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By Gersh Kuntzman

The Brooklyn Paper

Developer Bruce Ratner appears to be bringing in an all-star team to Atlantic Yards — and we’re not talking about his pathetic Brooklyn-bound New Jersey Nets.

Legendary architect David Childs — the Skidmore, Owings and Merrill emeritus who was the lead designer of the so-called Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site — told The Brooklyn Paper that he met with Ratner earlier in the year to give the developer’s arena plans a “once over.”

And beyond that, Ratner and Childs discussed having the esteemed designer work on one of the 16 proposed residential buildings that form the bulk of the mega-project.

“First, he brought me in to look at the arena design, which I think is very good now,” Childs said, referring to the current design collaboration between Ellerbe Becket and SHoP Architects.

“And then we talked about working together on the residential buildings,” added Childs, who was celebrating the opening of his firm’s signature Brooklyn building, the 38-story Toren tower on Flatbush Avenue.

“Bruce wants to bring in different architects, good architects, to do each of the residential buildings,” Childs said. “That’s something I’d be very excited about. Talking to Bruce, it’s clear that he wants to do this right. He really does.”

Childs added that he was comforted by his chat with Ratner, given that the developer has a torturous history with architects. Before hiring Frank Gehry to design the Atlantic Yards mini-city, Ratner’s work in Brooklyn — such as the Atlantic Terminal and Atlantic Center malls — was pedestrian at best.

Gehry promised to change all that, but last year, he was fired by Ratner in a cost-saving move.

The redesign of the future home of the Brooklyn Nets, done solely by the Kansas City-based Ellerbe Becket, was reviled so loudly that Ratner brought in the Manhattan-based SHoP firm to repair the damage.

The resulting arena is sometimes mocked as a “George Foreman grill,” but it also has many supporters.

“It’s a good-looking design,” said Childs, who specifically cited the building’s “industrial” outer membrane.

Forest City Ratner Executive Vice President MaryAnne Gilmartin said that the developer and Childs talked about working together in some capacity at Atlantic Yards, but said it was “premature” to speculate on the identities of other Hall of Fame-quality who draftsman might also be brought in to work on the first residential buildings.

“This is about finding the right architects for the challenge,” she said. “There are many architects who could create a beautiful design, but this isn’t only about design. One has to add in the challenge of building a high-rise structure with union labor and an affordable housing component. Atlantic Yards is about cracking the code on this kind of challenge.”

Gilmartin said she was gratified by Childs’s kind words, considering that he is chairman of the Municipal Art Society, a design watchdog group that has a faction that is opposed to Atlantic Yards.

“David Childs is a man of stature who, speaking as an architect and a citizen, sees something positive and hopeful about the project,” Gilmartin added.

One architect who is sometimes mentioned as the kind of designer that Ratner might consider is Roger Duffy, the Skidmore, Owings and Merrill designer whose credits include the Toren, which is receiving substantial praise for its modern, clean lines.

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By Andy Campbell

The Brooklyn Paper

Community Board 1 rejected the $1.2-billion redevelopment of the old Domino Sugar factory on Tuesday night.

The 23-12 vote backing the board’s land-use committee vote last week is the second hurdle for the Community Preservation Corporation, which will need the support of Borough President Markowitz, the City Planning Commission and the City Council to build a multiple-skyscraper project along the Williamsburg waterfront that is larger than the zoning currently allows.

At the board meeting, CPC representatives continued their promise to price 30 percent of their 2,200 units at below-market rates. That 30 percent is higher than the required 20 percent set forth by the 2005 Greenpoint/Williamsburg waterfront rezoning, but CB1 members said they wanted more from the developers — including a pledge to help create better transportation around the growing western edge of Williamsburg; permanent affordability; reduced building density; and more open space among them.

Developers said that many of the board’s questions have been answered already.

“We’re working with a great project, and we’re committed to permanent affordability,” said Susan Pollock, senior vice president of the development company, which bought the site just north of the Williamsburg Bridge in 2004 after Domino shut down operations. “We’re going to continue fighting.”

The community board vote is merely advisory to Markowitz’s decision, which could come after his public hearing on Thursday. The borough president’s decision may simply be a suggestion, too, considering that the City Planning Commission just voted contrary to his rejection of the Rose Plaza complex, also on the Williamsburg waterfront.

Along with promising affordability, Pollock has been straightforward with her discussion of density — without the rezoning to allow for lucrative tall towers, the 30 percent affordability could not happen.

“The density of this project is required in order to make the entire program work,” she said at the land-use committee meeting last month.

She added that CPC is willing to make changes to the six-phase project if the system of housing and retail space in the first site — the refinery’s former parking lot on Kent Avenue between South Third and South Fourth streets — doesn’t work as planned.

But as for Community Board 1, the consensus followed the committee’s main question: will the Domino project actually benefit the neighborhood as a whole?

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By the GO Brooklyn Eating Team

The Brooklyn Paper

Gentlemen, start your entrees.

On Monday, more than 200 restaurants from Greenpoint to Gravesend and from Red Hook to Bushwick will kick off the seventh annual “Dine in Brooklyn” week, a 10-day festival of three-course, (mostly) gourmet dinners for just $25. Lunches at participating restaurants are $20.10, which should be easy to remember.

“The culinary epicenter of America is right here in Brooklyn,” said Borough President Markowitz, who delights in his annual role as the city’s maitre d’.

But which restaurants are worth your time (and your dime)? The GO Brooklyn team fanned out across this great borough, sampling dishes that will grace menus next week. Our guide is by no means comprehensive, so for information on Dine in Brooklyn, visit www.visitbrooklyn.org.

Bamonte’s

32 Withers St. between Lorimer Street and Union Avenue in Williamsburg. (718) 384-8831

An institution in Williamsburg since the early 1900s, this old-school Italian restaurant will be serving up mussels marinara as part of its Dine In Brooklyn menu. Covered with a bold tomato sauce and a generous amount of parsley, the mussels are fresh and flavorful. The meatballs are excellent, too.

Bread and Butter

46 Henry St. between Cranberry and Middagh streets in Brooklyn Heights. (718) 858-9605

Opened in early January in the site that housed Le Petit Marche, Bread and Butter brings its Southern-fried goodness to Dine In Brooklyn. Sure, the Grey Lady from Manhattan recently panned the joint, but we had a more pleasant experience, chomping on a delicious macaroni and cheese (we went the extra mile and ordered the high-end version — with truffles, porcini mushrooms and aged parmigiano), and followed it with the burger, cooked to perfection and featuring carmalized onions, bacon and cheddar cheese. Tell the New York Times to eat it (no, we’re talking about the burger!).

Fonda

434 Seventh Ave. between 14th and 15th streets in Park Slope, (718) 369-3144

Less than a year in business, Fonda is already one of the most popular restaurants in Park Slope. And one of the best things on the menu (besides the Margaritas) will be featured next week: pork adobo. Our sampling revealed the myriad tastes embedded in this bowl of tender porcine goodness: there’s heat from the chiles, sweetness from the chocolate and the savory quality that only pork can provide. The duck zarape — two corn tortillas filled with shredded duck and a tangy tomato-habanero sauce — made for a delicious appetizer.

Madiba

195 Dekalb Avenue at Carlton Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 855-9190

This 10-year-old South African stalwart is much loved for its quirky, otherworldly menu featuring Indian- and African-influence South African food like samosas (called “samoosas” on this menu) and curries. But the standout dish are the sweet and vinegary baby back ribs, which fall off the bone in juicy morsels covered in a thick, fruity barbecue sauce.

Melt

440 Bergen St. between Fifth and Flatbush avenues in Park Slope, (718) 230-5925

Owner Muguette Siem A Sjoe will put two outstanding main courses on her special menu: a barbecued short rib of beef that resembles an NFL football in girth, and a delightfully juicy salmon with a crisp skin. Sjoe’s five-year-old eatery just landed “Top Chef” star Mark Simmons, who is continuing the restaurant’s success — and makes a nice molten chocolate cake (with sea salt and black pepper to cut the cliche).

Palo Santo

652 Union St. between Fourth and Fifth avenues in Park Slope, (718) 636-6311

If the pork tacos can speak for the rest of the three-course meal you’ll be served at Palo Santo, you’re in for a wild ride of Latin American flavors. We finally found some pork that actually has some taste and kick to it, and the homemade guacamole alone will send any avocado lover into a munching frenzy.

Pearl Room

8201 Third Ave. at 82nd Street in Bay Ridge, (718) 833-6666

Chef Anthony Rinaldi show off his food zeal best with his grilled tilapia and risotto dish. The tilapia — usually a flavorless fish — is given a sweet and salty zest with a smattering of sauces, all atop a creamy bed of cheesy risotto (with shrimp!), grilled asparagus and a beef ginger emulsion. Considering that this entree is $25 on a normal day, it’ll be a steal during Dine in Brooklyn.

Provence en Boite

263 Smith St. at Degraw Street in Carroll Gardens, (718) 797-0707

Jean-Jacques and Leslie Bernat’s country French joint is a lilac-scented treat. This year, the Dine in Brooklyn menu will feature the couple’s oh-so-traditional onion soup (yes, it’s covered in a thick blanket of Gruyere) and salad cosi, a stack that features a marinated portobello mushroom, a thick slice of tomato, and a cap of goat cheese atop garlic toast.

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By Andy Campbell

The Brooklyn Paper

Another oyPhone

A group of jerks attacked a man for his iPhone on S. Second Street on March 5.

The guy was near Keap Street at about 2:30 pm when a man came up and asked for the phone. The victim said no, and was subsequently attacked by a larger group of men who were hiding around the corner.

Most members of the group punched and kicked him while one of the thugs cut his wrist with a knife and another grabbed the phone. He was taken to the hospital where he refused further investigation.

Plastic thief

A dumb thief was arrested on March 3 after he held up a stroller-pushing woman on Division Avenue who had no money on her.

The victim was walking with her child at 9:32 am near Wilson Street when a man approached with a gun, partially concealed by a plastic bag. The thug demanded cash, but his would-be victim didn’t have any, so the thief grabbed her pocketbook and ran.

Police caught up with him later to find that the gun was a fake.

Phone or slug?

Three hooligans held up a man for two phones on Lynch Street on March 5.

The man told cops that he was near Union Avenue at about 8:40 pm when the three thugs loomed toward him — one of them wielding a handgun.

The gunman said, “Give me everything you have,” which turned out to be a wallet, two cellphones and a Metrocard.

Truck grab

A crook stole a parked Mitsubishi truck from Grand Street on March 5.

The owner left the car at a spot between Morgan Avenue and Waterbury Street at 11 am, and came at 1 pm to find his truck missing.

Fashion cops

Two ruffians stole a woman’s bag of clothes and laced her with pepper spray on Grand Street on March 7.

The woman was carrying her bag while unlocking her bicycle chain between Havemeyer Street and Marcy Avenue at around 10 pm when the two approached her.

One said, “We want your bag,” while the other hit her in the face with the chemical spray, leaving her choking on the sidewalk. The jerks made off with the clothes.

— Andy Campbell

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By Thomas Tracy

Community Newspaper Group

Cell block

A thief was arrested on March 5 after swiping a cellphone out of a woman’s hand on Strong Place.

Cops say that the thief approached the 37-year-old victim from behind near Kane Street at around 1:50 pm, grabbed the phone and fled north.

But a witness and the victim gave chase to the corner of Clinton and Degraw streets, where Officer Patrick Barbato made the collar.

Bridge too far

A pack of thieves set upon a man as he walked over the footbridge at Henry Street and Hamilton Avenue on March 3, pulling a knife and getting away with $40.

Cops say that the victim was on the bridge at around 8:30 am when the thieves pounced.

Road rage

A driver claims that he was brutalized by two men in a road rage incident on West Ninth Street on March 2.

The victim told cops that he was driving westbound near Smith Street at around 11 pm when he was cut off by a gray Infinity four-door sedan. Seconds later, two men leaped from the fancy car, hurling threats. One man pulled a knife and the other grabbed a piece of metal off the street to threaten the man further.

After bashing the victim’s car with the implements, the men hopped back into their vehicle and drove off.

Welcome home

A woman returned to her Columbia Street apartment on March 2 to find that it had been ransacked while she was away.

The victim told cops that it’s unclear if anything was taken from the apartment, which is at Van Brunt Street, while she was away for four days.

Nothing gone

Another thief broke into a Sackett Street apartment on March 2 and also didn’t take anything.

The resident of the unit, which is between Court and Smith streets, said she returned home at 4:10 pm to find a rear window damaged, but nothing missing.

Car bust

A thief broke into a construction worker’s van on Union Street on March 5, taking tools and lots of cash.

The victim told cops that he had parked the truck between Court and Smith streets at around 11:30 am, but when he returned to the vehicle at 3 pm, he discovered that a door had been breached, allowing the thief access to a trunk-release latch that revealed the true booty: flooring tools, sanders, nail guns, a mitre saw and $3,500.

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By Andy Campbell

The Brooklyn Paper

Victim of dove

A heartless crook held up a Manhattan Avenue store for $24 and an iPod — then shot two doves before leaving on March 4.

An employee of Sastreria De San Miguel Tailoring told police that the peace-hating villain entered the shop, at Green Street, at about 2 pm, locked the front door, pointed his gun at the employee’s head and used his other hand to steal the cash and iPod.

The gunman then moved to a cage where two doves were being kept as pets, shot them execution-style, and threatened to kill the worker if he called police. The thief then fled, the blood of the innocents on his hands.

Drunk burglary

A villain took advantage of a drunken renter by stealing his stuff while he slept in his Manhattan Avenue apartment on March 1.

The victim told police that he had fallen asleep at his home, which is between Nassau and Driggs avenues, at around 7:30 pm after a long day of drinking. He woke up at 9 am to find that $40 had been stolen from his pants, and a number of other items were stolen from a locked drawer in his room.

State parked

Someone stole a man’s camera lenses and laptop from his car while he took pictures in East River State Park near N. 12th Street on March 2.

While the cameraman was taking pictures at around 10 am, the thief was pilfering the car, which was sitting Kent and Wythe avenues.

— Andy Campbell

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By Stephen Brown

The Brooklyn Paper

Remsen robber

Two crimes went down in the same building on Remsen Street between Court and Clinton streets last week, and cops are investigating the possibility of a criminal operating solo.

In the first case, a thief snatched an office worker’s purse on March 2 while she had stepped away from her desk. The victim, who works for Premier Health Care, told cops that she’d left her purse in her office chair at around 2:30 pm. and returned 20 minutes later.

The next day, a thief snatched another officer worker’s purse while she was in a meeting. This victim told cops that she went to her confab at around 2 pm and returned 30 minutes later to find that her purse, iPod, cellphone, credit cards and $60 were gone.

Bank heist!

A grammatically challenged bank robber stole $400 from a Sovereign Bank on Washington Street in DUMBO on March 4.

A teller told cops that the perp approached his window at the bank at Water Street at around 12:30 pm and passed a note that said, “Give me $400 or nobody gets hurt.”

Apparently ignoring the inconsistencies in the demand, the teller handed over the cash and hit the alarm. The perp then demanded the note back and took off.

Busted

A thief was caught trying to remove cash from the register of the Victory Café on State Street on March 5.

Officer Sean Fielder said that he noticed a smashed window between Hoyt and Bond streets at around 10:30 pm, and investigated further to find a perp inside the café. That’s when he slapped the cuffs on the suspect, who had sliced his hand on the window he had busted.

Papa cons

A cunning thief swiped a man’s wallet from the counter at a Livingston Street Papa John’s on March 1.

The victim told cops that he was buying pizza at the eatery between Hanover Place and Bond Street at around 8 pm when the thief made his move.

The bandit struck paydirt: the wallet contained a whopping $325.

Rocky times

Two ladies left the Smith Street nightclub Perks together — but their friendship was short lived, as one robbed the other and stole her car keys on March 7.

The victim told cops that she and her friend left the club in a car at around 4:10 am. The pair got in an argument, and when they arrived at Third and Atlantic avenues, the driver snatched $600, a phone, car keys, and an ID from the victim. The rowdy driver then booted her passenger out of the car.

Unfortunately for the perp, she was quickly busted by Officer Hasnain Saief.

Cell snatch

A thief snatched a 13-year-old’s cellphone in the Atlantic-Pacific subway station on March 3.

The frightened youngster told cops that he was exiting from the Manhattan-bound platform at Pacific Street at around 7 pm when a shady character followed him up the stairs to the mezzanine. There, the thief made his move and fled out of the station.

Car jacked

A thug jacked a Chevrolet from the corner of Henry and Pierrepont streets.

The owner said that he last saw his beloved car at around 11 am on Feb. 25. When he returned five days later at around 2 pm, the car was gone.

Gym thief

A gym rat stole a wallet from a locker at the New York Sports Club on Court Street on March 1.

The victim told cops that he had worked up sweat at the gym between Remsen and Montague streets and returned to his locker at around 3:45 pm, only to find his padlock removed and his wallet, containing $20 and an assortment of credit cards, missing.

Beat down

Two thugs robbed a man at Willoughby and Pearl streets on March 1.

The victim told cops that he near the corner at 10 am when the pair approached from behind. One of the brigands grabbed him around the neck while the other rifled his pockets, taking two cellphones and $200.

Paydirt!

A thief broke into a car on Duffield Street and made off with a veritable treasure trove of goodies on March 4.

The victim told cops that he had parked his car at around 8:30 pm between Willoughby and Fulton streets. When he returned two hours later, he found that a thief had taken two iPods, an iPhone, an assortment of school books, a Blackberry, five credit cards, a fancy handbag and a Gucci wallet.

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By Thurston Dooley III

The Brooklyn Paper

“Eyes and ears are much respected, but the butt has been neglected.”

So says opening line of Artie Bennett’s astounding tour de force, “The Butt Book” — and, dare I say it, no truer words have been spoken in the children’s book world since a younger Mo Willems issued his cautionary warning against allowing a pigeon to drive a bus.

Bennett’s new work is a singular tribute to every parent’s least-favorite body part, the behind. No doubt, there are parents who will worry that Bennett’s endless repetition of the word “butt” in all its myriad forms — tuchas, fanny, bottom, heinie, rear — will encourage the youngsters to scream out “butt cheeks!” at inappropriate moments. But that fear is just poppycock!

Indeed, didn’t the ramblings of the wayward youth Bart Simpson once send the Puritans of public morals running to set up a bonfire into which to toss the “Eat my shorts”-spouting lad?

In actuality, “The Butt Book” will actually help remove the word’s lingering shock value. For starters, Bennett plays it all for laughs, suggesting that we, not our keisters, are the ones with the butt problem because we are the ones who have “neglected” the butt.

Instead of celebrating the butt, we hide it, condemning it to a life of shame. But there is no shame in Bennett’s mind.

“Butts can come in every size,” he writes. “Some will droop and others rise.”

And by putting the butt in its proper context in the animal kingdom, Bennett reminds us all that having a butt is as natural as, well, using it.

“Elephants have mighty ones, while hippos have untidy ones,” he writes. “Butts are vital body parts, important as our heads or hearts.”

There’s just no avoiding it: We all have one.

“Best in show or just plain mutt,” reads the page featuring a circle of canine behinds, “every doggy has a butt.”

Coupled with Mike Lester’s fun drawings, Bennett’s repetition of the various uses, shapes, tasks and accomplishments of the butt never get dull for the kids (of course not; Mommy or Daddy keeps saying, “Butt” whenever reading the book).

And as Bennett points out, we need to honor the butt — or else.

“Don’t undercut your butt, my friend,” he writes. “Your butt will thank you in … the end.”

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By Thomas Tracy

Community Newspaper Group

Home firebombed

Gang members exacted their revenge by firebombing a 57th Street home on March 1.

Officials said that three people threw Molotov cocktails — liquor bottles with makeshift fuses — into the home of an 18-year-old Latin King member. The bombs set off a small fire in the house, which is near Fort Hamilton Parkway.

The 11:45 pm blaze was put out quickly and there were no injuries reported.

Investigators say that the attack was payback because the member violated a gang rule.

Not quick enough

A neighborhood woman nearly lost her cash during a confrontation on Fourth Avenue on March 7.

Police said that the woman was holding a sum of money near 86th Street just before 11 pm when a 22-year-old perp ran up and grabbed her hand in an attempt to get the money.

The suspect fled the area empty-handed, but didn’t get far before he was arrested for attempted grand larceny.

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The two major political parties split the spoils last night, with Republicans maintaining a Town Board seat in Brookhaven and Democrats winning a board seat in Southampton, according to election results.

Former Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi made his debut as a national television pundit Tuesday night, trading verbal jabs with a panel on Fox News host Sean Hannity's show "Hannity."

High school graduation rates continue inching up on Long Island and across the state, with greater-than-average gains for both black and Hispanic teens.

Firefighters found the body of a person burned beyond recognition Tuesday after they extinguished a blaze inside a car parked at a Mastic Beach home, Suffolk police said.

Golf course groundskeepers. A clerical worker. Computer programmers.

County supervisors expand owner-builder opt-out
Benson News Sun
Though home inspections by the county are reduced, owner-builders are still required to follow all safety building codes and must have permits for septic ...

Thirty-two students from Huntington High School became Washington VIPs this week, complete with a behind-the-scenes tour of a Smithsonian exhibit and a private meeting with first lady Michelle Obama.

The home stretch to open a Racino at Aqueduct turned into quicksand when Governor David Paterson pulled out of the discussion process.

Girls Track As the school year winds down, Bayside High School’s Alaine Tate is running straight into college as she plans to sign a letter of intent to attend Virginia’s Hampton University on Friday, March 12. This comes on the heels of Tate capturing the championships in the 1000-meter and 1500-meter at the New York State Championships on Saturday, March 6. Tate is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation in the 800-meter with a time of 2:11.16. But it is not over for Tate as she will be competing at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships at the New Balance Armory Track and Field Center in Manhattan on Saturday, March 13.

With fist pumps and shouts of "Yes!" the family and friends of Nesconset real estate attorney James DiMartino erupted in applause in a Riverhead courtroom Tuesday as a jury convicted Ronald Thornton of hiring three people to kill his friend and business partner.