Day: October 31, 2025

Torrential rain battered Brooklyn on Thursday, flooding streets, submerging cars and leaving at least one person dead as parts of the borough saw nearly three inches of rainfall in just three hours.

The city remained under a wind advisory until noon Friday, as cleanup efforts continued across the five boroughs.

In East Flatbush, the FDBY Scuba Team recovered the body of a 39-year-old man from a flooded basement. According to ABC7, he was found “unconscious and unresponsive” and was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A similar fatal incident occurred in Washington Heights.

Neighbors told Brooklyn Paper he had been trying to rescue his two dogs when floodwaters rushed into the basement apartment. They said he managed to get one dog, Luna, out before he was overwhelmed while returning for the second pet. 

The Scuba Team used a dewatering pump, among other equipment, to reach the victim, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not yet been released by authorities.

Nearby neighborhoods, including Ditmas Park, also saw severe flooding, with water filling intersections and basements. In a statement posted to Instagram, Council Member Rita Joseph said she was “deeply saddened” upon hearing of the flood-related death in her district.

She also called for better flood infrastructure citywide.

“Now more than ever, we must be vigilant and reaffirm the call for additional resources and infrastructural investments in our neighborhoods,” she said.

Further north, near the Gowanus Canal — one of Brooklyn’s most flood-prone areas — cars were left half-submerged and pedestrians stranded as rising waters stirred contamination in the canal, a designated federal Superfund site.

In South Brooklyn, Council Member Justin Brannan said city agencies were responding to multiple intersections “inundated with storm water.”

“Yesterday’s forecast called for 1.5 to 2 inches of rain over an eight-hour span between 2-10 p.m. Instead, that rain fell within the span of 10 minutes,” Brannan wrote in a Facebook post.

“New York City’s sewer system, designed to handle up to 1-1.5 inches of rain per hour, can be overwhelmed by rainfall of today’s intensity,” his statement read. “DEP received nearly 1,000 calls to 311 about flooding between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. In most cases, flooding receded soon after the most intense rainfall — between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. in much of the city — slowed down. DEP has 38 crews and 19 supervisors responding to locations across the city.”

Before the storm, NYC Emergency Management and Mayor Eric Adams said they were working closely with the National Weather Service to “monitor a low-pressure system forecast.”

“New Yorkers know how to handle tough weather, and we will get through Thursday’s storm the same way we always do: together and prepared,” Adams said. “Our teams across the city are ready to respond.”

As of 9 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service recorded as much as 2.79 inches of rain in Sheepshead Bay, 1.82 inches in Prospect Park, 1.79 inches in Dyker Heights, and an average of about two inches across the borough.

This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.

Local and state lawmakers are raising alarms as the government shutdown enters its 31st day, leaving vital food-assistance benefits set to expire Nov. 1 — a crisis that could leave millions of New Yorkers struggling to put food on the table.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which benefits 42 million Americans — including 1.8 million low-income New Yorkers — is set to expire Saturday, putting families at risk of going without food. According to state statistics, most SNAP recipients are children, the elderly or people with disabilities. In Brooklyn alone, more than 700,000 residents rely on the program.

Brooklyn elected officials and service providers plan to gather Friday morning outside a Bay Ridge supermarket — in the district of the city’s lone Republican congressional member — to demand that Congress reopen the federal government and fund SNAP. Attendees will include State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, Comptroller Brad Lander, Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and members of local organizations addressing food insecurity.

In Washington, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer issued a statement Thursday ahead of Senator Ben Ray Luján’s motion to keep SNAP funded during what he called the “Republican shutdown.”

“Right now, we’re staring down two crises at once: a healthcare crisis and a hunger crisis,” Schumer said. “And both are caused by and intensified by one man and one man only: Donald Trump.”

Schumer criticized the president for refusing to fund SNAP during the shutdown.

“Trump is weaponizing hunger. He is using kids and parents as pawns,” Schumer said. “Donald Trump is a vindictive politician and heartless man.”

He added that “every president before him — Democrat or Republican — has used these same funds to keep families fed. Trump could fix this today with one stroke of his pen.”

In a letter issued Thursday, Congress Member Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined New York’s entire Democratic congressional delegation in urging the Trump administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to restore SNAP payments before the cutoff.

“With less than two days before benefits are halted, we urge USDA to use SNAP’s available contingency funds to pay out November benefits, which would cover more than two-thirds of all benefits. USDA can then use its transfer authority, as it did for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), to cover the remaining gap and ensure benefits remain uninterrupted,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter, co-signed by Senators Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, Yvette Clarke, and Nydia Velázquez, among others, warned that failure to act would “trigger an immediate hunger crisis across the state.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state food emergency Thursday to unlock an additional $65 million in hunger funding, directing resources to food banks and local nonprofits across New York.

Advocates say the local effects will be severe.

Council Member Justin Brannan, who represents District 47, posted on X that “Over 50,000 people in my district depend on SNAP. People will go hungry because Trump Republicans control every branch of government — White House, Senate, and House — and they’d rather throw a tantrum than feed families.”

As New York braces for the freeze, food banks, pantries and community fridges across Brooklyn are preparing for a surge in demand, with many already operating at or near capacity. Nonprofits like Camp Friendship, CHiPS, and Masbia are expanding distributions and coordinating with partners to ensure families can still access fresh and nutritious food.

Advocates warn that without immediate federal action, thousands of residents could face heightened food insecurity in the coming weeks.

“Everybody is bracing and everybody is worried,” said Soni Sangha, executive director of the Camp Friendship food pantry in Park Slope. “And rightfully so.”

Steel Wolf, a Lithuanian-American hard rock group based out of Long Island, will return to the New York City Marathon Sunday.

The post Lithuanian-American band Steel Wolf to rock NYC Marathon Sunday appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

At Someday Bar, community has always come first — but this month, the beloved Boerum Hill staple is uniting its patrons in the most haunting way imaginable.

The bar’s annual Black Lagoon pop-up has returned, transforming Someday into an eerie, immersive haven of darkly inventive cocktails, ghoulish decor and an emo soundtrack fit for the undead.

Now in full swing, the Black Lagoon experience invites guests to “step into our haunted realm” and stay for “spine-chilling sips and terrifying tunes.” The transformation runs through Nov. 2, offering locals and visitors alike the chance to drink beneath “the upside-down,” gaze up at a looming kraken, and indulge in the kind of spooky season escapism that only Someday Bar could pull off.

The pop-up’s brand-new cocktail menu is the work of industry luminaries Erin Hayes and Kelsey Ramage.

Among this year’s lineup: Griselda’s Revenge, a tropical, herbaceous cooler “fit for a swamp queen.” The Nocturna Colada, described as “the piña colada of your darkest dreams.” Even better, the bar has included an entire section dedicated to N/A (non-alcoholic) drinks, making sure that everyone can join in the spooky fun — no spirits required.

Owner Megan Rickerson, who opened Someday Bar in July 2019, says the Black Lagoon collaboration is the perfect extension of her lifelong love of Halloween.

“I’ve always loved decorating the bar for Halloween, so when the chance came to partner with Black Lagoon, it felt like the perfect way to take my love for Halloween to the next level,” she said. “Beyond how much I personally connect with the pop-up, it’s been incredible to see how it’s brought in so many new faces who had never visited us before.”

Rickerson added that the event’s success speaks to the neighborhood’s Halloween spirit.

“Our neighborhood really embraces the holiday,” she said, “and we love being able to create experiences like Black Lagoon for them.”

For more information on Someday Bar and its Black Lagoon pop-up, visit somedaybarnyc.com.