Is the king of "sex dancing" making his final lap around the proverbial stripper poll? Earlier today, the NY Post broke a story about how Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has given up on his mayoral aspirations, and is planning to retire from politics. “He just wants to retire when this term is up and spend more time with his wife and enjoy himself. It’s a right he’s earned,” a political insider told them. But that's not what Markowitz is saying! more ›

The NYC Conflicts of Interests Board has fined Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz $2,000 for accepting free legal work from a subordinate, in violation of the city’s conflict of interest law. The law explicitly prohibits officials from doing business with their underlings, even if they pay for it. In Marty's case, he ran afoul of the law in 2008, when he asked his Chief of Staff, Carlo Scissura, to recommend a law firm to handle his house purchase. Scissura recommended the law firm Carlo A. Scissura P.C., which he owns. more ›

In the poor economy many politicians have scaled back their inaugural celebrations, but not Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz, who drummed up $122,000 to turn his State of the Borough Address into a carnival featuring song and dance acts, beer, food and a "multimedia production." "Marty's famous for finding every opportunity to host big events on behalf of Brooklyn and not incidentally on behalf of Marty," said David Birdsell, a dean at Baruch College. "The question is whether it's politically useful." more ›

Brooklyn's biggest cheerleader, Borough President Marty Markowitz, has been a rumored possible candidate for mayor next year, but CityRoom finds out he's fine with a third term for Mayor Bloomberg--if only because that could mean a third term for him as Beep. Markowitz said he would reapply, if term limits are overturned, "I always said that this was my dream job. And to be able to do it for four more years would thrill me, absolutely thrill me. And I just hope that the people of Brooklyn would be thrilled, too. Well, not everyone will be thrilled, but I hope most of the people will.” Well, maybe not Charles Barron who announced he was running for Borough President--but maybe he'll run for City Council again. more ›

Sure, the 2008 election is exciting, but hundreds of candidates are expected to run for city office next year. more ›

Well, this explains a lot: The Center for Disease Control and Protection says this year's flu shot is only good for 40% of the flu bugs going around. Thanks a lot, new strains of flu viruses that are kicking people's butts! more ›

We noticed two YouTube videos, taken from an apartment with a view of Dean Street, documenting some late night construction activity at the Atlantic Yards site in downtown Brooklyn. How late? Well, one video takes place at 11:42PM (video) while the other is in the 4AM hour (above!). For reference, according to 311, construction hours are generally 7AM to 6PM on weekdays (there may be emergency work in the middle of the night, but only on occasion; we also know some contractors get variances and conduct work late at night). more ›

THEATER: Wolf Lane Productions presents Victims of the Zeitgeist (The Tragedy of Martin Luther King, Jr.), written & directed by Ellwoodson Williams. The production "offers an exciting and telling insight into just who Martin Luther King, Jr., was as leader and simply as a sensitive and intelligent human being who loved life and who had a sense of humor, a deep understanding of the human condition - its strengths and weaknesses - and a profound belief in justice." more ›

Take a good, long look New York: You could be staring into the squinty eyes of your future mayor. (Yes, the white dude on the right.) Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who describes himself as “somewhat comical” [emphasis added] is on the verge of announcing his candidacy for mayor. Fuhgeddaboutit? more ›

Today is a citywide "Day Out Against Hate." City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and the Reverend Al Sharpton have spearheaded the event, which was prompted by a number of disturbing hate crime incidents, from swastikas in Brooklyn Heights to a noose found at the Columbia University campus. The Politicker was at one of the events this morning, where Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz "suggested, rather strongly, that city public school students be required to make... more ›

A rendering of Brooklyn's proposed City Tech Tower, designed by Renzo Piano, at Tillary and and Jay Street sent some into speculation mode, especially since its height seemed to be up to 1,000 feet tall. Which would make just about twice the height of the 512-foot tall Williamsburgh Savings Bank, currently the tallest building the Brooklyn. However, the rendering of the building is apparently old. A representative at Forest City Ratner, the development company which... more ›

Tonight, the MTA will hold public hearings in Long Island and Queens about the proposed fare and toll hikes. And if Monday night's hearing in Brooklyn is any indication, things will probably be rollicking. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz earned applause when he said, "Ladies and gentleman, fuhgeddaboutit!" (the Post reported the agency reaction: "MTA board members sat stone-faced") while the Straphangers Campaign's Gene Russianoff brought a life-size cut-out of Governor Spitzer. Markowitz and Russianoff... more ›

Debbie Almontaser, the erstwhile head and founder of Brooklyn's Khalil Gibran International Academy, will sue the city for violating her freedom of speech. She also claims Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein forced her to resign as principal under threat of closing the dual-language school. more ›

The cutest mustachioed baby in this town is definitely the new walrus at the New York Aquarium. The baby walrus, who was born on June 12 and weighed in at 115 pounds, is ready for his public, as he made his first appearance yesterday. But he needs a name, and people can vote on the Today Show's website for one of four names: Utvak (Means ice made from snow or ice cube), Ukiivak (Means king island), Utumek (Means earth), Akituusaq (Means gift given in return). more ›

As Grub Street and others reported yesterday, a letter written last Thursday by Senator Chuck Schumer to Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Friedman may have prevented the forcible closure of the Red Hook Ball Field food vendors this past weekend. While this seems to be a small victory for the food purveyors, doubt remains whether the operating season for the newly food safety-certified vendors will end just after Labor Day, or at the end of October, the date observed by the vendors for the last few decades. more ›

Because September 8, 2009 is 776 days away, let's talk the 2009 mayoral race. more ›

Today, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will be kicking off another year of "Lighten Up Brooklyn" with a walk around Brooklyn Heights. "Lighten Up Brooklyn" was started a few years ago to encourage Brooklynites to lose weight and make their lifestyles healthier. And since he had stents put into his arteries last year, Lighten Up Brooklyn is a big deal to Markowitz. From his office's press release:

Markowitz, who underwent a stent procedure last summer, vowed to transform and lengthen his life through healthy eating and a committed fitness regimen. The borough president’s frequent energetic strolls through Prospect Park have helped him lose 26 pounds since last summer, and he kicks off the Lighten Up Brooklyn 2007 not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk!

So this is how borough presidents wield power: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has flexed his BEEP muscles by dismissing five members of Brooklyn's Community Board 6 - and their common quality was that they were vocal opponents of the Atlantic Yards project. And City Council members David Yassky and Bill DeBlasio also didn't reappoint four other members who opposed the massive $4 billion project that has been the source of community tension. Gowanus Lounge calls it "The Atlantic Yards Saturday Night Massacre." more ›

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So do armed guards, barred doors, and locked cells. That's what the City is hoping anyway, as it floats plans to have developers build condos contiguous to an expanded Brooklyn House of Detention. Testing the limits of desirability of New York real estate, the Dept. of Corrections has been considering building retail space and restaurants on the first floor of the jail for the last year (Prison Tower Records? Lever Big House?). But with rents and real estate prices verging on the criminal, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz thinks that people will be happy to not only eat and shop there, but to live next to the jail, and the DOC is considering building residential, hotel, or office buildings that directly abut an expanded Brooklyn House of Detention.

The city is seeking a developer interested in supervising the expansion and renovation of the jail and in owning the retail space on the street level of the complex, as well as the new residential or commercial buildings. more ›

It's opening day on Coney Island's boardwalk and there's still time to hop on a D,F,N, or Q train to Stillwell Avenue before things get started. 11 a.m. marks the Blessing of the Rides at Deno's Wonder Wheel with a ribbon cutting and live music. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will break the ceremonial egg cream at 11:30 a.m. to open the rides and the first 100 people on the Cyclone get to ride free. The Coney Island Polar Bears will serve as a chorus at 2:30 p.m. in a live performance of an original piece of music titled "Save Coney Island." Theater lovers may want to drop by the Coney Island Museum at 5 p.m. for an adaptation of Herman Melville's "The Confidence Man" (tickets $10). And 12th St. and Surf Ave. is the place to be at 6 p.m. for the 2nd Annual Band Organ Rally. Full details are available at ConeyIsland.com. more ›

A true sign that spring is here: Inspectors from the Department of Buildings were at Astroland Amusement Park in Coney Island yesterday, checking rides (like the Water Flume), before this weekend's opening. Opening day is April 1, and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will be there at 11:30AM to perform the ceremonial christening with a bottle of chocolate egg cream. more ›

During a press conference in Brooklyn about the new skating rinks planned for Prospect Park, Mayor Bloomberg proved that even mayors consider legends and stories as fact. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joked about challenging the Mayor to a paddle boat race "for the right to call Brooklyn a city again." The Mayor declined but did say, "Staten Island is part of New York rather than New Jersey because of just such a race. New York won, and so we've got the great borough of Staten Island as part of New York." more ›

Developer Bruce Ratner has been letting the media know that construction will begin on the Atlantic Yards project. The controversial development will bring an arena for the Nets as well as commercial and residential space in the millions of square feet, as well as displace residents in its 22 acre footprint. Metro reports that for the first phase of prep work, a "temporary rail yard" will be set up on the eastern side so Forest City Ratner can build the arena on the western side. The work on the arena itself would begin in the fall. more ›

As we mentioned yesterday, MTV is sending in their reality crew troops to Brooklyn Tech for a new series. more ›

Yesterday, officials welcomed Barclays as the winner in the $400 million naming rights derby for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project. The NY Times reports that the Nets looked at various entities to pitch the idea of becoming lucky one to pay lots of money to have its name on the Frank Gehry-designed arena and decided Barclays Bank "needed a game changer, that they don’t have as big a presence or brand recognition here as in the U.K." As they say, a sucker is born every minute! more ›

At the podium with his highest approval ratings ever, Mayor Mike gave his annual State of the City address and outlined an agenda that will dictate his last three years in office and most likely, his legacy. Some of these items include passing $1 billion in tax cuts (including $750 million in property tax and eliminating sales tax on clothing and shoes), improving the school system, pursuing anti-gun laws, and continuing development projects across the city. In fact, his recommendations to continue school reform were the first things he mentioned, from further empowering principals to do a better job retaining good teachers (and getting rid of tenure), and shifting funding to students, instead of schools, and grading the schools themselves.. more ›

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. City offices, post offices and other government buildings are closed today in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. Public schools are closed, as well. more ›

- There's a sad story about the upstate horse farm where NYPD police mounted horses go when they are retire. The city is suing the farm's operator because many of the horses are "grossly underweight, had difficulty chewing and were kept in stalls without straw bedding," according to Newsday. It's a complicated matter, because when the farm was sold, part of the agreement was for the new owner to continue caring for the horses "until the death of the last horse or 10 years after the city disbanded the mounted unit." The farm was bought by Ernest Green who wanted to start a biotech company which then failed, leaving "little money to feed the horses." Enter concerned neighbors, who told the NYPD about the horses, though Green complains that he had asked the city to start a non-profit to help pay for the horses' care. The city has since moved some horses to other farms and is looking for new horse retirement communities; the city and Green are also discussing settlements. more ›