FILM: A tribute to Jean Genet on film begins tonight at BAM. The focus will be on films inspired by the French writer, as well as Genet's own Un Chant D'Amour. BAM describes the festival further: more ›

With all the craziness going on in South Brooklyn recently -- Jason Neroni leaving Porchetta (law suits, arrests, excitement!), and with recent news that the Brooklyn Inn may be closing (converting into a bistro?) -- it'd be easy to miss the little slip about Vegas. During a short message on the Brooklyn Record, a commentator "confirmed" that the rumors about the Brooklyn Inn were true and then added that "Vegas, on Smith st. is also closing soon." more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A shooting in Brooklyn, a power outage in Queens, and scaffolding that fell on the 5 tracks - subway service on the 2 and 5 is messed up!
• A Bronx man pleaded guilty to terror plotting; Tarik Shah will serve no more than 15 years for offering to teach Al Qaeda operatives "how to wage jihad with hand-to-hand combat"
• New lawsuit to stop the Atlantic Yards lawsuit, on the grounds that the Pataki administration's Environmental Impact Statement was "fatally flawed"
• A man stabbed his father while in an SUV in Midtown last night; his mother watched from the backseat
• Brooklyn Record looked at the Williamsburg jeans from the Gap, but it's questionable how Williamsburg they really are
• The Police Academy will move out of its gross East 20th Street digs to College Point, Queens, where the College Point auto pound currently resides
• The missing British teen who ran - and flew - away to NYC after an argument with his parents was found at JFK; we're intrigued how he had enough money of his own to buy a ticket (credit card, probably?)
• Gridskipper lists the top sake bars in the city; old standbys Decibel and Angel Share make it
• The pet food recall now includes dog biscuits
• And, finally, Community Board 4 approved renaming the west side of 53rd and 8th Avenue "Jerry Orbach Way"
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- The good folks at Gawker run a witty IM conversation between Choire, Emily and Balk mercilessly dissecting Bruni’s Room Service roundup last week in Dining In/Out. more ›

We got an email from Northsix owner Jeff Steinhauser today, regarding the post we had written about the venue (or rather, the future venue Music Hall of Williamsburg). The post was pointing to an article on Brooklyn Record (who took down their post), which was referring to a Brooklyn Star article. more ›

The Brooklyn Record points us to an article in the Brooklyn Downtown Star reporting there may be some hiccups in getting this whole Music Hall of Williamsburg thing off the ground: more ›

• On the Gothamist Newsmap today: A naked EDP on East 14th Street in Manhattan, a van into a building on Cromwell Avenue in Staten Island, and an illegal factory in Brooklyn
• Stupid China! A stock sell-off in the most populous country caused the Dow to drop 416 points
• The Brooklyn Record looks at Con Ed's green power option

The hullabaloo surrounding the Park Slope Barnes & Noble's request for parents to park strollers upstairs in a designated area is exactly the kind of tempest in a neighborhood that brings out the haves (having children) and have nots (having no children). But what's fascinating is the dialog created on both the part of the parents who want to wield their strollers and those who want to be free of strollers while writing their Great American novel at the B&N. Here are some of our favorite comments on Brooklyn Record's post:

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Queensboro Bridge, by Pabo76. more ›

Finally, a gift for our many friends who are huge Brooklyn boosters AND huge fans of alternative erotica. Marty Markowitz, we're looking at you! Presenting the I Heart Brooklyn Girls Calendar: more ›

Untitled, by Lara Wechsler on Park Slope Street Photography. more ›

You may recall the story of Brooklyn's Kent Avenue Orthodox synagogue-- it was built last month in only two weeks, at a cost of more than two million dollars. The city authorities slapped a stop-work order on the site after a worker was injured, but the Satmars ignored it, and finished the build on their own timeline. The papers said that the interior was going to take another month to finish, but if you look at the video above, the synagogue seems to already be in full use, and packed to the rafters with followers of Aaron Teitelbaum. The Brooklyn Record opines: more ›

+ And the award for worst-Halloween costume idea goes to the Brooklyn Record. Congrats! more ›

Oh damn! The beautiful and strange Broken Angel building in Clinton Hill seems to be on fire! Brooklyn Record has the first shot-- is anyone in the area available to snap a few pictures of the damage? The building is on the corner of Downing and Quincy-- we're not going to be able to bike down there for at least a few hours. more ›

We'll be keeping a running list of nominees for this year's most inappropriate morning coverage of the fifth anniversary of 9/11-- around noon we'll crown a winner. more ›

"Bootyful Day" on Eastern Parkway, by Jack Cracker. Lots more great Carib Day shots at Flickr. Also good ones at 423 Smith. more ›

-- ...and attention outer-borough residents, Gawker has a message for you: "Unless you're on the big island, you don't count for shit." Oh, don't get so mad-- they've been saying that for years. more ›

That putrid smell coming from Eastern Parkway and Prospect Park? It might just be the Amorphophallus titanum blooming at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The titan arum, aka the "corpse flower," is one of the world's largest flowers, and the BBG has been carefully cultivating its own for the past ten years. The plant, named "Baby," is set to bloom sometime this week - it seems that the flowery part (the "spathe") will unfurl for two days. more ›

Yah! Yesterday the NYC Landmarks Preservation Committee announced their official ruling on the Pippen Building. That's the cute little structure on the corner of Third Avenue and Third Street in Gowanus in Brooklyn-- the one that sits at the edge of the new Whole Foods site. The announcement is an interesting read, complete with some history on the building: more ›

- And tomorrow is a big day: There's the Mermaid Parade tomorrow afternoon and the Gothamist-A Hamburger Today Burger Party at Water Taxi Beach in the evening! more ›