Brannan’s bill would preserve choice of healthcare for city’s retirees

June 18, 2025

CITYWIDE — CITY COUNCIL HAS BEEN WORKING SINCE LAST FALL ON A BILL TO PROTECT the traditional Medicare coverage for municipal retirees. City Councilmember and comptroller candidate Justin Brannan (D-47) released a statement calling the Court of Appeals’ decision “nonsense.” 

“When city workers signed up to serve, they were promised traditional Medicare,” he said. “You don’t get to change the deal after they’ve put in 30-plus years. Passing Intro 1096 is more urgent than ever. Retirees don’t need lip service; they need legal protection.”

A bill he is sponsoring “would amend the Administrative Code to preserve health care choice for retirees from city service. The bill provides that the City must offer Medicare-eligible City retirees and their Medicare-eligible dependents at least one Medigap plan with benefits equivalent to or better than those available to City retirees and their dependents as of Dec. 31, 2021,” according to the legislation’s web page.

The bill has bipartisan support from several Brooklyn Councilmembers, including Inna Vernikov (R-48), and from Republicans representing Queens and Staten Island.

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Court of Appeals ruling dismays municipal retiree group fighting to protect its Medicare benefits

June 18, 2025

CITYWIDE — A GROUP OF MUNICIPAL RETIREES expressed disappointment in the Court of Appeals ruling that reversed a lower court protecting their traditional federal Medicare plan. Marianne Pizzitola, president of NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, alleged in a statement that “today’s ruling allows the city to force retirees into the default plan of Project 2025.” The statement also indicated that “the solution to protecting seniors’ healthcare has always been with the City Council and the Mayor. The next Council and Mayor need to do the right thing and codify protections for seniors in City law.”

Last fall, the Court of Appeals seemed to rule with the retirees in a decision handed down on Dec. 17, 2024, ruling that the city must continue to pay the entire cost of any health insurance plan retirees select, thus preserving their right to city-funded Medicare supplemental insurance.

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State’s highest court reverses ruling on traditional Medicare plan for city retirees

June 18, 2025

STATEWIDE — THE NEW YORK STATE COURT OF APPEALS in a Wednesday, June 18, ruling reversed a lower court decision that benefitted a NYC retirees group fighting to keep its traditional Medicare plan. That group, the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, along with the FDNY EMS Retirees Association, won previous rulings to prevent Mayor Eric Adams from forcing them to switch to a privately-administered Medicare Advantage plan through Aetna. The retirees asserted that the Advantage Plan would strip them of benefits, force them to choose new doctors in the midst of treatment and deny essential treatment.

The Court of Appeals judges ruled that “petitioners failed to introduce sufficient evidence to establish that the City’s decision to shift retirees to the Aetna MAP constitutes a diminution in retiree benefits or the City’s contributions for those benefits,” according to the court document. The Court of Appeals reversed the mid-level Appellate Court’s decision and remitted it to Supreme Court for further proceedings.

Judge Shirley Troutman wrote the opinion, with which Chief Judge Wilson and Judges Rivera, Garcia, Singas, Cannataro and Halligan concur. All were appointed by Governors Kathy Hochul or her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, and confirmed in the State Senate.

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DiNapoli: NY must do more to educate lower-income homebuyers about assistance programs

June 18, 2025

STATEWIDE — AS THE STATE OF NEW YORK MORTGAGE AGENCY BOOSTS LENDING AND PROGRAMS FOR MINORITY HOUSEHOLDS and economically disadvantaged communities, increasing wide racial and ethnic disparities persist, according to a new report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. During 2023, White home ownership rates were 13 percentage points higher than Asian rates, 34 points higher than Black rates and 39 points higher than Latino rates, DiNapoli’s report showed.

Established in 1970, SONYMA is a public benefit corporation whose goal is to make home ownership more affordable for New Yorkers. It offers low-interest mortgage programs, down payment assistance loans, loans and grants for home repairs, and mortgage insurance. Down payments can be an impediment to first-time homebuyers who have a steady income but may lack savings. SONYMA offers a Down Payment Assistance Loan (DPAL) and has offered enhanced DPAL programs for certain eligible households in recent years that provide assistance up to $30,000.

DiNapoli suggested several ways to reduce the racial and ethnic disparities: Increase awareness of the availability of homeownership assistance and redouble efforts to educate potential homebuyers on the value of homeownership; expand the monitoring of and enforcement against discriminatory practices, including mortgage financing; and improve reporting on the efficacy of available homeowner assistance programs.

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Elected leaders partner to host Juneteenth Jubilee

June 18, 2025

CONEY ISLAND — MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH, thanks to elected officials at the Congressional, state and local levels. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny and City Councilmember Justin Brannan teamed up to sponsor the third annual Juneteenth Jubilee at Nautilus Playground adjacent to the Riegelmann Boardwalk and West 32nd St. The festivities will include activities, performances, food, games and more. The Juneteenth Jubilee runs from noon to 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 19.

Juneteenth, which is also called Emancipation Day, marks the Union army’s June 19, 1865, announcement in Galveston, Texas, that all slaves are free and that their relationship with their former owners becomes that of hired laborers to employers. Juneteenth became a New York state holiday on June 17, 2020, and a federal holiday in 2021 when former President Joe Biden signed the commemoration into law.

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Wallpaper designers list Brooklyn Heights duplex for $4.29M

June 18, 2025

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — TROVE FOUNDERS Jee Levin and Randall Buck, known for eco-friendly wallpaper used by celebrity clients like Nicole Kidman, are selling their 2,300-square-foot Brooklyn Heights duplex at 220 Columbia Heights with an asking price of $4.29 million, according to the New York Post. Featuring original 1860s details, a private garden and Trove-designed interiors, the two-bed, two-and-a-half-bath home is not far from the Pierrepont Playground. 

The couple paid $1.87 million for the residence in 2013, the Post reports.

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Basketball youth center to open near Barclays

June 18, 2025

FORT GREENE — BSE GLOBAL, the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty parent company, will open an 18,600-square-foot Brooklyn Basketball youth training center across from Barclays Center this fall, Gothamist reports. 

Replacing a shuttered Modell’s, the facility will feature two courts, a shooting lab, and free after-school programs for kids aged 6 to 10, including all-girls training, enhancing BSE Global’s community engagement.

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Downtown Brooklyn leads the city in new residential units

June 18, 2025

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN is set to add over 1,300 residential units across nine projects, leading New York City neighborhoods with new permits filed from June 14, 2024, to June 10, 2025, according to The Real Deal. 

The 63-story, 583-unit 376 Schermerhorn St. by Alloy Development highlights the boom, outpacing Crotona Park East’s 1,100 units, as the Bronx edges Brooklyn with 7,200 total units planned.

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Uovo plans larger art storage facility in Bushwick

June 18, 2025

BUSHWICK — UOVO IS SEEKING municipal approval to build a 240,000-square-foot art storage facility at 74 Bogart St. in Bushwick, The Art Newspaper reported Monday. The seven-story structure, complementing its 150,000-square-foot space it built nearby in 2020, will offer climate-controlled storage and private galleries, aiming to employ locals. The plan has received some pushback amid community concerns over housing shortages and rising rents. 

The company says it will help support improvements and maintenance at the nearby Maria Hernandez Park.

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Nordstrom to open service hub in Williamsburg

June 18, 2025

WILLIAMSBURG — NORDSTROM WILL OPEN a 3,000-square-foot service hub at 154 N Seventh St. on June 26. The Williamsburg location, the third in the city, will offer order pickups, returns, alterations, gift wrapping, clothing donations to Housing Works and beauty packaging recycling, enhancing convenience for Brooklyn customers, according to Fashion Network.

“New York is one of our largest markets and we’re looking forward to opening Nordstrom Local Williamsburg to offer Brooklyn customers even more opportunities to engage with our services closer to where they live and work,” said Fanya Chandler, president of Nordstrom stores.

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Brooklyn teen denies hazing allegations amid bullying

June 18, 2025

MIDWOOD — A 15-YEAR-OLD James Madison High School student says he has been unjustly accused of sexual hazing following an October locker room incident, alleging bullying with “P-Diddy” taunts and baby oil pranks, according to the New York Post. A video shows several team members trying to pull the pants off the victim. The family of the accused boy insists it was mere horseplay, not assault, and charges have been dropped in court. 

The school told the Post it has launched an investigation into the harassment claims.

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Brooklyn dad wins Pedro Pascal lookalike contest

June 18, 2025

BROOKLYN — GEORGE GOUNTAS, a Brooklyn resident urged by his wife and Daily Show coworkers, won the first annual Pedro Pascal (“Game of Thrones,” “The Last of Us”) lookalike contest on Father’s Day, BKMAG reports. Held at Son del North on Orchard Street, the event drew 26 contestants, with Gountas earning a $50 check and a year’s worth of burritos via crowd vote, boosting his local celebrity status.

A commenter on Reddit wrote, “I think the actual Pedro Pascal could have entered and still lost to this guy.”

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The bill’s sponsor in the NY State Senate, Sen. Andrew Gounardes of Brooklyn, stands in the center. Photo courtesy of Five Boroughs Job Campaign

State legislature approves tax incentives to boost businesses, jobs and commercial real estate

June 18, 2025

STATEWIDE — THREE TAX INCENTIVES TO BOOST NEW YORK CITY’S JOB AND COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE have now passed both chambers of state legislature. State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-26) and Assemblymember Grace Lee (D-65) co-sponsored A8676/SB8063-A. The legislation, which received advocacy support from the Five Borough Jobs Campaign, aims to address New York City’s affordability crisis by helping promote job growth, support businesses, and address the city’s historic commercial vacancy. The tax incentives passed 143-4 in the Assembly and 40-19 in the Senate.

Three tax incentives covered in the bill — REAP, LM-REAP and RACE — will spur economic activity in communities across New York City. The Relocation and Employment Assistance Program (REAP), originally established in 1987, has for decades helped local businesses expand; in Brooklyn, at least 50 companies have benefited, with more than 4,900 jobs created. Relocation Assistance Credit for Employees (RACE), a new program, supplements REAP by incentivizing out-of-state businesses to fill underutilized office space, helping boost NYC’s post-pandemic recovery and bringing more wealth into the state overall. It is expected to generate approximately $385 million in return to the city.

“This legislation ensures that Downtown Brooklyn and commercial hubs across the borough remain front and center in innovation, creativity and growth,” said Regina Myer, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.

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Congressmember Dan Goldman. Photo courtesy of the Office of Congressmember Dan Goldman

Key NYC Congressmembers denied access to immigration court for oversight visit

June 18, 2025

NEW YORK CITY — TWO CONGRESSMEMBERS were denied an oversight visit at federal immigration court on Wednesday, June 18, the day after City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested for aiding an immigrant whose case had been dismissed, reports CBS News. Reps. Dan Goldman (D-10) and Jerry Nadler (D-12) planned to observe court proceedings at 26 Federal Plaza, the same location where Lander was arrested on Tuesday. The congressmembers also requested access to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office located inside the same building. 

Goldman, a former prosecutor in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District sits on the House Judiciary (with Nadler) and Homeland Security Committees. They provided advance notice, even though the existing statute allows them to appear unannounced. Upon being denied access, Goldman clarified that the statute “very clearly says that we are allowed into any facility that is being used ‘to detain or otherwise house aliens.’”

According to the Congressional website Constitution Annotated, the U.S. Supreme Court’s longstanding interpretation of Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 recognizes Congress’ “plenary power over immigration, giving it almost complete authority to decide whether foreign nationals … may enter or remain in the United States.”

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Luigi Mangione , accused of fatally shooting the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City and leading authorities on a five-day search is scheduled, appears in court for a hearing, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, in New York. Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool, File

Fellow inmate details Mangione’s routine in Brooklyn jail

June 18, 2025

SUNSET PARK — MICHAEL DADDEA, a former inmate at Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park, shared that Luigi Mangione, accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, cleans showers and bonds with new arrivals, the New York Post reports. Detained since December 2024, Mangione, a “model prisoner,” reads local news and shares meals, reflecting a structured life amid his not-guilty plea to first-degree murder.

Mangione thanked those who have donated to his commissary account, listing some of the items he has bought with the money while in lockup, including songs, hygiene products, barbecue sauce, peanut butter and tuna packets.

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AG: Arrest of Lander is ‘profoundly unacceptable’

June 17, 2025

NEW YORK CITY — CALLING COMPTROLLER BRAD LANDER’S ARREST ‘PROFOUNDLY UNACCEPTABLE,” NY State Attorney General Letitia James condemned the actions of ICE officials at the federal courthouse in Manhattan on Tuesday. “Arresting Comptroller Lander for the simple act of standing up for immigrants and their civil rights is a shocking abuse of power,” said James. “No one should face fear and intimidation in a courthouse, and this is a grotesque escalation of tensions. The administration’s rampant targeting of New Yorkers only makes our communities less safe.”

Both Lander and James have represented Brooklyn in City Council.

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NYCLU condemns arrest of Comptroller ‘for asking questions’

June 17, 2025

MANHATTAN — THE NEW YORK CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION IS DENOUNCING TUESDAY’S ARREST and detention of City Comptroller Brad Lander by officers of Immigration Customs and Enforcement. According to NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman, Lander was arrested after he requested to see a judicial warrant before they entered 26 Federal Plaza.

“ICE arresting Brad Lander for asking questions is a stunning abuse of power and a threat to our democracy. Arresting a public official, the duly-elected comptroller of the City of New York, for asking questions is dangerous intimidation and shows a wanton disregard for the will of the people of New York. It sends an unmistakably authoritarian message — that ICE doesn’t care about the rule of law and that anyone exercising their right to challenge ICE and speak up for immigrants will be punished. All elected officials and candidates for office should condemn this arrest in the strongest terms and stand up for New Yorkers.”

Lander serves as “the City’s budget watchdog and chief accountability officer,” according to his website. According to biographies available online, he is a Missouri native and holds several degrees, including in urban planning from Pratt Institute. He is a former City Councilmember who represented District 39, which included parts of Park Slope and Kensington.

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Demonstrators rally in support of Lander

June 17, 2025

MANHATTAN — CROWDS OF DEMONSTRATORS RALLIED at Foley Plaza in support of City Comptroller Brad Lander, who was arrested earlier on Tuesday after a confrontation with law enforcement officers at an immigration courthouse. Video of the incident appeared to show Lander asking the officers to show a warrant for an immigrant man in custody before the comptroller was pushed into a wall and handcuffed. As of 4 p.m., he was still detained.

Lander’s wife, attorney Meg Barnette, spoke to supporters at the rally, saying Lander was well and had had a police detail with him at the time and that she had been with him to witness what she described as unlawful immigration proceedings. Other politicians, including Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul, strongly condemned the arrest and called for Lander’s immediate release. Hochul later arrived at the protest and embraced Barnette, writing on X, “New York will not back down.”

Mamdani and Lander last week cross-endorsed each other for the Democratic mayoral primary, encouraging supporters to rank them as #1 and #2.

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ICE officials arrest City Comptroller Brad Lander at immigration court

June 17, 2025

MANHATTAN — NYC Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested Tuesday afternoon at immigration court while escorting a defendant off premises, according to CBS News, which broke the story just before 1 p.m. A Bluesky video was released showing ICE officials arresting Lander who could be heard saying, “You don’t have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens asking for a judicial warrant.” According to an Associated Press report, ICE agents were attempting to separate Lander from the man he was accompanying, who was also arrested. When immigration officers accused him of “obstructing,” he replied “I’m not obstructing, I’m standing right here in the hallway.”

Lander’s campaign office issued a statement in response to the arrest: “While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE. This is still developing and we are monitoring the situation closely,” said Dora Pekec, Lander’s campaign spokesperson.

Lander is one of 11 mayoral candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in the primary election taking place next Tuesday, June 24. He has received endorsements from the NY Times and the progressive organization Churches United for Fair Housing.

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Brooklyn mom claims school staffer tried to assault her

June 17, 2025

FLATLANDS — A BROOKLYN MOTHER alleges a staff member at Achievement First Aspire Charter School tried to attack her during dismissal on May 27, according to PIX11. The incident, partially captured on video, involved verbal abuse and a thwarted physical attack in front of her six-year-old, according to the mother, who said the incident led to her reassignment from a position in a public school sharing the same building after speaking out. The charter school denies the claims, telling PIX 11 the “situation was quickly de-escalated.”

Attorney Marcel Florestal now represents the mother, citing broader school concerns.

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