Apr. 4, 2025 By Miriam Norwitz The Coney Island Polar Bear Club announced this week that its annual New Year’s Day Polar Bear Plunge raised more than $60,000, benefiting seven local Coney Island non-profits. The event, hosted in collaboration with the Alliance for Coney Island, drew over 6,000 participants. The Polar Bear Club, the…
Apr. 3, 2025 By Gabriele Holtermann Ahead of Passover, which begins at sundown on April 12, the Met Council’s Borough Park hub distributed thousands of pounds of groceries to food-insecure community members so they can celebrate the liberation of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery with dignity. According to the UJA Federation of New…
Apr. 3, 2025 By Kirstyn Brendlen When veterinarians at Flatbush Vet first examined a new rescue cat this year, he was so thin and scraggly that they assumed he was an “old man.” After some TLC, though, they realized the feline — now named Gordon Baggins — was just a year old. He was…
Apr. 3, 2025 By Kirstyn Brendlen Brooklyn’s violent crime rate dropped in March, according to the latest NYPD data — marking the fourth consecutive month where crime was down year-over-year. In the 28-day period from March 3-31, the overall rate of major felonies — murder, rape, burglary, assault, robbery, grand larceny, and grand larcent…
Apr. 1, 2025 By Regina Martinez When Michele Heart posted to a Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Bensonhurst community Facebook group complaining that La Bella Marketplace, one of the neighborhood’s few independent supermarkets, had sold her a bad onion, she probably didn’t expect to go viral. But in a corner of Brooklyn where loyalty…
Apr. 1, 2025 By Anna Bradley-Smith A late 19th-century Romanesque Revival church in Prospect Heights, not far from Barclays Center, could soon become residential apartments if the city greenlights a planned conversion. It is unclear how much of the original church structure — which is not landmarked — would stay in place if the…
Mar. 31, 2025 By Kirstyn Brendlen Signs of spring are arriving in Brooklyn — Luna Park is open, cherry blossoms are blooming, and Smorgasburg is preparing to make its return to Williamsburg and Prospect Park. The beloved warm-weather food festival is set to open in Marsha P. Johnson State Park on Saturday, April 5…
Mar. 31, 2025 By Adam Daly Former City Council Member Ari Kagan has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in Brooklyn’s 48th District, setting up a primary battle against incumbent Council Member Inna Vernikov ahead of the June 24 election. Kagan, who previously indicated he was eyeing the seat under the assumption that…
Mar. 31, 2025 By Barbara Russo-Lennon Road safety advocates are calling for more action to stop drivers from recklessly speeding after a mother and her three children were tragically killed crossing a Gravesend street on Saturday. The family, 34-year-old Natasha Saada and her two daughters, Diana, 8, and Deborah, 5, were killed when Miriam Yarimi,…
Mar. 31, 2025 By Meaghan McGoldrick O'Neil The People’s Playground is officially open. Luna Park in Coney Island welcomed guests back for the 2025 season with a festive two-day celebration over the weekend. The park opened its gates at 11 a.m. on Saturday, drawing thrill-seekers and families alike. A centerpiece of the opening day…