Brooklyn’s biggest stories this week: Reynoso’s State of the Borough address, sensory rooms coming to every District 75 elementary school, a transformational redesign for Grand Army Plaza, 36 alleged gang members indicted in Brownsville, a viral NYPD arrest video in Boerum Hill, record-breaking April heat, five Brooklyn restaurants added to the Michelin Guide, Stranger Things star David Harbour unloads his Cobble Hill brownstone, the Nets wrap a 20–62 season with the NBA’s best draft odds, and the Cyclones finally win one at home. Read on for the latest!
State of the Borough
Inside Reynoso’s State of the Borough: Sensory Rooms, a New Pin, and a Mermaid Parade Rescue
Over 1,000 people packed the Brooklyn Museum Thursday evening for Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso’s fourth State of the Borough address. Reynoso highlighted his administration’s work on maternal health, affordable housing, immigration, and education, citing major investments over his tenure: $45 million for maternal health (dedicated to renovating labor and delivery units at Woodhull, Kings County, and Coney Island hospitals), $30 million for affordable housing (with more than 12,000 units approved), and $76 million for schools — including the newly announced $9.25 million for sensory rooms in every District 75 elementary school in the borough (see below). The rooms are designed to support students with autism and other sensory processing needs by providing a calming, regulated environment within the school building. Reynoso also appointed public historian Asad Dandia as the new Brooklyn Borough Historian, and unveiled the 2026 Brooklyn Pin — designed by a local teenager — symbolizing community pride. He announced new funding for Coney Island USA to keep the Mermaid Parade tradition alive after the organization faced a funding shortfall, and advocated for the Interborough Express (IBX), a proposed rapid transit line between Brooklyn and Queens. Reynoso is running in the June primary to replace retiring Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez in NY-7.
Sensory Rooms Coming to Every District 75 Elementary School
Reynoso unveiled the sensory rooms initiative April 14 at P396K–The Sid Miller Academy in Brownsville, presenting a ceremonial check alongside Deputy Chancellor for the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning Christina Foti. District 75 serves students with autism, cognitive delays, sensory impairments, and other significant disabilities; the new rooms — equipped with sensory swings, calming lighting, soft textures, and movement tools — help students regulate emotions, reduce sensory overload, and return to learning. Eighteen schools will begin construction immediately, with the rest of the borough’s 37 District 75 buildings to follow, making Brooklyn the first borough in the city
City Hall
Grand Army Plaza: The Arch Will Get Its Park Back
Mayor Mamdani and the Department of Transportation unveiled a proposal this week to transform Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza by eliminating car traffic between the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch and the entrance to Prospect Park. Under the plan, the road connecting Union Street to Eastern Parkway on the arch’s south side would become a pedestrian plaza, linking the arch directly to the park for the first time. Grand Army Plaza would no longer function as a traffic circle; vehicles would be rerouted to the northern side of the arch. The redesign also includes new crossings to Bailey Fountain, shorter crosswalks at Flatbush and Vanderbilt Avenues, improved bike infrastructure, and streamlined bus service on the B41 (27,300 daily riders) and B6 (5,600 daily riders). “Anyone who’s tried to cross here knows how dangerous and chaotic the streets can be,” Mamdani said. “This redesign is long overdue.” The plan fulfills a 20-year dream of Brooklyn transportation advocates; public workshops begin April 23, with a community feedback survey open through May 31 at nyc.gov/grandarmyplaza.
2-K Goes Full-Day and Full-Year
In a major win for working parents, Mamdani announced that the city’s new 2-K program for two-year-olds will launch this fall with full-day and full-year coverage — 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., 260 days a year, compared to the traditional 180-day school calendar that ends at 2:30 p.m. “For many families working nine to five, an eight to three program isn’t going to cut it,” the mayor said at a Brownsville event. He estimated the expanded hours will save working parents at least $20,000 per child. The first 2,000 seats open this fall across five school districts, with plans to expand to 12,000 seats citywide by 2027. Governor Hochul contributed $73 million in state funding for the first year. (And yes, Cardi B recorded a jingle for it.)
Police Blotter
Moped Driver in Baby Kaori Shooting Arraigned
Matthew Rodríguez, the 18-year-old accused of driving the moped in the fatal shooting of 7-month-old Kaori Patterson-Moore, was extradited from Pennsylvania and arraigned in Brooklyn this week on charges of murder, attempted murder, assault, weapons possession, witness tampering and hindering prosecution. “It was not my fault. I didn’t pull the trigger. I promise I didn’t know,” Rodríguez shouted to reporters before being driven to court. His co-defendant, alleged shooter Amuri Greene, 21, also pleaded not guilty at his arraignment earlier this week.
36 Alleged Gang Members Indicted in Brownsville
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced the indictment of 36 alleged members of two rival Brownsville-based gangs — the Wooo and the Choo — on charges related to 36 shootings over nearly three years, one of them fatal. Ten people were injured in the shootings, including an innocent bystander, and surveillance footage showed children fleeing playgrounds as gunfire erupted. “Their vicious campaign of retaliation and retribution waged with absolutely no regard for human life turned every slight into a shootout,” Tisch said, standing over a table of confiscated firearms. Two gang members were also charged with stomping a perceived rival in Downtown Brooklyn.
Viral Video of Violent NYPD Arrest in Boerum Hill Sparks Outrage
Two NYPD detectives were placed on modified duty this week after a viral video showed them repeatedly punching, kicking and stomping on a man inside BK Wine Depot on Hoyt and Baltic Streets in Boerum Hill on Tuesday. The man, Timothy Brown, 46, a home health aide, was wearing green shorts — the same color as the clothing description of a suspect in a nearby drug operation. Police later determined Brown had nothing to do with the drug sale. He was initially charged with resisting arrest; Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez dropped the charge the next day. “I just thank God that I’m alive,” Brown told CBS News. Mayor Mamdani called the video “extremely disturbing and unacceptable,” and Commissioner Tisch called it “deeply disturbing.” The Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating.
Wild Weather
Brooklyn Breaks Out the Shorts: Record Heat Hits Mid-April
Kids went back to school in jackets on Monday. By Wednesday it was 90 degrees — the hottest April 15th since FDR’s third term. Central Park hit 88–90°F on Tuesday and Wednesday, smashing an 85-year-old record of 87°F set on April 15, 1941. Highs were nearly 30 degrees above normal for mid-April. The heat is expected to cool off by the weekend, dropping back to the 60s. In the meantime: hydrate, check on your neighbors, and enjoy the early preview of summer.
Food
Five Brooklyn Restaurants Added to the Michelin Guide
Brooklyn dominated the Michelin Guide’s latest update this week, claiming five of nine new NYC additions. The new honorees: Entre Nous (Clinton Hill, French/natural wine), Los Burritos Juárez (Clinton Hill, El Paso–style burritos), Bong (Cambodian), Vato (Park Slope, sourdough tortillería from the team behind Michelin-starred Corima), and I Cavallini (from the team behind Michelin-starred The Four Horsemen in Williamsburg). The restaurants haven’t yet earned Stars or Bib Gourmands but are now on inspectors’ radar for future awards. Read our full write-up here.
Events & Entertainment
The Other Art Fair Brooklyn & DUMBO Open Studios are on
The Other Art Fair Brooklyn is back for its 17th edition, and at the new/old location in Brooklyn Navy Yard. This spring’s theme, Nostalgia Core , is one you won’t want to miss and runs Thursday April 16 – 19th.
On April 18 + 19 from 1–6pm, over 100 artists in DUMBO open their doors to the public as a part of DUMBO Open Studios, giving visitors a look into studios and workspaces across the Brooklyn waterfront.
Fashion Week Brooklyn Takes Over Williamsburg and Park Slope
Fashion Week Brooklyn returned April 11–18 with a full slate of runway shows, cultural events, and designer showcases across the borough. Highlights included a Japan x Brooklyn Designers Festival in Park Slope featuring Japanese and Brooklyn-based designers on a shared runway, a Kidswear Festival, a fashion school tour, and the main runway events at the Pfizer Building in Williamsburg. The week kicked off with a black-tie event at a Bronx golf course and wrapped with closing night shows at 630 Flushing Avenue. Tickets and details at fashionweekbrooklyn.com.
Real Estate & Development
Stranger Things Happen: Lily Allen and David Harbour Sell Cobble Hill Brownstone for $7 Million
The Cobble Hill townhouse at 381 Union Street — the once-shared home of Stranger Things star David Harbour and his now-ex-wife, British pop singer Lily Allen — has officially sold for $7 million, nearly a million dollars below its original asking price. The couple bought the 22-foot-wide brownstone in 2021 for $3.3 million and gut-renovated it with AD100 designer Billy Cotton and architect Ben Bischoff of MADE, transforming it into a maximalist five-bedroom, four-bath showpiece with a sauna and backyard cold plunge. The home was listed in October 2025 for $7.995 million just days after Allen released her confessional album West End Girl, whose title track describes the very house (“You’ve found us a brownstone, said, ‘You want it? It’s yours’”). After a price cut to $7.3 million in January, the sale closed this week. Allen and Harbour separated in early 2025. Stranger things have happened in Brooklyn, though: just last week, James Bond star Daniel Craig and his wife Rachel Weisz sold their Cobble Hill townhouse at 22 Strong Place for $11.8 million.
Brooklyn Heights Brownstone Enters Contract at $8.5 Million
A five-story brownstone at 10 Sidney Place in Brooklyn Heights went into contract last week at an asking price of $8.5 million, topping the borough’s luxury market for the week. The 21-foot-wide home spans 5,700 square feet with six bedrooms and five bathrooms, plus a garden-level kitchen with access to a rear deck. Overall, Brooklyn saw 20 luxury deals signed (homes asking $2 million or more) for a total contract volume of $71 million, with a median asking price of $2.7 million. Not quite last week’s Bond-sells-the-townhouse drama, but the market’s humming along.
Sports
On the Court
The Nets’ 2025–26 season is in the books. Brooklyn closed out the year with losses at Milwaukee (125–108 on Friday) and at Toronto (136–101 on Sunday), finishing 20–62. It’s the worst record in the league, which means the Nets hold the best odds for the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. The lottery is set for May 13. For a team deep in its rebuild, that’s the silver lining — and with young players like Ben Saraf, E.J. Liddell and Nolan Traore getting real minutes down the stretch, there’s at least a foundation to build on.
On the Diamond
The Cyclones are home, and they now have a win to show for it. After an 0–6 start that included a shutout loss at Jersey Shore, Brooklyn opened its first full homestand at Maimonides Park on Tuesday night against the Greensboro Grasshoppers and pulled out a thrilling 9–8 victory. The hero: top prospect Mitch Voit, who launched a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning to seal it. Catcher Daiverson Gutiérrez went 4-for-5 with a homer of his own. Wednesday was less kind — a 15–4 blowout — but the homestand continues through Saturday. The ‘Clones are 3–7 and finding their footing.
On the Pitch
A perfect doubleheader weekend at Maimonides Park for Brooklyn FC. The men routed Charleston Battery 3–0 on Saturday night in what head-to-head was their most dominant performance of the young season. Jaden Servania opened the scoring in the 9th minute with a left-footed strike from outside the box, Stefan Stojanovic doubled the lead in the 32nd off a Markus Anderson assist, and Anderson sealed it in the 61st. Anderson was named USL Championship Player of the Week for his goal-and-two-assists performance; goalkeeper Jackson Lee earned a Team of the Week nod for four saves and the clean sheet. The men are now 2–4–0 and climbing. On Sunday, the women matched the scoreline with a 3–0 win over Dallas Trinity FC. Center back Kelsey Hill broke through in the 44th minute, and forward Rebecca Cooke added a brace (57th and 85th minutes) to put it away — even after Brooklyn went down to 10 players following a 69th-minute red card. Next up for the men: Sacramento Republic FC at Maimonides Park on Tuesday, April 21.
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