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Is that all there is to a fire? That's the question facing developer Joshua Guttman, owner of the Brooklyn waterfront properties involved in this week's marshmallow-toasting party. According to The Post, "[r]ecords culled by fire and police investigators show Guttman's properties in Brooklyn have been involved in at least five other fires since 1992." The Times, on the other hand, focuses on Baruch Singer, a "controversial figure in New York's real estate world" involved in a failed attempt to purchase the properties early this year. Singer's property-management style is said to include "overcharging tenants, refusing to make repairs, and using two pit bulls to scare unwanted tenants into leaving." Whether or not this represents some hitherto unknown murky underbelly of Brooklyn real estate, the lesson is clear: Give Bruce Ratner whatever he wants. Vicious dogs and torch jobs are nothing compared to an avalanche of fliers.

Builder's Smoky Trail [NYP]
Figure in Brooklyn Waterfront Deal Fights a Troubled Past [NYT]