*There’s been quite a look at Sunset Park schools of late. Yesterday, the New York Times did a story about P.S. 172, the little elementary school that could. Despite challenges that tend to stymie efforts to score high on tests (low-income students, English language learners and kids with learning disabilities) the Fourth Avenue school regularly outperforms its neighbors in Carroll Gardens and Park Slope.

*This follows the recent Daily News story on the long waiting list at P.S. 105.

*Things are happening in Sunset Park proper. The Community Board last week announced plans to revamp the “big slab” that serves as a baseball/soccer field. Stay tuned for a more detailed post this week.

*The Times last week also chronicled one of more than one hundred Latino evangelical Christians who appear to have been scammed by a Red Hook pastor.

*Sarah DiGregorio of the Village Voice has been on the eat again. Check out her piece on the new hand-cut noodle shop in Sunset Park.

Well, things are rather behind over here at Sunset Park Chronicled. Many apologies. Here are a few things that have been happening of late:

*The Brooklyn Eagle ran a dance event today to celebrate Immigrant Heritage Week today.

*There was a dust-up about bikes ( and an aside about a gaff by Boro Prez Marty Markowitz) recently in the news, and the impending Brooklyn Greenway featured, as Sunset Park’s rep Nydia Velazquez.

*Questions have also been raised about what Mayor Bloomberg’s  announcement this week regarding a “citywide initiative that will create a new sustainable blueprint for the city’s 578 miles of shoreline” and what “sustainable development” means for the western edge of Sunset park.

*The Village Voice’s Running Scared blog has a shot and description of a yolked suspect who allegedly robbed On the Run Mobile convenience store at 875 4th Avenue. The police alert says he had a gun. It may be just me, but it looks like he was also mid-smoke? Odd. Anyway, take a look.

*The New York Times published an article yesterday about the people who make up the immigrant workforce—many of which are highly skilled workers. I thought it was an interesting piece, a look  at on ongoing conversation that obviously involves Sunset Park.

*There was some serious gossip going in the coffee/foodie circle this week when the employees at Gorilla Coffee in Park Slope walked out. The Brooklyn Paper reports despite the mini-scandal, the owners are still churning out beans at their roastery in Sunset Park.

*Speaking of churning, Sunset Park Stills continues to post beautiful photographs, including a moody shot of the basilica. Take a look.

*Did you make it to the Department of Transportation’s Brooklyn Greenway meeting on April 8? Streetsblog did, and brought back this report. Everyone agrees that the proposition of a waterfront greenway poses a challenge for the neighborhood, but also a huge boon in an area with little open space. Have opinions on the proposal? Leave a comment!

*The story of Michael Romero, 32, who was shot and killed by plainclothes police after a struggle over a gun, continues. Police now say they identified themselves as NYPD before Romero took out a gun. (He apparently said “You want to see my ID? Here’s my ID!” before taking out his silver .357 Rossi). Romero’s aunt says her nephew was “good” but “sick,” Gothamist reports. Romero was shot in the shoulder, and pronounced dead on arrival Lutheran hospital. Police found a second gun and a large bag of marijuana in the possession of the ex-con, who had 34 arrests on his record.

*The Sunset Park Rec Center has free baseball and softball leagues this summer. You can find more information here.

*State Senator Eric Adams cares about you—and your pants. The former NYPD captain has started a “stop the sag” campaign, advising those who rock their waistbands low to “raise your pants! Raise your image!” Indy Posted seemed like a fan, but kids in Crown Heights, where most of the billboards have gone up, were skeptical. Thoughts?

*Those of you rushing to the theater to see the new Liam Neeson movie After.Life but have an eerie feeling of déjà vu—Green-Wood Cemetery has a cameo in the drama that takes on age old theme of the the-not-quite-dead from the inside of a mortuary.

*The Village Voice’s Sarah DiGregorio chowed down at Wong Wong Noodles.

*Sunset Park Stills made good use of the recent night weather—there are some lovely new shots of the neighborhood on the blog.

Fishballs from Gourmet Maylin on Seventh Avenue. Image from the Village Voice.

Fishballs!

The Village Voice’s stalwart Sarah DiGregorio is back on the eat in Sunset Park. She does yeoman’s work covering the food scene in the neighborhood. Her most recent post featured dishes from Gourmet Maylin Inc., a Fujianese restaurant at 6124 Seventh Avenue.

When people want to track a societal shift, they turn to statistics. But signs of the times also come in less quantifiable bites.

Read the full story

Do you know of neighborhood services that have helped you, or people who you know, through gang issues? Leave the information in the comments or email it to sunsetparkchron@gmail.com.

On August 30^th, Deputy Inspector Jesus Raul Pintos sat in his office. He felt good. Crime was down in the 72^nd Precinct. He had only one murder on his books for 2009. One day later, he had three.

Read the full story

Note–earlier, the headline incorrectly says “Gang-Related” stabbing. I have since discovered that is not the case. See more here.

One man was stabbed to death and two others injured during a gang fight in Sunset Park, according to Tuesday’s New York Post Police Blotter. On Sunday night at 61 Street and 7th Ave an unidentified victim was “slashed in the arm.” He was taken to Lutheran Hospital, where he died from his injuries. Two others, also stabbed, were listed as stable.

The Post reported that Nelson Liu, 19, was picked up for murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Police have arrested a second person in connection with the crime, according to the blog Best View in Brooklyn.

Read the full story

Eats from Sunset Park surfaced all over the blogosphere today.

Read the full story