Brooklyn’s biggest stories of the week are in, from the announcement of free childcare program for two-year-olds to the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro’s detention in a Sunset Park jail. Plus, a fire in Brooklyn Heights, a shooting in a Park Slope hospital, record flu hospitalizations on the rise, and more community news. Read on for the latest!
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Mayor Mamdani & Governor Hochul announce free childcare for two-year-olds in NYC
Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul have unveiled 2-Care, a new program that will provide free childcare for two-year-olds in New York City. The program will launch in high-need neighborhoods in September 2026 and expand citywide by the 2029–30 school year. Once fully implemented, 2-Care will bring the city closer to universal childcare for all children under age 5—a key campaign promise for Mamdani, who pledged free childcare for children from 6 weeks to 5 years old, regardless of income. Governor Hochul has committed to fully funding the first two years of 2-Care and is also partnering with Mayor Mamdani to strengthen and expand access to the city’s 3K program, which faced cuts under Mayor Eric Adams’ administration. Read more here.
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and wife held at Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park
The Venezuelan president and his wife Cilia Flores are being held at a detention center in Sunset Park, where they await trail on cocaine conspiracy charges after being captured by US troops at their home in Caracas. Metropolitan Detention Center, the only federal jail in New York City, has also housed high-profile inmates such as Luigi Mangione, Sean “Diddy” Combs, R. Kelly, and Ghislaine Maxwell, to name a few. It is a facility notorious for violence, filthy conditions, overcrowding, and inmate deaths.
Mayor Mamdani announces safety improvements to McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint
Just three days after being sworn in, Mamdani and local official announced a safety redesign of the often-hazardous street in Brooklyn. The project has been stalled since the DeBlasio era, and was more recently entangled in Mayor Adams’ corruption scandal. Mamdani’s plan includes one lane of travel, one parking-protecting bike lane, and one vehicular parking and loading lane in each direction, from Meeker Avenue to the Pulaski Bridge. Local advocates have been pushing for a safer street, following many traffic-related deaths.
Brooklyn Mirage will be sold to owners of Ibiza nightclub
The East Williamsburg music venue has been bought for $110 million by the Dubai-based company that owns Ibiza’s famous nightclub Pacha. It’s been speculated that the Mirage could reopen as Pacha New York. This past year, the Mirage was declared structurally unsafe by the Department of Building, and subsequently filed for bankruptcy prior to this sale.
Fire breaks out in Brooklyn Heights building
Monday’s fire at 75 Pierrepont Street injured seven people, including three who are in critical condition—among them a firefighter. The blaze broke out on the third floor of the six-story apartment building between Henry and Hicks Streets and was brought under control in less than an hour. Several households were displaced and are awaiting clearance to return home.
Record hospitalizations in New York due to “super flu”
In just one week spanning the final days of December and the first ones of January, New York State reported 4,536 hospitalizations in a single week. A “super flu” is on the rise, a variant of influenza A, and has been the most commonly reported flu virus this season. See our overview pediatric urgent cares and emergency rooms here!
1860s Fort Greene mansion to be demolished for new apartment building
A yellow Italianate mansion on South Oxford St. from the 1860s will be demolished for condos. Located between Hanson Place and Atlantic Avenue, the wood-frame house is not landmarked, and will be replaced with a 5-story apartment building with 17 apartments and 10 parking spaces.
NYPD fatally shoots man armed with blade inside Park Slope hospital
A patient at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital had barricaded himself in an 8th floor room with two others and a crude blade before he was fatally shot by police. The suspect in his 60s was holding a bloody weapon and threatening to harm himself and others. After multiple commands to drop his weapon, followed by attempts to taser him, the NYPD open fired on the man, who was pronounced dead on the scene.
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Updated: January 9, 2026. Main Image: Metropolitan Detention Center. in Sunset Park.
