Brooklyn Tech gets $5M grant to build Research and Collaboration Center

July 3, 2025

FORT GREENE AND BENSONHURST AREA — BROOKLYN TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF GRANT FUNDING that City Councilmember Susan Zhuang has secured. A significant portion of the study body resides within her District 43 in southwestern Brooklyn.

Zhuang’s office announced on Wednesday, July 2, that $5 million has been allocated for the Brooklyn Technical High School Foundry Renovation, and will help create a Multimedia, Multiuse Research and Collaboration Center.

Built more than 90 years ago, Brooklyn Technical High School is academic home to nearly 6,000 students, yet has a functionally inadequate library (with only 12 computers and two printers) and essentially no student collaboration space, according to the councilmember. Zhuang deemed the school, whose curriculum focuses on research and project-based teamwork, to be in urgent need of a large, flexible space that can accommodate these activities, and fought for the funding to be included in the current fiscal year budget.

More than 60% of Brooklyn Tech’s student body (almost 3,500 students) identify as Asian or Pacific Islander, according to demographics charts on the school’s website. City Council District 43 serves many in southwestern Brooklyn’s Asian community.

✰✰✰

Federal judge sentences final defendant from massive gun trafficking ring

July 3, 2025

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — THE FINAL DEFENDANT IN A LARGE-SCALE FIREARMS TRAFFICKING RING has been sentenced in federal court in Brooklyn to more than five years in prison.

U.S. District Judge William Kuntz II on Wednesday, July 2 sentenced Calvin Tabron, now 27, to 63 months in prison for conspiring to traffic firearms. Tabron acted as a straw purchaser for a gun trafficking ring that operated around the Breukelen Houses, a New York City Housing Authority development in Canarsie. Tabron pleaded guilty to the charge in March 2024.

He and other defendants sold semi-automatic handguns, ghost guns and guns with defaced serial numbers to an undercover officer, and also distributed narcotics, including fentanyl.

Judge Kuntz previously sentenced Tabron’s three co-defendants, who pleaded guilty to gun and narcotics trafficking charges: David McCann, Tajhai Jones and Raymond Minaya.

Tabron, along with his accomplices, were initially charged in January 2023.

✰✰✰

St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church and Pro-Cathedral.

Historic Heights church awarded Sacred Sites Grant

July 3, 2025

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church and Pro-Cathedral in Brooklyn, founded in 1847, has received a Sacred Sites Grant from the New York Landmarks Conservancy, a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of the state’s historic buildings.

The parish is receiving $45,000 to help fund restoration of the tower and east façade. It is one of 15 grants, totaling $261,500, given to 15 historic religious properties throughout New York state, and the only one in Brooklyn in this round of awards.

Considered 19th-century architect Minard Lafever’s most ambitious building and the master work of his career, it was constructed from 1844-47 in the Gothic Revival church style, with paper manufacturer John Bartow underwriting the costs of the chapel and parish house. The façade is clad in brownstone with a central tower marking the main entrance on Clinton Street. The sanctuary features two tiers of William and John Bolton’s magnificent stained-glass windows, among the earliest church windows produced in America.

The church was rededicated in September 2018 as Pro-Cathedral for its significance in the establishment and work of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island.

✰✰✰

“They are trying to cut our benefits,” Rep. Dan Goldman said of the Trump administration. Brooklyn Eagle photo by Mary Frost

Goldman introduces amendment for immigration jail inspections

July 2, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. REP. DAN GOLDMAN has introduced an amendment to the Trump-backed “Big, Beautiful Bill” currently making its way through Congress, forbidding its funds from being used to block congressmembers from conducting their statutorily authorized oversight of immigration facilities.

Goldman’s amendment would ensure that none of the funding in the GOP’s reconciliation bill could be used to prevent congressional oversight of any location or facility related to civil enforcement of immigration law. The prohibition would include roadblocks like temporarily modifying locations before congressional visits, or requiring congressmembers to provide prior notice before being allowed into the facility, which Goldman says the administration has recently demanded, in violation of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024.

“Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill for Billionaires doesn’t just slash health care and food assistance programs by over a trillion dollars, it increases funding by tens of billions of dollars to expand and accelerate this administration’s authoritarian crackdown on law-abiding, non-violent immigrants”, Goldman said. “It is Congress’ responsibility to ensure this money is used appropriately, and that requires us to do our constitutional and statutory oversight.”

Goldman has made combating the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics a top priority since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, and last week cosponsored a bill that would require immigration officers to display IDs and ban them from wearing homemade masks. In June, following the arrest of City Comptroller Brad Lander at an immigration courthouse, Goldman and fellow Rep. Jerry Nadler were denied inspection access to a temporary detention facility in Manhattan with reportedly poor conditions.

✰✰✰

New report uncovers high lead levels at NYCHA daycares

July 2, 2025

CITYWIDE – A GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATION turned up four recent cases of elevated lead levels in the blood of children attending three NYCHA-run daycare centers across the city, including at the Brevoort Children’s Center in Bed-Stuy, The City reports.

The lead levels were detected between October of 2024 and January of 2025, outpacing the number of complaints in all of 2022 and 2023, possibly due to a new higher standard in lead level reporting. Investigators found evidence of lead paint contamination across the three sites, on areas like walls, windows and radiators. The Brevoort center investigation began on Oct. 18, with the site closed by Nov. 9 for remediation and reopened on Dec. 2; the two other centers, in Queens and the Bronx, were similarly remediated.

In the wake of these alarming discoveries, the city doesn’t appear to be acting with urgency, and has scheduled comprehensive lead testing in other NYCHA daycares only in 2026, after testing finishes in residential apartments – despite the fact that young children are the group most at risk from lead poisoning, which can lead to developmental and behavioral issues with even low exposure. While the Brevoort center is now deemed safe, 139 other NYCHA daycares citywide are yet to be investigated.

Parents affected by the centers’ closure also complained of the short notice, with some saying the city did not provide options for alternative free childcare.

✰✰✰

Nets GM Sean Marks introduces five rookie draft picks at press conference

July 2, 2025

BROOKLYN — Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks and Head Coach Jordi Fernández introduced their five first-round draft picks – Egor Demin, Nolan Traoré, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf, and Danny Wolf – on July 1 at the HSS Training Facility, NetsDaily reported. The team fielded questions over whether staff can handle such a high number of rookies, expressing optimism that the five picks have enormous development potential.

Marks said, “The coaching staff, development staff have proven that they’ve done a great job,” while Fernández noted, “All these guys can really pass the ball,” addressing concerns about overlapping playstyles.

✰✰✰

Cranial Technologies leases space for first Brooklyn clinic

July 2, 2025

GOWANUS — Infant plagiocephaly treatment provider Cranial Technologies recently signed a lease at Monadnock Development’s 300 Huntington St. The 4,456-square-foot space will be the company’s first Brooklyn location, according to Connect CRE.

The sixth-floor lease in the 136,000-square-foot building, designed by Dattner Architects and Bernheimer Architecture, was brokered by CBRE’s Patrick Dugan, Joseph Cirone, and Jesse de la Rama, and Colliers’ Joe Speck and Chad Poff.

✰✰✰

Brooklyn Kura launches Kura Shochu: Japan-inspired, Brooklyn made

July 2, 2025

INDUSTRY CITY — Brooklyn Kura, New York’s first sake brewery, introduced Kura Shochu on July 1, a sustainably crafted rice-based spirit made from sake kasu, according to a press statement.

Sake kasu, the rice parts left after sake fermentation, has been utilized in Japan for over a millennium, traditionally employed in cooking, pickling and even skincare, the company says.

Co-founder Brian Polen stated, “With Kura Shochu, we saw an opportunity to take something abundant – sake kasu – and turn it into a vibrant, world-class spirit.”

The 40% ABV tipple is available at Brooklyn Kura’s Industry City taproom.

✰✰✰

Unreleased Brooklyn Woody Guthrie recordings to debut

July 2, 2025

GRAVESEND — A new collection, “Woody at Home” – Volume 1 & 2, featuring 22 unreleased recordings by folk icon Woody Guthrie, will be released on Aug. 14 by Shamus Records.

The painstakingly restored tracks were recorded in his Gravesend home from 1951-1952 using a tape machine, and include several songs only ever recorded once, in particular a new “This Land Is Your Land” version.

Producer Steve Rosenthal spoke to Consequence regarding the release: “With recent advancements in sound restoration technology along with the current political climate, I believe this is the right time to release Woody’s home tapes.”

✰✰✰

Music mogul and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the Billboard Music Awards, May 15, 2022, in Las Vegas. Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File

Jury returns mixed verdicts in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs case

July 2, 2025

FEDERAL PLAZA, MANHATTAN — A federal jury in Manhattan on Wednesday, July 2 handed down a partial acquittal to music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The hip hop star, who was being tried on five counts including prostitution, sex trafficking and racketeering, was found not guilty of the three most serious charges: racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion. The jury found him guilty, however, of transportation to engage in prostitution (in connection with two ex-girlfriends, one named Cassie, and the other who testified under a pseudonym). Several of the witnesses described violent incidents involving Combs.

Defense team attorney Marc Agnifilo, who had told the court that Combs’ activities were simply part of the swinger lifestyle, has asked that his client be released on Wednesday.

The jury on Tuesday afternoon told U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian that they were partially deadlocked on the racketeering conspiracy charge after having to deal with two persistent jurors. They entered deliberations on Monday, June 30, after a trial that had begun on May 12 with jury selection.

✰✰✰

The Wythe Hotel. Brooklyn Eagle photo Lore Croghan

William Vale’s new owner sues to evict former owner

July 2, 2025

WILLIAMSBURG – EOS HOSPITALITY, THE new owners of Williamsburg’s William Vale hotel, on Monday filed a lawsuit against former co-owner Zelig Weiss, seeking to evict Weiss from a luxury suite at the hotel where he has allegedly been staying without payment since last year, reports Crain’s New York Business.

Weiss had strongly fought the sale of the hotel, but ultimately failed to successfully negotiate with creditors after the other former co-owner defaulted on a loan and declared bankruptcy. Following years of legal battling, the hotel was sold at a foreclosure auction to Eos last June.

He reportedly had been staying in the suite since 2016, but was served with eviction papers shortly after Eos took ownership, and ordered to vacate by September of 2024, which he allegedly ignored. Weiss has not yet responded to the suit.

Eos is also asking the court to compel Weiss to pay for the room’s occupancy, an amount that could be over $200,000 at the Vale’s current rates.

✰✰✰

Transport van crashes into tree in Brooklyn, injuring 14

July 2, 2025

BATH BEACH — A D & J Ambulette Services minivan crashed into a tree on Cropsey Avenue just before 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 1, reports ABC News, injuring all 14 occupants, including 12 adults with special needs, a chaperone and the 44-year-old driver. The force of the impact split the tree in half.

The driver had swerved to avoid another car en route to an adult daycare. Fortunately, all injuries were minor, with the most serious including a leg wound and head cut. The driver refused medical attention.

✰✰✰

This courtroom sketch depicts Sean "Diddy" Combs sitting at the defense table during his bail hearing in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Image: Elizabeth Williams via AP, File

Jury gets stuck on racketeering conspiracy charge in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial

July 2, 2025

FEDERAL COURT/MANHATTAN — THE JURY IN THE SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS sex trafficking trial was instructed to continue deliberating after it reached verdicts on four of the five charges but told the judge it deadlocked on the fifth, according to the Associated Press and other news sources.

The criminal counts included: racketeering conspiracy, two of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two of transportation to engage in prostitution.

The jury, consisting of eight men and four women, sent a note to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian informing him that they were stuck on the racketeering conspiracy charge, in part because two of the jurors had “unpersuadable opinions.”

The racketeering charge is the most complicated, and is common in cases involving organized crime and drug cartels. The jury had to decide on whether Combs led a “racketeering enterprise” and on whether he engaged in any of the actions associated with racketeering, such as kidnapping.

Judge Subramanian, the prosecution and Combs’ defense team decided that the jury should continue deliberating on that count, and the other verdicts were kept sealed. Deliberations will continue on Wednesday at 9 a.m.

✰✰✰

A packed nightclub in East Williamsburg. Photo: Daniel Leinweber/Razberry Photography

New nightlife venue, Signal, debuts in East Williamsburg with a no-phones policy

July 2, 2025

EAST WILLIAMSBURG — Signal, a new nightclub at 27 Morgan Ave., is taking a stand against digital overload with a strict no-photos, no-videos policy, says EDM.com.

The 398 person-capacity venue is designed to showcase the acoustics with features like a floating wood floor and skylights, and also offers a food program, served until 9 p.m.

Co-founder Nick Spector said, “Signal’s no photo/video policy is key to preserving the essence of the experience.”

“By eliminating the distraction of phones, it enhances the moment for everyone; both for those who might be tempted to record and for everyone else around them.”

✰✰✰

Permits filed for five-story residential expansion in Brooklyn Heights

July 1, 2025

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Permits were filed on July 1 to transform a single-story auto garage at 40 State St. in Willowtown, located next to Adam Yauch Playground, into a five-story residential building. The plans call to extend the existing structure, rather than for a demolition, according to NY YIMBY.

Owned by Vadem Brodsky and designed by Brendan Coburn of The Brooklyn Studio, the 49-foot-tall project will yield five units, averaging a whopping 4,883 square feet, with ten parking spaces.

✰✰✰

Mayor’s appointees to Criminal and Civil Courts are experienced Brooklyn litigators

July 1, 2025

CITYWIDE — A NUMBER OF MAYOR ERIC ADAMS’ NEWEST JUDICIAL APPOINTEES have strong ties to Brooklyn.

Appointed as a Criminal Court judge in June 2025, Judge Shirin Zarabi has worked with the Legal Aid Society, Nassau County as a criminal division attorney and the Brooklyn Defender Services as a senior trial attorney. She later joined the New York state Unified Court System where, prior to her appointment to the bench, she served as a principal court attorney in the Supreme Court, Kings County, Criminal Term.

Newly appointed as an interim Civil Court Judge is the Hon. Jacqueline Cabrera, who has been serving in Family Court. She had experience handling family court cases on behalf of a foster care agency, before establishing a private practice litigating matters as a member of the Attorneys for Children and Assigned Counsel Plan, 18b. After 20 years in private practice Judge Cabrera joined the New York State Unified Court System as a support magistrate in Family Court, Richmond and Kings Counties, until her appointment to the bench.

Also serving as an interim Civil Court Judge in Family Court is Judge Erik Pinsonnault. He has also served as an attorney and senior principal law attorney and senior principal law clerk with the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, with a courthouse on Monroe Place.

Mayor Adams made two appointments to Criminal Court and four to the Civil Court.

✰✰✰

Free community college tuition program opens for students majoring in applied sciences, health and engineering

July 1, 2025

STATEWIDE — NEW YORK STATE’S NEWLY-LAUNCHED FREE COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROGRAM for SUNY and CUNY students will cover tuition and materials for students ages 25 to 55 who are pursuing select associate degrees, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday, July 1.

Starting this fall through SUNY and CUNY Reconnect, New York state will cover tuition, fees, books and supplies for community college students ages 25 to 55. Gov. Hochul said that the four million working-age adults in New York not already possessing a college degree or credential can now earn one with costs covered after applicable financial aid. Eligible students will also have access to advising and support.

The eligible students need to major or specialize in one of these high-demand fields: Advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, engineering, technology, nursing and allied health fields, green and renewable energy; and pathways to teaching in shortage areas. Interested students can apply via their respective university systems.

Brooklyn has four City University of New York colleges: Brooklyn College, Kingsborough Community College, Medgar Evers College, and New York City College of Technology; and one SUNY school: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in East Flatbush.

✰✰✰

New Court of Claims judges have professional ties to Brooklyn

July 1, 2025

STATEWIDE — SEVERAL OF GOV. KATHY HOCHUL’S LATEST JUDICIAL APPOINTEES have professional and/or academic bonds to Brooklyn. New Court of Claims Judges include:

Abby Perer, in-house counsel for Syracuse University, who earlier in her career earned her JD degree from Brooklyn Law School and served as legal intern for the office of state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman.

Natacha Carbajal-Evangelista, until now General Counsel for the state Department of State, had also served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Hon. Elizabeth S. Stong of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York, headquartered in Downtown Brooklyn.

Mary Lynn Nicolas-Brewster, Executive Director of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission, dedicated to promoting racial and ethnic fairness in the court system, has also served as Senior Appellate Court Attorney for the New York State Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department.

New Court of Claims Judge Erin Guven earned her Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School.

Judge Jay Kim is currently the Principal Law Clerk to the Hon. Dena E. Douglas, a New York State Supreme Court Justice in Kings County.

Denis Reo completed assignments in Civil Court, Kings County, and since last December was Chief of Staff to Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Adam Silvera.

A Brooklyn native, Judge Rhonda Tomlinson has served on the Court of Claims since 2021.

Gov. Hochul on Tuesday, July 1 announced 17 appointees to the New York State Court of Claims (including all the aforementioned judges), five appointments to the Supreme Court and two appointments to Family Court.

✰✰✰

The person suspected of groping a woman on an F train last weekend.

Police seek Jay St. subway groper

July 1, 2025

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN – POLICE SAY THAT at around 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 29, a 19-year-old woman on a southbound F train near Jay Street-Metrotech station was approached from behind by an unknown man who touched her buttocks. The groper then fled from the station on foot.

The suspect is described as male with a light complexion and slim build. Images released by police show him to have black hair and a black mustache and beard. He was last seen wearing a tan patterned shirt, blue jeans and black and white sneakers.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X @NYPDTips.

✰✰✰

City Council ranked choice outcomes: Mealy wins nom

July 1, 2025

BROOKLYN – WHILE MOST OF THE incumbent Brooklyn City Councilmembers up for reelection won their primary nomination races outright in the first round of vote tallying last week, District 41’s Darlene Mealy, facing a strong slate of challengers, secured only 43% of the first-round vote, with three opponents receiving percentages in the teens. With official ranked-choice results released this week, Mealy ultimately won the nomination with 65% of the vote, following eight rounds of tallying, reports The City.

In southern Brooklyn’s purple District 47, currently represented by term-limited Democrat Justin Brannan, Republican candidates George Sarantopoulos and Richie Barsamian were neck-and-neck on Election Day; Sarantopoulos has now won the Republican nomination with 50.1% of the vote. A Brannan staff member, Kayla Santosuosso, easily won the Democratic primary in the district last week. The general election is expected to be close.

And Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani – presumed the Democratic nominee following former governor Andrew Cuomo’s concession last week – has officially secured the title. Mamdani widened his lead over Cuomo to reach 56% in just the second round of ranked-choice tallying, with the assistance of a co-endorsement from City Comptroller Brad Lander, who had urged his supporters to rank the assemblymember second.

✰✰✰