Where there’s smoke there’s fire, we thought.  Or perhaps Kaufman was a tenacious businessman who had made some enemies and they were licking their wounds and looking for revenge any way possible.  In that case this anecdotal evidence would suggest that there was just a lot of sour grapes coming our way from New England.  Was Kaufman a captain of industry or a rascal?  Was there more to the story?

Our first (and only) face to face encounter with Kaufman happened the weekend Busy Chef opened.  We walked in carrying a bag from Garden of Eden.  Kaufman noticed it and claimed that we could buy the same baked goods at Busy Chef because GOE was a client who bought Busy Chef’s “baked on premises” items for their store.  An unsolicited lie right off the bat.  Still, maybe he’s just hustlin’ we thought.

As the great Hunter S. Thompson once said, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”  And so they did. We began corresponding  with someone identifying himself as “Michael Burak” who claimed to be the marketing contact at Busy Chef.   We ran a Q&A, (done via email…we have day jobs, y’know) with him in March 2007.  After that ran,  we sent him some follow up questions based upon comments made on BHB.  His response:

Good evening,

I reminded myself as I remembered our email conversation several weeks ago that I owe you answers to a couple of questions.

Our culinary team consists of:

Chef Cofee

Chef McKearn

Chef Libowitz

Chef Raul

Chef Emma

Chef Jonas

Which supermarkets have we partnered with:

This has taken longer than we had expected, but we will announce as soon as we are able to.

Also, I would like to point out our community involvement this weekend at the local Public School where we donated food, and raffled off a cake. We are open to any ideas, or suggestions on how we can be the best neighbor possible.

Thank you for all your feedback so far, please keep it coming.

Regards,

Michael

Earlier in 2007, we thought it would be in the public interest to share the information we had with “professionals” who we felt would be better equipped to investigate and present the story.  After all, we were a bunch of BLOGGERS doing this for fun and to meet our neighbors, not Woodward and Bernstein.   We thought, the Mainstream Media would know how to handle a potentially juicy story like this, especially if it meant saving the citizens of Brooklyn Heights from becoming victims of fraud.  Right?

Not so much.

We spoke with a reporter at the Brooklyn Paper around May 2007.  The writer expressed interest in following up the story.  Within two weeks the reporter left the newspaper.  Around that time, I was approached by Brooklyn Paper editor-in-chief Gersh Kuntzman to fill in as their Brooklyn Heights columnist while he found a replacement for a departed reporter.  When we sat down to go over what was expected from my fill-in column I shared the Busy Chef info that had come into BHB.

While the paper wrote reviews and news items on Busy Chef it did not delve into his past until Kaufman’s arrest. There was a time when courageous journalists like Mike Wallace would go door knocking and confront alleged con men who appeared to be hanging their shingle in a new town.  The Brooklyn Paper article published this week is one that we’d hoped would have been written before there was an arrest or alleged victims to write about in our area.  Maybe I didn’t sell what we had hard enough - the Boston rent lawsuit, the alleged theft in Vermont and outstanding arrest warrant (later dropped), the emails and message board claims.  The paper published nothing, apparently not pursuing the story. This passage from today’s story in the B’Paper didn’t make the consquences of last year’s lack of coverage look any better:

“We expect that the amount and the time frame [of the scam] will grow,” a law enforcement source told The Brooklyn Paper.

But there may have been reasons, other than thinking this story wasn’t newsworthy, to avoid digging deeper into the story before Kaufman’s run in with the law in Brooklyn.   Busy Chef’s advertising was extremely prominent in the online and print editions of the Brooklyn Paper.   Kaufman was, until his arrest, featured in the paper’s marketing materials.  Did this give him the opportunity to influence the paper’s coverage?  Probably not, but Kaufman reportedly seems to have wanted everyone to think that he did.  And his claims would not be so far fetched given the current dire conditions in the newspaper business.

A source close to Busy Chef claims that Kaufman once bragged about getting me “fired” from the Brooklyn Paper gig.  While that statement made the abrupt ending to my fill-in stint seem suspicious,  I never believed that to be the case.  After all, I had agreed to fill-in on a temporary basis until Kuntzman found a replacement for his departed staffer.   But it is possible, like those in Vermont and Boston had learned before us,  that some folks there may very well have been hypnotized by the spell of the Busted Chef.

A quick update regarding our upcoming — and final — Summer Space Sunday. Once again, Montague Street businesses will be offering free outdoor yoga (11 am, in front of Yoga People, 160 Montague) and free kids’ arts activities (3 pm, in front of NY Kids Club, 125 Montague).

New this Sunday, Pets Emporium (105 Montague) will be hosting a pet adoption event in partnership with In Our Hands Animal Rescue. Kittens, cats, and dogs will be available; all have been fixed and vaccinated. The pet adoption begins at noon.

Enjoy! Keep in mind that this was our first show:

*Awesome voiceover announcer the Legendary Steve Stone.

This is one part of a seven part YouTube series where “Danny” give “KatieBear” a tour of Brooklyn Heights. Great videos to forward to your out of town friends.

In April 2008, Dime opened its 22nd branch in the Borough Park community of Brooklyn, New York, and anticipates opening its 23rd branch by the end of 2008, located on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. At June 30, 2008, the Borough Park branch had $56.6 million of deposits at an average cost of 3.85%.

And according to the Dime Savings Bank website, the new branch will be located at 188 Montague Street.

The Villager: Community Must Have a Stronger Voice…: Currently, liquor license applicants looking for a waiver to the 500-foot rule — a provision that limits the number of on-premises licenses allowed within a 500-foot radius of each other — go before the community board, which then makes a nonbinding recommendation to the State Liquor Authority.

I believe that it is time, for the first time, to create a role for community boards that goes beyond advisory. In residential communities with a high density of licenses, the S.L.A. should require affirmative approval from the community board to grant waivers to the 500-foot rule.

Squadron faces State Senator Martin “Marty” Connor in the Democratic primary in September.

As the food monger awaits possible indictments on several counts including identity theft, Kaufman’s track record in Vermont suggests that this is not the first time he’s been thought to be involved in this type of mischief.

Last year, while following up on a couple of tips BHB received about him, it was discovered that in 2006 he charmed himself into the position of Chief Financial Officer for a light manufacturing firm in Vermont (they wished to remain anonymous, since they feel the incident was an embarrassment for them).

A representative for the manufacturing firm told BHB last year that Kaufman managed to gain the trust of the company’s CEO and founder, despite lacking the proper background for the position. The rep added that the Busted Chef also convinced the CEO that his other employees were defrauding him, while Kaufman himself allegedly plotted to defraud the company.

Unlike the drama unfolding in Brooklyn Heights this month, the Vermont company caught Kaufman in the act early, before he could do any serious damage. The representative told BHB that they discovered suspicious corporate credit card charges of about around $1200 allegedly made by Kaufman. The company contacted police and Kaufman reportedly fled Vermont. While a warrant was issued for his arrest, the company eventually dropped the charges, citing the relatively small amount that was claimed to have been stolen and avoiding further embarrassment.

Also during that year in Vermont, Kaufman managed to become a senior account manager for the web development company Propeller Media Works, where he claimed to have over 10 years of experience working at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. From the September 21st, 2006 edition of the Burlington Free Press:

Dan Kaufman has joined Propeller Media Works LLC — a Burlington Web design, marketing and application development firm — as a senior account manager. Before joining Propeller, Kaufman worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers for more than 10 years, where he served as a client relations team manager. Kaufman holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California Los Angeles, with a major in computer science.

The Brooklyn Grand Jury hearing Kaufman’s case is expected to render its recommendation on indictment next week.

What’s on your mind? Off topic thoughts? Announcement about an upcoming event? Comment below!

Flickr photo by joonyah

As BHB newshounds said a couple of weeks ago, a pet store is coming to 57 Clark Street.  NYCPET posted a sign today announcing an arrival in August.  The chain has four other outlets in Brooklyn.

Photo: Qfwfq

Brownstoner: Love Lane…: Why are things moving so slowly at Love Lane Mews? Building permits were approved earlier this month, a couple of weeks after we reported that Sterling Equities had taken a $10 million buy-out from its partner Zucker Group. But a ride down College Place yesterday revealed a handful of workers who seemed to be dealing with some kind of plumbing issue; certainly no good construction porn.

Folks walking by Henry Street in front of the Hotel St. George subway entrance yesterday saw this fruit dealer selling his wares to passersby.  While his produce appeared to be fresher than anything Gristedes ever offered,  he’s clearly a rogue Fruit Dude.  Not to mention that what appeared to be his graffitti laden truck really added to the beauty of this stretch of Henry Street.

BHB asked publisher Ed Weintraub about Kaufman’s inclusion in the paper’s marketing efforts.  While the Brooklyn media legend told us he wasn’t aware of the quotes used in the kit, he would investigate.

The result? Kaufman’s quote has been hastily replaced with one from Jeffrey Rodman of Water Street Restaurnt (sic).

While Kaufman is out on bail awaiting a Grand Jury trial, it’s clear that the Court of Public Opinion has rendered its first verdict.

This dispatch and photo from BHB tipster “Dwight’:

In an effort to bypass an illegally parked van, an oversized transportation truck hit a large Ginkgo tree in front of 165 Hicks Street. No one was injured. The fire department was called to remove the tree.

This accident has left many in the neighborhood wondering if there should be signs posted to regulate the height, speed and width of vehicles permit to travel through the narrow streets of Brooklyn Heights.

Personally, I find the view from above the waterfalls much more interesting than the normal views from down below. You can see the pooling area at the top of the frame, and the diffusers in the middle. The sound of the cascading water is actually quite nice, and helps dampen the din of bridge traffic.
From a technical perspective, this scene proved to be a bit more difficult to shoot than I originally anticipated. Aside from the expected reaction of bridge pedestrians (a mix of typical indifference, annoyance, and what-could-this-guy-possibly-be-looking-at curiosity), the bridge vibrates quite a bit more than I expected. Though I was able to reduce the jitters to acceptable levels through the magic of post-processing, you can still see a small amount of jerkiness.

Video after the jump.

Native New Yorker/Ugly Betty star Ana Ortiz, who plays sister Hilda on the hit ABC-TV show, is moving to Brooklyn Heights. Series production moved from Los Angeles to New York this season and the cast and crew have already been busy in our area - most recently in DUMBO.

Ortiz tells People Magazine that she’s looking forward to starting a family here in the nabe with husband Noah Lebenzon. “We found a perfect place in Brooklyn Heights. I love the neighborhood. It’s really mellow, gorgeous and a great place to raise a family. I couldn’t resist.. I’m looking forward to being a mom.”

Two teenagers were arrested tonight at Joralemon St. & Clinton St. after going on a rampage with compressed air pistols, fitted with laser sights.

According to cops, the duo started out targeting birds in Cadman Plaza Park, later moving west into the Heights, hitting streetlights and windows on Willow St., State St., and Henry St., before finally being picked up on Joralemon St.

One officer commented that the realistic appearance of the guns, particularly in the dark of night, could have potentially brought about a less peaceful resolution to the situation.

Several employees spoke to the Eagle on condition of anonymity. One said that other employees may have been in on the scheme, and had been fired. He added that workers’ checks had bounced multiple times, although not recently.

According to the Eagle, Kaufman was merely a manager:

“He [Kaufman] was hired to get these restaurants into shape after they opened,” he said. He added that one of the reasons for the alleged credit-card fraud, in addition to personal gain, may have been to inflate sales figures.

The employee also said that “Kaufman was the manager, but he represented himself as the owner.”

However, that can’t be entirely true – He had to have had more than a simple managerial role. We know for a fact (from a source in Vermont) that Uncommon Grounds, the first incarnation of The Wine Bar On Henry, was named after Kaufman’s favorite hangout in Burlington, Vermont, and Busy Chef is the name of another place in Burlington, Vermont Busy Chef, where chefs prepare ready-made gourmet meals for on-the-go customers (sound familiar?). It sounds like he had a larger role than manager.

The Eagle mentions “The actual owners, whom he described as two men named Alan Young and one whose first name was David, haven’t yet contacted anyone on staff about the situation, he added.” Alan Young is a local lawyer who has been involved in the various “Corner of Cranberry” places as well as several other local ventures in the past (usually partnered with Ghorchian). The “David” we presume is David Seatts, the other name listed on the pending liquor license for Busy Chef on Court Street (under the guise of Blue Pig). David Seatts owns and operates the Tavern On Nostrand, in Crown Heights, where Mr. Young’s name is attached to the liquor license. According to the Time Out NY description, David worked as a contractor for a decade, “doing face-lifts on Brooklyn mainstays like Chez Henry and Cafe Buon Gusto”.

We believe that as long as the school and its neighbors are doing everything they can to ensure student safety, there is a limit to the extent to which the school can or should appropriately try to influence, block or change the environment and facilities in which Saint Ann’s has always chosen to locate itself.

Can anyone involved with Saint Ann’s (officials or parents) confirm this? Full letter posted below:

Hide your credit cards. Allegedly.

The Brooklyn Paper was first duped by the Busted Chef in April 2007 when it identified Kaufman by what could be one of many aliases, “Chef Coffee”. This year, after many Busy Chef ads ran in the paper and on its website, a quote from Kaufman is featured in Brooklyn Paper’s media kit. (PDF here)

The Brooklyn Heights Association was also not immune to the Kaufman Kool-Aid. It wrote a fawning piece about Kaufman in its Fall 2007 newsletter. The Busted Chef told the BHA that “our mission is to be a good neighbor”. The BHA’s Judy Stanton tells the New York Post today that she was “really surprised” by Kaufman’s alleged deeds.

In the interest of “full disclosure”: Busy Chef briefly purchased a small amount of advertising on BHB in 2007. Homer Fink filled in as a columnist for the Brooklyn Paper last year.

-Attempted Identity Theft, 1st Deg.
-4 counts of Identity Theft, 1st Deg.
-2 counts of Falsifying Business Records, 1st Deg.
-2 counts of Grand Larceny, 3rd Deg.
-2 counts of Grand Larceny, 4th Deg.
-Attempted Grand Larceny, 3rd Deg.
-Attempted Grand Larceny, 4th Deg.
-2 counts of Petit Larceny
-2 counts of Unlawful Possession of Personal ID, 3rd Deg.

No word on whether this is related to credit card fraud alleged recently by some BHB commenters.

UPDATE: The NY Post is the first with the story on Dan Kaufman:

The manager of high-end ice cream shop Blue Pig and adjacent eateries catering to Brooklyn Heights parents and hipsters was busted for double-dipping on customers’ credit cards, allegedly pocketing $25,000 in stolen cash, law-enforcement sources said.

We were expecting something like this to happen. And this choice quote:

“He has certainly made an effort to be part of the community, and be supportive of causes,” said Brooklyn Heights Association executive director Judy Stanton. “I am really surprised.”

Really, Judy. Perhaps you should visit our blog more often.

I have never made this admission without hearing similar prejudices in the other dog. We are ashamed, chagrined and frightened by our dogs’ attitudes. We didn’t teach them to fear particular demographics, and more often than not we have friends within the very groups our dogs love to hate.

In my Lab world, I have heard or encountered problems with Middle Easterners, policemen, the Aged, people using walkers, canes, crutches, wheelchairs and scooters, anyone who swings their arms too wildly (joggers, tai chi practitioners), the mentally impaired and, almost always, African Americans.

“Why do you think that is?” we ask each other. Sometimes the answers are fairly obvious. Those swinging arms and canes look too much like punishment about to happen. Dogs have strong ideas of what humans should be: two-legged, animate, inter-social. People talking to themselves don’t make sense, and cops tend to stand around too much. The person leaning against a wall and talking on her cell phone at night is highly suspicious.

But why do they take such exception to other folks?

Theories abound, some of them too obnoxious to repeat. One assumption is that dogs sense or smell fear. If a dog can smell an epileptic fit coming on, it’s not impossible that fear also has a scent. Fight or flight is a primal instinct in dogs. They differ from wolves by two-tenths in their genetic make-up. “Fight” is natural. That vulpine similarity could also account for dogs’ umbrage with the elderly, prodding them to go after the weakest members of the herd – although it doesn’t leave room for Labs’ love of children, who would also be easy prey.

I’m skeptical. Not all Africans are scared of dogs and plenty of terrified white people pass dogs without being barked or lunged at.

I’ve worked with Daisy, explaining to people I think I can trust that she is biased. I ask if I can pat them on the arm, call them by name, and stand by their side so that she understands I’m not afraid. Sometimes it works, especially if there’s no other commotion feeding her already heightened energy.

The doormen of the Heights have been invaluable partners because most of her objections are to men. Ah men! – too often afraid to show “feminine” emotions in public. That was my light bulb moment: given a dog’s ability to interpret human faces and their different color spectrum, a human without affect that she can’t see well might very well scare Daisy. And scared dogs are wolves.

The elderly, too, tend to have a set expression, their faces drawn into severity by time and gravity. To a dog that is sensitive enough to run across Hillside Park at the lift of my eyebrows, the inability to read whether the Battle of the Bulge vet is also bewildering.

But the person who talks back to Daisy often becomes one of her beloveds. My neighbor finally did this, saying loudly and jokingly, “Oh, Daisy, don’t give me that shit. I don’t believe you any more!” Calling her by name, the note of warmth in her voice and the smile on her face stopped Daisy cold and they’ve been friends ever since.

And when a welcome is offered – vibrantly, consistently and charmingly – she wags her whole body and hurtles herself into the game of love.

BHB columnist Frances Kuffel has lived in the Heights for twenty years. Her dog walking clients include Allen, Bangor, Chadow, Hope, Hermia, Lex, Malfoy, Mildred, Orson, Otto, Pepe and Pickering. Barley and Zanzibar have gone to a Better Place. If we’re very good people, we might be allowed to dance with them again. For more information, visit http//franceskuffel.net, http://caronthehill.blogspot.com, or http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuffelscrapbook.

She is the author of Passing for Thin

St. Francis College posted this promotional video on YouTube touting its campus to film and TV producers.  Film in the gym! The pool! The auditorium! Included in the reel, a nod to Across the Universe which was shot in the school’s pool.

Byrne’s nod comes in the Lead Actor in a Drama series for his work on HBO’s In Treatment. Also nominated in  the category: Bryan Cranston Breaking Bad, Michael C. Hall Dexter, Jon Hamm Mad Men, Hugh Laurie House and James Spaker Boston Legal.

Paul Giamatti’s HBO serial John Adams earned a nomination for Best Mini Series and Giamatti was tapped as a nominee for Best Actor in a Mini Series. His competition in the category is formidable: Ralph Finnes Bernard and Doris, Ricky Gervais Extras Series Finale, Kevin Spacey Recount and Kevin Wilkinson Recount.

The award ceremony will be held on September 21 and broadcast on ABC.

As discussed here by some in the BHB community, the plan to move a Federal probation office to 147 Pierrepont across the street from St. Ann’s School is really no big deal.  Why? They’ve been here for years.  Brownstoner talks to “the man” who explains everything.  Now will ya calm down?

Brownstoner: Federal Probation Officer: In response to the story we broke last week about the federal parole office set to share a building with St. Ann’s School, Tony Garoppolo, Chief Probation Officer of the Eastern District, pictured above, forwarded us a letter he recently sent to parents defending the decision. “Our anonymity has been blown,” he told us, adding that his agency has been in the neighborhood, within walking distance from the court system, since the 1930s.