Category: City Politics

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.

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.

Vito Lopez and His Cronies Love a Good Press Op

By Nicole Brydson

It should come as no surprise that Brooklyn political boss Vito Lopez organized a press opportunity featuring himself and an assortment of political pets claiming to be in solidarity with the occupy wall street movement.

People’s Firehouse to become the Northside Town Hall Community and Cultural Center

By Nicole Brydson

Marty Markowitz and Steven Levin teamed up to give some cash to further the cause of building North Brooklyn’s first Town Hall.

“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.

Today in Press Releases: Cathie Black

By Nicole Brydson

Today, with the resignation of Schools Chancellor Cathie Black, it seems like a lot of folks are toppling over each other to point and yell at Mayor Bloomberg. Here’s what arrived in our inbox today.

Marty Cheers on Bikes and Business, Rides Tricycle into State of the Borough

By Staff

Borough President Marty Markowitz loves to make a splash – especially at his annual State of the Borough address, known for its fanfare. This year, Marty rode into the Sunset Park High School Auditorium on a tricycle to the tune of Queen’s “Bicycle Race.” Click through for the video and full text of Marty’s speech.

Will Brooklyn/Queens Border Boast Prime Real Estate Along Newtown Creek? Just Wait 100 Years

By Sam Horwich-Scholefield

On my trip down the Newtown Creek aboard Captain John Lipscomb’s ship – before the city’s bout of winter madness – we grazed through a putrid-smelling “rotting mud,” described by the captain as the result of a century of contaminants being poured, dumped, or leaked into the creek by polluters. But, he told me, “in one hundred years this could be prime real estate.”

Better Ways To Feed Communities in Brooklyn and Beyond

By Sam Horwich-Scholefield

The Census Bureau estimates that poverty afflicts at least 13% of the country, including one in five people in Brooklyn. Income impacts nutritional health throughout life, and poor nutrition, especially prevalent in low-income neighborhoods, is a direct cause of heart disease and diabetes. Now, the slow food, urban farming and organic movements act as catalysts for a healthier America. Here are the policy changes, present and future, necessary for a healthier Brooklyn and beyond.

Brooklyn Bodegas Thrive on Soon-To-Be Slashed Food Assistance

By Nicole Brydson

Signs advertising government food subsidy programs dot the awnings and windows of the small and decrepit mini-grocers that line poverty stricken streets throughout Brooklyn, where rotting produce and goods packed with corn syrup collect dust. With a new federal cut to food stamp subsidies signed into law this week, how can Brooklyn retailers provide better food to it’s most vulnerable citizens rather than just continue to cut corners?

Finding New Solutions for Farming Local Food

By Sam Horwich-Scholefield

Perhaps no recent trend in the local food movement has received more positive attention than urban farming. In particular, rooftop and even wall gardening have been lauded as ways to utilize precious space while providing residents with fresh local produce and Brooklyn is home to several locally famous urban farms. In this segment of the Eco-Apartheid series, we’ll examine how city residents can gain better access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables with innovative solutions.

Rep. Ed Towns Calls Hearing On Census Fraud, Is Willing To Count Brooklynites Himself

By Jessica Dailey

Two Census Bureau managers from a Brooklyn field office may face criminal charges for faking more than 4000 surveys. In a hearing Monday morning, the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce stated that he believes the managers violated a federal law that makes it a felony to falsify census records.

Greenpoint Food Market 1.0 Shutters, Matures

By Jessica Dailey

The Greenpoint Food Market offered a low-cost, low-key environment for home cooks and amateur chefs to share their homemade products, but not anymore. Founder Joann Kim announced Wednesday that the market has shut down, hopefully only until the fall.

Hakeem Jeffries Takes Complaints, Chit Chats on the Corner

By Jessica Dailey

Crumbling sidewalks, car thefts, and the loss of vital bus lines are just a few of the complaints that Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries heard from Prospect Heights residents Tuesday evening during his “Summer at the Subway” evening office hours.

Join Hands Across the Sand in Coney Island

By Jessica Dailey

This Saturday, June 26, 2010, people across the nation will gather in beaches, parks, and cities to join hands as part of the largest protest ever against off-shore drilling.

The Food Paradox: How Obesity Commingles With Hunger in Brooklyn

By Sam Horwich-Scholefield

Brooklyn neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville and East New York exemplify a surprising food paradox: in the U.S., obesity can commingle with hunger.

Breaking Brooklyn’s Eco-Apartheid

By Sam Horwich-Scholefield

An astounding 1.4 million New Yorkers live in households that have trouble putting food on the table. This new series will address hunger and healthy food solutions done locally to address hunger and obesity right in our backyard.

Hakeem Jeffries ‘State of the District’ Takes on Condos and Cops

By Nicole Brydson

In his third edition of a speech almost unheard of on a district level, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries took on the federal government, the banking and real estate industries and the criminal justice system.

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.

Community Activists are Brooklyn’s Newest Council Members

By Nicole Brydson

As the local political dust of 2009 settles, Brooklynites will begin to see their city council choices at work (or not) in the new year.
Former councilman Bill deBlasio ascended to the role of public advocate this month, and stood with some of the council’s newest members to announce his intentions of reform for the office. “You have to engage the grass roots, and my office will be the leading edge of that,” he told the New York Times, of his desire to train city residents as community organizers. Now, residents of our fine borough will see the representation of three new incumbents whose rise to local leader began in the very same place.

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.”

Three’s A Crowd! Ahead of Election Day, Third Party Candidate Still Alive In Bed-Stuy

By Nicole Brydson

Mark Winston Griffith, 45, a native New Yorker and long time resident of Bedford Stuyvesant, ran against Councilman Al Vann along with seven democratic party challengers during the primary season, and since losing sought the endorsement of the union-backed Working Families Party and will appear on the ballot on November 3. His third party candidacy has built momentum in a race that has historically been settled on primary day.