This photograph was spotted in Carroll Gardens; presumably there's someone someone named Sal who has a knack for busting evil spirits. We called to see how the paranormal business was going in Brooklyn, but the landline reached a woman who was utterly confused at our request to speak with Sal the Ghostbuster; while calling the cell phone landed us in voicemail. However, we're thrilled to report that since the call to the cell was made......

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. Jonas and McDowell have teamed up with restaurateur Jimmy Mamary,......

from her to you, by lisa.lisa at flickr Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on 173rd St. in Manhattan, a robbery/assault on 13th St. in Brooklyn, and an aircraft emergency at JFK airport in Queens. Barnard at Columbia has a new incoming president, snagged from Harvard Business School. Don't miss the Super Bowl sitting in your local precinct's drunk tank. Get your Super Brawling out of the way early the next time someone......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an unstable building on 41st Ave. in Queens, a pedestrian struck on 33rd St. and 8th Ave. in Manhattan, and a double stabbing on East 188th St. and Webster Ave. in the Bronx. The New York Post flew a Jessica Simpson lookalike to Dallas and got her seats behind the Cowboys' bench in an effort to distract Dallas quarterback Tony Romo. Has anyone lost a camera in a cab......

After commuters on the L and B/D (as well as N/Q/R/W) lines had to deal with breakdowns and commuting delays last night, this evening's commute brings delays on the F, D, G and N lines. Apparently a signal problem at 4th Avenue-9th Street Station in Brooklyn is causing the F to be shut between West 4th Street-Washington Square Station and the Church Avenue Station in both directions. The F then runs on the D......

Zagat's updated Best of Brooklyn 2008 guide was released yesterday, filled to the brim with all that the city's largest borough has to offer, including 216 restaurants, 141 nightspots, 355 shops, 25 tourist attractions and more. Like all Zagat guides, this one is a complilation of surveys from the public and each entry is rated on a scale of 1-30. The guide is broken up into five sections: Dining, Nightlife, Shopping, Gourmet Shopping & Entertaining,......

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......

Up above you have Park Slope #17 and Carroll Gardens #13, respectively. Jennifer Loeber is bringing nude photography close to home with her series that show different Brooklynites in the flesh, in their apartments. They could even be your neighbors! And her inspiration? It came from a flasher on the subway, of course: "The idea to shoot nude portraits came about as I rode the NYC subway and pretended not to notice, across the......

Yikes: A Carroll Gardens doctor was arrested for molesting two teen patients last week. The teens, who are 13- and 16-year-old brothers, were going in for "treatment of skin conditions." According to the Daily News, Dr. Cesar Veloso allegedly gave them rectal exams, measured their genitals, and asked them sexual questions. Unsurprisingly, the boys' lawyer says they were traumatized: The 16-year-old left the office "stunned" and the younger brother left "screaming." Veloso, who was given......

Drivers living on exceptionally clean streets could earn a respite from the burden of alternate-side-of-the-street parking. Residents of Red Hook, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Park Slope were granted a stay of parking execution by the Dept. of Sanitation yesterday. Because the area has consistently received scores of 90% or higher for street cleanliness over the last few months, residents will no longer have to move their cars to comply with street cleaning requirements. According......

Open House New York weekend is coming up in 7 days and NewYorkology has a handy guide to which places you'll need reservations for this (the 5th) year, check it out here. Touted as America's largest architect and design event, OHNY opens usually locked doors throughout New York City each October (and sometimes Spring). Discover new nooks in each of the five boroughs through special talks, tours, performances and workshops. The weekend is free and......

Some more details about the latest person-in-custody- who-escaped: 46-year-old Gregory Pollock who had escaped police custody while at Long Island Hospital in Brooklyn yesterday morning was found a few hours later. It turns out that Pollock, who had been arrested for, per the Sun, "allegedly drinking a beer in public and possessing a crack pipe," escaped by crashing through a plate glass window around 1:40AM. Eek. The Sun adds that Pollock's handcuffs had been removed......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a DOA/Fall Victim at 1 Hogan Place in Manhattan (that's the Manhattan DA's office), a double stabbing on East 171st St. in the Bronx, and an overturned ambulance at Broadway and Delafield Ave. on Staten Island. Opening day sales for tickets to The Metropolitan Opera set a record this Sunday after increasing 25% year over year, to $2.08 million. Online sales to performances were 50% higher than 2006's opening.......

Here is some photographic proof, courtesy of F.Trainer on Flickr. He explains: these little beasts were eating some chicken that workers had carelessly left in the yard....they were not scared of flashlights or camera flashes, strangely however, if i repeated the word "chicken" a few times they would scamper off.... Our theory is that these critters migrated south from Williamsburg once they grew tired of feeding on hipster garbage. If anyone spots a coyote......

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? Urban Outfitters originally wanted the new Trader Joe's property, so we suppose they'll be hawking "Ski Cobble Hill" T-Shirts soon enough. Just last week......

As we mentioned, City Councilman Charles Barron held his press conference yesterday to announce his candidacy for the 2009 Brooklyn Borough Presidency. He told the crowds that his platform included affordable housing, health care accessibility, more jobs, standing up to developers who use eminent domain, ending mayor control of schools and more would help everyone. "Am I going to be a borough president for all the people? Absolutely. But I'm letting y'all know now, I'm......

City Councilman Bill de Blasio, whose Brooklyn district covers Borough Park, Carroll Gardens, is asking the Department of Buildings to stop all of architect Robert Scarano's current projects. According to the Sun, DeBlasio says Scarano, who has hundreds of projects in various stages of progress, "should not be allowed to build while under investigation by the State Education Department for professional misconduct." It seems that one part of misconduct claim might due to the fact......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a partial roof collapse on Union St. in Brooklyn, a person under a train at Coney Island and Brighton Beach Aves. in Brooklyn, and a slashing at Dyckman St. and Broadway in Manhattan. Artie Fufkin speaks! Paul Schaffer, who was the musical director of the Blues Brothers, keyboardist for Bill Murray's lounge singer character on SNL, and the bandleader for David Letterman's "The World's Most Dangerous Band" since 1982,......

Bruni puts in his two cents about the latest crop of contestants on Top Chef. Season three premiered earlier this week, and Frank has already highlighted some of his favorites, including CJ ("I've got a false testicle and I'm ready to cook." If only for that quote alone), Hung, and Lia. In a Times Op-Ed, The Zagats tout the idea of a culinary visa program to open up America's tastebuds to something beyond the lackluster......

We can't possibly choose only one music event for the weekend, so check out OhMyRockness for the jam packed weekend listings. We will say, however, that one of the openers for Snowden at Maxwell's tonight...is We Are Scientists, trying out some new tunes. Though closer to home are The Clientele and Beach House at Bowery Ballroom. Listen: Apple Orchard.mp3 - Beach House THEATER: A mysterious little two-actor, umpteen character play called The Eaten Heart concludes......

May 26 - 27 Barbecue at Flatbush Farm 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. May 29: Is New York Dining Really Better Than Ever? Ask the experts! Mike Colamenico will moderate a panel discussion......

While we can't honestly imagine what kind of pleasure you'd get from sipping on that highly polluted stream, we did do a little bit of research about drinking establishments around Brooklyn’s favorite body of water. Gowanus Yacht Club is really in Carroll Gardens, and 4th Avenue (along with its new bars) are now being taken over by Park Slope. So, you'll have to get closer to the canal then you ever thought possible. The most......

Lido is somewhat of an enigma along Columbia Street. Unlike the dark hues of B61 across the street, and the low light of Sugarlounge further down the street, Lido’s front windows show all from the street. In fact, the name means a public open-air swimming pool or beach, which probably explains the bare legged women sprawled out on the sign. With nothing to hide, Lido can either seem very empty or one of the hottest......

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! The Brooklyn Paper makes an examples......

“You want to sit at the bar?" said the waiter. "Yes, please." "Oh...no one has really ever done that before.” We walked into Royal’s Downtown yesterday, partly out of curiosity. This gorgeously lit restaurant sits on the western edge of Carroll Gardens, and seems completely out of place. Unlike the cute little restaurants dotted around the area, it’s grand and pretentious, more like a Brooklyn Heights standby that is decorated well but prohibitively expensive. There......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: unusual fire at JFK, and more bank robberies in Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens. The first proposals for connections between Brooklyn Heights and the new Brooklyn Bridge Park are in-- and they are ugly. Steven Johnson, the lunatic who tried to torch Bar Veloce back in 2002, drew 240 years from a judge at his sentencing today. Has it really come to this? The Hamptons Jitney will begin servicing......

Today in dirty restaurant news-- "Coffee Shop on Union Sq closed by the Dept. of Health! They have signs up that say "closed for renovations" but one of the ones on 16th St. has the tell-tale yellow DOH sign underneath. They have papered teh windows so you can't see the signs or see inside." [Via Gothamist Contribute] What would you choose: Dealing with bedbugs in a rent-stabilized apartment in Windsor Terrace or leaving the......

Despite a recent triumph for Carroll Gardens, an area that once hosted one of the city’s most concentrated Italian communities, there are few remaining vestiges of the neighborhood that was. Among them is Sam’s Restaurant, a quintessential red sauce joint and pizza destination helmed by Louie Migliaccio, the self-named “Son of Sam.” Though the place isn’t exactly bustling, it is without the sense of doom that lingers over so many neighborhood relics that feel......

You’d think a place called MiniBar in Carroll Gardens would have an inferiority complex. It even stares across the street at Frankies 457 Spuntino, a much more serious eatery and wine bar, with a very high reputation. But it doesn’t seem to care. Because of its size, or lack thereof, Minibar skips on the usual Brooklyn bar accessories. They have no bar games, pool table, jukebox, TV, or back garden. And that’s okay with us.......

Poor Columbia Street. In Manhattan, streets are completely torn up, repaired, and repaved and functional in a day. But for the past 6 months this street on the edge of Carroll Gardens and Red Hook has been in a stages of distinct disrepair, each frustrating in its own particular way. There were the potholes of the summer, the big dig of the fall -when all the concrete and asphalt were removed and new concrete......