northern brooklyn

Mayor Commits to Changes on McGuinness Boulevard After Teacher’s Death

Mayor Bill de Blasio attends a vigil organized by Families for Safe Streets at McGolrick Park in Greenpoint on May 27, 2021. (Image: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)Mayor Bill de Blasio said he would dedicate funding to redesign a dangerous Greenpoint roadway after a beloved local school teacher was

Brooklyn Heights

District 33 Council Candidates Have Big Plans for Climate Resiliency

Though climate change and related environmental risks pose a threat to communities throughout New York [https://citylimits.org/2021/04/29/the-coast-the-climate-and-the-race-for-mayor/] , the question of how to build a more green and sustainable city is particularly resonant in North Brooklyn. The area is at the center of a fight over

Greenpoint

Greenpoint Ferry Landing Closed “Until Further Notice”

A ferry crosses in front of the Williamsburg Bridge. (Image: NYC Ferry)The city’s ferry service has hit a red light in Greenpoint. NYC Ferry announced [https://www.ferry.nyc/service-alerts/] late Sunday night that the Greenpoint ferry landing, located off India Street, is closed until further notice, thanks

Central Brooklyn

Brooklyn Crime Blotter – May 21st

(Image: Zainab Iqbal/Bklyner)Concerns about an increase in crime continue to play a central role [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/nyregion/nyc-crime-mayoral-race.html] in the city’s mayoral race.New NYPD data [https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2021/05/11/around-brooklyn-crime-rate-up-30-in-nyc/] shows crime across the city jumped 30%

Food & Drink

City Proposes Expanding Supermarket Zoning Incentive to More Neighborhoods, And It’s About More Than Just Fresh Food

The Lincoln Market supermarket in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, which was developed under the city’s FRESH zoning incentive program. (Image: Google Maps)Public review has begun on a proposal to expand the number of neighborhoods where developers can build bigger in exchange for providing ground-floor space for a supermarket. The Food

Election 2021

North Brooklyn Council Candidates Talk Parks and Public Space

Candidates seeking to represent north Brooklyn in the City Council laid out their plans to improve the area’s parks, public spaces and environment at a virtual forum [https://www.facebook.com/NBKParks/videos/292728329099431] last week. While all of the candidates said they support increasing funding for the city’

Central Brooklyn

Opinion: What We Can Do This Spring to have a Maskless Summer

Photo by Julie Ricard [https://unsplash.com/@jricard?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText] on Unsplash [https://unsplash.com/s/photos/brooklyn-nyc?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText] By Dr. Sanjiv S. Shah, Chief Medical Officer of MetroPlusHealth Before COVID, many of us would

Greenpoint

Major Bike and Pedestrian Improvements Planned for Meeker Avenue

Meeker Avenue (Image: Google Maps)The city’s Department of Transportation unveiled plans for a revamp of Meeker Avenue in north Brooklyn last night, including a new two-way bicycle and pedestrian path, dedicated left-turn signals, and other safety improvements. At a virtual meeting [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxbEKkzmKLI]

Central Brooklyn

First Poll of Brooklyn Borough President Race Finds Reynoso and Cornegy Atop Close Field

The first formal poll of the Brooklyn Borough President’s race shows Council Members Antonio Reynoso and Robert Cornegy Jr. on top in a tight race where several candidates polled within the margin of error and half of surveyed voters remain undecided. The poll [https://www.studentsfirstny.org/sfnycharter_poll]

News

City Completes $31.6 Million Refab of Historic South Williamsburg DEP Building

350 Flushing Avenue (Image: NYC Department of Environmental Protection)The city announced today that it has completed a $31.6 million project to refurbish and upgrade a historic building on Flushing Avenue used by staff of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The three-story, 105,000-square-foot building at 350 Flushing

affordable housing

Brooklyn Group Battles for Bushwick Building — and the Future of Affordable Housing

A pedestrian crosses the street near 420 Stockholm St. in Bushwick. | Hiram Alejandro Durán/THE CITYBy Gabriel Sandoval and Hiram Alejandro Durán, THE CITY. This article was originally published [https://www.thecity.nyc/brooklyn/2021/4/15/22386797/brooklyn-group-bushwick-building-affordable-housing] by THE CITY [https://www.thecity.nyc/] A Brooklyn nonprofit that

brownsville

NYPD ‘Accidental’ Killer Cop’s Rise to Brooklyn Chief Questioned

NYPD Chief John Chell in a picture celebrating a previous promotion, dated May 3, 2019. | @NYPD84Pct / TwitterBy Eileen Grench, THE CITY. This article was originally published [https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/4/15/22386871/nypd-accidental-killers-rise-to-brooklyn-chief-questioned] by THE CITY [https://www.thecity.nyc/] Mayor Bill de Blasio this week weighed in

Announcements

City Announces New, Free Summer Education Program for All Students

At the reconstructed Betsy Head Park in Brownsville, Brooklyn on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography OfficeSchool and camp are getting rolled into one “holistic” youth experience this summer, in an attempt to improve the student experience after a challenging academic year. The city’s departments of Education

affordable housing

Opinion: Brooklyn has a Housing Crisis. Here is the Plan the Next Mayor Needs to Follow.

Central Brooklyn. Liena Zagare/BklynerBy Michelle Neugebauer To create a fairer, more equitable New York, our next mayor needs to address Brooklyn’s affordable housing crisis. It is a dire situation: the median monthly asking monthly rent in the borough is $2,395 [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/

News

Williamsburg Houses RAD Conversion Plan Begins to Take Shape

One of the 20 buildings in NYCHA’s Williamsburg Houses complex. (Image: Google Maps)Plans to transfer the NYCHA’s Williamsburg Houses—one of the oldest public housing complexes in the country—to private management under the city’s controversial RAD program are beginning to come into focus. Here’s

Central Brooklyn

Crime Blotter: Hate Crimes, Shootings, Robberies and more

The New York City Police Department has arrested Joseph Russo, 27, of 76th Street in Brooklyn and charged him with Assault as a Hate Crime and Aggravated Harassment as a Hate Crime in the following incident. https://bklyner.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/bklyner/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/FINAL-RMA-830-21-Assault-61-Pct-4-5-21.mp4 It

Central Brooklyn

Two Unrelated COVID Cases Will Not Trigger School Building Closures, New Rules Rolled Out

Meisha Ross Porter at City Hall. By Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography OfficeBy Reema Amin and Amy Zimmer, Chalkbeat New York [https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2021/4/8/22373503/de-blasio-nyc-school-closures-2-case-rule] Two unrelated cases of coronavirus among staff and students will no longer trigger building closures for New York City schools, Mayor

Central Brooklyn

Opinion: Brooklyn Needs Public Power

Blackout in Mill Basin, 2019. Todd Maisel/BklynerBy Nicholas Boni It’s time for Brooklyn to take its power back. Our borough’s power grid is in shambles. Blackouts are as common as summer heat waves. Utility rates are astronomical, erratic, and ever-increasing. The East River, the Gowanus Canal, and

affordable housing

Small East Williamsburg Residential Proposal Gets Caught in a Larger Fight Over Land Use

114 Kingsland Avenue (Image: Google Maps)IMAGE A proposal for a four-story apartment development in East Williamsburg is facing resistance from the local community board over larger concerns about a loss of manufacturing space in Brooklyn. Solomon Feder is looking to build eight rental units, all one-bedrooms or studios, on

environment

Plan to Install Green Energy Storage on Williamsburg Roof Raises Tenants’ Ire

315 Berry Street (Image: Google Maps)A proposal to install energy infrastructure on a Williamsburg roof to ease the load on north Brooklyn’s power grid faces angry opposition from tenants who say they’re being left in the dark. The company MicroGrid Networks [https://mgn.energy/] (MGN) is looking

Central Brooklyn

From Books to Bathrooms, Participatory Budgeting Voting Kicks Off in Three Brooklyn Council Districts

Left to right: Stephen Levin (CD33), Carlos Menchaca (CD38) and Brad Lander (CD39)After a pandemic-induced pause, the city’s participatory budgeting program is restarted yesterday in three Brooklyn City Council districts. Participatory budgeting [https://council.nyc.gov/pb/], a City Council-run program that allows members of the public to

Bushwick

OPINION: Keeping Our Graduates Connected Is Critical For Their Success

Photo by Alex Simpson [https://unsplash.com/@m_simpsan?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText] on Unsplash [https://unsplash.com/s/photos/bushwick?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText] By Arthur Samuels & Pagee Cheung Miguel* was a member of the very first class at

Central Brooklyn

What will it take for fully remote students to return to school buildings? 6 NYC families weigh in

Monday, March 22, 2021. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.By Alex Zimmerman and Reema Amin, Chalkbeat New York [https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2021/4/5/22368832/opt-in-person-learning-nyc] The nation’s largest school system was among the first to throw open its doors. But it has struggled to entice most

Central Brooklyn

Opinion: The Racial Cost of NYC’s COVID-19 Vaccination Rollout

NYCHA vaccination site at Nostrand Houses in Brooklyn on Friday, February 12, 2021. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography OfficeBy Brian Benjamin, Roxanne Persaud, and Kitaw Demissie, MD, PhD New York City is one of the most racially diverse cities in the world – it’s what makes our city incomparable to all

Business

Side Hustle To Big Business: Low-Income Entrepreneurs Could Help Brooklyn’s Economy Recover—How Can the City Support Them?

A two-part panel on low-income entrepreneurship in Brooklyn organized by the Center for an Urban Future included LaToya Meaders from Collective Fare, Camille Newman from the Brooklyn Women’s Business Center, Chymeka Olfonse from BUILD NYC, La-Shawn Allen-Muhammad from the Central Brooklyn EDC and Ras Omeil Morgan from iaRas iTal.