Photograph by steuben on Flickr Reader Daniel pointed our attention to this photograph of a military trailer, carrying Humvees and headed towards Manhattan on Flatbush. He noticed that the center one was "outfitted with the so-called non-lethal Active Denial System." What's the Active Denial System, you ask? Here's how the AP described ADS in 2007: "The military calls its new weapon an 'active denial system,' but that's an understatement. It's a ray gun that......

On Friday night, three young women were shot while sitting on a stoop in Flatbush on Friday night. Witnesses say that the gunman was riding a bicycle: He got off when opened fire around 10PM, aiming at two men. He missed the men, but ended up hitting the three women. Then he got on his bike again, heading towards Flatbush Avenue. The three friends were sitting outside 91 East 21st Street, near Caton Avenue. Police......

Summertime is iced coffee time, and for some, it's when finding good iced coffee takes on the form of a quest. Cold brewed iced coffee (recipe here), with coffee iced cubes thrown in, seems to be the culmination of all the perennial "perfect cup" stories. A handful of spots along Flatbush Avenue in Midwood serve coffee that has been strained from a mixture of cold water and ground beans, and iced coffees aren't offered with......

This morning, thousands of police officers and members of the community attended the funeral of Russel Timoshenko, a 23-year-old police officer shot during a traffic stop of a stolen SUV. Timoshenko, who died a few days after the shooting, was posthumously made a detective; Mayor Bloomberg explained it was "a small measure of our appreciation for the supreme sacrifice that Russel made, and to honor his life." Hundreds of people attended the wake, from......

Menu Change: As previously reported by Nina Lalli over at Eat For Victory, Franny’s on Flatbush Avenue had added pastas to its menu. Right now the menu features three pastas, including a stellar penne with mint and zucchini ($15). In keeping with its mission statement of locality and sustainability, Franny’s sources mint from Long Island’s Satur Farms; zucchini comes from Hepworth Farm, located upstate in Milton. Pastas are selected by chef Andrew Feinberg from a......

One of the saddest images from yesterday were the parents of slain police officer Russel Timoshenko, weeping at Brooklyn criminal court after the arraignment of the three men accused of Timoshenko's murder. The suspects, Dexter Bostic, Robert Ellis, and Lee Woods, were arraigned last week on charges including attempted murder. It is believed that Bostic, firing from the front passenger seat, shot 23-year-old Timoshenko in the face and neck during a July 9 traffic stop......

To celebrate their first anniversary today, decadent 12th Street carb emporium S’mac is offering portions of its floor model macaroni and cheese for just $1. The “nosh” size of the All-American (nothing fancy, just domestic cheddar) at the special anniversary price will be available until 11 PM. Jamba Juice locations throughout the city should be honoring this printable, buy-one-get-one smoothie coupon. The coupon features a graphic of a smoothie with a whole lot of......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Broadway in Manhattan, a water search between 19th and 26th Aves. in Queens, and an injured officer on Albany and Clarkson Aves. in Brooklyn. One would think that Albany pols were immune from shame, but Gov. Spitzer wants to make a tour of it, in an attempt to embarrass Joseph Bruno. The latest group to organize against a Wal-Mart invasion in their community: Orthodox Jews.......

What does the future of the Fulton Street Mall look like? If the Bloomberg administration and Downtown Brooklyn Partnership have their way, it'll look less gritty and more like Herald Square and Bryant Park in Manhattan. The Post has details on the city's $18 million investment to re-make the Fulton Street and Albee Square mall areas nicer. The Fulton Street mall will get the new bus shelters and benches, with more "lighting and trees," while......

Patrick Cullina is the VP of Horticulture and Facilities at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and New York's go-to guy for cherry trees (there are over 200 trees and 42 species at BBG alone!). Anita Jacobs is responsible for all of the programs that go along with the garden, speaking of which... The two-day Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival (New York's Rite of Spring) enters its 26th year at the Garden this weekend. Just after the......

Last night, police officer Rory Mangra (pictured) attempted to approach a man smoking pot in Prospect Heights, but the man ended up shooting him in the leg. Mangra and his partner, Eric Merizelde, both uniformed but driving in an unmarked car, saw Kingsley Newland light up outside a beauty parlor at Flatbush Avenue and Dean Street in Brooklyn. From the Daily News:Mangra stepped out of the car to approach Newland, but the suspect fled, police......

Tomorrow at 3PM, Transportation Alternatives will be holding an emergency rally to demand that Mayor Bloomberg improve the streets for pedestrians. From TA:The Problem: In 2006, over 10,000 pedestrians were hit by cars and trucks in New York City. One hundred sixty-six were killed. The City's pedestrian safety efforts are inadequate. Where is Mayor Bloomberg? He has spoken out about transfats, gun violence and smoking. If killing a pedestrian with a car was considered......

Arguing over "rights" to a parking spot are common, but it's grim that some disputes have to become violent. Yesterday afternoon, a man was killed after fighting with another man over a parking spot in Brooklyn. Ricardo Sterling thought that a driver in a blue Jaguar had taken his spot near the Good Hope West Indian Restaurant on Flatbush Avenue. Sterling got into a fight with the driver and threatened him with a knife (the......

The Democrats officially have control of the Senate - Virginia Senator George Allen conceded Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a watermain break in the Bronx, an overturned ambulance in Brooklyn, and a shooting in Harlem. James Madison H.S. in Brooklyn has produced three current U.S. Senators. Now if they could only do something about all the metal-detectors. Adrienne Shelly's killer is at Bellevue, undergoing psychiatric evaluations City officials are saying the intersection of Flatbush......

-- Award for best opening sentence of the day goes to the Post: "In hundreds of city public-school lunchrooms, the three R's stand for roaches, rodents and rotten food." -- The city is spending $15m to spruce up Flatbush Avenue in downtown Brooklyn-- complete with a puzzlingly modern sculpture! -- Further up Flatbush, some good news: The Loew's King Theater is not going to be demolished after all. -- DumboNYC visits the Walentas Carousel,......

-- Late breaking news: Rudy Fleming was convicted of murder in the Nicole DuFresne case-- we'll followup tomorrow. -- If you don't work in the financial service industry, you may have missed out on the Aleksey Vayner meme, in which a kid at Yale sent a hilariously insane application video for a job at an i-bank. All hell broke lose shortly after the video was leaked to the internet. This short video, set to......

What's a Cuban sandwich without any pickles? It's just a ham and cheese sandwich, that's what it is. And too many supposedly legitimate "Spanish food" joints think they can get away with serving their Cubanos sans pickles. Even at Mambi's, a Washington Heights institution where they spread an incredibly tasty garlic mayo on the classic sandwich, Cubanos come without pickles more often than not. Mambi's ham and cheese sandwich is delicious, but when I......

Yesterday at One Hanson Place - better known as the Williamsburgh Savings Bank - was a study in contrasts. Magic Johnson of the Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds (yes, that Magic Johnson), partnering with the Dermot Company, towered over Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz as they touted the latest development at Brooklyn's tallest building: One Hanson Place, 189 luxury condos, starting at $350,000, to be completed in mid 2007. Markowitz maintained his commitment to an income-and-ethnic-diverse......

With all this global climate chaos, it almost seemed weird that summer arrived perfectly on schedule this year. The first truly hot, sticky, muggy days of the year came over Memorial Day weekend the way the lord intended when He created barbeques, day games, and ice cream trucks. And while summer means boiling apartments and gushing fire hydrants in the more densely populated parts of New York, it means sun tan lotion, body surfing, and......

We got an email from the Straphangers yesterday, who directed us to check out the MTA's NYC Bus Rapid Transit Study. The MTA is looking to identify "corridors in the five boroughs that have BRT potential," and there will be public information sessions starting next week in all five boroughs. So far, the MTA is considering fifteen corridors:Bronx - Fordham Road/Pelham Parkway - Grand Concourse - Webster Avenue + 3rd Avenue Brooklyn - Flatbush Avenue......

The guys at Transportation Alternatives ran their annual Bike Month NYC commuter race, in which a cab, biker, and pedestrian attempt to get from Brooklyn into Manhattan in the quickest possible time. Last year, the biker got from Juniors on Flatbush Avenue to Columbus Circle in just 27 minutes, beating the subway-rider by three minutes and the cab by 18 minutes. This year's race was from Grand Army Plaza in Park Slope to the......

We know it's fashion week, but Gothamist prides itself on offering all kinds of other, more bookish delights for those not inclined to prowl the tents at Bryant Park. Kicking off this week, Symphony Space (95th and Broadway) is hosting Banned: Stories by Censored Writers and Dissidents, with work by authors from Iran and Indonesia. The show starts at 6:30PM on 2/8 and costs $25, less for members. At KGB Bar (85 E. 4th St.)......

The Times has a good article about the traffic nightmare that occurs at the intersection of Flatbush, Atlantic, and Fourth Avenues in Brooklyn, and comes up with some great facts: During the commuter rush, as many as 4,600 vehicles pass through the intersection every hour, according to the city's Department of Transportation. Hundreds more join the flow toward the intersection from Fourth Avenue, which cuts across Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues to the west, servicing......

December 1: Ports and Madeira at Camaje Ah, the mysteries of Ports and Madeira -- will they ever be within your grasp? Sure they will. Learn the ins and outs of Ports and Madeira at Camaje Bistro tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Reservations are required and should be made by phone at 212-673-8184. $30 per person, 85 MacDougal Street, between Bleecker and Houston. December 1: How to Pull a Shot Not do a shot......

Yesterday afternoon, the Franklin Avenue shuttle derailed at Flatbush Avenue and Empire Boulevard, knocking some passengers out of their seats. Riders escaped serious injury but had to be evacuated as authorities investigated the trains. One early hypothesis is that signal problems caused the derailment - damn those signals! The Franklin Avenue shuttle is only two cars long and is conductorless, leading the NYC Transit to try to reassure people by saying, "All these shuttles are......

Extra, extra - it's time to get your free NY Times tabloid, the MarketPlace Weekly, this afternoon! It will be full of "classified ads, supplemented by articles culled from The Times's Job Market, Real Estate, Automotive, Business and Dining Out sections, among others." Hmm, so it's like a reverse paper - mostly small type ads, with some content; we're officially in the bizarro world. The NY Times tells NY1, "We have an opportunity to reach......

Last week, Transportation Alternatives held a friendly race to see what would be fastest way to get to work: Taking the subway, riding a bicycle, or driving car. And, yes, if you guessed that the bike rider won, you're right: Professional cyclist Kristen LaSasso made it from Junior’s Restaurant on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn to Columbus Circle in just 27 minutes, while Michael Hernandez of the Straphangers' Campaign got there in 30 minutes and the......

Leafing through the most recent issue of Time Out New York, Gothamist was completely overwhelmed. Overwhelmed in a good way, mind you, but we really weren't sure what to tell you about first. The Mexican Restaurant Tour, which features prix fixe lunches, dinners, and other events at 30 authentic Mexican restaurants between now and the end of October? Downtown for Dinner 2004, where you can get three-course prix fixe dinners for $20.04 from November 1-7......

While Junior's did not make the final cut in the Times cheesecake article this week, the Times dining section acknowledged Brooklyn mainstay last weekend: So it's not the Four Seasons. Nor even an Odeon, which more than two decades into its run has become a kind of La Coupole for the downtown Manhattan set. It's not even a Katz's, with its thin-sliced deli meats and goofy Greatest Generation charm. Those are all good places to......