Brooklyn-based bike parking pod company Oonee is growing its stable of publicly accessible and free bicycle parking rooms in New York City with an even bigger expansion in New Jersey, the company announced earlier this week. The transportation startup unveiled its first full municipal bike parking program in Jersey City while relying on private developers and state agencies for space here, as the Big Apple bureaucracy falls behind its Garden State counterparts, according to Oonee’s founder. “There’s no reason for New York City to continue to be a …
Brooklyn’s population increases by over 230k in 2020 Census results
Brooklyn’s population increased by over 230,000 people in the past decade, marking the biggest increase of any borough in New York City, and far outpacing expectations, according to newly released 2020 Census data. Kings County’s population now stands at 2,736,074 people — a 9.2 percent jump from the 2010 population of 2,504,700 as recorded in that year’s Census. Brooklyn remains the most populous borough in the city, which overall saw its population swell by about 630,000 people, to a historic high of 8.8 million people. Brooklyn’s growth is both the largest numerical and proportional population increase for any of the five boroughs. Moreover, Kings County’s head count grew at a significantly higher rate than statisticians forecasted, as a 2019 estimate by the Census…
Adams announces support for Gowanus rezoning, with NYCHA repairs paramount
Borough President and Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams announced his support for the Gowanus Rezoning on Friday, as the neighborhood-wide scheme snakes its way through the city’s land-use change process. Adams, whose say as borough president is advisory, but whose influence as the presumed mayor-to-be is significant, hinged his support on the millions of dollars in capital improvements needed in the area’s public housing complexes, the Gowanus Houses and the Wyckoff Gardens. “This is about investing in public housing,” Adams said. “Buildings cannot go up around …
Eric Adams unveils Ida B. Wells portrait to hang at Borough Hall
Borough President and Democratic nominee for mayor Eric Adams unveiled a new portrait of civil rights icon Ida B. Wells on Friday, July 16, to hang on the wall at Borough Hall. The portrait, painted by artist Charles Hearn, will hang in the Victorian Suite of Adams’ Joralemon Street building. It will join a number of portraits of mainly white men and the groundbreaking late Black Congressmember Shirley Chisholm. Harlem Historical Society President Jacob Morris commissioned and donated the portrait and Brooklyn-based art gallery owner Tekin “Tony” Akbay donated the frame. Wells, who was born into slavery, was a pioneering journalist and activist who helped co-found the NAACP. “Ida B. Wells was a trailblazer and …
Op-ed: Mother Nature has run out of patience. It’s time to act on outer borough storm resiliency
Mother Nature does not care about the ongoing pandemic, or the economic devastation it has wreaked on our City budget. In case any New Yorker doubted that, Tropical Storm Isaias set them straight. The intense winds forced bridges and railways to shut down, while knocking down thousands of trees that crashed into cars, homes, and power lines. According to Con Edison, Isaias created the second-worst storm outage in its history, trailing only Superstorm Sandy in its impact. For those of us in the outer boroughs, it was déjà vu all over again. While more than 130,000 Con Edison customers lost power due to Isaias, less than 100 of those customers…
Borough Presidents Adams goes on strange rant at opening of affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors
Borough President Eric Adams went on a bizarre rant at the opening of the city’s first affordable housing development for LGBTQ seniors on Dec. 17, when he invoked slavery, and predicted that incoming residents would clash with locals at a nearby public housing complex. “I think about Frederick Douglass and the conversation about fighting for the independence of America,” Adams said. “He said ‘the arrogance of that those want me to fight for independence when I’m still a slave.’ I can’t celebrate a building that is not inclusive.” The beep’s tirade — which was heard via an audio recording obtained by this paper’s sister publication, Gay City News …