Well, we guess the voters were right to re-elect Charles Hynes back in 2005, when he was pushed fairly hard in the democratic primary by challenger, state Sen. John Sampson. (Hynes won by about four percentage points.)

Sampson, a 15-year veteran of the Legislature and chair of the senate ethics committee, was arrested today on two counts of embezzlement for, in part, using money embezzled from accounts of sales of foreclosed houses--over which he was supposed to be the protector--to finance that campaign against Hynes. He was also charged with tampering with evidence and witnesses.

Say what one wants about Hynes--and we have--but then imagine if Sampson had actually defeated the long-serving DA. Brooklynites would have an accused embezzler and evidence and witness tamperer in the most powerful law enforcement position in the borough. Yikes!

"Senator Sampson allegedly stole that money to fund his own ambition to become Brooklyn's top state prosecutor, then engaged in an elaborate obstruction scheme to hide his illegal conduct, going so far as to counsel lies and the hiding of evidence," U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said.

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A few months ago, we sadly had to write a post titled "Brooklyn is No Longer the 'Budget-Savvy' Alternative to Manhattan." It revolved around the news that Brooklyn was now the second most-expensive place to live in the country, falling only below its skyscraper neighbor, Manhattan. But what happens when the second-most expensive place to live becomes as costly, if not more, than the most expensive place?

Let's call it the modern-day urban sprawl.

In a story that would come as a surprise to someone living in 2006, the Daily News reported yesterday that Brooklyn is becoming so damn expensive that recent transplants are actually going back to Manhattan. The slowly, then rapidly developing real estate boom in Kings County over the past decade is now pushing out newcomers as well as longtime residents.

Welcome to the rent conundrum that is New York City.

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Last night, Nick Pinto and Ryan Devereaux appeared on Current TV's Viewpoint to discuss the police shooting of Brooklyn teen Kimani Gray and the subsequent (and ongoing) reaction in East Flatbush. Read more in this week's cover story, "Everybody Wants a Piece of Kimani Gray." Video from Current TV after the jump.

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C.S. Muncy

The only publicly identified eyewitness in the killing of a Brooklyn teen by two New York City police officers is standing by her claim that the young man was empty-handed when he was gunned down, and now says one of the cops involved threatened her life.

In an extended interview with the Village Voice Saturday night--one week to the day after 16-year-old Kimani Gray was killed--Tishana King, 39, provided new, vivid details about the 10th-grader's final moments.

King said one officer stood "right over" Gray, continuing to shoot him while he was on the ground, and that neither cop identified himself as law enforcement when the incident began.

Read More:
- Tensions Mount After Police Fatally Shoot Brooklyn Teenager Kimani Gray
- Eyewitness "Certain" Kimani Gray Was Unarmed When Police Shot Him
- Police and Protesters Clash at Kimani Gray Vigil in Brooklyn

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C.S. Muncy

A pair of New York City police officers responsible for killing a Brooklyn teen last weekend have been named in five federal lawsuits on allegations ranging from illegal stop and frisks to physical abuse.

According to court records reviewed by the New York Daily News, settlements resulting from suits against Sgt. Mourad Mourad and Officer Jovaniel Cordova have cost the city $215,000.

Mourad and Cordova shot Kimani "Kiki" Gray seven times around 11:30 p.m. last Saturday. The teen was hit four times from the front and three times from the back. He died from his wounds at Kings County Hospital Center. The department claims Gray pointed a .38 caliber revolver at both officers and was gunned down as a result.

Read More:
- Tensions Mount After Police Fatally Shoot Brooklyn Teenager Kimani Gray
- Eyewitness "Certain" Kimani Gray Was Unarmed When Police Shot Him
- Police and Protesters Clash at Kimani Gray Vigil in Brooklyn

The only civilian eyewitness to come forward in the case has claimed she is "certain" Gray had nothing in his hands when his was shot, but previously told internal affairs investigators that she could not see what Gray and number of other teens were doing "from the angle I was at."

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C.S. Muncy

After three nights of demonstrations in East Flatbush, the police were out in force Thursday evening.

Metal barricades were set up in front of businesses while officers lined the streets, stood guard on horseback and hovered above in a helicopter.

In the end, protesters clashed more with one another than they did with the cops. 

Read More:
- Tensions Mount After Police Fatally Shoot Brooklyn Teenager Kimani Gray
- Eyewitness "Certain" Kimani Gray Was Unarmed When Police Shot Him
- Police and Protesters Clash at Kimani Gray Vigil in Brooklyn

At issue was how to best respond to the death of Kimani "Kiki" Gray, a 16-year-old shot to death by two plainclothes police officers last weekend. It came down to a decision between a church and precinct.

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C.S. Muncy

What many had hoped would be a peaceful vigil for a teen killed by police in East Flatbush ended with dozens of people arrested Wednesday night.

It was the third night of demonstrations in the neighborhood, prompted by the death of 16-year-old Kimani Gray and sustained by a deep-seated frustration with the New York City police department.

Read More:
- Tensions Mount After Police Fatally Shoot Brooklyn Teenager Kimani Gray
- Eyewitness "Certain" Kimani Gray Was Unarmed When Police Shot Him

Gray was shot shortly before 11:30 Saturday night. Police say the teen pointed a pistol at two plainclothes officers. Commissioner Ray Kelly said the department has three "ear witnesses" who heard officers tell Gray to "freeze" and "don't move" before firing 11 shots.

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C.S. Muncy

The only civilian eyewitness to come forward in the case of a Brooklyn teen shot dead by a pair of plainclothes New York City police officers is "certain" the 16 year-old was empty-handed when the cops opened fire.

Kimani 'Kiki' Gray was shot several times by two officers patrolling East Flatbush in an un-marked car around 11:30 p.m. Saturday night.

According to the NYPD's account, the officers spotted Gray standing with five other young males in front of a home at E. 52nd St., near Tilden Ave. As the officers approached, Gray separated from the group and adjusted his waistband in a manner the officers deemed suspicious, the department says.

Read More: Tensions Mount After Police Fatally Shoot Brooklyn Teenager Kimani Gray | Police and Protesters Clash At Kimani Gray Vigil in Brooklyn

"After the anti-crime sergeant and police officer told the suspect to show his hands, which was heard by witnesses, Gray produced a revolver and pointed it at the officers, who fired a total of 11 rounds, striking Gray several times," Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the Police Department, said.

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C.S. Muncy

See More Photos: Scenes From the Vigil and Protests for Slain BK Teen Kimani Gray

A candlelit vigil for a Brooklyn teen killed by New York City police officers left two people injured and led to one arrest Monday night.

At approximately 7:00 pm, roughly 200 people gathered in East Flatbush for a somber vigil to remember Kimani Gray, a 16 year-old shot and killed by plainclothes police officers Saturday night after allegedly pointing a gun at them.

Following the memorial at E. 52nd St. and Tilden Ave., the site of Saturday's shooting, mourners began marching toward the 67th precinct but access to building was cut off by police.

Read More: Eyewitness "Certain" Kimani Gray Was Unarmed When Police Shot Him

Garbage cans were flipped over as the crowd moved through the streets and witnesses claimed the demonstrators threw objects at the police.

Approximately 60 individuals broke off from the march and entered a Rite Aid store on Church Avenue, where they pulled items from the shelves and tipped over a number of displays, NYPD Deputy Inspector Kim Royster said.

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In October, we heard about a homeless shelter immediately opening in Carroll Gardens, much to the dismay of local residents. Since August, the Department of Health Services personnel had been (and continue to be) overwhelmed with the accelerating rate of the homeless population, unable to find space in the five boroughs. As a result, the Bloomberg administration had notified the Community Board in the hyper-gentrifying neighborhood only days before.

And the same thing just (sorta) happened in Greenpoint.

Yesterday, the Daily News reported on the building at 400 McGuiness Boulevard, which has been there since August as well. The location is an assessment shelter, evaluated over time to determine if a long-term facility is needed. Except the City opened it without telling nearby residents.

And there's one characteristic of the story that's a bit different: the shelter is home to a few convicted sexual offenders.

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