A sad update to the tragic story of the deaf 5-year-old who was struck by a taxi cab in Cobble Hill on Saturday: The Daily News' sources say that Timothy Keith is brain dead. more ›

A deaf 5-year-old boy visiting NYC was hit by a cab in Brooklyn Saturday afternoon—and it happened right in front of his also deaf parents. Timothy Keith and his parents, who were visiting from DC, were going to see the Brooklyn Bridge when Timothy darted between parked cars onto Hicks Street in Cobble Hill, and a yellow SUV cab hit him. “I was with my son. The(n) he walk to road. I say NO to him,” wrote mother Eva Keith in an interview with the Daily News. “I saw taxi yellow so fast. Driver hit my son but my son can’t hear.” more ›

Brownstone Brooklyn residents are living in fear of the roving gang of violent teenagers roaming the streets, punching anyone who gets in their way. But they can't help it! They're just high-strung! more ›

A Cobble Hill mother and former PTA Treasurer who is accused of embezzling $82,000 from the organization will avoid jail time if she pays back the money, plus interest. Providence Hogan, who owns Providence Day Spa, allegedly used the money for fertility treatments, rent, and to "keep her family living in the lifestyle they were accustomed to." Her appearance in court today was accompanied by concerned parents from PS 29, including the PTA's co-treasurer, who told the Daily News that they "had serious budget cuts this year and the money is sorely needed." Forget the budget: PS 29 also had its playground incinerated and the Pledge of Allegiance nixed. If David Simon's looking for a (watchable) follow-up to The Wire he should look no farther than Cobble Hill. more ›

Though the school year ends on June 28th this year, probably not a single student is mentally there by this point. So what's the diff that officials at The School for International Studies told teachers to let their students skip the last week of classes? more ›

Some merry pranksters are having fun in Cobble Hill at the expense of a traumatized two-year-old and his parents. The Brooklyn Paper this week reports on the sad story of a tot's lost teddy and the "kidnappers" who are demanding payment in the form of $10,000 worth of gluten and peanut-free cupcakes. more ›

As if there wasn't already tension between PS 29 and the $28K-a-year Saint Ann's in Cobble Hill, the Times reports that in the wake of the playground fire and subsequent escrow account fiasco, you may now cut it with a knife (Ginsu, if you're a Saint Ann's parent). Amidst the "faint sickly smell of burned rubber," the principal of PS 29 told a reporter that "The community is still hurting, and the children are still hurting." One PS 29 parent said "People here seek community service, some degree of standing up and taking the blame, rather than setting up some $50,000 fund." Aw, come on! Love $50,000 means you never have to say you're sorry. more ›

In a move that will hopefully end the playground inferno imbroglio that has crippled Cobble Hill, three more teenagers in addition to Max Layton have turned themselves into authorities and admitted that they were "attempting to film a YouTube video based on the film Jackass," the Daily News reports. Bairn Sweeney, 16, is the only one named as the other two are younger than 15. Sweeney and Layton are being tried as adults. All are charged with felony arson, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing, and "they have all been released into the custody of their parents pending their court dates." It could be worse, they could be in Rikers which we hear has gotten so Euro and weird these days. more ›

Mere hours after we excoriated the yellow-bellied teenagers who burned down PS 29's playground comes the news that a Saint Ann's student has stood up to take responsibility. (You're welcome, Cobble Hill). The Daily News reports that 16-year-old Max Laytan turned himself into police earlier today. In his defense, we assume he's co-captain of Saint Ann's legendary Public School Playground Burning Team, which last year really wailed on Dalton in the semis. more ›

What's in the soy milk cartons at Cobble Hill's PS 29? They let the terrorists win after omitting the Pledge of Allegiance, and allowed the neighborhood teenagers to burn down the playground with impunity. Now according the Post, spa owner Providence Hogan, who allegedly stole $100,000 from the PS 29 PTA for fertility treatments and to “keep her family living in the lifestyle they were accustomed to," may get a "jail-free plea deal." That's right: throw the leader of the International Monetary Fund in jail, but keep the Cobble Hill mom in yoga pants. more ›

After a band of anonymous teenagers "accidentally" torched PS 29's playground in Cobble Hill two weeks ago, their well-heeled parents agreed to donate $50,000 to smooth things over. But for some, "you break it, you buy it" does not equate justice. "I don't think it's right to buy your kids out," the Brooklyn Paper quotes one Cobble Hill resident, who is totally lame and COME ON that slide totally burned your butt when it was sunny anyway. more ›

Just past midnight on Saturday night, someone set fire to a brand new playground at P.S. 29 in Cobble Hill. FDNY investigators don't seem to have any leads to who was behind the blaze, which boasted 20-foot high flames that took firefighters 20 minutes to extinguish. We're guessing somebody burned down the playground for the insurance money, but some local parents are hinting at a darker motive. "There is a resentment of the school in the neighborhood," one parent anonymous parent tells Brooklyn Paper. "This was done by someone not enjoying the benefits of PS 29." And who pray tell might that be? more ›

Sad news comes from Vanishing New York today, who reports that well-loved Cobble Hill bookstore Atlantic Books is going out of business. We spoke to store manager Jed Hershon about the news, which, distressingly, comes on the heels of several other indie bookstore closings in recent memory. People, put down your Kindles and learn to love the musty smell of old books! more ›

One might reasonably assume that any parent who gets involved with the PTA is doing so for altruistic reasons, or because they want to ensure that their kid will get into that exclusive AP Biology class, or worst case scenario, because they really want to bang a 13-year-old. But then, you'd be ignoring the fact that the PTA is a really just a cash cow grazing idly, waiting to be milked by someone. And one Brooklyn Brownstone farm hand is accused of milking that cow for all she could. more ›

Last month little Brianna Fischer of Cobble Hill was watching a television program in which children recited the Pledge of Allegiance in a classroom. What was this mysterious jingoistic incantation, Brianna asked her parents, who were shocked to learn that their 8-year-old daughter was not required to swear an oath to the flag every morning at PS 29. Empire State law requires students from Plattsburgh to Dunkirk to declare their allegiance daily, and so Brianna's parents marched right down to PS 29 to set that hippie principal straight. more ›

Forget about 2012: we live in dark times right now with the Bedbug Invasion of 2010. No subway is safe, no mattress is immune, and no one is above suspicion of harboring these bite-sized villains. In times of crisis like this, people need someone to rally around...or someone to scapegoat. And who better than singer Norah Jones, everyone's least favorite Cobble Hill resident? more ›

Good news for Brooklynites who aren't lucky enough to reside in the borough's glorious Northern Dominion, where Peter Pan Doughnuts holds thousands of fatties in its thrall. The wickedly popular and delicious Greenpoint institution—whose doughnuts are so irresistible that Tina Fey wants to have intercourse with them—is coming to Cobble Hill. The Brooklyn Farmacy on Henry Street is now selling Peter Pan doughnuts on Saturday morning, Cobble Hill Blog reports. Could this be the precursor to a second Peter Pan location in Brooklyn? Let's all clap together and see if we can make it reality! more ›

Have you seen the tiny 4-foot high doors on Dennet Place, the one-block stretch in Carroll Gardens? (Hint: If you've seen Spider-Man III you have.) Brooklyn Based takes a stab at unlocking the mystery behind what locals call the "hobbit doors" (though we all know hobbit doors are rounded!), but in the end can only enlighten us about the people who have held their keys. (In the past, Forgotten-NY has also wondered about the short doors.) more ›

Earlier today someone forwarded us along the latest complaint from the Brooklyn parenting camp, this one aimed at Cafe Pedlar in Cobble Hill. The inexplicably traumatized woman wrote, "I wanted to warn others so that they don't have to experience that I did this morning. Our family have been regulars of the Cafe Pedlar since they opened... This morning I went in like normal... I was drinking my coffee and feeding my daughter some fruit and yogurt that I had brought with me, when one of the employees came over to tell me that the owners are now enforcing a policy that prohibits outside food—baby food included, and I either needed to stop feeding my daughter or leave. I was so embarrassed, sad and to be honest, a little angry. To enforce this type of policy at a coffee shop that is so often frequented by parents and families just seems over the top." more ›

Finally the Post's Andrea Peyser weighs in on Windowgate, the ongoing controversy starring Norah Jones—who had the audacity to install windows in her new Cobble Hill home. (Catch up here.) She got 7 of her 10 windows after fighting the Landmarks Preservation Commission regarding their archaic ways, and now the Grammy winner has her natural light. But Peyser says her win "is a warning to the aging Italian-American population that remains in gentrifying Carroll Gardens." more ›

How is this still happening? Norah Jones's windowgate story has somehow made it into the new year, and the Brooklyn Paper is reporting that the songstress may have compromised (so unlike an adult contemporary musician). Her renovation plans to her newly purchased Brooklyn home now includes seven windows — that's three less than she originally wanted. more ›

This week Sam Sifton at the Times files a twofer on impresario Jeffrey Chodorow's restaurants Tanuki Tavern and Ed's Chowder House. This is exciting because Chodorow famously bought full page ads in the Times after Sifton's predecessor, Frank Bruni, slammed his ventures Kobe Club and Wild Salmon. But instead of publishing separate reviews (and raking in twice the ad revenue), Sifton's consolidated, one star critique issues merits and demerits to both restaurants. At Tanuki Tavern, a plate of corn and white miso tempura cakes are "like something out of a fantasy high school cafeteria: sweet, crunchy and addictive." But Ed's Chowder House serves skate that tastes like ammonia and "a rubbery dish of 'moist grilled lobster' with 'spaghetti vegetables & lemon butter sauce' that might as well have been shipped direct from a grim summer wedding in a beachside catering mill." Daaaaamn! You gonna take that, Chodorow? more ›

Is Cobble Hill slated to be the luxury department store mecca of Brooklyn? Crain's is reporting that the trendy shop is planning to open in the neighborhood (though nothing is confirmed)—this would be their 5th store in the city (with three Co-Op stores in Manhattan, and their Madison Avenue flagship). One real estate expert told the site that: “Brooklyn is a logical move for them." Hopefully Brooklyn will also be the next logical move for Apple... but what other shops does the borough "need" that it's currently missing? more ›

Norah Jones's windows have garnered the songstress more attention than her recent albums! Following the news that 10 windows on the side of her home were approved in her new neighborhood's Historic District, the Brooklyn Paper says the Cobble Hill Association are still trying to fight back. They warn that "at least 70 houses inside the historic district that have similarly windowless walls — so if Jones is allowed to set a precedent, the resulting domino effect could change Cobble Hill forever." No, not more windows! more ›

First Norah Jones got criticized for a nouveau-Tuscany vibe in the kitchen of her new Cobble Hill home—now the songstress is moving right along with her renovation and allegedly sweet-talked the LPC into letting her have a little bit more light. Beautiful, warm, embracing light. Sounds innocent enough, but the NY Post reports that "neighbors don’t want a window into her soul — or home." more ›

Last week 2,000 invisible animal lovers came together in Cobble Hill to talk to walk their invisible dogs and simultaneously confuse onlookers. Now there's video so you can fully experience the reaction of the neighborhood locals: more ›

A woman in Cobble Hill called the cops last week when she saw a man trying to open the window of her Congress Street home. When police arrived and questioned the 32-year-old man sitting outside her home with a camera, he told them he was an architect. But when cops asked to see his "blueprints," they instead found snapshots of the woman in her underwear. The man was arrested for unlawful surveillance, criminal trespassing, and stalking. more ›

Yesterday the Improv Everywhere gang took 2,000 dogs for a walk in the Cobble Hill area of Brooklyn. Invisible dogs, that is. You remember those old invisible dog toys, right? Turns out the circa-1970s toy was manufactured in a Brooklyn factory, which now contains the Invisible Dog art space! The space loaned the pranksters the vintage dog leashes for their afternoon of good clean fun; and if you want one yourself they still seem to be for sale online. More photos from Katie Sokoler, here. more ›

The city’s commissioner of small business services says that he has not seen as high a concentration of local chains anywhere in the city outside of Smith Street in Brooklyn. The Times checks in on the Carroll/Cobble hub that includes the Franks, the "Stinky people," and the cluster of lifestyle businesses that have created an Area area. One owner says the street allows him to “tap into these customers in a variety of different ways.” more ›