Category: The People

All Brooklyn’s Markets: Where to Buy Local & DIY Goods

By Nicole Brydson

There is something for everyone – literally – at Brooklyn’s plethora of local DIY artisan and food markets. Here’s the December 2012 line up!

Dear Brooklyn, Your New Media Technology Has Arrived

By Nicole Brydson

This is massively complex and yet really simple. We need a new kind of media for a new era – internet public access if you will. Media that is for us and by us, that tells the truth as best as it can, reflects our cultures, and informs us about our community wherever we go across devices.

Tony Kushner Suggests Biden ‘Flop’ on Same Sex Marriage Orchestrated by White House

By Nicole Brydson

Playwright Tony Kushner sat down with Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman to discuss Joe Biden’s comments which led to President Obama expressing support for same-sex marriage. But the Tony Award winning Tony says don’t believe the hype that this seeming flop wasn’t orchestrated somehow to test the national waters on the issue of gay marriage during an election season.

On NYPD Stop & Frisk, Hakeem Jeffries says ‘Jim Crow may be dead,’ But ‘still has a few nieces, nephews that are alive’

By Nicole Brydson

Hakeem Jeffries must be really dedicated to the youth vote – the state assemblyman and now congressional candidate won’t let the issue of stop and frisk and racist drug policy laws die, kinda.

Etsy Artisans to be Profiled on NYC TV

By Nicole Brydson

It seems the local DIY culture is starting to get noticed by the big leagues for its capital power. NYC life gets next to Etsy in a new series.

Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? #OccupyWallStreet Divided But Not Conquered

By Matt Harvey

Far from giving up, #OccupyWallStreet has taken it’s fight to the internet while sleeping in city churches and community centers and continuing to hold General Assembly meetings in Liberty Plaza. Despite Mayor Bloomberg’s early morning raid almost two weeks ago, occupiers remain nimble and continue to turn out crowds. Matt Harvey visits the Plaza to report on the aftermath.

Welcome to the Beginning: How I Learned About Brutal Cops

By Nicole Brydson

The brutal reaction of police towards #occupywallstreet protestors in New York City, of campus police at UC Davis to students, and in many instances around the country have only inspired thousands more to fill American streets with their voices. That inspiration, a reawakening within the spirit and mind, is contagious – in my case, it came at a personal cost many years ago.

We The People Have Found Our Voice in Liberty Plaza

By Nicole Brydson

I’m writing this at the end of the twelfth day of #occupywallstreet about a place many people are calling Zucotti Park. I know it as Liberty Square and so should you. The best part about this movement is twofold for me, here’s why.

“Lasting and Meaningful Change” in New York’s Marijuana Laws

By Nicole Brydson

We received this statement from Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries on the NYPD’s new internal directive regarding illegal marijuana arrests.

Raise a Glass, Raise Some Cash for The Civilians

By Nicole Brydson

Brooklyn has a lot to be grateful for, and that is especially true of our hometown investigative theater troupe The Civilians.

Brooklyn Loses Two Bright Stars in Libya

By Nicole Brydson

BrooklynTheBorough.com extends its sincerest condolences to the families of filmmaker and photojournalist Tim Hetherington and fellow Brooklynite and Getty Images photographer Chris Hondros, both killed by mortar fire while reporting on the conflict in Libya.

Spring Cleaning For Your Soul

By Nicole Brydson

As the temperature in Brooklyn inches closer and closer to 60 degrees and we begin to shed our layers of clothing once again, it’s time to emerge from our cold weather cocoons. Here’s to the rebirth of spring and the rituals that keep us sane: gardening, nurturing the mind and body and learning to live sustainably.

Thriving Crown Heights Community Hub ‘LaunchPad’ Introduces Neighbors

By Jessica Dailey

LaunchPad is an arts-based community center in Crown Heights. Started by Mike Kunitzky last winter, the space transforms depending on what neighborhood groups want to use it for. “I wanted a place where people could exchange ideas and make things happen,” says Kunitzky, a constantly smiling 35-year-old. “There’s potential for magic in those unexpected talents and interactions.”

Fortnight Journal’s New Media Millennials

By Nicole Brydson

Fortnight Journal is a new web project that documents the promise of the millennial generation. On November 11, 2010 BrooklynTheBorough.com will partner with Southpaw to host a benefit performance to raise money for the project featuring rising Brooklyn singer Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, local rockers Outernational and the legendery Ms.Smtih with guitarist Lenny Kaye.

Tornado Hipster Dudes Mimmick Double Rainbow Guy

By Nicole Brydson

In the vein of the Double Rainbow Guy, we bring you Tornado Hipster Dudes. Watch a couple of Greenpoint residents completely overreact (ironically or not?) to some wind and rain, from their double balconied-condo. It’s fucking funneling dude!

A Dialogue at Medgar Evers College Film & Culture Series

By Lauren Raheja

The Medgar Evers College Film & Culture Series engages in “viewing and discussing important works of film that speak to or about the experiences of members of the African Diaspora.”

An American Valentine

By Melissa Febos

Dear America,

Baby, I love your particular strain of capitalism, how its muscular hand caresses every part of me, everything in sight–I have always loved a firm hand, baby.

I love how it has turned everything into a product, one that looks suspiciously like my own body.

I love how this has made me hate myself, and hawk myself, and fostered an extreme poverty of imagination in my young self, and in everyone I have ever known.

I love how this has forced my imagination to grow bigger…

Sniffing the Slope With Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl Referee

By Douglas Calhoun

We all know lots of folks will be tuning into the big game this weekend, attending parties with football shaped chip bowls and all the natty ice you could imagine, while some of us spend the day trying to understand the appeal (besides men in tights, of course).

Here’s something I can get behind: Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl had been the source of adorable-ness for 6 years and counting, and who knew the game’s referee Andrew Schechter, 25, laid out his traditional stripped shirt and high tube socks in Williamsburg? It comes as no shock that the ref for alternative programming on Super Bowl Sundays lives in our alternative Borough. The concept is simple, 30+ adorable baby animals and one charming referee for hours and hours! More about Andrew and Zellie, plus a slideshow of adorableness, after the jump.

A Long Night at Brooklyn Tech

By Beth Fertig

Beth Fertig, a senior reporter on education for WNYC, contextualizes this week’s public hearing at Brooklyn Technical High School where the Panel for Educational Policy voted to shutter 19 city schools.

Nineteen Schools Slated For Closure In Favor of Charter Schools

By Karen Bolipata

Nineteen schools were slated to be closed for poor performance last night, as hundreds at Brooklyn Technical High School addressed city officials in statements of defiance, pride, and at times malice. More after the jump.

Meeting on Bedford Bike Lanes Ends in Detente

By Nicole Brydson

It can be said that the latest culture war between North Brooklyn’s Hipster and Hasidim factions has gotten a bit out of hand, this time in person. Read more about this meeting of the minds, after the jump.

Money For Schools – The Case That Won’t Go Away

By Beth Fertig

Beth Fertig, a senior reporter on education for WNYC, tackles the issue of state education funding and the Campaign for Fiscal Equity’s four year plan.

Racing to the Top, An Overview

By Karen Bolipata

Part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Race to the Top is a $4.35 billion grant program that rewards states that are making strides in turning around struggling schools and enhancing education standards. Here’s what some of the players in New York’s education system are saying about the state’s application.

Help in Haiti: Public Officials Offer Ways to Help Relief Efforts

By Nicole Brydson

“Brooklyn is the ‘Caribbean Capital of America’—by some counts, we have the largest Haitian population in the United States—and our hearts go out to our Haitian brothers and sisters in need,” said Borough President Marty Markowitz and Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham. “Brooklyn and Haiti share the common motto ‘In Unity There is Strength,’ and Brooklynites have been united once again—as we were in 2008 following a series of devastating hurricanes and a tropical storm—in opening up their hearts, wallets and pantries to the victims of this catastrophic earthquake. Our office will be working closely with the Caribbean community in the days ahead to lend support to Brooklyn and New York City-based relief efforts.”

To find out what you can do to help relief efforts in Haiti, call 311 or visit Brooklyn-Usa.org.  If you are trying to connect with a loved one in Haiti, call the U.S. State Department hotline at 1-888-407-4747.

Will New York Join the Race to the Top?

By Beth Fertig

Beth Fertig, a senior reporter on education for WNYC, continues her Reader in Residence series with us this month with her second of four posts about literacy and education in New York. The author of Why Cant U Teach Me 2 Read?, Ms. Fertig tackles the issue of federal education funding this week under the Obama Administration’s Race to the Top program.

Found Footage: Mike V & The Brooklyn Banks

By Nicole Brydson

Shot last month, this seven minute short features skateboarder Mike Vallely lamenting the soon to be shuttered Brooklyn Banks, a lengendery NYC spot for generations of skater kids at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. The Downtown Express reported last October that “The city plans to use the internationally known Brooklyn Banks skate park as a staging area during the Brooklyn Bridge reconstruction, which is starting later this year and will last until 2014, said Ralph Musolino, a district manager for the city Parks Dept.” The city plans to shutter the area beginning this Friday, January 15, and it will remain closed until 2014.

WNYC’s Beth Fertig On Literacy

By Beth Fertig

An excerpt and note from journalist and author Beth Fertig, senior reporter on education for WNYC Radio, New York’s NPR affiliate, from her book, ‘Why Cant U Teach Me 2 Read? Three Students and a Mayor Put Our Schools To The Test.’

In Streamlining Public Healthcare Option, ‘You Don’t Need All That Paper’ Said Officials

By Karen Bolipata

Applying for public health insurance, a process that normally takes up to three months, can now take two weeks or less with Health Plus’s new paperless enrollment. “We all know this is the future,” said Borough President Marty Markowitz at a press conference this week, calling it “a big step toward achieving what we hope will be some form of universal health care.”

Brooklyn The Party At Public Assembly A Hit!

By Nicole Brydson

Thanks to everyone who came out to BrooklynTheBorough.com’s almost birthday to celebrate our brand new features at Public Assembly on December 2. We were excited that so many Brooklynites came out to support this independent brand, and we hope you will continue to show your support and trust BTB as a source for all things Brooklyn. Click through to read more about our terrific performers and view the party pictures!

Love Your Bartender: Scott Gold, Char No. 4

By Cait Weiss

Brooklyn is a borough of bars and rumor has it, we have many other things too. Be that true or not, Brooklyn is a unique hub of distinct neighborhood taverns, each filled with its own pack of fiercely dedicated locals. It’s no surprise, then, that Brooklyn is also a borough of bartenders. In Love Your Bartender, we’ll take a look at men and women who stand out as they stand behind our Brooklyn bars. We’ll also find out where they choose to let their hair down, and let someone else pour the pints for a change.