Arrested Again: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Busy Chef Con Man Dan Kaufman

Brooklyn Heights Busy Chef manager / con man Dan Kaufman AKA Dan Kay AKA Dan Katze, arrested in Brooklyn in July of 2009 and at least once after that, is back in the news with a profile in Gawker which catches us up with his latest criminal activities.

Only now he's the Montauk Grifter.

Kaufman's activities are credited with driving the Busy Chef on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights -- along with its sister stores, Blue Pig ice cream shop, and Henry Street's Wine Bar, Oven restaurant and a Court Street Busy Chef -- out of business.

In addition to the $25,000 that Kaufman stole from customers, he also took much more from the business itself, falsifying the books to cover up the losses.

Since the little Brooklyn Heights episode (and apparently while on parole), Kaufman has been, once again, busy: He was arrested on Jan. 26, accused of defrauding Cloud Mob Media, Inc.

Gawker's description of Kaufman: "He is a celebrity chef, an internet entrepreneur, a television producer. He has worked for Apple, Google, AOL, the Rainbow Room. He hangs out with Steve Case, Gordon Ramsey, Tim Armstrong. He's a world-class surfer, a AAA baseball legend, the founder of a seminal punk band . . ."

And ladies: he hangs out on OkCupid.

Read all about it on Gawker.

UPDATE: Even more details about what the busy guy has been up to at the Brooklyn Eagle. 

- Brooklyn's Busy Chef: More Drama, More Crime
- Busy Chef's Alan Young Disbarred
- Brooklyn Heights: Busy Chef Cover Up -- Stop Work Order
- 50 Ex- Busy Chef Restaurant Employees in Brooklyn, Ready to Work
- And Then There Were None: The Wine Bar, Last in Brooklyn's Busy Chef Empire, Closes
- 'Mired in Scandal,' It's All Over for Brooklyn's Busy Chef
- Why the Brooklyn Paper Didn't Write About the Crook at the Busy Chef and What This Means For America
- Arrested Busy Chef Partner Has a History in Boston
- A Busy Brooklyn Chef Now Under Arrest
- Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Photo by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn's Busy Chef: More Drama, More Crime

Just yesterday we asked: "What more could go wrong with anyone in any way connected with the failed Busy Chef Brooklyn restaurant chain?" (Yesterday we learned that partner/owner/attorney Alan Young has been disbarred.)

A lot more, it seems. The Brooklyn Heights Blog reports today that chef Dan Kaufman was arrested on Jan. 20 for an incident on the Upper East Side in which he allegedly stole a credit card from a friend, whose apartment he was visiting. He then made a purchase at a McDonald’s on the west side, "where security cameras there captured his every move."

The restaurants folded last year, mired in scandal after the arrest of Kaufman for identity theft and credit card forgery.

The Busy Chef saga never ends.

- Busy Chef's Alan Young Disbarred
- Brooklyn Heights: Busy Chef Cover Up -- Stop Work Order
- 50 Ex- Busy Chef Restaurant Employees in Brooklyn, Ready to Work
- And Then There Were None: The Wine Bar, Last in Brooklyn's Busy Chef Empire, Closes
- 'Mired in Scandal,' It's All Over for Brooklyn's Busy Chef
- Why the Brooklyn Paper Didn't Write About the Crook at the Busy Chef and What This Means For America
- Arrested Busy Chef Partner Has a History in Boston
- A Busy Brooklyn Chef Now Under Arrest
- Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Busy Chef's Alan Young Disbarred

What more could go wrong with anyone in any way connected with the failed Busy Chef Brooklyn restaurant chain?

Now it seems that Busy Chef's landlord Alan Young (and local attorney) has been disbarred for “his inability to successfully defend himself on the merits against any disciplinary charges which may be brought against him," according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

Young was what -- owner? Partner? with Dan Kaufman, credited with driving the Busy Chef and other restaurants out of business by allegedly stealing thousands from customers and the business itself.

- Brooklyn Heights: Busy Chef Cover Up -- Stop Work Order
- 50 Ex- Busy Chef Restaurant Employees in Brooklyn, Ready to Work
- And Then There Were None: The Wine Bar, Last in Brooklyn's Busy Chef Empire, Closes
- 'Mired in Scandal,' It's All Over for Brooklyn's Busy Chef
- Why the Brooklyn Paper Didn't Write About the Crook at the Busy Chef and What This Means For America
- Arrested Busy Chef Partner Has a History in Boston
- A Busy Brooklyn Chef Now Under Arrest
- Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Dan Kaufman Pleads Guilty -- But Not Brooklyn's Ex-Busy Chef

UPDATE: We were all excited for a while to hear that Dan Kaufman -- the notorious restaurant manager who passed himself off as an owner of The Busy Chef eatery on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights -- pled guilty to some of the charges leveled against him.

But now it's time to eat crow -- a commenter pointed out that there might be two Dan Kaufmans -- and indeed that is the case! Dan Kaufman number 2 pled guilty to similar charges -- but on Staten Island, not Brooklyn.

Brooklyn's Kaufman, charged with identity theft, falsifying business records, grand larceny and attempted identity theft, will be seeing the judge on December 26.

Thanks commenter number 2, for setting the record straight.

And now it comes to our attention that there is still another Dan Kaufman, scheduled to come before a judge in Manhattan in April!

Background: Kaufman was arrested in July. His activities are credited with driving the Busy Chef -- along with its sister stores, Blue Pig ice cream shop, Wine Bar, Oven restaurant and Busy Chef Court Street -- out of business.

In addition to the $25,000 that Kaufman allegedly stole from customers, he also allegedly took much more from the business itself, falsifying the books to cover up the losses.

Previous posts on this topic here:
- Brooklyn Heights: Busy Chef Cover Up -- Stop Work Order
- 50 Ex- Busy Chef Restaurant Employees in Brooklyn, Ready to Work
- And Then There Were None: The Wine Bar, Last in Brooklyn's Busy Chef Empire, Closes
- 'Mired in Scandal,' It's All Over for Brooklyn's Busy Chef
- Why the Brooklyn Paper Didn't Write About the Crook at the Busy Chef and What This Means For America
- Arrested Busy Chef Partner Has a History in Boston
- A Busy Brooklyn Chef Now Under Arrest
- Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Photo by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Brooklyn Heights: Busy Chef Cover Up -- Stop Work Order

(UPDATE below)
Rumors are flying about what's coming next for the Busy Chef corner of Henry Street in north Brooklyn Heights. Sources say talks with a restaurateur are in progress, at least for the Busy Chef portion of the corner.

Thursday, all three interconnected businesses -- Busy Chef, Blue Pig and Oven -- were covered up with a wooden shed. But sources say that the purpose is for exterior (facade) work being done by the building -- not for the new restaurant/s.

UPDATE: A Stop Work Order has been slapped onto this work for construction without a permit. DOB and here.

- 50 Ex- Busy Chef Restaurant Employees in Brooklyn, Ready to Work
- And Then There Were None: The Wine Bar, Last in Brooklyn's Busy Chef Empire, Closes
- 'Mired in Scandal,' It's All Over for Brooklyn's Busy Chef
- Why the Brooklyn Paper Didn't Write About the Crook at the Busy Chef and What This Means For America
- Arrested Busy Chef Partner Has a History in Boston
- A Busy Brooklyn Chef Now Under Arrest
- Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Photo by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Public Comment Wednesday on New Brooklyn Heights Wine Bar - UPDATE

The new cranberry-colored Brooklyn Heights Wine Bar will open at 50 Henry Street in the former Wine Bar. There will be an opportunity for public comment at a CB2 meeting to be held Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. at the Brooklyn Hospital Center, 121 DeKalb Ave., North Pavilion, Third Floor Conference Rooms 3A and 3B.

According to the Brooklyn Heights Blog and the Brooklyn Paper, the BHWB will be a joint venture from the owners of Henry’s End (Mark Lahm) and Cranberry’s (Jim Montemarano).

The restaurant will serve small, succulent plates of "cheeses, charcuterie, soups and interesting salads.” Come spring, wine will be served.

Frankly, we can't wait. Mark and Jim are bonafide food professionals with a long and positive history in the neighborhood.

Lahm made it clear to the Brooklyn Paper that there are "no associations whatsoever with Dan Kaufman . . ."

Kaufman was arrested in July. His activities are credited with driving the Busy Chef -- along with its sister stores, Blue Pig ice cream shop, Wine Bar, Oven restaurant and Busy Chef Court Street -- out of business.

In addition to the $25,000 that Kaufman allegedly stole from customers, he also allegedly took much more from the business itself, falsifying the books to cover up the losses.

UPDATE: More juicy details about what will be on the menu (and what business used to be in the space) at the Brooklyn Eagle.

- Brooklyn Heights: Busy Chef Cover Up -- Stop Work Order
- 50 Ex- Busy Chef Restaurant Employees in Brooklyn, Ready to Work
- And Then There Were None: The Wine Bar, Last in Brooklyn's Busy Chef Empire, Closes
- 'Mired in Scandal,' It's All Over for Brooklyn's Busy Chef
- Why the Brooklyn Paper Didn't Write About the Crook at the Busy Chef and What This Means For America
- Arrested Busy Chef Partner Has a History in Boston
- A Busy Brooklyn Chef Now Under Arrest
- Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Photo by MK Metz
Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

50 Ex- Busy Chef Restaurant Employees in Brooklyn, Ready to Work

Employers: Here's your chance to pick up some trained, dedicated food service employees.

The Brooklyn Heights Blog is going to help out the 50 or so folks who lost their jobs due to the Busy Chef scandal.

Employees: If you worked at any of the establishments recently closed -- Busy Chef, Oven, Blue Pig, Wine Bar --and if you’re looking for a job, send your resume and an optional photo to webmaster AT brooklynheightsblog.com.

Homer Fink, the webmaster at BHB, will post the resumes on his blog. Busy Chef employees might link up to a great job, and employers will be able to find great workers. Sounds like a good deal for everybody.

Brooklyn Heights Blog here.

- And Then There Were None: The Wine Bar, Last in Brooklyn's Busy Chef Empire, Closes
- 'Mired in Scandal,' It's All Over for Brooklyn's Busy Chef
- Why the Brooklyn Paper Didn't Write About the Crook at the Busy Chef and What This Means For America
- Arrested Busy Chef Partner Has a History in Boston
- A Busy Brooklyn Chef Now Under Arrest
- Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Photo by Paul Keleher, Creative Commons license.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

And Then There Were None: The Wine Bar, Last in Brooklyn's Busy Chef Empire, Closes

What seemed to be the only business to survive the Busy Chef scandal -- The Wine Bar at the corner of Henry and Cranberry Street -- has now also closed, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

An employee standing outside the corner restaurant on Henry Street today told the sad news to would-be customers.

Just Tuesday, the Busy Chef on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights, "mired in scandal after the arrest of its manager Dan Kaufman for identity theft and credit card forgery," was closed for business, along with its sister stores – the Blue Pig ice cream shop and Oven restaurant, as well as a Busy Chef on Court Street.

In addition to the $25,000 that Kaufman allegedly stole from customers, one employee told the Eagle on Tuesday that Kaufman stole much more from the business itself, allegedly falsifying the books to cover up the losses.

- 'Mired in Scandal,' It's All Over for Brooklyn's Busy Chef
- Why the Brooklyn Paper Didn't Write About the Crook at the Busy Chef and What This Means For America
- Arrested Busy Chef Partner Has a History in Boston
- A Busy Brooklyn Chef Now Under Arrest
- Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Photo of the interior of The Wine Bar by MK Metz

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

'Mired in Scandal,' It's All Over for Brooklyn's Busy Chef

It's over.

The Brooklyn Eagle reports that The Busy Chef on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights, "mired in scandal after the arrest of its manager Dan Kaufman for identity theft and credit card forgery," was closed for business Tuesday, along with its sister stores – the Blue Pig ice cream shop and Oven restaurant.

An employee told the Eagle that all three businesses were now permanently shuttered, along with the Busy Chef on Court Street.

In addition to the $25 grand that Kaufman allegedly stole from customers, one employee told the Eagle that Kaufman stole much more from the business itself, allegedly falsifying the books to cover up the losses.

Now, in this terrible economy, four stores worth of employees are out on the street and the owners are out who knows how much income.

More at the Eagle.

The Brooklyn Heights Blog has posted quite a bit about Dan Kaufman. Here's the latest.

- Why the Brooklyn Paper Didn't Write About the Crook at the Busy Chef and What This Means For America
- Arrested Busy Chef Partner Has a History in Boston
- A Busy Brooklyn Chef Now Under Arrest
- Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Why the Brooklyn Paper Didn't Write About the Crook at the Busy Chef and What This Means For America

So then Kuntzman tells Gothamist that the Brooklyn Heights Blog, being a blog, has a lower standard of what they can print, and that's why he didn't follow up Homer's hint to the Brooklyn Paper about the Busy Chef's manager being a crook. And then Homer says, as for a blog’s standards being lower than a newspaper’s, well let's look at what your classy newspaper prints anyway. Then he links to one of the Brooklyn Paper's memorably gross T & A shots (Hello, neighbor!), and a disgusting poop video and more, and then says "Yes, we bloggers live in the gutter. Those newspaper guys are so classy."

So that's why the Brooklyn Paper didn't write about the crook at the Busy Chef after Homer gave them the head's up. And furthermore, Kuntzman says, the fact that the Busy Chef was an advertiser has nothing to do with it.

We hope that clears it up.

- Arrested Busy Chef Partner Has a History in Boston
- A Busy Brooklyn Chef Now Under Arrest
- Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Baseless But Fun Rumors: Hooters in Brooklyn Heights? Cobble Hill?

There's nothing like a good baseless rumor to cheer up a drab, dull day. Today, we are trying to debunk/confirm the rumor that a Hooters is moving into the old Busy Chef property at Henry and Cranberry Streets in Brooklyn Heights.

Three people have mentioned it to us so far -- which makes it a virtual slam dunk -- but we persist in thinking it's ridiculous! Isn't it? Please?

In researching the Brooklyn Heights rumor, we ran across the NIMBY Brooklyn blog, which maintains that a Hooters is planning on moving into the old Blockbuster Video store at 288 Court Street in Cobble Hill.

What is it with these Hooters rumors? Is it a collective hallucination brought on by too much presidential politics? Or something more sinister?

Here's the research on the Blockbuster site: ACRIS says that University Place Partners with Madison Realty Capital bought 288 Court Street in June for $3,700,000. Brownstoner writes that the buyer goes under the name of Broadmill Development. Pardon Me For Asking reported in July that a "Retail Store for Lease" banner had been hung on the property.

No word yet on whether Hooters snagged the lease.

As for the Busy Chef Hooters, we remember when the rumor mill said an IHOP was moving onto the corner. Alas, we ended up with Busy Chef, and the rest is history.

- Brooklyn Heights: Busy Chef Cover Up -- Stop Work Order
- 50 Ex- Busy Chef Restaurant Employees in Brooklyn, Ready to Work
- And Then There Were None: The Wine Bar, Last in Brooklyn's Busy Chef Empire, Closes
- 'Mired in Scandal,' It's All Over for Brooklyn's Busy Chef

Photo by Noelweather, Creative Commons license

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

A Busy Brooklyn Chef Now Under Arrest

Seems like the Busy Chef has been really busy.

The Brooklyn Heights Blog has the word that chief chef Dan Kaufman at Busy Chef, on Henry Street in the North Brooklyn Heights, was arrested yesterday. Charges against Kaufman include Grand Larceny, Attempted Grand Larceny, Possession of a Forged Instrument and Criminal Impersonation.

The word on the street is that Kaufman (allegedly) ran up hundreds -- make that thousands! -- of dollars on customer credit cards, and (allegedly) stole from the till, besides his culinary crimes.

More here.

UPDATE: New York Post has the story here.


- Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Arrested Busy Chef Partner Has a History in Boston

The blogosphere is buzzing about the arrest of chef Dan Kaufman of Busy Chef, on Henry Street in the North Brooklyn Heights. Kaufman was arrested yesterday, accused of double-swiping customers' credit cards to the tune of $25,000 and other crimes. Charges against Kaufman include Grand Larceny, Attempted Grand Larceny, Possession of a Forged Instrument and Criminal Impersonation.

Whether Kaufman is found guilty or not (innocent until proven ...) he appears to have made a lot of enemies in his travels. Many commenters on the Shamelessrestaurant.com blog profess a hatred so intense it's almost sublime.

We can't print most of the comments. Okay, here's one we can print:

" I mean these are some pretty nasty things being said here , and maybe I'm just one of those gullible people who think people can change or make mistakes . But don't you think there just might be a time to let go ? how many possibly can read this site ?"

And another:

"Dan has caused so much anger and resentment in Boston that I think people post here because they know Dan will read it."

Those are practically the only printable remarks. Here are a few links:

- We Really Don't Like Dan Fan Club Shamelessrestaurants.com
- We Really Hate Dan Fan Club Shamelessrestaurants.com

Previous posts:
- A Busy Brooklyn Chef Now Under Arrest
- Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street


Photo by MK Metz

Busy Chef's Conversion to Brooklyn Checkers in Progress

A construction crew is hard at work converting the ex-Busy Chef on Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn to a new Checkers fast food eatery.

The Blog Flappy Days first reported that Checkers would be opening in the space, and Tariq Ali, a manager of the planned Checkers, confirmed the news for the Brooklyn Paper. He said that the restaurant will have 25-30 seats.

Above is a typical Checkers interior; we can assume the Court Street store will resemble this when construction is completed. Though Checkers restaurants are usually drive-thrus, the company has adapted the model to reach areas where a drive-thru is not possible.

Exterior, Court Street, Tuesday morning.

Background: Busy Chef Manager Dan Kaufman was arrested last July. His activities are credited with driving the Busy Chef -- along with its sister stores, Blue Pig ice cream shop, and Henry Street's Wine Bar, Oven restaurant and the original Busy Chef -- out of business.

In addition to the $25,000 that Kaufman allegedly stole from customers, he also allegedly took much more from the business itself, falsifying the books to cover up the losses.

More Busy Chef stories here.

Top and bottom photos by MK Metz; middle rendering courtesy of Checkers.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?

Conflicting views of "the expanding Busy Chef empire" have been percolating through Brooklyn's blogosphere. The takeout establishment, with one store in Brooklyn Heights at the corner of Henry and Cranberry Streets, is getting ready to open at 111 Court Street (sometime in February, was the last word). And according to the Brooklyn Eagle, there are more stores planned for Chelsea and Fort Greene.

When Busy Chef opened on Henry Street, we ate the sandwiches and the Caesar salad several times, and found them to be delicious. But then came the change to prepackaged food and a decline in overall quality (though we must say that the baked items are still prime).

Commenters on sites like Brownstoner and Chowhound have expressed their opinions in the harshest possible terms. There's even a rumor flying around that the store won't survive to open on Court.

Then comes along this article in the Brooklyn Eagle about the extent of the work Busy Chef has nearly completed at 111 Court. Besides the parlor floor being totally revamped, a bakery and hot and cold kitchens are being installed below ground, and an outdoor patio is being built out back. (During the renovation, BC found "evidence of former Speakeasy trapdoors, ornate carvings and mirror placements in the basement.")

So what is the true identity of Busy Chef? TV dinners or fine cuisine? Popular Heights takeout or dead in the water?

More about 111 Court here.

- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Photo by MK Metz

Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy

Maybe it was just the lunchtime crowd, but the new Busy Chef on Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn was pretty busy when we stopped by.

The menu lists 13 different kinds of pizzas (pizza oven in the back room), including roasted red pepper goat cheese and kobe burger pizza (now where have we seen that before?), along with scads of sandwiches, sides, dinners and sweets.

Anybody eat there yet?

- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street

Photo by MK Metz

Busy Chef Coming to Court Street

The kids at Chowhound aren't thrilled with the food at Busy Chef on Henry Street in the north Heights ("plastic boxes of mediocre-looking food..."), but the owners are expanding anyway to Court Street near Schermerhorn in Downtown Brooklyn.

When Busy Chef opened on Henry Street, we ate the sandwiches and the Caesar salad several times, and found them to be delicious. But then came the change to what appears to be prepackaged airline food, and the taste and quality went drastically downhill. The baked goods are still homemade, however.

(The Brooklyn Heights Blog has had some discussion about the food at the Busy Chef as well.)

Photo by MK Metz

Grand Opening Specials Already Posted at Downtown Brooklyn's Checkers

A "Big Buford" -- that's a Grand Opening special advertised in the window at Downtown Brooklyn's soon-to-open Checkers on Court Street (ex-home of the notorious Busy Chef).

The store's interior features a food counter and kitchen at the rear, booths to the left and a high counter with chairs running along the wall to the right. Everything's still wrapped in plastic.

The Checkers website defines a Big Buford as "two juicy, all-beef patties and two slices of American cheese on a toasted bun. It’s loaded with mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, onions, crisp lettuce, tomatoes and mustard." It's got 570 calories and 1090 mg of sodium. Yum.

Checkers will no doubt avoid the theft problem that brought down the Busy Chef. Each Checkers restaurant is outfitted with a minimum of 9 (up to 16) video cameras. The cameras are connected to a digital video recorder encased in a metal box in each store and the company’s computer network.

Managers and other authorized personnel can dial in from any computer to access the password-protected network and monitor the stores in real time or download a recording.

- Busy Chef Conversion to Brooklyn Checkers in Progress

Photo (top) by MK Metz
Photo of Big Buford courtesy of Checkers.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

Blue Pig Sighting on Court Street, Brooklyn

Blue pigs are proliferating in Brooklyn. This one's in front of the new Busy Chef on Court Street.

It's a close sibling to the blue pig on Henry Street in the North Heights, in front of Blue Pig ice cream shop.

- Brooklyn Heights Pig Explains All
- Something Strange Going On With the Pigs in Brooklyn Heights

Photo by MK Metz

City and State 'Pissing on Each Other,' and Other Brooklyn Briefs

- Developer Bill Stein says he won’t build atop the public courtyard at the Carroll Street entrance to the F train, which is a good thing, since he doesn’t own most of the land, says former assemblyman Frank Verderame. Verderame says the courtyard on Second Place and Smith Street is divided into several parcels, and the city and Metropolitan Transportation Authority have jurisdiction over most of the plaza. Brooklyn Paper

- Are the city and state "pissing on each other?" That's one reason being given for delays in the building of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Brooklyn Eagle

- The 9-year-old Brooklyn girl who told cops she fought off an attacker by biting his hand admitted to investigators that she made up the "harrowing tale." NY Daily News

- The attorney Rishi Bhandari and his wife Heather put 10 percent down on a $795,000 apartment at 110 Livingston in March. And by this Wednesday they'd filed suit against Mr. Walentas’ Two Trees Development. A few days before the couple was set to close on their apartment, they found that the place was 109 square feet smaller than Two Trees had promised. Observer

- Christmas shopping starts this week. Spurred on by hundreds of millions of dollars of advertising, more than one hundred and fifty million Americans will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by engaging in a mindless, debt-building, four-week frenzy of consumerism. Huffington Post

- There's a feeling of "rebirth" surrounding the Busy Chef/Oven/UCG trio of eateries in Brooklyn Heights -- and even talk of expansion. Brooklyn Heights Blog

- BCAT's Reporter Roundtable: A panel of reporters led by editor Gersh Kuntzman of the Brooklyn Paper weighs in on top stories making headlines this month. Topics include the development of Coney Island, Downtown Brooklyn and the upcoming elections. (Monday, November 19 at 1 p.m., Tuesday, November 20 at 1:30 and 9:30 p.m. and other times) BCAT