On March 13, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso delivered his State of the Borough speech in front of a packed crowd of hundreds of people at New York City College of Technology. Reynoso spoke about a variety of issues including how to move freight throughout the city in safe, sustainable, and efficient ways. The problem is one that Jim Tampakis […]
News
Local group renames itself, by Nathan Weiser
The Red Hook Civic Association met on March 26 at the Red Hook Recreation Center. The March meeting was the group’s first anniversary. According to Nico Kean, the April meeting will consist of a special celebration with a party and a progress report, and will be held at the Red Hook Coffee Shop on Van Brunt Street. A name change […]
Women celebrated at the Harbor Middle School, by Nathan Weiser
PS 676 Harbor Middle School held a family fun STEM night in the cafeteria for the students and parents. There was a special focus on women in science as March is Women’s History month. There were also hands-on math and science activities at tables and outside organizations at the event. There was a women’s history coloring table. A drawing was […]
Participatory Budgeting Vote Week, by Katherine Rivard
Council Member Shahana Hanif, her staff, several artists from the nonprofit Arts & Democracy Project, and a handful of volunteers all gathered in the Old Stone House in Park Slope on a Monday evening last month. At the start of the meeting, each person introduced themselves and stated their artistic skills, before being assigned a project and getting down to […]
Ongoing Efforts from the Department of City Planning, by Katherine Rivard
It has been a busy year for the Department of City Planning (DCP). The city has seemed weighed down with budget cuts, constant media attention on crime in the subways, and sexual assault allegations against the mayor, and yet DCP has continued its work, publishing Principles of Good Urban Design for New York City (a tool for creating better neighborhoods) […]
It’s the Battle of Brooklyn revisited at Gowanus Green, by George Fiala
Many people might not realize it, but in 2006 a British utility bought the Brooklyn company that had been providing gas heating and lighting for the borough since 1825. Yes folks, if you pay a National Grid bill, you are adding to the profits of a London based company. Way back in 1776, the British defeated us in Brooklyn when […]
Odds and Sods, by George Fiala
Usually I spend a month trying to figure out what momentous topic I will be making pronouncement about in this column. But for this month at least, I’m going to tackle a bunch of possibly less momentous issues that have been on my mind. Law and Order My office is inside the warehouses on Van Brunt Street across from Food […]
Elmo inspires mental health concerns, by Nathan Weiser
On January 29, the Elmo account posted a simple tweet that said, “”Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?” and nobody could have predicted the response this would get. There was a wide range of responses with people revealing how mental health is very much an issue. “I’m at my lowest. Thanks for asking,” one person replied. “Elmo, […]
Alexa Aviles joins family of police victim asking for accountability, by Brian Abate
On March 2, the family of Allan Feliz and politicians including District 38 Council Member Alexa Aviles gathered outside of City Hall despite pouring rain to demand that Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Edward Caban fire police officer Jonathan Rivera. The officer shot and killed Feliz six years ago after stopping him because he thought he was not wearing […]
Gowanus Canal Conservancy builds a new garden, by Brian Abate
The Gowanus Canal Conservancy (GCC) has moved its Lowlands Nursery from the Salt Lot to a new location next to the new Monadanck building at 25 9th St., next to the Smith and 9th Stret subway. The move was necessatied due to the construction of a sewage tank required as part of the Gowanus Canal Superfund cleanup. Andrea Parker, the […]