BROOKLYN FOR PEACE centered its 12th Pathmakers to Peace Gala on Palestinian liberation, honoring activist Mahmoud Khalil.
The post Brooklyn for Peace honors Palestine activists at annual gala appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.
Day: December 10, 2025
BRAD LANDER, THE OUTGOING NYC COMPTROLLER, on Wednesday, Dec. 10, officially announced his Congressional campaign.
The post Comptroller Lander makes his candidacy official for Rep. Goldman’s seat appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.
PLANET FITNESS will open its 14th Brooklyn location after signing a 10-year lease for 15,599 square feet at 50 Paseo Pl.
The post Planet Fitness signs 10-year lease at Park Slope’s Paseo on Fifth appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.
A PREWAR East Eighth Street house has sold for $8 million, one of only six single-family Brooklyn properties to hit that price since July.
The post Midwood home sells for $8M, one of Brooklyn’s biggest sales of the year appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.
THE WYTHE DINER, a 57-year-old railcar landmark, was hoisted from its longtime North Brooklyn corner and transported two miles to the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
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GOV. KATHY HOCHUL nominated Director of State Operations Kathryn Garcia as the next Port Authority executive director.
The post Kathryn Garcia to head Port Authority, Jackie Bray to replace her as director of State Operations appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.
A FEDERAL JUDGE vacated the Trump administration’s halt on wind-energy approvals, calling the order a “de facto suspension of the law.”
The post Judge strikes down Trump wind power freeze, citing billions in losses; James led challenge appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.
While New York has expanded access to affordable health care, Washington Republicans are letting premiums skyrocket and coverage disappear.
Unless they act, thousands of New Yorkers could lose their coverage on January 1.
Our GOP reps need to extend the ACA tax credits now.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) Dec 10, 2025
A man who survived the Holocaust was rejected and silenced from speaking at a Brooklyn public school last month, amNewYork has learned.
Sami Steigmann, 86, lived to tell his heartwrenching story about surviving a labor camp in Nazi Germany during World War II. He and many of his supporters were shocked when Principal Arin Rusch of MS 447 in Boerum Hill denied a parent’s request to have him speak to the students.
Rusch responded to the request by saying Steigmann’s presentation would not be right for the school “given his messages around Israel and Palestine,” according to an article in The Times of Israel.
But Steigmann, who is a motivational speaker, discusses messages of hope and resilience, as well as history, on his website, samispeaks.com.
“Never give up. Never lose hope and enjoy the life you’ve been given. Never be a perpetrator—anyone that hurts another, intentionally and repeatedly, is a perpetrator,” one message on his site reads.
Local politicians and advocates became outraged after the school refused to host the survivor. Steigmann is available to speak about a dark period in world history, when Nazis brutally murdered around 6 million Jewish people in Europe between 1941 and 1945.
“It is abhorrent to deny someone who lived through the horrors of the Holocaust the opportunity to share his experience with students, particularly during a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing among our youth,” Brooklyn City Council Member Inna Vernikov said. She further demanded that the school’s principal issue an apology to Steigmann.
Masha Pearl, executive director of The Blue Card, an organization that supports Holocaust survivors, was appalled at the denial and said “students deserve to learn the truth” about history.
“It is outrageous that a Holocaust survivor was denied the chance to speak to students,” she said. “Sami Steigmann is a survivor affiliated with The Blue Card, who discusses peace, tolerance and fighting against hate. His testimony as a child survivor of a Nazi labor camp is not political. It is history. Silencing him at a moment of rising antisemitism is dangerous and deeply wrong, and makes New York City less tolerant.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for NYC Public Schools stated that Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos is in discussions with Steigmann about collaborating with the city’s public school system, the largest in the nation, which serves approximately 1 million students.
“We firmly believe in the importance of educating our children about acceptance and respect and the tragic consequences of intolerance and hate, so our next generation can never again perpetrate such an atrocity,” the spokesperson said. “We are very proud of the Holocaust education work taking place across our public schools, and Chancellor Aviles-Ramos has already reached out to Mr. Steigmann to discuss upcoming plans for student engagement.”
Vernikov said she is awaiting “an actual date” from the schools to host Steigmann.
Grand Army Plaza glowed with color and ceremony on Monday as Bishop Brennan, leader of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, presided over the annual lighting of the Christmas tree and blessing of the créche.
The event, held Dec. 8 in front of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch, drew parishioners, passersby and families who gathered to usher in the Advent season.
This year’s display features a 25-foot balsam fir wrapped in 18,000 multicolored lights alongside a traditional Nativity scene. Together, they form one of the city’s most prominent Catholic Christmas installations and serve as a visual marker of the diocese’s approach to the holidays — rooted in faith, steeped in tradition and open to all.
Bishop Brennan emphasized the spiritual significance of the celebration, linking the evening to the Catholic Church’s Feast of the Immaculate Conception, observed annually on Dec. 8.
“This display of the nativity will give other people hope as they see the reason for our joy,” he said before entering into prayer for peace, justice and mercy. “We have brought light to the darkness of the season, as we prepare for the birth of Jesus.”
The tree’s multicolored lights were intentionally chosen, symbolizing the diversity of the Diocese of Brooklyn — known as the “Diocese of Immigrants.” The Diocese offers free assistance for “immigrants, tenants and workers” through the Catholic Migration Services, a “not-for-profit legal service provider committed to promoting justice and compassion.”