The pizza man and the alleged mobster behind April's Smith Street knife fight may both get off scot free unless one of them suddenly changes tune and sings to a grand jury. Despite eyewitnesses to the possibly love-related slice up, there isn't much case against either Lucali's owner Mark Iacono or serial arrestee Benny Geritano without them. more ›

Friday afternoon Benny Geritano and Lucali's owner Mark Iacono got into a knife fight on Smith Street, for unclear reasons (nobody is cooperating with the authorities). What is clear is that both men have been charged in the fight. Iacono has been charged with assault and Geritano, though initially only charged with assault, yesterday saw his charges upgraded to attempted murder and was smacked with a $250,000 bail. Geritano is due back in court on Thursday. Update: Scratch that, the Brooklyn DA today upgraded the charges against Iacono to attempted murder as well. more ›

Police have identified the man who brutally stabbed Lucali's Pizza owner Mark Icaono yesterday as Benny Geritano, an ex-con who was charged with murder in the 1990s and is currently on probation. And sources also say he may have been off his medication. "Mark was trying to get the guy to calm down," the source told the Daily News. "They made their way up the block and the guy started stabbing Mark." Geritano is also a reported associate of the Gambino family. more ›

The DOT has unveiled plans to make a cyclist-heavy section of Smith Street in Brooklyn a bit safer, with a bike lane extending from the intersection of Hamilton Avenue to Bergen Street, where Smith narrows. After Bergen Street, there is already a bike lane running to Jay Street (between Bergen and Pacific this includes shared bike lane markings, which remind drivers of cyclists' presence with logos of cyclists painted on the road). 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 ›

The NYT reports that a restaurant space under construction at 570 Vanderbilt Avenue called The Vanderbilt will be 150-seater operated by Num Pang partner Ben Daitz and Smith Street pioneer Saul Bolton, the chef and owner of Saul, one of the original new wave Brooklyn restaurants. We took a quick look at the Prospect Heights space (right) in April, noting that a small section of Vanderbilt Avenue is quickly becoming the home to a bunch of new restaurants and bars. And while The Vanderbilt is scheduled to open this fall, Frank Bruni pays an unrated checkup visit to Diner in Williamsburg, the decade-old wellspring of Brooklyn's New Culinary Movement, and the proving grounds of Tom Mylan and Sasha Davies' UnFancy Food Show. "Diner was doing the Brooklyn tropes before they were Brooklyn tropes," he writes. Opening chef Caroline Fidanza has moved down the street to companion butcher shop Marlow & Daughters, ceding the reigns to Sean Rembold. The food remains consistent but is expensive. Bruni laments that a once $9 chicken dish now costs a steep $22 is par for the course: "That’s inflation, yes," he admits. "But that’s also what happens when a neighborhood itself ascends." more ›

The Gowanus Canal Conservancy held a public meeting in Carroll Gardens this week to unveil renderings for a park and esplanade that would run along the Gowanus canal. The project’s dubbed Sponge Park because planners hope it will help absorb some of the raw sewage that currently contaminates the canal during heavy rainfall. (Brownstoner believes oily runoff from the nearby Gowanus Expressway is another big problem.) The idea is that when the canal is finally cleaned up sometime after 2020, Sponge Park will help keep it clean, or at least clean-ish. more ›

Fans of Ditmas Park favorite the Farm on Adderley, get ready: The newest venture from co-owners Gary Jonas and Allison McDowell, a French bistro dubbed Pomme de Terre, is on the verge of opening. Apparently the regular customers at the Farm are jonesing for another mid-range restaurant in the neighborhood, and it's unlikely a recent shooting on the very same corner will deter them. more ›

Earlier in the week, the department of Housing Preservation and Development [HPD] revealed renderings for a proposed housing development and park on 5.8 acres of heavily polluted land by the toxic Gowanus canal. Located on the site of a former manufactured gas plant, the city has owned the land, which stretches from Smith Street to the canal, for two decades. National Grid, who took over the site from KeySpan Energy, would need at least two years to decontaminate the area, called Public Place. more ›

It appears the rumors of autumn's demise have been greatly exaggerated and you're going to have to start wearing a jacket outside after all. But the change of seasons is not without its perks; there are those hot winter drinks to look forward to, and a number of bars around town offer the perfect accompaniment for your hot toddy: a crackling fireplace. Below are some of New York's best places to chill out on a... more ›

Given the city's more nuanced real estate market, NY magazine covers "degentrification," focusing mostly on Red Hook. Adam Sternbergh chronicles the neighborhood's ups and downs - for pre-gentrifiers, the stroller set and real estate enthusiasts, of course. He tells the story through a 30 year-old named Ivy Pochoda, who grew up in Cobble Hill when "Smith Street was still too sketchy to walk home on alone." (NB: Smith Street still was sketchy into the 1990s.)... more ›

Bacaro: Frank DeCarlo of Peasant and his wife Dulcinea Benson transport you to Venice in their 80-seat wine bar/restaurant on the Lower East Side. Northern Italian menu offerings include cicchetti, (think Venetian bar snacks) like crostini, sardines, artichokes, and more, cheeses selected by Lou DiPalo, and pastas, quail, and duck for those seeking heartier fare. 136 Division Street, between Orchard and Ludlow Streets, 212-941-5060. more ›

Last week Racked reported that there's word of an Apple store opening in Brooklyn. The question is, which neighborhood will iNvite them in. Dumbo NYC reports that Two Trees has reached out to Apple in the past, but they "weren’t ready". If they're ready now, their options in Dumbo would include the 6600 sq.ft space at 70 Washington Street and the 6700 sq.ft space across the street at Washington and Front Street. more ›

The NY Times takes a look at Smith Street and the corporate companies creeping into the area and setting up shop. The most recent big announcement is that Trader Joe's is taking over the old bank on Atlantic Avenue and Court Street. How long until more big fish come to feed? more ›

It's July 14, which means it's time to appreciate the je ne sais quoi of all things French as you celebrate Bastille Day. Eating frites is one way, but there are many other events and activities today and tomorrow. more ›

EVENT: If you haven't taken a trip back to the Summer of Love yet, head over to the Whitney tonight for the exhibit and enjoy their Whitney Live event. DJ Scientific and Dana Leong will be providing the tunes. more ›

If you've never played petanque, head on down to Smith Street for North America's largest petanque tournament -- the two block stretch betweeen Bergen and Pacific will be shut down and covered with sand just for the occasion. While your'e watching the action, enjoy special cocktails from Ricard and other drink specials ($5-6), nibble on grilled merguez and chicken sandwiches ($5) and groove to Jazz band Blue Orchid will provide the entertainment throughout the day. 11:30am - 8pm, free admission, sponsored by Bar Tabac, Robin des Bois, Ricard and the South Brooklyn Local Development Corporation. 128 Smith Street at Dean Street, 718-923-0918. more ›

June 21-23: NYC Food Film Festival, Part 2 more ›

Sample is small. But not like Minibar small, or even Tini, where what you see is what you get. It is long and especially narrow, and feels like it has more to show. We kept expecting to find another room, or a little cove behind some tables. But even the back garden only has enough room for two tiny tables. If you have the misfortune to sit in the middle of the bar you’ll have approximately a foot of space between you and the wall, and no matter how politely people try to slip by you’ll get a constant brush whether they mean to or not. more ›

The gang at Flatbush Farm hosts a barbecue the last weekend of every month, including this one. Feast on grilled clams, barbecued chicken legs and ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, veggie chili and more. 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 76 Saint Marks Avenue, Brooklyn. Call 718-622-3276 for details. more ›

Just when you thought that you might have put some distance between you and your folks, the Brooklyn Paper stirs things up with "the invasion of the suburban grandparents!" Now it makes total sense why developers are selling condos and buildings in up-and-coming neighborhoods at crazy prices: Not only will parents buy apartments for their kids, heck, they might leave their homes and move to the Big Apple too! more ›

There's been a flurry of activity on the openings front recently. Even if spring hasn't quite made it to town, these new spots are starting to bloom and shake off the winter blahs: more ›

With all the craziness going on in South Brooklyn recently -- Jason Neroni leaving Porchetta (law suits, arrests, excitement!), and with recent news that the Brooklyn Inn may be closing (converting into a bistro?) -- it'd be easy to miss the little slip about Vegas. During a short message on the Brooklyn Record, a commentator "confirmed" that the rumors about the Brooklyn Inn were true and then added that "Vegas, on Smith st. is also closing soon." more ›

-Food and Wine magazine released its Best New Chefs 2007 list earlier this week. April Bloomfield, the 32 year-old chef and co-owner of West Village gastropub The Spotted Pig, is among the ten honorees to be featured in the magazine’s July issue. Eater attended Wednesday night’s announcement party at 7 World Trade Center and watched “everyone who has ever been on an episode of Top Chef” party like it was 1999, the not-so-distant year that Rocco DiSpirito was named a F&W Best New Chef. more ›

THEATER: It’s “go time” for The Butane’s Group’s Operation Ajax, which ingenuously sets the CIA’s 1953 overthrow of Iran’s first democratically-elected government in the context of a casino. “Constructed from no less than 25 text sources (memoirs, documentaries, plays, poetry, novels, films, reality tv shows), the densely-layered performance explores how the addiction to risk and gambling has become a potent metaphor for U.S. foreign policy.” (For an enhanced theater experience, explore the show’s thorough bibliography, with links to all source material.) - John Del Signore more ›

Gothamist would like to congratulate Chef Jason Neroni of Porchetta on today’s New York Times review. The following conversation took place two weeks ago at the Smith Street restaurant. more ›

Park Slope development is nothing new. But Fourth Ave. as a foodie destination? Now that’s news. The NY Sun has the write-up, marking the trend with the recent arrival of Sheep Station, an Australian pub with no sign (no sign that we’ve seen at least), following Cherry Tree and Mule. more ›

- And finally, any email with the subject line "Pork and Beer Night" is enough to catch our attention. Starting December 17th, Porchetta's Jason Neroni will be hosting Pork and Beer Nights, with a four-course pairing menu featuring Heritage Foods USA pork and beer from American Beer. $45. 241 Smith Street, Brooklyn, 718-237-9100. more ›

If you enjoyed yesterday's post about the massive fire on 4th Avenue in Park Slope, then you'll probably like this one as well. Lindsay sent in a bunch of pictures of a big accident on Smith Street and President, along with this account: more ›