Read your local stoop inside. Read them all at BrooklynPaper.com Brooklyn’s Real Newspaper BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 834–9350 • Brooklyn, NY • ©2007 BROOKLYN HEIGHTS–DOWNTOWN EDITION AWP/20 pages • Vol. 30, No. 9 • Saturday, March 3, 2007 • FREE INCLUDING DUMBO ONE-WAY 7TH City: We’ll ease Yards traffic in Slope / Rick Silva with two new one-way thoroughfares By Gersh Kuntzman 19,000 screaming basketball fans to the streets merits,” Yassky said, citing inevitable confu- The Brooklyn Paper around Park Slope every game night and thou- sion over re-routed buses and opposition The city is pushing a “radical” proposal sands of office workers every day. from local businesses. Associated Press Associated Press to convert traffic-choked Seventh and “[The proposal] will have many benefits “My main fear is that DOT is doing this Clem Labine (left), a member of the 1955 World Series-winning Brooklyn Dodgers, is gravely ill, according to old pal and Sixth avenues in Park Slope into one-way including simplifying the turning move- in the hope that Seventh and Sixth avenues legend Cal Erskine, who spoke with The Brooklyn Paper this week. Labine is seen here with former Met Roger Craig. thoroughfares and removing a lane of traf- ments at intersections to make it safer for become thoroughfares rather than what they pedestrians … and narrowing the travel actually are: local residential streets. fic from each direction of highway-like lanes on Seventh Avenue to encourage vehi- “Those avenues should not be thought of Fourth Avenue. cles to travel within the existing speed lim- as ways of moving large numbers of com- “Off the record? Holy f—!” said a usual- it,” said agency spokeswoman Kay Sarlin. muters through Park Slope,” Yassky said. ly sober elected official when The Brooklyn Yassky said residents should greet the pro- Eighth Avenue is already a two-lane, one- Paper called with the bombshell news. posal with an open mind. way street running northbound from the OISK: PRAY FOR CLEM “That is huge!” “No one likes change, so there will be Prospect Expressway to Flatbush Avenue. The Department of Transportation did not some resistance to the idea, regardless of its See ONE-WAY on page 15 publicly announce the proposal — which Dodger great Labine near death in Florida would change Seventh Avenue, between Flatbush Avenue and Prospect Avenue, into By Ed Shakespeare pearance in the World Series — Labine a southbound one-way, and Sixth Avenue, for The Brooklyn Paper threw a complete-game shutout against between Atlantic Avenue and 23rd Street, EXCLUSIVE the Yanks, though the Bronx Bombers into a northbound one-way — but slipped it Clem Labine, Brooklyn Dodger onto the agenda of a previously scheduled pitcher during the celebrated Boys of went on to win that Fall Classic. World Series-winning team. One year later, the Dodgers were gone March 15 Community Board 6 meeting. Summer era, is gravely ill. The board’s district manager, Craig Ham- Park Choke! His former teammate, Carl Erskine, In the Brooks’ celebrated — and only —and the 6-foot Labine went with them — Series win over the hated New York to Los Angeles. merman, had few details — but is already told The Brooklyn Paper that Labine has scouting a really large auditorium where he Yankees, Labine pitched in four games of In his big league career, Labine was 77- Most Slope traffic looking for a spot been at Indian River Medical Center in can host the meeting, which is expected to the Series, with a win and a save. 56 with a 3.63 ERA. His best season was Vero Beach, Florida since Feb. 10, shortly draw a big crowd. By Gersh Kuntzman group’s executive director, “We need to raise prices after completing a stint as an instructor at The next year — Brooklyn’s last ap- that 1955 campaign, when he went 13-5. “This represents something radically dif- The Brooklyn Paper who wisely biked to Tues- until a vacancy rate [of one an adult “fantasy” camp at the Dodgers’ ferent, so there will be a lot of people asking day’s press conference. to two cars per block] is training camp in Vero Beach. questions,” he said. “It would represent a The mystery of Park White said the lack of achieved,” he said. “He’s gravely ill,” Erskine said by tele- huge adjustment, so we need to hear what Slope’s congested shop- parking spaces along the Perhaps the setting of the phone on Tuesday. “The Brooklyn fans the positives and negatives are, and then, ping strip has been solved: neighborhood’s commercial press conference — a street should know about Clem’s condition. hopefully, DOT will let us weigh in.” Nearly half of the cars on spine is actually the cause of corner in the People’s Re- They may want to pray for him.” Fame still Seventh Avenue are simply Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn substantial traffic. public of Park Slope — in- The hospital confirmed that Labine, 79, Heights), who has been active in street park- looking for parking, a new The TA study found that spired White to liken the sit- is there for treatment. They listed him in ing and traffic flow issues, said the specter study shows. 45 percent of cars on Sev- uation to Soviet times. critical condition. of Atlantic Yards was looming over the And one solution is to enth Avenue during the day “What we have now is Labine was a major leaguer for 13 sea- eludes our DOT proposal. raise the cost of meters, says are looking for a spot. White equivalent to a Russian sons, eight with Brooklyn and three more “The state approved the project, but the Transportation Alternatives, said that parking is so hard breadline — except instead with Los Angeles. Although his numbers city is left holding the bag to remedy the a cycling and transit advoca- to come by because it’s too of peasants lining up for wouldn’t put him in the Hall of Fame, he tremendous traffic it will cause,” Yassky said. cy group. cheap, resulting in an almost bread, it’s cars driving lives on in the hearts of all Brooklyn base- Gil: See P.5 around for parking,” he said. As proposed, the mega-development will “The curb is full,” said 100-percent occupancy at ball fans as a hero of Dem Bums’ 1955 house 15,000-20,000 people — and bring Paul Steely White, the the meters. See CHOKE on page 15 PIE IN THE SKY Clarence Gourmet pizza a slice of life in Brooklyn convicted By Adam Rathe The Brooklyn Paper “Pizza is the great common denominator among people,” Michael Ayoub told GO Brooklyn this week. The crazy thing is, he may be right. — again! Sitting at a table in his award-winning Williamsburg restau- rant, Fornino, Ayoub was rightfully proud to be discussing his By Gersh Kuntzman growing pizza empire. To call Fornino, or its newborn Manhat- The Brooklyn Paper tan sibling Cronkite, a “pizzeria” is a mighty understatement. What he offers — gourmet pies with homegrown and high-end Three strikes and he’s really out. ingredients, including homemade mozzarella and three types of Disgraced former Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Clarence specialty flour — is about as far from a plain old slice as you Norman was convicted last week of grand larceny — the third can get. conviction in 18 months for the former Assemblyman, who And that’s just the way he wants it. vowed to appeal, yet admitted that he was finally out of politics. “When I was a kid,” he said, “a slice of Sicilian at Pizza “I’m out,” he told reporters outside Brooklyn Supreme Court Wagon on 86th Street [was the best in town], but that was a dif- after he was released pending appeal. “No pol- ferent time and an uneducated palate. At this point, I’m a little itics for me. That’s in the past tense.” bit of a pizza snob.” Norman was convicted in what prosecu- Growing up in Bay Ridge, Ayoub began cooking at an early tors called a scheme to shake down a judi- age. After teenage stints working in delis and restaurants, he cial candidate — a corruption verdict that opened his first follows earlier convictions for stealing eatery, Skaf- $5,000 from a campaign committee, and fles, at the age for trying to conceal $10,000 in contribu- of 20. While Finding Brooklyn’s best tions. the restaurant simple slice … P. 12 He could face up to seven years at his had to hold April 16 sentencing on the latest convic- off on a liquor tion for extorting $10,000 from the can- license until its didate, Karen Yellen, prosecutors said. owner was of age, Ayoub was intent on making it a success. But Norman, 55, wasn’t apologizing. “I feel at the end of the day, I’ll be vindicated,’’ he said. “In 1977, it was the first French restaurant in Brooklyn. At the So does his prosecutor, Michael Vecchione. / Daniel Krieger time, I was a protege of [famed chef] Claude Bailles. I used to “This case was about money and about stealing money, and the work for him in the mornings and then come to my own restau- jury agreed with us,” he said. rant at night and try out my own recipes.” The jury was swayed by testimony from Yellen, a civil court After honing his craft at Skaffles, Ayoub continued opening candidate in 2002, who said Norman demanded that she hire his restaurants across Brooklyn including the BAMCafe at the Brooklyn favored consultant for what prosecutors called a shady get-out- Academy of Music and the Park Slope steakhouse Mike and Tony’s.