Park Slope | Brooklyn (The Borough)

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.

January 7, 2010 City Politics and News

tags: Bill de Blasio, Carroll Gardens, City Hall, Flatbush, Greenpoint, Marty Markowitz, New York City Council, Park Slope, Williamsburg

This Week in Brooklyn: The Disparities

By Karen Bolipata

This week in Brooklyn some stimulus money makes its way to Flatbush, while Norah Jones wins a battle over which windows she will install in her $5 million Cobble Hill home. Meanwhile 18 kilos of cocaine were retrieved from an apartment in WIlliamsburg.

November 20, 2009 The Locals

tags: Brooklyn Headlines, Cobble Hill, Flatbush, Greenpoint, Park Slope, Williamsburg

In Brooklyn – And Bored To Death – Everyone Is A Kid

By Nicole Brydson

The new HBO series Bored To Death, based on the life of Brooklyn author Jonathan Ames, has a lot to offer in contrasts between Manhattan and Brooklyn.

October 5, 2009 Film, The Locals

tags: Babylon Brooklyn, Boerum Hill, Bored To Death, Brooklyn Celebrities, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Parents, Carroll Gardens, City Kids, Cobble Hill, HBO, Jonathan Ames, Literary Brooklyn, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, The Brooklyn Effect

Atlantic Yards Sugar Daddy Is Also A Russian Oligarch

By Nicole Brydson

Bruce Ratner, the mastermind behind the Atlantic Yards Project and part-owner of the New Jersey Nets signed a $200 million deal today to give Russion oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov an 80% stake in the basketball team. Mr. Prokhorov wrote on his LiveJournal blog (translated from Russian by Google) that “participation in [this deal] was made possible by the world crisis (never in the history of foreigners owned NBA).”

September 23, 2009 Real Estate, The Locals

tags: Atlantic Yards, Boerum Hill, Bruce Ratner, Fort Greene, Oligarchs, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Urban Manifest Destiny

Can’t We All Just Get Along? Ten Rules for Road Safety

By Nicole Brydson

In light of the increasing number of newly painted bike lanes, and the cars who like to defile them, we’ve created a list of new road rules for everyone to help prevent catastrophic crashes between bikes and cars.

September 15, 2009 Culture, The Locals, The People

The Politics of Parents

By Nicole Brydson

This election season has seen lots of positioning around the various troubles the city presently faces, but that positioning has often turned to issues surrounding the children of the candidates for public office.

September 14, 2009 City Politics and News, Culture, The Locals, The People

tags: Bill de Blasio, City Hall, Election 2009, Eric Gioia, Josh Skaller, Park Slope

Brooklyn’s Guide to City Council Elections

By Nicole Brydson

‘Tis the season for city elections, so in advance of the September 15 primary, Brooklyn The Borough has compiled a list of incumbents and challengers in this year’s contested City Council elections for Brooklyn. There are many challengers this year, and open seats in the 33rd and 39th districts have made for heated races. Issues surrounding sustainable development have driven many candidates out of the woodwork. The pro-development Brooklyn political machine is still alive but questions remain about whether candidates supported by the county’s party boss, Assemblyman Vito Lopez, will sustain themselves despite criticism for their ties to a machine that makes the money flow from Brooklyn based business interests. The term limits extension has also sparked a renewed political engagement in the borough. Many candidates who had planned on running for seats that would have been open before term limits were extended have chosen to challenge incumbents that voted for the extension. We’ve compiled detailed information on each race as well as fundraising totals as the candidates head into the final weekend of the campaign.

September 10, 2009 City Politics and News, The Locals