It's a rose bush on the corner of Joralemon Street and Columbia Place in Brooklyn Heights, and it's crying out to be re-potted.

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 23, 2008.

A burglar tried to sneak into a basement on Bergen Street in Boerum Hill on July 15, but a resident caught him before he could come all the way in. A 76-year-old woman was talking on her phone in the building’s basement, which is between Bond and Hoyt streets, when she saw the perp removing a window screen and trying to sneak in.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 23, 2008.

Rebuilding the Half-Demolished 100 Clark Street, B...

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 23, 2008.

Cops arrested a 27-year-old man on July 19 for breaking into a Pacific Street apartment the day before and stealing nearly $5,000 in loot, cops said. The victim, who is 33, had returned to her apartment, which is between Nevins Street and Third Avenue, at 5 pm to find her front door lock broken and both her front and rear windows wide open.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 23, 2008.

The hardscrabble home of Fairway and the hot new Ikea is clearly ready for its close up now that MTV has confirmed that it had abandoned the BellTel Lofts building Downtown.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 23, 2008.

So the Politicrasher tagged along with Powell — a former “Real World” star and hip-hop journalist — and his bright-eyed legion of staffers and volunteers as they chatted up young voters on Smith Street and the Fulton Mall on July 12.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 23, 2008.

A van rear-ended a truck Tuesday as it was getting onto the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, injuring 11 people and inconveniencing thousands of drivers on the highway. No one suffered serious injuries in the accident which occurred about 2:30 p.m. on the northbound entrance ramp of the BQE at Cadman Plaza West in Brooklyn Heights.

Published by New York Daily News on July 23, 2008.

A ruthless mini-madam accused of running a sex-slave ring whimpered like a baby as she pleaded guilty to prostitution-trafficking in Brooklyn federal court yesterday.

Published by New York Post on July 23, 2008.

A thug hotwired a new Suzuki motorcycle on Dean Street on July 13. The bike’s rightful owner, who lives between Nevins and Bond streets in Boerum Hill, found the perfect spot in front of his apartment earlier in the day, only to find his rice-burner gone around 8 pm that evening.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 23, 2008.

Cops arrested a thug who hit a stranger with a metal bat on July 20 near Pacific and Smith streets in Boerum Hill.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 23, 2008.

A perp broke into a penthouse apartment on Dean Street in Boerum Hill on July 17. The 41-year-old woman who lives there was not home, but received a call from the alarm company at 7 pm. When she rushed to the apartment, which is between Third and Fourth avenues, she found her door forced open and slightly broken.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 23, 2008.

So this grizzled insider was surprised to see that both 42-year-old congressional upstart Kevin Powell and 13-term incumbent Rep. Ed Towns (D–Fort Greene) have been making such a big deal about wooing the Loch Ness Monster of demographics — the often sought but never delivered niche of 18- to 29-year-olds.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 23, 2008.

Rebuilding the Half-Demolished 100 Clark Street, B...

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 23, 2008.

Pint-size Consuelo Carreto Valencia wept and prayed Monday during jury selection for her sex-trafficking trial in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Published by New York Daily News on July 22, 2008.

Interestingly, given the strong feelings on both sides, the candidates’ differences when it comes to ideology and actual policy positions seems to be very slight. In effort to position himself as the more progressive of the candidates in a district that includes Lower Manhattan and mostly white-liberal downtown Brooklyn, Squadron has attacked Connor for the timing of his vote on “luxury decontrol” laws.

Published by The New York Observer on July 22, 2008.

Rebuilding the Half-Demolished 100 Clark Street, B...

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 22, 2008.

For a fleeting moment, a view of ground zero, reflected in the polished marble facade of the Millenium Hilton, stirs a memory of the twin towers, giving the second image, a view of Lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, a ghostly sense of completeness.

Published by New York Times on July 22, 2008.

Rebuilding the Half-Demolished 100 Clark Street, B...

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 22, 2008.

The owner of Vermont Market and Pharmacy in Carroll Gardens answered a few questions about a store that has sat mysteriously vacant for about a dozen years amid a thriving neighborhood.

Published by New York Times on July 22, 2008.

Rebuilding the Half-Demolished 100 Clark Street, B...

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 22, 2008.

162 Bergen Street GMAP

Published by Brownstoner on July 22, 2008.

54 Hicks Street GMAP (right)

Published by Brownstoner on July 22, 2008.

Last week, the New York Post reported that one of the firms driving LIC’s residential boom, Rockrose Development Corp., began shopping for an anchor tenant to occupy at least half of the 42-story office tower it plans to build at 10 Court Square.

Published by The New York Observer on July 21, 2008.

The stunning Smith, who is admittedly a Virginia-raised Manhattanite, but has a strong tie to Brooklyn thanks to being a parishioner at the Brooklyn Tabernacle on the Fulton Mall, took the statewide crown on Saturday night at a performing arts center in Long Island.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 21, 2008.

Rebuilding the Half-Demolished 100 Clark Street, B...

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 21, 2008.

Rebuilding the Half-Demolished 100 Clark Street, B...

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 21, 2008.

Rebuilding the Half-Demolished 100 Clark Street, B...

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 21, 2008.

Last week, the New York Post reported that one of the firms driving LIC’s residential boom, Rockrose Development Corp., began shopping for an anchor tenant to occupy at least half of the 42-story office tower it plans to build at 10 Court Square.

Published by The New York Observer on July 21, 2008.

"We're not out to shock or put on a public spectacle. We want only to do things that other people do in the way that we are most comfortable doing them. That, for us, is without clothes," he said. About 50 diners - whose motto is "no hot soup" - regularly turn up for Ordover's monthly meals held at venues including the Mercantile Grill on Pearl Street and Pete's Downtown in Brooklyn.

Published by New York Post on July 21, 2008.

Rebuilding the Half-Demolished 100 Clark Street, B...

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 21, 2008.

But just because Kaufman is out, doesn’t mean the manager of two Busy Chef locations, plus Oven, the Blue Pig ice cream parlor and The Wine Bar at 50 Henry Street, is home free from charges that he rang up up a total of $24,978.53 on 19 customers’ credit cards since February. Kaufman is also charged with attempting to steal nearly $46,000 from five other patrons.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 20, 2008.

Busy Chef opened last spring, and it quickly became popular with a growing segment of Brooklynite: the harried office worker who appreciated the shop’s prepared, single-serving dinners. The Henry Street location transformed the restaurant revolving door at the corner of Henry and Cranberry streets, making it a foodie destination that included the three other Kaufman-managed restaurants.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 20, 2008.

But just because Kaufman is out, doesn’t mean the manager of two Busy Chef locations, plus Oven, the Blue Pig ice cream parlor and The Wine Bar at 50 Henry Street, is home free from charges that he rang up up a total of $24,978.53 on 19 customers’ credit cards since February. Kaufman is also charged with attempting to steal nearly $46,000 from five other patrons.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 20, 2008.

But just because Kaufman is out, doesn’t mean the manager of two Busy Chef locations, plus Oven, the Blue Pig ice cream parlor and The Wine Bar at 50 Henry Street, is home free from charges that he rang up up a total of $24,978.53 on 19 customers’ credit cards since February. Kaufman is also charged with attempting to steal nearly $46,000 from five other patrons.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 20, 2008.

Rebuilding the Half-Demolished 100 Clark Street, B...

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 20, 2008.

“The mercado feel, the market feel, was a big factor that made the Red Hook vendors the iconic place it became,” said Cesar Fuentes, executive director of the Food Vendors Committee of Red Hook, “Unfortunately, we were facing a system that didn’t see it our way.”

Published by New York Times on July 20, 2008.

The alleged scammer, Daniel Kaufman, 34, a one-third owner of Oven, the Blue Pig, Wine Bar and two locations of Busy Chef, was ordered held on $50,000 bail following his arraignment on multiple counts of identity theft and grand larceny.

Published by New York Post on July 19, 2008.

He and his partners are willing to spend $15 million for a bigger brewery that would employ at least twice as many workers as he has now and would have a beer garden where customers could sample his growing roster of specialty brews. But after four years of searching and two failed bids to be included in redevelopment projects in Red Hook and Carroll Gardens, they have not found a suitable building in the borough at a feasible price.

Published by New York Times on July 19, 2008.

The alleged scammer, Daniel Kaufman, 34, a one-third owner of Oven, the Blue Pig, Wine Bar and two locations of Busy Chef, was ordered held on $50,000 bail following his arraignment on multiple counts of identity theft and grand larceny.

Published by New York Post on July 19, 2008.

He and his partners are willing to spend $15 million for a bigger brewery that would employ at least twice as many workers as he has now and would have a beer garden where customers could sample his growing roster of specialty brews. But after four years of searching and two failed bids to be included in redevelopment projects in Red Hook and Carroll Gardens, they have not found a suitable building in the borough at a feasible price.

Published by New York Times on July 19, 2008.

The alleged scammer, Daniel Kaufman, 34, a one-third owner of Oven, the Blue Pig, Wine Bar and two locations of Busy Chef, was ordered held on $50,000 bail following his arraignment on multiple counts of identity theft and grand larceny.

Published by New York Post on July 19, 2008.

Smith Street, Brooklyn's restaurant Mecca, has at long last scored its first boutique hotel, and the hotel's operators sure do know their audience. Hersha Hospitality's Nu Hotel, at the corner of Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue, hits nearly ever single gruppy note.

Published by The New York Observer on July 18, 2008.

Busy Chef opened last spring, and it quickly became popular with a growing segment of Brooklynite: the harried office worker who appreciated the shop’s prepared, single-serving dinners. The Henry Street location quickly transformed the restaurant revolving door at the corner of Henry and Cranberry streets, making it a foodie destination that included three other Kaufman-managed restaurants: Oven, an upscale pizzeria; Blue Pig, an ice cream shop; and The Wine Bar at 50 Henry Street.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 18, 2008.

There are two other Busy Chef locations, one at 111 Court St., between State and Schermerhorn streets, and the other in Manhattan.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 18, 2008.

Supermarket magnate and likely mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis’s project to build 650 apartments has become the bane of Downtown Brooklyn for some residents and elected officials because it flattened a neighborhood supermarket, pharmacy and Laundromat — and now no longer includes 215 below-market rate units that had been promised.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 18, 2008.

Rebuilding the Half-Demolished 100 Clark Street, B...

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 18, 2008.

Rebuilding the Half-Demolished 100 Clark Street, B...

Published by mcbrooklyn on July 18, 2008.

Busy Chef opened last spring, and it quickly became popular with a growing segment of Brooklynite: the harried office worker who appreciated the shop’s prepared, single-serving dinners. The Henry Street location quickly transformed the restaurant revolving door at the corner of Henry and Cranberry streets, making it a foodie destination that included three other Kaufman-managed restaurants: Oven, an upscale pizzeria; Blue Pig, an ice cream shop; and The Wine Bar at 50 Henry Street.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 18, 2008.

“If you’re running for mayor of the city of New York, you have to address the issue of affordable housing,” said Councilwoman Letitia James (D–Fort Greene), backed by anti-Catsimatidis protestors chanting “You won’t win” across the street from the construction site, between Prince Street and Ashland Place.

Published by Brooklyn Paper on July 18, 2008.

Hersha Hospitality's Nu Hotel, at the corner of Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue, hits nearly ever single gruppy note.

Published by The New York Observer on July 18, 2008.