Mayor Bill de Blasio is nixing a proposal to shutter Rikers Island after so many reports of the toxic environment there, but a Brooklyn activist

Curbed.com has published an interesting feature on the Gowanus Canal, “The Fascinating, Murky History of Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal.” The photo essay by Nathan Kensinger follows

A 720-unit condo building is nearing completion on the banks of the fetid Gowanus Canal, at 365 Bond Street. The controversial Lightstone Group development will feature

NYC Chancellor Farina and Mayor Bill de Blasio announce a plan to try to integrate seven city elementary schools, including the Children’s school in Brooklyn.

Due to overcrowding in upper income neighborhoods at sought-after public schools, like P.S. 58 in Carroll Gardens, the Department of Education under Mayor de Blasio

Well we certainly have a new urban legend on our hands. Gothamist published a video that appears to show a man in a red flannel

She’s a columnist on Huffington Post, a regular at Bar Tabac on Smith, and she’ll keep you entertained for hours.  

DNA Info website has a sad report about how teenagers who get thrown into Rikers prison often join gangs for their safety, and now are

Sheepshead Bites blog has a good map of the new ferry service announced by Mayor de Blasio: http://www.sheepsheadbites.com/2015/02/map-de-blasios-expanded-ferry-system-will-connect-boroughs/

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has stepped out for animals, banning unnecessary tattoos and piercings on pets. Read all about it on the Carroll Gardens Patch: http://patch.com/new-york/carrollgardens/new-york-bans-tattoos-piercings-pets

The city Department of Environmental Protection announced it will install $46 million worth of bioswales around the outer boroughs, including several dozen around Carroll Gardens

Frenchman arrested, could face time

Gag: You can now find Brooklyn branding in cities across the globe

The national franchise, The School of Rock, rock-based music lessons for kids, opened on Douglass St. in the Gowanus. Read this profile in The New

CBS News featured a video tour of a totally insanely tricked out designer home in Cobble Hill, featuring a multi-story living wall of plants next

Ideal Properties real estate group has released its first analysis of buyers in brownstone Brooklyn. The report looks at the first quarter of 2014, and

Jennifer Arrow, a stay-at-home mom and freelance writer who blogs about preschooling, afterschooling and children’s literature at Post-Apocalyptic Homeschool, has an article in The New York Times

The renovated, beautiful 4-story brownstone at 154 President, between Henry and Hicks, is for sale for $2.999 million. http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/02/09/fourstory_brownstone_in_carroll_gardens_wants_3m.php