Editorial: Our editorial board is horrified by the condition of the Prison Ships Martyrs Memorial in Fort Greene Park. Comments (3)

Page 1: This week’s print edition of The Brooklyn Paper is a juggernaut, packed with stories on this summer’s mosquito invasion, more secrecy at Brooklyn Bridge Park, a panda-filled street riot in Williamsburg, Bruce Ratner’s latest state-subsidized project, censorship of a Brooklyn artist at the Beijing Games, and, of course, a full GO Brooklyn section with ideas for how to get the most out of your leisure time. Man, that Brooklyn Paper — it’s unbelievable. Read more…

Art: Lord knows, we weren’t going to cover the Olympics, but when the Chinese put the squeeze on one of Brooklyn’s best-loved multi-media artists, it was time for The Brooklyn Paper to summon its international bureau. Comments (1)

TV: Three Brooklyn rockers — with a delicious double-life — are proving that there’s a lot to laugh about when you’re in pursuit of a record deal in their debut television series, “Z Rock.” Comment

Brooklyn Angle: Our columnist makes a big discovery: the mosquito population is booming. Comments (4)

Books: Growing up, Liza Monroy traveled the globe with her diplomat mother, yet the author of the gripping coming-of-age story “Mexican High” now revels in the suburban feel of Prospect Heights. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: The Waterfalls have claimed another victim. Comments (2)

Music: Enjoy a free jazz performance by the Charles Sibirsky Trio, while checking out the flavors of Park Slope’s new Aji Bar and Lounge, on Thursday. Comment

Greenpoint: Pandas might be an endangered species, but that didn’t stop cops from capturing four of them in Williamsburg on Aug. 16. Comments (2)

Cinema: We’ve all heard the beating of the drums at the south end of Prospect Park on a Sunday afternoon; now hear the story behind the music in Jeremy Robins’s new documentary, “The Other Side of the Water.” Comment

Bridge ‘Park’: There must be no housing inside Brooklyn Bridge Park — and the entirety of the 85-acre open space and condo development should be protected by being formally zoned as parkland, a coalition of community leaders said on Tuesday. Comments (4)

Downtown: A hotly contested primary race for a local judgeship looks like it will hinge on which candidate is less tarnished by the Kings County Democratic machine’s legendary corruption. Comment

Fort Greene: Rep. Ed Towns is dodging Kevin Powell, refusing to share a stage with his upstart congressional opponent — and even turning down The Brooklyn Paper’s offer to host a debate on neutral territory, our DUMBO offices! Comments (6)

Cartoon: Each week, award-winning cartoonist Cristian Fleming gives us his take on the issues of the day. This week, Fleming goes National Geographic on us, focussing on this summer’s mosquito invasion. Comment

Nightlife: There are no mirrors in Mirrors — yet. The Clinton Hill after-hours spot relies on its clientele for reflection. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: A Brooklyn family has gone over the moon — to the tune of $4 million! — for one of the most famous houses in Brooklyn Heights: the mansion where “Moonstruck” was filmed. Comments (1)

Park Slope: Leave “The Ripper” alone! That’s what the sister of the so-called “Park Slope Ripper” — the man who tears down people’s stoop sale, “Help Wanted” and “man with van” signs from neighborhood lampposts — is begging the people of Park Slope, some of whom are increasingly angry about the man’s neatnik vigilantism. Comments (10)

Park Slope: Cops have collared the man who they say brutally murdered a Bensonhurst resident in Prospect Park last month, though his lawyer says that his confession may have been coerced. Comments (1)

Play’s the Thing: Our columnist at Carl Erskine Day at Keyspan Park. Comments (1)

The race to complete renovations of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park by its November centennial remains delayed by the fallout from an allegedly corrupt former contractor and cost overruns. Comment

Park Slope: A key bridge over Brooklyn’s most-troubled waters — the fetid Gowanus Canal — is back to nearly full capacity this week, two weeks ahead of schedule. Comments (1)

Music: Brooklyn is the city’s new jazz epicenter — and two Park Slope venues are part of the reason why, according to the Utne Reader, a literary journal. Comments (1)

Letters: As always, the mailbag is filled — and this time even includes a letter from the city complaining about our editorial on the Department of Sanitation’s lame new “lawn litter” regulations. Read the letter! You won’t believe that the city had the noive to complain! Comments (1)

Correction: A minor tweak of our story about the state Senate race pitting incumbent Marty Connor and newcomer Daniel Squadron. Comment

Parenting: All the fun you could be having with your kids. Comment

Event: All the meetings and civic events you should be going to! Comment

Fort Greene: He thought it would be Atlantic Yards, but developer Bruce Ratner’s first residential building in Brooklyn will actually be this 34-story rental tower on DeKalb Avenue in Fort Greene. Comments (3)

Bridge ‘Park’: There must be no housing inside Brooklyn Bridge Park — and the entirety of the 85-acre open space and condo development must be protected by being formally zoned as parkland, a state Senate candidate said on Tuesday. Comments (6)

Williamsburg: The Williamsburg house that starred in the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” has become an eternal nightmare for neighbors. Comments (4)

Bay Ridge: Workers started installing a cellphone transmitter atop a Shore Road building on Monday — the latest cellular tower in a neighborhood that has made antennae installation, and their alleged health risks, a flashpoint. Comments (1)

Park Slope: If it’s Wednesday, it must be “Police Blotter Day” at BrooklynPaper.com. Find your neighborhood below, or begin in Park Slope, where a woman was brutally mugged inside a subway station. Comment

DUMBO: Cops are beefing up patrols to stop the mad smasher of DUMBO. Comments (1)

Bensonhurst: It was a bad time to be a day laborer in Bensonhurst — besides the long hours, tough work and low pay, they were targeted as robbery victims on Aug. 18. Here’s a roundup. Comment

Shopping: Members of a fledgling food co-op in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill voted overwhelmingly last week to require that every member toil in their eventual communal store in order to earn the privilege of purchasing farm-fresh produce and organic goodies at a discount. Comments (2)

Politicrasher: Take a good look at the usual suspects gathered in this handout photo and you’ll have a pretty good idea of which local pols will enjoy the support of the Satmar community in Williamsburg. Comments (6)

Smartmom: If it’s Tuesday, it’s Smartmom Day at BrooklynPaper.com. This week, our columnist sends her teenage son to the Dylan concert. Comments (3)

Ups & Downs: It may be the New York-Penn League All-Star break, but that doesn’t mean The Brooklyn Paper’s “Eye of the Storm” coverage is taking a break. Here, Ed Shakespeare tells us about how the Cyclones’ video booth operator ended up as a fill-in umpire — and how the Cyclones ended up winning! Just a coincidence? Actually, yes! Comment

Awesome: This just in: Borough President Markowitz will celebrate Brooklyn’s diversity by inviting everyone in Brooklyn to see the movie “Hairspray” on Wednesday night in Prospect Park. Comment

Editorial: Our editorial board is outraged over more incompetence — and yet another delay — at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Comments (3)

Bay Ridge: Breaking news! Whitney Houston will not — we repeat, not! — be playing an obscure bar in Bay Ridge next month. Comments (4)

Boerum Hill: A look at the decline of Brooklyn’s fabled “Antiques Row.” Comments (5)

Downtown plan: Downtown’s hottest new skyscraper is getting its outer skin. Let’s take a look. Comment

Cyclones: The Cyclones came back to snatch a victory away from the Tri City Valley Cats, a win that kept them in the hunt for a wild-card berth. Comment

Williamsburg: Eat your heart out, Eric Ripert. Comment

Williamsburg: To think of Piramide (499 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, 718-499-0002 and www.mexpiramide.com) as a Mexican restaurant is to think of Peter Luger Steakhouse as a burger joint. Comment

Williamsburg: Well…the official name is Mitchell’s Bar & Grill (259 Flatbush Avenue, between Sixth Avenue and St. Mark’s Avenue; 718-484-4114). And they do have a bar, and even a grill. But if you expect to find a couple of bleary-eyed, unshaven men hanging on bar stools…well, perhaps you are taking the name a little too literally. Comment

Williamsburg: Borough President Marty Markowitz is feted with flair and a sizzle by restaurateur Spencer Rothschild at his Mexican hotspot, Barrio, 210 7th Avenue, when the beep stopped in for a bite with wife Jamie on the weekend of the recent Seventh Heaven festival in Park Slope. Comment

Williamsburg: Longevity is a good indication of quality and consistency of excellence, and such is very much the case with Maria’s Restaurant (3073 Emmons Avenue, 718-646-6665), not only the oldest continuously operated restaurant in the area, but one of the most vintage and valued in the entire city. Comment

Williamsburg: A violinist provided the sweet serenade, welcoming patrons with aplomb when Marco Polo Ristorante celebrated its 25th anniversary. Comment

Williamsburg: here’s a very good reason the Kings Plaza Diner (4124 Avenue U, 718-951-6700) is known as royalty among diners…and why it has earned accolades from everyone from the Daily News (which named it Diner of the Year) to Zagat (where readers praised its value and specialized cuisines). Comment

Williamsburg: Whether you crave perfect wood-fired brick oven pizzas, Brooklyn’s freshest seafood, or the best seat to watch the big game, Il Fornetto (2902 Emmons Avenue, 718-332-8494, www.ilfornettorestaurant.com) has got it all — and then some. Comment

Williamsburg: Austin’s Steak House is serving up entertainment with its aged beef and veal chops – at no cover charge. Comment

Williamsburg: Odonata Dance Project, a Brooklyn-based troupe, has several short works in the, well, works. To help in their development, the dancers are inviting you to a fund raiser cabaret called “Brooklyn Tea Party,” where you can see the works in progress, catch some high-flying trapeze artists and party like it’s 1773. Comment

Williamsburg: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz continues his 30th Annual Seaside Summer Concert Series at Asser Levy/Seaside Park and the 26th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series at Wingate Field, with some of the biggest names in music coming to Brooklyn to celebrate an incredible three decades of free music. Comment

Williamsburg: The annual summer concerts series, in parks throughout from Bay Ridge to Marine Park, continues with the performances sponsored by State Senator Martin J. Golden, the Bay Ridge-Bensonhurst Parks Task Force, and CERT1NYC. Comment

Williamsburg: Since Semi Precious Weapons formed three years ago, Greenpoint has gotten an infusion of glam rock. And this month, the fabulous foursome brings their guyliner, six-inch stilettos and rock attitude to the neighborhood stage when they play Europa on July 31. Comment

Williamsburg: Revival Reggae Sundays closes out the month at the LOX Lounge, 15 Putnam Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. July 27 brings International Reggae Night starting at 9 p.m. Comment

Williamsburg: Coney Island exploded with musical fireworks as dynamic new talent took to the stage for a fast-growing urban tradition – the annual Siren Music Festival. Comment

Williamsburg: We’ve all seen the tee shirts that plead “Punk’s not dead” as if to convince a skeptical passerby or defend the genre’s honor. Comment

Williamsburg: The Knitting Factory – the iconic Tribeca music venue known for its eclectic and cutting-edge music – will soon move across the East River to Williamsburg. Comment

Williamsburg: When you’re in a war, it pays to show the flag. Comment

Williamsburg: A bevy of seersucker suits swirled through a crowd as City Reliquary fans danced in the museum’s hideaway garden, celebrating the Williamsburg museum’s first ever Summer Benefit. Comment

Williamsburg: New school construction and higher salaries for teachers are part of an education plan State Senate hopeful Daniel Squadron is shopping around the 20th State Senate District. Comment

Williamsburg: A full-time job requires a full-time salary – of $132,000 per annum. Comment

Williamsburg: It’s been a tough year for many residents of Williamsburg’s south side. Comment

Williamsburg: It’s bye-bye for Studio B, at least for now. Comment

Williamsburg: With the sun resting high in the simmering August sky, it is peak season at McCarren Park’s Greenmarket and fruits and vegetables are at their ripest. Comment

Williamsburg: The National Supermarket Association awarded $85,000 in scholarships last Thursday to more than 80 inner city students from the five boroughs and New Jersey during its annual banquet at Flushing’s Terrace on the park. Comment

Williamsburg: The J/Z line provides relatively adequate service to South Williamsburg residents, but the M line does not. Comment

Williamsburg: Pardon north side residents their skepticism about the L line being ranked the city’s best in the latest Straphanger’s Campaign report. Comment

Williamsburg: Brooklyn’s canine community was barking the praises of Mayor Michael Bloomberg Monday upon hearing the news that getting licensed with the city was as easy as a romp through the park with their masters. Comment

Williamsburg: This September, the hokiest of American traditions will come to the hippest corner of the world. Comment

Williamsburg: From the outside, the former headquarters of the 87th Precinct looks like another abandoned squatters’ hideaway. Its doors are sufficiently tagged with graffiti, glass windows are broken with jagged shards, and pieces of brick and stone lay at the foot of the fenced-base. Comment

Williamsburg: It was a veritable Christmas in July for some local commuters last week, when the MTA-New York City Transit increased service on nine subway lines. Comment

Williamsburg: Out-of-town parents wanting to visit their hipster children in Williamsburg will soon have a 75-room boutique hotel to stay at in the neighborhood. Comment

Williamsburg: Ophelia, Shakespeare’s tragic archetype of female passivity and captivity, is resurrected from her suicide in McCarren Park Pool this summer in “12 Ophelias,” a play written by Caridad Svich and presented by Woodshed Collective. Comment

Williamsburg: McCarren Park Pool fans were treated to a little Southern style as rambunctious Atlanta-based garage punk rock band Black Lips created an atmosphere of chaos on stage, shooting pillow fluff and fire extinguisher residue on stage and executing a guitar solo featuring the band’s pet Chihuahua. Comment

Williamsburg: Everyone coming out of “The Dark Knight” this weekend had little light bulbs hovering over their heads aglow with the realization that the next time they’re in the mood for great, thought-provoking literature, they can head right to their nearest comic book store. Comment

Williamsburg: Make no mistake about it, if you happened to be home with a bowl of popcorn on a Friday night in the mid- to late 90’s, “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” would have been a perfectly fine episode to satisfy Mulder and Scully fans. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Forest City Ratner Companies last week reiterated plans to break ground by the end of this year on phase one of the Atlantic Yards project. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: After discovering that a city contracting company has been mooring barges in waterways throughout the city, Brooklyn elected officials proposed legislation requiring the identification of barges and increasing violations for repeat offenders. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: At a touching and solemn ceremony, class valedictorian and summa cum laude Sarah Roth, 30, led the largest class to graduate from the Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing. The Borough Park resident and mother of three young children, completed an intense two-year Associate’s degree program at the top of her class and was the recipient of The Seymour J. Phillips Award for Highest Scholastic Achievement. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Big-hearted Park Slope residents reserved a thought for an ailing youngster on their block when they dedicated their annual community party to the swift recovery of Allie Snyder. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: When your in a war, it pays to show the flag. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The front line on the war on terror is being waged not in some faraway country—but apparently right here in Brooklyn, where local yeshivas and synagogues recently received over $1 million to fortify their operations. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) has extended its storage rescue efforts for customers of All City Storage, DCA licensee, 253 Bond Street in Brooklyn, August 13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: New school construction and higher salaries for teachers are part of an education plan State Senate hopeful Daniel Squadron is shopping around the 20th State Senate District. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Two Trees Management Co. announces that Red Mango, a pioneer of the healthy frozen yogurt craze, with six stores in Manhattan, is opening its first Brooklyn location at 125 Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The 10-year lease for 875-square feet of space is at the crossroads of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill and Downtown Brooklyn. Caroline Pardo, director of Leasing for Two Trees Management Co. LLC represented the landlord, and there was no broker representing the tenant. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: A checks-and-balances system should be put in place to oversee the city Department of Education (DOE), according to a city official. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: There are fun and educational events for adults and kids of all ages in Prospect Park this month. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: New York Methodist Hospital recruited Atul Chokshi, MD, FACC, FCCP, FSCAI, who is an expert in transradial cardiac catheterization, to perform a range of cardiac catheterization procedures to diagnose and treat heart disease at the hospital. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Prospect Park proudly went to the dogs when the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals held its inaugural pet adoption festival at the emerald empire. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Salem Abdulhadil was nine years-old when his foot and lower leg were amputated following a car accident near his home in Ramallah, a Palestinian city in the West Bank. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: In a neighborhood bursting at the seams with young families, local elected officials last week slammed the management of Long Island College Hospital for their recent decision to close the maternity ward. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Brooklyn’s canine community was barking the praises of Mayor Michael Bloomberg Monday upon hearing the news that getting licensed with the city was as easy as a romp through the park with their masters. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Coney’s white sands were pristine putty in the creative clutches of budding Michealangelos, who went to work molding their masterpieces during the annual sand-sculpting contest, sponsored by Astella Development Corporation. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Out-of-town parents wanting to visit their hipster children in Williamsburg will soon have a 75-room boutique hotel to stay at in the neighborhood. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The Irondale Ensemble Project, a Brooklyn-based off-Broadway theater company, will soon trade its nomadic existence for a spectacular new performance space. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Health advisories at select Brooklyn beaches totaled 30 last year—and that’s a marked improvement compared to statewide results, a recent report revealed. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The wind wasn’t quite strong enough, but the spirit was. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: It was a veritable Christmas in July for some local commuters last week, when the MTA-New York City Transit increased service on nine subway lines. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: A full-time job requires a full-time salary – of $132,000 per annum. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Waste Management, North America’s leading provider of comprehensive waste management services, launched ThinkGreenFromHome.com (www.thinkgreenfromhome.com), a streamlined online service for the recycling of universal household waste including compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), batteries, and eventually other household electronics. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Dawn Petrlik’s hands may have molded the clay that became the dead woman, but the “Lonely Death of Esmin Green” is a work of art that comes from deep in her heart. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The winning blocks for the 14th annual Greenest Block in Brooklyn Contest were heralded at a press conference on the first-place residential block: Eighth Street between Prospect Park West and Eighth Avenue. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: With Brooklynites struggling through an economy that has been slow to add new jobs and bracing for rising costs in food and energy, Congress hopes to extend food stamp benefits for able-bodied individuals searching for work. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The Division of Dental Medicine at New York Methodist Hospital will provide free dental screenings as part of Pediatric Dental Awareness Days. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Officials from the Kings County District Attorney’s office are setting their sights on holding another gun buyback program. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: To Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes, the key to reducing crime lies in putting a rubber stopper in the courthouse’s infamous revolving door — starting with those who just ended their rotation. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The flavor of a new drink celebrating a minor league baseball team does not taste like chewing tobacco, salty sea air or even freshly-cut grass. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced that former Haitian strongman Emmanuel Constant has been found guilty of all six felony counts against him related to a massive mortgage fraud scheme. A Kings County Supreme Court jury found Constant guilty of fraudulently arranging millions of dollars in home loans for three Brooklyn properties. Constant, who has been convicted in Haiti, in absentia, for crimes against humanity, will remain in police custody. Sentencing will occur September 10, 2008. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: New York Methodist Hospital provides a free support group for individuals who are affected by cancer. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The city Department of Education (DOE) needs to go on a diet. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The city is implementing safety improvements at local schools. Comment

Kings Courier: At the gas pump, seeing is believing. Comment

Kings Courier: To Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes, the key to reducing crime lies in putting a rubber stopper in the courthouse’s infamous revolving door -- starting with those who just ended their rotation. Comment

Kings Courier: It’s the park that keeps on growing – thanks to a little help from its friends in City Hall. Comment

Kings Courier: At the behest of Rep. Anthony Weiner, the House of Representatives has allocated $5 million for a pilot technology that uses wireless sensors to evaluate the safety of bridges. Comment

Kings Courier: Young water warriors beat the heat with cooling dunks in the aqua slide while mom and dad fired up the grill for a sizzling block party in Bergen Beach. Comment

Kings Courier: The front line on the war on terror is being waged not in some faraway country — but apparently right here in Brooklyn, where local yeshivas and synagogues recently received over $1 million to fortify their operations. Comment

Kings Courier: Food and friendship courted the whole family as homeowners shared the spirit along Ryder Street for block party day. Comment

Kings Courier: The faithful flocked to the streets to hail their Blessed Mother as the Catholic Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel got underway in Bergen Beach. Comment

Kings Courier: Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced that former Haitian strongman Emmanuel Constant has been found guilty of all six felony counts against him related to a massive mortgage fraud scheme. A Kings County Supreme Court jury found Constant guilty of fraudulently arranging millions of dollars in home loans for three Brooklyn properties. Constant, who has been convicted in Haiti, in absentia, for crimes against humanity, will remain in police custody. Sentencing will occur September 10, 2008. Comment

Kings Courier: Festive frolickers soaked in equal parts sunshine and community spirit during a block party in Marine Park. Comment

Kings Courier: Summer fun was on the menu – not to mention a generous helping of potluck delights – when neighbors jumpstarted the season of fun in the sun with a block party in Mill Basin. Comment

Kings Courier: In 90-degree heat, 300 volunteer “patients” and more than a hundred SUNY Downstate Medical Center clinical and support staff and administrators participated in a Sunday morning disaster drill to test hospital response to a potentially life-threatening illness associated with cold weather — influenza. Comment

Kings Courier: Make it like Orlando, Florida. Make it like the Mall of America. Make it like it Used to Be. Comment

Kings Courier: Call it payback for support, but Rep. Ed Towns brought out the heavy hitters to Starrett City last week to praise his work in helping to keep the sprawling housing complex affordable. Comment

Kings Courier: A carjacking at a borough toy store ended in a nail-biting hostage drama in Canarsie Tuesday — just hours before the borough celebrated National Night Out Against Crime. Comment

Kings Courier: The city is implementing safety improvements at local schools. Comment

Greenpoint: Thank you so much for the wonderful coverage of a recent event involving our organization, PENCIL, (“McKinney Living Magazine debuts,” 7-4 issue). Comment

Greenpoint: From the outside, the former headquarters of the 87th Precinct looks like another abandoned squatters’ hideaway. Its doors are sufficiently tagged with graffiti, glass windows are broken with jagged shards, and pieces of brick and stone lay at the foot of the fenced base. Comment

Greenpoint: New school construction and higher salaries for teachers are part of an education plan State Senate hopeful Daniel Squadron is shopping around the 20th State Senate District. Comment

Greenpoint: A full-time job requires a full-time salary – of $132,000 per annum. Comment

Greenpoint: It’s bye-bye for Studio B, at least for now. Comment

Greenpoint: Pardon north side residents their skepticism about the L line being ranked the city’s best in the latest Straphanger’s Campaign report. Comment

Greenpoint: Out-of-town parents wanting to visit their hipster children in Williamsburg will soon have a 75-room boutique hotel to stay at in the neighborhood. Comment

Greenpoint: Stan Gershbein’s column, regarding off shore oil drilling shows his irresponsible ignorance of the issue of climate change and global warming (“It’s Only My Opinion,” 7-11 issue). Comment

Greenpoint: Greenpoint residents enjoyed their precinct’s celebration of National Night Out, feasting on hot dogs served by Betty Hulson and her crew of Community Council members, and donuts from Peter Pan Bakery. Comment

Greenpoint: After discovering that a city contracting company has been mooring barges in waterways throughout the city, Brooklyn elected officials proposed legislation requiring the identification of barges and increasing violations for repeat offenders. Comment

Greenpoint: The National Supermarket Association awarded $85,000 in scholarships last Thursday to more than 80 inner city students from the five boroughs and New Jersey during its annual banquet at Flushing’s Terrace on the park. Comment

Greenpoint: Ophelia, Shakespeare’s tragic archetype of female passivity and captivity, is resurrected from her suicide in McCarren Park Pool this summer in “12 Ophelias,” a play written by Caridad Svich and presented by Woodshed Collective. Comment

Greenpoint: All players are welcome to participate in the First Bocce Ball Charity Event hosted by the Brooklyn Cyclones and Hunter Green Assoc. Ltd., August 23 at KeySpan Park, 1904 Surf Avenue. Comment

Greenpoint: Health advisories at select Brooklyn beaches totaled 30 last year—and that’s a marked improvement compared to statewide results, a recent report revealed. Comment

In a neighborhood bursting at the seams with young families, local elected officials last week slammed the management of Long Island College Hospital for their recent decision to close the maternity ward. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Forest City Ratner Companies last week reiterated plans to break ground by the end of this year on phase one of the Atlantic Yards project. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: After discovering that a city contracting company has been mooring barges in waterways throughout the city, Brooklyn elected officials proposed legislation requiring the identification of barges and increasing violations for repeat offenders. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The front line on the war on terror is being waged not in some faraway country—but apparently right here in Brooklyn, where local yeshivas and synagogues recently received over $1 million to fortify their operations. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The city Department of Education (DOE) needs to go on a diet. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: There are fun and educational events for adults and kids of all ages in Prospect Park this month. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: In a neighborhood bursting at the seams with young families, local elected officials last week slammed the management of Long Island College Hospital for their recent decision to close the maternity ward. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Brooklyn’s canine community was barking the praises of Mayor Michael Bloomberg Monday upon hearing the news that getting licensed with the city was as easy as a romp through the park with their masters. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Out-of-town parents wanting to visit their hipster children in Williamsburg will soon have a 75-room boutique hotel to stay at in the neighborhood. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The wind wasn’t quite strong enough, but the spirit was. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Amid charges of landlord harassment, rent-stabilized tenants of a six-story building across the street from the Brooklyn Academy of Music finally had their gas turned on last week. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: What do Daysi Roman, 21, who grew up in the Ingersol public housing complex, and Angelo Cilia, 37, who hails from Kansas City, Missouri have in common? Comment

Brooklyn Courier: A checks-and-balances system should be put in place to oversee the city Department of Education (DOE), according to a city official. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: When you’re in a war, it pays to show the flag. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced that former Haitian strongman Emmanuel Constant has been found guilty of all six felony counts against him related to a massive mortgage fraud scheme. A Kings County Supreme Court jury found Constant guilty of fraudulently arranging millions of dollars in home loans for three Brooklyn properties. Constant, who has been convicted in Haiti, in absentia, for crimes against humanity, will remain in police custody. Sentencing will occur September 10, 2008. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: IKEA’s shuttle buses make it easier to get to the Red Hook superstore—but awfully difficult to navigate local roadways, according to a steady chorus of critics. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: A full-time job requires a full-time salary – of $132,000 per annum. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Dawn Petrlik’s hands may have molded the clay that became the dead woman, but the “Lonely Death of Esmin Green” is a work of art that comes from deep in her heart. Comment

Flatbush: The front line on the war on terror is being waged not in some faraway country — but apparently right here in Brooklyn, where local yeshivas and synagogues recently received over $1 million to fortify their operations. Comment

Flatbush: In 90-degree heat, 300 volunteer “patients” and more than a hundred SUNY Downstate Medical Center clinical and support staff and administrators participated in a Sunday morning disaster drill to test hospital response to a potentially life-threatening illness associated with cold weather — influenza. Comment

Flatbush: He’s still in charge. Comment

Flatbush: A senior citizen was killed following a bloody scene in Kensington, officials said. Comment

Flatbush: The city is implementing safety improvements at local schools. Comment

Flatbush: Mom, dad and the kids made merry with their neighbors during a block party along Clarkson Avenue. Comment

Flatbush: A checks-and-balances system should be put in place to oversee the city Department of Education (DOE), according to a city official. Comment

Flatbush: The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), a not-for-profit mortgage lender and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) have provided a $4,700,764 construction loan for the top-to-bottom rehabilitation of two vacant and one partially occupied residential buildings in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. Comment

Flatbush: Brooklyn’s hippest subway is also the city’s best, a commuter advocacy group determined this week. Comment

Flatbush: A normally bucolic day at Prospect Park took a grisly turn Wednesday when a murdered man was found sprawled out in a thatch of trees and shrubs. Comment

Flatbush: Flatbush be-bopped to the sound of fun when homeowners banded together for a block party along East 34th Street. Comment

Flatbush: Flatbush changed into an outdoor playground for the young and the young-at-heart as dwellers bonded over block party festivities along East 26th Street. Comment

Flatbush: It was a veritable Christmas in July for some local commuters last week, when the MTA-New York City Transit increased service on nine subway lines. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Forest City Ratner Companies last week reiterated plans to break ground by the end of this year on phase one of the Atlantic Yards project. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: When you’re in a war, it pays to show the flag. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: It was a veritable Christmas in July for some local commuters last week, when the MTA-New York City Transit increased service on nine subway lines. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Stop work orders slapped on a number of controversial construction projects around Carroll Gardens remain in effect this week after the City Council recently passed new zoning regulations. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Members of the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit (ESU) were called to Nevins Street near Schermerhorn Street last week, where they threw out a net to catch a man (bottom) threatening to leap from the window of his high-rise. The officers went to the roof and tossed a net over the top-floor window in order to snag the man if he made good on his threats. After a brief standoff, the man exited the apartment through the front door and was taken to an area hospital for observation. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: A checks-and-balances system should be put in place to oversee the city Department of Education (DOE), according to a city official. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Out-of-town parents wanting to visit their hipster children in Williamsburg will soon have a 75-room boutique hotel to stay at in the neighborhood. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Brooklyn’s canine community was barking the praises of Mayor Michael Bloomberg Monday upon hearing the news that getting licensed with the city was as easy as a romp through the park with their masters. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The wind wasn’t quite strong enough, but the spirit was. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: A full-time job requires a full-time salary – of $132,000 per annum. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: In a neighborhood bursting at the seams with young families, local elected officials last week slammed the management of Long Island College Hospital for their recent decision to close the maternity ward. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: IKEA’s shuttle buses make it easier to get to the Red Hook superstore — but awfully difficult to navigate local roadways, according to a steady chorus of critics. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The Red Hook Latin food vendors offered up a tasty gracias to Councilwoman Sara González last week. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The city Department of Education (DOE) needs to go on a diet. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Dawn Petrlik’s hands may have molded the clay that became the dead woman, but the “Lonely Death of Esmin Green” is a work of art that comes from deep in her heart. Comment

Canarsie: At the behest of Rep. Anthony Weiner, the House of Representatives has allocated $5 million for a pilot technology that uses wireless sensors to evaluate the safety of bridges. Comment

Canarsie: Tunnel maven Bob Diamond is hoping to be surrounded by strangers when he celebrates a very special anniversary this month. Comment

Canarsie: Brooklyn’s hippest subway is also the city’s best, a commuter advocacy group determined this week. Comment

Canarsie: Health advisories at select Brooklyn beaches totaled 30 last year—and that’s a marked improvement compared to statewide results, a recent report revealed. Comment

Canarsie: Borough patriots didn’t forget the battlefield heroes, who made the supreme sacrifice in “The Forgotten War.” Comment

Canarsie: Obesity is an epidemic that impacts more than nine million Americans. More and more people who are affected by obesity are seeking to learn about surgical weight reduction. Comment

Canarsie: Ready, set, go! Comment

Canarsie: In 90-degree heat, 300 volunteer “patients” and more than a hundred SUNY Downstate Medical Center clinical and support staff and administrators participated in a Sunday morning disaster drill to test hospital response to a potentially life-threatening illness associated with cold weather — influenza. Comment

Canarsie: Sporting challenges, family frolics and more fanned the flame of friendship as residents gathered for block party festivities in Canarsie. Comment

Canarsie: It was more of a family reunion than a memorial. Comment

Canarsie: New York City’s top crisis manager came to Brooklyn to personally congratulate graduates for completing a disaster preparedness course, which has garnered the borough eight new teams to respond to unforeseen disasters. Comment

Canarsie: A checks-and-balances system should be put in place to oversee the city Department of Education (DOE), according to a city official. Comment

Canarsie: The city Department of Education (DOE) needs to go on a diet. Comment

Canarsie: Ella, a two-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier, is a pooch with a difficult background but a happy ending. The friendly puppy was left at Animal Care & Control in Brooklyn with two broken elbows which, sadly, looked like the result of mistreatment by a human. Comment

Canarsie: Citing increasing costs, annual deficits and a mountain of debt, Long Island College Hospital announced last week that it plans on discontinuing its obstetrical services. Comment

Canarsie: Borough President Marty Markowitz brought home nearly $90 million worth of bacon in capital funding from the fiscal year 2009 city budget, according to borough hall documents. Comment

Canarsie: The Brooklyn Young Mothers’ Collective (BYMC) has announced the creation of the Septima Poinsette Clark Law Center, whose main mission is to provide legal services and information to pregnant and parenting teens in Brooklyn. Comment

Canarsie: Canine lovers are invited to bring their dogs to the Brooklyn Cyclones’ annual “Bark in the Park” game, August 11. Comment

Canarsie: The National Supermarket Association awarded $85,000 in scholarships last Thursday to more than 80 inner city students from the five boroughs and New Jersey during its annual banquet at Flushing’s Terrace on the park. Comment

Canarsie: Anybody who walks through the doors of Brooklyn Public Library’s Central branch from now until the end of August is in for an unexpected treat. Comment

Canarsie: To Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes, the key to reducing crime lies in putting a rubber stopper in the courthouse’s infamous revolving door — starting with those who just ended their rotation. Comment

Canarsie: Officials from the Kings County District Attorney’s office are setting their sights on holding another gun buyback program. Comment

Canarsie: Calvary Hospital hosted the 11th session of Camp Courageous, a children’s bereavement camp located at Arrow Park in Monroe, NY, surrounded by the beautiful and vast Sterling Forest. The 26 participants this year have all attended the children and teen bereavement programs, which Calvary, 150 55th Street, offers year-round. The camp provided a safe, nurturing environment for the children of diverse backgrounds to validate feelings, offer hope, and have fun for a few hours every day. Comment

Canarsie: Now is the perfect time to start becoming a savvy consumer. It’s the perfect time to start comparison shopping. It’s the perfect time to become a bargain hunter. In other words, it’s the perfect time to start a relationship with your friendly neighborhood Consumer Corner. Let’s take a look at what’s out there this week. Comment

Canarsie: Call it payback for support, but Rep. Ed Towns brought out the heavy hitters to Starrett City last week to praise his work in helping to keep the sprawling housing complex affordable. Comment

Canarsie: A carjacking at a borough toy store ended in a nail-biting hostage drama in Canarsie Tuesday — just hours before the borough celebrated National Night Out Against Crime. Comment

Canarsie: New York Methodist Hospital provides a free support group for individuals who are affected by cancer. Comment

Canarsie: Brooklyn is fortunate to have two Board-certified female gynecologists who take the time to speak with women, to listen to them, and to see that their health needs are taken care of — Dr. Faina Akselrod and Dr. Genia Bekker of Advanced Gynecology & Surgery (1517 Voorhies Avenue, 718-332-6525). Comment

Canarsie: Senator Carl Kruger, chairman of the Senate’s Social Services, Children and Families Committee, joined the watchdog group NYC Park Advocates at a news conference outside City Hall demanding measures to improve playground mat safety following incidents of children getting burned by surfaces that can reach temperatures of 166 degrees in hot weather. Comment

Canarsie: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined the staff and owners of the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge to celebrate the hotel’s tenth anniversary. Since opening in July 1998, the Brooklyn Marriott has nearly doubled in size and is Marriott International’s second largest hotel in New York City. Comment

Canarsie: A normally bucolic day at Prospect Park took a grisly turn Wednesday when a murdered man was found sprawled out in a thatch of trees and shrubs. Comment

Canarsie: An ounce of prevention could stop hurricane winds and flooding from tearing up Manhattan Beach and Sheepshead Bay. Comment

Canarsie: Forget the subway’s third rail—it’s the stations themselves that commuters should be concerned about, a recent study concluded. Comment

Canarsie: Citizens for a Better Community invites its neighbors to attend their Seventh Annual Family Day, August 9 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Paerdegat Park, Albany Avenue & Farragut Road. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Forest City Ratner Companies last week reiterated plans to break ground by the end of this year on phase one of the Atlantic Yards project. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: After discovering that a city contracting company has been mooring barges in waterways throughout the city, Brooklyn elected officials proposed legislation requiring the identification of barges and increasing violations for repeat offenders. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Members of the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit (ESU) were called to Nevins Street near Schermerhorn Street last week, where they threw out a net to catch a man (bottom) threatening to leap from the window of his high-rise. The officers went to the roof and tossed a net over the top-floor window in order to snag the man if he made good on his threats. After a brief standoff, the man exited the apartment through the front door and was taken to an area hospital for observation. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: The Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corp. has purchased and planted baskets on the historic street lamps and planters on the Avenue with a generous $1,000 donation from Sovereign Bank. Placed on Atlantic Avenue, near Nevins Street, they are being maintained by the Super Wash Laundromat. Baskets, flowing with foliage and flowers, are located along the avenue between Clinton Street and Third Avenue and maintained by the stores and/or building owners. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Brooklyn has a big heart. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: The city Department of Education (DOE) needs to go on a diet. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: A checks-and-balances system should be put in place to oversee the city Department of Education (DOE), according to a city official. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Out-of-town parents wanting to visit their hipster children in Williamsburg will soon have a 75-room boutique hotel to stay at in the neighborhood. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: The wind wasn’t quite strong enough, but the spirit was. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: It was a veritable Christmas in July for some local commuters last week, when the MTA-New York City Transit increased service on nine subway lines. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced that former Haitian strongman Emmanuel Constant has been found guilty of all six felony counts against him related to a massive mortgage fraud scheme. A Kings County Supreme Court jury found Constant guilty of fraudulently arranging millions of dollars in home loans for three Brooklyn properties. Constant, who has been convicted in Haiti, in absentia, for crimes against humanity, will remain in police custody. Sentencing will occur September 10, 2008. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: A full-time job requires a full-time salary – of $132,000 per annum. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Brooklyn’s canine community was barking the praises of Mayor Michael Bloomberg Monday upon hearing the news that getting licensed with the city was as easy as a romp through the park with their masters. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: When you’re in a war, it pays to show the flag. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: A sun-splashed day was just the ticket for homeowners to bond over a block party along Carroll Street. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Party hearty! Comment

Brooklyn Heights: In a neighborhood bursting at the seams with young families, local elected officials last week slammed the management of Long Island College Hospital for their recent decision to close the maternity ward. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: The front line on the war on terror is being waged not in some faraway country—but apparently right here in Brooklyn, where local yeshivas and synagogues recently received over $1 million to fortify their operations. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Dawn Petrlik’s hands may have molded the clay that became the dead woman, but the “Lonely Death of Esmin Green” is a work of art that comes from deep in her heart. Comment

Bay News: Brooklyn’s hippest subway is also the city’s best, a commuter advocacy group determined this week. Comment

Bay News: Shavana Abruzzo, I was amused by the spurious analysis of your column (“Questions loom about Bam’s blood ties,” A Britisher’s View). Comment

Bay News: It was a veritable Christmas in July for some local commuters last week, when the MTA-New York City Transit increased service on nine subway lines. Comment

Bay News: The city is implementing safety improvements at local schools. Comment

Bay News: Plans are rolling full steam ahead to build a new school in Bay Ridge. Comment

Bay News: I go to Brighton Beach Avenue regularly and I must disagree with the borough traffic commissioner, who said that further traffic control along confusing Brighton Beach Avenue is unnecessary. Comment

Bay News: Stanley Gershbein (“It’s Only My Opinion”), in your recent columns you have been advocating for drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, as well as offshore drilling. Comment

Bay News: The Land of the Rising Sun struck the right chord with music lovers in Bay Ridge, when the Narrows Botanical Gardens headlined Japanese gypsy rockers Kagero at its free waterfront festival. Comment

Bay News: After 12 years in Bay Ridge, HeartShare Human Services of New York’s First Step Early Childhood Center is moving to the former St. Finbar’s elementary school in Bensonhurst this summer. Comment

Bay News: Congressional hopeful Steven Harrison is raising a stink about City Councilmember Michael McMahon, his opponent for the 13th Congressional District. Comment

Bay News: A checks-and-balances system should be put in place to oversee the city Department of Education (DOE), according to a city official. Comment

Bay News: Make it like Orlando, Florida. Make it like the Mall of America. Make it like it Used to Be. Comment

Bay News: What’s her secret? Boasting age-defying good looks and a slim, trim figure, Bay Ridge birthday gal Inez Coffin turned 100 years young, celebrating the milestone occasion with relatives and friends at Victory Memorial Skilled Nursing Center. Comment

If the barrage of circulars thrown onto your stoop, lawn or porch has you seeing red, a glimpse of green may be right around the corner. Comment

Five days a week, 79-year-old Alik Edelman makes his way to the Haber House Senior Center, a beloved second home he now fears is in imminent danger of shuttering its doors for good. Comment

The team behind a controversial charter school met with the public to address concerns that the school would promote Catholicism. Comment

Unnatural acts with animal traps this is not. Comment

In a neighborhood bursting at the seams with young families, local elected officials last week slammed the management of Long Island College Hospital for their recent decision to close the maternity ward. Comment

A 53-year-old woman has reportedly been linked to the grisly murder of a Gravesend man who was found bound to a chair, tortured and stabbed to death Monday night, officials said. Comment

A Brooklyn resident is proof that dreams do come true. Comment

Traffic is one of the key issues that has a state administrative law judge probing further into the potential impacts of a proposed waste transfer station on the shore of Gravesend Bay. Comment

Police sources confirmed this week that one of the gunshot wounds suffered from a crazed Canarsie party last month was caused by a cop’s bullet. Comment

Two 18-year-old Queens residents were responsible for the cross-community havoc caused in both Marine Park and Canarsie last week, officials alleged. Comment

The Cyclone roller coaster has stood in Coney Island for over 80 years, but the loss of Astroland Amusement Park could rattle it to its core. Comment

Brooklyn’s hippest subway is also the city’s best, a commuter advocacy group determined this week. Comment

Army Sgts. Daniel and Timothy DeKoeyer have been together all their lives. Comment

At the behest of Rep. Anthony Weiner, the House of Representatives has allocated $5 million for a pilot technology that uses wireless sensors to evaluate the safety of bridges. Comment

Tunnel maven Bob Diamond is hoping to be surrounded by strangers when he celebrates a very special anniversary this month. Comment

Borough patriots didn’t forget the battlefield heroes, who made the supreme sacrifice in “The Forgotten War.” Comment

Party hearty! Comment

The National Supermarket Association awarded $85,000 in scholarships last Thursday to more than 80 inner city students from the five boroughs and New Jersey during its annual banquet at Flushing’s Terrace on the park. Comment

Army Staff Sgt. Colin Goldson takes on the difficult, tiring and endless task of feeding the soldiers and civilians of the 1st Armored Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq. Comment

The front line on the war on terror is being waged not in some faraway country—but apparently right here in Brooklyn, where local yeshivas and synagogues recently received over $1 million to fortify their operations. Comment

Misty eyes and congratulations accompanied the send-off for departing St. John’s Church pastor, Rev. Barry Parsons. Comment

Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, Combined Joint Task Force 101 commander, presented Army Capt. William G. Cromie of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat team with the Silver Star Medal in honor of Cromie’s valor. Comment

The band Sevendust rocked out the standing room only crowd of service-members at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, where they performed on the final stop of their first United Service Organizations tour. Comment

The Navy’s amphibious construction battalions usually build water structures such as piers and bridges. However, in just over six months, Seabees from Team 2, Detachment India, Amphibious Construction Battalion 2, completed more than seven projects and lent their talents to several more, including the 41st Fires Brigade tactical operations center, one of the largest wooden structures used by U.S. forces in Forward Operating Base Delta, Iraq. Comment

Operation Homefront allows service-members being treated at military medical facilities in the Washington, DC region to recuperate with their families. Comment

New York City’s top crisis manager came to Brooklyn to personally congratulate graduates for completing a disaster preparedness course, which has garnered the borough eight new teams to respond to unforeseen disasters. Comment

A checks-and-balances system should be put in place to oversee the city Department of Education (DOE), according to a city official. Comment

A local lawmaker is calling for consumers to boycott bags and instead BYOB – “Bring your own bags” – when they go shopping. Comment

Citing increasing costs, annual deficits and a mountain of debt, Long Island College Hospital announced last week that it plans on discontinuing its obstetrical services. Comment

It was a veritable Christmas in July for some local commuters last week, when the MTA-New York City Transit increased service on nine subway lines. Comment

Canine lovers are invited to bring their dogs to the Brooklyn Cyclones’ annual “Bark in the Park” game, August 11. Comment

The Land of the Rising Sun struck the right chord with music lovers in Bay Ridge, when the Narrows Botanical Gardens headlined Japanese gypsy rockers Kagero at its free waterfront festival. Comment

Though the notion of transporting patients to medical treatment by air usually evokes images of helicopters, transport aircraft such as the C-130 Hercules, KC-135 Stratotanker and C-17 Globemaster III allow medical personnel to care for larger numbers of patients over longer distances, at higher altitudes, with a greater ability to care for the seriously injured. Comment

After 12 years in Bay Ridge, HeartShare Human Services of New York’s First Step Early Childhood Center is moving to the former St. Finbar’s elementary school in Bensonhurst this summer. Comment

Congressional hopeful Steven Harrison is raising a stink about City Councilmember Michael McMahon, his opponent for the 13th Congressional District. Comment

Army Staff Sgt. Frank Pflieger prepared to hand out gifts to his crew as a thank-you for the job the men accomplish each day inside Camp Victory. “I wanted to do something to give back to the people of Iraq and you guys, because you work so hard for me,” Pflieger told his men. Comment

Plans are rolling full steam ahead to build a new school in Bay Ridge. Comment

The Division of Dental Medicine at New York Methodist Hospital will provide free dental screenings as part of Pediatric Dental Awareness Days. Comment

Senator Carl Kruger, chairman of the Senate’s Social Services, Children and Families Committee, joined the watchdog group NYC Park Advocates at a news conference outside City Hall demanding measures to improve playground mat safety following incidents of children getting burned by surfaces that can reach temperatures of 166 degrees in hot weather. Comment

The flavor of a new drink celebrating a minor league baseball team does not taste like chewing tobacco, salty sea air or even freshly-cut grass. Comment

Air Assault! Airborne! Cadet Medical Intensive Training! Comment

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined the staff and owners of the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge to celebrate the hotel’s tenth anniversary. Since opening in July 1998, the Brooklyn Marriott has nearly doubled in size and is Marriott International’s second largest hotel in New York City. Comment

Neighbors bopped to the theme of “meet and greet” when residents cemented their friendships with a block party along 82nd Street. Comment

Forget the subway’s third rail—it’s the stations themselves that commuters should be concerned about, a recent study concluded. Comment

The city is implementing safety improvements at local schools. Comment

The city Department of Education (DOE) needs to go on a diet. Comment

Bay News: The National Supermarket Association awarded $85,000 in scholarships last Thursday to more than 80 inner city students from the five boroughs and New Jersey during its annual banquet at Flushing’s Terrace on the park. Comment

Bay News: With rides like the “Ring of Fire” and other Thor Equities amusements disappearing midway through the summer of ’08, many in Coney Island are wandering if the vanishing act isn’t a gloomy precursor to next year at “America’s Playground.” Comment

Bay News: Officials from the Kings County District Attorney’s office are setting their sights on holding another gun buyback program. Comment

Bay News: Canine lovers are invited to bring their dogs to the Brooklyn Cyclones’ annual “Bark in the Park” game, August 11. Comment

Bay News: Games and good cheer were the order of the day when neighbors bonded over block party festivities in Coney Island. Comment

Bay News: He’s still in charge. Comment

Bay News: Tunnel maven Bob Diamond is hoping to be surrounded by strangers when he celebrates a very special anniversary this month. Comment

Bay News: The front line on the war on terror is being waged not in some faraway country—but apparently right here in Brooklyn, where local yeshivas and synagogues recently received over $1 million to fortify their operations. Comment

Bay News: A little angel got her wings. Comment

Bay News: In 90-degree heat, 300 volunteer “patients” and more than a hundred SUNY Downstate Medical Center clinical and support staff and administrators participated in a Sunday morning disaster drill to test hospital response to a potentially life-threatening illness associated with cold weather — influenza. Comment

Bay News: Lack of city oversight has rendered some senior centers not only shamefully filthy, but also dangerous, an audit revealed last week. Comment

Bay News: The city is implementing safety improvements at local schools. Comment

Bay News: Talk about a precious commodity. Comment

Bay News: Festive frolickers soaked in equal parts of sunshine and community spirit during a block party along Plumb 2nd Street. Comment

Bay News: In a story that ran last week entitled “Zap Trial Tears At Family,” the last words Roberta Cambria said to her daughter’s killer, Guy Zappulla, were Cambria’s alone and at no time were repeated or expressed with the help of Assistant District Attorney Julie Rendelman. Comment

Bay News: A resident of Trump Village had a tough time figuring out the brake from the gas and sparked a multiple car collision in the building’s parking lot Sunday, area cops were told. Officials said that the lady driver should have been backing up when she lurched forward in her spot, right smack into a car parked in a spot that mirrored her own in the lot, located on West 5th Street and Brighton Beach Avenue. The impact sent the parked car rolling backwards, right into a second car, officials said. Once she realized what she had done, she finally went into reverse – smacking into a third car, officials said.Police said that no injuries were reported. No arrests were made. Comment

Bay News: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined the staff and owners of the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge to celebrate the hotel’s tenth anniversary. Since opening in July 1998, the Brooklyn Marriott has nearly doubled in size and is Marriott International’s second largest hotel in New York City. Comment

Bay News: Citing increasing costs, annual deficits and a mountain of debt, Long Island College Hospital announced last week that it plans on discontinuing its obstetrical services. Comment

Bay News: The Brooklyn Young Mothers’ Collective (BYMC) has announced the creation of the Septima Poinsette Clark Law Center, whose main mission is to provide legal services and information to pregnant and parenting teens in Brooklyn. Comment

Bay News: For the past several months, the Board of Trustees and senior staff from Continuum and Long Island College Hospital have been discussing approaches and options to secure a bright and prosperous future for LICH. The issues that must be addressed are complex, and the ultimate plan of action will require particular expertise and experience. Comment

Bay News: It was a veritable Christmas in July for some local commuters last week, when the MTA-New York City Transit increased service on nine subway lines. Comment

Bay News: The Muscular Dystrophy Association is seeking volunteers to answer phones and help out behind the scenes at this year’s Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethin, airing on MY-9 WWOR-TV August 31 and September 1. Comment

Bay News: Brooklyn’s hippest subway is also the city’s best, a commuter advocacy group determined this week. Comment

Bay News: Forget the subway’s third rail—it’s the stations themselves that commuters should be concerned about, a recent study concluded. Comment

Bay News: Congressional hopeful Steven Harrison is raising a stink about City Councilmember Michael McMahon, his opponent for the 13th Congressional District. Comment

Bay News: Strolling performers, games and gospel music were among the crowd-pleasers when the community banded with like-minded revelers for a festival at the Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ. Comment

Bay News: Colleagues who work alongside Mitchell Shpelfogel here in the community are reacting this week to the young man’s firing from the office of Brooklyn Civil Court Judge Lila Gold. Comment

Bay News: Health advisories at select Brooklyn beaches totaled 30 last year—and that’s a marked improvement compared to statewide results, a recent report revealed. Comment

Bay News: Make it like Orlando, Florida. Make it like the Mall of America. Make it like it Used to Be. Comment

Bay News: It was more of a family reunion than a memorial. Comment

Bay News: No, the city has not upped the ante in its bid to designate nine acres of real estate inside the Coney Island amusement district as protected parkland. Comment

Bay News: The flavor of a new drink celebrating a minor league baseball team does not taste like chewing tobacco, salty sea air or even freshly-cut grass. Comment

Bay News: In preparation for 15,000 Brooklynites getting together for the borough’s largest fundraising walk and cancer event, October 19, “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” will hold a Team-Leader kick off August 12. Comment

Bay News: It’s a ‘Houston, we have a problem’ moment when a drop-kicking abominable snowman is the lone highlight in a mummy picture. Comment

The Search: Our columnist’s search for love and an apartment (not necessarily in that order!) is already butting up against his boss’s demands for copy. Watch as award-winning Editor Gersh Kuntzman and award-nominated Senior Reporter Mike McLaughlin battle it out. Comments (3)

Cyclones: Another Cyclone win coupled with another Staten Island Yankee win means the Brooks remain four games back. Comment

Bay Ridge: The glass shop Windows We Are is finally in the clear now that the city is eyeballing a new site for a proposed public school that would have displaced the Fifth Avenue pane peddler. Comments (1)

Ups & Downs: Three Cyclones — the righty pitchers Brad Holt, Yury Santana and Chris Schwinden — went to the New York–Penn League All-Star team on Tuesday night. Comment

Fort Greene: Here’s something to do next weekend: Visit the 100th annual memorial at Fort Greene’s prison ships memorial. Comment

Williamsburg: Warrant weasel Comment

Williamsburg: Editor’s Note: This column was written prior to Obama’s decision to explore off-shore drilling Comment

Williamsburg: Unless you’ve been living on Mars for the past year, you know that the economy is sliding into the sewer. The Labor Department reported that 62,000 more people lost their jobs in June. That’s the sixth straight month of job losses. The retail sector alone lost 7,500 jobs. It is interesting to note that almost two-thirds of those jobs, about 4,800, were in car dealerships. Comment

Williamsburg: I’ve always been lured by the promise of free food. Sadly, I’ve never been a good cook. This makes for a poor combination for things like potlucks, when you’re encouraged to bring your own tasty creations while sharing in the splendor of others. It makes me more of a mooch than an active culinary participant. You’d think I’d feel bad about this, but I don’t. If it weren’t for people like me, where would the restaurant industry be? I’m really more of a philanthropist, when it comes down to it. Comment

Williamsburg: They aren’t even president yet. Comment

Williamsburg: When people refer to wildlife in New York City, most folks may conjure up images of New York’s striving nightlife culture or perhaps some of the colorful parades that gallivant up and down the streets of our five boroughs. Comment

Williamsburg: It’s Battle Week, Brooklyn’s annual excursion into the collective American consciousness, enticing history buffs and the merely curious to explore the modern borough with an eye to times long gone. Comment

Williamsburg: Come watch the animals at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Prospect Park Zoo get into the swing of things. Resident sea lions will flipper to the sound of music as the zoo is transported to Rio with “Samba New York!,” a Brazilian samba drum ensemble, August 17, 12-3 p.m. Comment

Williamsburg: Ira Flatow, popular host of National Public Radio’s (NPR) Talk of the Nation: Science Friday, will be presenting his TalkingScience’s AquaCabaret at the New York Aquarium, August 8 at 7 p.m. Comment

Williamsburg: The Metro NY Balloon & Music Festival sponsored by RE/MAX of New York, Inc. returns to Brookhaven Calabro Airport on Long Island, August 8, 9 and 10, featuring some of the world’s most magnificent hot air balloons. Comment

Williamsburg: The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy offers a wide array of family fun events during summer 2008. Comment

Williamsburg: Bernard J. Marsh, author of the recently published “Great White Way/Greatwhite Lies,” will host a book signing, August 14 from 6-9 p.m., at the Two Steps Down Restaurant, 240 DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn, between Vanderbilt and Clermont avenues. Comment

Williamsburg: Theater for the New City’s Street Annual Street Theater Tour’s, “It’s the Economy Stupid! or The Turning Point,” will be playing free performances on streets, parks and playgrounds throughout the borough. Comment

Williamsburg: Now in its second year, The Prospect Park Youth Council’s free Summer on the Green Program is bigger, better, more educational and even more fun. Comment

Williamsburg: People are not the only visitors who enjoy Brooklyn Bridge Park’s beautiful waterfront. This summer the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, along with New York Audubon and the Coastal Marine Resource Center, invites children (and adults) of all ages to experience the birds and marine life of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Comment

Williamsburg: When Boy Meets Girl returns to Brooklyn’s Sputnik night spot August 8. Comment

Williamsburg: Chicago rock band Wilco will play McCarren Pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on August 13. The concert will benefit the Open Space Alliance and is the band’s only New York area appearance this summer. Comment

Williamsburg: You don’t have to own a pair of cowboy boots or speak in a Southern drawl to get into the country grooves coming to Southpaw on August 8, fueled by a few Brooklyn-based bands that do honky tonk best. Comment

Williamsburg: The Wang Dang Doodle presents the Summer Surf and Twist Party with three DJs spinning the sounds of the sizzlin’ season for your drinking and twisting pleasure. On tap are DJs Gaylord Fields (WFMU), Domenic Priore (Riot on Sunset Strip) and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus (Wang host). Comment

Williamsburg: Tillie’s of Brooklyn, 248 DeKalb Avenue in Fort Greene, offers music and art events throughout August. Comment

Williamsburg: In the late fifties, Spider John Koerner borrowed guitar and a Burl Ives songbook, and began a journey which helped shape the course of American country blues and folk music. Comment

Williamsburg: Brooklyn's Theo Kogan, an established musician, model and actress, can now add one more notch to her career belt – makeup entrepreneur. Comment

Williamsburg: The Seaside Summer Concert Series, celebrating an incredible 30 years of the very best in free entertainment, continues at Asser Levy/Seaside Park with consecutive Thursday night concerts featuring some of the biggest names in music. Comment

Williamsburg: Jessie Kilguss and the Steves will be performing 8 p.m., August 8 at Trash Bar in Brooklyn. Comment

Williamsburg: Afro Jazz Sundays is Brooklyn’s newest summer event for live music from African, Caribbean and Latin rhythms interwoven with jazz. Comment

Williamsburg: Alaska’s fiddlin’ poet, Ken Waldman, opens club Jalopy’s August performance schedule on August 8 at 9 p.m. He combines old-time Appalachian-style fiddling, original poetry and mostly Alaska-set storytelling. He will be joined by Eli Smith playing old-time, folk, blues, pre-blues and country music. Smith performs every Wednesday at the Jalopy Theater as part of the Roots ‘n’ Ruckus music collective. Comment

Williamsburg: What’s the Hook?, a community-based photography project, culminates its summer-long series of exhibits with an installation at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists’ Coalition (BWAC) running through August 14 at the Beard Street Warehouse, 499 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. Comment

Williamsburg: Fashion, art & music re-defined describes Backyard Couture, a backyard event held at Harriet’s Alter Ego Boutique & Art Gallery, showcasing emerging designers, local musicians, artists and DJs. Comment

Williamsburg: At the end of another raucous set of comedy on a recent Wednesday, Sound Fix’s John Knefel takes the stage, shouting to an appreciative and well-lubricated audience, “And avoid comedy clubs!” Comment

Williamsburg: A special exhibit opening, “New York State of Mind,” at the Brooklyn Museum, August 14, showcases the paintings, sculptures and photography of adults with mental retardation and developmental disabilities, all of whom are residents of the Institute for Community Living (ICL) and participants in the Art Enhancement Project. Comment

After slogging through the first month and a half of the 2008 season, the Brooklyn Cyclones have begun to make their move. Comment

Eric Campbell, the New York Mets eighth round selection out of Boston College in the 2008, has been one of the most consistent players on the team. Comment

He’s known by some as the “World Kid”, but he’ll be representing both the United States and Brooklyn in the upcoming Beijing Olympics. Comment

The Northeast Conference named St. Francis College graduated senior Katja Bavendam (Hambergen, Germany/Osterholz-Scharmbeck) its 2007-08 Women’s Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Bavendam, a women’s basketball player, receive the honor by virtue of her exceptional 4.00 grade-point averages (GPA). Comment

Yes, Chicago might be known as the “City of the Big Shoulders,” but don’t sell Brooklyn short when it comes to upper-body burliness. Comment

Flatbush: The front line on the war on terror is being waged not in some faraway country — but apparently right here in Brooklyn, where local yeshivas and synagogues recently received over $1 million to fortify their operations. Comment

Flatbush: The city is implementing safety improvements at local schools. Comment

Flatbush: A checks-and-balances system should be put in place to oversee the city Department of Education (DOE), according to a city official. Comment

Flatbush: Brooklyn’s hippest subway is also the city’s best, a commuter advocacy group determined this week. Comment

Canarsie: Brown Memorial Baptist Church will host its Seventh Annual “Taking it to the Street” Community Street Fair Washington Avenue between Fulton and Gates avenues, August 23. Comment

Canarsie: The Division of Dental Medicine at New York Methodist Hospital will provide free dental screenings as part of Pediatric Dental Awareness Days. Comment

Bay News: We have long forgotten the date, but we can’t ever forget that infamous Easter Sunday, during the second term of John Lindsay’s mayoral administration. Comment

Bay News: I don’t care if you’re Republican, Democrat, Conservative, Liberal or Independent, you cannot watch WABC’S very successful “The View” without feeling sorry for the gangbanging of the lone Republican on the panel, Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Although Whoopie Goldberg is much better in that slot than Rosie O’Donnell, she tends to join the gangbang whenever possible and I find the groups debasing the President every chance they can in a way that is offensive to his office and to this country. Comment

At the behest of Rep. Anthony Weiner, the House of Representatives has allocated $5 million for a pilot technology that uses wireless sensors to evaluate the safety of bridges. Comment

New York City College of Technology Biology Professors Nasreen and Niloufar Haque have announced preliminary findings of their research on the “white stuff” in Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal. Comment

Crime: Bruiser search Comment

Bay News: Tunnel maven Bob Diamond is hoping to be surrounded by strangers when he celebrates a very special anniversary this month. Comment

Williamsburg: Tunnel maven Bob Diamond is hoping to be surrounded by strangers when he celebrates a very special anniversary this month. Comment

Williamsburg: It was a beautiful day in East Williamsburg at the Sunshine Community Garden, which held a community barbecue to celebrate the hard work members had put in weeding, cleaning and planting during chillier months. More than two dozen community members came to celebrate the garden which has been delighting Graham Avenue residents for 17 years. Comment

Williamsburg: Call it payback for support, but Rep. Ed Towns brought out the heavy hitters last week to Starrett City to praise his work in helping to keep the sprawling housing complex affordable. Comment

Williamsburg: Janette Sadik-Khan, commissioner for the New York City Department of Transportation, will be among the speakers at the next quarterly Brooklyn Real Estate Roundtable Luncheon, August 5. Comment

Williamsburg: Three years ago, the city approved the waterfront inclusionary zoning plan, a step in preserving affordable housing in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Comment

Williamsburg: It’s (almost) official: Moore Street Market, better known to many Southsiders as “La Marqueta de Williamsburg,” will stay open for at least two more years. Comment

Williamsburg: The first thing his loved ones mention about him is his smile. Comment

Williamsburg: The countdown to the end of summer concerts at McCarren Pool has begun, and New York’s concert fans seem content to swell the pool for the remainder of the season. Comment

Williamsburg: For the second straight Saturday, Bedford Avenue became an inviting pedestrian plaza as its streets were closed to vehicle traffic from N. 9th Street to Metropolitan Avenue. Comment

Williamsburg: Six days a week, Jerry Virtuoso rises early, arriving at the Lorimer Market at 6 a.m. to begin work on the day’s selection of prepared foods. Comment

Williamsburg: What had been a quiet two-week celebration of the Feast of the Giglio erupted in violence during the last weekend as a vendor and her disabled husband were assaulted while they cleaned up their stand on the corner of North 7th and Havemeyer Street on July 19, stunned witnesses said. Comment

Williamsburg: Borough President Marty Markowitz brought home nearly $90 million worth of bacon in capital funding from the fiscal year 2009 city budget, according to borough hall documents. Comment

Williamsburg: Citing increasing costs, annual deficits and a mountain of debt, Long Island College Hospital announced last week that it plans on discontinuing its obstetrical services. Comment

Williamsburg: A rash of violence, much of it believed to be gang-related, has erupted in Williamsburg, piercing what has been a calm and relatively peaceful summer in the neighborhood’s south side. Comment

Williamsburg: Wyckoff Heights Medical Center has dismissed its chief executive officer for the second time in six months, appointing Steve Nathan as interim CEO to manage the hospital during its continuing restructuring. Comment

Williamsburg: Newtown Creek Alliance members hope that two new initiatives, a Brownfield grant and an online mapping project, will help energize residents towards monitoring polluted sites in Greenpoint and put pressure on elected officials to work to clean the property up. Comment

Williamsburg: Laura Hofmann and her husband were walking on the Newtown Creek Nature Walk at the end of May when they saw debris washing up on the banks of the pathway. Comment

Williamsburg: Matthew Miller wants to show you how he creates such vibrant, almost Rembrant-like portraits. At the Pocket Utopia gallery (1037 Flushing Avenue), six of Miller’s paintings, most of them self-portraits, are accompanied by dozens of three-foot-high sketches. Some of them look almost like cartoon storyboards with Chinese characters, or initial blocking for future portraits, but most of them are their own images. Comment

Williamsburg: Thousands of indie rock fans braved steamy temperatures to hear The Liars, F—k Buttons, and Team Robespierre bring their eclectic sounds to McCarren Park Pool, located on Lorimer Street between Driggs Avenue and Bayard Street. Comment

Letters: Editor’s Note: This is a copy of a letter sent to Councilmember Bill de Blasio. Comment

Letters: Shavana Abruzzo, I was amused by the spurious analysis of your column (“Questions loom about Bam’s blood ties,” A Britisher’s View). Comment

Letters: Shavana Abruzzo, my eye was immediately drawn to your column in the July 11 issue (“Life, liberty and the pursuit of non-patriotism,” A Britisher’s View). Comment

Williamsburg: Andrew Davis really loves skateboards, and last weekend he was banking on the fact that he wasn’t alone. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Tunnel maven Bob Diamond is hoping to be surrounded by strangers when he celebrates a very special anniversary this month. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Elected officials and public housing residents chanting “Tear down the buildings” competed with the harried voices of local preservationists last week in the latest round over the 10 dilapidated mansions known as Admiral’s Row. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: At the behest of Rep. Anthony Weiner, the House of Representatives has allocated $5 million for a pilot technology that uses wireless sensors to evaluate the safety of bridges. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Brooklyn is known for its way of embracing immigrants, who enrich the diverse borough with their energy and diversity. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Calvary Hospital hosted the 11th session of Camp Courageous, a children’s bereavement camp located at Arrow Park in Monroe, NY, surrounded by the beautiful and vast Sterling Forest. The 26 participants this year have all attended the children and teen bereavement programs, which Calvary, 150 55th Street, offers year-round. The camp provided a safe, nurturing environment for the children of diverse backgrounds to validate feelings, offer hope, and have fun for a few hours every day. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Brooklyn’s hippest subway is also the city’s best, a commuter advocacy group determined this week. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: A normally bucolic day at Prospect Park took a grisly turn Wednesday when a murdered man was found sprawled out in a thatch of trees and shrubs. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Gertrude Stein’s axiom “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose” has never been truer than in context of the first-ever rose time-lapse video of the Cranford Rose Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG). Comment

Brooklyn Courier: He’s known to many around the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill neighborhoods as the dean of Central Brooklyn politics. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The Hoyt Street Association and Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation present a new weekly August series as part of this summer’s inaugural “Red Flag Wednesdays on Atlantic Avenue.” Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Janette Sadik-Khan, commissioner for the New York City Department of Transportation, will be among the speakers at the next quarterly Brooklyn Real Estate Roundtable Luncheon, August 5. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: This fall, Brooklyn Women’s Services will begin an ongoing Parenting Support Group for Mothers, which will offer support and teach skills needed to parent effectively while looking at how our own experience as children impacts our parenting styles. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: You wouldn’t think anything was wrong with little Jewel Sulker when you first meet her, but her mother and a state senator have been desperately scrambling to save her life. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Citing increasing costs, annual deficits and a mountain of debt, Long Island College Hospital announced last week that it plans on discontinuing its obstetrical services. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The upcoming 21st Senate District Democratic primary on September 9 is turning ugly. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The Brooklyn Young Mothers’ Collective (BYMC) has announced the creation of the Septima Poinsette Clark Law Center, whose main mission is to provide legal services and information to pregnant and parenting teens in Brooklyn. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The thrill of an evening meander aboard an electric boat through shady woodlands parting the Lullwater lured summer revelers to the Prospect Park Audubon Center for a benefit soiree to raise funds for the emerald empire. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: New York City College of Technology Biology Professors Nasreen and Niloufar Haque have announced preliminary findings of their research on the “white stuff” in Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: For the past several months, the Board of Trustees and senior staff from Continuum and Long Island College Hospital have been discussing approaches and options to secure a bright and prosperous future for LICH. The issues that must be addressed are complex, and the ultimate plan of action will require particular expertise and experience. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: This August, Williamsburg’s hottest and soon-to-be largest residential condominium development, The Edge, and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will host “Mondays Under the Moon.” Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Democracy has suffered under mayoral control. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The city’s method for billing private hospitals for water use is headed for the ER unless steps are taken to resuscitate it soon, an audit released this week concluded. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The Carroll Park Concert Series continues August 6 with Uncle Rock, a singer-songwriter, actor, teacher, former globe-trotting bassist, and erstwhile stay-at-home dad, Robert Burke Warren. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Brooklyn Networks finished 2007 with a 94% placement rate, an average starting wage of more than $12 an hour and 100% of their graduates passed their certification exam. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Downtown Brooklyn’s transformation into a classy business hub began last week with the median strip completion of “Brooklyn Bridge Boulevard.” Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Community Education Councils (CEC) have been rendered ineffective, according to some frustrated members. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Assemblywoman Joan L. Millman and State Senator Martin Connor presented $50,000 in state funding to Bargemusic, a unique floating New York City concert venue. The state funding was used to purchase a tented structure to allow Bargemusic to hold concerts on the rooftop. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Budding sculptors at Prospect Park received tips from the top when the man who created the bronze statue of “Peter and Willie” at Imagination Playground stopped by the recreational space to help them mold their masterpieces. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: In celebration of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s (AAADT’s) 50th anniversary and its mission of making dance accessible to everyone, Ailey will present a special series of free performances and dance classes in Brooklyn, August 7. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: As the fight for the 25th State Senate District heats up, incumbent Martin Connor received a shot in the arm from a handful of his Albany colleagues, all of whom endorsed him for another run this week. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Under legislation signed into law by Governor David Paterson, adopted children will be able to claim two parents of record, even if one parent dies before the adoption is final. Comment

Wyckoff Heights Medical Center’s annual Health Fair had something for everyone: children played with balloon animals and danced to music from Radio Disney while adults and seniors had their blood pressure and blood sugar tested on site. Comment

Greenpoint: Wyckoff Heights Medical Center has dismissed its chief executive officer for the second time in six months, appointing Steve Nathan as interim CEO to manage the hospital during its continuing restructuring. Comment

Greenpoint: A long-rumored bar tied to the late actor Heath Ledger is becoming a reality. Comment

Greenpoint: Three years ago, the city approved the waterfront inclusionary zoning plan, a step in preserving affordable housing in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Comment

By the time Marlow & Sons butcher Tom Mylan had cut a series of longitudinal slits along the back of a 197-pound pig, it was six o’clock and 3rd Ward’s hungry guests were ready for tacos. Comment

Greenpoint: This August, Williamsburg’s hottest and soon-to-be largest residential condominium development, The Edge, and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will host “Mondays Under the Moon.” Comment

Greenpoint: Greenpoint residents heated up with barbecued shish kebabs and cooled down with homemade fruit smoothies this at the Manhattan Avenue Street Fair, sponsored by the North Brooklyn Development Corporation. Comment

Greenpoint: At the behest of Rep. Anthony Weiner, the House of Representatives has allocated $5 million for a pilot technology that uses wireless sensors to evaluate the safety of bridges. Comment

Greenpoint: Tunnel maven Bob Diamond is hoping to be surrounded by strangers when he celebrates a very special anniversary this month. Comment

Greenpoint: What had been a quiet two-week celebration of the Feast of the Giglio erupted in violence during the last weekend as a vendor and her disabled husband were assaulted while they cleaned up their stand on the corner of North 7th and Havemeyer Street on July 19, stunned witnesses said. Comment

Greenpoint: As congressmembers lobby the Environmental Protection Agency to declare Newtown Creek a Superfund site, Riverkeeper keeps on chugging up the river, raising awareness in the community about oil and sewage seeping into the river, polluting the waterway. Comment

Greenpoint: After being displaced from their Greenpoint apartment building for nearly four years, tenants could soon be moving back to 202 Franklin Street, as attorneys neared a settlement in housing court this week. Comment

Greenpoint: You wouldn’t think anything was wrong with little Jewel Sulker when you first meet her, but her mother and a state senator have been desperately scrambling to save her life. Comment

Greenpoint: Newtown Creek Alliance members hope that two new initiatives, a Brownfield grant and an online mapping project, will help energize residents toward monitoring polluted sites in Greenpoint and put pressure on elected officials to work to clean the property up. Comment

Greenpoint: Laura Hofmann and her husband were walking on the Newtown Creek Nature Walk at the end of May when they saw debris washing up on the banks of the pathway. Comment

Greenpoint: Janette Sadik-Khan, commissioner for the New York City Department of Transportation, will be among the speakers at the next quarterly Brooklyn Real Estate Roundtable Luncheon, August 5. Comment

Greenpoint: Barack Obama may have been giving speeches in Europe last weekend, but he missed one heck of a party in Greenpoint. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Elected officials and public housing residents chanting “Tear down the buildings” competed with the harried voices of local preservationists last week in the latest round over the 10 dilapidated mansions known as Admiral’s Row. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Brooklyn Young Filmmakers Center (BYFC) is launching the Fort Greene Information X-Change blog, http://fginfox.blogspot.com, featuring “Neighbor Sketches,” intimate interviews with neighbors from all areas of Fort Greene, from the brownstones to public housing, speaking frankly about class, race, history, neighborhood development, and their fears and hopes. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Brooklyn’s hippest subway is also the city’s best, a commuter advocacy group determined this week. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: A brightly colored banner ushered in the call to revel for residents of St. James Place as they joined friendly forces with local homeowners for a block party. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: A normally bucolic day at Prospect Park took a grisly turn Wednesday when a murdered man was found sprawled out in a thatch of trees and shrubs. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The city is implementing safety improvements at local schools. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Community Education Councils (CEC) have been rendered ineffective, according to some frustrated members. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Citing increasing costs, annual deficits and a mountain of debt, Long Island College Hospital announced last week that it plans on discontinuing its obstetrical services. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: As part of its 150th celebration, LICH is profiling some of the individuals who make the hospital a great community resource. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The city would “support” the creation of a middle school in a controversial new development. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Downtown Brooklyn’s transformation into a classy business hub began last week with the median strip completion of “Brooklyn Bridge Boulevard.” Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Community Board 2 and local civic organizations have been flooded with complaints regarding the repaving of roads coupled with film shoots in Brooklyn Heights. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: One of America’s fastest-growing arts subcultures is continuing its scene along Myrtle Avenue in a series of Sunday Brooklyn Urban Arts Markets this summer. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: As part of its 150th celebration, LICH is profiling some of the individuals who make the hospital a great community resource. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The city is implementing safety improvements at local schools. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Community Education Councils (CEC) have been rendered ineffective, according to some frustrated members. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Downtown Brooklyn’s transformation into a classy business hub began last week with the median strip completion of “Brooklyn Bridge Boulevard.” Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Kids soared on the Gorilla Buster and neighbors prepared grilled goodies to share with loved ones during block party festivities in Carroll Gardens. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Democracy has suffered under mayoral control. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: Brooklyn Young Film-makers Center (BYFC) is launching the Fort Greene Information X-Change blog, http://fginfox.blogspot.com, featuring “Neighbor Sketches,” intimate interviews with neighbors from all areas of Fort Greene, from the brownstones to public housing, speaking frankly about class, race, history, neighborhood development, and their fears and hopes. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: With meteorologists forecasting temperatures flirting with the 90-degree mark this week, it might be wise to re-think a trip to the Carroll Gardens library. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: The zoning text amendment closing Carroll Gardens’ “wide streets” loophole is having an immediate effect on new construction in the community. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: A normally bucolic day at Prospect Park took a grisly turn Wednesday when a murdered man was found sprawled out in a thatch of trees and shrubs. Comment

Brooklyn Courier: An asbestos abatement project abutting a mixed-use development planned at the mouth of the Gowanus Canal is giving some local residents pause as they wonder what the future holds for the remainder of this massive, contaminated site. Comment

Crime: Basement bruiser Comment

Brooklyn Heights: As part of its 150th celebration, LICH is profiling some of the individuals who make the hospital a great community resource. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Brooklyn’s hippest subway is also the city’s best, a commuter advocacy group determined this week. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: The city is implementing safety improvements at local schools. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Community Board 2 and local civic organizations have been flooded with complaints regarding the repaving of roads coupled with film shoots in Brooklyn Heights. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Community Education Councils (CEC) have been rendered ineffective, according to some frustrated members. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Downtown Brooklyn’s transformation into a classy business hub began last week with the median strip completion of “Brooklyn Bridge Boulevard.” Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Citing increasing costs, annual deficits and a mountain of debt, Long Island College Hospital announced last week that it plans on discontinuing its obstetrical services. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Games and good cheer were the order of the day when neighbors bonded over block party festivities in Carroll Gardens. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Score one for parents in Brooklyn Heights. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: In 90-degree heat, 300 volunteer “patients” and more than a hundred SUNY Downstate Medical Center clinical and support staff and administrators participated in a Sunday morning disaster drill to test hospital response to a potentially life-threatening illness associated with cold weather — influenza. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: The city would “support” the creation of a middle school in a controversial new development. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Democracy has suffered under mayoral control. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Call it payback for support, but Rep. Ed Towns brought out the heavy hitters to Starrett City last week to praise his work in helping to keep the sprawling housing complex affordable. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: Elected officials and public housing residents chanting “Tear down the buildings” competed with the harried voices of local preservationists last week in the latest round over the 10 dilapidated mansions known as Admiral’s Row. Comment

Brooklyn Heights: A normally bucolic day at Prospect Park took a grisly turn Wednesday when a murdered man was found sprawled out in a thatch of trees and shrubs. Comment