For more info visit, the Shop Downtown Brooklyn website.

In response to the Department of Building’s recent publication of all the stalled construction sites in the City, Council Member David Yassky has sent the attached letter to Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler. The letter addresses the overwhelming amount of stalled construction sites in the 33rd District and in Williamsburg in particular and it urges the administration to take a number of measures to improve the quality of life issues that have come as a result.

The legislation largely leaves the mayor’s total power over the schools in place, though there are changes in the way contracts are approved and it allows for more oversight by the city’s Independent Budget Office.

The Senate also passed amendments that, among other provisions, would establish a parent training institute and an arts council for the city. The Assembly would have to approve those amendments for them to take effect, though the city has promised to begin implementing them immediately.

But the changes do little reassure the mayor’s critics, who say his power has gone unchecked for the last six years.

…

The Senate passed four separate amendments to the bill that will have to be taken under consideration by the Assembly, which is expected to return to Albany next month to discuss cuts in the state budget.

Besides the parent training center and arts council, the amendments would give school district superintendents greater authority over the monitoring of schools and require every school to have an annual meeting with parents to discuss school safety and the officers who police the schools. John L. Sampson, the Democratic leader of the Senate, pushed for the school safety meetings, writing in support of the amendment that “there is concern that the school safety provisions currently used in New York City schools has may lead to the schools being ‘over-policed.’ ”

The relatively minor changes will do little to change the overarching power the mayor has over the city schools. There were no changes, for example, in the make up of the Panel for Educational Policy, which replaced the Board of Education. The mayor still appoints 8 of its 13 members and can remove his appointees at will.

State Senator Daniel Squadron, who was one of two senators to bring the bill to the Senate for Bloomberg, fired off the following statement soon after the vote:

“Today, New York State’s 62 Senators put New York City’s 1.1 million schoolchildren first. This bill increases transparency and parental involvement while preserving a clear line of authority that holds the mayor accountable for the performance of the schools. With this bill, parents will have a stronger voice and will never have to wonder who is responsible for their children’s education. With continued oversight, this bill will help us close the achievement gap, increase graduation rates and move us toward providing a world-class education for every single child in this city.”

According to the Daily News’ Liz Benjamin, the debate got quite heated today about Squadron:

The debate, which lasted for about two hours, reached a fever pitch when Sen. Shirley Huntley, who had been a holdout and outspoken critic of mayoral control, took the floor. … She then turned her fire on fellow member of her conference, Sen. Dan Squadron, who carried the Assembly bill for the mayor along with GOP Sen. Frank Padavan.
“Listen to Sen. Squadron…he seems to know so much about children, which is amazing since he’s barely an adult himself,” said Huntley.”

BP Markowitz also issued the following statement:

“I commend the State Senate for, as always, putting the best interests of our city school children first. I am confident that, with final legislative approval, the return of school governance will provide the stability our students, parents, teacher and schools need to make a smooth transition into the new school year and continue moving New York City public schools to the head of the class. I applaud Mayor Bloomberg, the Senate Democratic leadership and the temporary Board of Education convened following the sunset of mayoral control for working together in making our children ‘priority one’ and empowering parents, which I have always said was necessary to enhance the delivery of quality education and to ensure more accountability and transparency in the system. It’s time to get back to class and do what should always be at the top of every lesson plan—provide a quality education to the students of New York City.”

>> Andrea Mocci and Giovanna Fadda plan to open a new Italian restaurant at the old River Deli by October (BHB/Sarah Portlock)

BHB caught up with Andrea Mocci and Giovanna Fadda yesterday, who are the new leaseholders at the former River Deli at 34 Columbia Place, at the base of Joralemon Street. The couple, who moved to New York from Sardinia nearly three years ago, hopes to open an Italian restaurant or café in the spot by mid-October.

“We’ll have pasta, pizza, steaks, and fish,” Mocci said.

The pair has applied for a liquor license, but Mocci noted that he doesn’t plan to open a loud bar, as neighbors sometimes fear.

“It won’t be a noisy bar — it’s not our intention to have that,” he said. “We’d like to serve some good food.”

Mocci and Fadda first found the long-empty space two years ago when they spent weekends at the temporary pool off Pier 5, and realized it would be the perfect spot for a restaurant. Fadda is currently the manager of a wine bar on Mott Street in Manhattan.

According to their liquor license application, which was approved in June by Community Board 2, the restaurant will be open for dinner until midnight on Sunday through Thursday, and 1 am on Friday and Saturday, and be open for brunch on Saturday and Sunday. They hope to have an outdoor seating area, and will sound proof the ceiling, Fadda told CB2.

Last summer, a miscommunication among gardeners led to a mob-like hit on two local trees: these juniper trees at the corner of Remsen and Hicks streets were buried alive in concrete. But local activisits — including the Brooklyn Heights Association — lept to action, reached out to local media, and saved the trees. We checked out the plot yesterday, and looks like everything is ok. Whew!

>> 72 Poplar Street, as of last week

Owners behind the 72 Poplar Street conversion project have been sent back to the drawing board once again.

Last week, the Landmarks Preservation Commission “strongly recommended” that the owners behind a plan to convert the former precinct house into a rental building rethink their designs.

“The commissioners felt that the addition was too big and asked them to seriously restudy the proposal for the project,” explained Landmarks spokeswoman Lisi DeBourbon. “The application wasn’t expressly denied, and there was no vote, but they did strongly urge the applicant to go back to the drawing board.”

The owner, Regal Investments, had envisioned including a two-story addition to the building’s garage and main building, which would be comprised of a precast concrete hanging wall, according to a presentation before Community Board 2 in April. The garage will be converted into a four-story, 35’ one- or two-family home, explained architect Andrew Fredman, and the addition to the original building will not be visible from the street because of its sight lines. Ground floor space will be for medical offices, and the developer is completely restoring the original iron window gates, brickwork, and framing along the building’s façade. Renderings are here.

An owner of the building, Bill Punch, told BHB on Monday that he is still sorting out the project’s next steps.

“We don’t have any plans yet,” he said.

Fredman told BHB today that he and his client are discussing how to respond to Landmarks’ comments.

Once the owners present Landmarks with a new plan, the Board will hold another public hearing on the proposal and vote, DeBourbon said.

Read the Eagle’s account here.

(Photo credit BHB/Sarah Portlock)

>> Lights out at 1-800-Mattress on Montague Street (BHB/Sarah Portlock)

The brick-and-mortar outposts of the 1800Matress.com company are closing down nationwide after the company filed for bankruptcy in March, now marking yet another vacant storefront on Montague Street.

Sleepy’s then acquired the telephone and Web properties of Dial-a-Mattress in a $25-million deal, but shuttered its remaining 20 showrooms, according to a Montague Street Sleepy’s salesman and an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal that details the company’s demise.

Thanks to Bornhere for pointing out 1-800-Mattres’ closing.

What would you want to see in the spot at 136 Montague St., near Henry Street?

An owner told BHB this morning that there was some confusion over zoning and the café had to reapply for its sidewalk café license, but now things are clearing up.

“It should be back towards the end of the month,” she explained.

Per Marty’s full release:

BP MARKOWITZ ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF “SHOP BROOKLYN” BOUTIQUE FASHION NIGHTS

On Wednesday, July 29 and Thursday, July 30, Brooklyn Tourism, in association with wunderbloc.com, will present Shop Brooklyn Boutique Fashion Nights. On both nights, participating boutiques in five fashion districts—Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene/Bedford-Stuyvesant, Park Slope, Williamsburg and Bay Ridge—will remain open until 10pm. Each shop will feature a unique experience, including hosting a designer, trunk shows and wine and cheese, and many will have discount offerings. The featured shopping districts are also home to many restaurants and clubs to enhance the shopping night out.

“Forget Milan, forget Manhattan—for unique boutiques and fierce fashion finds, strut down the catwalk to Brooklyn, USA,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. “The boutique industry really ‘glams up’ Brooklyn’s economy, so I am delighted that Shop Brooklyn Boutique Fashion Nights will give everyone a chance to load up on the labels for that must-have wardrobe. You know the old saying: clothes make the man—and woman. So if you want to dress for success or simply for fun, Brooklyn should be your one-stop, ‘shop ’til you drop’ fashion destination.”

Shop Brooklyn Boutique Fashion Nights is a pilot initiative that has grown out of the annual Shop Brooklyn program, an awareness campaign highlighting the uniqueness of Brooklyn’s neighborhoods and thriving shopping corridors. Shop Brooklyn Boutique Fashion Nights will not only call attention to Brooklyn stores but to many local designers that live and work in what BP Markowitz likes to call the “Creative Capital of New York City.”

“I carry mostly locally designed products, so the idea of participating in this project seems like the perfect opportunity to shine a spotlight on local designers,” said Karen Van Every, owner of Serimony in Carroll Gardens. “Brooklyn’s retail community really does have its own unique flavor, and there’s no better example than our one-of-a-kind boutiques.”

“From Fort Greene to Park Slope to Williamsburg, there really is something unique about Brooklyn’s community of boutiques and designers,” said Leticia Mulzac, owner of Home & Abroad in Boerum Hill. “It’s a very nurturing community, very creative and very free-thinking. Nothing is ever cookie-cutter here.”

For more information on Shop Brooklyn Boutique Fashion Nights and updates on participating vendors, visit www.visitbrooklyn.org, www.ishopbrooklyn.com, www.wunderbloc.com, or call 718-802-3846.

The banks included HSBC, Chase and Signature Bank.

The three men and one woman are charged with stealing $422,000 over five years by exploiting Federal Reserve Board Regulation E, which governs electronic banking and requires banks to reimburse accounts of customers who claim their ATM cards have been used without their permission, according to a press release issued Tuesday by the Brooklyn District Attorney, Charles Hynes. The defendants allegedly made false claims totaling $700,000.

“These defendants corrupted a law created to help fraud victims and used it to facilitate a tremendous fraud of their own,” Hynes said in a statement. “But as in any criminal undertaking in Brooklyn, they should have known they would be caught eventually.”

Attorneys for the defendants — Eric Manganelli, 36; Lam Dang, 37; John Tluczek, 37; and Marzena Tluczek, 35 — said their clients pleaded not guilty, according to the New York Times.

The Daily News breaks down the scheme:

Beginning in 2003, Eric Manganelli, Lam Dang, John Tluczek, and Tluczek’s wife, Marzena Tluczek, deposited money in bank accounts across the city, taking out something like $20 legitimately to start things up, waiting a week and then taking out $500 to $1,000 a day until the account was empty.

They would then report missing or stolen cards and pin numbers, sometimes giving “excuses” that were at times “absolutely absurd,” Assistant District Attorney Karen Turner said.

In 2008, Manganelli reported he lost a slew of cards and a computer spreadsheet of PIN numbers when he went to his safe-deposit box and left them on the examining room table, Turner said.

The scam depended on Regulation E and Manganelli, 36, a well-connected lawyer who boasted on one Web site of having been a “high-ranking member of political campaigns,” often wrote threatening letters to banks asking for their money.

Manganelli and John Tluczek, 35, met at Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where Manganelli was valedictorian, prosecutors said. They met Dang, 37, who is a financial consultant, when they went to NYU.

The scheme came to light after an investigator at Wachovia Bank called another bank and began comparing notes.

And, according to Hynes:

In each case, the defendants opened accounts and padded them with large deposits, over the course of several months. Later, the indictment charges, they drained the accounts, with withdrawals of $500 to $1,000 per day. Once the accounts were empty, the defendants would contact the bank and say their ATM cards had been stolen or lost and that the withdrawals were unauthorized. After the banks reimbursed the “stolen” money, the defendants would close the accounts, according to the indictment.

Occasionally, large purchases were made, instead of withdrawals, but in those cases too, the cards were later reported stolen and the purchases, unauthorized.

In most cases, surveillance photos show the withdrawals made by people dressed in pants, jackets, and motorcycle helmets — even in the middle of the day in July — but in other cases the faces of the people taking out the cash were obscured in other ways, such as in hoods or covered by masks.

((The Poplar Street garden, looking toward the BQE from the koi pond; photo courtesy Bill Spier))

In a formerly-empty lot on Poplar Street sits one of the borough’s richest and lushest private gardens. It’s almost like the Heights’ own Gramercy Park, but here passersby can look in and see flowers from the sidewalk and still get that pleasant satisfaction of nature all around us. This week, BHB got a tour of the garden, and will post a video tour for you soon. A photography slideshow is below.

The 1-acre Bridge Harbor Heights Garden is home to more than 300 different plants; at least six species of birds (including migratory ones, season permitting); a koi from Fortune House (until recently, there were two); and a hive of bumblebees. The garden wraps around residential buildings on Poplar Street, between Hicks and Henry streets, and rests along Old Fulton Street (and the residents’ parking lot) to the north.

(Slideshow after the jump)

Sixteen years ago, Ford Rogers embarked on the project to build up the garden, and since has transformed the space into a stunning masterpiece. Neighbors William Spier and his son Jason now help Rogers with the garden, going in nearly daily to pull up weeds and make sure everything’s growing in nicely.

Over the course of its history, the team has brought in a rich variety of flower and fauna and have it somewhat divided into a native New York flora section, Japanese plants (it’s a similar climate, Spier said), and an herb garden. The rest of the plants are arranged by what would look good where, and how best to keep a nice ambiance, Spier said.

Asked his favorite part, Spier thought for a minute.

“[The garden] has a particular life of its own — it’s like history itself, it’s a continuous process. It doesn’t exist in parts. It’s one garden, not in parts,” he said.

See below for photos, and we’ll post more as the summer unfolds.

We’re reporting live from the Community Board 2 meeting tonight, and so far the executive committee has unanimously approved a liquor license for the potential Tea Lounge at 41 Clark St. and new facade designs within the Heights Historical District for the new Armando’s and a new Japanese restaurant at 78 Clark Street, in the former Sea Asian spot.

UPDATE 7/28/09:

Here’s more news from last night’s CB2 meeting, in which the executive committee met in lieu of a full board monthly meeting since it’s summer:

About the Tea Lounge approved liquor license: owner Jonathan Spiel assured CB2 that the café was primarily a tea and coffee spot, with muffins and sandwiches and the like. But, in order to spike tea or coffee with Bailey’s or kahlua, he needs a liquor license. “The main source of our business is the café,” he said.

As for the new Japanese restaurant at 78 Clark St., owner Aaron Liu told BHB he hopes to open Moritomo Japanese Cuisine “as soon as possible,” probably by September. He and his architect went before the Board with an application to change the facade by removing the brick columns and restoring the original stucco.

Maria Byros, who will manage the new Armando’s at 143 Montague St., also wants to change the restaurant’s facade by bringing in new windows that won’t have as many panes looking out, yet will have the same shade of painted wood.

The Board unanimously approved both Landmark applications, and Byros’s architect said this application was not related to the famous lobster sign.

BHB just got word that the state Division of Housing & Community Renewal has rejected the landlord’s proposal to build a garage at the Riverside Apartments at the westernmost end of Joralemon Street.

Ken Fisher, the attorney for landlord Pinnacle Group, told BHB, “While we are disappointed, this is only the first level of administrative review at DHCR and we are confident that eventually our Landmarks Commission-approved project will move forward and will meet the needs of both area residents for parking as well as the tenants.”

The Pinnacle Group will file an appeal with the state “shortly,” Fisher said.

We now have the state’s full decision, in which rent administrator Lilia Albano ruled that the landlord’s proposal for a green roof on top of the 100-car underground garage would not adequately replace the courtyard and thus return proper building services to its tenants. It also noted that the trees once saved by the 1950s construction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway would be demolished, thus affecting noise and sight reduction by tenants who overlook the busy roadway.

“It is found that the proposal set forth by the owner to modify services would in fact result in further reduction of services to the tenants,” Albano wrote. “This proposal is in direct conflict with the intended use of this area and the increase in vehicular traffic would be a further negative impact on this service.”

Here’s a PDF copy of the decision.

Riverside Tenants Association Chairman William Ringler said he’s happy with the decision, and confident the landlord’s appeal will be rejected, as it is a rare occurrence that decisions in favor of tenants are overturned.

“This decision is good for all city rent-regulated tenants who have garden areas that the owners may want to remove for the owner’s profit. It is also good for tree preservationists, and ecologically-minded citizens,” he said.

Ringler vowed to keep fighting Pinnacle Group against the proposal, but noted that the tenant’s organization is in debt $11,000 to its legal counsel. “If there’s some Daddy Warbucks out there who would like to send us a few bucks, we could really use it,” he said. If interested, Ringler said to send donations to:
Riverside Tenants Association
Brooklyn GPO, Box 6841
Brooklyn, NY 11202-6841

He added, “Our primary legal representative for this DHCR action was Jon Lilienthal of Collins Dobkin Miller, we were also helped by attorney Joel Kupferman of the NY Environmental Law & Justice Project, and pro-bono counsel Frank Ciaccio. They all did a wonderful job.”

Pinnacle filed its decisions with DHCR to recognize their designs as a “restoration of services,” parallel to its application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. In its decision, DHCR determined that the proposal did not fit that criteria. In November, LPC ultimately approved the project.

Brandworkers leader and carpetbagger Daniel Gross disrupts the quiet enjoyment of Hicks Street residents

Update: The protesters returned AGAIN tonight at 6:20pm
The Brandworkers International protesters were back out at Jack the Horse yesterday evening, handing out literature about the ongoing workers’ rights litigation at the Tavern’s fish supplier, Wild Edibles.

Jack the Horse chef/owner Tim Oltmans tells BHB that the group seemed “more hostile” this time, when they arrived at 6:45 on Thursday evening. One protestor, a fired worker from Wild Edibles, allegedly did not move away from the restaurant’s front door, and supporters were “a little more in people’s faces” with their literature, he said.

We caught up with the union’s executive director, Daniel Gross, today, who said he and the cause’s supporters have no plans to back down, despite Wild Edibles’ claims that a settlement is imminent.

“Negotiations have been going on on and off for now almost two years,” Gross said. “The workers are unable to just rely on the other side, they need to speak directly to folks who are consuming the products.”

But is their message getting through to the customers?

Oltmans said diners told him they were unclear as to what the actual issues were from talking with the protesters and reading the  literature.

“None of my guests seemed to be negatively affected by what was going on and, in fact, several of them stated, ‘I’m ordering fish!,’”
Oltmans said.

We asked him if he has reconsidered where he buys his fish, following this brouhaha. He said:

“I’ve spoken to [Wild Edibles] quite extensively about what’s happened, and they were doing a couple of things that weren’t quite  right and they’re paying overtime back pay and that seems like a good, safe thing for them to do, if they were not paying overtime when they should have been. … So, from my perspective [and] from what [Wild Edibles] has told me and shown me, it appears that they’ve made a good faith effort to resolve the issues and that’s why I don’t understand why [the protests] are ongoing.

“I’ve worked with Wild Edibles for many, many years and I feel some loyalty towards them and want to give them the benefit of the doubt. I know them, and these other guys, I don’t know who they are.”

So, why are they targeting Jack the Horse? Gross said it’s simply one of many restaurants citywide where they are alerting customers to their cause.

And will there be more protests, or something more drastic? Gross said no, not in the immediate future: “We’re not calling for a boycott of Jack the Horse Tavern at this time. We’re asking people to avoid the seafood though if they go there.”

Below: BHB/Scales; Above: BHB/Portlock

Now that the Albany legislative coup is over, our man (formerly “kid”) in the State Senate, Daniel Squadron, can finally focus on his wedding.

This weekend, Squadron will marry his longtime girlfriend, Liz Weinstein, who works in the mayor’s Office of Operations. Daniel and his staff have been very, very tightlipped about any further details surrounding the event, other than to say it’s happening and it’s happening in Manhattan.

But this much we know: Squadron was on the floor of the Senate, voting on 135 bills until 2 am Friday morning, less than 48 hours before his wedding.

The month-long coup that has ground Albany to a halt officially ended on Thursday at 3 pm, when the first regular legislative session since the coup started on June 8 was called to order. Senators then stayed on the floor until they voted on all 135 bills that had been suspended, pending the conflict’s resolution.

And before that, Squadron has been in Albany for the past three weeks — every day, including July 4 — in special sessions called by Governor Paterson.

In a New York Magazine article in January, he said that Weinstein was behind his decision to run for Senate. “I think we were both really worried about what it would mean in terms of how much time we could have together, but she was supportive.”

Best of luck to the new couple!

The tables and chairs from the Montague Street pedestrian plaza have finally found a new home. Each day this summer, the street furniture — 25 tables and 80 chairs in total — will be out in front of Borough Hall for the public from 8 am to 6 pm.

Per an email from Montague Street BID Executive Director Chelsea Mauldin:

As of today, our friends over at the Court-Livingston-Schermerhorn Business Improvement District are making good use of the outdoor tables and chairs Montague Street acquired last year for our pedestrian plaza — more info here.

In a cooperative chair-sharing arrangement, the chairs will make their way back to Montague Street for this year’s pedestrian plazas, scheduled for September 13th, 20th, and 27th.

(BHB photo by Sarah Portlock)

Cops arrested two punks for stealing iPods and cellphones from two victims — the first of whom identified the punks during the second crime. The first incident happened at 11 pm on June 8 just outside the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station, when eight perps surrounded two guys and asked to use their cellphones. Two punks then hit the victims in the head, grabbed their backpacks, and raced away southbound on Hoyt Street. Cops came to the scene and drove around the neighborhood with the two victims, looking out for the perps.

An hour later: victory. As the cops and victims were canvassing, they discovered the hoodlums at it again on Livingston Street, between Bond Street and Hanover Place, where they had just asked a victim to use his phone. One perp said he had a knife and the second said he had a gun, so the victim handed over his phone without a fight. The cops jumped out of the squad car and chased the perps, arresting two of the three perps, ages 14 and 15.

The recent spate of car break-ins is back, after going quiet for a few weeks.

On June 12, a burglar broke into a man’s 2008 Mercedes sedan that he parked in a Schermerhorn Street garage, smashing the windows and stealing the man’s wallet and briefcase. The man parked in the lot, which is between Nevins Street and Third Avenue, at 8:10 pm, but when he came back at 9:45 pm, the damage was done.

Overnight on June 12, a perp looted a car he parked on York Street, smashing through the rear hatch and going wild. The victim parked his car between Gold and Bridge streets at 6 pm, but when he returned the next morning, the thief had stolen two vehicle seats, a CD player, 20 CDs, a folding table, spare tire, an umbrella, flowerpots, four pairs of shoes, and clothes.

In other news, cops arrested four punks after they beat up a 14-year-old boy on the G-train on June 11. There were seven more punks in the gang, who punched and kicked their victim in the head, face, and arms before snatching his Sidekick cellphone and sending him to the hospital. The incident happened around 5 pm while the victim was on the southbound G-train, and the boys ran out at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station. Cops surrounded the boys, grabbed four, but weren’t able to get the phone back.

Payback is tough. Two weeks ago, a popular Montague Street pizzeria fired an employee who, as he was leaving, allegedly said, “I am going to cause harm.” Flash forward to June 11 at 2:30 am, when cops arrived at the hotspot, which is between Clinton and Henry streets, to find the front door smashed through and the basement door lock broken.

Someone stole a woman’s purse from a Hicks Street building lobby on June 8, after the bag was unattended for just 10 minutes. The victim told cops she was unloading her car around 11:45 am and put her bag down on a table in the lobby, which is between Love Lane and Clark Street. But by the time she came back, the bag was gone and with it two digital cameras, jewelry, her iPod, and wallet.

A brazen burglar robbed a 51-year-old at 8:30 am on York Street as she was walking to her sister’s apartment, making off with $1,000 cash and several birth certificates. The incident happened on May 31, when the woman was nearing Jay Street. She told cops that she got so nervous when the man attacked her that she closed her eyes and couldn’t remember what he looked like. But, she remembered that he ran up to her, didn’t say a word, and grabbed her bag.

According to the criminal complaint, Kaufman was arrested on Jan. 20 for an incident on Dec. 19 on the Upper East Side in which he allegedly stole a credit card from a friend, whose apartment he was visiting. He then made a purchase at a McDonald’s on the west side, where security cameras there captured his every move, the complaint states.

Cops charged him with a felony count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a credit card and one count of grand larceny. Read the full complaint here [pdf]. Kaufman is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges in Manhattan criminal court on June 23.

A call to his Legal Aid attorney was not immediately returned.

Meanwhile, prosecutors at the Brooklyn DA’s office are still investigating Kaufman’s alleged wrongdoings in Brooklyn Heights last summer, a spokesman said. Kaufman allegedly swindled customers out of more than $25,000 by running their credit cards through the machines after they ate at the Busy Chef, Oven, Blue Pig, or Wine Bar restaurants at the corner of Henry and Cranberry streets. That case has been removed from the city’s online criminal tracking system during the course of the investigation.

“I can tell you that our case is alive and well,” said DA spokesman Jonah Bruno. “We haven’t brought the indictment yet, but there is still a case there.”

#4 Ari Raskin, Brooklyn, New York

Raskin founded Chabad of Brooklyn Heights and became the head of B’nai Avraham Synagogue both at the ripe age of 21. Ambitious and intelligent, he’s a prolific writer who has penned two books to date – Letters of Light and The Rabbi and the CEO
– with another soon going to print. And let’s not forget that he also earned the distinction of being the first Chabad rabbi to ever appear on the cover of National Geographic in 2006.

As for that second book, it’s about his letters on the weekly Parsha, or his Jewish lessons. Raskin tells BHB that he’s soliciting suggestions for the book’s title, and the winner gets a free ticket to the 2010 synagogue anniversary dinner. For more information, call Congregation B’Nai Avraham at (718) 596-4840.

Update 6/22/09: Raskin just sent us the following description of his new book:

My new work is a sequel to my first book, Letters of Light: A Mystical Journey through the Hebrew Alphabet. Again, I look at the letters. However, this time, I focus on large and small letters, as well as missing letters, in the context of each Torah portion, revealing new insights via the use of Chassidus and Kabbalah.

Congratulations to Rabbi Raskin!

(BHB/Sarah Portlock)

The fast-food joint Checkers opened on Tuesday at 111 Court St., in the former Busy Chef spot, bringing yet another hamburger option for Downtown Brooklynites. Franchise owner Shaista Siddiqui told BHB she’s excited “to become part of this community.”

The restaurant serves burgers, bacon-wrapped burgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken fingers, and delicious spicy fries. And, the milkshakes are thick and taste wonderful. Best of all, there’s a cute outdoor patio in the back if you weave around the hallway, past the bathrooms (see photo below).

The hotspot will be open late — on Monday through Thursday, it’s open from 11 am to 1 am, Friday and Saturday until 2 am, and Sundays until midnight. Safe to say, however, there is no drive-thru. But there are those milkshakes until 2 am!

Here are more pictures from yesterday’s grand opening:

PER CURIAM.Alan H. Young has submitted an affidavit dated November 7, 2008, wherein he tenders his resignation as an attorney and counselor-at-law (22 NYCRR 691.9). Mr. Young was admitted to the Bar at a term of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the Second Judicial Department on February 21, 1973, under the name Alan Howard Young.

Mr. Young is aware that he is the subject of an investigation by the Grievance Committee for the Second, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Judicial Districts into allegations of irregularities in his attorney escrow account. He acknowledges his inability to successfully defend himself on the merits against any disciplinary charges which may be brought against him by the Grievance Committee based upon the facts and circumstances of professional conduct referred to herein and which may be brought to light in the future.

Mr. Young avers that his resignation is freely and voluntarily tendered and that he is not subject to coercion or duress by anyone. He has discussed his decision to resign with his attorney, and he is fully aware of the implications of its submission, including being barred by Judiciary Law § 90 and the Rules of the Appellate Division, Second Department, from seeking reinstatement for at least seven years.

Mr. Young is further aware that pursuant to Judiciary Law § 90(6-a), any order permitting him to resign could require him to make monetary restitution to any person or persons whose money or property was misappropriated or misapplied or to reimburse the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection for same. Mr. Young acknowledges that any order issued pursuant to Judiciary Law § 90(6-a) could be entered as a civil judgment against him and he specifically waives the opportunity afforded him by Judiciary Law § 90(6-a)(f) to be heard in opposition thereto.

The Grievance Committee recommends acceptance of the proffered resignation.

Inasmuch as the resignation complies with the requirements of 22 NYCRR 691.9, it is accepted and, effective immediately, Alan H. Young, admitted as Alan Howard Young, is disbarred, and his name is stricken from the roll of attorneys and counselors-at-law.
MASTRO, J.P., RIVERA, SPOLZINO, SKELOS and LEVENTHAL, JJ., concur.

Also, it took no time to update his online attorney profile.

(BHB/Sarah Portlock)

The next two weeks are busy for community meetings — there’s the usual Community Board business, as well as updates on the BQE triple cantilever reconstruction project and city Department of Transportation’s ongoing project to rework Tillary Street and surface transit in Downtown. Here’s the calendar:

(1) Tonight, Monday, at 6 pm, is Community Board 2’s parks committee meeting. But district manager Rob Perris said there’s nothing slated for the agenda. Regardless, the meeting is at Brooklyn Hospital, dining rooms A and B (DeKalb Avenue, at St. Felix Street).

(2) Tomorrow, Tuesday night, is CB2’s transportation committee meeting, at 6 pm at St. Francis College’s first-floor boardroom (180 Remsen St., between Clinton and Court streets). On the agenda is an application for a new sidewalk café at the Brooklyn Heights Wine Bar. And, the committee will review the environmental impact statement for the BQE’s triple cantilever reconstruction project. (For more information about a separate BQE meeting, see below.)

(3) Also on Tuesday night is the 84th Precinct Community Council meeting, at 7 pm at 45 Main St., in DUMBO (between Water and Front streets). On the agenda is a crime update from the precinct’s commanding officer, Captain Mark DiPaolo.

(4) On Wednesday night, June 17, the CB2 land use committee will meet at 6 pm at Polytech’s Silleck Lounge in the Rogers/Jacobs buildings (327 Jay St., between Myrtle Avenue Promenade and Johnson Street). There are four landmark items up for discussion, but they are for home improvements at private homes on Columbia Heights, Bergen Street, and two in Fort Greene.

(5) Also due on Wednesday is an RSVP to participate in next week’s Tillary Street reconstruction project workshop. The Department of Transportation wants to hear your thoughts about the street and how it can be improved and reconceptualized. The city is completely reconstructing the street in 2012. For more information about the meeting, here’s a link to the project’s Web site. RSVP by June 17 to or call (718) 222-7259. The meeting itself is next Tuesday (6/23/09).

There are two big transportation meetings next week — here’s a heads’ up of what’s to come.

(6) On Monday (6/22/09) evening, the state Department of Transportation will host its latest public meeting about the major reconstruction project along the triple cantilevered portion of the BQE from Sands Street to Atlantic Avenue, and directly underneath the Promenade. Project managers will present the draft Environmental Impact Statement and draft Scoping Document, which provide descriptions of the project’s purpose and need, range of alternatives proposed, proposed process to involve the public, and methodologies and related study areas proposed for evaluating alternative environmental impact statements, according to the site.

You can download the DEIS PDF here or on the Web site, where project managers are posting important public documents and relevant background information. If you’re interested in the project, definitely check it out — it’s all information that sometimes tends to be obscured.

There will be two meetings on Monday, June 22 — one from 3-6 pm and again from 7-10 pm — at Polytech’s Pfizer Auditorium (5 Metrotech, along Myrtle Avenue Promenade between Jay Street and Flatbush Avenue Extension).

(7) The aforementioned city DOT Tillary Street public comment meeting is on Tuesday (6/23/09), from 6:30-8 pm, at Borough Hall (209 Joralemon St., between Adams and Court streets).

(8) And, lastly, on Thursday (6/25/09), the city Department of Transportation meeting  will present the initial results from a DOT/MTA investigation into the existing surface transit conditions in Downtown Brooklyn, and the public can comment about what works, what doesn’t, and what improvements you’d like to see. Here’s a pdf flyer for the meeting, which is on Thursday, June 25 from 5:30-8 pm at Polytech’s Dibner Library (5 Metrotech, between Jay Street and Flatbush Avenue Extension). There will be two presentations of the study, at 6:15 pm and 7 pm.

((courtesy Groundswell))

Notice something different cropping up along Tillary Street this week? A new public art mural of worker bees buzzing back and forth is now on display along the 200-foot concrete traffic barrier there. The nonprofit group behind the artwork, Groundswell, and the city Transportation Department will formally unveil the mural on Saturday morning at 11 am, at the intersection of Tillary and Jay streets in Downtown Brooklyn.

Per Groundswell’s press release:

Groundswell is proud to unveil “Worker Bees”, a new 200 ft long work of public art in Downtown Brooklyn. In partnership with the Department of Transportation, Groundswell’s Teen Empowerment Mural Apprenticeship (TEMA) after-school group created this 200 x 3.5 ft mosaic and acrylic mural for a 200-foot long concrete traffic barrier at Tillary Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The mural team took a small process in nature (pollination) and showed its significance on a larger scale. Focusing on human interaction and interference with nature, the mural displays similarities between humans and bees (e.g., work, class, hierarchy).

Translating these similarities into a visual narrative, the mural follows the path of bike/car traffic, starting at the beginning of the traffic barrier and ending at the traffic light at Cadman Plaza where people travel to and from work. The piece is on both sides of the 200-foot long barrier.

For more information about the project, visit Groundswell’s Web site.

St. Ann’s, perhaps best known for presenting ground-breaking work from the Wooster Group and for the recent Scottish production of “Black Watch,” has two more seasons at its Water Street location before moving, Ms. Feldman said. She said an “ideal choice” would be moving into the nearby Civil-War era Tobacco Warehouse, on the Brooklyn Waterfront, where St. Ann’s produced “Macbeth” last summer.

That warehouse is a landmark, however, managed by the state agency in charge of parks and historic preservation, and it is far from clear if the state — not to mention the vocal preservationists of New York City — would allow St. Ann’s to use the space, Ms. Feldman said.

Other spaces in and around Brooklyn Bridge Park, Vinegar Hill, and Dumbo might also be options, but Ms. Feldman noted the challenge of finding open warehouse space that is physically and acoustically suited to theater. As patrons of the popular “Black Watch” may remember, the current St. Ann’s is a large rectangular space where seating can be easily moved to fit the show.

((Revised Dock St rendering, post-DCP amendments))

((Click here for a downloadable PDF of the revised renderings.))

We’re live-blogging, sort of, the Dock Street DUMBO vote before City Council this afternoon. The full Council just voted 39-9 in support of the project, with the no-votes from Councilmembers Tony Avella, Charles Barron, Bill DeBlasio, Vincent Gentile, Eric Gioia, John Liu, Peter Vallone, and, of course, David Yassky. The vote itself was for the necessary rezoning that the developer, Two Trees Management, needs to build its 17-story residential tower in DUMBO.

More quotes from dissenting voters, comments, and reactions forthcoming, including transcripts from Council members for and against the project. (Update 5:17 pm: Those quotes are now at the bottom of this post!)

In the meantime, here are initial reactions from Walentas, Yassky, and the DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance:

Yassky, immediately post-vote:

“I”m disappointed that the City Council made a bad decision. I guess I hope — maybe it’s foolish, but I would still hope that the property owner sees the broader public interest in protecting the Brooklyn Bridge and doesn’t change the views as you walk over the bridge.”

And DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance President Gus Sheha, who strongly opposes the project, just sent out his lengthy statement, printed here in its entirety:

“Today, the 2009 New York City Council, signed the deed allowing the sale of one of the most identifiable national landmarks and one of the most striking man-made structures in the history of the Unites States of America, the Brooklyn Bridge.”

“Those who have fought hard to oppose the Dock Street development are disenchanted and disenfranchised by our elected officials, who after wide-spread opposition to this zoning change, which included 25,000+ signatures and postcards, 8 neighborhood organizations, the National Trust, the Municipal Art Society, the Historic Districts Council, Architecture Society of New York City, the Roebling Society – Chapter for Industrial Archeology, the American History Museum of the Smithsonian, Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough, cinematographer Ken Burns, the Roebling Family and more, the “will of the people” was disregarded. Community and civic mobilization, always promoted by elected officials as a way for communities to be heard, was completely ignored.”

“It is clear that ‘the fix’ was indeed in long before the ULURP process began, an insult to all law abiding, tax paying, community promoting citizens of not only our city, but our country. The pay-to-play politics, conflicts of interest and special interests infiltrating our halls of local government are the reasons behind the public’s disinterest and apathy towards our politicians and government. Moreover, the apparent collusion and corruption with the developer of city agencies, sworn to protect the interests of the tax paying public, are nothing but favor dolling machines with very little public integrity.”

“Mr. McCullough, in describing the Brooklyn Bridge, has poetically stated, ‘None of us had a hand in building it. None of us contributed a thing to its architectural grandeur or its pioneering technology. None of us were injured in the effort, or suffered from the bends for our labors beneath the river, or died in accidents. They did all that, those men and women of that vanished time. And they built superbly. They set an example of how things can be done right.’ Today let it be told, the New York City Council did everything but set an example on how things can be done right. We’d like to commend council members Avella, Barron, DeBlasio, Gentile, Gerson, Gioia, Liu, Vallone and Yassky for taking a stand and showing the rest of council what doing the right thing is all about.”

“To our members, neighbors and admirers of the Brooklyn Bridge, far and wide, we assure you that our fight against Dock Street does not end here. As stewards of the Brooklyn Bridge, we are exploring various legal and governmental investigatory actions to counter the assault committed by Two Trees Management, aided and abetted by City Council, on our cultural heritage and history.”

Developer Jed Walentas, through his spokeswoman Barbara Wagner, fired off the following statement literally moments after the vote:

“We are grateful for today’s vote by the City Council approving Dock Street Dumbo and want to thank all the Council members for their careful deliberations and support. Two Trees is both honored and proud to be able to provide the community with a new middle school, affordable housing and a thoughtful, environmentally friendly green building that will add to the vibrant, historic waterfront neighborhood of DUMBO.”

Comments from Council members for and against the rezoning proposal and project itself, as transcribed before each member’s vote:

Charles Barron (D-Canarsie):

“The 80-20 formula to me is not affordable, to me development should pay more and do more with affordability. The debate was reduced to someone wanting a better view of the Brooklyn Bridge and affordable housing.”

David Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights):

“When I think about what’s at stake in this application is the Verizon Building on the New York side of the Brooklyn Bridge. Any of us who have walked over toward Manhattan know that the experience of the bridge is marred by the presence of a big ugly bldg that’s right in your view.

“I’m not saying the building proposed here will be as unattractive or as devastating as that building, but when you have one of the armful of treasures in the entire city that is the experience of walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, I think it would just be a mistake to tamper with it in any way and for that reason I am opposed to this.”

Letitia James, D-Fort Greene:

“I urge my colleagues to vote in support of the Dock Street project because it holds the promise of hundreds of new middle school seats in for children in Downtown Brooklyn, proposed to build 300 seat in a privately funded, “green” LEED-certified building that will also create DUMBO’s first very affordable housing. The developer plans to donate a significant portion of the cost of the city as well, worth over $40 million. Further, he has already reached out to surrounding community regarding job opportunities for women and minority businesses.

“The Dock Street project is exactly the kind of smart, innovative, carefully-crafted and planned partnership that the future of this city needs, particularly at this time of challenging fiscal needs.

“I’m also well aware of the concerns by some project opponents to proximity to the Bridge, so I took the time to walk the neighborhood. I concluded quite comfortably that Dock Street DUMBO does not pose any kind of threat to the Brooklyn Bridge, which is a position clearly shared by the local community board and city planning commission, along with numerous design professionals, and area parents and others throughout the neighborhood.”

Melinda Katz, D-Queens

“…The [land use] committee voted overwhelmingly in the majority to pass this project. The community board in this community voted overwhelmingly in favor of this project. And I just want to point out right now, in the worse recession that we have seen in decades, economic development and smart projects going forward are going to be the key for the future of this city.

“Moreover, the fact that we are building a school to educate the future of our city and that folks can go there from all over the community is an extremely important aspect of this project that cannot be underestimated, so the land use committee voted in favor if it. I urge my colleagues to vote in this project — it is the right thing to do for the future of this city.”

Bill DeBlasio, D-Park Slope:

“I respect those who disagree with my position in opposition to this plan, but many of our neighborhoods desperately need more affordable housing and classroom space. But, as the proposed development for Dock Street currently stands, I’m not convinced it’s the best or more appropriate way and we must insure that no development project compromises the Brooklyn Bridge. For those reason I vote no.”

Vincent Gentile, D-Bay Ridge:

“I just want to say that the Brooklyn Bridge should never be compromised or overshadowed and there are other resolutions to the issues at hand.”

Larry Seabrook, D-Bronx:

“A couple of days ago I had the opportunity to take a fieldtrip to Brookyn and to see this area that we’re talking about in the DUMBO area. I had not been to area since 1975 … and I was amazed and very pleased to see the development that had taken place there.

I was able to see that the magnificent bridge and the historical site that is there … and I had that opportunity to see what I was actually voting for and to see what could happen. I think that the bridge will maintain all of its integrities and historical aspects based upon what I saw and based upon what I could visualize, from not an architectural point but just visually. The school I think will provide a tremendous opportunity for a well-diverse population that could be there along with the affordable housing that could actually take place.

“It’s a beautiful place for people to be and I think that it would be something that would be very important to have — new housing and the diversity and the school there and I will be casting my vote in the affirmative.”

Peter Vallone, D-Queens:

“I do not believe that anything should be build next to the Brooklyn Bridge that’s higher than the roadway of the Brooklyn Bridge. We would not allow skyscraper next to the statue of liberty and we should not allow this.”

The project, as it stands following amendments from Borough President Marty Markowitz and the Department of City Planning, would rise 17 stories, have 300 residential units, and offer the city a 45,000-square-foot shell for a school. Last week, the Council’s Land Use committee passed the proposal 17-4. Today’s vote signals the end of the city’s public review process for al rezoning applications that was kick-started in January when Community Board 2 first passed the proposal 30-7. Its only flat-out rejection, voting wise, was at CB2′s land use committee, where members voted 7-6 to reject the proposal.

Here are links to other media hits from today’s vote: Brooklyn Paper, New York Times City Room blog, and Crain’s. More to come.

Here‘s the link to the full public review process, and more information about the significance of today’s vote:

Mayoral Review. Mayoral approval is not required. A decision by the City Council to approve or disapprove a land use application is considered to be final unless the Mayor elects to veto a Council action within 5 days of the vote. The Council, by a 2/3 vote, can override a Mayor’s veto of its decision within 10 days of the veto.

There were several robberies in the subway this week — and a small victory for Brooklynites who cars have been stolen borough-wide. For more neighborhood crimes, see Cobble Hill Blog.

First up, cops recovered one of the stolen cars from last week’s blotter. A perp stole a man’s Honda sedan from the corner of Adams and Sands street on May 26, but cops found it two days later on Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene. The only thing missing was the car’s radio and spare key, and cops said the thieves didn’t break any windows, locks, or the ignition.

A burglar broke into a Washington Street office building, between Front and Water streets, overnight, making off with $900 worth of video games and consoles from a fourth-floor office. When an employee got to work on June 7 at 3 pm, he noticed that his front door was broken and the wall next to it was damaged. Inside, he discovered that the company’s two X-Boxes, a Wii, and a Playstation were gone.

A thrillseeking burglar stole a man’s Kawasaki motorcycle overnight on June 6 from Pineapple Street. The victim told cops he parked the bike between Hicks and Henry streets at 9 pm, but when he came back to the next morning it was gone.

Four perps stole a Park Slope man’s iPod as he was riding the 3-train home at 3 am on June 5, cops said. The four punks surrounded the boy, one grabbed his iPhone from his hand, and then the gang darted out of the subway at the Clark Street station.

A brazen burglar walked into a boutique in DUMBO on June 1 and, while the salesgirl was in the backroom, grabbed her wallet and walked out as quickly as he walked in. The security camera shows a man walking in to the Washington Street store, which is at Front Street, at 11:50 am, then reaching his hand into the purse, and then walking out with the wallet in his hand. The victim told cops he had already used her credit cards within minutes, and taken $30 cash.

UPDATE: Squadron’s chief of staff, John Raskin, just sent us this statement:

“As you know, Senator Squadron supports a Democratic State Senate because it is a vital component of reaching the most important goals in our community and our city. This is no time to retreat on such long-held priorities as investing in education, improving public transportation, and creating a more transparent and accountable state government.”