Author: Michael Keller (Michael Keller)

Three designers unveiled plans on how to make the BQE more environmentally friendly but city officials are concerned over the price tag, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The Economic Development Corporation sponsored the effort to create a greener thoroughfare in an attempt to reconnect neighborhoods cut off by the highway and to reduce noise. Possible solutions include:...

Tourist friendly maps and kiosks will appear in the next few months in Downtown Brooklyn, the New York Post reports. 45 Kiosks in all will be installed as well as 33 directional signs pointing to places like Fort Green and DUMBO according to Michael Weiss, Executive Director of the Metro Tech Business Improvement District. His...

Demolition of the Coney Island Bank building was halted last week after reports of unsafe conditions, according to the Brooklyn Eagle following a report from AmusingTheZillions.com and a post on Brownstowner.com. One such unsafe condition was that there was no fence protected adjacent buildings from falling debris. AmusingTheZillions.com reported that demolished started in September after attempts...

Eugenio Torres, 24, was convicted of murder in a Pennsylvania court today following the death of his former girlfriend’s son, the Wall Street Journal reports. Torres could face the death sentence. Court is scheduled to meet again today to present evidence of “aggravating circumstances” that would justify the death penalty versus life in prison without...

Six parishes will fold into three and two churches will be closed by the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, according to the New York Times. The closings are part of a two-year plan put in place in response to dwindling church attendance and fewer priests. Closings will start January 31st.

A report released Monday has alcohol-related emergency visits at 74,000 for 2009, up 250% from 22,000 in 2003, reports Vos is Neias. The neighborhoods in Brooklyn with the highest visits were Bay Ridge and Greenpoint. Central Brooklyn had one of the lowest numbers in the city.

A plan released Friday by the Department of Education proposed an amendment to the 2010-2014 budget that would add 20,000 seats for students across the city, the Brooklyn Eagle reports. If approved, the amendment would bring the total to 50,074 seats, raising it from the current proposed level of 30,074. In Brooklyn, the proposal would...

An off-duty New York City police officer shot and wounded an alleged suspect who was trying to steal the officer’s motorcycle, the Wall Street Journal reports. The incident occurred around 2:30 am in East New York when the unidentified officer heard suspicious noises in the alley behind his apartment near Blake Avenue and Tapscott Street, according to...

One advocacy group is promoting gun ownership among bodega workers but arab workers are divided over its benefits, reports New America Media. With 15 murders in the last 20 months in Crown Heights, Mohammed Koko of the local bodega is in favor of more guns. According to the report, Koko supports the advocacy group Hispanics...