Last month The Brooklyn Eagle had a report on how Brooklyn has been sucking the creative lifeblood right out of Manhattan. In recent years Brooklyn has experienced a 33.2 percent increase in the number of self-employed creatives, while Manhattan’s growth during the same period was a mere 6.5 percent. On Wednesday the Center for an Urban Future held a forum addressing the impact of Brooklyn’s growing cluster of self-employed creative freelancers on the borough’s economy.......

It seems like every other weekend, Brooklyn is home to some kind of homestyle cooking competition, with a constant rotation of cupcake-offs, chili massacres, a big jerk-off, and probably some vegan tofu spread-a-thons somewhere. Prizes at these things are typically anything from homely trophies to a few cans of PBR, but the just-announced, upcoming inaugural Risotto Challenge is something special indeed: The prizes are going to be very nice. More on that below. On April......

CONTEST ALERT: Tomorrow night the indie-elite will gather at Terminal 5 for The Plug Awards -- featuring Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, St. Vincent, José Gonzalez, Dizzee Rascal, The Forms, DiVinci and more. Tickets are sold out, so you can either watch the show here, or you can win tickets from us! We're giving away 5 pairs, starting now. Just email GothamistContest@gmail.com and tell us why you want to go. MUSIC: White Williams,......

The NY Post spoke to two Park Slope residents before declaring the new Babeland sex toy shop would be giving off some bad vibes to the locals when it moved into their 'hood. But NYMag points out the Park Slope parents, if the Brooklynian message board is any indication, are rather delighted by their future neighbor. One stroller pusher declared, "How silly of the Post. Where do they think all the babies come from?" Well,......

Mini Butterfly, by j_bary at flickrToday on the Gothamis Newsmap: a bank robbery on 40th St. and 7th Ave. in Manhattan, a stabbing on Morris Ave. and East 190th St. in the Bronx, and a sinkhole on 68th St. and Madison Ave. in Manhattan. The original and exisiting Coney Island boardwalk originated from wood chopped down from the Amazon rainforest. The new and improved CI boardwalk will be made of plastic, made from oil.......

It all started with a NY Times reporter-blogger's ride on the DC Metro. The Times' Jennifer 8. Lee spied a poster in a Metro subway car, showing a rat along with the copy (emphasis is ours): "Unlike some subway systems (which will remain nameless), you don’t see rats the size of house cats roaming the Metro. Why not? Because we are so strict about eating and drinking in the system. So help us keep......

Frozen Coney, by MurphyZero at flickrToday on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Livingston St. in Brooklyn, another bank robbery on 2nd Ave. in Manhattan, and a third bank robbery on 71-41 Main St. in Queens. Even diamonds can get family members riled up and stabbing this way and that. Something Into Plowshares: behold the transformed Park Slope Armory. Toys in Babeland coming to family-friendly Park Slope. The Pink Pussycat Boutique, which operates......

EVENT: The Greenwich Village Antiquarian Book Sale is going on all weekend, so now is the time to go searching for that first edition you've been wanting on your bookshelf. You'll also find out of print books, maps and much more! Friday through Sunday // P.S. 3 [490 Hudson St] // Three-day pass $12 ART: Monday's interviewee, James Top, shows off his work tonight at the opening of his first solo NYC show, titled......

Tonight is the last chance until December 2010 to witness a total lunar eclipse. This is the third such eclipse in the past year. With any luck the weather will cooperate. It looks like there will be breaks in the clouds over the city, which should make for dramatic views. Break out the tripods and cameras! A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth wedges itself between the sun and moon, casting its shadow on the......

LEARN: It's that special time again when hipsters gather round to discuss home-buying. The informational event clues in those looking for new digs about the logistics of purchasing their very own pad. Learn from Licensed Real Estate agents, Mortgage Brokers and Real Estate Attorneys whilst you sip on a cocktail or two. 6:30pm // Huckleberry Bar [588 Grand St, Williamsburg] // Free EVENT: It's like a never-ending President's Day this week; tonight enjoy a......

Glowing eyes peering down from trees and from behind gravestones, the night creatures are disrupting the eternal sleep of the dead and driving the living to distraction. Raccoons have proliferated at the famous Green-Wood Cemetery, digging up the grass over graves, eating the flowers left by mourners, and even invading crypts to scavenge for food. The animals have always been attracted to the oasis of green in Sunset Park and were regularly trapped and removed.......

Another Park Slope blogger is pushing the stroller feud even further with a post on stroller rules (featuring illustrations!). This particular "prammer" states: "there are enough jerks out there to give us all a bad name. To combat these sidewalk simpletons, I propose the following pramming penalties be implemented immediately." There's the sidewalk blocker, the "nannyjam," and the multitasking stroller pusher (also seen on this sign). The latter is perhaps the most dangerous of......

Another slice of Park Slope life from Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn. Upon leaving a showing of Definitely, Maybe at the Park Slope movie theater, the Pavilion, OTBKB and fellow moviegoers spied a white teenaged girl "sitting on a bench [in the second floor concession area] icing an injury on her face just below her right eye." Then downstairs, OTBKB saw "a Hispanic woman" - who had three children with her - "wearing hand-cuffs" taken......

MUSIC: Of course we're going to recommend you come hang out with us tonight at our 5 year anniversary show. Come on by and check out Pattern is Movement and The Forms, along with a special guest band at midnight. On top of all that, you'll get Craig Wedren deejaying between sets. What more could you ask for? Buy tickets here. Friday // 9pm // Union Hall [702 Union St, Park Slope] // $10......

Photo by Jack McFadden. This photo, taken on 5th & Union, pretty much sums up the war going on in Brooklyn. The fictional (but not really) "Slope Trail" includes a doggie bakery, luxury condos, a gentrified playground and spot to procure pricey Brooklyn T's. Everything you'd expect on an urban hike. The stencil even includes a "controversial" stroller being pushed by a parent (or nanny!) who is clearly holding a Starbucks coffee. We just......

Last we checked in on Gwyneth Paltrow she was being wheeled into Mount Sinai Hospital for what ended up being a "gastrointestinal situation." Bouncing back quickly, she was at a UNICEF event last week where she dropped the bomb about a new bambino:“People who have a lot also often feel like they have a lot to give. I have a good friend who always says that if you’re a person of means at all, then......

The Lost Beach, by vanshnookenraggen at fark Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Falling debris at East 11th St. and Ave. C in Manhattan, a propane truck explosion in the area of 172nd St. and Townsend Ave. in the Bronx, and a water rescue at 96th St. and the FDR Drive off Manhattan (brrr!). The Javits Center is only 21 years old, but it leaks like a sieve. So in addition to the expansion of......

2nd Avenue and 5th Street [Fixed] by Chung Chu at flickrToday on the Gothamist Newsmap: a partial facade collapse on East 148 St. in the Bronx, two pedestrians struck on 72nd St. and West End Ave. in Manhattan, a body found on Pioneer St. in Brooklyn. A developmentally disabled woman on Staten Island depends on Social Security benefits to survive, but the SSA keeps declaring her dead. A three alarm fire injured one person......

MUSIC: Come enjoy the Whitney after dark tonight as the museum's live showcase series invites Dan Deacon (pictured) to the stage. If you haven't seen Deacon before, get ready for some Casio keyboard electro-rock compositions and an art dance party. Friday // 7pm // Whitney Museum [945 Madison Ave] // Pay what you want EVENT: The Moth Story Shop presents “The One that Got Away: Stories from South Street Seaport” tonight. The following storytellers will......

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MOVIE: Tonight the Brooklyn Independent Cinema Series delivers two very different films. First up is The French Riviera, described as "a road documentary that follows a truck driver on a mission to earn enough money selling ice cream in the Icelandic countryside to go on a vacation on a French beach." Next up is About A Son, the "intimate and moving meditation on the late musician and artist Kurt Cobain, based on more than 25......

Sponge Bob! I am your father!, by dcschaub, at flickr Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on East 169th St. and Franklin Ave. in the Bronx, an aircraft emergency at Laguardia in Queens, and a power outage on Laconia Ave. in the Bronx. The suit about seizing private property for another private owner in the name of public gain will move to the Supreme Court after a 3-judge panel ruled that Bruce Ratner's......

ART: The Bronx Museum of Art is getting on board the First Friday bandwagon. They'll be opening their doors every first Friday of the month for free, and add a little something extra each time. Tonight their theme is “Say it Loud! I’m Black & I’m Proud” in celebration of Black History Month. There will be a tribute to the late James Brown, and a showcase of independent artists paying tribute to black music. Friday......

Last weekend we took a look at Union Hall's new baby ban. The owner, Jim Carden, upset a lot of stroller-pushers when he declared kids would no longer be allowed in the establishment and put up a sign reading: "no strollers please". He asked nicely, but the Park Slope parents weren't having it. They rallied together on blogs to gain back the right to booze it up with their babies on board. They won. Today......

Slice took the photo here and wondered what the story was behind this sign, which is part of a series of alternating signs in the window of a Union Street home in Park slope. Well, our buddy at the NSA owed us a favor, and we tracked down the man behind the cryptic signage. His name is George Horner; he’s an administrator at Tony Shafrazi Gallery and has been putting his signs in the window......

If you haven't tired of Cloverfield yet, chances are you will by the time the sequel hits the big screen. That's right, the monster smash will be followed up, and it may be soon. Variety reports that Matt Reeves is already in talks with Paramount to direct, and it may even be his next project. When we interviewed him earlier this year, he said his next project would be The Invisible Woman, but now that......

As we mentioned last week, Gothamist is turning 5 years old next month! Come celebrate with us at a special show at Union Hall. Here are the details: Movable Hype 12.0 and Gothamist Turns 5! Friday, February 15th, 9pm Union Hall (702 Union Street, Park Slope) Featuring: The Forms, Pattern is Movement and Special Midnight Guests! Deejay Craig Wedren You can buy tickets here for $10. We're also giving a pair away, so if you......

The Post is reporting about a disturbing crime: A woman who took a cab from the Lower East Side back home to Brooklyn says the yellow cab driver assaulted her. The victim, a 38-year-old real estate agent who lives in Park Slope, left a lounge at Rivington and Bowery around 4AM (the lounge's bouncer helped her hail the cab). The driver apparently asked her repeatedly to sit in the front passenger seat, which she declined.......

In 2004 The NY Times visited the Gotham typeface, inspired by the sans-serif types seen on facades all over the city. Taking a closer look at the city's fonts, just last week AIGA published an article by Paul Shaw tracing the typography in Brooklyn. While he states no borough has the kind of lettering you'll find in Manhattan, Brooklyn is the closest you'll come despite it's "varying patterns" of growth and decay. Font-finders will notice......

This weekend Gowanus Lounge was first to note the unexpected closure of the 2nd Street Cafe at Seventh Avenue in Park Slope. The decade old restaurant, which on weekends had all the charm of a daycare center on adderall, had undergone a major renovation last summer. OTBKB hears word from a former employee that he/she was given just two days notice. Part of the ever-widening quicksand consuming New York restaurants? No word yet on the......