Day: January 27, 2025

POLICE SEEK THE PUBLIC’S HELP in tracking down a missing 12-year-old boy residing within the 79th Precinct.

The post NYPD seeks missing boy from Bedford-Stuyvesant appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

On Saturday, State Sen. Stephen Chan was sworn in to represent southern Brooklyn’s 17th Senate District, becoming the first Asian-American Republican to hold the state Senate seat.

At the New Utrecht High School auditorium in Bensonhurst, Chan was joined by family, friends, and elected officials to celebrate his historic win. Republican Party members showed their support, including U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, Gerard Kassar, chair of the New York State Conservative Party, Brooklyn Republican Party Chair Richard Barsamian and Brooklyn Conservative Party Chair Fran Vella-Marrone.

“I was honored to swear Senator Stephen Chan into office this morning and I’m confident that he will do a fantastic job in Albany, particularly when it comes to fighting crime and lowering taxes for his constituents,” Malliotakis said. “As the first Asian-American Republican to become a New York State senator, Senator Chan has inspired a new generation of leaders to pursue public service.”

The event ended in a whirlwind of celebration, featuring performances from My Way Center, Sunflower Dance and Music Center, and the NY Brooklyn Dance Club.

Chan unseated Democratic incumbent Iwen Chu in November, securing more than 29,000 votes to Chu’s 23,500 on Election Night. Chu was first elected in 2022, eking out a narrow victory over Republican Vito LaBella to represent Brooklyn’s first Asian-majority state Senate district, which encompasses parts of Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Kensington and Sunset Park.

Chan’s win is part of a larger trend in southern Brooklyn. Last November, President Donald Trump won in six Assembly districts as neighborhoods like Sheepshead Bay, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Borough Park, Gravesend, and Bensonhurst turned red. Southern Brooklyn’s immigrant populations have helped drive the borough’s shift toward more conservative candidates. In Bensonhurst, Asian voters overwhelmingly supported Trump’s presidential bid, securing more than 70% of their vote—an increase from 50% in 2020, according to data from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

“I look upon the election of Steve Chan to the State Senate as a historical event that will bring committed conservative values and representation to the people of South Brooklyn,” said Kassar. “His win broke the Democrats’ supermajority in the State Legislature, taking away the Majority’s power to override any veto by the Governor, the first step in restoring balance back to Albany.”

Chan’s Brooklyn roots run deep.

A retired U.S. Marine and former New York City Police Department sergeant, Chan immigrated to Bay Ridge from Hong Kong with his family at age 11 and has lived in Bensonhurst since 1992. As a young man, he worked various jobs, including at a sweatshop, a plastic factory and as a dishwasher.

Chan served as a U.S. Marine for six years before joining the New York City Police Department, where he worked for 27 years. During his time on the force, he also managed and owned a small florist shop in Sunset Park for 10 years. After retiring from the police department, he became deeply involved in his children’s schools, serving as PTA president, a member of the School Leadership Team, and a Title I chairperson, according to his campaign website.

Chan addressed the crowd at his swearing-in, expressing that he was “blessed and humbled” by the opportunity to represent Brooklyn’s 17th District.

“I am here because of you. I also want to thank the great people of Brooklyn for putting your trust in me,” he told the crowd. “Like you, I am tired of Albany bureaucrats dictating to us how to live our lives while piling taxes and fees onto us when times are already tough, and passing laws that make our streets the most dangerous they’ve been in decades.”

“This Asian-American community is no longer a minority,” Chan added. “We are a force, and we are going to demand action from Albany on affordability, crime, protecting meritocracy in education and keeping our neighborhoods strong.”

A collection of topical political cartoons from various artists curated by the Brooklyn Eagle editorial staff.

The post Cartoon Sketchbook: January 27 appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

For years, Coney Island has been left behind. As much of Brooklyn and New York City experienced a renaissance, Coney Island has remained stagnant. Part of this is because the city and state have not invested here and in doing so allowed our beloved community to fall by the wayside. But Coney Island also must look internally at some of our leaders who for too long have simply said “no” to everything. Never is this more clear than the debate over The Coney, a project that would actually bring jobs and economic development to this community. 

To start, it’s obvious why The Coney is a project that just works for Coney Island. It’s going to bring thousands of year-round jobs to a community that for too long has had seasonal employment. While we love Coney Island summers, they are just that, summers only. The rest of the year, our neighborhood is mostly empty with few people coming to our sights beyond the aquarium. In this emptiness, our gorgeous seaside Coney Island stands mostly still. There is little foot traffic, little economic activity, and little reason for hope. 

A year-round entertainment destination begins to change this. People would come from all over to Coney Island all year round. They would come to our stores, visit our sites and help our economy. The Coney would fit right in with Coney Island history as a destination that people would come to visit. The jobs that would be created would be good-paying jobs that would help Coney Island residents and help put more money in their pockets. 

Don’t just take it from me. Rich Maroko, president of the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council agrees by saying, “we’re proud to support this land use application for the Coney, a promising project that would bring thousands of high quality hospitality jobs to Brooklyn. We think it’s important for elected officials to recognize this unique chance to create jobs and boost our local economy.”

In addition, The Coney team has made some very big pledges to the community. To start, if they are granted the gaming license, they have promised to establish a $200 million community trust. Let me say that again, $200 million. The trust will get input from the community — and will include actual members of the Coney Island community on the board — to help make Coney Island a better place. It will include community grants for local organizations, boardwalk improvements, funding for workforce development and economic mobility resilience and environmental protection and public art. Furthermore, the trust would help with added safety and security to the area through things like enhanced lighting, more security guards and other things that will improve public safety. 

Finally, The Coney has also pledged a public open space on the roof. This is roughly on acre – or about the size of the main lawn at Bryant Park. It will be free and accessible to the public and you won’t even need to go through the gaming floor. For a community that desperately needs open spaces, this is going to be a big win for the community. 

Given all there is to gain, The Coney is very clearly a win for this community and that’s why many people in Coney Island support it. In fact, 10,000 people in Coney Island and the surrounding area have signed petitions backing it. 

However, there is yet again, a small group of people who just want to say no to everything. They flood community board meetings and, in some instances, are on the community board itself. They yell, they scream, they demean and they intimidate anyone who does not agree with them. But if you listen, you don’t hear any solutions from them. They don’t have actual actionable ideas. For years, even decades, they’ve just said no to everything to the detriment of Coney Island. They issue statements with vague requests and when they kill projects they offer nothing to fill the void. To put it bluntly, they are a big part of the reason why Coney Island gets left behind.

I am here to say no more to no. Coney Island deserves better than the people who just reflexively say no to every single thing. We deserve nice things. We deserve jobs. We deserve economic development. We deserve nicer parks and green space. We deserve better security. And we deserve a future with year-round possibilities. We need to make sure our young people grow up in a neighborhood with possibilities for a better future. 

For too long, the people who show up and scream have had their way and it’s the rest of us in Coney Island who have been made to suffer. No more. It’s time for Coney Island to say yes. There is a quiet majority behind The Coney and they are fed up with leaders who refuse to lead. Maybe the Community Board won’t do it, but we can not remain silent as a great opportunity comes our way. The naysayers don’t have any answers, but we do. It’s time to say yes to The Coney. 

Joseph Packer is a Coney Island resident.