Ben Grossman and Craig Samuel already have a trio of highly successful Southern-influenced restaurants in Brooklyn (Peaches, Peaches Hothouse, The Smoke Joint), but they're expanding their mini empire this week with the opening of the meat-centric Little Brother BBQ. Clinton Hill, prepare to get smoked. more ›

Crispus Attucks Park in Clinton Hill, the park not-so-affectionately known by locals as "Prostitution Park," is finally getting some funding to clean its act up. more ›

The Clinton Hill housing projects have seen more than their fair share of violence in their neighborhood, and this year seems to be no different, with four murders committed just in the last few months, not to mention how lovely "Prostitute Park" is this time of year. As the mercury rises, so does the crime rate, and Clinton Hill complex residents are particularly wary this year, the Daily News reports. "As it gets hot, The Devil comes out," says one city worker who has lived in the neighborhood for 18 years. "It's dangerous out there. The elderly can't sit outside and you've got to go out in the morning and be back by 3 and stay in your house." more ›

Crispus Attucks Park in Clinton Hill has earned the nickname "Prostitution Park" from locals, and they're not too happy about it. "Prostitution, drugs, crack vials all over the place at night, people defecating on the bushes," Henry Hernandez told WPIX. "My granddaughter loves to play here during the day. It's a shame." And some residents are blaming budget cuts to the Parks Department, saying it keeps them from locking the park gates at night. Is the city in such dire straights that it can't afford a padlock? more ›

The gator spotted in Astoria recently, which actually turned out being an 18-inch long caiman, has been enjoying retirement in the Poconos—but he left some friends behind, it seems. A 2-foot long baby alligator was spotted on the streets of Brooklyn over the weekend, reports the Daily News, and was brought in to the 88th Precinct in Clinton Hill. more ›

This Friday the Gallery House in Clinton Hill is opening a new group exhibition called “Reclaiming Space." One artist that was meant to be involved, however, has just been tossed out. Clark Clark contacted us today saying his piece (larger picture) has been removed from the show. He explained:

"On the 4th of July, I received a phone call from the show director and artist, Jonathan Levy, that my painting 'Evolve America,' which I hung on July 2nd, was censored from this weeks upcoming show at the Gallery House. I was told the building's property manager sent a cell phone photo of the painting to the building owner who lives in another state. The building owner called his lawyer. The lawyer called Levy and told him that it was illegal to paint on a flag. The lawyer requested it be removed immediately or the entire show would have to come down. I was also told that I could not release any photos to the media. more ›

Construction foreman Louis Zaruma was putting up steel framework on a residential building on Bedford Avenue in Clinton Hill when he lost his balance around 3:40 p.m. yesterday. The 35-year-old Williamsburg resident fell about 50 feet and was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. A Buildings Department spokesman said that Zaruma "was not wearing a safety harness." "He was a hardworking man and a loving husband, a family man, a good friend," his wife said of Zaruma, who immigrated from Ecuador ten years ago, according to the Daily News. more ›

Police arrested a man suspected in two Brooklyn rapes. According to the Daily News, "Dupree Nicholson was charged with rape, assault and robbery after his DNA matched evidence taken from the March attacks near the border of Clinton Hill and Bedford-Stuyvesant, police said." more ›

Police are looking for a man believed to be responsible for raping two women in Clinton Hill this month. The suspect—described as being between 25 and 35 years old—reportedly threatened a 42-year-old victim with a gun on Gates Avenue between Classon Avenue and Irving Place at around 5:30 a.m. on March 23. He then allegedly dragged the woman to a vacant lot where he raped and sodomized her. more ›

Though early reports indicated the windows of a Clinton Hill nightclub might have been shattered in a shooting, the real cause of the crime was strict enforcement of the city's smoking ban, the Local reports. According to an employee at Waverly Avenue's Loft 45, a "kid was smoking in the bathroom and the bouncer threw him out." Once outside, the smoker and his friends broke five of the venue's windows. The incident comes at a time when many New Yorkers apparently thought it was safe to start smoking in clubs again. more ›

There's no New York issue as divisive as gentrification, so it's not surprising that this week's New York Magazine article arguing in favor of gentrification has become an issue of contention. more ›

The suspects involved in the Sunday night murder of a woman in Brooklyn are still at large. Carrie Audrey Johnson was fatally shot in the head when she stepped outside her family's Clifton Place home to check on her niece and her niece's boyfriend. According to the Daily News, the niece's boyfriend Laquan Williams "had been jumped by two men." more ›

Cops busted a Clinton Hill crack and marijuana ring and nabbed 11 individuals suspected of selling drugs on the street, from an apartment building at the corner Putnam and Grand Avenue avenues, and out of a barbershop and two t-shirt stores. In an investigation dubbed "Operation Grand Slam," undercover officers infiltrated the ring and made 18 purchases of crack cocaine before executing a warrant on Oct. 29. During a raid, police recovered 75 grams of crack — which carries a street price of about $10,000 — from the barber shop, two guns and nearly two pounds of weed from the t-shirt shops, and a third gun from the home of a t-shirt store manager. The investigation came in response to community complaints. more ›

A gunman in a white Cadillac Escalade opened fire on a Clinton Hill bodega last night, striking a pregnant woman and two men who were standing inside. The perp began shooting at the DeKalb Gourmet Deli near the corner of DeKalb Avenue and Kent Avenue at around 7 pm, hitting a 15-year-old boy in the arm and torso, a 20-year-old man in the leg, and a pregnant 24-year-old in the upper thigh. more ›

This tweet from Laura Holder just caught our eye: "Seen at polling station (e.g. grade school): 1 man, over-6-foot tall, towering, 100% naked. Number of police: 12. Number of police cars: 4." The Local also heard about the naked man, and a volunteer for Bill Thompson says he saw the unidentified man near PS 56 in Clinton Hill, which was closed for Election Day. The volunteer says the man approached "talking all kinds of crazy stuff — he said he was a direct pure-blood descendant of Jesus." (Sounds like a Rev. Billy voter?) more ›

The NYPD Hate Crime unit is investigating the latest in a series of incidents wherein Brooklyn sidewalks have been strewn with "Kill Jews" notes. The anti-Semitic notes previously appeared in Boerum Hill and Clinton Hill earlier this month; now they've turned up in Bay Ridge. Yesterday morning, residents along Third Avenue discovered the sidewalk littered with hundreds of two-inch pieces of paper with "Kill Jews" written in black marker. more ›

For at least a decade, Pratt's made a big deal about how its 25-acre grassy campus doubles as a much-needed public oasis for the Clinton Hill community. But the gates to Eden are closing. In June the campus was shut to the public to accommodate a major "beautification" construction project, and when it reopens again in a month only authorized visitors and those with Pratt ID cards will be welcome. Well, outsiders will be allowed to cut through the campus to get from DeKalb to Willoughby, but they're no longer invited to linger. Some wonder whether the change is in response to a perceived crime spike in the neighborhood; last month a Pratt architecture student wound up in a coma after a violent mugging near campus. Whatever the motivation, neighbors are already up in arms, and there's even talk of a petition! But one Pratt student, commenting on The Local, wants the neighbors to know they're not alone—"there are a lot of rules for Pratt students on campus, too. For example, we’re no longer allowed to skateboard." Which reminds us; student sit-in season is almost upon us! more ›

That 22-year-old Pratt architecture student who was savagely beaten during a mugging in Clinton Hill on August 4th is in the early stages of recovery after coming out of a coma. To observe the one month mark, community members, students, and Pratt faculty held a candlelight vigil last night at the site of the attack at Grand and Lexington Avenues, where Eduardo Sanchez was violently robbed by four or more teens. It's being reported that Sanchez, who was beaten with a crowbar, is showing signs of recovery, and is now breathing on his own. His mother tells The Local, "One day at a time he is getting better. The medical and living expenses, I haven’t even thought about." On August 12th, police arrested 16-year-old Eugene Adams, but have not made any further arrests in the case. Also attending last night's vigil was City Councilwoman Letitia James, who told NY1 she thinks the attack was an isolated incident, but reminded New Yorkers to be aware of their surroundings and avoid flashing expensive iPods and cell phones on the street. more ›

In what is considered an unusual move in cases involving a shooting by the police, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly invited the family of Shem Walker down to his offices at police headquarters. Walker was the man fatally shot by an undercover cop last month after an altercation where Walker tried to chase the plainclothes officer away from his mother's stoop in Clinton Hill. Despite Kelly's attempt to reach out, Walker's family was not pleased with the results. A spokesman said, "This family has walked into this meeting with high hopes of getting some answers and walked out of this meeting highly disappointed...The story the commissioner was presented with has as many holes as Swiss cheese. It has not answered the fundamental question about why the police when asked to leave private property did not do so." The Brooklyn DA's office continues to investigate the shooting, but there has been no indication whether it will be submitted to a grand jury. Councilwoman Letitia James said, "We're dissatisfied with version of the facts as reported by Commissioner Kelly. They belie the truth as we know it. They belie common sense. And they belie the community." more ›

Detectives from the 88th Precinct have arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection with last week’s assault on Eddy Sanchez, a 22-year-old Pratt architecture student who is still in critical condition in a medically induced coma at Kings County Hospital Center. The suspect, Eugene Adams, is charged with assault, robbery and criminal possession of stolen property. A police source tells The Local Adams resides at 1100 Bedford Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, three long blocks east from the site of the August 4th attack at Grand and Lexington Avenues in Clinton Hill. After releasing surveillance footage of teens attempting to use Sanchez's ATM card at a bodega, police tracked down Adams through a tip called in to the Crime-Stoppers hot line, (800) 577-TIPS. According to ABC News, as many as four other teens may have been involved in the attack, but no other arrests were immediately made. It's being reported that the suspects beat Sanchez after he refused to give them money, and one of the assailants used a crowbar. more ›

Just over a week after an undercover NYPD officer fatally shot 49-year-old Shem Walker, loved ones and community leaders gathered around his mother's Clinton Hill stoop, the site of the deadly altercation in which the details still remain unclear. Bitterness over the incident was clearly in the air yesterday with the harshest words coming from Councilwoman Letitia James, who said, “I say to the NYPD, get your lies straight." The Brooklyn DA's office is currently investigating the shooting as the identity of the officer remains unknown—just that he is a seven-year NYPD veteran and is also black. A minister at the vigil yesterday said, "Police officers are paid to protect and serve, but they are also paid for their judgment. Too often it is the case that their judgment is off with people of color." Tonight a funeral will be held for Walker at Full Gospel Assembly of God with Reverend Al Sharpton delivering the eulogy. more ›

Many diehard dumpster divers would delightedly devote a down day to digging for a diamond in the disposable rough. But for 39-year-old Queens rubbish remover Nick DiMola, he was actually hired for a task that led him to discovering "treasure in another man's trash," treasure worth over $16,000 and all his to keep. DiMola was brought in almost five years ago to clean out the apartment of the late abstract artist Clinton Hill, who despite his name had lived in SoHo. After keeping one barrel of Hill's Mexican artifacts stored in a warehouse for years, DiMola recently decided to have it appraised and learned of the their high price tag. The Ridgewood man thinks that he'll sell the pricey art, telling the News, "I don't see the beauty in this, to be honest with you. I like things about history, but this pottery doesn't grab me." More surprising than the cleaner's good fortune is that the foundation formed by Hill's friends and family are not fighting him for possession of the goods. A lawyer for the group said, "If he is given a contract by the owner of property to remove and dispose of certain things, if the owner makes the mistake, that's the way it is. I'm not happy for him." more ›

More on the story of the Brooklyn army veteran who was killed by an undercover cop during a drug sting in Clinton Hill. The Daily News now reports that the "undercover cop was wearing earphones to keep in touch with his NYPD team and didn't hear an irate Brooklyn homeowner's command to get off his stoop until it was too late...When the undercover officer didn't budge from the Clinton Hill stoop Saturday night, resident Shem Walker kicked the man he thought was a vagrant in the back of the head, sources said." One source said, "With the earphones on, the cop just didn't hear anything. The next he knew, someone had kicked him, and the fight starts, with a tragic end." The police have contended that Walker grabbed the cop's gun; some witnesses say they didn't hear the cop identify himself as a police officer. more ›

It's been over a day since news first broke that a man had been fatally shot outside his mother's Clinton Hill home by an undercover cop and there are still many more questions than answers. We know that 49-year-old Shem Walker stepped outside his mother's brownstone on Lafayette Avenue for a cigarette and discovered a plain clothes cop sitting on her steps. A witness says that he heard Walker shout, "Get out of here or I'll move you myself!" and that the two then tumbled down the steps. Walker is said to have had a reputation of shooing people off the family's steps with success. more ›

A 49-year-old handyman who was up from Pennsylvania visiting his sick mother in Clinton Hill was shot last night by an undercover cop in a separate drug bust that went awry. Shem Walker had just finished cooking his family dinner when he told them that was going out to buy cigarettes in the Brooklyn neighborhood around 8 p.m. more ›

The Department of Education announced that it would be discontinuing the gifted program at the Clinton Hill public school where the principal was arrested for beating a teacher during a meeting last month. The removal of the program is the result of tensions that had been boiling over for some time before the incident between Principal Sean Keaton and many parents at the school. The Times has an in-depth look at the history of the conflict where they note: "Mr. Keaton is black, as are three-quarters of the students, while many of the families who said they found him hard to work with are white." The paper says that despite the cancellation of the program and the fight allegations (including the teacher having a stomp mark on his face), many of the parents at PS 20 stand by him. At the 5th grade graduation ceremonies this week, one parent said, “He’s straightforward and he pulls no punches. He gives it to you in the raw, and I respect that.” Keaton has been transferred to administrative duties elsewhere while an investigation is underway. more ›

The Department of Buildings continues to investigate what caused a four-story Clinton Hill building to collapse on Sunday. DOB Commissioner Robert LiMandri told reporters, "We are right now zeroing in on what happened, what work was being done and what caused the building to collapse." more ›