Parents around the city breathed a heavy sigh of relief after the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal last summer irrevocably made sexting uncool. And just this month, a new study found that reports of teen sexting have been greatly over-exaggerated in the press. But it seems one Bensonhurst, Brooklyn junior high school has done its best to buck that trend. more ›

A group of masked ATM robbers are on the loose across Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst and Park Slope, identifiable only by their signature move: splashing the crime scene with bleach. Wait, where have we seen this so-called "cash'n'splash" move before? Oh, right in that Ben Affleck movie The Town! Kids really do imitate celebrities these days. more ›

A bail hearing for a Colombo mobster accused of assaulting his rival in Staten Island turned into something of a food fight yesterday, with dueling pizzerias at the center of the battle. more ›

Oh, it's ON! As promised, Mayor Bloomberg has officially issued a challenge to the U.S. Census Bureau, and, after smacking his gloves in the face of his arch-nemesis at the Census, Dr. Robert Groves, the two will face off with pistols at dawn. (Don't worry about Bloomberg, Groves will probably miscount the bullets when he loads his gun.) At stake is some $7 billion in federal funding over the next decade, which would be cut back if the city fails to prove that the Census Bureau grossly miscounted in Brooklyn and Queens. In Jackson Heights, for instance, the Census found that the population decreased by nearly 5,200 people, or by about five percent, between the years 2000 and 2010. more ›

Celebrity chefs can afford to take an eyesore-induced hit to their businesses. Mom & Pop outfits? Not unless they see Uncle Bobby for a loan. For two years, the Bay Ridge Cafe in Brooklyn, which serves damn fine Turkish cuisine, has been forced to endure two massive, ugly MTA storage containers sitting right in front of their front door. "They destroy our business, 'cause nobody can sit outside," owner Avdi Nikovoc tells NY1. "There's plenty places they can put them, where they don't bother no one, but they put exactly here." This is true: the MTA could sit them over the Fulton Street subway stop to plug the leak. more ›

A Brooklyn jeweler was sent to the hospital yesterday after two men trying to sell fake gold to him pulled out a taser instead of their identification. Maybe they should have tried their luck on the scam that is Cash4Gold? more ›

Previously when a proposed Bay Ridge Parkway bike lane [pdf] was blocked, Council member Domenic Reccia blamed it on "safety," and said that "it would make the street even more busy." Last night, CB 10 gave no specific reason for voting down the proposal besides saying that cyclists should pay insurance. "I'm embarrassed," said one CB member, "that we rejoice—that some rejoice when they get a bike lane." Haw haw! Because there's nothing more rugged and robust than car-related death and injury. What kind of hippie wants their streets to be safe? more ›

A man was arrested for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend to death and leaving her in his Bensonhurst apartment's bathtub yesterday. Brian Sohtz, a NYC Transit dispatcher, was apprehended after allegedly calling his ex-wife and telling her, "Hey, I just killed my girlfriend. I just want to come out and see my kids one last time." The ex-wife then called the Suffolk County police, which contacted the NYPD. more ›

Today's Post sheds some light on the decades-old feud that ended Tuesday in the grisly death of 77 year-old retired fireman Carmelo Calabro in a Bensonhurst barbershop. While Calabro's family never got along with the family of his shooter, Michael Mininni, people living on the block noted that tensions escalated considerably after Calabro lost his son in the attacks of September 11, 2001. "It changed him a lot" one neighbor said. "You could see he was a different person." more ›

Two long-feuding neighbors got into an argument inside a barber shop in Bensonhurst yesterday, leaving one neighbor dead of a gunshot wound to the head. Carmelo Calabro, 77, lived next door to Michael Mininni, 25, and his family on Bay 13th Street, and reportedly hated the Minninis so much that he erected a six-foot stone wall between their houses. Over 30 years living next door to each other the families have filed 14 harassment suits against each other, and yesterday the fighting boiled over into violence. more ›

Police have released a sketch and surveillance video of a man suspected of trying to rape three women in Brooklyn since January 9. The incidents were in Bensonhurst, Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn, all taking place between 1:15 a.m. and 2 a.m. more ›

Remember the good olde days, when lice were the primary parasite tormenting our schoolchildren? So neatly confined to the scalp, so easily banished by way of a quick dip in a neurotoxin and a merciless haircut? The alarming uptick in bedbugs cases in city classrooms confirms that the simpler times are far behind us. (Fortunately or unfortunately, so is DDT.) more ›

Though he was first reassigned to administrative duty for the duration of a hit-and-run probe, firefighter Pat Quagliariello has now been suspended without pay for 30 days. Early Sunday morning, Manuel Tzajguachiac was struck and killed by a BMW in Bensonhurst, and four hours later Quagliariello arrived at the 62nd precinct, saying it was his car involved in the accident. He would not say whether he was behind the wheel, and police are now conducting forensic tests to see if he was driving. more ›

Firefighter Pat Quagliariello, who owns the BMW SUV that may have been involved in Sunday morning's fatal hit-and-run, has been placed on administrative duty while investigators determine whether or not he was behind the wheel. Manuel Tzajguachiac, 25, was struck and killed early Sunday morning on the corner of 65th Street and 20th Avenue in Bensonhurst, and four hours later Quagliariello showed up at the 62nd Precinct. He admitted to owning the car but would not say whether he was driving, and reportedly asked for a lawyer (or said he was already represented). more ›

Early Sunday morning, Manuel Tzajguachiac was killed in a hit-and-run in Bensonhurst, and police tracked the BMW SUV to an off-duty firefighter who "turned himself in" at the 62nd precinct hours after the accident. Pat Quagliariello wouldn't tell police whether or not he was driving, only that he owned the vehicle, which was found a block away from his Midwood home with damage to the left front fender. more ›

Manuel Tzajguachiac, 25, was fatally struck by a blue BMW SUV last night while crossing 65th Street near 20th Avenue in Bensonhurst. Witness Roman Ximeyo told the Daily News the crash was so hard it sounded like two cars hitting each other, and said, "The guy's stuff was on the corner, and he had flown down the street. He was on his stomach on the floor." Tzajguachiac was pronounced dead at Lutheran Hospital, and police say a man surrendered to cops at the 62nd Precinct three hours after the crash. He was released after questioning. more ›

The one-legged woman found dead on the Kings Highway N tracks in March had been left on the tracks after a subway operator failed to find her body—and hit by 10 other trains before she was discovered. Arabell Lin, 25, had been walking between cars when she fell, hitting a device that triggers the emergency brake. The operator searched the tracks for whatever hit the trigger, but found nothing and continued toward Coney Island. One operator told the Post, "If she was still alive, [he or she] messed up her chances." more ›

A South Asian immigrant on his way home in Bensonhurst was beaten to death around 5:30 p.m. yesterday. The victim, whose name was "Jayanth" according to his roommate, was taken to Coney Island Hospital after the attack, but died from the injuries. Though the Daily News says he was walking home from his job, his roommate tells WPIX he lost his job at KFC two months ago. The victim had been in the country for about six months, and his roommate said, "I don't know who would do this. We're in shock." Police do not believe the killing was a hate crime. more ›

In May, Police Officer Carlos Olmedo and a partner were chasing after stolen car suspects in Bensonhurst. While running at 20th Avenue and 84th Street, a motorcyclist struck Olmedo, gravely injuring him. Now, after two months in the hospital (a month of the time in a coma), Olmedo returned home and visited his Brooklyn precincthouse. He said, "It's very great to be here, and it's very great to see that many people missed me." more ›

Those rising graduation rates aren't looking too hot right now. A 21-year-old student at Lafayette High School in Bensonhurst was able to graduate along with half a dozen other students, even though they were all failing. One staffer told the Post, "They're giving out diplomas like it's a lemonade stand." more ›

Perhaps the MTA should use a little of that money they're spending to relocate people to luxury hotels and invest it into repairs on the Bensonhurst D train tracks. For the past few months, residents have been complaining that pieces of the elevated tracks on 86th Street and Stillwell Avenue have been falling onto the streets, hitting cars and putting pedestrians in danger. One local told the Daily News, "Does one of the trains have to fall off before they say, 'I guess we should fix that?'" more ›

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that the 31-year-old police officer who was struck by a motorcycle while chasing stolen car suspects in Bensonhurst is "still in extremely critical condition... The situation has not changed." Carlos Olmedo, a four-year veteran of the force and father of three, suffered serious brain injuries since being hit on Sunday, and his family and colleagues have been keeping a bedside vigil at the hospital. Kelly added, "He's a terrific young police officer and was extremely well respected. This underscores the dangers of the job." more ›

The police officer struck by a motorcycle while chasing car theft suspects in Bensonhurst early yesterday morning remains in "very grave condition," as Mayor Bloomberg put it. The mayor added that Officer Carlos Olmedo, 31, is "being treated by the best doctors that are here [at Lutheran Medical Center], and at this point I think it's in the hands of God." Olmedo suffered head trauma and underwent surgery to relieve swelling from his brain. more ›

A police officer who was chasing after possible suspects was struck by a motorcyclist and is now in grave condition. Officer Carlos Olmedo was hit at 20th Avenue and 84th Street in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn around 1 a.m. The driver of the motorcycle was also injured. more ›

So horrible: A 20-month-old boy is in serious but stable condition today after a pit bull mauled his face. Police sources say the dog became agitated when Elliot Korenblyun's parents were arguing on Sunday morning, and that she abruptly tore into the boy. "I don't understand how this happened," mother Olga Volovnik, 24, tells the Daily News. "She suddenly attacked the baby, and then we were fighting to get her off." more ›

Melchiorre Martino, a 79-year-old Bensonhurst retiree, has recreated Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa masterpiece... with a few minor improvements. He talked to the Brooklyn Paper about his Martino Lisa, saying: “See all these blacks and dark colors in da Vinci’s? It’s because he worked in the dark. If he did it my way, with electric lights in his studio, he would have had more color.” He says his been offered $15,000 for his version of the famous portrait... but he's not sure if he's selling. We sort of wish he made the backdrop Brooklyn's Little Italy. more ›

These days the Post is not only reporting on the Department of Education’s Rubber Room, it’s sending people there! The tabloid says that after an incident last week, in which a Brooklyn gym instructor allegedly assaulted a 10th grade girl, officials barred her from teaching any more classes and gave her a seat in the long-term holding area for bad teachers. When asked if it was true that she had punched a 15-year-old, the teacher, 53-year-old Deborah Mortley, told a reporter to, “Go ask your mother.” more ›

A Buildings Department investigation into the Bensonhurst tenement where a fire killed five has proved what many suspected—that the building was an illegally subdivided death-trap, where escape was nearly impossible. The Daily News says as many as 15 people—all Guatemalan immigrants—were crowded onto its third floor thanks to three illegally-built walls. Since fire escapes were blocked for some units, the only exit was the smoky collapsing stairwell, where the fire was set, allegedly by second-floor resident Daniel Ignacio. more ›

Daniel Ignacio, the man accused of setting the fire that killed five Guatemalans in Brooklyn last week, continues to spew about the devil and the evil spirits that prompted the act, from the prison ward at Bellevue Hospital. "It must have been the Devil. It could not have been Jesus Christ," he said "I know I have to face a living hell now and God's judgment later." Still, since allegedly telling cops he lit the fire with a cigarette lighter, he’s changed his story—now he insists it was all an accident, caused by six plus bottles of vodka. And Satan, of course. more ›

Daniel Ignacio, the man who reportedly confessed that demonic voices told him to set a Bensonhurst fire that killed five people on Saturday, pleaded not guilty to charges yesterday. But residents say he was actually trying to settle a score with neighbors over a stroller left in the apartment building's hallway. more ›