By Eli Rosenberg

Brooklyn Daily

A hate-filled vandal scrawled anti-Muslim graffiti on a Beverly Road business in Kensington over the weekend, stoking fears that the usually diverse neighborhood would explode in race-fueled retaliation.

“We don’t want religious conflict around here,” said Mamun Ur Rashid, the owner of TDS Insurance, where someone wrote “Allah is s---,” in black marker. “This is something that’s bringing up very upsetting emotions.”

Police from the 66th Precinct say the vandalism is being investigated as a potential bias crime — a rarity in Kensington, residents say — but would not say if they had any leads.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Bazlur Hazari, owner of the Desh Bangla Grocery next door to where the graffiti was found.

Yet some thought the anti-Muslim attack was in retaliation to a spate of anti-Semitic crimes in Midwood, where swastikas were found painted on residential homes.

“This could be tit for tat,” said Abu Chowdury, a manager at TDS Insurance. “But we just want to stop it in the community.”

More than 40 people gathered in the swirling snow on Wednesday for a candlelight vigil decrying the incident — a multi-faith show of solidarity organized by councilman Brad Lander (D–Park Slope).

“An attack against any of our neighbors is an attack against all of us,” said Alan Dubrow, a Kensington resident and chairman of Community Board 12. “Diversity is what makes this community and our country a great place to live in. We will not tolerate this type of behavior to permeate throughout our community.”

Anti-muslim attacks made up about 11 percent of the religious bias crimes that occurred state wide in 2010, according to federal statistics.

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

A plan to turn eight blocks of Third Avenue into a pedestrian plaza this summer will create havoc for residents already beleaguered by stumbling booze hounds who regularly puke and relieve themselves on neighborhood front lawns, critics to the controversial proposal told members of Community Board 10 this week.

“Every Friday and Saturday we have to clean up broken glass and vomit,” said Lenny Variano, who lives a block away on 84th Street. “It’s disgusting.”

Merchants and civic leaders want to install a car-free zone on Third Avenue between 81st and 89th streets on four Fridays in July and August, but neighbors said that the proposed “Summer Stroll” would simply ramp up the number of area revelers that already smash bottles and urinate on their property after spending the night partying it up at local bars.

Yet organizers defended the plan to shut down car traffic from 6 pm to 10:30 pm.

“I’m as sick as you are of the drinking, the vomiting, the urinating and the sexual stuff,” said Chuck Otey, who explained that a temporary piazza bustling with string quartets and doo-wop singers would bring class to the boulevard and ward off party animals. “If you want to give the streets over to the drunks, ignore this proposal. Turn this down and you’re saying, ‘screw the arts.’”

The Merchants of Third Avenue initially wanted to close the avenue between 82nd and 92nd streets on nine Fridays, but tweaked the plan after local business owners rejected it. Now, the piazza will be smaller and the side streets will be open to traffic with cops and Department of Transportation workers acting as crossing guards. Any sale of alcohol will be limited to businesses participating in the Summer Stroll.

Still, some residents remained skeptical that cops would exercise crowd control.

“[I’m concerned about] double parking, people parking in our driveways and the spillover from people drinking,” said Florence Dean, who lives on 90th Street.

But merchants scoffed at the notion that marauding mobs would plague the piazza.

“Rowdy teenagers are not going to want to stand around and listen to a string quartet,” said Bina Valenzano, an organizer of the program and owner of the Book Mark Shoppe between 84th and 85th streets. “If it’s boring, there are going to leave.”

The plan, which was approved CB 10’s Traffic and Transportation Committee on Tuesday night, is pending the full board’s approval later this month — a decision that could plant Bay Ridge on a growing list of Brooklyn neighborhoods with similar summertime pedestrian plazas, including Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights.

Comment on this story.

Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

A beloved Bay Ridge cop-turned-gun runner admitted to transporting $1 million in illegal firearms, smokes and stolen slot machines across state lines — crimes that could put him in prison for two and a half years.

Marco Venezia, 46, a 68th Precinct community affairs officer, pleaded guilty along with a co-conspirator David Kanwisher, a New Jersey correctional officer, for being part of a conspiracy to transport and receive stolen merchandise.

Along with jail time, Venezia will be forced to pay $8,000 in fines, federal prosecutors said.

“As law enforcement officers, Marco Venezia and David Kanwisher were supposed to uphold the law, not break it,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. “They betrayed their duties in order to make a quick profit, and now they will pay for their crimes.”

Venezia admitted to transporting the stolen booty, which included three M-16 rifles, a shotgun, 16 handguns, six slot machines, and thousands of cartons of cigarettes. His attorney did not return a call for comment.

The ringleader of the crooked gang, William Masso — who also worked in the 68th Precinct — pleaded guilty for his role on Feb. 7. Venezia and fellow community affairs cop Joe Trischitta were arrested with Masso in October when the two-year investigation into the crooked gang came to a close.

Six of the arrested officers served in the 68th Precinct, but news of Trischitta and Venezia’s arrest hit Bay Ridge residents especially hard.

Both cops retired in 2010 after serving for 20 years, but they didn’t just walk the beat — they went to local community board meetings, the 68th Precinct Community Council, and other civic groups, as they moonlighted as gun runners, officials said.

Venezia was so loved by the community that state Sen. Marty Golden (R–Bay Ridge) introduced a bill honoring the cop when he retired.

“Marco Venezia has been dedicated to fostering police-community relations and bolstering cooperation between the two entities in order to make the neighborhoods he has served a better place to live and work,” Golden wrote in the resolution.

Golden, a former police officer himself, later said that he regretted honoring the dirty cop.

Venezia received “cop of the month” awards from the 68th Precinct Community Council in 2007 for organizing an annual National Night Out Against Crime event. In 2009, Community Board 10 and former 68th Precinct commanding officer Deputy Inspector Eric Rodriguez honored Venezia with a certificate of appreciation at a board meeting, where they gave him “the honor of the pledge” — a monthly board rite extended to many of the borough’s respected officials.

When he wasn’t involved in running guns and cigarettes, Venezia was responsible for planning events and designing emergency plans and evacuation routes for local schools.

Venezia will be sentenced on June 21, prosecutors said.

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

A lawyer for state Sen. Marty Golden’s nephew, who prosecutors say broke a Port Authority police officer’s jaw during a bloody Bay Ridge bar brawl, told a jury that the young man was just trying to pick up a girl when he got caught up in the fracas — a fight he claims was sparked by a rowdy off-duty cop who later tried to hide evidence of his guilt.

“[My client] was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Arthur Aidala said of Daniel Golden, claiming that the legislator’s nephew was sober and chatting up a young woman when a fight broke out between his cousins and Paul Aparo, an off-duty police officer from the 77th Precinct in Crown Heights.

Aidala’s opening remarks came amid a full day of criticism against the NYPD’s investigation into the massive case, which involves three separate trials, nine lawyers and 32 jurors.

Prosecutors say Golden, cousins Kevin Crowley, Michael Crowley and John DeCarlo, and family friend Peter Jung all played a role in the drunken 2010 melee, where an off-duty Port Authority cop was viciously beaten and a firefighter was stabbed outside the Kettle Black bar on Third Avenue at 87th Street.

Yet the defense tells another story: Aparo and his fellow peace officers started the fight — then doctored the surveillance footage that could prove his guilt.

Defense attorney Michael Cibella said the Kettle Black surveillance tapes initially showed Aparo stampeding out of the bar “looking for blood,” but that minute-long scene wasn’t provided to the police. Jasmin Pontic, a high school friend of Aparo’s who works for the security company monitoring the Kettle Black’s cameras, deleted that segment before it was handed over to investigators, Cibella claims, adding that phone records prove Aparo called Pontic repeatedly hours after the brawl. Pontic was ultimately arrested for doctoring the footage.

Investigators say DeCarlo punched Aparo during an argument inside the corner bar. Off-duty Firefighter Rosario Cicero and off-duty Port Authority Police Officer Ryan McCarthy quickly jumped to the officer’s aid, as Golden and his cousins backed DeCarlo.

Bouncers threw everyone outside, but, when McCarthy tried to jot down a defendant’s license plate number, DeCarlo, the son of an NYPD detective, allegedly slugged him, even though cops say McCarthy had his police shield out.

“I don’t give a f—k,” DeCarlo allegedly said as he and Golden allegedly pounded on Ryan, leaving him with a broken jaw.

Prosecutors say Kevin Crowley slashed Cicero’s arm as he tried to defend McCarthy.

Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes refused to take the case against Golden’s family claiming that the defendants’ connection to the law-and-order Republican legislator — a former cop — constituted a conflict of interest.

The case was passed off to Queens prosecutor Michael Brovner, who told jurors that Golden’s relatives instigated the fight that spilled out into the street.

“[Golden and his companions] weren’t out to have a good time, they were out to do whatever they wanted to do,” Brovner said. “They escalated and ramped up the situation.”

But the defense says that blood found on the Kevin Crowley’s knife does not match Cicero’s, and that the prosecution’s key witness admitted in an e-mail that she was too drunk and high to remember anything that happened.

“Drunk, on painkillers — that’s their star witness,” said Gary Farrell, who represents Kevin Crowley.

Aidala said McCarthy mistakenly fingered Golden as his attacker in a lineup that took place days after the fight.

“Obviously, McCarthy was punched in the face, but not by Dan Golden,” said Aidala. “Dan Golden didn’t punch anyone in the face.”

Comment on this story.

By Daniel Bush

Brooklyn Daily

City animal rescuers saved nearly two dozen malnourished Shetland Sheepdogs found packed into two freezing, garbage-strewn Sheepshead Bay homes on Thursday — homes owned by the same canine-hoarding couple.

Animal Care and Control members found 13 dogs scampering around the pair’s primary residence on Bedford Avenue between Gravesend Neck Road and Avenue U at 10 am, then ten more ill-treated Shetland Sheepdogs — known as Shelties — locked in cages in a boarded-up Avenue Y address between E. 27th and E. 28th streets that officials said had no electricity or running water.

The abused animals were taken to a city shelter in East New York, officials said.

“Our primary concern was to get the dogs out of their locations,” Animal Care and Control spokesman Richard Gentles explained. “We will hold the dogs and care for them while the DA conducts an investigation.”

Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes did not arrest the dog-hoarding couple — identified by neighbors as 64-year-old Kolja Sustic and 63-year-old Pat Lim — on Thursday, but prosecutors confirmed that they were under investigation for animal cruelty, a misdemeanor. They could be charged as early as next week, a DA spokesman said.

Neighbors who filed a complaint with the DA’s office last year said the couple has been hoarding dogs since the 1990s, when they had more than 70 Shelties under lock and key.

Members of the Tri-State Sheltie Rescue pressured the couple into parting with 25 of the dogs in 2011. The abused animals were taken to Noah’s Ark Veterinary Practice on Quentin Road in Marine Park for treatment before being sent to shelters around the country.

Noah’s Ark owner Dr. Brian Abraham said the Shelties he treated last year suffered from a host of ailments, including malnutrition and eye infections.

“The poor things were very scared,” Abraham remembered. “It can take months if not years to get dogs that have been abused to trust people again. You wonder how [that couple] can sleep at night and keep those dogs locked up.”

Sheltie owners across Brooklyn were shocked anyone would subject the lovable breed to such terrible conditions.

“My dog is another member of my family,” said John Krumeich, who owns a ten-year-old Sheltie named Bonnie. “It’s horrible!”

Comment on this story.

By Carmine Santa Maria

Brooklyn Daily

I’m madder than a wookie with whooping cough over this poor guy who had his homemade lightsaber stolen from him when he was out drinking with his buddies.

Look, you all know that I’m no fan of any wars outside of the ones we declare on noisy trains, but when someone gets his heart and soul taken away from him, after working for years on perfecting something, well the Big Screecher’s heart bleeds just a little bit. So when I heard about this poor Jedi, I was taken back to the time when I learned about someone stealing an old guy’s scooter out from under him. And when I thought about that, I also thought about the time someone stole one of my meatball sandwiches I loved to eat as a kid on the shores of Coney Island. But I digress. Look, the fact is people shouldn’t steal — even if it is from some nerd who doesn’t know what to do with all his free time. You know what he should do? He should take dancing lessons from yours truly. If he does that, he’ll never have to worry about his lightsaber again.

Now, let me tell you about a young lady who does not what to do with her free time: it’s Priscilla Consolo, who is the recipient of my Bensonhurst West End Civic Council’s newest award the BWECC! Outstanding Student Activist Award.

You know, it takes a lot to get inspired these days, but every so often, someone inspires me so much, I name an award after them. In this case, that person is Priscilla, who I worked with at my less-important job at Assemblyman Colton’s office.

When you read her bio, you’ll agree with me that she could one day be our mayor, governor, president or even saint, which, believe it or not, is an elected position.

Priscilla was born in March of 1994 (wait a second! 1994! Jiminy Crickets!) who grew up in Gravesend and is now in her senior-year at Midwood High School, in the Humanities Honors Institute, of course, with a concentration in the Gilder-Lehrman Scholars Program of American History, where her grades put at the top of class.

Now, I’d be lying to you if I knew what all that meant, but there is no doubt in my mind that is an impressive resume for such a young lady.

As Midwood, Priscilla is the chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee of Model Congress, the co-editor-in-chief of the school’s Literary Arts Magazine, “Patterns.” (nice name, eh?), and is the editor social studies magazine, “Forum.” She co-founded and is co-president of the school’s Young Writers’ Club, which she began in her freshmen year to cultivate and share her love of writing.

But Priscilla’s community involvement doesn’t stop at school. At Our Lady of Grace church. Priscilla is a Teen Leader in the parish’s Teen Youth Ministry program, in which she helps mentor fellow adolescents and takes part in various community service activities. Additionally, Priscilla is a member of their Altar Service Ministry, joining in the fourth grade, and was selected as a co-leader to help train and assist new servers. She also volunteers as a lector. Priscilla considers her Catholic faith a source of strength and inspiration, believing that it ignited her passion for serving others.

As such, Priscilla has aspired to become involved in government service, and got an opportunity to intern at Assemblyman Colton’s office last summer, where she did such a good job, Colton offered her a paid position s his special assistant, making her one of the youngest employee of the New York State Assembly.

Working with Colton, Priscilla spearheaded the successful “Speak up and clean up” campaign to keep our neighborhood clean. In total, the campaign acquired the help of over five-hundred young volunteers and cleaned more than 50 blocks in the neighborhood.

Upon graduation, Priscilla is planning to attend a prestigious college where she will major in political science or government. Additionally, she hopes to attend law school and receive a masters degree in public administration, and dreams of one day publishing her writing. Most importantly, however, Priscilla aspires to continue to serve the community and country that she loves, wanting to be “not a typical politician,” but a sincere and devoted crusader for the powerless and silenced — “a true public servant.”

You gotta agree this kid is something else. And that’s why we are honoring her. So if you want to join us, make reservations for the BWECC 51st Gala at the El Caribe, on March 22nd.

And Priscilla, keep your 500 clean-up volunteers home, because I’m afraid they’ll swarm the place and eat all my food.

Screech at you next week!

Comment on this story.

By Eli Rosenberg

Brooklyn Daily

The vicious pit bulls that have terrorized Midwood for months may have an accomplice — a human who is springing the traps left out by the city’s Animal Care and Control so the menacing mutts can avoid capture.

Residents say someone has been closing the traps that have been placed around the Long Island Rail Road tracks — where many believe the pit bulls hunt.

City animal handlers place food inside the traps, luring the dog inside. When one steps in to get the food, it triggers a spring that shuts the door.

But whoever is helping the dogs is sabotaging the setup, residents claimed.

“I saw the guy from Animal Care and Control and he showed me the traps,” said Jay Teitler, whose dog Rosie was killed by the dastardly dogs late last year. “Someone was closing the traps [before the dogs could get inside] as if someone was [taking care] of these dogs.”

Officials say at least two stray pit bulls have been collared in Midwood in the last week, but no one believes they’re the ones responsible for killing one dog, injuring another and terrorizing dozens of residents — prompting some to walk around with sticks and canes for protection.

Police reportedly corralled a pit bull near Avenue L — a grey and white dog — late last week, but the animal didn’t fit the description of the two hell hounds being sought.

Brooklyn pit bull wrangler Sean Casey also caught a female pit bull with a solid tan coat in one of his daily raids along the Long Island Rail Road tracks, but the dog doesn’t appear to have a mean bone in his body — though multiple residents have reported being attacked by a tan pit bull.

“Once we caught [the pit bull], she was jumping on us and licking us and looking quite happy,” said Casey, who is waiting to see how she behaves in his animal shelter before he decides to give her up for adoption.

Casey, who runs an animal rescue center in Kensington, says he’s seen a lot of stray pit bulls along the rail road tracks. Railroad workers say squatters who camp out there feed neighborhood strays — an explanation as to why the pit bulls appear well fed.

“We’re out there every day and looking and, from what we’re seeing, there are probably a few other dogs out there,” said Casey. “[The railroad tracks have] always been a magnet for dogs and it probably always will be.”

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

The trial against state Sen. Marty Golden’s nephew — who is accused of viciously assaulting a cop in a boozy Bay Ridge bar brawl in 2010 — starts this week, but attorneys say a jury may not render a verdict on the grueling, witness-heavy case until mid-March.

“We will definitely be doing battle over the next month,” said attorney Arthur Aidala, who is representing Daniel Golden. “There are a lot of witnesses and a very professional career prosecutor [is handling the case].”

Daniel Golden, three of his cousins and another friend were all arrested for participating in the April 10, 2010 brawl, but they will be tried in separate courtrooms.

Aidala would not comment on his defense strategy, claiming that he is still preparing it. The jury was being finalized today, he said.

“[The prosecutor is] still turning evidence over to us,” Aidala explained. “I’ll be up writing my opening statement until [the morning of trial].”

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes refused to touch the case, handing it over to a Queens special prosecutor. State Sen. Golden (R–Bay Ridge) was not involved in the fight, but the fact that the defendant is related to a borough legislator created a conflict of interest, a Hynes spokesman said.

Prosecutors allege that Daniel Golden and his cousins, Kevin Crowley, Michael Crowley and John DeCarlo, with Peter Jung, who is unrelated, got into a ferocious 2:40 am brawl at the Kettle Black on Third Avenue.

Witnesses told investigators that DeCarlo allegedly punched an off-duty cop during an argument inside the bar, prompting off-duty firefighter Rosario Cicero and off-duty Port Authority Police Officer Ryan McCarthy to jumped to the officer’s defense.

Golden backed DeCarlo as bouncers threw everyone out of the bar.

Once outside, McCarthy tried to jot down one of the suspect’s license plate numbers, but DeCarlo, himself the son of an NYPD detective, attacked him, even though the Port Authority officer had his police shield out, officials said.

“I don’t give a f—k,” DeCarlo screamed as he and Golden allegedly pounded on McCarthy, leaving him with a broken jaw. Cicero was also injured after someone involved in the brawl sliced open his arm.

DeCarlo and Golden were arrested for assault, while Jung and Kevin Crowley were charged with menacing.

State Sen. Golden, a former cop himself, has never commented on the case, but the brawl sparked a minor skirmish in a long-simmering political war between the veteran legislator and Councilman Vincent Gentile (D–Bay Ridge).

A week after the Kettle Black brawl, Gentile put out a press release claiming that he “teamed up with the NYPD to ramp up police efforts at late-night hot spots over the weekend” and — in an obvious swipe at the law-and-order Golden — called such bar fights “unacceptable.”

The special enforcement was overblown, however: it had been scheduled weeks in advance of the Kettle Black brawl — and Daniel Golden’s arrest.

Comment on this story.

By Daniel Bush

Brooklyn Daily

A party boat Sheepshead Bay residents slammed for hosting raucous celebrations, including a booze-fueled bash which ended in a shooting, is moving to a berth directly across from a quiet senior citizen home — a switcheroo the facility’s residents want scuttled immediately.

“How could they think it’s a wise move to place that boat at our end of the marina?” asked Elizabeth Andropoli, the executive director of the Sunrise Assisted Living center, where the Golden Sunshine could be docked in front of by spring. “Our residents can’t sleep at night in the summer when the party boats are very active.”

The city decided to move the 350-person luxury catamaran currently stationed at Pier 2 on Emmons Avenue between Bedford Avenue and E. 26th Street, to Pier 4 near Dooley Street after residents assailed Joe Lind, the Golden Sunshine’s captain, with complaints, charging that his drunken revelers get into fights, hog up parking spaces, and litter the area with empty liquor and beer bottles.

Lind agreed to the move, claiming he could use a change of scenery.

“I would like to move down to the other end [of the bay],” said the skipper, who has kept his ship anchored at the eastern end of Sheepshead Bay, where entertainment vessels and fishing boats line 10 piers from E. 21st to E. 26th streets, for years.

The city’s Parks Department, which is responsible for doling out docking permits, said the pier across from the Sunrise Assisted Living home was the only spot available for the Golden Sunshine.

“We will continue to monitor this arrangement to see how it works,” said Parks Department spokeswoman Meghan Lalor. “If necessary, [we will] look for other solutions.”

Residents favored the move, even though it may bother elderly tenants at the Sunrise Assisted Living home.

“It’ll be better if it’s farther away from the more residential area,” said Theresa Scavo, chairwoman of Community Board 15.

Yet others said sailing the ship to another pier just waters down a much larger problem.

“This doesn’t eliminate the issue [of late-night booze cruising],” said Steve Barrison, president of the Bay Improvement Group. “It just moves it a few blocks down.”

Terrified neighbors yanked away the Golden Sunshine’s welcome mat after two men got into an argument before the 110-foot-long vessel set sail on Oct. 8. When the boat returned three hours later, one of the men fired a gun in the air. No one was hit, but rattled neighbors immediately petitioned the city to move the Golden Sunshine from Pier 2.

Comment on this story.

By Eli Rosenberg

Brooklyn Daily

Boisterous big rigs idling along Bay Parkway are shattering the serenity of Washington Cemetery — making the Jewish burial ground a far-from-final resting place, outraged cemetery workers claim.

Employees say the noise from the trucks — which some say is loud enough to wake the dead — disturbs funeral processions, creating an environment unfit for the dearly departed. Truckers also leave trash and urine-filled bottles behind when they leave, forcing groundskeepers to spend more time cleaning up outside the cemetery than inside, Marisa Tarantino, Washington Cemetery’s manager, claimed.

“It’s disgusting what [the truckers] leave,” Tarantino said. “Visitors are afraid to park in the area, which can disrupt processions for us.”

Tarantino fumed that the tanker yankers linger lawlessly — sometimes for days at a time — on Bay Parkway near McDonald Avenue, littering the area with half-eaten food wrappers, and, sometimes, discarded furniture.

The section of Bay Parkway truckers use is residentially zoned, according to the Department of City Planning, so overnight parking of commercial trucks is illegal. Angered neighbors claim the haulers have clogged their stretch — idling outside of their homes — for nearly a year.

Police have raided McDonald Avenue twice — towing away 17 illegally idling trucks on Jan. 19 and another nine on Feb. 8 — but residents say the seizures are sporadic and haven’t killed the problem.

“It is disconcerting that the police don’t enforce the rules here, when they’re happy to give anybody else a ticket for just about anything,” said one resident, who would only identify herself as Patty.

But frustrated cemetery workers just want to be left in peace.

“[These trucks] would be more appropriate on some country dirt road than in the middle of a civilized place,” said Tarantino.

Comment on this story.

By Colin Mixson

Brooklyn Daily

Where’s the love?

Republicans hoping to get a foothold in southern Brooklyn want Democrats to stop playing dirty, but they can’t seem to prevent their own volunteers from shooting off biased insults at public events.

GOP state senate candidate David Storobin was questioning opponent Councilman Lew Fidler’s integrity at a Valentine’s Day press conference on Ocean Parkway — standing in front of a sign that read “character counts” — when one of his campaign volunteers jeered a heckler — calling the man “a homosexual.”

The volunteer, Gregory Vaksman, apologized for his comments following a heated back and forth with the heckler, but the interaction did little to support Storobin’s claims that Fidler should be vilified for accusing the young attorney of having ties to neo-Nazi groups.

Storobin initially said Vaksman wasn’t connected to his campaign, then admitted later that he was a volunteer and was shocked at what his supporter said.

“I condemned those inappropriate remarks immediately,” Storobin explained, claiming that he’s asked Vaksman not to attend any future press events. Vaksman is still allowed to help the campaign, however.

Storobin also said that the heckler, Benjamin Schaeffer, was working with the Fidler campaign and was ordered to disrupt the event.

“This is old-school, dirty Brooklyn Democrat machine-style politics, and it should be denounced and immediately discontinued by my opponent’s campaign,” he said.

But this wasn’t Storobin’s first attack against Fidler: during the gathering outside the Brighton Beach Jewish Center, Storobin claimed that Fidler (D–Marine Park) abuses parking privileges at Borough Hall and accepted matching campaign finance funds in 2009 when his opponent in the race had less than $700 in private contributions — allegations that had been reported before. He also claimed that Fidler is affiliated with the company Law Cash — which Storobin claims engages in predatory lending practices — and that Fidler has “given and taken” campaign money from disgraced state Sen. Carl Kruger, the former holder of the seat the two men are fighting over. The seat came up for grabs when Kruger pleaded guilty to taking up to $1 million in bribes from deep pocketed lobbyists and developers.

“Mr. Fidler tried to make my character an issue in this campaign,” said Storobin. “He was right about one thing. Character does matter in this race, but it is not my character that is at issue in this election — it is Mr. Fidler’s.”

This was the second time Storobin lashed out against Fidler’s claims that the young attorney had ties to “skinheads, neo-Nazis and white supremacists.” Fidler was caught on video making the allegation, claiming that articles Storobin had written on the Global Politician, a web magazine, ended up on white supremacist web sites. Those articles were pulled from the Global Politician when Storobin announced his candidacy, although the Republican said he had nothing to do with that decision.

Fidler’s campaign would not respond to Storobin’s allegations, but merely chided the Republican candidate for making the neo-Nazi remark — which the councilman has rescinded, but not apologized for — the center piece of his campaign.

“For 14 straight days, Mr. Storobin has done nothing other than talk about a perceived insult he created in his own head,” said Jennifer Krinsky, a spokeswoman for Fidler’s campaign. “[He] has erratically engaged in nothing other than false and malicious attacks on Lew Fidler’s words and record.”

Storobin, conversely, is leveling the same accusation at Fidler.

“[Fidler has] spread false and untrue rumors about me,” said Storobin. “That’s [been his] campaign strategy from the beginning, not to discuss issues. [All he has done] is and has been to attack my character.”

Comment on this story.

By Daniel Bush

Brooklyn Daily

State Sen. Marty Golden is backing Borough President Marty Markowitz’s pie-in-the-sky plan to bring ferry service to Southern Brooklyn — and is demanding that the city foot the bill.

Golden (R–Bay Ridge) said the proposal to launch ferry routes from Manhattan to Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, and Canarsie won’t set sail until the city agrees to fund the project.

“The idea works but the investment has to be there on the city’s end,” said Golden. “If the city’s trying to find a way not to subsidize the system, it’s not going to happen.”

The lawmaker asked New York Waterway — the East River ferry service that currently runs boats to Greenpoint, Williamsburg, DUMBO and Downtown — to crunch some numbers and figure out how much it would cost to expand their routes to southern Brooklyn.

But the city has already said no: a 2011 Economic Development Corporation ferry service report found that ridership in southern Brooklyn wouldn’t be high enough to justify spending the money needed to bring waterborne transportation there.

Yet that didn’t stop Borough President Markowitz from floating the proposal in his State of the Borough address.

“[Southern Brooklyn] has it all except for one thing — a ferry,” Markowitz said.

New York Waterway opened its Brooklyn ferry routes after the city Economic Development Corporation agreed to spend $9.3 million over three years to help pay for the service.

The 100-person ferries run every 20 minutes and cost $4 a ride, or $140 for a monthly pass — much more than the $2.25 single ride and $104 unlimited monthly ride offered by the MTA.

An Economic Development Corporation spokeswoman said the Williamsburg ferry venture has to be profitable before any new routes are added.

“We’re certainly open to expansion — it’s just a question of funding,” spokeswoman Jen Friedberg said.

A spokesman for New York Waterway touted the company’s East River Ferry service, but declined to comment on the possibility of expanding to southern Brooklyn.

Yet ferry advocates hope that Markowitz and Golden will resurrect a plan that’s been dead in the water for years.

“If you build it they will [ride],” Bay Ridge civic leader Peter Killen said. “I’m all for the city spending money to enhance [transit service].” Ferries shuttled commuters from the financial district to the 69th Street Pier in Bay Ridge for years, but the city suspended the route in the early 1990s, when the pier was renovated. The city later opened a ferry route to a pier on 58th Street in Sunset Park, but shut the ferry down in less than a year — citing a lack of ridership.

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

Hey, Mayor Bloomberg — how much do you want for the parking spot in front of my home?

A disabled Bay Ridge civic activist tired of having to park blocks away from his apartment wants the city let him rent a space in front of his Shore Road building — and he’s willing to pay $600 a year for it!

Beloved Community Board 10 curmudgeon Allen Bortnick suffers from a neurological disorder that does not preclude him from battling the city over a wide range of issues on a regular basis — but it does make it difficult for him to walk more than 100 feet at a time.

So he believes he should be able to rent a parking space in front of his apartment building near 72nd Street for his beloved 1997 Ford Crown Victoria.

“It’s worth it to me because I can’t walk,” he said. “If I come back from a community board meeting at 10 or 11 pm, I can’t find anywhere to park.”

Bortnick says that his parking rental plan would not extend to everyone — just people with disabilities.

“The idea is not to make this a millionaires playground,” said Bortnick, 81. “I’m not asking for favors that I don’t deserve. It is just to provide legitimate handicapped people with a parking space so that they can survive.”

Under Bortnick’s proposal, the city would install poles in residential areas bearing placards that say the spot is reserved for the bearer of the listed license plate.

His idea is somewhat in step with some borough lawmakers who wanted to give residents living near the soon-to-be opened Barclay’s Arena the ability to purchase parking permits for their blocks. Residents would not have been guaranteed a spot, but roughly eight out of every 10 spaces on residential streets near the arena would have been reserved for permit holders.

The proposal passed the City Council, but died in Albany when state Sen. Marty Golden (R–Bay Ridge), who opposes street parking permits, stopped the bill from coming to a vote.

“The idea that someone would have to pay to park in front of their own home is ludicrous,” Golden said at the time. “This is nothing more than another tax on our communities.”

Golden did not respond to a phone call seeking comment on Bortnick’s idea.

But Bortnick’s plan has one major flaw — his $600 offer is way too low.

If the city were to entertain such an idea, the fee would have to be in line with current city parking garage rates, which, on average, amount to $170 a month. If Bortnick was allowed to rent a spot in front of his home, he would probably have to pay more than $2,000 a year.

Still, other disabled Ridgites think Bortnick’s plan should be considered.

“I think it’s a good idea for people who have a real problem walking,” said Jean Ryan, a wheelchair-confined Ridgite who regularly lobbies on behalf of local disabled people.

And at least one Bay Ridge legislator is listening to Bortnick’s pleas.

“Designating handicapped parking spaces in residential areas is something we are currently looking at,” said Councilman Vincent Gentile (D–Bay Ridge). “However, the idea is in the very early preliminary stages right now.”

Currently, disabled drivers with city handicapped permits can park in any no-parking zone — except for taxi stands or spaces reserved for doctors, press, diplomats and government employees. They cannot park in front of hydrants or in bus stops.

Comment on this story.

By Daniel Bush

Brooklyn Daily

The city has resurrected a 20-year-old plan to turn a vacant Sheepshead Bay lot near the Belt Parkway on-ramp into a park by 2016, but don’t expect it to come with the once-promised bells and whistles — or a bathroom.

The Parks Department revived the project for the weed-strewn lot — which is slightly larger than a football field — at the foot of Brigham Street last month after Mayor Bloomberg and Councilman Lew Fidler (D–Marine Park) agreed to shell out a combined $3.5 million in tax payer dollars to convert the spot into the public park residents had wanted there since the early 1990s.

Yet city officials say the earmarked funds will only pay for a basic, stripped-down park — not the 21st century oasis with high-tech equipment that both planners and residents had once envisioned for the lot.

“We’ll be able to build a nice park, but it won’t be fancy or have everything everybody wants,” Fidler said.

The bare-bones green space will feature a network of pathways and benches with views of Sheepshead Bay, Parks officials told Fidler, civic leaders and members of Community Board 15 at a planning session last month.

The park won’t have a bathroom either, but the designs call for an underground water line to be put in for a future restroom if more funding becomes available, according to sources familiar with the plan.

“It’s going to be capable of getting more amenities in the future,” said Community Board 15 Chairwoman Theresa Scavo.

The humble plans are a far cry from the state-of-the-art facility planners bragged about in 2008. Back then, the advocacy group New Yorkers for Parks teamed up with the Sheepshead Bay-Plumb Civic Association to propose a $3 million to $7 million park with solar-powered trash compactors, composting toilets and a comfort station they claimed would make the waterfront spot one of Brooklyn’s fanciest open spaces. But the plan was scuttled after funding never materialized.

In 2009, officials agreed to spend $500,000 to perform required soil tests to make sure the site wasn’t contaminated from an old oil pipeline used by the Knapp Street sewage treatment plant that runs underneath the city-owned property.

But the test borings were never performed and the project grounded to a halt — until now.

Still, residents say the pared-down plan is a step in the right direction.

“Sheepshead Bay needs more park space,” said Steve Barrison, president of the Bay Improvement Group.

The site was a marshland until 1966 when the Department of Environmental Protection filled it in.

Three decades later, the city opened a now-defunct sludge pump underneath the property to handle sewage plant overflow.

Comment on this story.

By Eli Rosenberg

Brooklyn Daily

They grow up so fast.

Brooklyn’s obsessive coffee culture is rubbing off on the borough’s youngest cafe-goers, with tots ditching their bottles and juice boxes in favor of “babyccinos” — mini decaf cappuccinos or frothy cups of steamed milk and foam.

Moms and dads in neighborhoods like Park Slope, Fort Greene and Prospect Heights are ordering the small, foamy, surprisingly grown-up beverages for their pint-sized offspring.

And the kids are asking for refills.

“Our children love babyccinos!” said Eric Worcester, who ordered the milk-only variety for his kids, Evelyn, 5, and Shirley, 2, at Sit and Wonder on Washington Avenue on Saturday (He and his wife had more traditional beverages).

The folks behind Sit and Wonder also sell babyccinos at their Fort Greene coffeehouse Bittersweet, where a barista said she serves up between five and 10 of the kiddie drinks daily.

Gemma Redwood, co-owner of the two coffee joints, made sure her cafes were child-friendly by outfitting Sit and Wonder with a changing station in the bathroom and a backyard filled with toys. But she only started selling a $2 coffee-free variety of the drink —which is not officially on the menu — due to popular demand.

“I think it was from a TV show or something,” said Redwood, who does not allow her two young children to sip the faux-adult beverages. “It’s a little weird — but we make it.”

Baristas at many other coffeehouses around the borough such as Cafe Regular in Park Slope and Root Hill Cafe in Gowanus admit they make the baby drinks. But babyccinos had some coffee-sellers — who are frequently frustrated by requests for highly specific off-the-menu items — drawing a line in the foam.

“I have one customer who says that and it annoys the hell out of me,” said Sean Chin of Gorilla Coffee in Park Slope. “It is not on our menu — which we are making an effort to stick to.”

Babyccino is hardly a scientific term, with some shops and customers using the word to describe a macchiato-like beverage featuring a shot of decaf espresso topped with steamed milk and froth, while others use it to describe steamed milk with foam on top and a touch of cinnamon. Baristas around the borough say they get requests for both versions of the drink.

The trend started in Australia about a decade ago with milk-only babyccinos and quickly became the bane of many a barista’s existence, according to Aussie coffee expert Paul Caligiore.

“They interrupt workflow, create milk wastage and can be served at a dangerous temperature to a vulnerable consumer,” said Caligiore, who despite his misgivings about the drink plans to begin selling the world’s first instant babyccino. “Babyccinos have become so popular in Australia it would be difficult to find a cafe that doesn’t have them on their menu.

The trend spread to England and the internet, with YouTube serving as a popular repository of videos of parents making the beverage for their kids.

Fans of babyccinos say the drink’s popularity has surged in Brooklyn over the last few months.

The concoction might be Brooklyn’s first coffee beverage marketed primarily to children, but it’s certainly not the first time the borough’s adult venues have catered to kids.

The Tea Lounge in Park Slope offers “stroller parking” and makes a point of allowing patrons to breastfeed their infants on the cafe’s many couches. Der Schwarze Kolner, a beer garden in Fort Greene, hosts a weekly playgroup for parents and their toddlers.

Babyccinos can help coffee shops reach a whole new generation of java drinkers — and that’s not necessarily a bad thing for children, so long as they stick to decaf.

Doctors say that caffeine is not healthy for kids in large quantities, but a decaf shot of espresso contains less caffeine than a soda.

“A small percentage of caffeine on a non-regular basis is probably okay,” said Dr. Deena Blanchard, a pediatrician at Premier Pediatrics who remained skeptical of the kiddie coffee.

Lots of Brooklyn moms have no qualms exposing their kids to the borough’s booming cafe culture.

“My child has been going to cafes since he was a newborn,” said Katherine Haver, a freelancer who works out of coffee shops, sometimes with her nearly two-year-old son. “ ‘Coffee shop’ was one of his first words.”

Comment on this story.

By Eli Rosenberg

Brooklyn Daily

A regular customer at a gourmet kosher store on Coney Island Avenue, made a business out of swiping high-end cheeses and then reselling them to nearby Midwood stores — until the plan curdled and crumbled right in front of him, police say.

Detectives arrested Steven Schwartz on Feb. 9 for allegedly raiding the dairy aisle at Pomegranate three times in one week — crimes he would commit while nodding hello to store employees who knew him.

“He’d come in almost every day — for the last three years,” Pomegranate employee Joel Eidliz explained. “Everybody knew his face, so nobody thought he [would steal from us]!”

But it was Schwartz’s familiarity with the supermarket near Avenue L that helped him fool the staff into repeatedly selling him more than $250 worth of high-priced cheeses for under $20 — or the cost of two gallons of carefully positioned milk, investigators alleged.

Eidliz said the curd coveter would fill up one crate with expensive feta, goat and assorted sliced cheeses and another with milk. Before reaching the checkout line, he would put his milk crate above the one laden with cheese and never reveal — or purchase — the valuable contents hidden underneath.

Schwartz would then turn the cheddar into cheddar: he would pawn the cheeses at neighboring businesses along Coney Island Avenue, local merchants said.

“He would come around here,” said an employee at the Kosher Bagel Hole on Coney Island Avenue, who would only identify himself as Josh.

Schwartz would come in claiming to have a great deal on food, but Josh said he never took him up on his offer.

“Every once in awhile someone [like Schwartz] comes around and says, ‘I can beat [the other company’s] prices,’ but we always stick to our products,” Josh said.

It’s unclear just how long Schwartz was preying on Pomegranate, but the con came to an end when workers monitoring store surveillance cameras finally spotted the dairy devil at work.

Detectives from the 70th Precinct were alerted and a warrant for Schwartz’s arrest was issued — a warrant executed sooner than you can say “cheese”: police arrested Schwartz at his next visit to Pomegranate, charging him with multiple counts of petit larceny.

But even cops were stunned by Schwartz’s cheese-snatching activities.

“A crate of cheese every time?” a surprised NYPD spokesman asked us after learning of Schwartz’s arrest, which was first reported on The Flatbush Scoop. “You can’t make this stuff up!”

Comment on this story.

By Daniel Bush

Brooklyn Daily

A two-mile stretch of Flatbush Avenue and a huge swath of Floyd Bennett Field will be ripped apart to make way for a natural gas pipeline that environmentalists say would be a horrific use of Brooklyn’s only national park.

National Grid wants to lay a two-foot wide pipeline along Flatbush Avenue from Avenue U to a proposed new meter station slated to be built inside an existing hangar at Floyd Bennett Field. The pipeline, which will be buried 30 to 80 feet below ground, would tap into a major natural gas supply line off the Rockaway Peninsula.

But critics say the $265 million pipeline and its meter station, should not be routed through Floyd Bennett Field — an urban oasis used by birders, sports teams and campers.

“It’s outrageous!” said Dorothy Turano, the district manager of Community Board 18, whose members unanimously rejected the proposal in January.

“An urban national park should not house a hangar full of material for a pipeline.”

Glenn Phillips, the executive director of the New York City Audubon Society — who works with threatened bird species at Floyd Bennett Field — said he applauds more natural gas coming to the borough, but feels a pipeline through Floyd Bennett Field could be devastating to the surrounding wildlife.

“Any major construction project in or near natural areas has a risk of damaging those places in the process,” Phillips said.

Yet two Brooklyn lawmakers backing the project say the pipeline would bring clean energy as well as more than 300 construction jobs to the borough.

“It allows for the private sector to create local jobs — without any federal spending — while bringing clean, affordable energy to [Brooklyn’s] residents and businesses,” said Rep. Michael Grimm (R–Bay Ridge) who, along with Rep. Bob Turner (R–Sheepshead Bay) voted for the project that required federal approval because it was going through a national park.

“It is the perfect example of how government should work.”

Calls to the National Parks Service were not returned.

But the project is far from assured: the bill still has to be approved by the Senate. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission also has to sign off on it.

National Grid spokeswoman Karen Young said the current route under Flatbush Avenue is the most direct path to the Williams Companies’s off-shore supply line and would be the least disruptive one for those living along the pipeline route.

“Alternate routes would require more construction and have greater impacts [on residents],” Young said.

National Grid draws approximately 50 percent of its natural gas from the massive Atlantic Ocean supply line — which stretches from the Gulf Coast to the Rockaways — using a connection that runs through Long Island. Young said the new pipeline, the company’s first in 50 years, would deliver 10 percent more gas to its 1.2 million customers in Brooklyn and Queens.

Williams Companies spokesman Chris Stockton said the company and National Grid would work closely with the National Parks Service to ensure the pipeline plan, which is backed by the Bloomberg administration, meets federal safety standards and doesn’t harm the environment.

“[Our environmental impact study will] thoroughly address all natural and culture resource concerns associated with the preferred pipeline route,” Stockton said. “It is important to us to balance environmental impacts.”

Comment on this story.

By Colin Mixson

Brooklyn Daily

Developers of a controversial Kimball Street condo project the city wants cut by two floors — and neighbors call an overgrown eyesore — is making a last ditch pitch to keep its out-of-scale project whole.

Attorneys for the Kimball Group, who own the long-blasted condo near Avenue V, petitioned the Board of Standards and Appeals this week to overturn the Department of Building’s order to tear down the building’s fifth and sixth stories — on the grounds that the developer cannot afford the $50,000 needed to remove the unsanctioned floors.

But, after five years of unaddressed complaints and nixed promises, community leaders have no sympathy for the developer’s plight.

“From day one, we tried working with them,” Community Board 18 District Manager Dorothy Turano said. “They gave us all kinds of promises, but they continued to do what they wanted to do.”

The city halted work on the project back in 2006, after residents complained that the Kimball Group broke zoning rules and built the illegal fifth and sixth floor.

Since that time, the building has remained half-built and in a state of disrepair, as the developer refused to tear down the two illegal floors.

In April, the Kimball Group asked the city to forgive its sins and allow it to complete the project, since it didn’t have the money to take the two floors down, but the city denied the request in December, ordering the developer to either shrink the building or sell the property.

The Kimball Group is now appealing the December decision — leaving block residents staring at the slowly decaying structure.

“[The condo] looks out of place,” said Stewie Hier, who owns a nearby condo building on Avenue V. “It doesn’t fit in with the neighborhood. I don’t know what they were thinking, it looks like a monster.”

The Kimball Group told members of CB 18 that its architects were to blame for designing a building that shattered local zoning limits, according to Turano.

But Councilman Lew Fidler (D–Marine Park) says the building owner’s excuses have begun to fall on deaf ears.

“This exactly analogues to someone who committed murder, but is asking for sympathy on the grounds that they’re an orphan,” said Fidler. “This is not the only [appeal] the [Kimball Group] made, and we asked them to deny each and every one of them.”

State Sen. Marty Golden’s office hopes that the city will deny the appeal, bringing an end to the long-standing feud between the developer and the community.

“[The Board of Standards and Appeals] should bring a conclusion to this that rightly upholds the zoning of the Marine Park area,” Golden (R–Marine Park) spokesman John Quaglione said.

Yet others feel that this hearing may just be another step in a long string of appeals filed by the condo owners — regardless of the board’s ruling.

“I would like to think this is the end, but every time we think it’s done they file another application,” Fidler said. “It’s like that movie “Carrie” — just when you think it’s over a bloody hand comes up from the grave, but sooner or later this movie is going to be over. They probably could have removed the extra story of this building for the amount they’ve spent on lawyers avoiding it.”

Calls to the Kimball Group were not returned.

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

Rep. Michael Grimm added to the controversies already swirling around his office when he hired a Dyker Heights activist who once used her political connections to land a construction job for her husband, whose incompetent management resulted in the death of a 17-year-old girl.

Fran Vella-Marrone, a Conservative party leader, and the president of the Dyker Heights Civic Association, lobbied former School Construction Authority Trustee Paul Atanasio to give her husband Gary a job to oversee rehab work on PS 131 in Borough Park in 1998 — an ethics violation that ultimately led to the death of 17-year-old Yan Zhen Zhao when an unsecured brick fell from the school’s roof and hit the young woman in the head.

A city investigation into the accident determined that a “lethal combination of incompetent contractors, halfway safety measures and laissez-faire supervision” led to Zhao’s death.

Investigators blamed Atanasio for giving Gary Marrone the job, even though he had little construction experience and was frequently absent from the site. Marrone, who investigators said had been fired from his previous two jobs, was never held criminally liable.

Vella-Marrone later admitted that she lobbied Atanasio to give her husband the job — a violation that cost her $5,000 in fines.

Yet Grimm (R–Bay Ridge) said he didn’t hire Vella Marrone, a Community Board 10 member, for her checkered past — he hired her for her long track record as a community leader, a Grimm spokeswoman said.

“He was aware [of the incident], but Grimm was most concerned with her reputation in the community when hiring her — which is exceptional,” spokeswoman Carol Danko explained. “She is extremely well-qualified to effectively serve the people the congressman represents in Brooklyn, which is what he cares about the most.”

Vella-Marrone was hired two weeks ago to run Grimm’s Brooklyn office on 13th Avenue and handle constituent concerns. She declined to comment for this article.

The flap is among several currently plaguing Grimm, who was accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions during his 2010 campaign, as well as having covered up ties to a former business partner who served 18 months in prison. Cops also last week arrested Liam McCabe, an aide to Grimm, for roughing up his 14-year-old son outside of his Boerum Hill school after the youngster was allegedly found with marijuana.

Updated (Feb. 22, 12:33 pm). Story updated to make allegations clearer.

Comment on this story.

Brooklyn Daily

To the editor,

Joanna DelBuono, you are banging your head against the wall (“Tenure Schmenur, something’s gotta give,” Not for Nuthin’, Feb. 8).

Nothing will change. The U.F.T. defends it’s “flunking teachers” to the hilt. They claim teachers are a powerful voting block. I disagree. Most teachers do not leave their school, then go to another school to vote. The union has every City Council politician in its hip pocket. It says jump and the council says, how high?

I do not believe in merit pay. Teachers, good or bad, are paid the same good salary. That has to change. Get rid of the bad teachers.

When I went to school, teachers dressed properly, no T-shirts, no dungarees, no ponytails down their backside. Teachers accumulated their sick days. Most young teachers now abuse their privilege.

Pope John XXIII often said, “Teaching is the noblest of professions.” Let us support Mayor Bloomberg in this effort and bring back the respect the profession once had.

Keep up your great writing. Maybe someday, lightning will strike.

Ugo Rosiello

Mill Basin

• • •

To the editor,

DelBuono’s column rehashes all the negative comments clueless non-educators have been saying for years. She makes a short token comment about “all the deserving hardworking teachers out there,” but follows it with more teacher bashing, complaining that teachers are “whining.” She obviously has never spent time in a classroom attempting to teach unfocused, disinterested students the basic skills. Try it sometime, Joanna. You might find yourself “whining” before too long.

No decent teacher who is dedicated to the students, wants an incompetent person teaching them. Let’s give the good teachers the credit for having the common sense to want their profession and their students’ education to be of the highest caliber. To side with the mayor and the governor is to put herself in the company of two insensitive politicians who also never spent a day teaching in the classroom. Don’t let parents off so easily. A teacher has a child for a relatively short period of time. If that child does not receive parental support, much of the skills and material taught in the classroom falls by the wayside.

How about highlighting the achievements of teachers who have succeeded in fulfilling their education goals? It’s too easy to follow others in the media who like to jump on the anti-union, anti-teacher bandwagon. Next time think before you write.

Joan Muscianisi

Old Mill Basin

• • •

To the editor:

I taught in elementary school for 35 years with consistently excellent ratings, am a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and am a Nationally Board Certified teacher. I feel eminently qualified to answer

Joanna DelBuono’s column.

Where did she get the idea that teachers work for six-and-a-half hours a day, and that’s it? I first got home and worked for an additional three to four hours on the next day’s lesson plans. During all those so-called vacation days, I read up on the latest education trends, and attended mandatory classes to improve my skills. I was certainly not alone in these additional work hours.

Most teachers are dedicated, caring professionals, and I am tired of people like you calling us whiners. You seem to love using hackneyed phrases, so here’s one for your collection: Until you walk a mile in my shoes, don’t judge me.” Until you have to deal with disinterested parents, who deliberately give you a non-working telephone number so you don’t bother them with details about

their children, don’t judge us. Until you deal with the disrespect on the part of the children, which is encouraged by the parents’ attitude that their child can do no wrong, don’t judge us. Until you have to deal with an administration which in many cases is unprepared to administer, don’t judge us. And until you are prepared to teach nothing but test-taking skills, which is mandated by today’s culture of “testing instead of creativity in teaching,” don’t judge us.

Learning used to be fun, and that’s what you remember from your childhood. That’s not the way it is allowed to be today. Making a blanket statement like “teachers are providing sub-par educations,” is inane. Yes, there are bad teachers and they deserve to be fired when justified, tenured or not. There are bad people in every profession, but don’t denigrate the huge majority of teachers who do their very best under the worst of circumstances.

Harriet Litvack

Canarsie

• • •

To the editor,

You are one of many who have fallen for Mayor Bloomberg’s New York City School System. The disaster of our schools under this mayor is worse than Gen. Sherman’s destructive march throughout Georgia during the Civil War.

Please obtain a license and start teaching in one of our many Schools Under Registration Review schools. Enjoy the pleasure of being cursed at, desks flying, urination and defecation in the radiators and stairwells, the constant fighting, disruptive children who are terribly misplaced, parents who refuse to sign for special education placement, uncaring and inept administrators, and parents who will fight you at every step of the way. You have fallen under the spell of Mayor Bloomberg’s attempt to destroy the U.F.T. Without tenure, teachers would be at the mercy of some vicious principals. During my 33 years in the public school system, I taught in a school where the new principal announced that she would drive every Jewish teacher out from the building. She eventually did and no one did a thing about it. If a principal disagrees with a teacher’s pedagogical philosophy, that principal will seek to drive the teacher out. Tenure is not a life-time guarantee. Tenured teachers may be removed through the 320-A process.

The media doesn’t complain about the need for 600 schools, excessed teachers being used as substitutes, outrageous class sizes, principals from the Leadership Academy who never taught, but are rating teachers.

I taught in District 17 for 19 years before transferring to District 21 in 1988. I was there until my retirement in 2001. Were you aware that for many years there were never any vacancies in Districts 21 and 22? This was reported on the official U.F.T. transfer list. This finally had to stop when transferring to maintain racial balance came in. Despite the fact that Districts 21 and 22 refused to list their vacancies, there were such vacancies as retiring teachers were being honored by the districts each June. Now, with U.F.T. seniority transfer a thing of the past, thanks to Bloomberg, we have the same favoritism, nepotism, cronyism again.

Let’s report the other side of education. Let’s tell the truth about what is going on. Let’s discuss the double standard that exists among supervisors and teachers. Why have the last several chancellors needed waivers to secure their positions? A teacher doesn’t have this luxury.

Ed Greenspan

Sheepshead Bay

• • •

To the editor,

Your column had many inaccuracies. The most glaring one referred to the ”...average days worked in a year for educators being 180. And, the fact that it’s not even a full eight-hour day. With lunch, study, and break periods, the average teacher teaches about a six and one-half hour day.”

Let me set you straight. Ten years ago, my son, who was living me at the time, became a teacher. He came home from school after teaching, went into his room, and I did not see him re-appear until at least 8 pm. Unfortunately, most people don’t see what goes on behind the scenes, including lesson planning, test grading, researching ways to make the lesson more interesting, and grading homework. So, when teachers leave the building after their “six and one -half hour day,” they go home and do at least another four hours of preparation.

In your “mea culpa” to all the deserving, hardworking teachers out there,” you still state that “you are amply compensated so stop whining.” Bad comment! Teachers who used to have respect from families of students, because of comments like yours, no longer gain that respect. I do admit, there are some teachers who do not put as much into their teaching as they should, however, don’t let the ones who do, take in all the negativity you are spewing.

My son, and teachers I’ve worked with, are deserving of much more than they are receiving, but the main thing is their job does not stop when they go home.

Rita Leslie

Sheepshead Bay

Buggin’ out

To the editor,

Carmine Santa Maria, I enjoy reading your columns (“Big Screecher”), and try not miss any.

You are really a down-to-earth columnist. I can’t leave out Shavana Abruzzo (“A Britisher’s View”), Stanley Gershbein (“It’s Only My Opinion”) and Joanna DelBuono (“Not for Nuthin’”).

Bed bugs are not a subject anyone feels comfortable with (“Carmine’s had it with bedbugs! Not that he’s actually had them,” online, Jan. 28). As you said, they don’t affect people who are not very neat or people who check their homes with a white glove for cleanliness. They do not discriminate between wealthy and poor.

My son and I are self-employed pest control operators, and we’ve spent more than $3,000 on one piece of equipment alone and sent our employees to learn about these invaders of our castles. Carmine, bedbugs are picked up in hotels, school clothes closets, trains, sardine-packed subway cars and on aircraft seats. I’ve been in this business since 1968 and until a few years ago had never heard of them.

Prior to the scourge of bedbugs, we thought illnesses such as breast cancer were caused by pesticides. The Environmental Protection Agency began removing two or three basic pesticides, leaving us with one basic insecticide — pyrethroid, a natural plant derivative. We normally spray moldings behind and under furniture and appliances in a steady, uninterrupted stream, so as the insect goes from place to place, it will pick up the material and slowly die.

The Department of Environmental Protection says only spray a little here or a little there, leading to an incomplete job in my opinion. We also place materials in the walls, under dressers, behind drawers, mirrors, picture frames, under chairs and any place where even one bedbug can hide. We try to get them all — one miss and all for nothing.

At the end of the year, we send a list to Albany of every home, business, institution and other locations that we’ve sprayed, along with their addresses, amount of spray used, percentage of mixture used, and other particulars — or else we receive a heavy fine. With all of this, there is still no proof that pesticides cause breast cancer. Wow!

Mike Baglivo

Bensonhurst

News muse

To the editor,

The New York Times just raised its price from $2.00 to $2.50. Several years ago, it received favorable eminent domain, zoning, regulatory and tax relief to assist in covering relocation costs to its new mid-town Manhattan offices. The New York State Empire State Development Corporation also granted it a $1.25 million grant to pay for expansion of its Queens printing facility.

As a teenager in the 1960’s, I can still remember being able to buy four newspapers for less than a dollar — and getting change back. I still remember the original daily Long Island Press and Long Island Star Journal, which suspended publication decades ago. There were actually 12 daily newspapers published in the Big Apple prior to the city’s 1962 newspaper strike, which resulted in the closing or consolidation of several papers.

At the end of the day, increasing newsstand prices, shrinking content, reduction in actual newsprint size or favorable government subsidies will not be the determining factor for the survival of all daily newspapers. We live in one of the few remaining free societies, with a wealth of information sources available for any citizen to access. Most American cities and suburbs, however, are sadly down to one local daily or weekly newspaper.

Most papers have to deal with continued increasing costs and competitors from surrounding suburbs and across the nation, including all-news radio stations, local independent news broadcasts and cable news stations. Many get breaking news from the Internet. This is stale when reaching print the next day. Also, new immigrants support their own media.

These financial challenges have resulted in less resources being devoted to investigative reporting, and a greater reliance on wire service stories. As a result, original newspaper content continues to diminish, putting more pressure on reporters and making it more difficult to provide real detailed coverage of local news.

Neighborhood weekly newspapers, including this one, provide the type of coverage usually overlooked by other media. In the marketplace of ideas, let us hope there continues to be room for everyone — regardless of cost.

Larry Penner

Great Neck, N.Y.

‘Rainbow’ family

To the editor,

The Rainbow Heights Club in Flatbush is a great place for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community living with mental illness.

It’s the best day treatment program I’ve ever been to with intelligent, socially mature and sexually tolerant individuals.

I feel very comfortable and relaxed there without feeling as if I have to conform to anything. I like the staff and members who are exceptional and a pleasure to be around.

This is the closest I’ve ever come to being “outside” the mental health system.

Sebastian Casalenova

Bath Beach

Golden irony

To the editor,

Gov. Cuomo delivered a strong and inspired State of the State address, recapping the significant successes of his first year in office and outlining a vision for the future of New York that all New Yorkers can support.

It hit all the right notes on issues that matter to our neighborhood — reviving our economy, strengthening our schools, reinvesting in our transportation system, and giving New Yorkers the honest and transparent government they deserve. But, state Sen. Marty Golden (R–Bay Ridge) strangely chose to criticize the governor for being weak on public safety, despite the fact that Cuomo has proposed expanding the DNA database to cover all crimes, among other initiatives.

Sen. Golden’s criticism is ironic because he was curiously absent from the Senate chamber last year during a vote on a critical bill that would have helped our police officers investigate incidents of gun violence — clearly a top issue of public safety.

We can’t settle for just one good year in Albany. There’s still a lot to be done to fix the political dysfunction of the past decade. Our elected officials should be working with Gov. Cuomo to get New York back on track, instead of offering empty criticisms.

Andrew Gounardes

Bay Ridge

Shedding light

To the editor

There is a dangerous traffic light on the corner of Oriental Boulevard and Ocean Avenue in Manhattan Beach. It blinks red on one side and yellow on the other. Drivers never know when to go or stop. It is controllable by a button to allow pedestrians cross for about five seconds. There have been numerous accidents at the corner, and last year a young boy was killed by a speeding bus.

Speed bumps and cameras will not correct this situation, and according to the Department of Transportation, it is the worst traffic light in Brooklyn.

Norman Smith

Manhattan Beach

True blue freedom

To the editor,

American empires were built with blood, sweat, tears and fossil fuels! Freedom must be guarded and protected or it ebbs away like the tide.

The best sailors and soldiers on the planet have overthrown tyrants, liberated the oppressed, rescued the lost and kept the American way of life alive. The Rev. John WInthrop’s vision in 1630 was “a shining city on a hill” that the entire world could see as a beacon of light and liberty.

When 55 delegates met in Philadelphia in June 1787, they were charged with the task of improving upon the Articles of Confederation that garnered 13 wayward and capricious colonies for 11 years. A compromise, known as the Virginia Plan, would help found a nation, and draft the U.S Constitution, our second document.

Today, the American left and Socialist renegades have pushed our Constitution aside. President Obama decided to attack Libya without the approval or consent of Congress. Instead, he went to the U.N. Security Council to announce his half-baked plan. Are Libyans freer today or better off? The flagpole at the Benghazi courthouse sports the al Qaeda black flag that says in Arabic, “There is no God but Allah.”

Tod Davis

Marine Park

Education 101

To the editor,

You have never run articles lauding teachers, especially those teaching in difficult schools.

You have never spoken about the problems of class sizes, the need for the 600 school concept for disruptive children, the fact that we have principals from the Leadership Academy rating teachers when they themselves have never taught, uncooperative parents ready to battle the teacher at every step, and the city’s refusal to use excessed teachers to teach classes so as to lower class sizes. Instead, these duly licensed teachers have been relegated to substitute status. I haven’t heard you mention that the while the mayor proposes merit pay, there is no money to lower class size.

You are quick to point out that certain teachers assaulted students, but you never report when a teacher is assaulted on a daily basis by a student. The number of teachers are out due to being assaulted on the job is shocking.

I never hear you write about the fact that teachers spend their own money for supplies since the latter is lacking in so many schools. I never hear you praising teachers for coming in earlier to decorate their rooms in August, when school is not officially in session. You never mention the dedicated men and women who work with children after the school day, or those who make home visits on their own time to the homes of problem students.

All your paper does is knock teachers. Why do you refuse to look at the other side of education? Why is it always the teachers fault?

Ed Greenspan

Sheepshead Bay

Comment on this story.

By Eli Rosenberg

Brooklyn Daily

A hit-and-run driver struck and killed a 71-year-old man crossing a dangerous stretch of Flatbush Avenue last night — a horrific accident that was hauntingly similar to a recent motor vehicle death that took place just two miles away.

Witnesses said Jeanniot Jean was crossing Flatbush Avenue near East 26 Street around 6 pm when he was hit by one vehicle — then another while he was still laying in the middle of the street.

Police said the first vehicle — a dollar van, according to one source — sped off after striking Jean. The second driver stopped and waited for police to arrive, witnesses said.

Jean, who worked at BG L’Auberge Creole, a Haitian restaurant near where he was hit, died of his injuries en route to Kings County Hospital.

The crime is eerily similar to the death of Noah Foxman, a 58-year-old man who was clipped by a van on Coney Island Avenue near Avenue K before being struck and killed by another car as he was trying to get up. In that case, the second vehicle fled and the first driver that hit Foxman stayed.

Both accidents took place within Community Board 14, which is considered the worst district in the borough for pedestrian safety, according to a recent study by the pro-bicycle and pedestrian group Transportation Alternatives, which said 3,920 pedestrian and vehicular crashes occurred within the board’s borders between 1995 and 2009.

An NYPD spokesman said the driver of the fleeing van was still at large — but that no charges had been filed against the driver who stopped.

Friends said Jean moved to the United States more than 20 years ago and was well-liked in the neighborhood.

“He was everybody’s friend,” said Michel–Guy Alexis, who lived in the same building as Jean. “If you saw him and said, ‘Hey Papi, buy me a soda,’ he’d laugh and say, ‘If you don’t have the money, you want me to pay for you?’”

Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this hit-and-run to come forward. Calls can be made to the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-8477. All calls will be kept confidential.

Comment on this story.

Brooklyn Daily

To the editor,

Shavana Abruzzo, I really loved your column about the Navy Seals (“Long live the U.S. Navy SEALs,” A Britisher’s View, Feb. 2). I find them endlessly fascinating!

I don’t always pick up your paper, but I am certainly glad I did this time! Happy reporting!

Patti Donohoe

Bay Ridge

Jeers, Shav

To the editor,

Once again, unlike your other writers, Shavana Abruzzo (A Britisher’s View) shows her bias, racism and bigotry by pursuing her one-issue column with the fervor of a paid lobbyist. She is not impartial and she is totally unfair.

If a person keeps repeating the same things over and over again, anything he or she says is totally unbelievable and devoid of merit. She has an agenda and everyone can see it.

If she can’t be so hopelessly repetitive and redundant, she should be limited to once a week and her space should be released to one of your other contributors.

Henry Finkelstein

Homecrest

Cheers, Shav

To the editor,

We in the Uriel family want to cheer on Shavana Abruzzo (A Britisher’s View), an American patriot.

Suzanne Uriel

Sunset Park

Shav’s ‘right’

To the editor,

“‘Jihad’ film a vital anti-terror tool,” by Shavana Abruzzo (A Britisher’s View, Feb. 9) is right on target — as usual.

It is not up for debate whether there are radical Muslims who are out to destroy us living in the U.S.A. It is fact. They may be few, but they do exist as does the sun and moon. We must never be persuaded or intimidated by Muslim groups not to continue to keep a “relentless spotlight” on radical Islam here. Peace loving Muslims, as they profess to be, should be supporting us 100 percent, and speaking up, unless, of course, they fear for their lives. Their future and well being here is directly related to our diligence regarding this matter.

We must not — and cannot — bury our heads in the sand about radical Islam in this country — for our sake, and for our children’s sake.

Ruth Weiner

Sheepshead Bay

Shav’s ‘fan’

To the editor,

Shavana Abruzzo, each week my friend gives me a copy of your column (A Britisher’s View). She’s a big fan of yours and I understand why. You have a lot of courage to tell it like it is.

It’s so true that many “moderate” Muslims are busy blasting those who seek to keep us safe, but they do not similarly protest against “honor” killings and the persecution of Jews and Christians by Muslim maniacs.

We’re on a bumpy ride, I am grateful for people like you who expose the truth.

Name withheld upon request

Buggin’ out

To the editor,

Carmine Santa Maria, I enjoy reading your columns (“Big Screecher”), and try not miss any.

You are really a down-to-earth columnist. I can’t leave out Shavana Abruzzo (“A Britisher’s View”), Stanley Gershbein (“It’s Only My Opinion”) and Joanna DelBuono (“Not for Nuthin’”).

Bed bugs are not a subject anyone feels comfortable with (“Carmine’s had it with bedbugs! Not that he’s actually had them,” online, Jan. 28). As you said, they don’t affect people who are not very neat or people who check their homes with a white glove for cleanliness. They do not discriminate between wealthy and poor.

My son and I are self-employed pest control operators, and we’ve spent more than $3,000 on one piece of equipment alone and sent our employees to learn about these invaders of our castles. Carmine, bedbugs are picked up in hotels, school clothes closets, trains, sardine-packed subway cars and on aircraft seats. I’ve been in this business since 1968 and until a few years ago had never heard of them.

Prior to the scourge of bedbugs, we thought illnesses such as breast cancer were caused by pesticides. The Environmental Protection Agency began removing two or three basic pesticides, leaving us with one basic insecticide — pyrethroid, a natural plant derivative. We normally spray moldings behind and under furniture and appliances in a steady, uninterrupted stream, so as the insect goes from place to place, it will pick up the material and slowly die.

The Department of Environmental Protection says only spray a little here or a little there, leading to an incomplete job in my opinion. We also place materials in the walls, under dressers, behind drawers, mirrors, picture frames, under chairs and any place where even one bedbug can hide. We try to get them all — one miss and all for nothing.

At the end of the year, we send a list to Albany of every home, business, institution and other locations that we’ve sprayed, along with their addresses, amount of spray used, percentage of mixture used, and other particulars — or else we receive a heavy fine. With all of this, there is still no proof that pesticides cause breast cancer. Wow!

Mike Baglivo

Bensonhurst

News muse

To the editor,

The New York Times just raised its price from $2.00 to $2.50. Several years ago, it received favorable eminent domain, zoning, regulatory and tax relief to assist in covering relocation costs to its new mid-town Manhattan offices. The New York State Empire State Development Corporation also granted it a $1.25 million grant to pay for expansion of its Queens printing facility.

As a teenager in the 1960’s, I can still remember being able to buy four newspapers for less than a dollar — and getting change back. I still remember the original daily Long Island Press and Long Island Star Journal, which suspended publication decades ago. There were actually 12 daily newspapers published in the Big Apple prior to the city’s 1962 newspaper strike, which resulted in the closing or consolidation of several papers.

At the end of the day, increasing newsstand prices, shrinking content, reduction in actual newsprint size or favorable government subsidies will not be the determining factor for the survival of all daily newspapers. We live in one of the few remaining free societies, with a wealth of information sources available for any citizen to access. Most American cities and suburbs, however, are sadly down to one local daily or weekly newspaper.

Most papers have to deal with continued increasing costs and competitors from surrounding suburbs and across the nation, including all-news radio stations, local independent news broadcasts and cable news stations. Many get breaking news from the Internet. This is stale when reaching print the next day. Also, new immigrants support their own media.

These financial challenges have resulted in less resources being devoted to investigative reporting, and a greater reliance on wire service stories. As a result, original newspaper content continues to diminish, putting more pressure on reporters and making it more difficult to provide real detailed coverage of local news.

Neighborhood weekly newspapers, including this one, provide the type of coverage usually overlooked by other media. In the marketplace of ideas, let us hope there continues to be room for everyone — regardless of cost.

Larry Penner

Great Neck, N.Y.

‘Rainbow’ family

To the editor,

The Rainbow Heights Club in Flatbush is a great place for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community living with mental illness.

It’s the best day treatment program I’ve ever been to with intelligent, socially mature and sexually tolerant individuals.

I feel very comfortable and relaxed there without feeling as if I have to conform to anything. I like the staff and members who are exceptional and a pleasure to be around.

This is the closest I’ve ever come to being “outside” the mental health system.

Sebastian Casalenova

Bath Beach

Golden irony

To the editor,

Gov. Cuomo delivered a strong and inspired State of the State address, recapping the significant successes of his first year in office and outlining a vision for the future of New York that all New Yorkers can support.

It hit all the right notes on issues that matter to our neighborhood — reviving our economy, strengthening our schools, reinvesting in our transportation system, and giving New Yorkers the honest and transparent government they deserve. But, state Sen. Marty Golden (R–Bay Ridge) strangely chose to criticize the governor for being weak on public safety, despite the fact that Cuomo has proposed expanding the DNA database to cover all crimes, among other initiatives.

Sen. Golden’s criticism is ironic because he was curiously absent from the Senate chamber last year during a vote on a critical bill that would have helped our police officers investigate incidents of gun violence — clearly a top issue of public safety.

We can’t settle for just one good year in Albany. There’s still a lot to be done to fix the political dysfunction of the past decade. Our elected officials should be working with Gov. Cuomo to get New York back on track, instead of offering empty criticisms.

Andrew Gounardes

Democratic state senate candidate, Bay Ridge

Shedding light

To the editor

There is a dangerous traffic light on the corner of Oriental Boulevard and Ocean Avenue in Manhattan Beach. It blinks red on one side and yellow on the other. Drivers never know when to go or stop. It is controllable by a button to allow pedestrians cross for about five seconds. There have been numerous accidents at the corner, and last year a young boy was killed by a speeding bus.

Speed bumps and cameras will not correct this situation, and according to the Department of Transportation, it is the worst traffic light in Brooklyn.

Norman Smith

Manhattan Beach

True blue freedom

To the editor,

American empires were built with blood, sweat, tears and fossil fuels! Freedom must be guarded and protected or it ebbs away like the tide.

The best sailors and soldiers on the planet have overthrown tyrants, liberated the oppressed, rescued the lost and kept the American way of life alive. The Rev. John WInthrop’s vision in 1630 was “a shining city on a hill” that the entire world could see as a beacon of light and liberty.

When 55 delegates met in Philadelphia in June 1787, they were charged with the task of improving upon the Articles of Confederation that garnered 13 wayward and capricious colonies for 11 years. A compromise, known as the Virginia Plan, would help found a nation, and draft the U.S Constitution, our second document.

Today, the American left and Socialist renegades have pushed our Constitution aside. President Obama decided to attack Libya without the approval or consent of Congress. Instead, he went to the U.N. Security Council to announce his half-baked plan. Are Libyans freer today or better off? The flagpole at the Benghazi courthouse sports the al Qaeda black flag that says in Arabic, “There is no God but Allah.”

Tod Davis

Marine Park

Education 101

To the editor,

You have never run articles lauding teachers, especially those teaching in difficult schools.

You have never spoken about the problems of class sizes, the need for the 600 school concept for disruptive children, the fact that we have principals from the Leadership Academy rating teachers when they themselves have never taught, uncooperative parents ready to battle the teacher at every step, and the city’s refusal to use excessed teachers to teach classes so as to lower class sizes. Instead, these duly licensed teachers have been relegated to substitute status. I haven’t heard you mention that the while the mayor proposes merit pay, there is no money to lower class size.

You are quick to point out that certain teachers assaulted students, but you never report when a teacher is assaulted on a daily basis by a student. The number of teachers are out due to being assaulted on the job is shocking.

I never hear you write about the fact that teachers spend their own money for supplies since the latter is lacking in so many schools. I never hear you praising teachers for coming in earlier to decorate their rooms in August, when school is not officially in session. You never mention the dedicated men and women who work with children after the school day, or those who make home visits on their own time to the homes of problem students.

All your paper does is knock teachers. Why do you refuse to look at the other side of education? Why is it always the teachers fault?

Ed Greenspan

Sheepshead Bay

Comment on this story.

By Stanley P. Gershbein

Brooklyn Daily

By now, everybody knows that I am not a fan of Delta. A good friend sent me an e-mail with a comment, “Hi Stan. Here’s another reason not to fly on your least-favorite airline.” The following is from that e-mail and before sending it off to my editor (fine gentleman that he is), I checked it for accuracy.

Delta Airlines has a frequent flyer program and a website that tells you how many miles one must have to get a free ticket from one place to another. With regard to the Middle East, the site is:

http://dmn.delta.com/skymiles/direct/charts/middleeast

On this site, there was a chart which stated (my emphasis is added):

“For travel from the Middle East:

Bahrain; Egypt; Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Occupied Palestinian Territory; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Syrian Arab Republic; United Arab Emirates (composed of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras El Khaimah, Sharjah, Umm Al Qaiwain); Yemen, Republic of; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Uzbekistan.”

The table shows you how many miles are needed to fly from this Occupied Palestinian Territory to another place. I didn’t know that Delta flew from Occupied Palestinian Territory. It flies from Ben Gurion airport in Lod, about nine miles from Tel Aviv. But that real estate is in Israel. How dare they call it the Occupied Palestinian Territory?

Well, that’s where this story gets even more interesting.

• • •

When I got the original e-mail, the words “Occupied Palestinian Territory” was still on the Delta website yesterday. And on Feb. 8, when I e-mailed the following letter to Delta CEO Richard Anderson, expressing my disapproval:

From: Stanley Gershbein

Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 12:29 PM

To: Anderson, Richard

Subject: OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

The country is ISRAEL. Not very nice of you.

Stan Gershbein

• • •

One day later, I received the following response:

Dear Mr. Gershbein,

RE: Case Number 5497368

On behalf of Richard Anderson and all of our executive staff, we thank you for sharing your concerns over the reference used on delta.com when referring to travel from the Middle East countries. It was mistakenly posted to our website and immediately removed when brought to our attention.

We appreciate the time you have taken to share this feedback.

Sincerely,

Jan Holland

Coordinator, Corporate Customer Care

Delta Air Lines

• • •

Man, nothing travels as fast as e-mail news — not even a jet plane. That day, many of us told Delta what we think and the administration made the appropriate changes in one day. Good for us.

• • •

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s book hit the shelves all over the country last November. I don’t know one person who bought the book. In fact, most of us didn’t even know she wrote a book and if, by some chance, we did, we could not tell you the title.

In her book, the governor describes a 2010 meeting at the White House. Her description upset President Obama and he must have told her so on the tarmac at the airport. The two got into a heated discussion and the media people snapped photos of the governor wagging her finger. Not since the days of Bill Clinton has America seen such significant, meaningful wagging.

Many on the left tell us how rude it was for her to direct a finger at the president.

Many on the right say that she used the wrong finger.

We’ll never know what he said to provoke her, and until that day most of the world didn’t know what she said about him in her book. That morning, “Scorpions For Breakfast” was number 285,568 on the Amazon seller list. One day later it climbed to number 21.

I am StanGershbein@Bellsouth.net saying that an altercation with the president can be very profitable. I hope the governor sent the president a thank-you card.

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

Rep. Michael Grimm couldn’t find any love in February.

During the month the Bay Ridge Republican has deflected allegations that he broke campaign finance laws and did business with partners who have criminal records; had to deal with a recent staffer’s arrest; and then hired a new district director who played a role in a political patronage scandal that ended in a teenage girl’s death.

But the Bay Ridge Republican, a former Marine, has no problem firing back at his opponents.

Here’s a breakdown of his most recent battles:

• The New York Times alleged that Grimm and an aide to a celebrity rabbi bullied potential donors — some of whom were not US citizens — into donating thousands to his 2010 campaign, violating federal campaign laws.

Grimm says: “It’s disappointing that such a story was allowed to go forward without evidence. I have dedicated my entire life to honorably serving this country from the US Marine Corps to the FBI and have conducted myself both as a candidate and a member of Congress by the same high standards.”

• • •

• The Times also questioned Grimm’s record as a businessman, citing his ties to a former FBI pal who served 18 months in prison, his employment with a Wall Street firm that was frequently under fire from regulators, and his role as owner of a Manhattan restaurant that was accused of bilking its employees out of workers compensation.

Grimm says: “I have relied as a businessman on the same principles of honesty that have guided my service as a Marine, an FBI special agent and as a United States congressman. This attack is politically motivated, as my record as an effective congressman, fighting for Brooklyn, cannot be denied.”

• • •

• Police arrested Liam McCabe, Grimm’s director of community relations, after authorities said McCabe grabbed his teenage son by the arm and shook him. The teen was caught with pot, police say.

Grimm says: “These are serious charges that have not been taken lightly.”

• • •

• Grimm hired Fran Vella-Marrone as his Brooklyn district director — a woman who admitted to getting her husband a patronage job rehabing a Borough Park school in the 1990s. A 17-year-old girl was killed at the site when an unsecured brick fell from the building.

Grimm’s spokeswoman says: “He was most concerned with her reputation in the community when hiring her — which is exceptional.”

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

The city caved to the demands of a Bensonhurst developer who refused to provide the required number of parking spaces for his new medical building — a nine-story building that infuriated neighbors say will create a traffic and parking nightmare on Bay Parkway.

The Board of Standards and Appeals gave developer Mark Caller the go ahead to finish his Calko Medical Center between 60th and 61st streets without providing 231 parking spaces — the legal number required for a building that size — after his lawyers produced studies claiming that parking in the neighborhood isn’t as bad as residents claim.

The city ordered Caller to provide 177 spaces — 61 more parking spots then Caller planned on reserving.

Upset neighbors called the ruling a sham, claiming the city ignored their pleas.

“You may as well be in the Soviet Union,” said Leo Weinberger, an attorney representing neighbors.

But the city claims that it took everyone’s concerns into account.

“The applicant did complete extensive parking analysis studies to determine the demand for parking in the facility and the board was satisfied,” said Jeff Mulligan, the executive director of the board. “[We] ultimately required more spaces than was requested.”

The news caps a 10-month fight between Caller and a group of neighbors and civic leaders who repeatedly packed Board of Standards and Appeals meetings in lower Manhattan to sound off against the oversized development.

According to a parking study commissioned by Caller, only 143 people would need parking spots at the center during peak hours.

But neighbors repeatedly lambasted the studies, saying that they were conducted on days when alternate side parking was in effect, and most people were parked in other neighborhoods.

The debates between developers and the board resulted in a few extra parking spaces each time Caller’s team pleaded its case.

Board of Standards and Appeals members asked Caller’s lawyers to create more parking spaces in November after the developer offered to build 160 spots — chiding him for using up space allotted for parking before he was allowed to do so.

“The big corporation did win in one respect,” said neighbor Ann Cali. “But our victory is that we won about 65 more spots. It’s bittersweet.”

Comment on this story.

By Shavana Abruzzo

Brooklyn Daily

It took just one day for the city to whip up a pomp-packed parade for the Super Bowl-winning New York Giants, but our courageous combat veterans who returned from Iraq two months ago have yet to see any sweet gratitude from the Big Apple for their supreme service.

Last week’s hoopla along the Canyon of Heroes was dejecting in more ways than one as we lauded gridiron gladiators who could have been more sporting by requesting that the troops who made it back alive — and those who didn’t — received their just dues first. Of course, Big Blue deserves all the praise it gets for its achievements on the gridiron, but not more so than the men and women who lost their limbs and lives in the line of duty.

St. Louis clearly thought so. It put New York City to shame last month by becoming the nation’s first city to host a troop-appreciation parade. A similar celebration here, followed by another one in 2014 after the troops come home from Afghanistan, would be a vital boost all around. It would help returning soldiers adapt to civilian life — a grim prospect that should be the priority of all lawmakers — while letting troops still overseas know that better days lie ahead.

A good start would be to honor our brave casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan: the 4,421 killed, the iava.org/files/IAVA_invisible_wounds_0.pdf">40,000 service members who suffered injuries, the 300,000 soldiers who came away with post-traumatic syndrome and depression, and the 320,000 troops who suffered a traumatic brain injury. More American service members survived the Iraq War with irreversible injuries than any other armed conflict in history, thanks to high-tech armor.

For some, though, the scars are as indelible as they are invisible. Take the case of Sgt. First Class Alec Giess of the Oregon National Guard. He miraculously lived after his truck rolled over him while trying to dodge a land mine. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Geiss’s wife noticed chilling changes in her husband after he returned home. He turned from a relaxed man into a hot-head who screamed at the cat, reviled crowds, couldn’t keep up with routines, and felt emotionally bereft.

“When my kids come and hug me, I don’t feel a thing,” Giess told the paper.

The uplifting stories are as heartbreaking. Purple Heart recipient Bryan Anderson, an army sergeant in Iraq, became that armed conflict’s fourth triple amputee after being injured by a roadside bomb, an ordeal which the wounded warrior used admirably to move forward. Anderson learned to walk again — plus snowboard, water-ski and rock climb, earning himself several gold medals along the way, and writing a book aptly titled, “No Turning Back.”

No amount of ticker-tape parades can ever hope to repay Giess, Anderson and the other champions who have defended our liberties on the front lines at horrifying personal cost. But the gesture would at least let them know that their suffering wasn’t in vain. Let the preparations begin immediately because a veteran commits suicide every 36 hours, and because our war heroes should never be made to feel like zeroes.

Sabruzzo@cnglocal.com

Comment on this story.

By Lou Powsner

Brooklyn Daily

In the late 1970s, hope was alive in some of New York’s downtrodden resort areas, which included places like the Catskills and, of course, our own Coney Island. A coalition was formed to spur a revitalization to refuel our dying vacation industry that had become a victim of the jet age, where middle class citizens could cheaply fly off to “nearby” exotic destinations like Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Nevada, and yes, Florida.

It was left to the late Milton Kutscher, the top-dog at the nationally renowned Kutscher’s Country Club in the Catskills, to lead a committee that would come up with a plan that would make New York a destination once again.

In early 1982, a summit of the committee had me in Albany, where we went over our state’s potential.

Atlantic City had become our latest competition, since with table gambling was legalized there in 1976. Buses now prowled our streets, picking up slot jockey’s on the hour for the quick jaunt down the Turnpike to glistening new casinos — filled with much needed jobs — that where the fruit of the Garden State government’s labor.

Some labor, though. All the governor had to do was sign into law the people’s request — to turn Atlantic City into the East Coast’s Las Vegas. And the cash soon followed.

Meanwhile, we just talked — and dreamed — of what casinos could do for us. Kutscher opened the floor, and we all listened to an assemblyman from Rockaway who listed her principals for the bill she planned to carry for us in Albany that would open our own floodgates. Together, we named the places that desperately needed to be re-invented with a roll of the dice. Niagara — famous for its famous water falls — headed the list.

Up there, American hotels had dwindled or decayed while Canadian hotels siphoned tourism from our great nation. We unanimously agreed that casino hotels there would bring a surge in tourism that would bring jobs back to our region.

But we weren’t all gung-ho for gambling. We all agreed that beautiful places like Lake Placid and the Thousand Islands were too accessible enough to support casinos. And we reasoned that Saratoga had more tourism than it could handle in its summer season, when bettors clamored to the famous horse-racing track that what was known worldwide as “the August place to be.”

But as we headed further south, the we found another winner in Monticello. At the time, Kutschers, Grossingers and the Concord were prime locations. Even nearby Ellenville, once great but by then decayed, would be an excellent site. All were very accessible for vacationer traffic from the Thruway, and it was a stone’s through from three other highways: the great turnpikes of New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and west, and the New England Thruway to the east.

The brave assemblywoman did her part in bringing it to the capitol floor and Gov. Hugh Carey brought it to the Governors’ Hearing at the World Trade Center.

Gambling in New York had become hot, and my phone rang off-the-hook the next morning. First, a call from an anxious man in California who wanted more information on my testimony. He explained that he left before I testified, so as not to miss his flight back home. I gladly obliged this man who had large casino development corporation. I told him all about Coney Island’s beach and Boardwalk and its connections to all rail trains and nearby airports.

But we never counted on what came next: a phony headline in a major newspaper, “Mob buying land in Coney,” a story that purported, untruthfully, of course, that a land buyer from Bath Beach was in the mob, which was hedging its bets by moving into “Coney” in case casinos got going there. Of course, a bridge away from Coney is not Coney Island. But the phony story resounded in Albany, where the casino legislation died. Kaput.

And that Fourth of July I watched on my television as Gov. Hugh Carey dribbled a basketball at the newest Atlantic City casino. Alas, that should have happened here in Brooklyn.

This is Lou Powsner.

Comment on this story.

By Colin Mixson

Brooklyn Daily

63rd Precinct

Marine Park—Mill Basin—Flatlands—Bergen Beach

Teen spirit

Cops arrested a teenager for allegedly attacking a 65-year-old man on Brooklyn Avenue on Feb. 8.

The elderly victim was near Avenue J at 8:15 am when he was assaulted by the underage thug, who threw a series of brutal jabs, according to court records.

Missing mink

A thief nabbed a woman’s mink coat while she was busy trying on clothes inside of a store on Avenue U on Feb 2.

The woman told police that she went into the fitting room of the clothing store near E. 52nd Street at 5 pm, and came out to find that her luscious mink coat was nowhere to be found.

AWOL RSX

A car thief took off with a man’s Acura parked on Avenue R on Feb. 4.

The victim told cops that he parked his 2003 Acura RSX near E. 36th Street at 4 pm, but returned the next day and found that it was gone.

Trio of thieves

Cops arrested a suspect who they say, along with two other goons, beat and robbed a man on Avenue N on Feb. 13.

The victim told police that he was near E. 45th Street at 4:45 pm when he was approached by the trio. One of the thugs threw the man to the ground, at which point the crooks reached into the victim’s pockets and took his cellphone and iPod, cops said.

Cabinet crusher

A man was arrested after allegedly destroying a man’s cabinet, threatening to shoot him, and assaulting him on E. 45th Street on Feb. 10.

The victim, who lives near Avenue H, told police that he placed his cabinet drawer near his roommate’s door at around 2:45 pm, and returned to find his furniture smashed.

When the victim confronted his roommate, the man pointed a firearm at the victim and threatened to shoot him, according to court records. The jerk then allegedly shoved the victim to the floor.

Credit crook

Cops arrested a crook who allegedly nabbed credit cards from a woman on Avenue U on Jan. 12.

The victim was at her workplace near E. 54th Street at 9 am when she left her purse in an employees-only back room. The victim returned later to find that her purse had been pillaged and that two credit cards were missing.

— Colin Mixson

Comment on this story.

By Joanna DelBuono

Brooklyn Daily

Let’s see: Water? Check. Mystery? Check. Deepest, darkest Amazon river? Check. Lost TV personality? Check.

Sound familiar? Well, it’s ABC’s latest attempt to fill the void left in the wake of “Lost,” (and cash in in the process), and it’s called “The River.”

Me being me, and with a little downtime on a couple of Tuesday nights, I decided to give it a go, being that I love a good whodunit. So I gave it a twice over, but the second time after the first go-round didn’t get any better, and I gave up.

The mystery off-screen supernatural monster that tackled the cameraman was just over-the-top campy. I could only laugh as the poor cameraman was twirled around by what appeared to be his feet, only to land dead-as-a-doorknob on the deck of the ship — very Mr. Eko and the Smoke Monster. Drop on the deck and flop like a fish anyone?

The question is, can ABC come up with anything better than rehashing old series and really inane reality shows like “The Bachelorette,” “The Bachelor” and “Shark Tank” to name a few?

Personally, the best thing on ABC is “WipeOut,” and only because the contestants are so darn silly. I chuckle away every time one takes on the “big balls” and falls, err, bounces flat into the water. My second fave on the network is “Jeopardy,”which is in a class by itself.

Strangely enough, CBS, which I only watched when “Ghost Whisperer” was on (I still don’t know why I liked the show, but I did), and of course “Two and Half Men” (before tiger blood and the Charlie Sheen meltdown), has come up with a pretty good line up — “The Big Bang Theory,” (a “Friends” for geeks on Thursday nights), “The Gifted Man,” (sort of like “Ghost Whisperer,” but not really, on Fridays), followed by “Blue Bloods” with Tom Selleck (but I’ve been a Tom fan since his days on “Magnum,”) and “Unforgettable,” (a detective with a great memory on Tuesday evenings).

I can’t say ABC is totally off, there is “Grey’s Anatomy,” but I think that it has already jumped the shark and is on life-support, and no-one wants to pull the plug; “Desperate Housewives,” which is dunzo at the end of this season, and only living out its last scandal (gasp); and finally “Revenge,” which is a revamped “Dynasty” with the same old nastiness — and great clothes!

Some will argue that “Dancing With the Stars” is a great show, but it always reminds me of “Americas’ Funniest Home Videos,” probably because of Tom Bergeron, so I’m always waiting for the shoe to drop.

Not for Nuthin, but I’m very grateful to CBS, as I now have something to enjoy on Friday nights, especially since “Eureka” and “Warehouse 13” were moved to Mondays. I didn’t like it, but I adjusted, now if only Syfy had not canceled “Eureka,” I’ll be set.

Comment on this story.

By Colin Mixson

Brooklyn Daily

The brother of Noah Foxman wants the hit-and-run driver who mowed his older sibling down on Jan. 26 to turn himself in — and give Foxman’s three grieving children some much needed closure.

“We’re not seeking revenge,” Schmule Foxman explained as he and his neice, Pessy Greenwald, joined Councilman David Greenfield (D–Borough Park) in offering a $2,500 reward for any information leading to the hit-and-run driver’s capture. “Rather, we’re asking that the driver do the moral and correct thing by taking responsibility for his or her actions. [My brother’s death] is something that, every minute of the day since that time, I’ve been thinking about. It will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Greenwald said little throughout the gathering at the corner of Coney Island Avenue and Avenue K — where Foxman was killed — sparing only a few words about her deceased father.

“I miss his presence,” she said.

Foxman was crossing Coney Island Avenue at 10:12 pm, when a passing van clipped him — knocking him onto the pavement. Witnesses said Foxman wasn’t seriously injured and was alert and conscious when a second vehicle, described as a light-colored sedan, hit Foxman as he lay on the ground.

Paramedics rushed Foxman to Coney Island Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

No criminal charges were filed against the van driver, who pulled over to lend assistance following the first accident. The driver of the sedan never stopped and is still at large, police said.

Bob Moskowitz, coordinator of the Flatbush Shomrim Patrol, hopes that someone caught the sedan on video as it charged down Coney Island Avenue.

“If you’re a store owner on Coney Island Avenue anywhere from Avenue H all the way down to Kings Highway from 10–10:20 pm, please check your surveillance cameras,” he said. “If there’s something there that you think can help us, give it to us. It’s very, very important.”

The $2,500 reward is in addition to the $2,000 being offered by NYPD.

Anyone with information regarding the Jan. 26 hit-and-run is asked to call (800) 577-8477. All calls will be kept confidential.

Comment on this story.

By Colin Mixson

Brooklyn Daily

Hundreds of Brooklyn couples with more than 50 years of marriage under their belts were invited by Borough President Markowitz to drink, dine, and dance the day away for the 10th annual Brooklyn Sweethearts celebration at El Caribe Country Club in Mill Basin on Monday.

Markowitz kicked off the early Valentine’s Day event with a champagne toast, before sending the eager love-birds off to tare up the dance floor to the accompaniment of 1950s-era swing and love ballads. The festivities ended with the cutting of a wedding cake and the spouses indulging in other sugar-free confections.

During the festivities, a few loving couples managed to find time to renew their wedding vows, including Markowitz, whose birthday is actually on Feb. 14, and who met his wife, Jamie, in the summer of 1999 on the beach at Kingsborough College.

A few notable sweethearts present to celebrate their wedded bliss included:

• A Bay Ridge couple married for 70 years — he is 91 and still works, while she is 90, has recently purchased an iPad, and spends her evenings surfing the Web.

• A couple from Flatbush celebrating 68 years of marriage. They met at a dance and he asked her to marry him after he left to serve in the Army.

• A husband and wife from Sheepshead Bay who were married 63 years ago. She came to America with her sister and nephew — the rest of her family having been killed by the Nazis.

• A Crown Heights couple who met when they were just 15 years old; she told friends he would be her husband one day, and they laughed at her. Three years later — now 57 years ago — they married.

Comment on this story.

By Eli Rosenberg

Brooklyn Daily

Debt-straddled Nazareth High School will close at the end of June — an 11th hour decision that’s left more than 300 students and a school full of angered teachers in the lurch.

Tough economic times and a sharply declining enrollment rate led to the downfall of the 50-year-old East Flatbush Catholic institution, which is known for its 99 percent graduation rate and stellar sports programs, said the chairwoman of the school’s Board of Trustees.

“In today’s economy, many schools have had to close, it is very sad that a great school like Nazareth has to be one of them,” said Alice Hession.

Nazareth, which produced the likes of actor William Forsythe and former NBA player Stewart Granger, owes $3 million to the Diocese of Brooklyn and only enrolled 311 students this year — down from 602 in 2006, said Hession. That, combined with waning interest from alumni and corporations, made it impossible to keep the school afloat, she said.

A spokeswoman from the Diocese declined to comment, but teachers of the school accused the administration of closing the school prematurely.

“They disrespected the parents by not letting us know that the school was in financial debt and that they wanted to close it,” said Monique Fisher, a math teacher and a 1982 graduate. “It’s a minority school in a middle-to-low end neighborhood and we’re graduating 99 percent of our kids. About 96 percent go to college. This is not a failing school.”

Hession said there was simply no other option.

“We’ve tried PR campaigns and various financial aid [to boost enrollment,]” to no success, said Hession.

Heartbroken students told our sister paper, the New York Post, that Nazareth was a close-knit community with teachers who were in a class of their own.

“In other schools you don’t really find teachers that will stay after school for two hours and try to tutor you,” said sophomore Rogelio Garnes.

Senior Terence Fraser, who hopes to attend Yale, felt that Nazareth’s squeaky clean reputation should have been a deciding factor.

“We’re a good school, we don’t have any crime or anything in our school, we put kids in some of the best institutions in the country — it’s just really angering,” he said.

Nazareth, where former Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. went to school, boasts two top-notch basketball teams: the nationally ranked Lady Kingsmen, and an undefeated boys team, the Kingsmen.

The school’s exit is part of a national decline in Catholic institutions suffering from an increasing lay leadership, a transition to a more pluralist culture, and a more diverse student population, according to Father James Heft, a professor at University of Southern California and author of “Catholic High Schools: Facing the New Realities.”

“If people think it isn’t worth paying extra for, they’re not going to do it,” he said.

Catholic grade and high schools enrolled more than five million students at their peak in the 1960s — a number which has dwindled to a little more than two million in recent years, said Heft.

Comment on this story.

By Joanna DelBuono

Brooklyn Daily

When we purchased the iPhone 4 from Verizon for our daughter Bri, (after the much-heralded BlackBerry debacle of 2010), I thought it prudent to pick up the insurance policy from Verizon, should a terrible fate like dropping it in the commode befall the new phone.

All was well for almost a year, until several weeks ago, when the precious iPhone 4 dropped, and even though it was in one of the color-coordinated, jazzy-printed, super-protective cases that Bri received as a stocking-stuffer, the front glass still cracked. So much for color coordinated, jazzy-printed, super-protective phone cases.

Fear not — we have insurance. I’ve faithfully paid that $10-a-month for the last 11 months.

But when Bri went to Verizon to get the phone fixed, the guy there tells her, “You don’t get a free phone, and it’ll cost $179 to fix.”

“But we have insurance,” Bri says, to which the Verizon guy replied, “You don’t get a free phone, and it’ll cost $179 to fix.”

She tells me this, and I’m annoyed.

“But we have insurance! They must be pulling your chain because they see you’re a kid,” I sagely advise.

“No, mom, you don’t understand,” she says. “Apple changed it’s policy and they don’t give out new phones anymore, too many people took advantage.”

“No,” I say, “We pay our insurance to Verizon, it’s up to them to repair the glass.”

This past Sunday, I took a trip with Bri and the phone to Verizon.

“Look I have insurance, the glass is broken and someone told my daughter it was going to cost us $179 to fix. How come? I have insurance.”

“We’ll fix it but you have to pay the deductible of $179,” he informs me.

“What deductible?” I ask.

“Well you know every insurance policy has a deductible.”

Like I don’t know from a deductible.

“No one said anything about a deductible when I purchased the insurance 11 months ago,” I say. “Why would I, or anyone else in their right mind, pay for insurance if the deductible is almost the same price as what I paid for the phone last year?”

He just shook his head and smiled.

After several minutes of useless haggling, I accepted defeat and said, “Bri, you will have to live with a cracked glass ’cause as sure as god made little green apples, I am not going to pay this store one more blessed cent for this phone. Especially after blowing a whole year for a cockamamy insurance plan.

Even more annoyed, I tell the Verizon rep, “Take off the insurance. I refuse to pay for it anymore.”

So he takes the fee off, hands me a piece of paper, smiles and says, “Thanks for choosing Verizon.”

Not for Nuthin’ it was a lot easier when pay phones were on every corner and the only thing you had to worry about was having a handy wipe to clean off the mouth piece.

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

A classic — and controversial — play that ties Adolf Hitler to Ronald Reagan is hitting the stage (er, hitting the round) at Brooklyn College this month.

“A Bright Room Called Day,” by award-winning playwright Tony Kushner, tells the story of the rise of Hitler through the eyes of a young actress in the 1980s during the AIDS crisis, and how inaction by those who could have stopped him paved the way for the Holocaust to unfold.

“When Hitler came to power, nobody really knew what he was going to do. Nobody took it that seriously,” said Mary Beth Easley, artistic director of Brooklyn College’s theater department. “The whole thing is a call to action,”

The play illuminates the similarities between the inaction of major world powers during Hitler’s rise, and the United States’ unwillingness to treat or research the disease that killed thousands during the heights of the AIDS pandemic of the 1980s.

The entire play — which will be performed in the round, with the audience surrounding the actors who are arranged in the center of a circle — takes place in a single room. The play was controversial when it premiered in 1985 as a stunning critique of Ronald Reagan, and will be no less tendentious today.

“A Bright Room Called Day” at Walt Whitman Theatre [2900 Campus Rd. at Hillel Place in Midwood (718) 951-4500] on Feb 23-March 4, 7:30 pm. $15 for general admission, $12 for seniors and $6 for students. For more information, visit www.brooklyncenter.com

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

62nd Precinct

Bensonhurst—Bath Beach

Gamed

Thieves slid through a side window of a Bay 32nd Street house on Feb.13 and made off with a laptop and video games.

The victim told cops that she left her house between Bath and Benson avenues at 12:30 pm. When she returned a half hour later, she found her electronics missing.

Nerd heist

A thief stole two laptops from a 23rd Avenue home on Feb. 8.

The victim told cops that she left her house between Bath and Cropsey avenues at 9:30 am. When she returned at 10:30, she found that someone had broken in through her basement window and taken her computers.

Cops arrested a suspect later that day.

Big scores

Thieves stole at least $76,000 in jewelry and electronics from three homes on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8, though cops say the crimes are likely not linked.

• Creeps stole $24,000 in jewelry and electronics from a Bay 31st Street home on Feb. 8.

The victim told cops that he left his house between Benson Avenue and 86th Street at 7:45 am. When he returned at 1:15 pm, he found his first-floor window busted, and four luxury watches, a ring, necklace, and iPad missing.

• Burglars busted into an 85th Street home on Feb. 8 and made off with $29,000 in jewelry and electronics.

The victim told cops that she left her house between Bay Parkway and 21st Avenue at 7:15 am. When she returned at 6:20 that night, she found her necklace, earrings, bracelet, camera, laptop, and DVD player missing.

• Perps broke into a 66th Street home on Feb. 7, making off with $23,000 in jewelry and electronics — and sleeping pills.

The victim told cops that she left her house between 16th and 17th avenues at 8:25 am. When she returned at 3:25 pm, she found her electronics, jewelry, and Ambien missing.

Cell reception

Two stick-wielding punks held up a man for his cellphone on 20th Avenue on Feb. 13.

The victim told cops that he was near 66th Street at 10:10 pm when the thugs approached him and demanded his phone.

One man grabbed the victim by his neck, while the other wielded a stick.

Once bitten

A shoplifter bit a security guard while trying to make his getaway from the Bay Parkway Kohl’s on Feb. 7, say police.

Store owners told cops that the man was trying to leave the store near Bensonhurst Park at 9:30 am with clothing and jewelry that he had stolen.

When the guard tried to stop the man, he allegedly bit the employee on the forearm. Cops then arrested him.

— Dan MacLeod

Comment on this story.

By Colin Mixson

Brooklyn Daily

The Man in Black is back — in spirit, anyway.

The Bell House will celebrate what would have been Johnny Cash’s 80th birthday with a singalong of the country-rocker’s greatest hits on Friday, Feb. 24.

“Johnny Cash was never anybody except Johnny Cash,” said Alex Battles, the frontman of honky tonk rock band The Whisky Rebellion, who will host the shindig. “There are so many artists who spend their lives imitating other artists, trying to figure out who they are, but Johnny Cash was always a straight-forward guy; he was strong and vulnerable, he was happy and sad — and he’s just the coolest guy.”

Battles and the Whisky Rebellion will croon Cash’s iconic San Quentin set, during which he serenaded the inmates at one of the country’s most notorious maximum-security prisons, placing a special emphasis on authenticity; Battles’s deep and gritty voice (and a couple of stiff drinks) makes this reenactment a faithful interpretation of the genuine article, even though he and Cash look nothing alike.

“Cash’s songs are real fun to sing along to,” Battles said. “My dad had a Johnny Cash tape that we listened to in the car, and he would play it over and over again until I learned all the songs by heart. That’s the reason I can do this, because the songs you grew up listening to are the songs you can do better than any other.”

But it’s not about Battles’s own love for the Man in Black, it’s about unifying Cash’s fans, and paying homage to a legend.

“This is not my event,” said Battles. “It’s for everybody who loves Johnny Cash.”

The Bell House [149 Seventh St. between Second and Third avenues in Gowanus, (718) 643-6510] Feb. 24, 8 pm. $20 ($15 in advance). For info, visit www.thebellhouseny.com

Comment on this story.

Brooklyn Daily

61st Precinct

Sheepshead Bay—Manhattan Beach—Gravesend—Homecrest

Fightin’ words

Cops arrested a man who they say robbed one man and beat up another on Coney Island Avenue on Feb. 17 — then freely admitted what he’d done.

Witnesses told officials that the thief jumped a man near Avenue U at about 3 am, stealing his property. He ran away, but got into a brawl with a second man further down the avenue, police claim.

Cops broke up the fight, but they couldn’t shut the suspect up.

“Yeah, I hit him,” the thug allegedly said, freely admitting the robbery. “I love to fight! Gang bangin’ till death!”

Two on one

Two goons jumped a 62-year-old man on Quentin Road on Feb. 19, taking $12 and a cellphone.

The victim was nearing McDonald Avenue at 11:10 pm when the suspects attacked, punching him in the face.

School attack

A 17-year-old was arrested on Feb. 13 for allegedly attacking another teen inside Sheepshead Bay High School on Avenue X — leaving the student with cuts and bruises.

Witnesses said the two were arguing inside the school between Coyle and Batchelder Street at 12:55 pm when they came to blows.

The victim refused medical attention, officials said.

Popped for iPad

An Emmons Avenue store clerk was arrested on Feb. 17 for allegedly purchasing an iPad he knew was stolen.

Undercover officers went into Shoreway Convenience near Nostrand Avenue on 12:05 pm looking to unload the smart tablet. When the worker bought it, he was immediately arrested, and charged with criminal possession of stolen property.

Cops did not say what the iPad was sold for, but the arrest closely resembles a borough-wide NYPD sting that took place last year, where more than 40 people were arrested for buying iPads cops claim they knew were stolen.

Tow trouble

Cops arrested a motorist who they say roughed up and robbed a tow truck operator in the El Greco Diner parking lot on Feb. 18.

Workers at the Emmons Avenue eatery said that the tow truck operator had hooked up a car when the suspect ran up and pushed him to the ground. The man then took the keys from the tow truck, but stuck around, say police, who arrested him for robbery.

Zoom zoom

A thief looted a 2011 Mazda parked on Avenue S on Feb. 17, taking several credit cards and a U.S. passport.

The owner of the car told police that she left the vehicle unlocked near Coney Island Avenue at 8 pm. When she returned at 7 pm the next day, her handbag, which she claims she hid under the seat, had been rifled through.

More car raids

A crook cleaned out a 2009 Hyundai parked on Bragg Street on Feb. 11, taking an EZ pass and a navigation system.

The owner of the car parked the car near Shore Parkway at 9 pm. When he returned to it on Feb. 18, the car was undamaged, but empty.

Vandal hits car

Some goon attacked a 2005 Honda parked on E. 12th Street on Feb. 18 — slashing one tire and writing the word “a--” on the hood.

The victim said she left her car near Avenue Y at 11 am. When she returned two hours later, it had been vandalized.

Toyota take away

A crook broke into a 2007 Toyota parked on E. 21st Street on Feb. 17, taking a laptop computer and an iPod he found inside.

The car’s owner parked her vehicle between Avenue P and Quentin Road at 5 pm as she visited her sister, who lives nearby. When she left at 9 pm, she realized that someone had smashed a passenger-side mirror and popped the trunk, taking the items inside.

Left flat

A free-wheeling thief swiped the tires off of a 2011 Nissan Maxima while it sat on E. 22nd Street on Feb. 20.

The owner of the sports car left his vehicle between Quentin Road and Avenue R at midnight. When he returned at 6 am, the car was resting on its rotors.

Garage raid

A thief broke into a garage on Falmouth Street in Manhattan Beach on Feb. 14, taking two guitars and a bicycle.

The owner of the home between Shore and Oriental boulevards said the thief broke into his locked garage sometime after 6 pm. The theft, however, wasn’t discovered until Feb. 17.

Jewelry taken

A crook broke into an E. Fifth Street home on Feb. 20, taking more than $10,000 in jewelry and cash.

The victim returned to his home near Avenue W at 2:45 pm to find his door broken and half open. Several rooms were ransacked and the jewelry — a Movado watch — as well as $12,000, were missing, the victim told police.

— Thomas Tracy

Comment on this story.

By Daniel Bush

Brooklyn Daily

Star members of the Brooklyn Aviators hockey team put their end-of-the-season playoff push on ice — for an afternoon, anyway — to visit children at SUNY Downstate Medical Center on Feb. 13 and students at PS 212 on Bay 49th Street in Bath Beach on Feb. 14.

Goalie Jo St. Pierre, forward Mike Thompson, and other players from the Federal Hockey League’s Brooklyn squad dropped by the Flatbush hospital’s pediatric department to play board games and read books to a surprised group of children.

The hockey pros scored a goal with the kids — with an assist from the team’s high-flying, fan-friendly mascot, Ace Eagle.

“The Aviators really cared about the kids and the kids just loved them,” said SUNY Downstate representative Sandy Dell, who asked the team back for a second straight year. “Everyone wanted to have their picture taken with the players and Ace.”

Not content to stop there, the Aviators glided over to PS 212 off Harway Avenue the next day for a skills and sportsmanship clinic with star-struck elementary school students who took turns learning how to push plastic pucks around the school’s hardwood gym.

“Knowing that we can put smiles on these kids’ faces means the world to us,” said Aviators head coach Rob Miller.

The Aviators are finishing up their second season at the arena fans have dubbed “The Hangar” at Floyd Bennett Field.

Comment on this story.

By Sarah Zorn

Brooklyn Daily

Call it a farewell to the flesh.

Two fun-fueled weeks of music, dancing, debauchery, and general gastronomic excess, Carnevale — which has been celebrated in Italy since ancient times — is the perfect way for the faithful to gear up for the rigors of Lent, and share in the spoils of the family pig before a long, 40-day fast.

Can’t afford a trip to Italy? Modern day celebrants — and those just looking for a good excuse to eat copious amounts of animal product — have been flocking to Tommaso Restaurant in Bath Beach for years.

“This is my 40th run-around,” said chef/owner Tommaso Verdillo, who dutifully greets each season by dusting off his Pagliacci costume, decking out the dining room with vividly colored balloons and traditional masks, and heading to the kitchen to prepare fantastic, pork-tastic feasts.

“Carnevale is so wonderful, because it’s a moment of true gaiety in the harshness of winter,” he added. “That’s what keeps people coming back year after year, along with the food, the tradition, and the authenticity of it all.”

Translation — go hungry, go with friends, and don’t go looking for vegetables.

The formidable prixe-fixe includes a waistband-busting spread of 15 family-style appetizers, an individual pasta/soup course, a protein, and a dessert; most dishes prominently feature the Other White Meat.

Think tender-skin braised with cabbage, pork-stuffed rice balls, porchetta sandwiches, protein-packed lasagna, veal rolled with pancetta and a heady minestra soup with noodles and broad beans, redolent of long-simmered bones.

Even dessert is a carnivore’s delight — a creamy chocolate pudding called sanguinaccio, which comes thickened with blood — (beef, not pork). Just like old times!

The star of the banquet, however, is a whole roasted suckling pig, smiling toothily from its perch of oranges and lettuce.

The little porker shares center stage with Verdillo himself, a Juilliard-trained opera singer who regales guests with arias between courses. A little “Finiculi, Finicula” with your antipasti, anyone?

“What gets me excited is that I can keep a tradition, which in turn, gets people in contact with their roots; their raison d’etre,” Verdillo said.

“This is my raison d’etre,” he added. “I don’t want to just sell veal cutlet parmesan and fettuccine alfredo —not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it doesn’t make me feel like I’ve done something; am continuing something. This celebration is important to people, and that means more to me than anything else.”

Carnevale at Tommaso’s Restaurant [1464 86th St. between 14th Avenue and Bay Seventh Street in Bath Beach, (718) 236-9883]. Reservations from 5 pm–10 pm through February 21st, $40 a person on weekdays, $45 on Friday and Sunday, and $50 on Saturday and Tuesday.

Comment on this story.

By Ron Schweiger

Brooklyn Daily

A century ago, Brooklyn had the largest and most popular resort in the world. Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay and Coney Island attracted millions every summer. Coney Island boasted three amusement parks, Dreamland (1904–1911), Luna Park (1903–1944) and Steeplechase Park (1897–1964). Astroland opened in 1962 and closed after the 2009 season.

While vacationing in England in 1896, George C. Tilyou witnessed a horse race called “The Steeplechase.” This gave him a bright idea. He came to Brooklyn, bought land in Coney Island, and in 1897 opened Steeplechase Park, where the main attraction was the famous, mechanical horse race ride. Steeplechase became one of the most famous amusement parks in the world.

One of the major attractions of the 1939 World’s fair in Queens was the Parachute Jump. When the fair closed in 1940, the attraction was purchased, disassembled and transported to Steeplechase Park. It was rebuilt and ready for the 1941 season.

For the next two decades, the Parachute Jump was one of the top attractions in Coney Island. It got to be known as Brooklyn’s “Eiffel Tower.” However, during the early 1960s there was a decline in the amusement area. After 67 years of amusing the millions, Steeplechase Park closed its doors at the end of the 1964 season. The Parachute Jump had dropped its last parachute.

The Parachute Jump had become a rusted tower of steel. Many believed it was going to collapse, and thought it should be demolished. But in 1988, the Parachute Jump was designated a New York City Landmark. It underwent a restoration and painting in 1993, and again in the early 2000s.

For many years there was talk of a “new Coney Island.” In 2001, a ballpark was built on the site of Steeplechase Park. It is home to the Brooklyn Cyclones, a Mets farm team. The Cyclones fill the ballpark for their 38 home games. The Parachute Jump stands just beyond the right-field fence. In 2010, the resurgence continued with the opening of a new Luna Park on the site Astroland. More than 400,000 flocked to this new park during its first season. In 2011, it added a new “Scream Zone” with new rides and attractions.

In 2013, the historic 1919 B&B Carousel, which graced Surf Avenue for nearly a century, will be returning to Coney Island, following a major restoration. It will be relocated along the boardwalk, in the shadow of the Parachute Jump, as part of a new entertainment center.

Developers are investing in Coney Island. Tourists are coming in record numbers, having a hot dog at Nathan’s, going on the Cyclone, taking in a ball game at MCU Park and riding the Wonder Wheel. Coney Island has a “bright” future, and the Parachute Jump should light the way.

Ron Schweiger is the Brooklyn Borough Historian.

Comment on this story.

By Thomas Tracy

Brooklyn Daily

A whale of a goaltender blocked one aggressive Aviators push after the other on Friday night as the flighty Brooklyn flyers fell to the Danbury Whalers 3–1 during a grueling contest at Floyd Bennett Field.

Brooklyn outshot the Whalers 43–24 at the Aviator Sports and Events Center, but Danbury goalie Peter Ventri stopped 42 of the 43 pucks fired at his net.

Aviator goaltender Jo St. Pierre wasn’t as lucky, letting three pucks get by him.

The Whalers were the first to get on the board and consistently smacked a puck into the back of St. Pierre’s net every period.

The Aviators tried — and failed — to even the odds during a late third period rally with Brooklyn center Jason Dolgy scoring three minutes before the final buzzer.

The loss snapped the three-game winning streak Brooklyn’s boys of winter celebrated after defeating Danbury twice and stealing a victory from the New Jersey Outlaws last week.

The Brooklyn Aviators will return to the Aviator Sports and Events Center [3159 Flatbush Ave. in Floyd Bennett Field in Marine Park, (718) 758-7580] on Feb. 20 at 7:35 pm to take on the New Jersey Outlaws. Tickets are $12 ($10 for seniors and children under 14) For more info, visit www.BrooklynAviators.com.

Comment on this story.

By Rob Burstein

Brooklyn Daily

The Parachute Jump is a unique structure that deserves the landmark status it was granted in 1988. However, when funds are in short supply, they should be used to address the most pressing needs first. Rather than spending an additional $2 million, beyond the 1.4 million already spent, on making the lighting on the Parachute Jump brighter — a superficial concern — these funds should be spent addressing Coney Island’s most important and immediate need: preserving its iconic, world-famous wooden Boardwalk.

The Parks Department insists that in order to fix the Boardwalk, they first must destroy it. They claim that a concrete walk is, in fact, still a boardwalk. By this standard, New Yorkers are blessed with thousands of “boardwalks,” including Park, Madison, and Fifth Avenues. There are simple solutions that the Parks Department refuses to consider: minimizing the use of heavy vehicles on the boardwalk; using non-rainforest, sustainable woods that are both structurally and financially viable; and performing basic maintenance. Our politicians too are to blame for this sad state of affairs. While mouthing tepid platitudes of support for maintaining the character of the Boardwalk, they have done little, for many years, to commit some of their funds to an appropriate and reasonable maintenance budget that would keep the Boardwalk in good repair. Imagine the uproar, if the City said Central Park needed to be paved over with concrete, because its maintenance required funding.

The cost differential between concrete and wood decreases significantly over time. The two concrete sections, installed less than two years ago, have already required significant repairs. Concrete is much harder to walk, run, or dance on — all activities enjoyed by various groups here. It’s also not as safe, and is prone to icing over in the winter, and flooding in the summer.

The wishes of the people in our community and throughout our city are clear and need to be respected. Thousands have signed both paper and online petitions stating that they value and want a true wood Coney Island Boardwalk to be maintained.

This unique and historic aesthetic entity, which visitors and locals alike interact with in intimate and meaningful ways on a daily basis, forms the spine of our communities and acts as the anchor for all of the businesses on or near it. Rather than spending limited funds on what amounts to a cosmetic facial for the Parachute Jump, those funds should be used to preserve New York City’s most unique respite from concrete — its jewel, the authentic Coney Island Boardwalk!

Rob Burstein is the president of the Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance.

Comment on this story.

By Daniel Bush

Brooklyn Daily

Some dogs have jobs, too.

Two canines who spend their work days sniffing through cargo for illegal drugs and food at John. F Kennedy International Airport paid a special visit to students at PS 163, who’ve spent the last month studying why service dogs are man’s best friend.

Trained handlers from U.S. Customs led the animals through mock inspection drills to show kindergarten, first and second graders at the Bath Beach school on Bay 14th Street how the animals help secure one of the world’s busiest airports.

Terry, a sleek Belgian Malinois, scurried across a stage strewn with luggage to the one suitcase filled with narcotics-scented towels. Then Jackson — a nosy black lab trained to search for smuggled food and plants — delighted students by smelling his way to the one package in a heap of boxes that contained tainted grub.

PS 163 teacher Hope Stogel said the demonstration proved that dogs do more than bark and play.

“The students got an appreciation for how dogs are used other than as pets,” said Stogel, a speech pathologist who organized the event. “The kids loved it — they were surprised how quickly the dogs could find the [suspicious items].”

Comment on this story.

By Colin Mixson

Brooklyn Daily

The Brooklyn Aviators were shot down and nearly shut out by the New Jersey Outlaws on Monday night, falling 3–1 to the top-ranked ice bandits during a special President’s Day showing at the Aviators Sports and Events Center.

The defeat caps off a torrential, two-week losing skid, which now stands at five whopping failures.

It was a slow game to start, but Outlaw Kevin Cooper quickly took things into his own hands, stealing two unanswered points in the first and second period and leaving the skaters from dirty Jersey with a solid lead going into the final round.

Brooklyn right winger Michael Thompson earned a point early in the third period with a soaring breakaway, but New Jersey kept up the pressure, with Outlaw Anthony Battaglia slapping in the game’s last point four minutes before the buzzer.

Fortunately, the gamed ended with a crowd pleaser for those A’s fans still seeing red: Aviator’s netminder Jo St. Pierre and Outlaw goalie Dan McWhinney left their creases to duke it out to a roar of approval from digruntled A’s fans moping in the stands.

The Brooklyn Aviators will return to the Aviator Sports and Events Center [3159 Flatbush Ave. in Floyd Bennett Field in Marine Park, (718) 758-7580] on Feb. 23 at 7:35 pm to take on the Akwesasne

Warriors. Tickets are $12 ($10 for seniors and children under 14). For more info, visit www.BrooklynAviators.com.

Comment on this story.

By Daniel Bush

Brooklyn Daily

Sheepshead Bay takes center stage — literally — in Brooklyn native Erika Sheffer’s off-Broadway debut, “Russian Transport,” starring comedian Jeneane Garafalo, about a Russian American family from the neighborhood struggling to make ends meet, whose daily routine is upended by a surprise visit from a trouble-making relative named Boris.

We caught up with Sheffer, a Flatbush resident and graduate of Edward R. Murrow High School, to discuss the drama, immigrant life in Brooklyn and her upcoming play, set in Midwood.

Daniel Bush: Why did you set “Russian Transport” in Sheepshead Bay, as opposed to Brighton Beach? What is it about Sheepshead Bay in general, and Russian immigrants in particular, that you find so interesting?

Erika Sheffer: My parents and brother emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1975. We first lived in Boro Park, but moved to the Sheepshead Bay–Marine Park area when I was five. As a kid, I remember going to Brighton Beach and feeling like I’d wandered into another country. A Russian immigrant could live there and never have to learn English. Sheepshead Bay feels more diverse to me. Since the kids in the play are not totally immersed in Russian culture, their struggle to balance their parents’ values with their own assimilated point of view mirrored my own experience.

DB: The character played by Janeane Garafalo, Diana, and her husband Misha are struggling to maintain their small business. But their children seem more concerned with fitting into mainstream American culture. What does this generational divide say about the immigrant experience?

ES: When my parents came to America, they brought a lot of anxiety and fear with them. They wanted to make a better life for their children, but when that involved going away to college, moving to another state, or pursuing a less than lucrative career in the arts, fear of the unknown took hold. I’m lucky my parents supported me despite their fears. Like Diana and Misha, their focus was to ensure the safety of their children, but coming from an oppressive regime, their idea of what it meant to be safe is very different from the average American high schooler. The biggest difference I’ve found between my parents generation and mine, is that we expect to find happiness. They hope for stability.

DB: Would the play have been any different if you focused on Mexican immigrants in Sunset Park, say, or the growing Turkish community in Sheepshead Bay? Or do different immigrant groups share more things in common then we might assume?

ES: When you come to a new country, understanding its values is a battle you often lose. At least in the beginning. Personally, I can relate to that story whether the players are Chinese, Cuban, or Sudanese. We all come here wanting to fit in while retaining that which feels uniquely home. It’s a paradox that’s universal to immigrants. Except for the food and jewelry, I’d say we’re a pretty similar lot.

DB: You grew up in Brooklyn. Where were some of your favorite places to go as a child, and what do you do for fun now?

ES: When I was a kid, the biggest treat was a trip to Nellie Bly. You can’t even call that place an amusement park. It’s off Shore Parkway and they used to give you a dirty potato sack to wear when you went down the “Fun Slide,” so you could gather momentum and sustain more lasting injuries. Caesar’s Bay Bazar was another classic trip. Now it’s just a big chain mini-mall, but back in the day, it was filled with independent vendors selling everything you could think of. You could buy a carpet from the middle east and a snow cone in one location.

Nowadays, there is always something amazing happening at BAM or St. Anne’s Warehouse. Also, don’t leave this borough without eating at L&B Spumoni Gardens, Brennan & Carr, and my local falafel cart on Cortelyou Road.

DB: Will your next play be set in the borough, too?

ES: Well, I’ve got two in the works and one is indeed set in Brooklyn. We’re moving north to Midwood, this time.

“Russian Transport” at the Acorn Theater [W. 42nd St. between Ninth and Tenth avenues in Manhattan (212) 239-6200] on Mondays–Wednesdays at 8 pm, Thursday–Friday at 8 pm and Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm, through March 24. Tickets start at $61. For more info visit www.thenewgroup.org.

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

Cops arrested an administrator at a Bay Ridge prep school for assaulting a 12-year-old student on Feb. 7.

Police say Adelphi Academy’s Jon Barry Kablack bruised the boy’s arm when he grabbed it while the child was on a field trip from the school on Ridge Boulevard between 85th and 86th streets.

Police were notified by the child’s mother after her son told her what happened that afternoon when he got home from school.

But the head of the private Adelphi Academy blasted the complaint as frivolous.

“This appears to be an act of retaliation aimed at the school by disgruntled parents,” Adelphi President Roy Blash said in a statement.

“While Adelphi Academy did receive an allegation from a parent regarding their young child, [we] fully and immediately investigated the matter, and by all accounts found the allegation to be baseless.”

Unlike public schools, private school administrators are not required by law to report alleged abuse to authorities, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Education said.

But the child’s family doesn’t plan to take this laying down: they have retained lawyer Bruce Baron to take legal action against the school.

Baron declined to comment.

Kablack has not been fired, school employees said.

“He took a couple of sick days, but, as far as I know, he’s not fired,” said Chip Cafiero, the school’s director of community and external relations, who defended Kablack.

“He is an excellent man,” Cafiero said.

Details about Kablack’s employment at the school could not be immediately confirmed, but Cafiero said that he was an assistant to the school’s director and “does a lot of odds and ends.”

Comment on this story.

By Daniel Bush

Brooklyn Daily

State Sen. Eric Adams wants your vote this fall — and next fall, too.

The Prospect Heights Democrat is throwing his hat in the ring for what’s expected to be a bruising race to replace Borough President Markowitz as Brooklyn’s highest-profile, but largely powerless, booster-in-chief. And he’s doing it while running again for his seat in Albany.

“I’ve always wanted to be borough president,” said Adams, who faces a state Senate election this fall and a Borough President election the following year.

Adams announced his intentions to run through his longtime chief of staff, Ingrid Martin, who sent an email to a circle of supporters this week appealing for contributions for his currently penniless Beep campaign fund in advance of a March 8 fundraiser.

“The road to Borough Hall is long and can be rocky, but with your continued support we [can] set a smooth course,” Martin said.

The three-term lawmaker would be Brooklyn’s first African American borough president — potentially giving him a big boost from black voters.

But Adams — a retired cop and founding member of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care who is perhaps best known for his controversial “Stop the Sag” campaign to get kids to hike up their pants — has no cash on hand and his opponent has deep pockets.

Carlo Scissura, a special adviser and former chief of staff to Borough President Markowitz, reported raising $127,000 in his first 100 days as a candidate — the fastest of any Brooklyn Borough Hall hopeful in history, according to the Campaign Finance Board.

“Let’s see who raises the money [to be competitive],” Scissura said. “It’s early and 2013 is a long ways off.”

Scissura said he would ease overcrowding in schools, bring manufacturing jobs back to the borough and expand ferry service to Southern Brooklyn, among other initiatives.

Adams was short on specifics, saying he’s still focused on getting reelected as a state Senator this fall in an election that became more interesting after Senate Republicans proposed maps for new legislative districts that would cut Adams out of his Crown Heights-to-Sunset Park district. Adams said he would move into the new district if necessary, but expects the proposal won’t be approved.

City campaign finance officials say Adams can open a fundraising committee for the state Senate race and for the Borough President race simultaneously — and if he loses the primary for Beep he can fall back on his old Albany seat, so long as he wins this fall.

Besides Adams and Scissura, several others are rumored to be eyeing a run to replace Markowitz, who’s term-limited out of office in 2013, including state Sen. Daniel Squadron (D–Brooklyn Heights), Assemblyman Nick Perry (D–Flatbush) and City Councilmembers Dominic Recchia (D–Coney Island) and Letitia James (D–Fort Greene).

—with Aaron Short

Comment on this story.

By Colin Mixson

Brooklyn Daily

The Brooklyn Aviators fell to the hated Akwesasne Warriors on Friday as last year’s Commissioner’s Cup champions made a 4–3 come-from-behind victory in Ontario.

The hockey gods have often frowned on Brooklyn during their battles against the Warriors this season: Friday’s defeat drags the Aviators down to a woeful 1–4 record against Akwesasne, the team that defeated the A’s in last year’s playoffs.

But the Aviators gave it their all on Friday: the scrappy squad quickly laid claim to the ice in the first period, scoring two unanswered goals at the 10 and 15 minute marks.

The Warriors earned their first point in the second period, but the Aviators quickly followed with a goal of their own, keeping a two point lead.

But the Aviators crashed and burned in the third as Akwesasne scored three unanswered points — the final, heart crushing goal coming four minutes before the final buzzer.

The Brooklyn Aviators will return to the Aviator Sports and Events Center [3159 Flatbush Ave. in Floyd Bennett Field in Marine Park, (718) 758-7580] on Feb. 20 at 7:35 pm to take on the New Jersey Outlaws. Tickets are $12 ($10 for seniors and children under 14). For more info, visit www.BrooklynAviators.com.

Comment on this story.

By Thomas Tracy

Brooklyn Daily

The Brooklyn Aviators’ hopes of beating the Federal Hockey League’s Commissioner Cup champions were shot down — again — on Saturday as they fell to the hated Akwesasne Warriors, losing 5–3 in Ontario.

The only thing missing was a war cry as the Warriors took no prisoners on the ice, netting three goals in the first two periods.

The Aviators were loaded for bear, and outshot the Warriors at every turn — making 66 attempts at the net to Akwesasne’s 34 — but Akwesasne netminder Alexandre Vincent blocked every puck until the third period, when Aviator center Joe Dabkowski made Brooklyn’s first goal of the night during a powerplay.

Returning Aviator right-winger Michael Thomson managed to smack in two more goals during the last ten minutes of play, but the Aviators couldn’t close in on the two additional points Akwesasne made in the third as they skated toward their fifth victory against Brooklyn this season.

The Brooklyn Aviators will return to the Aviator Sports and Events Center [3159 Flatbush Ave. in Floyd Bennett Field in Marine Park, (718) 758-7580] on Feb. 20 at 7:35 pm to take on the New Jersey Outlaws. Tickets are $12 ($10 for seniors and children under 14). For more info, visit www.BrooklynAviators.com.

Comment on this story.

By Joanna DelBuono

Brooklyn Daily

Sheepshead Bay

Captains Fred and Vincent Ardolino made so many right decisions on 9/11. The brothers piloted their Ameberjack V to and from Manhattan, transporting survivors on that fateful day. Without their fearlessness and humanitarian efforts, many would not have reached home. The Brooklyn Division of the Kiwanis International Organization recently honored the brothers by bestowing upon them the Everyday Hero Award at the Baron DeKalb Knights of Columbus on Feb. 1. Hey, better late than never! “This award is given to people who may never receive an award, but their contributions to society are nonetheless important,” said Lt. Gov of the Kiwanis Michael Rizzotto. Standing O agrees completely.

Park Slope

Bravisima

Shining in her 15 minutes of limelight, longtime Sloper and Standing O pal Tomi Tsunoda is directing “Erosion: A Fable” premiering at La MaMa through Feb. 26. The play tells the story of corporate competition, environmental catastrophe and personal transformation — oh my! It fuses dance, theater and original music in traditional storytelling techniques. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students — be warned, though, that it is playing in that other borough of Manhattan. But hey, close enough!

La MaMa (the Club) [74 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery in Manhattan, (212) 475-7710].

Gravesend

Go with the flow

Every printer will be green with envy over the HPL2550060 graphic printer that just moved into Liquid Dreams Design. The eco-friendly green machine affords users the options of printing on canvases and other materials, as well as producing the trendiest looking trade show displays and custom wall paper. The printer uses water based latex inks, is odorless — which is a very good thing — and UV and water resistant. Get this: it even prints on recyclable materials. Standing O wants to know “how green can you go?”

Liquid Dreams Design [344 Ave. Y between W. Third Street and Shell Road in Gravesend, (718) 627-8599].

Fort Greene

75th says goodbye

Welcome to Captain Scott Henderson, the new CO at the 88th Police Precinct who held court at the 75th Precinct in East New York. Our pal Scott has taken the reins from Deputy Inspector Anthony Tasso, the former CO who is now the new CO at the 83rd Police Precinct — confused yet? “My years at the 75th Precinct prepared me to take the post here,” Scott told Standing O. We say, “Welcome aboard, to both of them!”

75th Police Precinct [298 Classon Avenue between DeKalb and Willoughby avenues in Fort Greene, 718-636-6511].

Crown Heights

Circle goes round

Thanks to the bigwigs at Astoria Federal Savings the circle is going to keep on going until March 4! The Federal Savings angels have agreed to bankroll the Secrets of Circles Exhibit at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Circles are everywhere: the wheels of the car, the clock on the wall — even the “O” in Standing O — and they’re pretty amazing, too. In this interactive exhibit, children and adults uncover and discover the math, science and engineering behind the incredible geometric shapes. Hurry up, you still have time to catch the exhibit before it rolls off!

Brooklyn Children’s Museum [145 Brooklyn Ave. at St. Marks Avenue in Crown Heights, (718) 735-4400].

Comment on this story.

By Colin Mixson

Brooklyn Daily

It’s a little slice of history — with an artistic twist.

Don’t be surprised if the Brooklyn Museum’s 18th and 19th century period rooms appear slightly different on Feb. 24 — as part of its “Playing House” exhibit, the museum is allowing its prized, historic digs to be transformed by four contemporary artists.

“It’s called ‘Playing House’ and so it has the silly allusions of young girls playing with a doll house,” said curator, Barry Harwood, “but these are all very serious women artists.”

Betty Woodman, Ann Agee, Mary Lucier and Anne Chu were invited by the museum to tour the period rooms; pick their favorite; and rearrange, redecorate and redefine them using art made specifically for the project — the results have turned the historic chambers inside out.

When Agee, for instance, saw the museum’s upscale, Victorian library and parlor, which are each flush with gaudy, gilded carvings and velvet curtains, she couldn’t resist the urge remake the chambers into something grungier.

“They’re not the prettiest rooms in the museum, but they’re the most interesting,” said Agee. “People of the Victorian era were just obsessed with beauty and with covering things up and those rooms are just dripping with decoration. I wanted to take away that veneer.”

The Victorian rooms are now lined with hand-drawn wallpapers depicting a craftsman’s workshop, complete with ceiling pipes, a work sink, and an electric fan — a far cry from the bourgeois appetites of the room’s original occupants.

Although there is no set criteria for the various “Playing House” projects — which have all manifested themselves in very different ways — the four women were asked to respond to their disparate rooms, and then use their art to express those reactions.

“The theme is that we would respond,” said Woodman. “I think this is something that many museums are interested in doing and they do it in different ways. But I think that the idea was, here are these period room, how can we have artists today interact with them, change the way you see them and change the public who come to see them.”

Brooklyn Museum [200 Eastern Pkwy. near Washington Avenue, (718) 638-5000] Open Feb. 24 – Aug. 26. Free with admission. For info, visit www.brooklynmuseum.org

Comment on this story.

By Joanna DelBuono

Brooklyn Daily

Borough wide

Standing O is always fair — even if a hero just happens to be from Staten Island — and a boost is a boost is a boost. Verizon employee and Staten Island resident, Steven Baudille was on his way to a job when he happened to see smoke spewing from a basement window in a Midwood apartment house. He flagged down two officers from the 61st Precinct, PO Melissa Waldon and PO Andrew Gibbs, and between the three courageous superheroes they managed to pull Offir Shachar out the window of the blazing inferno to safety. “If it wasn’t for the two cops and this Verizon guy, this guy would have been dead,” said a witness. “The noble actions of these three prevented an otherwise potentially tragic outcome,” said Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz (D-Sheepshead Bay), as he presented the three protectors with citations. It’s three cheers all around.

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz [1800 Sheepshead Bay Rd. between Shore Parkway and Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, (718) 743-4078].

Comment on this story.

By Shavana Abruzzo

Brooklyn Daily

Who needs Fashion Week when there’s the Rotary Club of Verrazano?

The charitable organization put the “fun” in fundraising last week with its 16th annual fashion show at Gargiulo’s Restaurant in Coney Island, drawing more than 400 big-hearted guests who willingly parted with big bucks to view the fashions of Hyman Kersner and Son, an accessory and specialty store in Bensonhurst that has been spiffying up style hounds since 1927.

The theme of the evening was “Reach for the Stars, Help Make a Difference,” with Five Star DJ Entertainment providing the music, and a raffle to sweeten the pot.

Proceeds from the event will help organizations such as Gift of Life Italy in New York for children with congenital heart disease; the River Fund organization, which feeds the hungry along the Coney Island Boardwalk; Heart Share Human Services; and U.S. troops stationed at Fort Hamilton Garrison Base who receive turkeys at Thanksgiving and gifts for their children during the holidays.

The community’s generosity helped in more ways than one, according to Vincent Nativo, the club’s president.

“Each of their guests was a winner whether they won a basket or left the event empty-handed, as their financial support will have a positive impact on so many families,” he said.

Comment on this story.

By Joanna DelBuono

Brooklyn Daily

Bensonhurst

Get your groove on

Chicka boom-boom-boom to Walter Chica-Chevallos, the moving grooving senior who really struts his stuff at the Metropolitan Jewish Health System Adult Day Health Center. Our pal Walter twinkles his toes every week to keep in tip-top shape. He joins other seniors who rock, sway, shimmy and stretch at the Center’s dance therapy program. The Center provides therapists, rehabilitation and nursing services to help the seniors maintain their independence and medical needs. Standing O says, “It don’t matter if you shake it your way or Walter’s way, just as long as you shake it the bon-bon way.”

Metropolitan Jewish Health System Adult Day Health Center [6206 16th Ave. at 62nd Street in Bensonhurst, (718) 621-3600].

Comment on this story.

By Stanley P. Gershbein

Brooklyn Daily

Chutzpah is a Yiddish word meaning shameless audacity, titanic effrontery, sheer guts plus arrogance, gigantic gall, and colossal nerve.

Chutzpah is being angry at me for declining an invitation to your son’s wedding. If it was a regular wedding at Temple Beth Shalom in Smithtown, I’d gladly be there with a generous check for the happy couple. However, it is not. The daughter-in-law to be has always had her heart set on a romantic wedding in the Caribbean. The price of two economy super-saver round-trip tickets from JFK to Aruba is $1076. The hotel for two nights is $500. Incidentals such as taxis, breakfast, lunch, and tips are another 200 bucks. Add in the wedding gift and, according to my calculations, my attendance there will top two grand. And the hosts are upset that many friends have declined their kind invitation. I call that chutzpah. What’s your thinking?

• • •

I love fast food. One of my very favorite lunches consists of six White Castles, large fries, and a giant Coke. I look around at the crowds and I’m not the only one. There’s a New York stock broker who feels the same way but, because of his 290 pound frame, he has problems sitting in those cramped booths. He claims that he is always bumping his knees into the tables. If this was me I’d make the order to go and dine on this delectable, high quality, well-prepared gourmet meal in my car while listening to Rush Limbaugh. Not him. After complaining and writing to the management, Mr. Wall Street has taken the case to federal court. He is suing for bigger chairs and unspecified damages because he says the restaurant is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. He compares himself to the disabled? What do you call that? I call it chutzpah.

• • •

Here’s another really big guy with chutzpah. He’s a convicted felon who weighs 400 pounds and is suing New York City because the jail he is in doesn’t stock the standard green jumpsuit in his size. He is claiming he has been “emotionally damage” because he has to wear a super-sized jumpsuit every day that makes him different from his fellow inmates.

Hey there, Goliath. If you didn’t do the crime you wouldn’t have to do the time dressed that way. Man, is that chutzpah. But, then again, we are living in crazy times. The right lawyer will get the judge to award him a few grand. Chutzpah indeed.

• • •

Then there’s the judge in Nevada that presided over a murder trial that ended very late at night. After 13 hours in the jury box she demanded that the jury begin deliberations at once. This “at once” was 3 am because — drum roll please — her honor had plans to go on vacation the next day. That is a judge with chutzpah.

• • •

Everybody knows that Costa cruise line will have to do many things and spend a lot of money to make up for the recent tragedy in Italy, but to offer a 30 percent discount on its next cruise to the survivors of the ordeal so soon after the tragedy? Just one word for that: chutzpah.

• • •

There’s a man in Maine who drove into a light pole in a Walmart parking lot. He is suing for the $3,000 in damages to his pickup truck because he hit a “free-standing light pole.” Huh? Aren’t all light poles free-standing? I think this guy has — all together now — chutzpah!

• • •

I know that there are all kinds of Chutzpah and other named awards making the rounds via the Internet. Before you write to tell me about them, you might want to check with Snopes.com to make sure they are genuine. I am StanGershbein@Bellsouth.net swearing with one hand on the bible and the other raised in the air that the above examples are, to the very best of my knowledge, accurate and authentic.

Comment on this story.

By Mike McAvoy

Brooklyn Daily

The Xaverian Clippers edged Bishop Loughlin, 64–60, in a back-and-forth Catholic High School basketball game that came down to the final seconds.

With his team up 61–57, Xaverian senior Brian Bernardi found himself in hostile territory with 55.6 seconds left on the clock.

“I couldn’t hear anything, this place is so loud,” he said. “It’s definitely one of the craziest places to play. I calmed down a lot on the second shot, after missing the first, and I made it.”

He gave Xaverian a 62–57 lead, but Loughlin wasn’t about to go down easily. With 30 seconds on the clock, Michael Williams, Loughlin’s stud sophomore, hit a 3-pointer cutting the lead to two.

Williams, who finished with 19 points, hit three 3s in the second half, carrying the team on his back for spurts.

“He didn’t really shoot well in the first half, those shots usually fall for him,” explained Loughlin coach Ed Gonzalez. “It’s just, these young players have a lot of confidence in themselves. These kids will always play hard ’til the end.”

Loughlin (10-11, 3-8 ‘AA’) on the year did play hard until the end.

On the inbounds play, Xaverian left the ball in the hands of its general, Burns, who killed 15 seconds off the clock before passing the ball to Shakeel Kemp, who was then fouled.

Kemp would go on to sink two crucial foul shots, extending Xaverian’s lead to four, and ultimately seal the win. Loughlin did get another possession, one in which it air-balled a three pointer, and missed out on the rebound.

“These are a tough bunch of kids, we lost a couple games early that we didn’t close out,” Xaverian coach Jack Alesi said of his team. “Now the last two weeks we’ve had a bunch of games like this. These games go to the mentally tough kids, and these kids are all about playing the right way.”

Xaverian (15-7, 7-5) has put a small winning streak of three games together, and winning six of their last eight — something they hope to carry into their final games and the playoffs.

“This gives us a lot of momentum going into the playoffs,” said Xaverian senior hoop star Dillon Burns. “This is our last league game, coming in here to a packed gym, I thought we played very well.”

Alesi, who doesn’t often disagree with his star senior, had a different message to convey when asked what he thought this game meant for his team going forward.

“Don’t get me wrong this was a great win but by practice tomorrow, it is forgotten,” Alesi said, explaining that his team is focusing on the playoffs.

“I like our chances,” he said. “We can put a run together. It’s just a matter of learning how to close, I think we’re getting better at that.

“I think we’ll be fine,” he said.

Comment on this story.

Brooklyn Daily

If the Democrats and Republicans can’t come to a compromise about this redistricting mess, then the courts will, a federal judge said this week as she ordered that the state’s redistricting process be turned over to a court-appointed special master.

Judge Dora Irizarry, citing legislators’ “current state of inaction” in redrawing state Senate and Assembly lines, made her decision on Monday, claiming that it was time for the federal courts to take charge of the situation.

“No congressional lines have been proposed through New York’s legislative process, much less adopted, even though the petitioning period is less than six weeks away,” Irizarry mentioned in her five-page decision, which claimed that “in 1992 and 2002, the New York State Legislature acted only after there was judicial intervention.”

Irizarry’s ruling was in response to a lawsuit by a group of civic leaders who claimed that the redistricting process in both the Assembly and the state Senate was too partisan to be trusted.

In Brooklyn, the Republican-led state Senate booted state Sen. Eric Adams out of his district, and erased disgraced state Sen. Carl Kruger’s district from the map.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs hailed Irizarry’s decision.

“We are gratified that the court recognized the danger legislative inaction poses to the fair conduct of New York’s elections and is taking steps to protect the voters of our state,” the lawyers told the Daily News.

The legislative task force that drew up the redistricting maps for the state Senate and state Assembly is currently holding hearings across the state. Gov. Cuomo has vowed to veto them if they do not change.

Twitter rapper arrested for murder

A Carroll Gardens drug dealer and self-professed rapper who rhymed and Tweeted about his dirty deeds is singing the blues — he has a murder rap hanging over his head.

Federal prosecutors have charged Ronald (Ra Diggs) Herron with three brutal slayings — including one connected to his raps. Herron would videotape his raps and put them on YouTube, making them an online resume of his nefarious activities, prosecutors say.

A Brooklyn Federal Court grand jury indicted him on Monday for the murders, which prosecutors say are connected to his drug enterprise at the Gowanus Houses.

“Ronald Herron and his gang terrorized a Brooklyn community for more than a decade and he temporarily got away with murder by threatening and intimidating witnesses only to return to the streets of Brooklyn to kill and kill again,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly also chimed in on Herron’s arrest.

“His Tweets were premature,” Kelly said.

Officials from the U.S. Attorney’s office told the Daily News that the drug crew Herron was a part of — the “Murderous Mad Dog” branch of the Bloods — basically ran the Gowanus Houses drug trade.

But cops didn’t have to take Herron into custody when the indictment came through on Monday: he was already in jail on federal drug charges, officials said.

Comment on this story.

By Shavana Abruzzo

Brooklyn Daily

Mazel toes!

Rockin’ elders boogie-woogied like teenagers — showing staffers half their age how it’s really done — during a “Dancing With The Stars” tourney at Ateret Avot Senior Residence in Midwood.

The sporting seniors, most of whom are in their 80s and 90s, gave new meaning to the term “golden oldies” by gussying up in their glad rags, and jiggin’ and toe-tappin’ to tunes by, among others, Chubby Checker, Mitch Miller, Abba, and religious music maven Mordechai Ben David. Some couldn’t wait to get their groove on.

“It gives a delicious flavor to everyday life!” kvelled Regina Neuman, 88, a Holocaust survivor who stood up in her wheelchair and swayed her arms to “Doin’ the Twist” — a merry moment launched by Director of Programming Alan Magill who gyrated his own hips impressively to the Checker classic.

Magill was kept on his toes by his irrepressible charges who didn’t need any prodding to put their best foot forward — or toot their own horns — for prizes and bragging rights.

Morris Newman, 87, provided the pizzazz by performing a crowd-pleasing medley on his sax as his peers bumped and grinded away.

“They are very active here!” said Magill, who was soon joined on the dance floor by nonagenarians Anna Kurtz and Beatrice Greenberg, and Sylvia Reiter who is in her 80s. Reiter even persuaded the few wallflowers to strut their stuff while Sylvia Skolnick, 86, saved her fancy footwork for the Yiddish wedding music.

“You just kick up your feet in the front and then you kick them up in the back,” she instructed the others.

The event is one of many Magill organizes regularly to fire up the spirits of his energetic clients, including a Jewish Oscars night, winter and summer olympics, plus weekly improv afternoons, and theatrical readings of his original plays.

“No one here has to feel that they’re not a winner,” he added.

Comment on this story.

By Thomas Tracy

Brooklyn Daily

70th Precinct

Midwood—Flatbush

Bank robbed

A note-passing bandit raided a Chase Bank on Flatbush Avenue on Feb. 13, taking an unknown amount of loot.

Workers at the bank branch near Avenue H said the thief — who was wearing a trench coat, black hat and glasses — entered at 11:15 am and passed a threatening note, demanding money from a teller.

Deadly fight

A argument between two friends on E. 28th Street on Feb. 11 ended in a bloody stabbing that left one man dead and another in critical condition, according to police.

Officials say the two men attacked each other inside a sixth-floor apartment near Cortelyou Road at 5:40 am. Witnesses called cops to the scene, who found the younger victim dead on the floor with a stab wound to the chest.

Cops say they arrested the other man after he showed up at the Kings County Hospital emergency room, looking for treatment.

Two shot

A gunman opened fire on two men on E. 54th Street in East Flatbush on Feb. 11, killing one man and seriously wounding the other.

Witnesses told police that gunshots rang out near Church Avenue at 9:17 pm. One man, who was identified as Patrick Mondesir, was hit and later died at Kings County Hospital.

A man standing near Modesir was shot in the arm and torso and is recovering, said police.

Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward. Calls can be made to the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-8477. All calls will be kept confidential.

Bandit busted

Cops arrested the robbery team who they say was responsible for knocking over the Dominican Unisex Beauty Salon on Glenwood Road.

Workers at the salon near Utica Avenue said the two armed suspects barged in with guns on Dec. 30, ordering everyone onto the ground, before running out with cash, credit cards, and victims’ wallets and cellphones.

Investigators arrested one man on Jan. 6. They arrested a second man on Feb. 9, according to the New York Post.

— Thomas Tracy

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

68th Precinct

Bay Ridge—Dyker Heights

Hot wheels

A flamer set fire to a BMW parked on Shore Road on Feb. 5.

The victim told cops that he parked his fancy ride between by Fort Hamilton High School at 4 am. He came outside at 11 am to find the inside of his car on fire.

Cash heist

Thieves stole more than $20,000 in cash and jewelry from a Seventh Avenue apartment on Feb. 10.

The victim told cops that she left her house between 68th Street and Bay Ridge Avenue at 11 am. When she returned 12 hours later, she found two diamond bracelets and $20,000 missing from her dresser.

Rob fresh

A sly thief broke into a Third Avenue Subway restaurant on Feb. 8 and stole $300.

Owners told cops that employees left the shop between Bay Ridge Parkway and 76th Street at 1:30 am. When they returned at 9:30 the next morning, they found the surveillance camera disabled and cash missing from the safe and register.

Deli heist

Thieves swiped cash — and the register — from a Fifth Avenue deli on Feb. 6.

Owners told cops that they left the store between 79th and 80th streets at 9 pm. When they returned at 12:45 am, they found the register, and $3,000, missing.

Wheelie dumb

Rim bandits swiped the wheels and tires off of a car parked on 94th Street overnight on Feb. 11.

The victim told cops that he parked his Nissan Maxima between Third and Fourth avenues at 7:30 pm. When he returned the next day at 2:40 pm, he found his car immobilized.

— Dan MacLeod

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

The Feds will put another nail in the coffin of Brooklyn’s once-proud shipping industry by sending a team of customs inspectors in Red Hook packing, according to Brooklyn longshoremen who fear government bean counters are speeding the death of their industry.

United States Customs Agents plan to end hand inspections at the Red Hook Container Terminal, a move that will make it more expensive for producers to ship to the borough — putting 700 jobs on the line — say local pols.

“This decision could kill jobs and create a major competitive disadvantage for the Red Hook Terminal,” said Rep. Michael Grimm (R–Bay Ridge).

Under the plan, which could be in effect within a couple of months, shipments requiring hand inspections would be hauled to terminals in either New Jersey or Staten Island. After the cargo is cleared there, it would be shipped to the final destination. But pols and waterfront stakeholders warn that the added time needed could hurt the bottom line of those who ship to Brooklyn.

“It would definite hurt shipping in Red Hook,” said Greg Brayman, vice president of Phoenix Beverages, whose business at the terminal represents about 40 percent of the total shipments into Red Hook and who says that shipments of beer from Latin America fall under extra close scrutiny.

But Customs officials claim that the measure would speed up the inspections process — and save money.

“This move would improve productivity, [and] be cost-effective,” said Anthony Bucci, an agency spokesman.

Each year, Customs officials hand-inspect roughly 3,800 containers at the port — only six percent of the total 59,000 shipments that came into last year, according to the New York Times — though all shipments are scanned, said Bucci.

Bucci said that all shipments would still be inspected in some form in Red Hook, but declined to comment on the potential economic loss for Brooklyn if the plan goes through, and could not say how many customs agents would be reassigned to other ports. He added that not all shipments requiring a hand inspection would need to leave Red Hook, as inspectors could be sent there in a pinch.

The Red Hook port receives 3 million pounds of bananas from Ecuador each week along with the beer, as well as shipments from Saudi Arabia and France.

It’s not the first time in recent months that a government agency as changed operations at the Red Hook port: American Stevedoring, the longtime operator of the terminal, was evicted last year after a contentious legal battle with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The port is now run by Brayman and his father, said Joe Curto, president of the New York Shipping Association.

The agency initially wanted to shut down the inspections on Jan. 6, but postponed its decision for 90 days after pols pressured officials to reconsider the plan.

The decline of the shipping industry in Brooklyn started in the 1970s, when companies started transporting goods in containers instead of the smaller palettes, said Curto.

The move allowed larger shipments, but required huge swaths of land to store all the containers.

“Containers need big storage yards. It’s hard to deliver that type of land for storage and operation in Brooklyn,” said Curto, adding that many shippers started unloading in New Jersey, where it was easier to build 350-acre shipping yards.

“The cargo went to facilities where the land was.”

The Port Authority has also been trying to move shipping operations to Sunset Park — the head of the agency said in October that the Red Hook space should be abandoned to make room for hotels and other developments.

Comment on this story.

By Dan MacLeod

Brooklyn Daily

Good news! There will be few surprises on the rails this weekend.

All changes are from Saturday, Feb. 18 at 12:01 am to Monday, Feb. 21 at 5 am unless otherwise noted:

A, C: Manhattan-bound trains run on the F from Jay Street–Metrotech to W. Fourth Street.

D: Manhattan-bound trains run on the N from Stillwell Avenue to 36th Street.

F: Stillwell Avenue–bound trains run on the A from W. Fourth Street to Jay Street–Metrotech.

G: Trains skip Smith and Ninth Streets in both directions. Church Avenue-bound trains skip 15th Street-Prospect Park and Fort Hamilton Parkway

J: Queens-bound trains skip Gates Avenue and Kosciuszko, Halsey and Chauncey streets.

N: Trains run local between DeKalb Avenue and 59th Street. Brooklyn-bound trains run on the Manhattan Bridge from Canal Street in Manhattan to DeKalb Avenue.

Q: No trains between Manhattan and Prospect Park.

Got a transit gripe? Tell us. E-mail dmacleod@cnglocal.com.

Information courtesy of New York City Transit — and is accurate at press time. Community Newspaper Group is not responsible for last-minute changes made by the agency.

Comment on this story.