As a family and community mourned the loss of a 12-year-old in a horrifying accident, the real estate company that operates the parking lot at Lott Avenue where the child was killed on Sunday revealed it would remove the automatic rolldown gate. A spokesperson for the real estate management company said, "We extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the family." more ›

Welcome back to Winged Animal Week at Gothamist—yesterday we talked to City Birder Rob Jett about urban birdwatching, and today we're visiting Brooklyn's backyard chicken coops. more ›

A Brooklyn man was arrested yesterday by an ASPCA agent for allegedly starving his three-year-old pit bull named Drew. According to a release, Leedell Walker brought Drew to the ASPCA's Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital in December claiming that the dog refused to eat. Concerned vets called the ASPCA and the organization launched an investigation. When he was brought in, Drew "was near death, in a critical state of shock and anemic," and weighed 37 pounds. He now weighs 65 pounds and is still recovering so that he may be adopted. more ›

Following yesterday's reports that a Park Slope resident would be cleared, a judge has officially cleared Karl Vanderwoude of forcible touching, unlawful surveillance and sexual abuse charges. He told reporters, "I’m really glad this has come to an end. It’s been hard." more ›

A 12-year-old boy died after apparently playing a game of chicken on a parking lot gate in Brooklyn. According to the Daily News, Yakim McDaniels was on the roll-down gate when, around 4:30 p.m., "a car moved to leave the lot and the horrific accident occurred." A witness explained, "The gate is automatic, the car was coming out and the gate started rising." Yakim was trapped—his hand and then apparently his upper body was caught in the gate. more ›

A 23-year-old Brooklyn college student was killed and two others were injured in a heads-on car crash yesterday. Victim Jamal Iqual was driving his Ford Windstar minivan north on Ocean Parkway in Sheepshead Bay when he was hit head-on by a black BMW M6 around 11:45 p.m. Saturday. Police say the 26-year-old driver of the BMW was speeding southbound on Ocean Parkway when he lost control of the car. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, two police officers arrested two farebeaters at a Brooklyn subway station...and discovered one of them had a loaded gun. more ›

Still looking for a way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Well, if our previous suggestions didn't pique your interest, perhaps free artisanal mayo will do the trick? more ›

The U.S. Secret Service: When they're not banging prostitutes, they're running people over with their cars. The latest black eye for the scandal-scarred agency occurred yesterday afternoon when an undercover secret service agent fatally struck a woman crossing the Atlantic Avenue at Ralph Avenue in Brooklyn. Victim Maria Tripp, 47, was on her way to pick up her granddaughter from daycare, accompanied by her 19-year-old nephew and 12-year-old daughter, when the driver of a black Chevrolet Impala slammed into her. A witness tells the Daily News, "She went up like 50 feet in the air." more ›

As you may know by now, we're pretty excited about shuffleboard around here, and soon after we declared our love of the game, we were given the scoop that a genuine shuffleboard club would be opening in Brooklyn next year. At the time we withheld some information about the club until details got firmed up (and also because we didn't want our heart rate to get too high) but now we can pass along a whole lot more, including the name of your new favorite club: The Royal Palms. And here is more exclusive info direct from co-founder Jonathan Schnapp: more ›

While Brooklyn Heights is now freaking out over potentially 2,500 people filling its streets when a new Fieldhouse comes to Brooklyn Bridge Park, residents around the Atlantic Yards have been freaking for ages now about the 18,000 people expected to flood the area when the Nets start playing the Barclays Center this fall. And for them, there is good news today! The arena will initially have less parking than originally planned. more ›

New York we love you, but you're bringing us down. Only here would locals actively complain about a $40 million dollar gift that will bring them a year-round recreational facility with all its expenses paid for a decade. Yup, it appears that a bunch of Brooklyn Heights locals are not looking forward to the 115,000-square-foot Fieldhouse which it was recently announced will be underwritten by philanthropist Joshua Rechnitz. Why? The traffic, of course. more ›

In what seemed to take mere minutes, the former Gallery restaurant across from the York Street stop in DUMBO has become the new Dumbo Kitchen. The shop kicked things off today with a preview that runs until 7 p.m., but exactly what'll be available there day-to-day seems to be a little touch and go. Judging by the current selection—which appears to be aiming to attract the lunchers who currently flock to the Foragers supermarket—we'd say getting Italian-inspired lunch food there looks like a safe bet. more ›

Last year, a police officer died while responding to a call about a domestic disturbance in Boerum Hill. George Villanueva, whose girlfriend said he was drunk and trying to kill her, was fighting off police officers and shoved Officer Alain Schaberger off the stoop railing, only for Schaberger to fall to his death. Today, a jury found Villaneuva guilty of aggravated manslaughter, but he was acquitted of murder. more ›

Yesterday morning, an argument at a bodega on Humboldt Street became violent when a group of impatient men confronted another group ordering sandwiches. According to the Post, after one man shot Juan Medina, 24, twice in the stomach, his cousin, Lourdes Guillen, 25, begged the shooter, "Put the gun down. Don’t be that person." But Guillen, a staffer at "The View," ended up with a bullet in the stomach. more ›

On Thursday, a 9-year-old girl was shot in the foot by a stray bullet while walking home from church in Brooklyn. Second-grader Dulce Cabrera talked to the Daily News about the incident, and proudly told them she didn't cry: “I didn’t cry for nothing,” she said. “The ambulance driver man said if that was him, he would be crying. He said I was strong.” more ›

In 2001, an off-duty police officer who spent up to 12 hours drinking before going to his Brooklyn precinct struck and killed a 24-year-old pregnant woman, her 4-year-old son, and her 16-year-old sister. Medical staff delivered the woman's baby boy, who died 13 hours later, and police officer Joseph Gray was eventually convicted of four counts of second degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison and yesterday, after 10 years behind bars, Gray was released. more ›

Considering its apparent penchant for infidelity, is it any surprise that mammary (and wings!) mecca Hooters is reportedly "desperate" to open an outpost in or around Park Slope? According to reports the chain has made unsuccessful plays for multiple properties in the area. more ›

With their exit from New Jersey just a day old, a photograph has been circulating of what could be the new Brooklyn Nets' logo. It seems that someone Tweeted the image and noted that he was working at the Barclays Center. Well, it does fit into the shield silhouette shown on the Nets website yesterday and that blue tape does look like carpenter's tape! more ›