Brooklyn’s biggest stories of the week: The Battle of Brooklyn turned 250 on the Long Meadow; NYC Ferry discounts opened to middle schoolers; a 17-year-old was killed in East New York; City Hall sued the Council over paraprofessional bonuses; a Park Slope lottery opened 63 below-market apartments; an Egyptian restaurant opens in Bay Ridge and Brooklyn Brewery counted down to its last night on North 11th. Read on for the latest!
Events & Entertainment
The Battle of Brooklyn turned 250 on the Long Meadow
The Prospect Park Alliance, the Old Stone House and the Brigade of the American Revolution marked the 250th anniversary of the largest battle of the Revolutionary War on Saturday morning, with reenactors following the soldiers’ route from the Long Meadow down Third Street to the Old Stone House, and a Maryland 400 remembrance ceremony at noon. Free, and the Alliance warned families to expect loud sounds and smoke. Details here.
Thursday’s storms, and what they mean for the beach
A flood watch went up Thursday afternoon and severe storms brought flash flood and tornado warnings to the region that evening, with two waterspouts coming ashore on the Rockaway and Nassau side. Heavy rain routinely pushes city beaches into swimming advisories a day or two later, so check the Health Department’s beach water quality map before a trip to Coney Island or Riis.
Childcare & Schools
NYC Ferry discounts open to middle schoolers
Not only high school students but now also eligible NYC middle school students can get reduced-fare tickets for $1.35–$1.45 one-way to travel on weekdays for school. Discount codes for the 2026–27 NYC Ferry student program went live in NYC Schools Account portals on August 1, and students can start buying discounted tickets on September 1. Codes are weekday-only and have to be renewed every year. Charter and nonpublic school families can enroll too, through their child’s school. How to enroll.
The city’s student survey came back with a vaping problem
The first results from a rebuilt school survey — 61 questions, more than 357,000 students in grades 6 through 12 — landed Monday. Thirty-five percent said classmates vape often or very often, and among ninth graders it was 45 percent. This year is a new baseline, so it can’t be compared to prior surveys. The findings.
Class-size bonuses are still unexplained
Three weeks before the first day, the Education Department has not said which teachers qualify for the $8,500 class-size bonus it agreed to in exchange for delaying full compliance, or what it has set aside to pay for them. More here.
Police Blotter
A 17-year-old was killed in East New York
Ahmir Jordan, 17, was shot in the head inside a restaurant on New Lots Avenue on Wednesday evening and did not survive. Police were looking for two men who fled south on Bradford Street. A 35-year-old bystander was cut by broken glass. More here.
City Hall
The city sues the Council over paraprofessional bonuses
The RESPECT Check Act lapsed into law on Wednesday, promising up to $10,000 across four installments to roughly 26,000 paraprofessionals, whose starting salary is around $32,000. The administration sued the Council the same day, arguing that pay of this kind has to be bargained rather than legislated. The union has promised a fight. The Council’s response.
A BQE slip lane becomes a plaza
The Transportation Department is turning a slip lane and parking lot alongside the BQE at Jackson Street, between Meeker and Union, into a car-free public plaza. It has carried traffic since the 1960s. More here.
Real Estate & Development
A Park Slope lottery opened 63 below-market apartments
Applications opened Monday for 63 income-restricted apartments at 74 St. Marks Place, an 18-story, 247-unit building on the Gowanus edge of Park Slope. One- and two-bedrooms are in the mix, incomes run from 40 to 130 percent of area median, and 20 percent of the units are set aside for Community Board 6 residents. The deadline is September 3. Apply on NYC Housing Connect.
Permits filed for 81 apartments on Dean Street
Permits were filed Friday for an eight-story, 92-foot mixed-use building with 81 residences at 1027 Dean Street in Crown Heights, part of a site slated for 170 units in total. Renderings and details.
Openings & Amenities
Brooklyn Brewery’s last night on North 11th is August 29
After three decades in the same Williamsburg building, Brooklyn Brewery is leaving 79 North 11th Street for a larger space at 1 Wythe Avenue that will have its first proper kitchen. The farewell party on Saturday, August 29 is 21 and over. The new taproom is expected in the fall. The brewery’s own page.
A taqueria opens on Saratoga Avenue
Peral began soft-opening dinners at 105 Saratoga Avenue in Bed-Stuy, serving tacos and drinks from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The part parents will want is still to come: a daytime cafe with coffee, pastries and tamales, which the owners say is opening soon. Peral.
Modern Egyptian in Bay Ridge
Sofra opened at 8915 Fifth Avenue with a menu built around shared Egyptian dishes. It runs noon to 10 p.m. seven days a week, which makes it one of the few new openings this month with a real lunch window rather than dinner only. Sofra.
The old Century 21 in Bay Ridge finally has tenants
Burlington and an unnamed national grocer have signed for 60,112 square feet at Century Marketplace, the $130 million redevelopment of the shuttered Century 21 at 458 86th Street in Bay Ridge, taking the project to 65 percent pre-leased. It is a long way out — the opening is expected in 2028 and no certificates of occupancy have been filed — but it is half a block from the 86th Street R.
Transit
The G train ran a nightly shuttle all week
Signal modernization closed the G between Court Square and Bedford–Nostrand Avenues from 9:45 p.m. to 5 a.m., Monday through Friday, with free shuttle buses making all stops. Southbound trains also skipped Fourth Avenue–Ninth Street, 15th Street–Prospect Park and Fort Hamilton Parkway after 10:45 p.m. Service details.
Sports
On the Court
The Liberty lost 93–86 at Chicago on Tuesday, leaving them 22-15 and fourth in the Eastern Conference with the playoff field still to be settled, then returned to Barclays Center on Saturday night to host the Indiana Fever. The Nets signed 24-year-old forward Nick Pringle, undrafted out of Arkansas in June, to an Exhibit 10 deal on Tuesday.
On the Diamond
The Cyclones spent the entire week in Asheville. They took Tuesday’s opener 9-1 behind a two-homer night from Jefrey Spikerman, then lost Wednesday by a run and Thursday 13-6. They are not back at Maimonides Park until September 1.
On the Pitch
Brooklyn FC’s women opened their fall season at home on Friday night against DC Power, a fixture moved up from Sunday, as they chase a first playoff berth in a 14-match sprint season. The men hosted the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Maimonides Park on Saturday.
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