Mystery writer Shelly Reuben is cheerful and upbeat, not what you’d expect from someone who deals with liars, arsonists and murderers all day. Comment.

Bay Ridge isn’t known as a destination for Nuevo Latino cooking, but Samba, which opened in September, may change that. Comment.

From April 18 through April 25, The Bay Ridge Festival of the Arts will open to the public its galleries full of paintings, sculpture, prints and photography. Comment.

The sheer scope of "Open House: Working in Brooklyn" demands a mentally and physically exhausting - but spiritually exhilarating - trek across two floors of the museum (and a scavenger hunt of sorts throughout the rest of the institution) to see nearly 300 works of art by 198 Brooklyn artists. Comment.

In 1855, the Brooklyn Museum officially established its collection of American art by commissioning a work by painter Asher B. Durand. That work, "The First Harvest in the Wilderness" (1855), still hangs prominently today in the "American Identities" collection, and shows a farm carved out of a bucolic wilderness. A shaft of light from the sky seems to hint that this is fate, destiny or divine intervention - progress, if you will. Comment.

National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica will bring a bit of sunshine to Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts on April 17 and April 18 with two unique, all-Caribbean programs. Comment.

One of the most difficult lessons in life is giving people what they want, rather than what you want them to have. It took some trial and error, but Peter Sclafani and Kristen Hallett, the husband-and-wife team behind the former Luce in Park Slope, and Luce’s reincarnation, Bar Toto, now understand that concept. Comment.

Bensonhurst, a neighborhood known more for working-class renters than luxury penthouse owners, is the new frontier for prospective homebuyers seeking Manhattan-style frills. Comment.

A Real estate developer David Walentas, known for converting DUMBO from an industrial area to a trendy residential neighborhood, is ready to start building an expansive, 16-story building near the Brooklyn Bridge, according to plans he filed with the city. Comment.

A developer is in contract with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society to buy the religious order’s mammoth, 12-story waterfront building at 360 Furman St. Comment.

A The city wants Red Hook’s Pier 12 to host a new luxury cruise ship dock and expects to build it by next year, Economic Development Corp. officials announced this week. Comment.

As Ikea gears up to submit its application to build a mammoth home furnishings store on the Red Hook waterfront, an all-out public relations war has been mounted by the company against a group of vocal opponents. Comment.