests_at.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:09:26 EDT By Mike McLaughlin A heavyweight Manhattan law firm is transferring some of its back office employees to Metrotech, but the firm’s attorneys won’t dirty their white shoes in Downtown Brooklyn. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_writ_large.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_writ_large.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:21:02 EDT The mayor of Newark and the Beep of Brooklyn take their fight to win the Nets to the basketball court. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_cory_vs_marty_a_tale_of.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_cory_vs_marty_a_tale_of.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:20:14 EDT By Ben Muessig One of Bruce Ratner’s boosters at the pro-Atlantic Yards rally on Saturday was a former strip club manager who testified that he arranged for dancers to have sex with NBA stars. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_ratner_backer_once_a.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_ratner_backer_once_a.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:11:52 EDT By Mike McLaughlin and Emily Lavin More than 250 protestors shut down traffic in one direction on Atlantic Avenue on Wednesday afternoon to protest last month’s not guilty verdict for the three police officers involved in the shooting of Sean Bell. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_protests_shut_down.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_protests_shut_down.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:19 EDT By Joshua David Stein In Ovid’s telling of “The Judgment of Paris,” Paris’s dilemma is an embarrassment of riches. Three beautiful goddesses appear before him and he must decide who among them — Athena, Hera and Aphrodite — is the finest. Happily, Austin McCormick’s dance-theater production — which opened on Friday in Carroll Gardens — doesn’t end with any bloodshed and is almost embarrassingly rich, too. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_austin_on_paris.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_austin_on_paris.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:13:39 EDT By Emily Lavin and Mike McLaughlin Tree-lined, residential Henry Street was briefly turned into one long billboard, but Brooklyn Heights residents erupted after seeing commercial banners on the mostly residential street, so the city removed them. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_banner_day_for_henry.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_banner_day_for_henry.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:13:39 EDT By Gersh Kuntzman and Emily Lavin Park Slopers were justifiably outraged to hear that the neighborhood’s A-list acting couple, Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany, had put their Prospect Park West mansion on the market and were headed to, say it ain’t so, Manhattan. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_goodbye_neighbors.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_goodbye_neighbors.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:19 EDT By Adam Rathe On Wednesday, May 14, Galapagos Art Space — the pioneering cultural center that is undergoing a move from Williamsburg to DUMBO — will open to the public for the first time. Although the space will be used to exhibit video for the New York Photo Festival, just as interesting is what founder and Director Robert Elmes has planned for the venue. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_elmes_grows_new_roots.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_elmes_grows_new_roots.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:13:39 EDT By Mike McLaughlin Controversial Park Slope bar Union Hall suffered a setback on Thursday night as a community board subcommittee said the tavern should lose its right to serve booze. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_an_unholy_union.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_an_unholy_union.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:13:39 EDT Eighty years is a long time to wait, so forgive us if we were a bit underwhelmed by our first glimpse inside the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument inside Fort Greene Park, which opened for the first time in decades this Sunday. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_a_glimpse_inside_ft.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_a_glimpse_inside_ft.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:13:39 EDT By Ben Muessig Three and a half months after the city evacuated more than 200 tenants from a Kent Avenue building because of an illegal matzo factory in the basement, the first residents returned to their apartments on May 1 — and after 101-days of couch surfing, they’re happy to be home. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_475_kent_is_home_again.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_475_kent_is_home_again.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:13:39 EDT By Mike McLaughlin Author Thomas Pynchon didn’t show up at a party in his honor on Sunday at Freebird Books. Then again, if the reclusive author of “Mason & Dixon” and “V” had shown up, would anyone even know? Yes, say fans at the Columbia Street bookshop. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_pynchon_a_no_show_at.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_pynchon_a_no_show_at.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:13:39 EDT By Ben Muessig Verizon tried to make peace with Bay Ridge, but parents at Ridge Avenue’s PS 185 hung up on the offer. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_cell_hath_no_fury.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_cell_hath_no_fury.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:19 EDT By Kate Ray Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 11, so if you haven’t yet fulfilled your filial duty, you don’t have much time. Luckily, there are still plenty of options for local, last-minute gifts, and we’ve compiled a list of some of the best ideas. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_times_up_lastminute.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_times_up_lastminute.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:13:39 EDT By Mike McLaughlin Two firehouses decommissioned amid intense protests in 2003 will be reborn — one as a home for the borough’s nomadic orchestra and the other as community center. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_threealarm_firehouse.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_threealarm_firehouse.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:13:39 EDT By Mike McLaughlin Mooney’s, an Irish pub in Prospect Heights, has lost its fight to stay in its Flatbush Avenue home and will close for good by the end of June. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_last_call_at_mooneys.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_last_call_at_mooneys.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:13:39 EDT By Ben Muessig The Bloomberg Administration announced this week that it will provide more than $1 million in subsidies to bring ferry service back to Sunset Park next week. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_ferry_good_news.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_ferry_good_news.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:16:23 EDT By Mike McLaughlin Residents of Butler Street in Boerum Hill say police aren’t doing enough to crack down on drug dealing and prostitution stemming from two abandoned houses on their block. But cops say they’re doing their best. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_butler_street_all.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_butler_street_all.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:19 EDT By Adam Rathe Things weren’t so quiet at the Central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library when the Brooklyn Vanguard had its last event. A phalanx of young Brooklynites, clad in their nightclub best, streamed into the library’s Dweck Center on Grand Army Plaza, but this was no study group. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_changing_of_the_guard.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_changing_of_the_guard.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:19 EDT By Lisa J. Curtis While most foodies have been made aware of the inhumane techniques used to keep calves — which are turned into veal — and geese, whose livers are fattened up for foie gras, author Gene Baur exposes even more unappetizing ways our meat and dairy products come to the table in his new book, “Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food.” http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_kinder_plates.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_kinder_plates.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:17 EDT By Louise Crawford Smartmom weighs in on actors Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany’s move from Park Slope to, gasp, Manhattan. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_jen_and_paul_we_hardly.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_jen_and_paul_we_hardly.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:20 EDT By Lisa J. Curtis On Monday, May 12, supporters of the Brooklyn Philharmonic are invited to gather around the piano at the Rainbow Room in Manhattan, where award-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch will be tickling the ivories. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_pot_of_gold.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_pot_of_gold.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:16 EDT By Gersh Kuntzman Three teens were arrested after holding up a woman at gunpoint — or at least what she thought was gunpoint — on 13th Street on April 27. Plus all the other crime news from Park Slope’s 78th Precinct. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_the_gun_fake_the_horror.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_the_gun_fake_the_horror.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:16 EDT By Mike McLaughlin A man and woman stole a car that had just been dropped off by a customer at an Atlantic Avenue garage on April 27. Plus all the crime news from Fort Greene and Clinton Hill’s 88th Precinct. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_see_and_say.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_see_and_say.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:16 EDT By Mike McLaughlin Three crooks calmly looted an unlocked college dorm room in the famous St. George hotel building on Henry Street on April 25. Plus all the crime news from Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Downtown, and Boerum Hill’s 84th Precinct. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_college_try.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_college_try.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:16 EDT By Ben Muessig Thugs roughed up a deliveryman on May 4, punching him in the face and stealing his cellphone. Plus all the crime news from Williamsburg’s 90th Precinct. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_bad_delivery.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_bad_delivery.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:20 EDT By Adam Rathe We’re dishing up Brooklyn’s latest food news! http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_tasty_restaurant_gossip.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_tasty_restaurant_gossip.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:16 EDT By Ben Muessig Crooks bored a hole into the roof of a Richardson Street warehouse on April 29, but they didn’t steal anything. Plus all the crime news from Williamsburg and Greenpoint’s 94th Precinct. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_empty_crime.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_empty_crime.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:16 EDT By Emily Lavin A gun-toting thug robbed a 92nd Street bodega early in the morning on May 1. Plus all the crime news from Bay Ridge’s 68th Precinct. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_with_a_gun.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_with_a_gun.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:16 EDT By Emily Lavin Someone broke into a Dean Street house sometime during the day on May 1. Plus all the crime news from Prospect Heights’ 77th Precinct. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_backpick.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_backpick.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:16 EDT By Gersh Kuntzman Two men sexually assaulted a teenager in the bathroom at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Central branch on Grand Army Plaza on April 14, cops said. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_rape_teen_sexually.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_rape_teen_sexually.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:16 EDT By Mike McLaughlin A man’s Amity Street home was burglarized on April 27. Plus all the crime news from Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Red Hook’s 76th Precinct. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_elementary.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_elementary.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:20 EDT By Chris Varmus Park Slope is turning into a veritable Little Bangkok. On Seventh Avenue, between Eighth and 15th streets, GO Brooklyn has counted at least four Thai restaurants. This reporter likes pad Thai as much as the next guy, but is there really room for all of these eateries? http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_little_bangkok.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_little_bangkok.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:20 EDT By Linnea Covington The Federal-style houses on State Street in Brooklyn Heights will grace movie screens across the country this summer in the Coen brothers’ new film, “Burn After Reading,” but ticket holders to the upcoming Heights house tour can peek inside the homes even sooner. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_block_buster_lineup.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_block_buster_lineup.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:17 EDT Here are this week’s letters, with missives about Atlantic Yards (what else?!), the Green Church in Bay Ridge, Rep. Vito Fossella’s drunk-driving arrest and our recent story about the Microsoft store. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_yards_foes_lets_set_the.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_yards_foes_lets_set_the.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:17 EDT By Thurston Dooley III Our critic gives Puppetworks’ “Pinocchio” a rave review — and his nose remains fixed in place. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_no_lie_this_pinocchio.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_no_lie_this_pinocchio.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:20 EDT By Adam Rathe A production by the National Theater of Scotland, “Blackwatch” follows a regiment of soldiers as they fight in the Iraq war. The previous 23 performances, which took place last fall at St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO, all sold out. So the producers vowed to bring it back. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_black_is_back.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_black_is_back.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:20 EDT By Adam Rathe Dust off your energy dome hats and radiation suits — Devo is back! On Saturday at 8 pm, the seminal New Wave band will be honored with “The Super Thing: NYC Goes Devo,” a night of art, live music and costumes at Williamsburg arts fortress 3rd Ward. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_is_this_not_art.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_is_this_not_art.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:18 EDT All the juicy tidbits from your neighborhood! http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_the_kitchen_sink.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_the_kitchen_sink.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:17 EDT By Susan Rosenthal Jay All the fun and games for you and your family. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_family_calendar.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_family_calendar.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:19 EDT All the important meetings you should be going to. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_civic_calendar.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_civic_calendar.html Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:19 EDT In the spirit of encouraging a free exchange of ideas, The Brooklyn Paper makes this space available to our readers. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_free_for_all.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_free_for_all.html