INSIDE BROOKLYN’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER Including The Downtown News, Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Paper and Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Paper Aged diner gets glam facelift Published weekly by Brooklyn Paper Publications Inc, 26 Court St., Brooklyn 11242 Phone 718-834-9350 AD fax 718-834-1713 • NEWS fax 718-834-9278 © 2003 Brooklyn Paper Publications • 14 pages including GO BROOKLYN •Vol.26, No.4BWN, DTG, PSG, MID • January 27, 2003 • FREE County of King At B’klyn’s 17th annual MLK tribute, Mike, Chuck, Marty, George praise slain civil rights leader Chuck Schumer BP / Mango George Pataki BP / Mango Marty Markowitz BP / Mango Michael Bloomberg BP / Mango By Patrick Gallahue And all who spoke, including Markowitz. Each introduced rights groups because of his civil The Brooklyn Papers cultural and spiritual leaders, their own policies as offshoots rights record, which included his of the civil rights movement be- efforts as a judge to reduce the Elected officials who spoke and original members of the civ- il rights movement, maintained fore more than 2,000 people in sentence of a man convicted in a attendance on the national, state 1994 cross-burning case. at the Brooklyn Academy of that King’s work remained un- Music’s 17th annual tribute to and city holiday, five days after “We have a long way to go finished. what would have been King’s and I will lead the fight against Martin Luther King Jr. on The guest list of prominent Monday all strove to measure 74th birthday. Judge Pickering,” Schumer said. elected officials at the celebra- Schumer pointed to his resist- Bloomberg touted his recently their own successes and tion included U.S. Sen. Charles ance of Mississippi Judge announced reform of the public efforts — however partisan — Schumer, Gov. George Pataki, Charles Pickering, nominated by school system, which proposes against the principles of equal- Mayor Michael Bloomberg, At- President Bush for the U.S. to unify curriculum and stream- Chainsaw masterpiece ity the slain civil rights leader torney General Eliot Spitzer and Court of Appeals, who is widely line the city’s education bureau- Ice sculpter Brian Byrn uses a chainsaw to carve a replica of the Statue of Liberty out of a block of ice during an advanced. Borough President Marty opposed by Democrats and civil cracy. ice-carving contest on the frigid Brooklyn Heights Promenade Saturday. The Brooklyn Papers / Greg Mango “The right to a good educa- tion is just as important as the right to vote,” the mayor said. Spitzer announced that he would file an amicus brief back- ing the University of Michigan’s policy for giving preferences to Cops have eye on black and Hispanic applicants, Arabs plead guilty which the president this week opposed. “We are trying desperately to Associated Press who initially pleaded innocent, claimed the FBI had investigated Alriany's links create institutions of higher A group of Yemeni shopkeepers the money was going to their families. to a Brooklyn mosque that authorities learning that are diverse, that in- in Brooklyn who were arrested dur- Supporters of Alriany, who has been once considered a breeding ground for clude all people, but what did ing an investigation into secret fund- held without bail, accused authorities terrorists, including the men who area bank robber of persecuting law-abiding immigrants the president say? He said, ‘No I ing for terrorist organizations have bombed the World Trade Center in 1993. am against that affirmative ac- in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist at- By Patrick Gallahue agreed to plead guilty to non-terror- tacks. Alriany conceded he occasionally tion plan’,” Spitzer said. “Shame ism charges of money smuggling. went to the mosque, but was unaware The Brooklyn Papers on him. I am your attorney gen- Prosecutors have refused to discuss EXCLUSIVE The lead defendant, Mohamed Ali the case. But court papers revealed that of any terrorist activities there. Police sources told The Brooklyn Papers eral and on your behalf I am fil- Alriany, admitted transmitting up to $7 ing a brief that opposes the pres- million without a license Tuesday dur- this week that they have identified but not ident.” yet arrested a suspect in several recent Meanwhile, the Independence Community ing his plea in federal court in Brook- Savings Bank, on Montague Street between Those elected officials were al- lyn, prosecutors said. bank robberies in Brooklyn Heights and Clinton and Court streets, was robbed of $3,000 lowed to continue their speeches Downtown Brooklyn. Under a plea deal, Alriany could re- on Saturday. uninterrupted. But as Pataki ceive less than four years in prison at a spoke of education and health- The source said the suspect, being looked at In the latest robbery, a man entered the Inde- May 2 sentencing if his 14 co-defen- in connection with a string of robberies in which pendence bank at around 10 am on Jan. 18 and care as the hallmarks of equi- Shuffle boards dants also agree to change their pleas to table policy he was greeted by a a note demanding cash was passed to a teller, but passed a yellow envelope to a teller. “Give me guilty. To date, six have done so. few shouts of “what about the no gun displayed, is under police surveillance. the money,” he demanded. Alriany, 56, a naturalized U.S. citizen money?” seemingly in reference Slope, Heights districts joined Police also said that a suspect has turned him- The teller filled the envelope with cash and with no prior criminal record, and the to the state’s appeal of the Cam- self in to authorities in connection with at least the bank robber fled. Police described the bandit other men were rounded up earlier this By Deborah Kolben parents throughout the day who as a black male in his 20s or 30s. paign for Fiscal Equity’s suc- one armed bank robbery in the area. The FBI is year for allegedly smuggling money to The Brooklyn Papers feared they would lose their outlet holding the suspect, police said. See SUSPECT on page 5 See KING JR on page 4 Yemen through his gift shop. The men, for input if Bloomberg’s plan is Brooklyn parents made their adopted. voices heard Thursday at a pub- “We have always relied upon our lic hearing held by a special district office and community state task force charged with school board to be our eyes and ears deciding what will replace New where children and community York City’s 32 school boards. were concerned,” Fern Rossi, a Dis- WNYC Radio considering BAMland The hearing came on the heels of trict 21 parent, told the members of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s major the Assembly and state Senate, elic- By Patrick Gallahue of cultural institutions and WNYC and rent, News sources said the slated to have 120,000 square feet “from high atop the Municipal announcement last Wednesday iting cheers from the packed Dibner Auditorium at Polytechnic Univer- The Brooklyn Papers is one of them,” said Joyce Baum- station may want about 80,000 for parking, 100 units of subsi- Building …” where he revealed his plan for a garten, a Ratner spokeswoman. square feet, about twice what it dized housing and several small- In the 1920s WNYC inaugurat- sweeping overhaul of the city’s edu- sity on Jan. 16. “From high atop the cultur- The Daily News reported on occupies at 1 Centre St. scale arts facilities. ed classical music broadcasts and cational system. The locally elected school boards al district …” Jan. 13 that the station was seeking The BAM Local Development WNYC boasts more than 1 mil- in the ‘30s started live coverage of Bloomberg’s proposal would re- are slated for elimination in June in The phrase could be the start of to consolidate its administrative of- Corporation, which is currently lion listeners combined each week City Council hearings. place the city’s 32 community a final shift of power that will put a new station ID for WNYC, New fices and broadcast space, currently working on a master plan for the for its AM 820 and 93.9 FM sta- On Dec. 7, 1941, WNYC dis- school districts with 10 instructional control of the city’s public schools York’s flagship public radio station, dispersed over three different loca- cultural district, declined to dis- tions and claims the highest rat- tinguished itself as the first radio leadership divisions called Learning in the mayor’s hands for the first if negotiations with developer tions, one of which is the municipal cuss tenant negotiations. The cul- ings for a public radio station in station to announce the attacks on Support Centers. These centers time since 1969. Bruce Ratner prove fruitful. The building, at 1 Centre St. in Manhat- tural district is to include arts America. They are New York’s Pearl Harbor. would be guided by one of 10 re- The all-day hearings in Down- station is currently in discussions tan, opposite City Hall. space, housing and retail devel- flagship public radio stations, In 1995, the WNYC Founda- gional superintendents. Each of town Brooklyn — there was a with Ratner for a lease on the East A spokeswoman for WNYC opments that would be built on broadcasting programs from Na- tion, a not-for-profit organization these superintendents would have morning and an evening session, the Site of the planned Brooklyn Acad- did not return calls by press time. four parking lots surrounding tional Public Radio and Public Ra- that operated the station, pur- 10 local instructional supervisors, final of five held around the city — emy of Music Cultural District.