P4 P6-7 P9 SMART Vintage vixen mom A chat with model Alison Houtte BROOKLYN’S REAL NEWSPAPERS Including The Bensonhurst Paper Published every Saturday — online all the time — by Brooklyn Paper Publications Inc, 55 Washington St, Suite 624, Brooklyn NY 11201. Phone 718-834-9350 • www.BrooklynPapers.com • © 2005 Brooklyn Paper Publications • 16 pages BRZ •Vol. 28, No. 49 • Saturday, December 17, 2005 • FREE Brooklyn: Bloomie’s FLORIDA NORTH sleepover State: Seniors staying on in Bay Ridge’s ‘Naturally Occurring Retirement Community’ no biggie By Gersh Kuntzman Boulevard to Shore Parkway. workers and medical staff will be was crowing about the new state The Brooklyn Papers There are 1,300 seniors living in available. designation. AYOR BLOOMBERG said earlier this week Bay Ridge in Brooklyn and the zone. “The first step is determining “[NORC grants] allow seniors that if there is a transit strike, he would sleep at Bay Pines in Florida now share When a NORC is established, what services seniors in this area to reside in a location that is popu- Ma city office in DUMBO so he could walk to something more than their first the non-profit groups within the need,” said BRCOA executive lated with many other seniors, yet City Hall over the Brooklyn Bridge. names. zone are eligible for state grants director Russell Norris. “In some at the same time, not have to move The remark, predictably, set off intense preparations by to provide services to the NORCs, seniors need medical to a senior-living facility,” he said. city officials to accommodate the mayor. Meanwhile, a Last week, a portion of Bay different set of preparations were being made in DUMBO. Ridge was officially designated as “retirees.” services. In others, they just need “It promotes a lifestyle of inde- Entirely Brooklyn preparations, that is. a “naturally occurring retirement This week, the state Office for help getting around.” pendence, dignity and choice.” Mango / Greg “What the hell do I care?” asked a counterman at community,” a classification that the Aging gave Bethlehem Norris said the services can Norris said the $144,000 grant Grimaldi’s, the famous pizzeria that stands less than a kicks in when at least 40 percent of Lutheran Church a $144,000 range from health checkups to is only for one year. After that, the quarter-mile from the mayor’s would-be digs. the residents of a neighborhood, grant — one of only nine such finding volunteers to help the amount declines and the service Given my reputation as a newshound (or a pizzahound, housing complex or even a single grants statewide. anti-snowbirds keep up with lawn agency is expected to pick up the I sometimes get them mixed up), I asked the manager if building reach their golden years. The Bay Ridge Center for and home maintenance. slack with outside donations. In he’d make a special pie for In Bay Ridge, the NORC zone Older Adults, which is based in State Senator Marty Golden the second year, the grant is cut the mayor. THE BROOKLYN extends from Bay Ridge Parkway the church, will soon establish an (R-Bay Ridge), who is chairman by 15 percent. By year five, it’s Papers file The Brooklyn “What are you to 88th Street, from Ridge office on 90th Street where case- of the Senate’s Aging Committee, cut in half. Marty Golden talking about, By Gersh special pie?” ANGLE Kuntzman the man said. “Get out of here.” (Note to self: ouch!) This reporter had gone to the legendary pie shop — no slices! — to find out how the locals were preparing for the mayor’s relocation. Expecting excitement, or at least a soupcon of mild MTA: No new trains for Nets interest, I found instead that the “Bronx cheer” By Gersh Kuntzman could not disagree more. may be misnamed. The Brooklyn Papers “People who believe that At The River Cafe, gen- Madison Square Garden is the If 19,000 cheering Nets same [as a Brooklyn Nets are- eral manager Scott Stam- fans come pouring out of ford could not have been na] don’t know Brooklyn,” more bored by the topic of an arena at the corner of said Assemblywoman Joan the mayor bedding down Atlantic and Flatbush av- Millman (D-Park Slope). 15 feet from his front enues someday, the MTA Millman was most surpris- door (is it just a co- is not going to add service ed by the MTA’s admission incidence that the to help get them home. that it does not add service be- mayor chose to The transit agency, which fore or after Knick games. sleep RIGHT many hope will play a signifi- “How can they say their NEXT DOOR cant role in reducing con- to one of the gestion resulting from best restau- / Julie Rosenberg Bruce Ratner’s pro- On the rants in posed Atlantic town?). Yards mega-devel- UT road, Stamford opment, dropped HININ’B’B two treated me this mini bomb- OTH N wins like I was a Papers The Brooklyn shell this week at health inspec- Of all the people we met, only Marta Borough Hall, one where Borough tor on an Krawiec of the Water Street Ale House S loss: President Marko- S unannounced would welcome the Mayor to DUMBO. visit. “You witz, local elected NET p. 13 know,” he officials and Commu- sniffed, “the mayor has eaten here before.” nity Board chairs met to Yes, I suggested, but this time, it’ll be different. If the discuss Atlantic Yards issues. regular service is sufficient?” mayor is truly in emergency management-mode, he’ll be The MTA refused to send a she said. “That was very sur- wearing one of those fancy OEM “man of action” fleece Callan / Tom representative to the meeting, prising to hear that.” pullovers — a clear violation of the River Cafe’s “Jackets Markowitz said. Instead, the Aspokesman for the MTA required in the dining room” rule. agency sent over a statement said he would let the agency’s “I think we can waive the rule for the mayor,” Stamford outlining its plans for service statement speak for itself. said. “He could come in with a bomber jacket if he to and from Nets games at the The MTA’s statement also wants.” Papers The Brooklyn Ratner arena. said that “buses are not a key Across the street at Pete’s Downtown, owner Pete “For Madison Square Gar- component of any service Thristino said he was planning nothing special for the real den, the regularly scheduled plan” after concerts and games mayor. “We had Pacino in here once,” he said, referring to service is sufficient for every at Madison Square Garden — the star of “City Hall.” typical event,” the agency said which also angered the Brook- VEN THE MAYOR’S HOSTS at the OEM head- in a statement. “Madison lyn contingent. quarters — officially surplus warehouse B-53 — Oy tannenbaum! Square Garden is the ... model “How can they say that bus- were subdued at the prospect of late night games of [for Nets game service] be- es are not critical in Brook- E Borough President Marty Markowitz pulled the switch on Brookyn’s official Christmas tree this week — and also “Twister” or making prank calls to 311 with their boss. cause it is about the same size lyn?” asked Shirley McRae, I stopped by the warehouse, you know, to welcome the plunged into a growing nationwide controversy over what to call the seasonal evergreens. “They’re ‘Christmas and situated on multiple lines.” chairwoman of Community mayor and offer him a pillow, but was stopped by a cop trees,’ not ‘holiday trees’!” the beep told The Brooklyn Papers. “Next thing, people will tell me I light a ‘holiday Brooklyn elected officials Board 2, which lies to the north who called inside. Within a few minutes, OEM deputy menorah’ at home, not a Hanukkah menorah.” The Papers deconstructs Markowitz’s holiday card, page 5. — some who support Ratner’s of the Atlantic Yards site. press secretary Andrew Troisi (what, I don’t rate an AC- plan, others who oppose it — McRae called on the MTA TUAL press secretary?), came out. to include buses in the agen- Everything Troisi said was off the record (which was cy’s traffic analyses of the area. odd, considering that all he said was that the OEM staff The borough’s elected offi- would be happy to accommodate the mayor), but Troisi cials have been meeting regu- did confirm that the mayor would, indeed, be sleeping on larly to prepare for the release a cot. 10,000 pennies for Yard thoughts of a draft environmental im- “We’re OEM. We have plenty of cots inside,” Troisi pact statement for the Ratner said before nervously putting the rest of the conversation By Ariella Cohen mercial, residential and arena mega- here, participants said. project. The DEIS, which is again off the record (too bad, because he told me the se- The Brooklyn Papers project — and how well Forest City “It was fun, but scary,” explained one expected to be completed next cret burial site of Judge Crater). Ratner is getting its message out about EXCLUSIVE attendee. “I came in against the project, month, is supposed to analyze From the OEM office, the mayor would have a half- Someone wants to know what the project’s purported benefits. but by the time I left, my attitude was, existing conditions and offer mile walk to the Brooklyn Bridge. But he should not ex- Brooklyn thinks of Bruce Ratner’s “They kept telling us how much af- Rugelach and Baking Company.