Day: July 1, 2025

MAIMONIDES’ Golf Classic Tournament brought together medical and business leaders to support upgrades for its Pediatric Infusion Center. 

The post Maimonides Health’s Golf Classic raises $397.2K for upgrading Pediatric Infusion Center appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

After a week of uncertainty, George Sarantopoulos has eked out a narrow victory in the Republican primary in Council District 47, per unofficial ranked-choice voting totals.

The race has remained too close to call since the night of the June 24 election, when Sarantopoulos and fellow Republican Richie Barsamian remained neck-and-neck even as a victor was announced in the district’s Democratic primary.

Unofficial election night results showed Sarantopoulos ahead of Barsamian by just 32 votes with 97.4% of scanners reporting.

But unofficial ranked-choice voting results released on June 26 showed that Sarantopolous had pulled further ahead once all votes were counted. 

With 100% of the vote tallied, Sarantopoulos earned 50.2% of the vote, or 1,102 votes in total. Barsamian won 48.1%, or 1,056 votes. Write-ins comprised the other 1.7% of the tally.

“I am honored to have the people’s support heading into November. Thank you to every voter, supporter, and campaign staffer on both sides for working to make our community better,” Sarantopoulos said in a statement. “I want to personally commend Richie Barsamian for running a strong campaign. He cares deeply about our neighborhoods, and we both believe New York City should be a city of opportunity, not handouts.”

Sarantopoulos, a longtime Bay Ridge resident and businessman, had declared victory on June 25, though the race was still largely considered too close to call at that point. 

Barsamian did not immediately return a request for comment.

The race, one of few Republican primary contests in Brooklyn, remained contentious until the last moment. Barsamian, the chair of the Kings County Republican Party, had been endorsed by Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, Council Member Inna Vernikov, and local Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny. 

But late on June 23, Vernikov — a Republican who won her own primary in District 48 — retracted her endorsement of Barsamian and threw her support behind Sarantopoulos.

In a video, she accused Barsamian of “trying to flip this seat in District 48 back to the Democrats.”

Sarantopoulos will face off against Democrat Kayla Santosuosso in the general election come November. 

“With Zohran Mamdani winning the Democratic mayoral primary, it is time for all common sense New Yorkers to come together,” he said in a statement. “This November we fight to protect our quality of life. That means affordability, strong schools, safe streets, and a working subway.”

The Trump administration appears to be considering an attempt to revoke Mamdani’s citizenship and deport the democratic socialist.

The post GOP raises threat to deport Mamdani appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

Brooklyn has claimed the top spot as the best large U.S. city for biking — and it’s no accident. According to this year’s PeopleForBikes national city ratings, the borough’s safe, connected and low-stress bike network sets it apart.

“Brooklyn has an awesome bike network that allows people to get where they want to go,” Grace Stonecipher, PeopleForBikes’ infrastructure analytics and research manager, said. “There are a few different factors that lead to this, including low speed limits, the presence of a lot of bike infrastructure, including off-street paths and protected bike lanes specifically.”

This year marks the first time individual New York City boroughs were assessed separately. Manhattan and Queens both cracked the top 10, with scores of 51 and 63, respectively. But it was ultimately Brooklyn that earned the top score of 73.

“When you look at the maps, you can actually see that Brooklyn has more bike lanes and infrastructure than a lot of the other boroughs,” Stonecipher said.

Speed limits = safer streets

One factor that pushed Brooklyn ahead: a 25 mph residential speed limit. But that number is only part of the equation.

“You can have a posted limit of 25, but it might be designed in a way that makes people feel like they can drive much faster,” Martina Haggerty, vice president of infrastructure for PeopleForBikes, said.

She also emphasized that design matters just as much as speed limits. “If it’s a high-volume road with multiple vehicular lanes, we still want to see that separation where the protected bike lane is possible.”

Lower speed limits don’t just affect cyclists.

“What we found is that reducing the speed at which cars are traveling is one of the most effective ways to make streets safer for everyone — crashes decrease, fatalities decrease and injuries go down,” Haggerty said.

How is the best U.S. city for biking measured?

To determine which large U.S. cities are most bikable, researchers use a tool called the Bicycle Network Analysis. The model maps every road in a city, assesses the presence of quality bike infrastructure and labels streets as either “low stress” or “high stress.”

It then analyzes how easily residents can bike from home to essential destinations without braving high-stress roads.

Brooklyn ranks well because so many of those everyday destinations are accessible by low-stress routes. The highest-scoring areas are grocery stores, parks and K-12 education centers.

The city ratings offer a feature that allows users to open a map and zoom in on different neighborhoods, filtering bike infrastructure. Most areas in Brooklyn remain in the 90th percentile for bike access.

What can other large cities learn from Brooklyn? 

The answer is strategic planning.

“In New York, the streets plan requires 50 miles of protected bike lanes to be built each year,” Stonecipher said. “That kind of long-term planning is crucial; it ensures that the city builds a network, not just disconnected lanes here and there.”

Biking builds community, too

Beyond safety and access, biking plays a surprising role in strengthening society. A German study found that cyclists are more likely to vote, know their neighbors and participate in community organizations.

“When you’re riding your bike, you’re not behind glass in a bubble in a car, you’re on the street. You’re saying hello to your neighbors, you’re noticing and interacting with other people on the street and local businesses on the street in a way that you don’t get in a car,” Haggerty said.

Whether for commuting or connection, Brooklyn’s bike-forward approach offers a model for other cities aiming to improve both safety and community life.