Brooklyn-Born

There’s no trick to enjoying the treats Brooklyn has to offer this weekend. Coney Island’s Luna Park will host the annual Halloween Harvest from Friday through Sunday, 12 to 8 p.m. Activities include trick-or-treating, tractor racing, decorating stations and pumpkin carving and painting. The Fifth Avenue BID will hold a Halloween Festival on Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. between Bay Ridge Parkway and 82nd Street. Visitors can expect decorated houses on the side streets and a block party with a bounce house, arts and crafts, pumpkin decorating, “Trunk-or-Treat,” castle building and music. Kids are encouraged to wear costumes. Prospect Park’s Haunted Carousel will be open Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. Kids can take a ride while listening to spooky music. Tickets are $3 per ride. On Saturday at 11 a.m., the Alliance for Coney Island will host the 12th Annual Children’s Halloween Festival and Parade at Maimonides Park. Entertainment will include magic shows, i

Grand Army Plaza set to celebrate new year

The New Year’s Eve fireworks celebration at Prospect Park’s Grand Army Plaza is back for the first time since 2019. The event is presented by Borough President Antonio Reynoso, NYC Parks and the Prospect Park Alliance. It starts at 10 p.m. and includes live entertainment by Quintessential Playlist. The past two celebrations were canceled due to COVID-19. A previous fireworks show at Grand Army Plaza. Eagle Urban Media file photo “It’s not a Brooklyn New Year’s Eve without fireworks in Prospect Park,” Reynoso said last month. “What an honor it is to team up with Prospect Park Alliance to bring this beloved Brooklyn tradition back for another year, my first as president of the greatest borough in the world.” The event is free. You can visit prospectpark.org/fireworks to reserve a spot but it is not required. The post Grand Army Plaza set to celebrate new year appeared first on The Brooklyn Home Reporter . By: Jaime DeJesus Title: Grand Army Plaza set t

Grand Army Plaza set to celebrate new year

Street renamed for slain cop 100 years after his death

The name of a Bay Ridge cop who was murdered a century ago now graces the street on which he lived. Community members turned out on Oct. 23 for a ceremony renaming the corner of Fourth Avenue and 74th Street “Patrolman Arthur Loewe Way.” NYPD officers honor Patrolman Arthur Loewe during the ceremony. Photos courtesy of NYPD Brooklyn South Loewe, 26, was shot while investigating a burglary in July 1922. He was defending the neighborhood from a gang of armed thieves, according to NYPD News Twitter, which said, “Today’s street renaming renews our solemn vow to #NeverForget those who made the ultimate sacrifice.” Photos courtesy of NYPD Brooklyn South “Patrolman Arthur Loewe was a hero, and around here we don’t forget heroes, not even 100 years later,” said Councilmember Justin Brannan. A police officer stands next to a photo of Patrolman Arthur Loewe. Eagle Urban Media/photos by Arthur De Gaeta Eagle Urban Media/photos by Arthur De Gaeta The post

Residents, community leaders, police call to stop unlicensed pot shops

Southern Brooklyn residents, police officers and elected officials are calling for the shutdown of allegedly illegally operating and unlicensed marijuana businesses. U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis held a press conference near Bay Ridge Catholic Academy at Fourth Avenue and 83rd Street on Oct. 28 and talked about the unlawful operation of pot shops that are popping up around Bay Ridge and the city. “We are here outside of a school, which is very close to an unauthorized marijuana selling shop. There are two in this vicinity not too far away from each other,” she said. “My office has received phone calls from parents who are concerned. It’s inappropriate whether it’s legal or illegal to have a marijuana dispensary so close to a school.” The Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act was passed by New York State in March 2021. However, there haven’t been retail licenses issued for recreational dispensaries. She stated that since no licenses have been issued to date, the

Pirates plunder Fort Hamilton’s homecoming

For their homecoming game, the 1-2 Fort Hamilton Tigers hosted the 0-4 Tottenville Pirates, who traveled to Brooklyn ready to win their first game of the season. The Pirates made their statement for a win from the very beginning of the game when Tyshawn Bent hauled in a 30-yard pass for a quick 6-0 lead. After two consecutive interceptions by Benny Quezada and Julian Lopez, the Tigers failed to score until Charles Kitsakos ran the ball to the Tottenville 10-yard line. On the next play, Tiger quarterback Mark Kiss threw a strike to Amani Cespedes, who wrestled the ball away from his Tottenville defender, and in the process managed to tip the ball to August Porter for what would be the Tigers’ only score. A PSAL official speaks to team captains Benny Quezada, Sebastian Zamy and Anthony DeAngelis before the game. Going into the second quarter, the Tigers’ brief 8-6 lead slowly evaporated as Bent struck again with runs of 6, 34, and 60 yards to give the Pirates a 26

November Culture Calendar: 10 films, books and shows to feast upon

Photo by Avi Werde via Unsplash. Autumn is in full swing and as of last week, t he sun won’t set any later than 6pm in NYC again until March 12th, 2023. Instead of falling into a pit of depression, I’m going to start taking my Vitamin D and discover things to look forward to before the holiday rush. Whether it’s getting out of my house to enjoy some live events or folding into my couch with a new book or streaming the next binge-worthy show, I’m aiming to enjoy the cozy season and all the culture that comes with the slow lean toward the dark side of the year. Nov. 1: My First Popsicle Book Launch Why is Girls and The Flight Attendant star Zosia Mamet editing a book of food essays? Why not? My First Popsicle: An Anthology of Food and Feelings , a collection of food stories, essays, and recipes from A-list comedians, actors, and other celebrities is almost interesting in its randomness. Contributors include David Sedaris, Patti Smith, Gabourey Sidibe, Jia Tolentino, Tony Hal

Precinct council meeting draws big crowd

The 68th Precinct Community Council has resumed in-person monthly meetings, but not at its traditional meeting site. Since the stationhouse opened on 65th Street – with the rare exception of a joint annual meeting with the Dyker Heights Civic Association – the monthly proceedings took place on the main floor. This venue provided an unobstructed view of the guest speakers and police officials. Instead, the meetings have been moved across the street to a small community room in the Bay Ridge Towers, where some sight lines are blocked by pillars. A lieutenant speaks to the crowd as Deputy Inspector Andrew Tolson looks on. This month’s meeting drew one of the largest crowds in many years, due to the perceptions and realities of recent crime rates. A front page headline in the NY Daily News the day before railed, “Wild, Wild West, nabe of Bay Ridge – it’s ‘a free-for-all out there.’” The paper included a report that grand larceny in the 68th Precinct is up 42.8 perc

Greek restaurant closes after 25 years

Plaka Taverna, a mainstay on Fourth Avenue and 86th Street for 25 years, served its last meal Oct. 31. The owner of the Greek-American restaurant – whom many customers knew simply as Vicki – is retiring, her daughter said. Photo by Joseph Filosa “To our customers – It has been a joy getting to know so many of you,” said a Facebook message. “You have been an extension of our family and you will be missed. Thank you for your loyalty and support. For 25 wonderful years! It has been our pleasure to serve you.” Plaka Taverna owner Vicki, center, with customers Joseph and Patti Filosa on closing night. Photos courtesy of Joseph Filosa The post Greek restaurant closes after 25 years appeared first on The Brooklyn Home Reporter . By: Jaime DeJesus Title: Greek restaurant closes after 25 years Sourced From: brooklynreporter.com/2022/11/greek-restaurant-closes-after-25-years/ Published Date: Thu, 03 Nov 2022 07:53:07 +0000

Botanically-inspired, acclaimed Lightscape returns to Brooklyn Botanic Garden

From brooklyneagle .com Lightscape, Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s after-dark, illuminated spectacular, returns on November 16, 2022. Lights- cape was an immediate hit in its debut last year and welcomed sold-out crowds. This year’s trail shines with over a million lights and features new works of art by both local and international artists along with the returning iconic Winter Cathedral and a reimagined Fire Garden. Lightscape runs on select dates from November 16, 2022, through January 8, 2023. The one-mile trail winds through BBG’s 52-acre landscape, animated by light, color, and sound. Monumental light installations and colorful light displays highlight the Garden’s trees, landscapes, and architecture. Concessions along the trail offer seasonal treats. Says Adrian Benepe, president and CEO of Brooklyn Botanic Garden: “We are thrilled to bring Lightscape back to Brooklyn Botanic Gar- den this year. It is the largest and most extravagant, artistic winter lights exhibiti

Revisiting ‘Brown Girl, Brownstones’

Photo: Meredith Craig de Pietro This story is part of our “ Brooklyn Classics ” series, about well-known and underappreciated books set in the borough. Compared to other authors in our Brooklyn Classics series, Paule Marshall isn’t quite a household name, yet her book Brown Girl, Brownstones , first published in 1959, is a breathtaking achievement. A coming-of-age story about Barbadian immigrant, Selina Boyce, who grows up among the brownstones in Brooklyn during the 1940s with one parent pining for his old life in Barbados and one parent seeking to achieve the American Dream. Young Selina is caught in the middle between the past and the future, trying to understand which is the better way to be. At a dance, a man asks her mother, “How can you forget the past, mahn? You does try but it’s here today and there waiting for you tomorrow.” We trace Selina’s path from her suffocating Crown Heights apartment to college in Manhattan and the road is paved with her struggles of identit

Revisiting ‘The Brooklyn Follies’

This story is part of our “ Brooklyn Classics ” series, about well-known and underappreciated books set in the borough. “I was looking for a quiet place to die. Someone recommended Brooklyn…” And thus begins Paul Auster’s The Brooklyn Follies, a novel about pre-9-11 Brooklyn, a time when Park Slope seemed far enough away from it all that a former life insurance salesman, Nathan Glass, could find the quiet and solitude he seeks for his twilight years. Of course, it wouldn’t be much of a story if Glass found what he thinks he’s looking for. Instead, like any Brooklyn transplant knows, he finds a community nestled within the brownstones. It’s what Auster describes in the novel as the “[s]mall-town chat in the heart of the big city” and it eventually wins over Glass and connects him to the neighborhood characters he meets, including his nephew Tom Wood, with whom he randomly reconnects. Over the course of adventures, strange schemes, and kismet encounters, Glass abandons his plan

Revisiting ‘The Brooklyn Follies’