Bklyner - Bklyner

Opinion: Mayor Needs to Step up Investment in Parks and Public Spaces

“As a city, when we seem incapable of caring for basic things — public spaces, sanitation, safe streets — it’s hard to feel confident that we can handle bigger challenges and achieve greater goals," Friends of Cooper Park in Williamsburg say, urging Mayor to speed up park investments.

COVID-19

A New Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic

New Yorkers should take greater caution now, especially those most at risk for serious disease.

Politics

At Least 20 People Were Listed As Brooklyn Democratic Primary Candidates Without Their Knowledge

A 92-year-old Holocaust survivor, an immigration advocate and a financial tech worker all learned of their candidacies when contacted by THE CITY. Party reformers charge they were caught up in a scheme for power brokers to retain control.

Education

NYC’s COVID risk rises, but mask mandates haven’t returned to K-12 schools

According to previously issued health department guidance, once the city reaches the medium-risk COVID level, officials may consider reinstating mask mandates in “high-risk settings where it is crowded and distance cannot be maintained,” which includes schools, Chalkbeat reports.

‘Donald Trump in Brooklyn’: Democratic Politician Charges County Chair With Manipulating Election

Park Slope Assemblymember Robert Carroll calls the decision to keep judicial delegates on the ballot despite dubious petition signatures “politically influenced” — while party leader Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn says he’s “xenophobic” for trying to block Pakistani representation, THE CITY reports.

food and drink

New Brooklyn Spots To Try

With so many great cafes, restaurants and bars opening or reopening this spring, it is hard for one to keep up. Here are a few recent additions: * Kensington: Café Fés [https://www.cafefes.com/] at 709 Church Avenue. [https://www.instagram.com/cafefesbrooklyn/]Via Cafe Fes Insta [https://www.instagram.

Transportation

More Open Streets + Interborough Express + Five Boro Bike Tour Closures

This week's transit news.

Education

NYC schools to give students weekly at-home COVID tests as cases rise

This Tuesday saw 844 positive COVID cases reported among students and staff, significantly higher than the Tuesday before masking became optional in schools when there were 229 cases reported across the city’s schools. In both snapshots, 70% of the cases were among students, Chalkbeat reports.

Politics

Top Court Rejects New York’s Congressional and State Senate Lines

The court’s decision kept state Assembly lines drawn by the Democrat-controlled legislature intact, but gave a win to a Republican-backed legal challenge on the Senate and congressional lines, THE CITY reports.

Politics

More Brooklyn Residents Claim Forgeries in Democratic Party-Linked Push to Oust Primary Rivals

Two more voters say they never signed petition objections filed in their names to the Board of Elections. It’s part of a troubling pattern political reformers in Brooklyn say is part of a bid by the borough’s Democratic party to keep hold of power, THE CITY reports.

Education

NYC unveils changes to ‘gifted’ program, adding 1,000 seats to third grade

For the 2022-23 school year, the education department plans to add 1,000 new seats across the city for gifted programs launching in third grade, Christina Veiga reports for Chalkbeat.

Politics

Adams Administration Set $190K Salary for Husband of Brooklyn Democratic Boss

Retaining a majority of support from district leaders, who are typically elected by voters, is essential for party officials to get their priorities enacted, George Joseph and Yoav Gonen report for THE CITY

Education

De Blasio promised to overhaul NYC’s ‘gifted’ programs. Chancellor David Banks will likely shift course.

Now, three months into Mayor Eric Adams’ tenure, his schools chancellor, David Banks, said he will soon announce what will happen to the program. The new mayor and chancellor have indicated that dramatic changes are off the table, reports Christina Veiga.

infrastructure

Oft Overlooked on Brooklyn-Queens Border, The Hole Shows Risks of Ignoring Environment

Community groups and some residents see potential to develop the area in a way that maintains its affordability, given that it is close to an express subway stop on the A train and not far from Kennedy Airport, but first, they need proper sewers, Samantha Maldonado reports.

Nobody Knows When or How Ukrainian Refugees Could Resettle in NYC

New York City is home to some 150,000 Ukrainians, the largest population in the country. The Adams administration — which touts the motto “get stuff done” — has not made any public announcements about possible initiatives in the works to assist refugees, reports Reuven Blau for THE CITY

How Bullying and Spying on Muslims After 9/11 Spawned a Justice-Seeking Generation

Grassroots groups serving heavily Muslim and South Asian communities, like the Taxi Workers Alliance, Desis Rising Up and Moving and South Asian Youth Action, were all created or expanded in the post-9/11 era. And this year, more Muslims ran for local office in New York City than ever before.

Opinion: Congress Cannot Leave Restaurants and Bars Behind

By Rawlston Williams, Owner of The Food Sermon in Brooklyn I closed my doors just last week, and I am not sure if or when I will open them again. The Food Sermon burst onto the food scene in 2015 with a dazzling New York Times review [https://www.nytimes.

New York Extends Eviction Moratorium to early 2022, Offering New Chance for Landlords to Push Back

In addition to extending the eviction moratorium until mid-January, legislators added $300 million in federal funds to the state’s rental relief program, allowed local governments to hold meetings virtually, and approved appointments to a board overseeing marijuana legalization, reports THE CITY.

Bed-Stuy Tenants Bemoan Deterioration and Vagrants in Complex Run By Ex-Met Mo Vaughn

But 11 years later, residents of the four buildings on Gates Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant say that living conditions have slumped to an all-time low, reports Gabriel Sandoval for THE CITY.

Education

What type of instruction will NYC students receive in quarantine? Schools are in the dark.

With fewer than three weeks until students return to classrooms, educators are frustrated about how they should approach teaching students quarantined at home, report Alex Zimmerman and Reema Amin for Chalkbeat.

Eviction Protection in New York is Much Weaker as Moratorium End Nears. Here’s Why

You’re no longer protected by the state eviction moratorium or the federal eviction moratorium. That means your eviction case can move forward in court, and your landlord may be able to file and move forward with a new eviction case against you, Allison Dikanovic writes for THE CITY.

opinion

OPINION: City Should Pay For Simple Fix To Prevent Basement Floods

The city should pay for you to get a backwater valve, and Councilmember Justin Brannan is here to tell you why.

Cameras Capture Illegal Dumping as Sanitation Tries to Clean Up Increasingly Dirty City

The cameras are one part of a new effort to stem illegal dumping and other trash issues, which have seen an uptick around the city since the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Katie Honan for THE CITY.

Education

School Policing Questioned as Students Return to Classrooms Amid Pandemic Stress and Security Revamp

Two years since the last “normal” first day of school, the argument over what keeps kids safe remains heated, reports Eileen Grench for THE CITY.

Cuomo’s Rent Relief ‘Mess’ Awaits Hochul as Tenants and Landlords Unite Over Aid Bungle

Three weeks after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans to fix the state’s troubled pandemic rent relief program, his administration has paid out less than 5% of the $2.7 billion available — infuriating tenants and landlords alike, writes Greg David for THE CITY.