I had heard rumors about this, but I am always skeptical of things that come from the NY Post, a notoriously inaccurate propoganda rag. However, in this case the NY Post article matches the rumors I had heard from other sources.

Steve DiBrienza, who wants to be the Once And Future Councilmember for the 39th Council District in Brooklyn, has essentially been using for his own private use an office paid for by the city (which means by us) ostensibly for a non-profit whose only impact on the community seems to be a name on an awning. From, gasp, the Post:

Since leaving the council at the end of 2001, DiBrienza has continued to work out of his former district office, which now houses a not-for-profit group - founded by DiBrienza and funded with a total of $1.185 million in council grants, according to city, state and federal records.  read more »

Among the City Council reps who sided with the Bloomberg Putsch and betrayed two votes of NYC voters on term limits was Sara Gonzalez. Fortunately there is a good candidate running against her for the Democratic Primary in the 38th District...as first announced on Daily Gotham (go here for my initial comments on Galarza). There seems to be something of a spat between Galarza and his opponent, Gonzalez, regarding a moratorium on any new building construction in Sunset Park, something Gonzalez has apparently adopted from Galarza without acknowledgment (I am a scientist, so in my field you reference who you get your ideas from even if they are rivals, and if you don't, it is considered dishonest). This is a press release from Galarza's campaign:  read more »

Been meaning to try this restaurant for about a year or so. In general I have found African cuisines greatly under appreciated. Ethiopian has caught on as well as North African food like Moroccan, but most African cuisines are unknown to most Americans. This is a shame because the handful of African restaurants I have found have generally been quite good.

Dakar is a good example of this. Located in Clinton Hill, at 285 Grand Ave (between Lafayette ave and Clifton pl), it was a short bus ride away for us. The menu had already hooked us in with its mix of Senegalese and other African dishes. I had read some very disparaging customer reviews on some websites, but we found nothing to complain about. The service was good. I got the impression that the times something took awhile to come it was because it was being made fresh rather than just being scooped out of a pot prepared long before as at many restaurants. And the food was quite good.  read more »

The Develop, Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) website lists, just in time for the holidays, all the businesses that have been supportive of their efforts to preserve Brooklyn. Here's that list below:

RESTAURANTS AND BARS:

7th Avenue Donuts Luncheonette (Park Slope)
Diner fare and fresh baked donuts.
324 Seventh Avenue (between Eighth and Ninth Street)
(718) 768-0748

Al Di La Trattoria (Park Slope)
Park Slope’s perpetually packed, widely-acclaimed Venetian institution.
248 Fifth Avenue (Near Carroll Street)
(718) 852-1572
www.aldilatrattoria.com
(I can personally vouch for this one. Absolutely excellent! The sage butter gnocchi and the saltamboca (sp?) are among the best as is their frozen cappuccino).

Antonio's Pizzeria (Park Slope)
Pizza since 1950.
318 Flatbush Avenue (between Park & Sterling Place)
(718) 398-2300

Bacchus Bistro (Boerum Hill/Cobble Hill)
French bistro.
409 Atlantic Avenue (between Bond & Nevins Street)
(718) 852-1572
www.bacchusbistro.com

Beast Bar (Prospect Heights)
A unique take on Spanish tapas, and bar.
638 Bergen Street (at Vanderbilt Avenue)
(718) 399-6855  read more »

Here's an interesting rundown of the polluters in Brooklyn from the Josh Skaller for City Council website. The worst polluters in Brooklyn are (not in order): Con Edison - Hudson Ave Station, Gowanus Generating Station, Kings Plaza Total Energy Plant, American Sugar Refining Inc, Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Plant. These people are poisoning our air and water. Just a reminder of how bad pollution in Brooklyn can be, let me remind you of what the Gowanus Canal looks like: (two out of five lovely pictures of the canal taken by my wife July 26th, 2008)

See the lovely phase change between the solid slick and the water? Here's what it looked like on the opposite bank:

Yes...that is a glass bottle embedded and suspended by the muck.  read more »