Brooklyn’s biggest stories of the week: Box Street Park broke ground in Greenpoint, NYC Ferry fares go up on October 19; Jimmy Kimmel taped a week of shows at BAM, the Art of Manga opened at the Brooklyn Museum; the Lenape Pow Wow returned to Prospect Park; City Hall says the World Cup brought in $2 billion; a two-year rent freeze took effect for about a million apartments; and the Liberty became the first No. 8 seed ever to knock out a No. 1. Read on for the latest!
Parks
Box Street Park broke ground in Greenpoint
Mayor Mamdani announced the start of construction on Thursday on the $40 million, 2.5-acre park along Newtown Creek, promised to Greenpoint in the 2005 waterfront rezoning. Plans include an esplanade, a lawn, gardens, a basketball court, dog runs and a public restroom; construction is expected to finish by the end of summer 2028.
Transit & Streets
The BQE rebuild’s study plan is out, with a decade-long bypass over Furman Street and the Brooklyn Bridge approach
The city’s Department of Transportation released the Draft Scope of Work for the BQE Central project this week, including a temporary two-level bypass over Furman Street and the Brooklyn Bridge approach; Streetsblog reports it would require removing Harry Chapin Playground, to be restored later. Comments are due November 23. Our explainer is here.
Biketober: the Brooklyn Bridge bike route gets a protected path from Boerum Hill to DUMBO
DOT opened “Biketober” on Thursday with a redesign of the Brooklyn Bridge bike route: the Adams Street and Boerum Place lane becomes a two-way protected path from Bergen Street to Johnson Street, part of just over one mile of upgrades from Boerum Hill to DUMBO. Work between Atlantic Avenue and Tillary Street starts this year, per the DOT release.
NYC Ferry fares go up on October 19
The one-way fare rises from $4.50 to $5 on Monday, October 19, and the $15 two-day pass becomes permanent, per ABC7.
Events & Entertainment
Jimmy Kimmel brought his show to BAM for a week, and Pete Davidson asked the mayor to fix the BQE
Jimmy Kimmel Live! taped all week at BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House in Fort Greene, with guests including Paul McCartney, Howard Stern and Bernie Sanders. On Monday, Pete Davidson told Kimmel “The BQE has been under construction since before I was born,” and Kimmel passed the complaint on to Mayor Zohran Mamdani, per Yahoo Entertainment.
The Art of Manga opened at the Brooklyn Museum
Art of Manga, more than 600 original drawings from ONE PIECE to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, opened on Saturday, October 3 and runs through January 31, 2027. Timed tickets are $30 for adults, $21 for ages 13–19 and $12 for ages 4–12. Our guide is here.
The rooftop roller rink is back at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Empire Skate of Mind, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s rooftop roller rink, reopened on Thursday through April 11 for families with children ages 3 and up. Skating is $10 on top of the $15 museum admission, or $8 with your own skates.
The Lenape Pow Wow returned to Prospect Park
The Third United Lenape / Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow came to the LeFrak Center at Lakeside on Saturday, October 3 and continues Sunday, October 4 until 4pm, free: the third Lenape Pow Wow in New York City, and the second in a row at Lakeside. Prospect Park Alliance hosted it with the Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing Collective and the American Indian Community House: Indigenous dancers, drummers, singers, and craft and food vendors, welcoming back the peoples whose ancestral homelands Brooklyn sits on.
Police Blotter
A man died after his bag caught in the doors of an A train at Utica Avenue
Yaw Boahene, 57, was killed at the Utica Avenue A station in Bed-Stuy on Monday evening when his shopping bag caught in the closing doors and he was dragged onto the tracks, police said, per Gothamist. The MTA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
Two men were shot at the Whitman Houses in Fort Greene
Two men, 62 and 21, were shot on North Oxford Walk at about 1am on Thursday, October 1, and are expected to survive; the shooter fled in a gray Honda Civic and no arrests have been made, per ABC7.
A student was taken into custody with a gun at a Bed-Stuy high school
A 17-year-old student was taken into custody at Brooklyn High School for Law and Technology on Tuesday afternoon, September 29, after a report of a student with a firearm, per News 12.
City Hall & Housing
City Hall says the World Cup brought in $2 billion
The World Cup brought the city $2.0 billion in total economic impact and supported 12,100 jobs, the mayor’s office said on Wednesday; NYC Tourism found international Visa card spending up 19% in Brooklyn during the tournament.
A two-year rent freeze took effect for about a million rent-stabilized apartments
The Rent Guidelines Board’s 0% increase on one- and two-year leases took effect on Thursday, October 1, while landlords sue, arguing the mayor improperly influenced the board, NY1 reports.
Bay Ridge is one of 12 districts on the mayor’s affordable-housing fast track
From January 1, qualifying affordable-housing proposals in Brooklyn Community Districts 10, 12 and 18 (Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights; Borough Park and Kensington; Canarsie and Flatlands) get a roughly 90-day review instead of the full land-use process, per amNY.
Schools & Childcare
The mayor said the school system “failed” Nikole Hannah-Jones’s daughter at PS 307
Mayor Mamdani said on WNYC on Tuesday that the public school system “failed her child,” after Nikole Hannah-Jones revisited her 2016 decision to enroll her daughter at PS 307, per Education Week.
A seven-acre outdoor campus for public school students is coming to Floyd Bennett Field
The nonprofit Runway Green won a 60-year lease for a sustainability-focused campus for city public school students at Floyd Bennett Field, starting with a three-acre urban farm; groundbreaking is expected in 2027, Brooklyn Paper reports.
Real Estate & Development
A 257-unit rental tower finished construction at 880 Atlantic Avenue
EMP Capital Group’s 19-story Eight80 BK in Prospect Heights finished construction with 257 rentals, 65 of them affordable at 130% of area median income, plus a children’s playroom, per New York YIMBY.
Food & Drink
Smør Bakery opened in Carroll Gardens
Smør, the Nordic-inspired bakery, opened at 361 Court Street, at President Street, on Thursday, October 1, with pastries, coffee, breakfast and lunch.
Mythily opened in Williamsburg
Top Chef alum Rasika Venkatesa opened Mythily, her Tamil and South Indian restaurant, at 129 Havemeyer Street on Wednesday, September 30.
Aokō Matcha opened in Park Slope
Aokō Matcha, the matcha gelato café, opened at 155 Fifth Avenue on Monday, September 28, per Eater NY.
Chip City closed all its shops, and OddFellows left Domino Park
Chip City closed all 24 of its cookie shops on Thursday, October 1, Brooklyn’s included, per amNY. Wayward Fare in Prospect Heights closed on Friday, October 2, per Eater NY, and OddFellows closed its Domino Park shop on Sunday, September 27.
Sports
On the Court
The Liberty knocked top-seeded Minnesota out of the playoffs, 91-75 in Minneapolis and 87-71 at Barclays Center, the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 in the league’s history. The semifinal against Atlanta starts Sunday, October 4 at 2pm on ABC. The Nets’ preseason opens Tuesday, October 6 at Charlotte.
On the Pitch
Brooklyn FC’s men lost 3-1 to Detroit City on Wednesday and are out of playoff contention, then lost 3-1 to Rhode Island FC at Maimonides Park on Saturday, Malik Pinto scoring late. The women beat Fort Lauderdale United 1-0 on Friday on a goal from Carlee Giammona.
Do you want all local parenting news in your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter now!
