Brooklyn’s biggest stories of the week: a new Bergen Street bike boulevard rises from last week’s school bus tragedy; last call for free city-worker child care; Brooklyn Prospect High School’s Downtown Brooklyn debut this fall; Dinosaur Bar-B-Que serves its final brisket on Union Street after 15 years; Show Brooklyn Some Love Fest’s Mother’s Day Flower Bar, the Atlantic Avenue ArtWalk, and a recap of Moms Who Move Bklyn; new Williamsburg permits and a record-setting Olympia DUMBO close, with Ben Simmons doubling down on the same building; DUMBO braces for World Cup tourism, NYPD and FDNY pull a woman and her cat from the East River, and a Mother’s Day K-Pop glow-skate rolls into Prospect Park; and on the Court, the Diamond, and the Pitch — including the Liberty’s blowout home opener. Read on for the latest!
City Hall
Bergen Boulevard: Mayor Pedals Out a Safer Route to Class
On Wednesday’s National Bike, Walk and Roll to School Day, Mayor Mamdani and DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn rode the Bergen Bike Bus and announced a street-safety redesign for the Bergen and Dean Street corridors from Court Street eastward. The plan adds a “bike boulevard” — a route that calms speeds and prioritizes cyclists while keeping local car access — directly through Boerum Hill, Park Slope, and Crown Heights school zones. A pointed follow-up to last week’s Williamsburg school bus tragedy. Details from the Mayor’s Office.
“The Little Apple” Closes Applications Soon
The City’s first free, full-day, full-year on-site child-care pilot for municipal workers stops taking applications on May 15, a week from Thursday. If you have a city-employed friend who hasn’t filed, this is the nudge. Apply here.
Schools
Brooklyn Prospect High School Heads to Downtown Brooklyn This Fall
A heads-up for high school families: Brooklyn Prospect High School moves into a custom-built Downtown Brooklyn campus in Fall 2026 — 1,200 students at capacity, with science labs, an NBA-sized gym, dance studios, a black box theater, and a two-floor library and student lounge. The school is one of the few unscreened public high schools in NYC offering the IB program to every student. District 13 priority but open to applicants borough-wide. A deeper dive is on the way; consider this the heads-up.
Closings
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Serves Its Last Brisket on Union Street May 13
After 15 years smoking up Gowanus from a converted industrial building at 604 Union Street, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is calling it. The lease is up and the building is slated for demolition to make room for a new apartment development. Last call: Wednesday May 13. See the rest of April’s openings and closings recap.
Events
Show Brooklyn Some Love Fest
Downtown Brooklyn’s third annual Show Brooklyn Some Love Fest rolls into City Point and Albee Square Plaza Saturday May 9, 11 AM–2 PM. Festivities include a free Mother’s Day Flower Bar to make a custom bouquet, the Brooklyn Museum on Wheels, an African dance and drumming workshop, a bead bar, and $1 dessert specials at DeKalb Market Hall. Free, kid-friendly, all yours. More options in our free kid-friendly events for the week.
Atlantic Avenue ArtWalk Spans 60 Storefronts
The ArtWalk returns Saturday, May 9 with 125+ artists installing work in 60 shops, galleries, and restaurants along Atlantic Avenue. Free, self-guided, and routed straight through Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and BoCoCa — pair it with brunch and call it a Mother’s Day. More for the calendar in our 2026 outdoor festivals and street fairs guide.
Recap: Moms Who Move Bklyn
BBP’s first-ever Moms Who Move Bklyn breakfast panel landed Thursday at City Point in Downtown Brooklyn. Journalist Grace Bastidas moderated panelists from Citizens Union, the Mama Glow Foundation, North Brooklyn Parks Alliance, CEC 13, and former Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo, with a bonus child-mental-health conversation from Empire Minds. In partnership with Brooklyn Org and the Stardust Fund. See the full recap.
Real Estate & Development
Williamsburg’s Roebling Street to Get a Seven-Story Mixed-Use
Permits filed for a seven-story building at 314 Roebling Street, a half-block from the Marcy Avenue J/M/Z. Adds residential plus ground-floor commercial near the Williamsburg Bridge approach.
Olympia DUMBO Posts a Sponsor-Condo Record, and Ben Simmons Doubles Down
The 32nd-floor penthouse at Olympia Dumbo — 5,000 square feet, five bedrooms, a 552-square-foot terrace, and the entire Manhattan skyline as a moodboard — closed for $16.25 million this week, a new high for a Brooklyn sponsor sale. Several floors below, basketball star Ben Simmons signed contracts on a combined two-unit at the same building for $13 million. The recently crowned 6sqft Building of the Year is, by any reading, having a moment. The borough’s high end keeps climbing — DUMBO and Carroll Gardens cracked the city’s top 10 most expensive neighborhoods in Q1 2026.
Brooklyn Color
DUMBO Residents Brace for the World Cup, and the Indignity of It All
Spare a thought for the residents of Washington Street, who, with the 2026 World Cup six weeks out, reported in the NY Post that the quality of life in DUMBO has “massively deteriorated.” Selfie-stick standoffs and stoop-climbers are the cited offenses; trash, vendor pressure, and security round out the list. Council Member Lincoln Restler is pushing the City for a coordinated plan, which seems fair. Whether the rest of Brooklyn can summon a tear for the cobblestone-and-condo set is another matter.
NYPD, FDNY, and Parks Crews Pull Woman and Cat From the East River
NYPD released bodycam footage this week of a coordinated rescue under the Brooklyn Bridge: an officer waded in with a life preserver while Parks crews held a tethered line and brought a woman and her cat to safety on the small beach at the northern tip of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Both are expected to recover; the clip drew quick online praise for the choreography.
Mommy & Me K-Pop Glow Skate Rolls Into Prospect Park
On Sunday, May 10, from 12 to 3 PM, the LeFrak Center will host a Mother’s Day glow-skate. Glowing lights, K-Pop beats, a special guest appearance from “Derpy the Tiger,” and skating with mom. Admission and skate rental fees apply.
Sports
On the Court
The Liberty steamrolled the Connecticut Sun 106-75 in Friday night’s home opener at Barclays — Breanna Stewart led with 31 points and 10 rebounds, even with Sabrina Ionescu sidelined by a left foot injury. Washington visits Sunday May 10. The Nets, meanwhile, find out their draft fate at the NBA Lottery the same day — they walk in with the league-best 14% odds and a 52.1% chance of landing in the top four. Lottery details.
On the Diamond
The Cyclones split the Frederick homestand 1–2 (a 2-0 four-arm shutout, then 5-2 and 4-1 losses) and dropped Wednesday’s road opener at Bowling Green 8-4. Series at the Hot Rods runs through the weekend before Brooklyn returns to Maimonides Park. Tickets and schedule.
On the Pitch
Brooklyn FC’s men host Loudoun United at Maimonides Park Saturday May 9 at 7 PM — first home match in two weeks, doubling as Mother’s Day Celebration and Support the Troops Night (the first 500 fans get a Brooklyn FC camo cap). The women dropped a tight 3-2 at Sporting JAX last Sunday but have banked two 3-0 wins in their last five. Tickets at brooklynfootballclub.com.
Do you want all local parenting news in your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter now!
