Nigel Roberts is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer and editor.
Business
A Prospect Cleaning Service staff member disinfects an office. Courtesy of Prospect Cleaning ServiceA largely unnoticed, and perhaps underappreciated [https://www.vox.com/covid-19-coronavirus-explainers/2020/4/23/21228971/essential-workers-stories-coronavirus-hazard-pay-stimulus-covid-19] , group of workers are among the heroes who are enabling New York City to emerge from lockdown. They are on the
Central Brooklyn
Photo by Annie Spratt on UnsplashReceiving phone calls from elderly clients who just want to talk is not unusual for community-based organizations like JASA [https://www.jasa.org/]. But the calls these days are more frequent and anxious. Tania Collazo, Director of JASA’s Home-Delivered Meals Program in Queens, recalled
affordable housing
rendering of Urban Village is courtesy of Christian Cultural Center and Gotham Organization.EAST NEW YORK — Yesterday, at a NYC City Planning Department public hearing, the Rev. A.R. Bernard described the area surrounding his East New York megachurch, Christian Cultural Center [https://www.cccinfo.org/home-brooklyn] (CCC), when it
affordable housing
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries at the 2020 State of the District. Nigel Roberts/BklynerDOWNTOWN BROOKLYN – Standing before a lively crowd, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, a rising star in the Democratic Party, took aim at gentrification and skyrocketing housing costs in Brooklyn during his annual State of the District speech on February 24.
Business
Tayo Giwa and Cynthia Gordy Giwa. Photo by Curt Saunders/ Courtesy of Giwas.What started two years ago as a project to spotlight overlooked Black-owned businesses has blossomed into one of the hottest digital publications about our borough. Bklyner first [/black-owned-brooklyn/] met Black-Owned Brooklyn [https://www.blackownedbrooklyn.com/], operated by
Central Brooklyn
NYPD, East Flatbush. Liena Zagare/BklynerWhat’s behind the increase of NYPD stop-and-frisks in 2019? While law enforcement officials downplay the rise, alarm bells are going off among some civil liberties groups. Cops used the controversial policing tactic 22% more last year compared to 2018, according to statistics NYPD reported
Central Brooklyn
The Black Lady Theatre. Nigel Roberts/Bklyner.CROWN HEIGHTS – Since 1984, The Black Lady Theatre [https://theblackladytheatre.com/], located on Nostrand Avenue near Park Place, has served as an arts venue for Afro-centric shows and a “safe place” to discuss and explore issues that impact the Black community. It’s
Borough Park
High School students marched down Eastern Parkway to the Jewish Children’s Museum in January chanting Love, Not Hate. Liena Zagare/BklynerIt’s been more than three weeks since Mayor Bill de Blasio announced measures [https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/640-19/mayor-de-blasio-launches-new-crime-prevention-efforts-combat-hate-anti-semitism] to counter the wave of anti-Semitic hate
Central Brooklyn
NYPD on Eastern Parkway, Crown Heights. Liena Zagare/BklynerCROWN HEIGHTS – There’s unease among some people of color in Brooklyn neighborhoods slated to receive more cops under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s response to the wave of anti-Semitic hate crimes. “The rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes is horrible and unacceptable,
community
New York State Attorney General Tish James welcomed Congregation Beth Elohim Rabbi Rachel Timoner to African-American Clergy & Elected Officials breakfast on January 3, where she helped deliver the unity prayer with Rev. Waterman. Photo courtesy of Councilmember Brad Lander.BEDFORD-STUYVESANT – Brooklyn has become one of the epicenters of anti-Semitic
Central Brooklyn
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS—Something was clearly missing from the exterior wall of the TD Bank branch at the corner of Montague and Court Street. Peter Duffy told Bklyner that it was “pretty obvious something had been there and was removed,” as he walked past the building in bustling downtown Brooklyn days
Announcements
The Kwanzaa Crawl on December 26, 2016. Photo by Deneka Penistin, courtesy of Kwanzaa Crawl.Several of Brooklyn’s Black-owned nightspots are preparing for crowds of partiers on the day after Christmas. The revelers will be crawling from bar to bar for drinks and to show off the latest dance
News
On December 5, a locksmith, court Marshall and an appraiser arrived to evict Paula Scarlett-Brown from her home. Image courtesy of Paula Scarlett-Brown. DITMAS PARK – A dispute that centered in part on how Black churches should treat their pastor’s wife came to a legal resolution. The courts ordered the
affordable housing
Bushwick Political and Civic Club flyer. Courtesy of BPCC.BUSHWICK— Many longtime Bushwick residents are disturbed by the upheaval they see [/anti-gentrification-cb4-bushwick/] in their community due to rezoning and recognize the need for political empowerment. To that end, about 35 residents braved the freezing rain on Monday night, December 16,
Arts & Culture
Bushwick Mural by Puerto Rican artist Don Rimx. [http://donrimx.com/murals] Nigel Roberts/Bklyner.BUSHWICK — It was in the summer of 2017 at the New Ohio Theatre when Noel Allain, The Bushwick Starr [https://www.thebushwickstarr.org/] ’s theater co-founder and artistic director, first encountered the African American playwright
Bushwick
Credit: Amandla Baraka/ Courtesy of Ethel’s ClubBUSHWICK — One of Brooklyn’s newest social, wellness and co-working spaces has been getting a lot of buzz. Ethel’s Club [https://www.ethelsclub.com/about] in Bushwick provides a haven for people of color—the only one of its kind, as a