Photos of the 2006 World Cup celebration in Bensonhurst

Photos of the 2006 World Cup celebration on 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst, in which fans celebrated Italy's win over France on Sunday, July 9, are available at www.shamstarek.com. On my block, which is some distance from where Shams Tarek took his photos, fans were honking their horns and waving the Italian flag for 2-3 hours late Sunday afternoon.

About Mark Lanes

Disregard what I wrote about Mark Lanes, for what I have heard from a source who attended the Community Board 10 meeting Monday at the Knights of Columbus hall on 13th Ave., the owner of Mark Lanes sold the lease to Century 21 willingly and received a year's free rent and didn't tell anyone about it, leaving patrons to speculate that the owners were being forced to close.

The bowling alley will close Aug. 1 and be replaced by a 280-car parking lot.

My apologies to Century 21, Community Board 10 and to any persons who were asked to sign an online petition. It was a good-faith error.

Where are you, Karen Bell?

Where are you, Karen Bell? What has happened to your blog? I used to read it every day. You last updated it four months ago. You used to describe things that happened in and around Bensonhurst, the neighborhood where you and I live, in a very intelligent manner.


Karen Bell in California on Sept. 17, 2003 in an image downloaded from the original Karen's Shorts blog, which, like the current one, is offline.

Save the Mark Lanes Bowling Alley!

As you have read in the newspapers, the Mark Lanes Bowling Alley's lease is scheduled to run out this summer. Century 21, the new owner, will tear down the bowling alley and turn it into a parking lot - that is, if they get a city variance. A public hearing from Community Board 10 would also be required. Now is the time to save Mark Lanes by signing a petition, as my good friend Maria "The Ice Cream Girl" Campanella has done. Click the link below to sign:

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?rush06&201