Columbia Street Newspaper War!

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times may hate each other's guts. And The Daily News and the New York Post may one day fight to the death. But Manhattan's got nothing on the tiny (co-called) Columbia Heights Waterfront District, which now has two independent newspapers fighting to cover its small patch of real estate.

The Red Hook Star Revue, working out of a small storefront on Union Street near Columbia, began putting out a paper last July. It was a scrappy, good-hearted effort that rather resembled a high school newspaper, with its cut-and-paste look, amateur photography and local boosterish attitude. Local real estate agent Frank Galeano and Editor George Fiala were the co-publishers. It has been amazing how much news they've squeezed out of the tiny hood.

But the two men have had a parting of the ways, and now Galeano alone has launched Columbia Street News, which covers the same area, and seems to have ads from the same stores. What's more, Galeano's office is right across the street from the Star Revue.

It's all pretty kooky. But it's also pretty awesome. I want to see battles over who will scoop next week's music listings for the Jalopy Theatre, today's burrito special at Calexico, whether Nancy & Sonny Convenience Store has snagged their FIFTH lottery millionaire, when and if the Red Apple Chinese takeout will update that DOH "C" grade. And who will get to the bottom of why Fultummy's can't stick to their operating hours?