Sunset Park deli sells $3 million scratch-off!

Also: Election winners, life in jail for Luigi, ‘Materialists,’ sinkholes, food, more food, and more!

Jun 25, 2025

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.

Sunset Park deli sells $3 million scratch-off

BROOKLYN REPORTER: Michael Garcia Jr. won a $3 million prize playing the Electric 10X scratch-off at 6th Avenue Mini Market at 5601 6th Ave in Sunset Park. After withholdings, his one-time lump sum totaled $1,573,460. …

On Election Day, immigrant communities split on Mamdani and Cuomo

DOCUMENTED: … In Sunset Park, Juan Roman, 53, whose parents are from Puerto Rico, pointed to Andrew M. Cuomo’s past experience as why he voted for him. “When he was here, we had plenty of jobs,” he said. “The food was cheap. Gas was cheap. You could get around this city without having to sacrifice your medicine or your food to get to work. Nowadays everything is upside down […] and that’s why I go out to vote.” Of those we spoke to in Sunset Park, New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani was the favorite, but others like Comptroller Brad Lander, New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams were second choices. …

Alexa Avilés keeps her seat in Council District 38

CITY & STATE: City Council Member Alexa Avilés beat opponent Ling Ye by almost triple the votes in the primary race to keep her seat in Council District 38. Ye, a moderate Democrat, challenged the Democratic socialist incumbent in the first competitive council race since the district was redrawn in 2023. District 38 represents the southern Brooklyn neighborhoods of Red Hook, Park Slope, Sunset Park and parts of Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst. The area is historically progressive with a large Latino and Asian immigrant population. But after redistricting, it included whiter, more moderate areas which many anticipated would tighten the race. Evidently, it did not. …

Luigi Mangione's life in jail - from prison job to 'one-man welcoming committee'

MIRROR: A fellow prisoner has given a glimpse of what Luigi Mangione's life is like as he awaits trial for the assassination of a health insurance CEO. Mangione is at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park, New York, after being accused of shooting dead UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, on a street in Manhattan. Fellow inmate, Michael Daddea took to social media to describe meeting the alleged assassin. Daddea faced federal charges for allegedly 3D-printing more than 25 untraceable "ghost guns" and was taken to the same detention centre. He was told by a guard when he arrived he would be sharing a unit with Mangione but he didnt' believe him. Explaining the whole situation on a now-deleted video on X, Daddea said: "I'm like, 'Yeah, he's being a wise ass'. . . I look out the cell, Luigi is standing there and he's like, 'Hey, how's it going?' Like, super nice. Introduced himself to me first thing. I've literally – I've been in the unit for 10 minutes." …

Guatemalan feast in Sunset Park

ROBERT SIETSEMA’S NEW YORK: Sadly, the most upscale Guatemalan restaurant in the city closed not long ago. Park Slope’s Bistro Quetzalito seemed like a thoroughbred horse that could trot but couldn’t quite gallop; it also tended to devalue its own Guatemalan food in favor of other Latin cuisines. It was very good anyway. Luckily, its progenitors were the half dozen bodega-cafes of nearby Brooklyn neighborhoods. Just downhill from Sunset Park’s sloping park, El Buen Chapin Deli Corp. appeared seven years ago at 3915 Fifth Avenue on the site of a former flower shop. The ranked Guatemalan and Mexican groceries are still there, but in addition, a few tables are pushed out front and there’s a pristine steam table in the rear, its hot dishes carefully covered to forestall desiccation. … Our eventual destination was the nearby Costco; I’d never been to one before. For years I’d heard raves about its pizzas, toasted sandwiches, and especially its hot dogs. The trouble is, you need a membership to get in, and I never really needed to buy two dozen giant rolls of paper towels or 2000 Q-Tips, but the idea of a discount hot dog that everyone loves is irresistible, so when I was invited by an “executive member” I couldn’t refuse. …

Southern Brooklyn well-represented in New York Times’ 100 Best Restaurant List

BROOKLYN REPORTER: Sunset Park shines in the New York Times’ 2025 “100 Best Restaurants in New York City” list with Hainan Chicken House recognized for its authentic flavors and neighborhood charm. Broader Southern Brooklyn claims eight eateries on the list — including spots in Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay, and Gravesend — showcasing the region’s diverse, dynamic dining scene. The inclusion underscores how Southern Brooklyn—from Sunset Park southward—is emerging as a culinary powerhouse within NYC. …

For formerly incarcerated New Yorkers, Citi Bike’s growth is a job opportunity

GOTHAMIST: Lovelle Jones was 16 when he was convicted of murder and began what would be an 18-year stint in prison. “I was young,” Jones said. “I was engulfed in violence and the street life and the negativity and the gang culture and things of that nature.” Now, at the age of 34, things appear to have turned around for Jones, who was released from prison in January and hasn’t held a job before. He’s one of 20 men and women wrapping up an innovative workforce development course run by the nonprofit Bike New York, called Bike Path. The three-week course at Sunset Park’s Industry City, which launched in 2019, prepares formerly incarcerated men and women to become certified bike mechanics. Thanks to the steady growth of the Citi Bike program across the five boroughs, the program boasts a nearly 100% job placement rate. …

‘Materialists' production designer and set decorator estimate how much rent each character pays for their NYC apartment

VARIETY: "Materialists," Celine Song's follow-up to "Past Lives," offers a candid look at how money and financial status influence modern dating. Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a matchmaker whose clients often have strict income expectations for their hypothetical partners, as does Lucy herself. She wants the stability of wealth, and she knows it. It's what everyone striving toward the rarefied world of upper-class New Yorkers wants. …

John's Apartment; Location: Sunset Park; Rent Estimate: $3,400/month between all the roommates
John's apartment was actually built in a studio in Long Island City although the exterior is Sunset Park. Song shared photographs of a place where her husband, Justin Kuritzkes, formerly lived, as a reference point for the dilapidated apartment. … "It really is this kind of apartment that you could only imagine people in New York would dare to live in, like there's no living room. There's just a strip of wall and a sofa, and there's one bathroom," Silver says. "[John's] apartment was the best one in the house, because he's lived there the most, so he had those windows."

‘Appalling’: NYCHA has over 8K vacant apartments as New Yorkers face housing crunch

GOTHAMIST: As New Yorkers face a critical shortage of affordable homes, city lawmakers are asking why thousands of public housing apartments are vacant — and why they are taking well over a year to fill on average. The New York City Council’s public housing committee held a hearing Monday to question NYCHA officials on why units are staying empty longer and tenant transfers are moving so slowly. The hearing comes as the city’s overall vacancy rate for rental apartments considered affordable for the lowest-income residents remains below 1%. “The transfer situation is appalling,” said Councilmember Alexa Avilés, who represents Red Hook, Sunset Park and other parts of south Brooklyn. “It has taken our office well over a year to transfer people facing violence, and it is particularly appalling when you know that there are thousands of vacant units in NYCHA.” …

Sinkhole floods Sunset Park home, sparks repair dispute

DAILY EAGLE: Sunset Park residents are dealing with a troubling sinkhole on 41st Street that flooded a local home’s basement less than 24 hours after they reported it to 311. The collapse, tied to outdated pipelines, may cost the homeowners thousands in repairs. The city’s Department of Environmental Protection repaired the sinkhole and deemed it safe—but says fixing the damaged sewer line leading into the home is the homeowner’s responsibility, triggering a repair dispute. …

VIDEO: Sinkhole in Sunset Park causes flooding

Woman charged with driving while intoxicated without license in fatal Brooklyn crash

GOTHAMIST: A 29-year-old woman was arrested Saturday on charges of driving while intoxicated and without a license after police said she collided with a moped driver in Brooklyn who died in the crash. NYPD officials said Sheepshead Bay resident Leslie Moreno was charged early Saturday following the crash at Third Avenue and 67th Street in Bay Ridge around 4:45 a.m. Police said she collided in her 2013 Acura TSX with Sunset Park resident Joel Mota, 22, who was driving a moped with a 21-year-old passenger aboard. …

Sunset Park BID welcomes new businesses to nabe

BROOKLYN REPORTER: Sunset Park’s Fifth Avenue BID has welcomed two new anchors: DII Discount, returning as a full-service, multi-story store at 5109 Fifth Ave—a nod to its roots nearly 40 years ago—and a freshly renovated C-Town Supermarket at 5818 Fifth Ave, filling a long-vacant space. Both openings reflect significant neighborhood investment, supporting local jobs and boosting access to goods. The BID celebrates these arrivals as signs of renewed vitality and community-driven growth in Sunset Park. …

New effort aims to replant functionally extinct American Chestnut trees across New York City

CBS: A fragile sapling now taking root in Sunset Park on Green-Wood Cemetery's Chestnut Path is part of an ambitious new effort to bring back a tree that once dominated northeastern forests. The American Chestnut was once considered one of the largest and fastest-growing species in the region, but a deadly fungal disease nearly wiped it out. Now, a partnership between the New York Restoration Project and the American Chestnut Foundation is working to change that. …

CALENDAR

Through Aug. 22: Rooftop Films Summer Series
Ongoing at Green-Wood Cemetery & Industry City