Day: March 17, 2025

Eighteen-ninety was the year Brooklyn, playing under the name of the Bridegrooms, won the National Association championship.

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More than 600 fizz-aficionados flocked to Industry City on Sunday for SeltzerFest 2025.

The sold-out event, which celebrated seltzer culture, featured the return of the Golden Siphon to New York City, with The Brooklyn Farmacy of Carroll Gardens taking home the top prize in the National Egg Cream Invitational.

“We were overwhelmed by today’s turn-out and the level of creativity brought to the event by all of the contestants as well as the dozens of exhibitors throughout the room,” said Barry Joseph, founding director of the Brooklyn Seltzer Museum. “People traveled from far and wide to experience today’s effervescent activities and they filled the room with so much joy.”

The festival also included the inaugural SeltzerFest Seltzer Awards, celebrating the best in bubbly, and a full slate of interactive events and vendor booths.

Hosted by the Brooklyn Seltzer Museum, a nonprofit focused on preserving and promoting seltzer’s rich history, SeltzerFest 2025 featured an immersive experience with a variety of vendors, interactive booths and competitive events.

The day kicked off with an “Opening Spritz,” a tribute to the tradition popularized by the Three Stooges. Attendees then participated in “Fizzing into the Future–The Next Generation of Jewish Bubbly,” a panel discussion and live demonstration on the evolution of carbonated Jewish beverages, presented by The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life.

The event also saw the inaugural Spirit of Eli Award, named after Eli Miller, the “sultan of seltzer,” presented to distinguished seltzer delivery man Walter Backerman. The day’s programming concluded with a performance of live Yiddish seltzer-themed Klezmer music, titled “The Seltzer Klezmer Spritz-tacular,” by The Workers Circle.

But the return of the Golden Siphon to Brooklyn was the cream of the crop — and a moment of pride — for the local seltzer community, reflecting the city’s historic roots in the effervescent egg cream. Last year’s award went to Philadelphia’s Franklin Fountain.

Though its origins are debated, many believe the egg cream was invented in the Jewish immigrant neighborhoods of Brooklyn in the early 1900s.

Housed in a restored 1920s apothecary in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Farmacy is a contemporary soda fountain, ice cream shop and neighborhood staple.

“When we opened in 2010, it was our mission to bring this delicious, iconic New York drink back to the top of the menu,” Brooklyn Farmacy wrote in a social media post on March 15 — National Egg Cream Day. “Mission accomplished!”

This year’s Egg Cream Invitational was sponsored by Fox’s U-bet.

The retail store Forever 21 has reportedly filed for bankruptcy a second time, resulting in the eventual closure of its 350 US stores, including those in New York City.

The fast-fashion brand entered bankruptcy with $1.58 billion in debt after reportedly losing over $400 million over the last three years.

According to the court filing, Stephen Coulombe, the operating company’s co-chief restructuring officer, noted that Forever 21 was heavily impacted by Shein and Temu’s use of the de minimis exemption, a trade law loophole that allows allowed goods valued under $800 to be shipped into the U.S. without import duties.

Forever 21 is closing the following locations in New York City:

• Kings Plaza Mall: 5301 Kings Plaza, Brooklyn (closing May 1)
• Staten Island Mall: 2655 Richmond Ave., Staten Island (closing May 1)
• Seventh Avenue-Penn Station: 435 Seventh Ave., Manhattan (closing March 30)
• Times Square: 1540 Broadway, Manhattan (closing March 30)
• The Shops at Atlas Park: 80-40 Cooper Ave., Glendale (closing March 30)

Forever 21 previously filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and obtained $350 million in financing. Previous to this current filing, Forever 21 was looking for a buyer for several months, and despite making contact with several bidders, the court filing stated that no viable deal ever came together.

Liquidation sales are set to begin at the stores that will be closing.

St. Patrick’s Day is being marked in cities across the country on Monday with boisterous parades and celebrations.

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Services will be cut as a result of the Trump administration’s decision to axe the Institute of Museum and Library Services, say librarians.

The post American Library Association denounces elimination of agency that provides funding to libraries and museums appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

CITY COUNCILMEMBER SUSAN ZHUANG AND THE NYPD’s 66TH PRECINCT have teamed up to host a Crime Prevention Workshop.

The post 66th Precinct, Councilmember Zhuang offer Crime Prevention Workshop appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

The longstanding and powerful Federation of Italian-American Organizations in Brooklyn (FIAO) reached out vigorously to Brooklyn’s Chinese

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The Year of the Snake was celebrated loud and proud at Il Centro Community Center on Feb. 12, as north of 150 spectators

The post ✰PREMIUM<br>Lunar New Year acknowledged at Il Centro Community Center appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.