Ben Brachfeld - Bklyner

Election 2021

Meet All Candidates For Judges On The Ballots This Year

New York’s June 22 primary election is only weeks away and campaigns are getting into full gear for the final stretch. In Brooklyn, voters will get to choose among several candidates in competitive, open-seat elections for Mayor, Comptroller, Borough President, and most City Council seats, along with other races

Election 2021

Understanding Brooklyn’s Judicial Races: Part 1

The city’s June 22 primary elections are coming up fast, and in a city as overwhelmingly Democratic as New York, the primary is often tantamount to election. NYS Supreme Court Liena Zagare/BklynerMuch of Brooklyn’s current crop of office-holders are barred by term limits from running for reelection;

Central Brooklyn

Brooklyn’s Democratic Socialists: Who Are They And What Do They Want?

Three years after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s shock victory over Joe Crowley, a year after gaining seats and influence in Congress and in the New York State Legislature, the Democratic Socialists of America [https://www.dsausa.org/] are now aiming to gain a foothold in the New York City Council. In

canarsie

Canarsie Residents Sue Police Athletic League for 70s Sexual Abuse

The Police Athletic League has been sued three separate times this month over sexual abuse allegedly committed by a martial arts instructor in Canarsie in the 1970s. The lawsuit, filed by Minnesota attorney Patrick Noaker and Manhattan attorney Matthew Lombardi, alleges that Police Athletic League (PAL) Tae Kwon Do instructor

brownsville

Allegations Of Embezzlement — And A Brawl — At A Brownsville Church

Calvary Unified Freewill Baptist Church at 1520 Herkimer Street in Brownsville. Liena Zagare/BklynerA Brownsville church congregation has sued its long-time former pastor in Brooklyn Supreme Court, demanding he repays over half a million dollars he allegedly embezzled from the sale of the church parking lot in order to buy

brighton beach

No Vaccines For Homebound Seniors Unable Or Wary To Leave Their Residences

The city still does not have a plan for how to vaccinate homebound seniors living in the five boroughs, leaving a vulnerable population of tens of thousands of people behind as the city continues with its inoculation program. As of Tuesday morning, the city has administered 650,546 vaccine doses,

Central Brooklyn

Rep Jeffries, Rep Clarke Call For Criminal Investigations And Resignation of PG DeJoy

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries speaks as Rep Yvette Clarke looks on. Ben Brachfeld/Bklyner.CADMAN PLAZA – Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said Tuesday that the US Postal Service’s controversial planned service changes, including reductions in overtime, guidance to mail carriers to leave some mail behind, and removal of mailboxes and sorting

Central Brooklyn

Your Absentee Vote May Not Count

Photo: Zainab Iqbal/BklynerThousands of absentee ballots in Brooklyn and across the city are likely to be invalidated by the city’s Board of Elections, after many were not marked with a cancellation notice, or postmark, at post offices in the city. The number of voters whose votes will not

Central Brooklyn

With Few Races Called In Brooklyn, It Will Come Down To Absentee Ballots

The results trickling in from the city Board of Elections for Tuesday’s primary election show many races too close to call. We are unlikely to know the final results for a while, possibly weeks, because of the abnormally high number of absentee voters this year due to coronavirus. This

Central Brooklyn

Missing Absentee Ballots Drove Voters To Polls Yesterday

Many New Yorkers opted to vote in-person on Tuesday after requesting but not receiving their absentee ballot. Scores of others who did receive absentee ballots decided to vote in-person anyway, whether out of fear over not getting their vote counted, solidarity with ancestors who fought for the right to vote,

Election 2020

An Assemblyman Accused His Opponents Of Putting “their knees on my neck” During A Debate

Screenshot of AD51 Democratic primary debate on June 17, 2020Assemblymember Felix Ortiz, fighting to retain his seat against three major challengers in the Democratic Primary, said at a debate on Wednesday [https://www.facebook.com/uproseBk/videos/1377459162444308/] that his opponents were “trying to put their knees on my neck,

Central Brooklyn

Democratic Socialists Are Counting On Friendbanking To Increase Turnout In June Primary

Democratic Socialist candidates for state legislature in Brooklyn are counting on a new, more personalized, but unproven, form of voter engagement, known as “friendbanking,” to turn out votes in their districts and win them seats in Albany in the June 23 primary. Candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America’

Announcements

Ditmas Park Neighbors Still Homeless a Year After Fire

Tuesday rally. Ben Brachfeld/Bklyner.DITMAS PARK — Tenants and housing advocates protested outside Brooklyn Housing Court on Tuesday, on the one-year anniversary of a Ditmas Park fire at 180 E 18 St that left 18 families homeless [/two-fires-within-hours-at-ditmas-park-building/]. The tenants remain displaced despite a January 31 court-mandated deadline for repairs

Business

Public Ownership Of Utilities Up For Discussion At A Series Of Town Halls

Blackout in Mill Basin, July 21, 2019 (Photo: Todd Maisel)A cascading series of scandals involving local utility providers has more and more New Yorkers clamoring for publicly-owned power, and now they have some powerful allies. City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Assemblymember Felix Ortiz, and several candidates for office spoke Wednesday

Carroll Gardens

BQX Community Meetings Ahead Of April Environmental Review: Here’s What’s Proposed

BQX rendering 2020 via DOTThe Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX) [https://www.brooklynqueensconnector.nyc/] proposal to build a streetcar along the Brooklyn and Queens waterfronts is moving forward with a community engagement process ahead of an environmental impact review in April of this year. The city’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and

Central Brooklyn

Assemblywoman Bichotte: The New Queen of Kings Democrats

Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte (center) with outgoing chair Frank Seddio (right) and Vice Chair, Annette Robinson (left). Ben Brachfeld/Bklyner Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte was selected as the new chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party Monday night, becoming the first woman to hold the position and the first black woman to lead

Central Brooklyn

‘This Is a Warning,’ Tish James Announces New Task Force Against Deed Theft

NYS AG Tisch James by Ben Brachfeld / BklynerAttorney General Letitia James on Saturday led dozens of volunteers around Central Brooklyn to educate vulnerable homeowners, particularly Black homeowners in gentrifying neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights, about the risks of “deed theft.” Deed theft can take many forms, but often ends

Nonsponsored

Longest-Serving Member of the State Senate Announces Retirement and Endorses Tremaine Wright

Senator Velmanette Montgomery, photo via her official NY Senate Page.Velmanette Montgomery — the longest-serving member of the State Senate, with 35 years under her belt — officially announced her long-rumored retirement on Saturday, and endorsed Assemblymember Tremaine Wright to replace her in her central and western Brooklyn district. Wright announced her

Election 2021

Menchaca Endorses Salmon in Race for Senate District 25 Seat

Jason Salmon. Courtesy of Salmon for Senate.Jason Salmon picked up the endorsement of Council Member Carlos Menchaca in his bid for the 25th Senate District on Monday, gaining his first major backer as he attempts to succeed his former boss, longtime Senator Velmanette Montgomery, in her western and central

Nonsponsored

NYC Has Planted 34,000 Trees in Brooklyn Since Sandy

A downed tree in Bensonhurst in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Via Flickr user bigmike33x. [https://www.flickr.com/photos/bigmike33x/8148028948/in/photostream/]The city Parks Department has planted over 34,000 tees in Brooklyn since 2012, far outpacing the 4,000 trees lost in the borough as

Central Brooklyn

NYCHA Couldn’t File Insurance Claim for Reid Apartments Fire Due To $1M Deductible

A NYCHA worker cleans up the second floor of the William Reid Houses. Ben Brachfeld/BklynerThe New York City Housing Authority could not file an insurance claim for an August fire at the William Reid Apartments senior housing complex despite possessing a fire insurance policy, a spokesperson for NYCHA said.

Arts & Culture

Brooklyn Gets 5 Industrial Landmarks

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday designated five industrial buildings in Gowanus as individual city landmarks, eyeing preservation as the neighborhood undergoes planned changes to increase density and sustainability, and in the wake of the demolition of the historic, 133-year-old S.W. Bowne grain storehouse [/briefly-noted-demo-on-bowne-building-continues-under-the-k-park-wallaby-walk-more/] in Red Hook in

News

Adams Calls For Officer Who Punched Teens To Be Placed On Desk Duty, Williams Does Not Want More Cops on Subway

More cops on subways seem to be leading to more trouble, but local politicians disagree on solutions. There were two incidents this weekend that were caught on camera, that bring into question how we are policing our subways. Back in June, Governor Andrew Cuomo deployed 500 officers to MTA stations

Education

1 in 10 Students in Brooklyn Experienced Homelessness Last Year

Classroom. Photo byNeONBRAND [https://unsplash.com/@neonbrand?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText] onUnsplash [https://unsplash.com/s/photos/classroom?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText] .Over 31,000 students attending public schools in Brooklyn were homeless at some point last year, according to

Arts & Culture

A Night at the Brooklyn Public Library Talking About Slavery

Courtesy of the Brooklyn Public Library.This Saturday the Brooklyn Public Library will mark the 400th anniversary of slavery in America with an “extended teach-in” aimed at providing participants with a fuller understanding of both its history and its legacy on the country up to the present. The teach-in, called