SATURDAY • April 10, 2004 Including The Bensonhurst Paper Published every Saturday by Brooklyn Paper Publications Inc, 55 Washington Street, Suite 624, Brooklyn NY 11201. Phone 718-834-9350 • www.BrooklynPapers.com • © 2004 Brooklyn Paper Publications • 18 pages including GO BROOKLYN • Vol. 27, No. 14 BRZ • Saturday, April 10, 2004 • FREE Family bitter as cop is freed By Jotham Sederstrom also worked at the 120th Precinct. The Brooklyn Papers He collided with Kiladitis, 21, around Officer found not guilty of DWI in son’s death 8:45 pm near 88th Street. The young man A jury acquitted a police officer and three friends were headed south on accused of driving drunk and killing Ridge man who died three days after col- have to live with our loss. My wife visits Greenberg, said that the officer, a 12-year- intoxicated. On the other hand, he certain- Fort Hamilton Parkway on their motorcy- a young motorcyclist as he pulled liding with the off-duty cop’s Chrysler the cemetery every day and that’s the way veteran of the force, hopes to be reinstated ly shares in this tragedy and has the deep- cles. Kiladitis died three days later at into an intersection in Bay Ridge two Cirrus on June 19, 2002. it will be for the rest of our lives.” to active duty. He was assigned to a desk est sympathy for the Kiladitis family.” Lutheran Medical Center. years ago. “I know he’s guilty and he knows he’s Wilson, 48, was acquitted on charges of job after the accident. Wilson was with other off-duty police Witnesses who testified at the trial said Victor Wilson was found not guilty by a guilty, too,” the victim’s father, Eltherios vehicular manslaughter, criminal negli- “He’s certainly relieved and happy with officers in a Bay Ridge bowling league that they believed the men were driving Brooklyn jury on Friday, April 2, infuriat- Kiladitis, told The Bay Ridge Paper this gence homicide and three counts of driv- the verdict,” said Greenberg. “He main- shortly before his fatal drive back to Stat- their bikes at more than 20 miles per hour ing relatives of Stefanos Kiladitis, the Bay week. “Now, we have to restart again. We ing while intoxicated. His lawyer, Todd tained from the beginning that he was not en Island, where he lives and where he See NOT GUILTY on page 3 FIRST LOOK This rendering of the NY Shipyards site in Red Hook shows a plan for maximum water- front activity as an alternative to Ikea’s big box plan. Ikea’s rendering is on page 14. Ikea, feeling Hook heat, modifies waterfront plan By Deborah Kolben But they may also have been spurred on by an alternative plan for the site put forth by some The Brooklyn Papers Callan / Tom / Tom Callan / Tom Ikea has changed its plans for a mas- Baltimore harbor developers. Red Hook activists opposed to the Ikea plan sive waterfront store in Red Hook to have been meeting with principals of the Bal- include active use of several surround- timore-based Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, ing piers, an official with the Swedish a development company known for adaptive The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn home furnishings giant told The Brook- reuse projects. The company put together a Papers The Brooklyn lyn Papers this week. plan for a sprawling, 70-acre, retail, residential Ashley Haywood, 4 (inset), shows off the colorful goodies she found during an The changes — which would have Ikea and commercial development on the shipyard Easter Egg hunt Saturday at Owl’s Head Park, where children also took part in leasing most of the piers in the New York site between Richards and Columbia streets. a hair-raising potato sack race (right). On Monday, youngsters hunted eggs at Shipyard site for maritime use — come in re- A rendering of the plan was made avail- Eggs-cellent! Coney Island’s Keyspan Park. Easter, celebrating Jesus’ resurrection, is Sunday. sponse to community concerns over maintain- able exclusively to The Papers and appears ing a working waterfront, said the spokesman. above. See IKEA on page 14 Brooklyn Museum set to Happy cops open majestic entrance nab ‘feline’ By Deborah Kolben THIS WEEKEND The Brooklyn Papers INSIDE OUT GO BROOKLYN looks at the new museum. Page 7. bank bandit As the Brooklyn Museum of Art gears up to unveil a new, $63 million entrance- Along with the name change — it’s revert- By Jotham Sederstrom way and glass-enclosed pavilion, the insti- ing to the title by which it was known until the The Brooklyn Papers tution also has a few other changes afoot. 1990s — the museum cast off its stylish, mod- First off, there’s the name change. ern-looking BMA logo in favor of a single-let- Police this week arrested a woman believed to be behind After consulting a design firm, the museum ter, Rorschach Test-looking symbol. at least four bank robberies in Bensonhurst, putting an end will lop off a third of its name, and will now “The new logo is an unchanging stylized to a two-month spree that had amassed $7,500. simply be known as the Brooklyn Museum. See MUSEUM on page 5 And according to a published report, Catherine Kaczanowski, 44, did it all for her cat Smoochie. Kaczanowski was arrested four days after police say she robbed $3,000 from an HSBC bank branch on 18th Avenue at 69th Street, just blocks from her home on New Utrecht Avenue at Playing with Pills 68th Street. By Lisa J. Curtis The band’s lyrics answer their euphoria-in- The New York Post, citing law enforcement sources, reported GO Brooklyn Editor ducing sound with occasional wistfulness and Thursday that the woman told police she robbed the banks to pay Give into that irresistible force that is (or more frequent wit and sarcasm. In one of the for an operation to remove a tumor from the cat she had taken in should be) drawing you to Magnetic Field few slow-paced songs, “Kissing the Dirt,” a groovy paean to paranoia, they write, “When as a stray two-and-a-half years ago. tonight (Saturday, April 10), to see a rau- Police would not confirm that report at press time. the Geiger counter dances, I’m not taking any cous show by Boston-based mod rockers, chances — I’ll be safe beneath my desk.” And In her last robbery, the bandit, whose image was captured on The Pills, who no doubt will be rolling into surveillance cameras from a previous heist wearing a pink hat and if you really get hooked, the CD also has Brooklyn Heights with copies of their third sheet music so you can “play along with The a scarf, handed the teller a note reading, “Give me $3,000 and no- and latest LP “A Fistful of Pills” (Primary body will get hurt.” Pills.” Voltage Records) in hand. Surely, a live show of The Pills’ infectious, The robbery, committed on April 2 at 3:30 pm, was her biggest The Pills are (left to right) David Thomp- head-bopping tunes will be the tonic for any- score since she started the spree by passing a note to a teller at a son (guitar, vocals); Dave Aaronoff (guitar, thing that ails you. Greenpoint Savings Bank branch on Jan. 22. The woman made keyboards, vocals), formerly of the Mighty Brooklyn’s own The Strip Minors will / Jori Klein off with $2,200 from the branch on New Utrecht Avenue at 71st Mighty Bosstones; Corin Ashley (bass, vo- open the show, which kicks off at 8 pm. Street that day. cals); and Jamie Vavra (drums). Magnetic Field is located at 97 At- A month later, Kaczanowski hit two more banks on the same Some critics have likened the quartet’s am- lantic Ave. between Henry and day, say police, although only one robbery was successful. phetamine pop to The Strokes and The White Hicks streets. For more infor- The first robbery, on Feb. 13, was cut short after a teller at the Stripes, while other critics lament that it mation, call (718) 834-0069 The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn Independence Community Bank branch on 18th Avenue at 64th should have been The Pills — popping since or visit www.magnetic- As entrance renovations to the Brooklyn Museum neared completion this week, Street in Bensonhurst refused to give up the money. 1995 — getting all the attention. brooklyn.com. work was still underway on the grand, glass-enclosed pavilion (foreground). See BANDIT on page 4 BEGINSPAGE ON 7 S ’ Check out The Papers’ FREE SEMINAR FOR SENIOR CONCERNS $ 3 SPRING WINTER SUMMER Eldercare attorney Susan A. Principato OVER! can help you achieve your goals. SAVECLEANING Bring your CAR to LUCY’s CAMP Health Care • Financial and LET HER SHINE! 2 days only! Thursday, April 29 & Saturday, May 1 WASH & WET WAX GUIDE ONLY $1.85 See page 15 See ad on page 12 7th Avenue & 19th Street ©The Brooklyn Papers. Established 1978. Phone 718-834-9350. Celia Weintrob, Publisher (ext 104) • Neil Sloane, Editor (ext 119) • Lisa J. Curtis, GO Brooklyn Editor (ext 131) • Vince DiMiceli, Senior Editor (ext 125) • Ed Weintrob, President (ext 105) 2 BRZ THE BROOKLYN PAPERS • WWW.BROOKLYNPAPERS.COM April 10, 2004 DRY CLEAN Ridgites rally: Save our tree Any Garment - $1.99 By Jotham Sederstrom * excluding dresses, outerwear and household items The Brooklyn Papers As condos grow a tree may go. Residents on 77th and 78th streets near Third Avenue Laundry 20% OFF worry that an 80-foot-tall tree reg.