STREET SAFETY PLAN STALLS
Also: IBX, a parade, WNBA fashion, Nets rookies, sake and more!
There is no dedicated news coverage of Sunset Park — but Sunset Park makes news. This FREE weekly(ish) digest curates and summarizes all the headlines from all the news sources that touch our neighborhood, which is one of the most vibrant in Brooklyn.
SINCE LAST TIME: A major street safety plan for chaotic Third Avenue is now on hold until after the mayoral election, leaving families to dodge traffic for the foreseeable future. In brighter developments, Industry City is buzzing with AI firms like Fundraise Up and DataVerge, while Brooklyn Kura has expanded its sake brewery into a sprawling Sake Studies Center. A new charter school is stirring tension—Brooklyn Rise is returning to 40th Street despite opposition from local public school parents. Meanwhile, Fourth of July brought both pride and fear, as immigrant families navigated rising ICE raids and sinking small-business revenues. A youth camp in the neighborhood helped the Nets’ rookie squad start building chemistry, and the annual Independence Day Parade brought flags and fanfare to Fifth Avenue. Sunset Park continues to pulse with culture, conflict, ambition—and more than a little style.
In Sunset Park, a plan to improve street safety is on ice until NYC mayoral election
Third Avenue is one of the busiest and most dangerous arteries in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Passenger cars, huge tractor trailers and bikes fight their way through the intersection of 60th Street and Third Avenue below the rumbling Gowanus Expressway – while streams of pedestrians attempt to cross. “ It's very scary,” said Luis Arce, one of the hundreds of parents rushing to drop off their kids at P.S. 939 on a recent Thursday morning. He and his 5-year-old had just run across Third Avenue’s nine lanes. “My wife's brother actually got hit by a car down there a long time ago,” Arce said. “This whole Third Avenue area is very dangerous.” … By Gothamist
He made Green-Wood Cemetery a destination for the living
Richard J. Moylan has overseen a transformation of Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn in his nearly 40 years as president. Now he’s ready to retire. … Do you remember Roy Smeck, guitarist and banjo legend from the 1930s? “We have him here,” said Richard J. Moylan the other day, in a cluttered office that looked about three weeks from moving-out day. It is a phrase Mr. Moylan — 70, with a robust head of white hair and a pleasantly chatty manner — uses often, or did until recently. Last Friday, he retired from Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, where he had worked for the last 53 years, first as a lawn cutter and since 1986 as president, and thus de facto mayor to the grounds’ 570,000 permanent residents. Around the office were a half-dozen Roy Smeck signature guitars that Mr. Moylan had collected for the cemetery, along with books, CDs and artwork associated with other people interred there. “We have Leonard Bernstein,” he said. Also F.A.O. Schwarz (toys), Eberhard Faber (pencils) and Samuel Morse (code). But of the filmmaker Jonas Mekas, who was cremated at the cemetery in 2019, Mr. Moylan lamented, “I don’t think we have him.” … By The New York Times
A new rail line may come to New York. Will a housing boom follow?
The Interborough Express, a rail line connecting Brooklyn, on the border of Sunset Park, and Queens, could spur the building of tens of thousands of homes. Obstacles await. … In a sign of its transformative potential, the project is gaining the attention of real estate developers, long before the first track gets laid. More than 70,000 new homes could be built within a half mile of stops along the train line over the next decade, if some land-use changes are approved by city officials, according to an analysis released Thursday by the New York Building Congress, a trade group for construction and real estate companies. … By The New York Times
Tensions rise in Sunset Park over charter school plans
As the public school year comes to a close, a dispute over the return of a charter school to Sunset Park continues to unfold. Brooklyn Rise Charter School is building a four-story facility at 410 40th St. The school, which originally opened in a different Sunset Park location in 2019, moved to Downtown Brooklyn in 2022 over co-location issues and other conflicts. But the school promised families that it would return to Sunset Park permanently and plans to open in its new location next year. But that promise has been met with opposition from local public school parents and supporters. Many feel another charter school is not needed in the area, with public schools facing declining enrollment across the city, due to families moving and falling birth rates.
"I'm really livid about the situation," said parent Shilpa Narayan, who sends her child to public school. … By BK Reader
A fraught Fourth of July for New York City’s immigrant families
Against a backdrop of ICE raids and spiking deportations, immigrant New Yorkers reflect on what this Independence Day felt like. …, Documented spoke to New Yorkers in Sunset Park, Bushwick, and Jackson Heights — neighborhoods with large immigrant populations — to understand how they are feeling in the country at this moment. … On the sunny morning of July 4, Joe Fernandez met friends outside Juan’s Barber Shop in Sunset Park to eat Dominican chicken stew out of styrofoam containers. It wasn’t a day off for most of them, though the atmosphere was leisurely. “If you skip one day, …” lamented Fernandez, whose maintenance shift in Manhattan ended at 7 o’clock that morning. Noting rising rents and expensive groceries, Fernandez explained how his neighbors have been forced to navigate showing up for work and trying to stay out of the eye of federal agents. Last month, revenue for many Sunset Park businesses plunged 25-30% due to fears driven by arrests. … By Documented
PHOTOS: Brooklyn breaks out the red, white and blue
Brooklyn was decked out in red, white and blue on Sunday as locals celebrated the city’s oldest — and earliest — Independence Day Parade. The 118th Annual American Independence Day Parade kicked off with a mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Sunset Park, after which the parade organizers handed out recognitions to several Brooklynites who have done good for their communities. Among the awardees were parade grand marshals Norman Goben, the parade’s grand marshal and a member of the local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution; and Michael Grillo, a museum historian educator, both recognized for their “meritorious life time of service with dedication, commitment, and loyalty to your community and to your country.”… By Brooklyn Paper
Officer honored for community involvement during Mass for American Independence Day Parade
Young boy loses fingers, another injured while playing with fireworks
AI-powered firms flock to Industry City
Industry City in Sunset Park is fast emerging as a major AI and tech hub, notably firms like Fundraise Up, Adafruit, and DataVerge. Fundraise Up uses privacy-forward AI algorithms to personalize donor experiences—suggesting optimal donation amounts, payment methods, and timing based on live metrics—boosting nonprofit conversions by up to 15% engage.fundraiseup.com. Adafruit (a maker-tech leader), and DataVerge, which operates Brooklyn’s largest carrier-neutral data center at Industry City powering AI workloads, round out the ecosystem. This convergence reinforces Sunset Park’s rising status as an innovation epicenter. … By Crain’s
Kristine Anigwe is redefining fashion in the WNBA one look at a time
Off The Court: Style of the WNBA is a series highlighting women in sports and their impact on the global fashion industry. … Kristine Anigwe has deep feelings about her relationship with fashion. In our offices located in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood, the stylist, creative director, and former WNBA player tells me that “Nigerian parties and just have fun, celebrate the culture, dance, [and] eat food.” Anigwe also expressed that these events were a way for her family to uphold their community while staying rooted in their heritage. … By Essence
The attitude Nets’ quintet of rookies are bringing as they begin to jell
The Brooklyn Nets’ historic rookie quintet—Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf, and Danny Wolf—bonded and practiced together at a youth camp in Sunset Park ahead of their Summer League debut in Las Vegas. They stressed unity, learning from each other and veterans, and hope to forge their own identity—perhaps even earning a nickname like a modern Fab Five. The team’s rebuild hinges on developing this young core. … By New York Post
A wave of Asian votes helped propel Zohran Mamdani’s trailblazing win
New Yorkers who felt heard by a politician for the first time, including people who aren’t citizens and couldn’t vote, found ways to register their support and spread the word. … His gains in heavily Chinese communities — including Manhattan’s Chinatown and Brooklyn’s Sunset Park and Bensonhurst were notable, too. … By Gothamist
Teens robbed of clothes in R station
Two 16‑year‑old boys were robbed at the 59th Street R subway station in Sunset Park on June 5. While waiting in the mezzanine to sell clothes, three assailants approached them—one punching a boy in the face and fleeing with several hoodies, another stealing sneakers before escaping on a northbound R train. Both teens avoided hospitalization. … By Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Pedestrian hospitalized after crash in Sunset Park
A pedestrian was struck at the intersection of 61st Street and 50th Avenue in Sunset Park, and hospitalized. According to Citizen app video, the victim was found in the intersection near a parked motorcycle. The individual was taken to a hospital; their current condition has not been released. The NYPD is investigating the incident. … By News12
Permits Filed for 847 59th Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Permits have been filed to expand a two-story structure into a five-story mixed-use building at 847 59th Street in Sunset Park. Located between 8th and 9th Avenues, the lot is near the 8th Avenue subway station, served by the N train. Wei Guo of DK Family Group Inc. is listed as the owner behind the applications. The proposed 55-foot-tall development will yield 15,865 square feet, with 10,907 square feet designated for residential space and 4,957 square feet for community facility space. The building will have 16 residences, most likely rentals based on the average unit scope of 681 square feet. The steel-based structure will also have a cellar, a 22-foot-long rear yard, and one open parking space.… By YIMBY
15 ways to dive into sake in New York City
Manhattan and upstate New York offer sake breweries, bars, bottle shops for tasting and learning about the rice wine. … Common lore is that New York water is the secret to its superlative bagels. The same is true for sake. Water, along with rice, koji (a type of mold), and yeast, are key ingredients for making sake. With its low mineral content, the state’s water is one reason why New York has become an epicenter for sake production. The original producer was Brooklyn Kura in Sunset Park's Industry City complex. The taproom and brewery was the first of its kind when it opened in 2018. After entering a partnership with premier Japanese sake brewer Hakkaisan, founders Brian Polen and Brandon Doughan expanded into a larger, 20,000-square-foot facility, renovated the tap room, and opened the Sake Studies Center, offering courses for both casual drinkers and professionals. Visit to explore different styles through the rotating selection on draft, such as sakes made with different rice varieties and yeasts.… By Food & Wine
CALENDAR
Through Aug. 22: Rooftop Films Summer Series
Ongoing at Green-Wood Cemetery & Industry City