You can pretty much kiss bike lanes goodbye in Brooklyn, where a powerful coalition of elderly and religious residents have made it their mission to abolish them. Because while you're busy at your barista job/cuddle party/tattoo parlor/whatever cliched cyclist shorthand you prefer, these elderly bike lane opponents are filling their many empty hours complaining to politicians and getting results. They vote, too! In Park Slope, seniors will rally by the dozens Thursday morning to topple the Prospect Park West bike lane. And over in Brooklyn Heights, worshipers at the First Presbyterian Church have already won their crusade against the infernal Henry Street bike lane, one of the oldest in NYC. more ›

Brooklyn Heights blogger Peter Kaufman has triumphantly concluded his long crusade against the congregation of First Presbyterian Church, which for years has been giving parishioners parking placards for their cars when parking in the bike lane on Henry Street. You may recall that Kaufman made a big stink about the Sunday bike lane blockage, posting an epic video showing cars illegally parked in the lane from one end of the block to the other. Last year a cop at the local precinct told us, "For years we have allowed people to park in front of the church while they worship." But now it looks like the grace period has ended. more ›

The Daily News reports that an honor student was slashed when he was leaving the Henry Street School For International Studies for a field trip yesterday: "Pascasio Rodriguez, 15, was sliced from his left cheek to his neck when ambushed by at least two thugs," and his mother said, "They confused him for the wrong guy He's never been in trouble before. He's a good kid." Rodriguez, other students and faculty were headed to the subway for a taping of BET's 106th and Park, a trip for students with at least "a 90 grade point average." Rodriguez is in stable condition at Bellevue, and his brother said, "I feel like he was surrounded by friends and no one did anything. The teachers didn't help. No one did." more ›

One quaint block of Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights has become the latest bitterly contested front in the city's bike lane wars. For years now, parishioners at First Presbyterian Church have been given illegal parking placards by the church, which they place inside their cars when parking in the bike lane during services. Local police have always looked the other way, but back in December, Heights resident Peter Kaufman finally snapped, and posted an epic video of the weekly bike lane block on his blog, Ink Lake. We've always believed that an indignant blog post is all it takes to effect change, but in this case it seems nothing happened! more ›

According to Daily News and Post, a 16-year-old male confessed to killing former WABC Radio reporter George Weber. Weber's body was found in his Carroll Gardens apartment on Sunday and police believed he knew his killer, because there were no signs of forced entry in the apartment. Now, police say that the teen apparently answered an ad that Weber had posted on craigslist. A police source told the News, "He saw the victim's ad looking for violent sex and said 'I can smother somebody for $60' but it got out of hand." more ›

Police are continuing their investigation in the murder of former WABC Radio personality and current ABC News Radio anchor George Weber, who was found dead in his Carroll Gardens apartment yesterday morning. The Daily News reports the 47-year-old—who would have celebrated his 48th birthday today—was "found in bed with stab wounds in the neck and chest." The Post adds, "His hands and feet were bound with duct tape." more ›

Yesterday saw two important moment in the Department of Transportation's handling of bicylist quality of life issues. One was the installation of bike racks on North 7th at Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, which the DOT said was "the first time car parking spaces have been removed to accommodate bicycle parking in New York City." Previously, cops have sawed through locks chained to the subway entrance and impounded bikes, leading to community demand for bike racks. more ›

“We don’t carry Coors Light,” said the bartender, quick as could be, as a lady patron sat shocked and surprised. more ›

As the Carroll Gardens of yore fades into the Smith and Court Street song and dance it’s ever more difficult to track down an authentic Italian experience in a neighborhood still populated as much by well-heeled Manhattan transplants as it is by Marys on the half-shell. more ›

Donna Da Vine is either a minefield of perfectly single, beautiful women quietly sipping on oversize glasses of wine in purple-tinged light, or a bar where all those ladies go to get away from men. Either way it’s gorgeous, and women seem to love it. The two times we stopped by the clientele was almost exclusively female inside. Even accounting for the occasional male date, the purple interior, low light, and all female bartenders seem to extenuate the feeling that this place is meant to be for the ladies. more ›

Food for thought: The Sun says that Brooklyn Heights restaurant Palmira's has closed at the end of 2006, making it the seventh restaurant to fail at the 41 Clark Street space since 1982. That a 3.43 year life span for restaurants, but apparently Palmira's had been literally struck by lightning in 2003, "forcing the restaurant to spend its first two years hidden beneath scaffolding." Ouch. more ›

Wow, Halloween and the start of CMJ all in one night. There will be lots of ear candy, and of course regular candy, all over the city tonight. So if you aren't checking out the Halloween Parade, here are some other options: more ›

On the corner of Henry & Warren Streets in Cobble Hill, you're probably more used to hearing babies wailing than festive Italian music emanating from the lot on the corner. Formerly a salon and then a favorite countertop diner-bistro named Sammy's, the space is now Bocco Lupo, a trattoria style small plates spot with a fifty-plus bottle Italian wine list and a mean set of panini. With large glass-paned walls on two sides and doors held open by an oversized bottle of wine, Bocca Lupo offers small plates menu ($7-$14) of tremezzini, bruschetta, and panini, as well as a daily pasta, risotto, and salads which rotate based on what's in season. Atmospheric touches like candlelit tables, flatware wrapped in twine, and small vases of flowers will help win you over--you might call it the style modern-rustic. more ›

The next few days are going to be filled with the police's near-misses with suspected sex attacker Peter Braunstein, aren't they? After sightings in Chelsea and Queens, a Court Street coffee shop owner says Braunstein ordered some coffee even with a police van outside. John Arena, of Bococa's Cafe, tells reporters:

"I knew right away. We both gave each other the same vibe. We looked at each other like, 'You know who I am.' I looked at him like I saw a ghost. He caught on right away. He knew I knew who he was."

Will it survive? more ›

Another one bites the dust. more ›

Gothamist was cautiously excited, when we learned that a brand-new barbeque joint, Pig 'n Out, was opening in Brooklyn Heights. Now that the Henry Street spot has been operational for a few weeks, it seemed time we put their 'cue to the test. more ›

Well, maybe not quite yet. But, for you carnivores out there who will be looking for something beyond the usual gobble-gobble and snooze once the leftovers are done, Gothamist has some good news - a new BBQ spot is going to be opening its doors in the next week or so. more ›

If you are unfamiliar with the oft-used term "feh" it is defined by one Yiddish-to-English dictionary as: "It stinks! No good." more ›

Gothamist is always on the lookout for the out-of-the-way, under-the-radar spot that deserves to be recognized by foodies and bar aficionados alike. But, who would've thunk that the bustling neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights would actually have an honest-to-goodness Italian dining and wining destination hidden away, awaiting discovery? more ›

The growing rivalry between competing bus operators in Chinatown has escalated to the murder of one driver/owner, after a chase down Henry Street to Market Street. The victim, De Jian Chen, had worked at Dragon Coach earlier but then left to form Dragon Coach U.S.A.: "Over the last year, several Chinatown bus lines that offer low fares to Philadelphia, Washington, Boston and other destinations have competed so fiercely for riders that fistfights have broken out between rival employees, and neighbors have complained of ganglike violence." more ›