Last week, the Brooklyn Paper revealed that the latest victim of an armed man robbing people in Fort Greene claimed a local novelist as his latest victim, prompting the inevitable question: Which Brooklyn novelist could it be? Now, the cops have found the suspect—and the novelist has expressed his gratitude. more ›

An armed robber is on the loose and not even the literary elites are safe! more ›

Yesterday, Michael Jackson fans gathered in Prospect Park to celebrate Michael Jackson's 51st birthday, in a celebration thrown by Spike Lee. The party, moved from Fort Greene Park to the much larger Prospect Park, attracted thousands of people who braved the initially dreary weather for a day of music and fun and writer-director Lee told them, "I'm like everybody else - somebody who loved his talent. We're here to celebrate Michael Jackson." more ›

The Michael Jackson birthday celebration in Brooklyn that was accused on the New York Times blogs as being "Spike and Marty’s big ego trip" just got bigger—eighteen times bigger. The event in honor of what would have been the singer's 51st birthday is being thrown next weekend by filmmaker Spike Lee and was originally set to be a block party taking place at Fort Greene Park. But now it has been moved to the much roomier Prospect Park after the city became involved when concerns arose over the celebration's growing publicity. The event that the Post uncomfortably refers to as "JACKOFEST" will now take place next Saturday at noon in Nethermead at the center of Prospect Park, with organizers saying they expect a crowd that could reach over 10,000. A Parks official succinctly told the Brooklyn Paper, “There were concerns about the size of the event.” This month also marks the fifteenth anniversary of the HIStory teaser video being shot in Budapest—maybe it's time for an update to Prospect's James S.T. Stranahan Statue. more ›

Did anyone actually think a Michael Jackson birthday celebration hosted by Spike Lee wasn't going to be publicized? The free event was set to be held on August 29th in Brooklyn, but The Local reports they're looking to move it after “The mayor’s office has conceded that now that this has been publicized, Fort Greene Park is just not big enough to accommodate the kind of crowds that are foreseeable." The date may also be changed, and incidentally, Jackson's funeral date was also pushed back (originally the 29th and now the 31st). more ›

Yesterday afternoon, dog-owners and dog-lovers gathered in Fort Greene Park for the 10th Annual Great PUPkin Dog Costume Contest. Over 50 dogs entered the competition (yes, each pup got to walk around to show off their costumes), those gathered got to "ooh" and "aww" over the cute canines. more ›

On the stretch of Dekalb Avenue in Fort Greene just east of Fort Greene Park is a stretch of reasonably priced, neighborhood restaurants including the local Middle-Eastern favorite, Black Iris. Cash only and BYOB, the friendly servers at Black Iris seat you promptly in a dim brick-walled room hung with tapestries at one of a dozen tables in a room made drafty by people constantly walking in and out. more ›

The Brig was built in the early 1940s and served as a naval prison. After the closing of the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1966, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service used the Brig as a detention center until 1984 when, faced with severe overcrowding in its prisons, New York City sought ownership of the prison. The Brig served as a minimum security prison until it was closed in December, 1994. The last occupants of the Brig were volunteer workers involved in the post-September 11th cleanup effort.

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced that a partnership between the Dunn Development Corporation and L&M Equity Participants Ltd., two development companies specializing in low-priced housing, would redevelop the 103,000-square-foot site between Flushing and Park Avenues with 434 housing units.

The weekend before Halloween is always busy, and the city is filled with acitivities to keep you in the spooky spirit. Besides the Haunted Houses in different boroughs and Hell House at St. Ann's in Brooklyn, there are walking tours on Saturday and Sunday at the The Green-Wood Cemetery starting at 1PM. The Parks Department also has many different activities, including "Boo at the Zoo" events, Tompkins Scare Park, and the Pier of Fear. more ›

MOVIES: Seriously, like there is anything else to see this weekend besides Snakes on a Plane. C'mon, you know you wanna. more ›

Like that view up there? Sure you do. We bear good news about it. more ›

After last night's crazy Critical Mass where two cops were hurt, the Idiotarod meeting place was moved from Willamsburg to Fort Greene Park (at the monument) at 2:30PM Everyone was alerted by text message. Looks like fears about the police trying to spoil the fun of pushing shopping carts while elaborately costumed were founded. more ›

Oh no! Two cops were injured at Critical Mass ride last night, and seventeen cyclists were arrested. The problems started when a line of cops on scooters attempted to stop the ride, and two of the cops collided with each other. The Village Voice's Power Plays blog has a comprehensive report: more ›

With all the trouble last weekend at the No Pants ride, we're wondering what's going to happen at the Idiotarod race tomorrow! The race has been very well publicized on all the New York sites, and the route has been published on the Idiotarod site (starts at Monster Island in Williamsburg tomorrow at 2:30pm [updated] the monument in Fort Greene Park at 2PM.) The NYPD seems to be cracking down on everyone recently-- first Critical Mass, then bikers in general, then No Pants. Will the Idiotarod be next-- will the NYPD allow thirty teams of wildly costumed racers to push their carts at top-speed through the city streets? Take our poll after the jump-- and please, Idiotarodders, be careful when you are racing. And don't forget to write your lawyer's number on the back of your hand! more ›

With Halloween in three days, our attention must be turned to those who cannot speak about their costumes: The animals. Tomorrow, at Fort Greene Park, dog owners will converge with their canines in awesome outfits for the Great PUPkin. But what about kitty cats? The Post's Julia Szabo put up this photograph of her cat Huey in a festive costume from Posh Paws on the Upper East Side, but we suspect Huey was given a kilo of catnip, because we've had very little success in convincing the cats we know to wear outfits (except for this U. Michigan fan). We can't help but think back to Robert DeNiro's words from Meet the Parents, when he implies that cats are more intelligent than dogs: Maybe dogs are a glutton for our punishment, but they look so damned cute when they happen to wear balloons in order to look like a bunch of grapes. Maybe cats are silently protesting any costumes because the selection of outfits is so limited. more ›

Forget spring fever - it's summer fever in the city, with the Daily News and Post giving their pick-up suggestions for New York singles. The Daily News lets women know where to pick up certain kinds of guys with 25 bars: Jocks and wanna-bes (places with TVs); young professionals (Pastis, Whisky Blue); firefighters (ale houses); alterna boys (Sweet & Vicious, Baraza); prepsters (Automatic Slims); muscle men (go outerborough). The Daily News is trying to help those girls who are not models find guys who are not looking to date models - i.e., normal girls looking for normal guys. Gothamist just wants to say, ladies, just don't run around the city clutching this list. more ›