Brooklyn’s biggest stories of the week: Brooklyn marked 25 years since 9/11 with gatherings across the borough and along the waterfront; Central Library opened its 4,700-square-foot Teen Center, the biggest in the system; the City put 15 mph slow zones outside hundreds of schools and opened 77 school Open Streets; the MTA unveiled the first station designs for the Interborough Express; 1.1 million kids went back to school Thursday as free 2-K got underway; student OMNY cards died days before the first bell; a 400-apartment tower was filed for Gowanus; and Sweet Chick quietly closed on Bedford Avenue. Read on for the latest!
Remembering 9/11
Brooklyn marked 25 years since September 11
Twenty-five years on, Brooklyn paused on Friday: the annual evening ceremony at the American Veterans Memorial Pier in Bay Ridge, a sundown gathering at Sunset Park’s 9/11 Living Memorial Grove, Green-Wood’s Notes of Tribute evening, and quiet crowds along the Brooklyn waterfront as the Tribute in Light rose over lower Manhattan.
25 years after 9/11, a call for those who were kids at Ground Zero
As the city marked the 25th anniversary on Friday, the World Trade Center Health Program was recruiting people exposed to Ground Zero as children and young adults who have since developed related conditions. The City Council also passed legislation Thursday to bring the history of 9/11 into city classrooms. The health program; the Council bill.
City Hall & Transit
15 mph slow zones and 77 school Open Streets for the new school year
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn announced on Wednesday that 15 mph School Slow Zones were in place at more than 200 schools, with roughly 800 expected by the end of the year, the largest expansion yet of Sammy’s Law. The package also launched 77 school Open Streets for 2026-27 and promised street redesigns beside more than 300 schools this year. Details from City Hall.
The Interborough Express got its first station designs
Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA released renderings on Wednesday for the $5.5 billion light-rail line from the Brooklyn Army Terminal to Roosevelt Avenue in Queens: 18 fully accessible stations, connections to 17 subway lines and a 32-minute end-to-end ride. A draft environmental impact statement is due this fall, with public meetings to follow; service is still projected for the 2030s. The MTA’s announcement.
Last swim: outdoor pools and beaches close after Sunday
The city’s outdoor pools and lifeguarded beaches close for the season after Sunday, September 13. Pools ran 11am–7pm with a 3–4pm cleaning break; beaches were guarded 10am–6pm, and swimming is off-limits once the lifeguards leave. Pool details here.
Schools & Childcare
1.1 million kids went back to school, and free 2-K began
Public schools opened Thursday, the latest first day of any big-city district, with the new AI moratorium and screen-time caps in force. The same morning roughly 2,000 two-year-olds started the city’s new free 2-K program, including at a Friends of Crown Heights center in East Flatbush. Providers told Chalkbeat many contracts and city loans were still unpaid; the Mayor wants 12,000 seats next fall. More at Chalkbeat.
Student OMNY cards stopped working days before the first bell
Families found last year’s student OMNY cards dead in the week before school, even though the cards had been billed as good for 365 days; the MTA and the Department of Education pointed at each other. New cards are being handed out through schools, and a virtual OMNY pilot is running at seven schools. Chalkbeat has the details.
Brooklyn Public Library opened its biggest-ever teen center
Central Library opened a 4,700-square-foot Teen Center on Thursday, the largest teen space in the 62-branch system: recording pods, a gaming lounge, a makerspace and a teens-only rule. It arrived with a new art and music reading room and a borrowable craft-kit collection, part of the $67 million second phase of the Grand Army Plaza renovation. Teen programs here.
Police Blotter
An 18-year-old was shot and killed on Havemeyer Street
Jayden Velasquez, 18, was shot just before 10pm Wednesday outside a Nepalese restaurant at 160 Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg and died at Bellevue. The gunman fled east on Havemeyer, and no arrest had been announced as the week closed. Crime Stoppers is offering up to $3,500 for tips. More here.
Real Estate & Development
400 apartments, and a public school, filed for 424 Hoyt Street
Ailanthus, the venture led by TerraCRG’s Ofer Cohen with Totem’s Vivian Liao and Tucker Reed, filed on Tuesday to rezone a Two Trees-owned lot in Gowanus for a 17-story, 400-unit building with 100 to 120 affordable apartments, 46,000 square feet for a public school and ground-floor retail. Two Trees had once promised offices on the site. The filing.
Two supermarkets signed for Atlantic Avenue
A CTown is coming to 1042 Atlantic Avenue and a new independent, Atlantic Market, to 880 Atlantic Avenue, both on 20-year leases in new rental towers on the Prospect Heights–Crown Heights line. Both were signed under the city’s FRESH program, which requires fresh produce, meat and dairy on the shelves. Openings are expected in the third quarter of 2027. More here.
A Happier Grocery owner bought the old Rite Aid on Smith Street
The buyer of 320 Smith Street, the vacant former Rite Aid across from Carroll Park, turned out to be a co-owner of Happier Grocery, the upscale Manhattan market, the Brooklyn Paper reported. No store, lease or timeline has been announced, so for now it is a purchase, not an opening.
Openings & Closings
Doubles is bringing roti and smash burgers to Brooklyn Heights
The Hamptons Caribbean spot Doubles is taking over the old Plymouth Deli at 90 Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights Blog reported Thursday: roti, doubles (curried chickpeas on fried dough), fried chicken, smash burgers and smoothies. No opening date yet. Website.
Santa Chiara Caffè soft-opened in Greenpoint
The Italian caffè, bakery and gelateria from Long Island City soft-opened at 227 West Street with small-batch gelato, pastries, paninis and pizza, with finishing touches and a liquor license still pending. Website.
Ayune opened on Manhattan Avenue
The owners of Wasabi, the Greenpoint sushi spot that closed this summer after 26 years, opened Ayune, a Japanese hand-roll bar, at 664 Manhattan Avenue, with old Wasabi favorites and hand-roll sets from $19. Instagram.
Bebo is bringing Georgian comfort food to Atlantic Avenue
Bebo — “grandma” in Georgian — is coming to 145 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights, in the former Luzzo’s space: traditional Georgian dishes built on the owners’ grandmother’s recipes, with vegetarian and vegan options. Not open yet. Instagram.
Sweet Chick closed on Bedford Avenue, and Partners Coffee is next
Sweet Chick, the chicken-and-waffles spot at 164 Bedford Avenue since 2013, quietly closed, Greenpointers reported Wednesday. Partners Coffee said its original Williamsburg flagship and roastery at 125 North 6th Street will pour its last cup on Sunday, September 27, after nearly fifteen years; its other locations stay open. Partners here.
Around Brooklyn
A JAY-Z Blueprint library card
Brooklyn Public Library and Roc Nation released a second JAŸ-Z 30 limited-edition card this week, marking 25 years of The Blueprint. It is free with a library card at every branch, first come first served while supplies last, and the library’s location map shows which branches still have them. Find a branch.
Sports
On the Court
The Liberty (24-16, third in the East) had the week off before the stretch run: at Minnesota on Friday, September 18, then home to Atlanta on September 21 and 23 before the playoffs begin September 27. The Nets’ roster is set at 15 plus three two-way deals after Grant Nelson signed; camp opens September 29 and the home opener is October 21. Liberty schedule.
On the Diamond
The Cyclones closed their season on Sunday, September 6 at 57-73, a year after winning the South Atlantic League title; no playoffs this fall. Team site.
On the Pitch
Brooklyn FC’s men hosted Miami FC at Maimonides Park on Saturday night, and the women welcomed Sporting JAX on Sunday at 3pm for their “Women Run the World” match. Club news here.
Do you want all local parenting news in your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter now!
