This morning, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz welcomed the Beijing Guo Sheng Opera Troupe to Brooklyn, greeting the crowd "ni hao ma?" in his shaky Mandarin*. The opera group, in town for two performances this weekend, is from Brooklyn's sister city, Chaoyang — a district in Beijing. more ›

I loathe mourning celebrity but this one is just so unexpected." more ›

After months of rumors, the Barclays Center has confirmed that Brooklyn native Barbra Streisand will perform a concert at the new venue on October 11. Babs said in a statement, "Brooklyn to me means the Loew’s Kings, Erasmus, the Yeshiva I went to, the Dodgers, Prospect Park, great Chinese food. I’m so glad I came from Brooklyn—it’s down to earth. I guess you CAN come home again." more ›

Today Brooklyn's annual Northside Festival was officially announced in a press conference at Borough Hall presided over by Marty Markowitz and Wu-Tang Clan member GZA. Yes, GZA and Marty, passing the mic. Never one to miss an opportunity to make his borough cringe, Marty put his rapping skills on display, dropping the first lyric to GZA's "Liquid Swords": "Through cyclones or typhoons, I represent Brooklyn from midnight to high noon...I don't waste ink, I think, I drop 'fuggedaboutits' faster than you blink." Bear witness: more ›

While nobody knows exactly what Brooklyn mascot Borough President Marty Markowitz is going to do when his third term ends, we can now confidently say one thing the 67-year-old isn't going to do: run against Yvette Clarke for Congress this year. Earlier today Crain's floated the idea that "Brooklyn's biggest booster could soon be on the warpath to Washington." But the idea was quickly shot down by Marty's office. more ›

With the success of the Aqueduct "Racino" last year there is a serious political push, headed by Governor Cuomo, to bring real casinos to New York State. And you know who really likes the idea? Brooklyn mascot and third-term Beep Marty Markowitz, who really wants to bring Casino's to the boardwalk. Craps on Coney, anyone? more ›

Is the king of "sex dancing" making his final lap around the proverbial stripper poll? Earlier today, the NY Post broke a story about how Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has given up on his mayoral aspirations, and is planning to retire from politics. “He just wants to retire when this term is up and spend more time with his wife and enjoy himself. It’s a right he’s earned,” a political insider told them. But that's not what Markowitz is saying! more ›

Earlier today President Obama declared New York state a disaster, which means that Albany, Bronx, Clinton, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Montgomery, Nassau, New York, Queens, Rensselaer, Richmond, Rockland, Schoharie, Suffolk, Ulster, Warren, and Westchester counties will all be eligible for federal relief funds. Did you notice that Kings wasn't mentioned? Well Mad Marty Markowitz did. And he's ready to rumble over the omission. more ›

The last time we checked in on Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's wife, Jamie Snow, she was reportedly hogging an armful of souvenir placemats from the Brooklyn Museum’s gala dinner for the Takashi Murakami retrospective. ("You guys really should have acted faster. This is Brooklyn!" she allegedly told attendees who asked her to spare a placemat.) This time Snow is back in the SWAG spotlight for taking advantage of free travel offers from foreign governments who paid her expenses when she traveled with Marty to Turkey and the Netherlands. more ›

Relations have been strained (to put it mildly) between DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz at least as far back as April 2010, when Marty called her a "zealot" on WNYC. And it doesn't look like those two will be taking a romantic paddle boat ride together in Prospect Park anytime soon, judging by sworn affidavits filed as part of the great Prospect Park West bike lane lawsuit. Markowitz recently swore under oath that a month before he called her a zealot, Sadik-Khan told him the contentious bike lane was just a trial. Now Sadik-Khan has filed her own affidavit essentially calling the Borough President a liar, liar pants on fire. more ›

Tomorrow the opposing sides in the lawsuit over the incendiary Prospect Park West bike lane will be back in court. The affluent and well-connected group suing the city insists that the DOT fudged data to justify the bike lane, which was supposed to be installed on a trial basis. The DOT, however, wants the suit tossed because the because the statute of limitations ran out a few months before the lawsuit was filed. This is where the question of whether it was really a "trial" becomes important—if it was a trial, the plaintiffs met the deadline for their lawsuit, and if it was not a trial, they filed too late. So was it a trial or wasn't it? And when can we stop talking about this? more ›

Despite a $1.5 million upgrade to its lighting system, the iconic Parachute Jump on Coney Island probably won't be brightening the Brooklyn skyline this 4th of July. In 2008, the always eloquent Marty Markowitz promised that the heap of money would keep the ride "blinged up" into the next century, but that hasn't happened. more ›

Last night not only did the New York State Senate finally pass the marriage equality bill, Governor Andrew Cuomo managed to sign it into law at 11:55 p.m. Since the law will go into effect after 30 days, New York should start seeing legal same-sex marriages by late July. more ›

Buried at the bottom of an article on a fanciful series of conceptual designs for "Downtown Brooklyn Commons Project," you'll find quite a gem from the hyperbolic treasure chest of Brooklyn Borough Clown-In-Chief Marty Markowitz. You'll recall that Markowitz can't stand the DOT's expansion of bike lanes throughout "his" borough, and he's previously sung songs mocking bike lanes, and branded DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan a "zealot." But Markowitz's new solution to the city's endless bike lane wars may be just the thing to forge a truce between the warring factions! more ›

Last summer, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz was catching a lot of flack for his Seaside Summer Concert Series at Asser Levy Park. Locals said he was breaking noise codes, and then they complained that he was using Rikers inmates for cheap labor at the concerts. The obvious solution would be to move these concert events to Rikers Island (surrounded by water! More $1/hour labor!)... but Markowitz has gone in a different direction: The space where the Ringling Bros. circus had been performing. more ›

Over the weekend, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz became the latest to give support to Turkish Taxi of Tomorrow candidates Karsan, saying “I hope that city officials will seriously consider taking a ride with Karsan—we owe it to everyone in the city that seeks gainful employment,” he said at an event yesterday morning. But the Times reports that the TLC has rejected Karsan's design because a "review raised concerns about whether the Turkish company, untested in the American market, could reliably execute the high-concept product it had designed." However, the Ford and Nissan designs aren't faring much better. more ›

The City Council is currently considering legislation that would finally eliminate automobiles from Prospect Park and Central Park (the transverse roads in that park would remain open to traffic). There have been numerous efforts over the years to return the parks to purely recreational purposes, and the amount of time motorists can use the parks has been whittled down to just a few hours on weekdays. The momentum seems to be growing for a full-on car ban, but here comes Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz to stomp on the brakes. more ›

People tend to take a lot of liberties when describing things they deem "necessary," so here's a little primer. Food is necessary, demanding filet mignon for dinner every night is not. Shelter is necessary, $7 million dollars just to feel rich is not. The ability to get to where you want to go is necessary, but having three professional chauffeurs on rotating 16-hour shifts is definitely not. more ›

Brooklynites who didn't get their fill of discounted dining during Restaurant Week have a reason to rejoice. King's County's own version of the deal, Dine In Brooklyn, is for another round of $25 dinners, $20.11 lunches and even some $20.11 two-for-one brunch options at nearly 200 local restaurants. The fun runs from March 21-31 at participating restaurants. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Strange things are afoot at Brooklyn BP Marty Markowitz's office. According to some female staffers, Markowitz's office is run like a "frat house," with male workers favored over females and Markowitz nicknaming one female staffer "Tinkerbell." Former communications director Regina Weiss filed a sexual-discrimination suit, which included testimony by former staffer Bridget Geary. However, when asked if he knew of complaints from Geary, Markowitz replied "no." Which is funny, because apparently he told former chief of staff Gregory Atkins that he did. more ›