history - Bklyner

Church Avenue is Now Also Known as Pierre Toussaint Boulevard

Church Avenue from Nostrand Avenue to Coney Island Avenue has been co-named Pierre Toussaint Boulevard. Mukta Ahmad/BklynerFrom Nostrand and Coney Island Ave, Church Avenue was co-named Pierre Toussaint Boulevard on Sunday, Apr. 25, 2021. The co-naming ceremony started with a prayer at the Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church [https:

celebrity

Brooklyn Municipal Building Renamed the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Municipal Building

Brooklyn Municipal Building. (Photo: Zainab Iqbal/Bklyner)Today Mayor Bill de Blasio, First Lady Chirlane McCray, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, other local officials and the family of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg gathered this afternoon to rename the Brooklyn Municipal building in her honor. “Today we honor

Announcements

Myrtle Ave Black ArtStory Returns: Love, This Time

Ashley Crawford art for Black ArtStory / Photo courtesy of Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn PartnershipThe Myrtle Avenue Black ArtStory [https://myrtleavenue.org/blackartstory2021/] is back to celebrate Black History Month in the neighborhood. The art-history-social-justice event is organized every year by the local merchants’ group Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, and this will

Central Brooklyn

Fiefdoms or Gatherings – What Are The Precinct Community Councils The Mayor Is Giving A Say in NYPD Leadership Decisions?

A 2016 meeting of the 68th Precinct Community Council in Dyker Heights. (Photo by Benjamin Cohn)Among the bevy of ambitious but often vaguely-defined [https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2021/01/28/lofty-promises-but-few-details-in-de-blasios-final-state-of-the-city-1361089] proposals announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio at his State of the City address

Arts & Culture

BLM Mural: Capturing A Crucial Moment In Bed-Stuy History

Last June, right after the paint had dried on the giant new D.C. mural sporting the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the two blocks leading up to the White House, Bed-Stuy’s Monique Antoine watched from afar as the space sat idle, blocked off from traffic but otherwise completely

Central Brooklyn

Brooklyn Celebrates MLK Day in a Year Like No Other

Monday, January 18, is Martin Luther King Jr. day. A week after the attack on the Capitol, in the middle of a global pandemic, and a year of Black Lives Matter protests, it is a timely reminder of the legacy of the civil rights activist who championed non-violent protest to

Arts & Culture

Not Another Second: LGTBQ Seniors On Their Lost Years

Pat and Paulette Martin lost 56 years collectively. Photo by Karsten Thormaehlen [https://www.karstenthormaehlen.com/]On Jan 19, an exhibit on 12 LBGT+ seniors will premiere at the Brooklyn Heights Art Gallery at The Watermark. “Not Another Second” [https://www.notanothersecond.com/] is a collaborative exhibit between SAGE [https:

history

Three Kings Day Was Celebrated In Williamsburg In Spite of Pandemic

The Three Kings, Mary, and José. Anna Conkling/ BklynerThis past Saturday, a float which held the Three Kings, the Virgin Mary, José, and a parade princess, drove up and down Grand St and Graham Ave in Williamsburg, handing out presents to any child that approached it. The float was organized

Arts & Culture

Your Booklist in Response to Capitol Invasion, Courtesy of BPL

Greenpoint Library via BPL’s websiteIn response to the invasion of the Capitol on Jan 6, Brooklyn Public Library has put together a list of books for [https://borrow.bklynlibrary.org/booklist/january-6-2021]Brooklynites to read to better understand the historic moment. The list includes both modern and historical fiction

affordable housing

Affordable Housing To Be Built At The Site of Former 19-Century School Building

Flatbush District #1 School Building in 1931. (Photo: Brooklyn Public Library) The city is looking to develop the former site of P.S. 90 at the corner of Church and Bedford avenues in Flatbush into affordable housing and community space. The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development

Bushwick

Mansion Demolition Reopens Debate Over Landmarking in Bushwick

The Lindemann House at 1001 Bushwick Ave, Nov. 25, 2020. Bklyner/Cai Pigliucci Carlotta Williams, 68, looked across Bushwick Avenue where green construction boards surround the Charles Lindemann House, a historic mansion with a gaping hole in its roof. Williams texted her daughter, who grew up dreaming of buying the

affordable housing

Landmarks Preservation Commission Pumps The Brakes On New Development At 959 Sterling Place

Rendering of proposed development at 959 Sterling Place from Hope Street Capital The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission [https://www1.nyc.gov/site/lpc/index.page] decided on Tuesday to postpone its vote on a proposal to build a seven-story residential building next to the historic Methodist Home for the

history

The City Reliquary, Preservers of the Unusual and Overlooked, Rally To Avoid Permanent Closure Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

The City Reliquary is currently a storefront in Williamsburg. Courtesy of City Reliquary.WILLIAMSBURG – The City Reliquary, a community museum of NYC artifacts, started as an apartment window display in Williamsburg in 2002. Now, the storefront museum faces closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From vintage Brooklyn seltzer bottles, samples

Announcements

East Flatbush Gets Its First Landmarked Block

East 25th Street. Liena Zagare/BklynerThe city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted unanimously today to create the East 25th Street Historic District, the first official historic district in East Flatbush. The one-block district, which includes both sides of East 25th Street between Clarendon Road and Avenue D, comprises 56

Arts & Culture

‘Mafia Cops’ Investigators Join New Series From “Boardwalk Empire” Creator Terence Winter

There are good cops and bad cops, and then there are the Mafia Cops — Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito, two New York City police detectives who murdered for the mob. Emmy Award-winner Terence Winter will develop a limited series based on the book “Friends of the Family: The Inside Story

affordable housing

East Flatbush Block Wants Landmark Status To Fight Development. Will Others Follow?

Neo-Renaissance row houses on the 300 block of East 25th Street. Residents are looking for landmark status to preserve their community amid rapid development in East Flatbush. Liena Zagare/BklynerWhen Julia Charles was pushed out of her Far Rockaway home after Hurricane Sandy, she and her family decided to plant

Central Brooklyn

MTA Renames Two Brooklyn Stations To Recognize Medgar Evers

Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City TransitElected officials, MTA staff, and Medgar Evers College celebrated yesterday two newly renamed subway stations – Franklin Avenue-Medgar Evers College and President Street-Medgar Evers College. Senator Myrie and Assemblywoman Richardson. Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City TransitThe stations were renamed following the legislation,

Announcements

Brooklyn Municipal Building To Be Named After RBG

The Brooklyn Municipal Building is located at Black Lives Matter Blvd. (Photo: Zainab Iqbal/Bklyner)DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN – Four days after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the Brooklyn Municipal Building will be named after her. “Everyones feeling pain… feeling deep loss

Announcements

Brooklyn Historical Society Launches ‘Muslims In Brooklyn’ Online

Artwork for Muslims in Brooklyn. (Drawing by Mohammed Fayaz, with permission from BHS)BROOKLYN – In order to bring to life the history and experiences of Muslims in the borough, the Brooklyn Historical Society launched its Muslims in Brooklyn website. The website is divided into multiple sections, which includes an introduction

community

Reimagining a New York Icon: Winners Announced for Brooklyn Bridge Redesign Competition

‘Do Look Down’ by Shannon Hui, Kwans Kim, and Yujin Kim. Courtesy of Van Alen Institute.Two winners have been announced for the Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge Competition, hosted by design nonprofit, Van Alen Institute [https://www.vanalen.org/our-work/]. The winner in the professional category is titled Brooklyn Bridge Forest

Announcements

Little Pakistan Will Celebrate Pakistan Independence Day With A Cultural Caravan On Sunday

Before the pandemic, thousands of people would gather on Coney Island Avenue to celebrate Pakistan’s independence in August. (Photo via Bklyner)MIDWOOD – The annual Pakistani Independence Day mela will not be taking place this year because of COVID-19, but don’t fret, there will be a Cultural Caravan to

Announcements

Brooklyn History One Map At A Time

Map of the county of Kings, showing the Senate districts; October 1869, Map Collection, B A-1869d.Fl; Brooklyn Historical Society.On July 16, Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) granted public access to its latest digitization effort – 1,493 maps from its collection of flat and folded maps are now available for

Arts & Culture

Pop-Up Lefferts Celebrates Caribbean American Heritage Month – Virtually

Lefferts Historic House is closed for renovations. BklynerWhile the Lefferts Historic House is undergoing renovations, its programming is moving online, and last week Prospect park Alliance made the official announcement of Pop-Up Lefferts. Lefferts House is an 18th-century farmhouse that features a working garden, historic artifacts, period rooms and exhibits

Arts & Culture

Juneteenth in Brooklyn: Activism, Education, And Other Ways To Participate

This year June 19th – Juneteenth – is marking the 155th years since the last proclamation of the end of slavery, as America is enveloped in nationwide protests over the treatment of Black people in the country today, sparked by the recent murder of George Floyd. “I think that this year has

Destinations

Brooklyn’s Accidental New Town Square

MLK quote at Barclays center. Norman Oder/BklynerWhen the Barclays Center was designated [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/nyregion/new-york-city-buildings-skyline.html] one of “The New Shapes of New York” by the New York Times in 2016, Justin Garrett Moore, executive director of the city’s Public Design Commission,