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Extraordinary Neighbors

A collection of 47 issues

The Brooklyn Book Bodega Looks to Fill the Borough with “100 Book Homes”

Volunteers from the Brooklyn Navy Yard distribute books at a Brooklyn Book Bodega event in Fort Greene in November. The event was organized in partnership with the Ingersoll Residents Association and Ingersoll Cornerstone Community Center. Book Bodega co-founder Seema Aghera is second from the left; co-founder Rebecca Cohen is on

A Helping Hand In The Neighborhood: Purple Pantries Fill A Community Need

Tiny Purple Pantries/ Lindsay ManolakosSmall purple boxes have been popping up across Brooklyn this summer. “Give What You Can, Take What You Need” inscribed on the side, they can be found in rich neighborhoods and those not so well-heeled. These boxes are filled with donated food and are called Tiny

Brooklyn Woman Wins AARP’s Top Award For Community Service

Linda Boyd, the winner of the 2020 Andrus Award for Community Service award. Courtesy of AARP.Linda Boyd, a Fort Greene resident for the past 25 years, spent much of her time during the COVID-19 pandemic volunteering to talk to strangers, making their days just a bit less lonely. Boyd’

Lifting Black Voices: 5 Leaders Awarded Grants To Help Tackle Racial Disparities In Brooklyn

The recipients of the grant. (Alford, top left; Dr. Blackstock, bottom left; Dr. Johnson, middle; Kalam Id-Din II, top right; and Smith, bottom right)BARCLAYS CENTER – Five Black Brooklyn community leaders are the first recipients of the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation Social Justice Fund, which aims to support social

Remembering Dr. Ahmad Jaber, One Of Bay Ridge’s Greatest

Dr. Ahmad Jaber. (Photo: Joey O’Loughlin, Center for Brooklyn History at Brooklyn Public Library.)BAY RIDGE – One of the most prominent Muslim and Arab leaders in Brooklyn, Dr. Ahmad Jaber, who founded a number of community-based organizations and masjids after surviving loss and poverty, and someone who was an

Whitney Hu Ends Campaign for City Council District 38, Will Focus on Mutual Aid

Whitney Hu at South Brooklyn Mutual Aid – Brooklyn Army Terminal – 11/28/20There is no typical week for South Brooklyn Mutual Aid [https://southbkmutualaid.com/] (SBKMA) founder Whitney Hu, but every week is chock full. Amid coordinating projects as diverse as a free toy store and a house cleaners’ collective,

Syed Bukhari, A Midwood Cabbie, Delivered 40,000 Meals During Pandemic

Syed Bukhari.MIDWOOD – Last year, Syed Bukhari, 37, got tired of driving a cab, something he had been doing for the last 15 years. The pay isn’t good, there are no benefits, and the business was declining. [/cabbie-coronavirus/] So, he applied for work at the MTA, but then the

Eight Months Into the Pandemic, Brooklyn Mutual Aid Groups Widen Focus

Bed-Stuy Strong volunteer Natalia Paez has been organizing neighborhood clean-ups since August. Photo by Zoe Grueskin/BklynerAs the coronavirus spread through New York this spring, shuttering schools and businesses, mutual aid groups of “neighbors helping neighbors” sprang up [/kensington-windsor-terrace-mutual-aid/] around the city [/solidarity-not-charity-flatbush-united-mutual-aid/]. More than eight months later, many mutual

Sheikh Osman And The Shop That Caught On Fire

Sheikh Osman Adam outside Masjid At-Taqwa, where he spends most of his time. (Photo: Zainab Iqbal/Bklyner)BEDFORD STUYVESANT – On March 1, the Zam Zam Stop & Shop store on Fulton Street caught on fire in the middle of the night due to an electrical issue. It is a small

Here For The Community: Caitlin Baucom Is “Creating joy, acceptance, and material support for humans”

On a narrow sidewalk on the edge of Bushwick, Brooklyn, last Friday evening, a DJ was blasting techno music, his mixer set up on a foldable table. On the other side of the sidewalk, the smell of grilled hot dogs and hamburgers wafted from the grill, while a crowd was