Our regular, up-to-the-minute coverage will resume on Monday morning.

Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital, where the injured dogs were treated. (Photo Courtesy of ASPCA)

By Laura Kusisto

A 25-year-old Brooklyn man was convicted today of beating a six-month-old puppy to death.

Dudley Ramsay faces up to two years in prison for the October 2006 killing of his 11-pound dachshund puppy, Junior.

“I think I need help with anger management because I killed my first dog too,” Ramsay told an officer from the Humane Law Enforcement Agency, which is run by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, several hours after his arrest.

Officer Richard Ryan testified Wednesday at the Kings County Supreme Court veterinary hospital called him after Ramsay brought in his dachshund, Junior, with six broken ribs and damage to his lungs and spine. The dog died within 24 hours of being admitted.

Ramsay is 5’9” and 260 pounds, according to the police report. In court he wore a three-piece suit and sparkling diamond jewelry.

Police also found Ramsay’s first dog, another dachshund named Viola, buried in his girlfriend’s backyard. Her skull had been broken. He was acquitted today on charges related to this incident.

Ramsay’s attorney, Douglas Rankin, said his client’s decision to take the dog to the hospital shows he didn’t intend to hurt him. He bathed Junior, gave him medicine and took him to the vet twice the week before he died.

“He was always remorseful,” said Rankin in a phone interview. “He never intended for any of this to happen.”

The humane agency investigates over 5,000 cases a year, according to Joseph Pentangelo, a spokesperson. Agency officers are often former members of the N.Y.P.D. and carry weapons. Recently, they have also turned to DNA evidence to assist in their investigations. They make about 52 arrests annually. So far this year the agency has made 14 arrests, ahead of this time last year, according to Pentangelo.

“People hurt the things that are precious to them, and animals fall into that category,” Pentangelo SAID in a phone interview. Even with strict penalties, HE ADDED, the cases are difficult to investigate. “Animals can’t speak for themselves.”

Ramsay will be sentenced May 7. His lawyer intends to ask for probation in this case.

The Ink's Mary Plummer, all over the story. (Screengrab of a NYT photo by Yana Paskova)

But wait. There’s more! Upon looking over the Times story again, we found that among the pictures included in a slideshow accompanying the piece was one that featured our very own Mary Plummer who reported and wrote the story for us. It’s not every day that a news outlet takes a picture of another news outlet in the process of scooping it on a story, but sometimes, these things happen. We would note that we still adore the Times, love the City Room blog, and we would ask them to please not come after us.

What team will play here? (AP Photo/Mike Derer)

Lost in all of the hubub about Atlantic Yards is the question of who or what will fill the sporting void left in New Jersey by the Nets’ migration to Brooklyn. Well, the Bergen Record has a few suggestions. The Record claims not to really care that the Nets are going, but the slightly hurt tone in their editorial would seem to suggest otherwise. The paper begins by getting its claws out for its neighbor to the…southeast. (We checked Google Maps for that direction.) Noting that Frank Gehry’s stamp would no longer grace the project, the Record sniffs that “it matters little to us in New Jersey if Brooklyn is committed to mediocre architecture.” Snap! What is important, the paper says, is “whether a new NBA team may come to New Jersey.” Their idea? Look to Sacramento, home of the Kings, and Memphis, home of the Grizzlies, for a replacement. Fair enough. And how have people in those places reacted to the idea? No word from Sacramento yet, but a blogger for the Memphis Commercial Appeal has this to say: “Good luck with that one, New Jersey.” Wow, the NBA really raises passions on all sides, doesn’t it? Though, given the eternal misery that set in for some Brooklynites after the Dodgers left town, maybe it’s not such a surprise.

Felix Ortiz, salt's mortal enemy. (Courtesy N.Y. State Assembly)

When Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (pictured left) proposed banning salt from all New York restaurants a few days ago—with a $1,000 penalty for violators—it raised eyebrows around the world, and drew an irate response from local chefs and food folk throughout the city. (”Anybody who wants to taste food with no salt, go to a hospital and taste that,” cheflebrity Tom Colicchio told the Daily News.) Mayor Bloomberg even called it “ridiculous.” Perhaps stung by all the criticism, Ortiz has now released a statement clarifying what he meant. In it, he says he only wants to ban unnecessary levels of salt—not salt that is, as he says, “a functional component of the recipe.” That seems like something that’s a bit hard to prove. Who’s to say what level of salt is functional or not? Maybe the Atlantic’s Max Fisher is correct when he says that Ortiz is just trying to start some debate on the subject, not actually, y’know, ban salt from our food.

If you take the city at its word, not much. Pretty much everything about a community board is advisory in nature. Here’s what the city’s Web site says about what the boards cannot do: “The Community Board, its District Manager, and its office staff serve as advocates and service coordinators for the community and its residents. They cannot order any City agency or official to perform any task, but Boards are usually successful in resolving the problems they address.” Ouch. That’s not to say the boards don’t have sway, or that they don’t play a big role in addressing community concerns. But Summit Academy can breathe; the final word on their move hasn’t been written yet.

P.S. Here’s a Time article about (what else?) the EP and the Gowanus Canal.

—Mayor Bloomberg announced that he has secured a commitment from Forest City Ratner to ensure that half of the housing units in the first tower at Atlantic Yards are affordable. What that means in terms of hard numbers is not entirely clear yet—Bloomberg said that units will be made available for “to a mix of low-, moderate- and middle-income families.” Meanwhile, City Councilwoman Letitia James, who represents the affected area and who is bitterly opposed to the project, released a statement yesterday explaining why she didn’t show up at the ceremony.

—Mayor Bloomberg also announced that he has appointed former Brooklyn City Councilman David Yassky—who recently ran for Comptroller—to head the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission.

—It’s not strictly Brooklyn news, but it certainly affects Brooklynites: the Post is reporting that the MTA is considering more fare increases in 2010. Perhaps they were spooked by the less-than-happy response they got from Brooklynites to proposed service cuts last week.

Marty Markowitz, pointing to another sentence involving Beyoncé. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

This is pretty old, but when we saw it this morning we couldn’t resist. As you may know, Beyoncé, the singer/diva/Jay-Z wife/deliverer of fabulousness, was in Brooklyn last week to open a cosmetology center at the Phoenix House treatment facility in DUMBO. All well and good. But here is what borough president Marty Markowitz said to mark the occasion:

“The beauty industry is a lucrative one, here in New York City and worldwide, and cosmetology is a wonderful and creative career. “And of course, as we know, everyone—from ‘Single Ladies’ to ‘Independent Women’ to men and women of every walk of life—we’ve all got ‘Bills, Bills, Bills’ and need skills to pay the bills! This training program will be helping the hard-working students at Phoenix House Career Academy to graduate into a new world of creative expression and economic stability—to be able to say more than just “I’m a Survivor” but also enjoy the “Sweet Dreams” of real success. How do Brooklynites say how we feel about the Beyoncé Cosmetology Center? We say it’s ‘Bootylicious’!”

We don’t think we have ever seen so many Top Ten hits crammed so injudiciously into one paragraph. But why didn’t Markowitz go further? Why didn’t he, for instance, say that having a cosmetology center could “boost the ‘Ego’ of Phoenix House”? Or that “with this center, Brooklyn will have a new ‘Halo’ around it”? Or that “I’ve been to so many opening ceremonies that this one is giving me a sense of ‘Deja Vu’”? (Thanks to Wikipedia.) We will give Markowitz props, though, for being willing to say the word “Bootylicious” in a public forum. Honestly, could you imagine Mike Bloomberg going near that one?

First, let’s get it out of the way: Atlantic Yards. It’s a big deal, and it happened, and boy, did we cover it.

In other news: The plan to fund the building of Brooklyn Bridge Park through condo development is getting a second look.

The local community board has rejected the plans for a charter school in Gowanus. We covered part of that controversy here.

The Justice Department is tapping a longtime Brooklyn prosecutor to lead its Public Integrity Unit—that’s the unit that fights corruption amongst elected officials.

A Brooklyn woman gave birth in a cab in the middle of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. It’s not clear on which side of the tunnel the baby was born in, but we’ll claim it for Brooklyn nonetheless.