Billy Richling is a staff reporter for Bklyner, covering politics, real estate and everything else. He lives in Flatbush, and previously worked for the Times Square Alliance.
Election 2021
Scene from a “Muslims Against Police Brutality” protest [/muslims-against-police-brutality-protest-bay-ridge-to-barclays-center/] in June 2020 (Image: Najm Designs Photography [https://www.najmdesignsny.com/photography-c250e]).The profile of New York City’s Muslim population has risen rapidly in recent years. In 2015, the city designated Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha as school
Election 2021
“Look, I think community boards have huge issues with them that need a lot of reform.” That’s how Brooklyn Borough President candidate Antonio Reynoso began his response to a question about community boards at a virtual forum last night. The borough president has relatively limited power [https://www.cityandstateny.
News
The total number of confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in New York City is now well over 670,000 [https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-data-totals.page]; that’s more than one of every thirteen New Yorkers citywide. At least 160,000 of those cases were identified in Brooklyn.
Central Brooklyn
As storm after storm piled several inches of snow over Brooklyn’s streets this month, a familiar complaint emerged on social media: the garbage was getting out of control. > Ahhh nothing more New York than freshly fallen snow on days old garbage .#snow [https://twitter.com/hashtag/snow?src=
Business
A pre-pandemic fitness class at Jaya Yoga in Windsor Terrace.Restaurants can accept indoor diners starting today [https://ny.eater.com/2021/2/12/22278174/nyc-restaurants-indoor-dining-return]. The Barclays Center will reopen in less than two weeks [https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/10/new-york-gov-cuomo-says-barclays-center-other-large-arenas-in-the-state-can-reopen-starting-feb-23.html] . And large gyms have been
Central Brooklyn
The Flatlands Library in June 2018 (Image: Google Maps)Starting today, the Brooklyn Public Library’s Flatlands branch will be closed for one year while the building’s roof is replaced. A short notice [https://www.bklynlibrary.org/locations/flatlands] published on the Brooklyn Public Library’s website says the
News
Rendering of 640 Columbia Street (Image: JLL Real Estate)Amazon signed two leases for over 487,000 square feet of Red Hook warehouse space this week, further expanding its fast-growing footprint in Brooklyn and around the city. The company announced on Wednesday that it will open a 336,350-square-foot delivery
Business
Salahi Deli in Ditmas Park changed their facade signage in 2018 after a rash of city violations over improperly-installed signs. (Image: Justin Mitchell/Bklyner)The City Council voted unanimously today to extend a moratorium on sign violation fines that briefly sent small retail business owners into a panic [/merchants-take-down-signs-as-panic-over-fines-sweeps-city/] in
Bed Stuy
Rendering of BRP’s proposed development at 270 Nostrand Avenue. (Image: BRP)A developer wants to build a 14-story mixed-use building at the site of a former Bed-Stuy nursing home owned by a controversial healthcare provider. The local community board has questions. BRP Companies [https://www.brpcompanies.com/] has filed
Big Story
As the coronavirus swept across New York, images of a deserted midtown Manhattan became emblematic of the pandemic’s devastating economic impact. Throughout the summer, journalists chronicled midtown’s uncertain future; even now, with vaccination efforts progressing, landlords of commercial offices and large retail spaces worry about midtown’s viability
Central Brooklyn
Brian Cunningham (Image: Campaign)He played the long game last time. This time, Brian Cunningham is first to drop out from a crowded field of candidates looking to represent Flatbush and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens in the City Council. In a post shared to Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/CunninghamForNYC/posts/2877650052515630]
Central Brooklyn
New construction in Downtown Brooklyn, 2019. Liena Zagare/BklynerSections of Downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg-Greenpoint, where high-rise apartment buildings spurted up after city rezonings, had the most housing growth in the borough in the last decade. They trailed only Long Island City in Queens and Manhattan’s west side, home to