[UPDATE BELOW] One firefighter died this afternoon trying to extinguish a fire at 930 Flushing Avenue, where a two story commercial building went up in flames. The firefighter has been identified as Lieutenant Rich Nappi of Engine 237. Five other firefighters were injured—four with minor injuries, and one with serious injuries—that seriously injured FDNY member is now listed in stable condition at Kings County Hospital. more ›

Police are on the hunt for a man who allegedly raped an 18-year-old woman early Monday morning in Bed-Stuy—and then tried to rape a 22-year-old woman hours later. His weapon of choice? A hammer. According to the police the perp approached his first victim in the vicinity of the 81st Precinct around 12:40 a.m., brandished his tool and threatened her with it unless she went down on him. The suspect allegedly then forced the woman into an alley where he raped her before fleeing. more ›

In last night's Mad Men a "thing" happening in Bed-Stuy was mentioned. We found out what it was... more ›

A man was struck and killed by a southbound A train leaving the Nostrand Avenue stop at 4:00 p.m. today. An MTA spokesperson has confirmed that while the investigation of the incident continues, southbound A trains are bypassing the Nostrand Avenue station. It's the second fatality on the subway today, as a man was struck and killed this morning by an L train at Third Avenue. more ›

Unemployment may be down but it certainly isn't gone. And one Bed-Stuy salon is doing its part to pitch in. In the vein of the pay-what-you-can Greek restaurant in Williamsburg comes Donna's Hair Salon in Bed-Stuy, which is offering job seekers free haircuts. more ›

Yesterday, police responding to reports of a jumper in Bed-Stuy instead found a young mother cradling her fatally wounded two-year-old daughter while babbling incoherently. The little girl, Cathryn Nwegbo, had wounds to her neck, “major bleeding to the back of her head,” and appeared to have "evidence of strangulation." She was pronounced dead at Woodhull Medical Center. The mother, 29-year-old Brandis Nwegbo, was reportedly babbling things about the girl being possessed by demons: “The monsters are coming from my baby. God wasn’t there for her, so I had to save her.” She has since been taken to Woodhull for a psychiatric evaluation. more ›

Police are investigating the death of a young girl, apparently stabbed in the head with strangulation marks around her neck, in Bed-Stuy this morning. The three-year-old toddler was attacked, apparently by her mother, inside a Putnam Avenue apartment a little after 4 a.m. this morning. more ›

The playgrounds in this city are not intended for public use—don't you remember what happened to the doughnut girls? Patrick Beberfield apparently did not when he stepped outside for a breath of fresh air in the park near his Bed-Stuy home, all because of the smell of a dead chicken. But try telling that to the cops. more ›

The 2012 murder season in New York City started with a bang yesterday. After a violent New Year's Eve the NYPD says 45-year-old Andrew Brown, found dead in his Brooklyn apartment building's hallway before the new year saw its first noon, is the first murder victim of the new year. more ›

A Brooklyn grandmother is in critical condition after she got into a fight with her grandson—and he allegedly hit her with a brick. The 62-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, was taken to Kings County Hospital with severe head trauma after the 5:45 p.m. incident with her 19-year-old grandson in Bedford-Stuyvesant. “They started throwing rocks at each other and the grandfather tried to break it up. There was a lot of fighting going on," one neighbor told the News. more ›

Police are searching for a man whom they believe is behind at least two broad daylight sexual assaults against elderly women in Bed-Stuy. You may recall that at the end of last month a man entered a retail establishment in the neighborhood and attempted to rape a 77-year-old woman. She was able to fight him off and escaped unharmed. ("I think he was trying to choke her and take her clothes off," one area resident told CBS 2.) Now investigators believe the suspect has struck again, forcing a 61-year-old woman to the back of her store on Friday afternoon and trying to rape her. more ›

Behold: the Spherical Pickleback at Do or Dine in Bed-Stuy—a drink that captures molecular gastronomy at both its highest and lowest points. more ›

Police are looking for a man who allegedly tried to rape an elderly woman while she was at work in Bedford-Stuyvesant yesterday, and they've released a video of the man lingering outside of the building. more ›

A Brooklyn barbershop owner was shot in the head and killed by a gunman in front of customers in his shop yesterday. Warren Billings, 38, was shot one time in his shop on Cortelyou Road near Flatbush Ave. at approximately 4 p.m. on Saturday. "I only heard one shot, and I saw a shadow run by the store as fast as he could," said Winston Levy, who was working next door. more ›

Investigators are focusing on the spurned boyfriend in the murder of 16-year-old Kyanna Thomas, who was stabbed in the throat and left to die on a street corner in Brownsville early Sunday morning. Thomas, who lived in Queens with her mother, a Department of Correction captain, was staying with her aunt on the night of the murder. Her family says she sneaked out to attend a party, and sometime after 3 a.m. she used her cell phone to call 911 as she lay dying in a pool of her own blood. more ›

Cellphone-related violence continues to be a problem in Gotham, and not just on the subways. In addition to the Brooklyn man who was murdered over his iPhone this weekend, police are seeking a 21-year-old named Julius Wright (alias "Stinky") who they say sexually assaulted a 24-year-old Brooklyn man while screaming homophobic slurs earlier this month. The incident occurred after Wright allegedly stole the man's phone at fake-gunpoint. more ›

A 16-year-old Queens girl who was visiting her aunt in Bed-Stuy was fatally stabbed on a street corner around 3 a.m. Sunday. Kyanna Thomas, who planned to apply to veterinary school, sneaked out of her aunt's house for unknown reasons in the middle of the night. "She left the house some time, they don't know what time, and next thing they heard was that she was hurt," Ken Thomas, Kyanna's grandfather, tells NY1. "And by the time we got to the hospital, she was gone. Somebody stabbed her in the neck." more ›

Following reports of a "turf war" between residents and roving bands of teenagers in Brower Park and the Park Slope Playground, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes is seeking to assuage fears that his office is out of touch with the issue. "We are definitely aware of the increase in gang activity in parks and playgrounds," Hynes's spokesperson Jerry Schmetterer told the Daily News. According to Schmetterer, the DA's Gang's Bureau is "monitoring their activity. And we are in touch with the community about it." more ›

The Gray Lady tackles the gentrification of Bedford-Stuyvesant today—and essentially, what they are saying is that Bed-Stuy is now the domain of organic bodegas, tricycle riders, foie gras-filled doughnuts, and doughnut summonses. But we're just grateful that they didn't ask if Bed-Stuy is the new Paris. more ›

Bed-Stuy restaurant Do or Dine, last seen raising the ire of vegans with their foie gras-filled doughnuts, are making waves again today, this time with the local police. We spoke to chef Justin Warner to find out what went down after he got caught riding his tricycle on the sidewalk near his restaurant. more ›

The 44-year-old man who was driving the SUV that flipped over and killed 13-year-old Kira Goddard in Brooklyn Saturday night spent a total of four years in state prison for robbery and drug dealing. Sean Lewis, 44, was stabbed in the torso prior to striking three parked vehicles and backing his Range Rover into another, sending the car tumbling over the curb and fatally pinning her against her building. Lewis, who had at least 10 children (reports vary from 10 to 11), died in the hospital, where authorities discovered he'd been stabbed. "He was a real family man," his 24-year-old son Sean Norman tells the Post, "I'm mourning my father and also that innocent little girl. Neither of them deserved to die." more ›

A livery cab that was struck by a silver Hyundai pinned a father and his infant child against a fence before its driver fled the scene on foot. The Hyundai slammed into the livery cab yesterday around 2 p.m. on Eastern Parkway in Bed-Stuy, causing the livery driver to lose control of his vehicle as it careened over the curb and into the 27-year-old man and his baby who happened to be standing next to the Arbelo Mini Market. more ›

A pair of cousins were shot early this morning in Bed-Stuy while reportedly trying to beat the heat. Kyle Decoteau, 22, was killed, while his cousin Tony Green, 24, was struck in the back and taken to the hospital in stable condition. more ›

Earlier this month, we were introduced to Bed-Stuy restaurant Do or Dine's foie gras-filled doughnuts, which were described by some customers as nothing short "heavenly." Now, perhaps unsurprisingly, the two-month old establishment is on the receiving end of an animal rights-fueled anti-foie gras petition. more ›

After a spate of disheartening falling-related fatalities, a bright spot: a 19-year-old Pratt student who fell five stories off her friend's Bed-Stuy apartment building is alive. "She hit facedown," a witness tells the Daily News, "She was still alive. I saw her moving." Katherine Del Rosario plunged from the building around 6:30 yesterday evening, after drinking and hanging out on the roof with a few friends. "They weren't drinking a lot," a friend said, "She wasn't drunk enough to fall." Del Rosario is in stable condition at Kings County Hospital. more ›

Last week we learned that despite the best of intentions, Bed-Stuy can be a scary place to settle down. Now, the man who police say jumped out of a second-story window after stealing musical equipment from a house of Brooklyn College bandmates explains what happened: it was the weed, man. From a Rikers Island jail cell, 23-year-old DuJuan Marshall tells the Times that he doesn't remember storming into the boys' apartment and pistol whipping them while his accomplices unloaded the stolen equipment, because an angel-dusted joint did him in. "I feel their pain," he says, echoing another famous truth-teller. more ›