COPS SAVE CHOKING BABY
Also: Great birria tacos and the best dumplings, CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione jailed in Sunset Park, scammer swindled 80-year-old, and more!
There is no dedicated news coverage of Sunset Park — but Sunset Park makes news. This FREE weekly(ish) digest curates all the headlines from all the news sources that touch our neighborhood, which is one of the most vibrant in Brooklyn.
In this issue
Cops save baby who had turned purple after choking on milk
Contract for controversial entrance exam into ‘elite’ NYC public schools granted with panel vote
Scammer swindled woman, 80, out of more than $200K in cash, gold bars
CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione in notorious facility housing ‘Diddy’
Sunset Park Emerges as NYC’s Clean Tech And Manufacturing Hub With Key Milestones in 2024
More people are volunteering again after a big pandemic drop
NYU Langone expands cardiology care in Brooklyn
New gym will have the whole family climbing up the walls
At Malaysian restaurant, every dish comes wrapped as a gift
9 great birria tacos in NYC
The best dumplings in NYC
Cemeteries spark trend with new groundskeeping methods
New York City’s first offshore wind farm to power 500,000 homes secures financing
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: I’m a Grinchy granny — I love my grandkids, but I don’t want to be around them on Christmas
Cops save baby who had turned purple after choking on milk
BY DAILY MAIL: Two New York City cops are being hailed as heroes after they saved the life of an unconscious baby who had turned purple from choking on milk. Officer Zihan Liu and Jeshua Hernandez of the NYPD's 2nd precinct were called to a Brooklyn home on 43rd Street in Sunset Park where they were met with a 22-day-old unconscious baby girl who was purple from choking. 'When I got the baby in my hand, the baby is not soft anymore, you know, a baby is soft, little baby,' Officer Liu told ABC 7 News. 'I said oh no, this is not good.' Bodycam video showed the moment the two officers arrived at the home at around 9.30pm last Friday evening. A hurried man is captured rushing down the stairs and opening the door for the officers as a woman holding a newborn baby quickly trailed behind him - immediately passing her off to Liu. 'He was translating, you know, speaking to them in Mandarin,' Officer Hernandez told ABC. 'Once he told me choking, that's when my heart stopped.' … WATCH VIDEO
Contract for controversial entrance exam into ‘elite’ NYC public schools granted with panel vote
BY NEW YORK POST: A five-year, $17 million contract for the company that administers the city’s controversial entrance exam for specialized high schools was finally approved Wednesday after a highly-anticipated, much-delayed vote. The city Department of Education’s Panel for Education Policy voted during its Wednesday night meeting to renew the contract with education company Pearson, which has administered the state-mandated admissions exam for the eight elite schools since 1983. The panel voted 14 to two — with four abstentions — to approve the renewal during the meeting at Sunset Park High School, which was packed with hundreds of students and parents advocating for the continuation of the entrance exam. … READ MORE
Scammer swindled woman, 80, out of more than $200K in cash, gold bars
BY 1010 WINS: A Brooklyn man was arrested for scamming an 80-year-old woman out of nearly $200,000 in cash and gold bars on Long Island over the spam of several months. According to detectives from the fraud and forgery unit, the victim, a Franklin Square resident, received a text message stating she was the victim of fraud regarding her Apple ID. … Following an investigation, officials arrested Zun Huo Shao, 40, of Sunset Park. … READ MORE
CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione in notorious facility housing ‘Diddy’
BY THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER : The troubled Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park at one point also held Sam Bankman-Fried, Ghislaine Maxwell and R. Kelly. … MDC is once again housing a headline-grabbing accused criminal now that Luigi Mangione, the alleged gunman in the murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, has joined rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs at the troubled facility as the two await trial. Mangione, 26, was transported to MDC, according to multiple outlets, and was listed as an inmate, according to online records. … READ MORE
Sunset Park Emerges as NYC’s Clean Tech And Manufacturing Hub With Key Milestones in 2024
BY BKREADER: New York City’s Economic Development Corporation announced significant developments in Sunset Park’s 200 acres of waterfront that have historically been underutilized. Major milestones were achieved in 2024, including the transformation of the Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT), Bush Terminal, and South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) into hubs of clean tech innovation and manufacturing, aligning with Mayor Eric Adams’ “Harbor of the Future” vision, according to a press release. … READ MORE
More people are volunteering again after a big pandemic drop
BY MARKETPLACE: Hundreds of people lined up outside in the freezing cold on a recent morning to get free fruits and vegetables from an outdoor mobile food pantry in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. So many, that the line stretched down one block, around the corner and down another block, and never seemed to get shorter. “Despite our 9-9:30am opening, many of them were here at 4 o’clock this morning,” said Thomas Chen, a regular volunteer with City Harvest, the nonprofit that runs this mobile food market. Twice a month, he and roughly two dozen other volunteers spend the morning here passing out fresh produce — bright red net bags packed with oranges, pineapples, carrots and mangoes. “This is so energizing,” Chen said. “Whenever I feel down, sick, wanting to give up on the world, this is the place that inspires me.” … READ MORE
NYU Langone expands cardiology care in Brooklyn
BY BKREADER: Heart patients in Brooklyn can now access advanced cardiology care in the borough, thanks to the expansion of NYU Langone Heart at the NYU Langone Hospital in Sunset Park.The enhancement to the facility includes state-of-the-art catheterization laboratories and equipment the team will require to perform complex and life-saving procedures, according to a press release. … READ MORE
New gym will have the whole family climbing up the walls
BY MOMMY POPPINS: Parents stuck inside with stir-crazy kids, take note: I can’t rave enough about HAPIK—the brand new climbing gym that just opened at Sunset Park's Industry City. It’s hard to find an activity that appeals to my teen and 6 year old, but HAPIK climbing gym fit the bill. Even I put on a harness and took advantage of this fun family outing that left us pining for a return trip. … READ MORE
At Malaysian restaurant, every dish comes wrapped as a gift
BY ABC & NEWS: At Hainan Chicken House in Sunset Park, the signature dish is special to the Low family. "This is a family-owned restaurant and five of my family members are involved in this. So it's my aunt, my mother, my father, my sister and myself," said Chris Low, the owner. He said that he grew up eating it with his grandparents in Malaysia. "When you get the actual plate, it's the chicken, the chicken rice, a trio of sauces which is dark soy, a kalamansi chili garlic lime, chili sauce, and a ginger scallion sauce," Low said. … WATCH VIDEO
9 great birria tacos in NYC
BY INFATUATION: When we hear the word birria, the first thing we flash to is standing next to the Birria-Landia truck in Jackson Heights in 2019, with adobo-stewed beef juice dripping down our chins. A few years later, there’s a lot more to the NYC birria scene than just one truck, thanks to a boom in these slowly-simmered beef- or goat-stew-filled tacos, with roots tracing back to Jalisco, Baja, and Southern California. Whether you’re looking for some new fried food to comfort you, or believe that dipping already-dripping tacos into consomme should be a national sport, these are our favorite places for birria. … READ MORE
Tacos El Bronco
The Tacos El Bronco truck commands the corner of 37th and 5th in Sunset Park, and they’ve always made some of our favorite tiny, corn tortilla tacos. These tortillas stay remarkably crispy, despite being coated in a layer of rich beef drippings before getting filled with hunks of meat that disintegrate when provoked. Also, the consomme here is spicier and tastes more prominently like tomato than other versions around the city. If you’re in the area and interested in a sit-down experience, Tacos El Bronco has a brick and mortar restaurant on 4th Avenue.
The best dumplings in NYC
BY INFATUATION: In some parts of New York, you can’t walk five feet without stumbling into a steamer basket full of perfect, pillowy dumplings. And in a town with so many choices, you naturally need to know where to find the absolute best jiaozi, wontons, and xiao long bao. If you want to impress someone with your knowledge of where to find the best Chinese dumplings, this is the guide for you. Check out our soup dumpling-specific guide too if you're looking for xiao long bao. … READ MORE
Wei Mei Xian
Wei Mei Xian is a Fujianese restaurant with some counter seats and a few tables, making it a good pick for a quick, inexpensive meal (and it's a stop with a bathroom if you’re on a Sunset Park food crawl). Their pork and chive dumplings are $3.50 for an order of 10, with nearly-translucent wrappers and meaty, flavorful filling. Also try their version of xiao long bao, which are like a cross between Shanghainese soup dumplings and steamed pork buns. The meatball inside is delightfully plump and salty, and the soup is thick and rich, like a sauce.
Cemeteries spark trend with new groundskeeping methods
BY TCD: Cemeteries are now flourishing with life, adopting a new groundskeeping method to mow less and let the natural growth of native plants blossom. The New York Times reported that the trend came with a push from horticulturalists around the United States to mitigate the heavy manicuring of lawns and let wildflowers and drought-resistant native shrubs grow. While originally the move sparked controversy, spending time in nature during COVID-19-induced lockdowns changed the general public's tune. "We've seen a huge sea change in terms of people's willingness to accept this," Joseph Charap, vice president of horticulture Green-Wood Cemetery in Sunset Park, told The New York Times. "The reaction was, 'Oh, it's beautiful.'" … READ MORE
New York City’s first offshore wind farm to power 500,000 homes secures financing
BY INTERESTING ENGINEERING: A Norway-headquartered company has secured over $3 billion project financing package for Empire Wind 1, which is New York City’s first offshore wind farm. Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 project will power 500,000 New York homes and is expected to commence commercial operation in 2027. … Equinor revealed that the expected total capital investments, including fees for the use of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) in Sunset Park, are approximately USD 5 billion, including the effect of expected future tax credits (ITCs). … READ MORE
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: I’m a Grinchy granny — I love my grandkids, but I don’t want to be around them on Christmas
BY NEW YORK POST: You better not shout, you better not cry — because Marie, an 85-year-old grandmother of seven, doesn’t want to hear it. Especially not from her grandkids on Christmas. “They come to my house bicker and argue, mess up my house,” Marie, from Sunset Park, told The Post. “They come here and freeload.” She chose not to disclose her last name for privacy purposes. “It’s Christmas and I gotta do all the cooking,” added the Brooklynite, who gripes about being a grouchy octogenarian as TikTok’s “Bad Granny.” “Somebody’s vegan, somebody’s lactose intolerant, someone doesn’t eat beef, the other one doesn’t eat chicken,” she groaned. “I can’t take it anymore.” … READ MORE
CALENDAR
Saturday, Jan. 25: Ultimate Camp Fair & Activity Expo
Sunday, Feb. 2: First-ever ‘Plant Powered Kids’ Festival
Ongoing at Green-Wood Cemetery
Yay! Welcome back sunset park spotlight!! Happy new year!!!