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The Bloody Best: Brooklyn’s Bloody Mary Fest Returns

BQE Admin on April 2, 2026

Over 1,000 people attended this year’s event. Photo via @thebloodymaryfest on Instagram.

The fan-favorite Bloody Mary Fest was bigger and tastier than ever, offering local connoisseurs a chance to spotlight their creations.

BY CHRISTIAN SPENCER

PARK SLOPE — It is the only boozy annual event of its kind in the city. The Bloody Mary Festival returned to Brooklyn on March 21, and it was a culinary experience that mixes freshness and spiciness.

Hundreds of attendees gathered at BKLoft26 to sample creative takes on the classic brunch cocktail.

Local bars, restaurants, and spirits producers showcased their own versions of the Bloody Mary alongside food vendors and craft spirit makers. Evan Weiss, founder of the festival, said he started the event in 2014 after noticing a gap in the city’s brunch scene.

“We spent our weekends going brunching and we loved Bloody Marys, tasting different Bloody Marys around Brooklyn. And we realized that there were no large-scale events for Bloody Mary lovers. So we decided to create one,” Weiss said. “We rented out a restaurant in Williamsburg and just for fun, we invited our favorite bars from Brooklyn that made good Bloody Marys. That’s when the first Bloody Mary Festival New York City happened in April of 2014.”

The festival has grown steadily since its debut. The first event drew about 150 people. This year, nearly 1,000 attendees attended.

“Since the pandemic, people have really appreciated live events and we’ve seen growth,” Weiss said. “These curated drink and food experiences have really gained popularity. People in their 20s and 30s are spending more of their money on these types of experiences.”

Jono Moratis of Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue offered a smoky, barbecue-inspired take on the cocktail.

“Being a barbecue restaurant, we’ve got a lot of bold flavors and smokiness to our meats, and we try to infuse some of that into our cocktail,” Moratis said. “We garnish with pickles, cucumber, lemon, lime, an assortment of things to keep it interesting, fresh, and spicy.”

Moratis said the festival is a chance to bring more attention to the restaurant.

“We’re hoping that by being part of the festival, it lets people know that we are in Brooklyn. We want to be a destination place for people to come enjoy our food. There’s also a sense of camaraderie with other restaurants, and just hopefully create some new interest, new guests, and expose the restaurant to other people,” he said.

Andrew Thomas of Halftone Spirits said his approach brings out spice and flavor depth.

“A Bloody Mary can’t just be the traditional tomato juice and vodka with a piece of celery,” Thomas said. “We leaned heavy on spice, pickle juice, celery salt, and Worcestershire sauce. We do it two ways, one standard with vodka and one more intense using our aquavit, a Scandinavian spirit distilled with caraway seed and dill. It really enhances those deep, savory flavors.”

Thomas said the festival points out what the cocktail can do.

“I think the Bloody Mary is the perfect brunch beverage,” he said. “It has a rich body and texture that pairs well with savory breakfast dishes. What I hope the festival brings out is a deeper appreciation of the wide variety of what a Bloody Mary can be. It’s an incredible platform for bartenders and spirits producers to showcase their ability to craft flavor in a glass.”

Weiss said organizing the festival requires months of planning.

“It takes about three to four months to produce the event,” he said. “A lot of time is spent marketing the event, reaching out to local businesses to participate, and tasting Bloody Marys. That’s the fun part.”

The festival has expanded beyond bars and restaurants, now including spirits companies and food producers.

“The festival has evolved from being a Bloody Mary contest to a celebration of small local businesses. Now we invite a plethora of local businesses, spirit companies, and food products to sample their products to attendees. That’s what makes it great. It’s more than just Bloody Marys,” Weiss said.

The 2026 festival also functions as a competition, with attendees and judges scoring each entry on flavor, presentation, and creativity. The combined votes came down to the smallest details, from spice balance to garnish execution.

Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue won Best Traditional Bloody Mary for its smoky flavor, balanced spice, and just the right heat. Filthy Diamond in Bushwick took Best Original Bloody Mary for the inventive “Bloody Filthy.” Crif Dogs in Greenwich Village earned Best Garnish for a bacon-wrapped hot dog. Labonne’s Gameday Bloody Mary Mix from Connecticut was named Best Bottled Mix. The Drop Shot Bar at Rockaway Pickleball in Queens won the People’s Choice Award, while Sunday’s Bloody Mary Mix from Pennsylvania won People’s Choice for Best Bottled Mix.

The winners received trophies, but for all the participating small businesses, the attention from the festival was rewarded enough.

That day, Bloody Marys lingered on Brooklyn’s taste buds.

When Greenpoint Shipwrights Chased Baseball Glory

BQE Admin on April 2, 2026

The Brooklyn Atlantics, one of the Eckford Club’s early rivals. Photo via Wikimedia.

Baseball fans in North Brooklyn might not realize that a team of amateur shipwrights from Greenpoint was once a title contender

GEOFFREY COBB | gcobb91839@Aol.com

Author, “Greenpoint Brooklyn’s Forgotten Past

Some people might feel it’s Spring when they see flowers bloom; others might feel that Passover or Easter signal the arrival of Spring, but for me the surest sign of Spring’s arrival is the start of the professional baseball season, which since 2023 is the last Thursday in March. Even baseball fans living in North Brooklyn probably do not realize that much of the early history of the development of baseball took place here in Brooklyn and that a team composed of amateur Greenpoint shipwrights, The Eckford Club, wrote one of the glorious chapters in the sport’s early history.

Though it’s the subject of intense debate, most baseball historians agree that the first game of what we would recognize as baseball was played in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1846. Though it was born in New Jersey, the game really took off here in Brooklyn, which had more teams than anywhere else in the country.  Henry Chadwick, a Brooklyn resident known as the “Father of Baseball,” invented the box score and baseball statistics, while promoting the “fly rule” (catching the ball on the fly rather than one bounce) during the 1860s to improve the game’s skill level.

Most baseball players then were the sons of well-to-do families who could allow their sons the leisure to play the game. Greenpoint formed a team, but it was not composed of rich kids’ sons. It was made up of shipwrights, whose 60-to-72-hour workweek left them little time to practice. The grueling nature of their work, though, made them very strong and fit, making the team successful.

In 1860, The Eckfords were good enough to contend for the New York title against the champion Brooklyn Atlantics. The Eckfords were leading the first game of the three-game series going into the ninth inning when the Atlantics scored four in the ninth to win seventeen to fifteen. Fan interest grew and several thousand people showed up for the second game of the match. The Eckfords were losing nine to six in the fourth inning when their player coach said, “Now, boys just think that you are playing a common club and forget that those fellows are the Athletics.” The team went on to score four runs in the inning and won twenty to fifteen. Several thousand people came out to see the rubber game of the match, but the Eckfords sloppy fielding led to a twenty to eleven defeat. Even though they lost, the team had shown it could be a contender.

Henry Eckford helped build the navies of both the United States and the Ottoman Empire. Photo via Turnstile Tours.

Few teams played many baseball games in 1861 because of the outbreak of the Civil War, but in 1862 the Eckfords met the Athletics again for the championship. The series was held in the first-ever enclosed baseball ground, the Union Grounds in Williamsburg. The enclosed field allowed the owner to charge admission, but fan indignation led the owner to donate the proceeds to charity. The Eckfords won the first game of the October series twenty-four to fourteen, but lost the second game thirty-nine to five, setting up the decisive game of the series of October 18th. There was huge excitement surrounding the game and a record crowd showed up whose huge size frightened the heavily outnumbered police. The ten thousand fans that showed up were more than had ever watched a baseball game before. The police feared a riot that never occurred. The Eckfords won the championship game eight to three and a huge joyous crowd returned with the players to the Mansion House to celebrate their victory. The Greenpoint team won the championship the following year, but the huge crowds meant the beginning of the end of amateur baseball.

Players began to inexplicably jump from one team to another. In reality, they were lured by money under the table many teams now offered. The Eckfords made baseball history when their first baseman, Al Reach, jumped to the Philadelphia Athletics in 1864, openly admitting that he was paid to do so. He is considered the first acknowledged professional baseball player.

In 1865, the Eckfords would be involved in a scandal that would foreshadow the Black Sox scandal that nearly ruined professional baseball. The Brooklyn Daily Times reported that the Eckfords beat the Mutuals with the help of professional gamblers who paid some of the Mutuals a hundred dollars to throw the game.

It was merely a question of time until the game became fully professional, which occurred in 1869 when the National Association was formed, but even before the formation of the pro league many of the Eckford’s best players had left lured by teams offering money.

The Eckford’s entered the league with amateur players and despite their obvious handicap had great initial success. In 1869, they won the New York title before losing to another team in the national championship. Their best players, however, wanted money. One of their stars Jimmy Wood not only left for the Chicago White Sox but also enticed many of the top players to join him. By 1872, the team had folded.

Today there is a huge case of gilded baseballs won by the Eckford Club displayed in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. There is also a monument in Cooperstown to Reach, who would go on to partner with A.J Spalding starting one of America’s first sporting goods company and would also start the Philadelphia Phillies club and became of the hall’s first inductees.

Sadly, even here in Greenpoint, few fans realized that local ball players wrote a glorious chapter in the history of our nation’s pastime.

City Council Approves $3B Sewage Tunnel Along Newtown Creek

BQE Admin on April 2, 2026

City Council Member Lincoln Restler praised state regulators for proposing a more ambitious solution to the periodic “poo-namis” that plague Newtown Creek. (Photo via Legistar)

By Jack Delaney | jdelaney@queensledger.com

“No poop in Bushwick Inlet Park! That’s the message that I very plainly want to testify to today.”

City Council Member Lincoln Restler said it with a grin, inviting chuckles from his fellow committee members. But the context is impressive: If a $3 billion proposal to build a sewage tunnel under Brooklyn’s northern tip is realized, it could mean 74% less fecal matter flowing into Newtown Creek and the East River, and none into waterways around Williamsburg’s unfinished Bushwick Inlet Park.

On Friday, March 26, the planned Newtown Creek CSO Tunnel cleared a major hurdle when the City Council authorized a list of sites that will need to be acquired before construction can begin, keeping the project on track to complete its land use review by the end of April.

Nearly 60% of New York City’s sewage system involves combined sewer overflow, or CSO, meaning that the underground pipes collect both bathroom waste and rainwater. In dry weather, that’s not an issue — rainwater rushes out of vents, while the more viscous materials are routed to a treatment facility.

During storms, however, the pipes can be overwhelmed, causing the rainwater to carry feces out of vents that release into waterways like Newtown Creek and the Gowanus Canal, where long-suffering residents have coined a term for the event: a “poo-nami.”

Plans to create a storage tunnel under the creek that can divert the heavier waste have been discussed since at least the 1990s, when the state ruled that the toxic artery’s condition violated the Clean Water Act. Newtown Creek was designated a Superfund site in 2010, and a wastewater treatment plant was completed in 2012, but it would take until 2017 for the CSO tunnel — as part of the state-run “Long Term Control Plan” — to be formally suggested.

“I firstly want to commend the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)… for proposing this update to the Long Term Control Plan,” said Restler at an earlier hearing. “This was not mandated, they were not directed to do this. They did it because it was the right thing to do.”

The DEP estimates that the project, most of which is underground, will displace eight businesses and 85 employees currently working on the properties it will be purchasing. As part of an environmental review, the department found that noise pollution from construction would mainly affect the green spaces along the Newtown Creek Nature Walk and the in-progress North Henry Street Restoration. The work will also impact two intersections, Greenpoint Ave and Kingsland Ave/Van Dam St respectively, where DEP will be deploying traffic cops.

Though the City Council’s approval is good news for Greenpointers and their across-the-creek neighbors in Queens, it’s still early days for the project. The DEP estimates that land acquisition will span from mid-2026 to 2028, when the Department of Sanitation will start prepping sites for construction. If the proposed timeline holds, work on the tunnel itself won’t break ground until the end of 2029 — and the tentative completion date is December 2040.

Just Getting Started: Petri Plumbing Marks 120 Years in Brooklyn

BQE Admin on April 1, 2026

“We’ve been through the Spanish Influenza,” said Michael Petri. “We’ve been through World War I. We’ve been through the Depression. We’ve been through World War II. As things change, you’ve got to change with the times.” (Graphic: Brooklyn Downtown Star)

By Jack Delaney | jdelaney@queensledger.com

BAY RIDGE — Michael and Gerard Petri peered into the stripped-down skeleton of a house under renovation in Bay Ridge, checking out its plumbing. “Yeesh,” they thought, laughing at the rough handiwork.

Then they realized they had done the job themselves — 55 years ago.

You can’t blame the Petri brothers for losing track. Since taking over Petri Plumbing in 1987, they’ve repaired thousands of homes across Brooklyn. And the family business has even deeper roots: This spring, it’s celebrating an incredible 120 years of service to the borough.

Brancale and D’Amico Plumbing, Hardware, and Tinsmithing opened in 1906, two years after the subway system began operating. Initially, the duo — the Petris’ great-grandfather and great-great-uncle, respectively —  sold their skills to Bensonhursters out of a donkey-drawn cart; a horseshoe from those early days still hangs in the company office.

As always, the younger generation brought new ideas. John Petri apprenticed to the shop in his teens, gradually perfecting his trade until he became the general manager of what was by then one of the “go-to” options for residential plumbing and heating in Southern Brooklyn. A key innovation was to ditch the donkey for a truck, extending the business’ reach as it settled into dual headquarters in Bay Ridge and Gowanus.

Next came Peter Petri, his son, who returned from World War II and graduated as the top of his class at the New York City Police Academy in 1947. During his off hours, when he wasn’t fighting the rising corruption of the time or establishing himself as a giant of Brooklyn’s sandlot football scene, Peter plumbed; he retired from the NYPD at age 43, and stewarded the shop long enough to hand off the baton to another pair of Petris.

Michael and Gerard started helping out as kids, and didn’t always love the work. “I used to hide in the park just so they wouldn’t find me,” remembers Michael, chuckling, “because they would make us do the worst jobs.”

After attending college on a football scholarship, Michael contemplated teaching. Then he received a slew of offers in sales, and accepted a position in Cleveland with his father’s blessing. The money was good — but when the other passengers began boarding the plane, Michael couldn’t bring himself to follow.

Instead, he teamed up with Gerard, stamping their last name on the family business. Eventually, the brothers realized they had slightly different interests: Gerard specialized in underground plumbing for megaprojects — his company has done work for the Freedom Tower and Yankee Stadium — while Michael doubled down on residential clients.

“It happened for a reason,” said Michael, of the flight he never took. “I’m happy with the way it ended up, and it’s been interesting to watch everything evolve.”

Michael’s son Christopher has experienced a remarkably similar arc. He won the national rugby championship while at Xavier High School, and his brother Mike competed for the US at the 2007 and 2011 World Cups — prompting the Wall Street Journal to profile the Petris as Brooklyn’s “first family of rugby.”

Christopher was carving out a post-grad path in finance, when he started to have second thoughts. His reservations paid off: he has since led Petri Plumbing into a new era as a multi-million-dollar company that boasts 40 staff members and 22 trucks.

“Chris has done a great job, he stepped up,” said Michael. “He’s won the respect of the people that work for us and the trust of our clients.”

Still, why has this particular plumbing business stayed afloat, when so many of its contemporaries went under? “Look, we weren’t perfect,” said Michael. “But we were always responsive, always cordial. We had a great reputation.”

Another strength has been the Petris’ openness to rethinking their business model. “We’ve been through the Spanish Influenza. We’ve been through World War I. We’ve been through the Depression. We’ve been through World War II. As things change, you’ve got to change with the times.”

Some things are constant, however. As company lore has it, during one of the worst snowstorms of the 1980 two separate clients’ boilers broke down. It was the night before Christmas Eve, but Michael and Gerard strapped chains to the tires of their trucks and hauled both boilers out of hatches to replace them — a feat said to have required “six men, or two Petris.”

On the day of our call, the city lay similarly buried under more than 20 inches of snow. Yet Chris and his employees were digging out their trucks on Butler Street, ready — as always — to heed Brooklynites’ calls.

Block by Block: The Story of Bed Stuy’s Monroe Street

BQE Admin on April 1, 2026

Jamaica-born Hyacinth Williams was Monroe Street Block 500’s unofficial caretaker for years. Photo via Owa Brandstein.

A new film documents the history of one Bed-Stuy block, as told by its elder residents.

BY COLE SINANIAN 

cole@queensledger.com

It’s no accident Monroe Street was so clean. 

For years, the entirety of Block 500 in the heart of brownstone Bed-Stuy was swept daily by Mrs. Hyacinth Williams, who took it upon herself to ensure her neighbors had a clean and clutter-free sidewalk. 

Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, Mrs. Williams emigrated to Brooklyn in 1954 and spent much  of her life among the presumably hundreds of Brooklynites who appoint themselves as their block’s unofficial caretakers, looking out for their communities and taking great pride in the beauty of their street. 

“Many days she was out there by herself,”  said neighbor Owa Brandstein. “We would leave for work and come home, and she would be finishing up. It really was her job.”

Mrs. Williams no longer lives on Monroe Street, but her local legacy and that of several of her neighbors is immortalized in the film “On Monroe Street: An Oral History of One Bed-Stuy Block.” Directed by Brandstein, the film — screened at a special community event at the Von King Cultural Center on March 28th — paints a vivid portrait of the sidewalk-sweepers, snow-shovelers, stoop-sitters and everyday working people who’ve called Monroe Street home for years. It’s both a hyperlocal homage to one particular tree-lined block and a broader testament to the elders of inner-Brooklyn, who recall a time when children ran carefree through the streets and the word “neighborhood” meant more than just a place to sleep. 

The 500 Monroe Block Association produced the film with the support of the North Brooklyn Democratic Socialists of America and the Brooklyn Movement Center, and its screening was organized with the help of the office of Bed-Stuy City councilmember Chi Osse. The film sought to capture the stories and legacies of the block’s residents for posterity and ensure their preservation for Monroe Street’s next generation.

“Obviously there’s going to come a day when Mrs. Williams will not be there, and people are going to move into the neighborhood and not know who Mrs. Williams was and what she did,” Brandstein said. “And that just felt like such a tragedy.” 

One of the film’s subjects is Mrs. Denise Feaster, a born-and-raised Brooklynite who grew up in public housing and later built a career in it, working for the New York City Housing Authority. She married an MTA bus driver and raised three sons in her Monroe Street home. Mrs. Feaster explained that having a nice home to raise a family was a non-negotiable for her husband, who passed away in 2005.

“He grew up in a home, and that’s what he wanted for his children,” she said. “So we stayed, and we bought this house on Monroe Street, which was the best thing we ever did.”

For Ronald Alston, among the best parts of living on Monroe Street is access to the endless wisdom of the community’s elders. Mr. Alston, recalled one Mrs. Bernice, an old woman that used to live a few doors down who spent her golden years sitting in her yard, slowly sipping a can of beer. When Mr. Alston came home from work, Mrs. Bernice would hold up her beer can to greet him. 

“This lady was in her 80s, her late 80s,  she would sit in her yard every day and her enjoyment was her can of beer,” he said. 

Mrs. Feaster remembered the elders on the block when she first arrived, a couple called Mr. and Mrs. Mayes. They drove a yellow Cadillac, and Mrs. Feaster’s husband made sure the couple never had to shovel snow.

“My husband would have the boys shovel,” she said. “He would not allow the Mayes to come out and shovel.

Over the years, people came and went. Nowadays, a lot of the young people moving in are renters rather than homeowners. At least one attended the screening, a woman named Scout. 

“We rent on this block,” Scout said. “I love it, the people, the conversations you hear. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.” 

Filmmaker Owa Brandstein (center) with Linda Ferguson (left) and CM Chi Osse’s Chief of Staff, Arlean Gillin at the Von King Cultural Center on March 28. Photo via Owa Brandstein.

But not all of the new arrivals are friendly. In the film. Mr. Alston recalled neighbors who were scammed out of their homes in shady cash-for-house schemes or manipulative real estate tactics. 

“A group of young people comes through these areas and they put out a front person to act like they’re helping you,” Mr. Alston said. “Reverse Mortgages, balloon mortgages, all of the things that they know that these people in these areas are uneducated about and unfamiliar, and they just steal their homes.”

In the film Janine Tolbert, the former housemate of Mrs. Williams, described cleaning some new neighbors’ yard. 

“They’re new people, it’s four young girls,” said Mrs. Tolbert, who passed away in 2024. “And we go up in the yard, cleaning up to the door, and they come right out and see us cleaning, they say, ‘good morning.’ You’d think they would help us.” 

During a Q&A discussion after the film, Ayinde Robinson, who’s lived on nearby Block 200 since 1980, explained how the sense of community in his neighborhood has degraded over the years, with many former neighbors selling their homes and moving on, while fewer and fewer people seem interested in building community. 

“There was growing up, a spirit to the block personified by children playing,” Robinson said. “There is way fewer children in their yards from day to day. We haven’t had a block party the last two summers.”

Mrs. Linda Ferguson, who appeared in the film and also attended the screening, described what being a truly good neighbor meant to her.

“It’s a home, it’s a family atmosphere,” she said. “We love one another and we care for one another. If a neighbor has a problem on our block and someone sees them, we contact other family members.”

Rosemarie Borington, who’s lived on Stuyvesant Avenue between Monroe and Madison Streets her entire life, also sat on the panel. A home, she said, is more than just a house to sell. 

“It’s hard sometimes when people call you night and day and want to buy a house out from underneath you,” she said. “You try to tell them, ‘this is my home.’ But they don’t understand.”

Hyacinth Williams (left) at home with her former housemate, Janine Tolbert, who passed away in 2024. Photo via Owa Brandstein.

But there’s hope. This part of Bed-Stuy still supports several active block associations. During the Q&A, Celeste Douglas, president of the nearby Gates Avenue Block Association, stood up, thanked Brandstein for making the film and requested that he show it to her neighbors. Then, speaking directly to Mrs. Borington, plead for help: 

“Do you have any suggestions to help promote stronger communities, stronger block associations? Because it’s really hard. It’s really hard getting people out. Give me some tips!”

Borington suggested organizing block parties or community events that would  encourage unity among neighbors. Scout then stood up and looked over at Mrs. Douglas, who as it turns out, was a former neighbor.  

“I used to live at 904 Gates,” Scout said. “I’m sorry I didn’t socialize more and get to know my neighbors.”

To close out the speech, Scout recalled a neighbor who responded to a greeting of “It’s good to see you” by saying “It’s good to be seen.”

“I think that’s a beautiful thing,” Scout said. “Because to be seen, you’ve got to get outside.” 

Any block associations interested in screening the film can reach out to Brandstein at obrandst@gmail.com. 

 

St. John’s is Sweet Once More!

BQE Admin on March 24, 2026

Johnnies beat Kansas, await Duke in first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999

Dylan Darling is swarmed by teammates after his buzzer-beating layup as St. John’s advanced past the second round for the first time in over two decades! Photos courtesy St. John’s basketball.

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

For the first time since 1999, the St. John’s Red Storm are dancing beyond the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. A dominant showing against the #12 University of Northern Iowa Panthers and a gritty win over the #4 Kansas Jayhawks put the Johnnies into the Sweet 16, where they take on top overall seeded Duke.

Storm Watch in San Diego

The Red Storm opened with a 13-0 lead in their opening round matchup in San Diego. While the UNI Panthers boasted one of the best defenses in D1 hoops, they were no match for a fast paced and physical St. John’s squad.

The Johnnies led by as much as 21 in the opening half, going into the break up 47-28. To nobody’s surprise, leading the way was Zuby Ejiofor with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and a pair of blocks. The St. John’s senior was left off all three All-American but showed off on the national stage, dominating on both ends of the floor.

The Red Storm stifled the Panthers’ offense, forcing Northern Iowa to shoot a measly 39% from the floor and 21% from three, well below their season averages. UNI only got two points off the bench, though Trey Campbell and Leon Bond III both had solid games as starters.

St. John’s pulled away in the second frame, going on to win 79-53. Ejiofor tallied a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards to go with his 4 blocks. Bryce Hopkins added 13 points and Dillon Mitchell pulled down another 9 rebounds.

In the other matchup in San Diego, #4 Kansas took on the #13 Cal Baptist Lancers. It was a fairly comfortable matchup for Bill Self’s squad, holding their opponents to just 18 first half points before fending off a decent second half comeback attempt. 

Presumptive #1 overall NBA draft pick Darryn Peterson scored 21 in his NCAAT debut. Dominique Daniels Jr. led the Lancers with 25, but it wasn’t enough for Cal Baptist as they fell 68-60.

Zuby Ejiofor recorded a double-double in the tournament opener against Northern Iowa.

For Whom the Bells Toll

The matchup between Rick Pitino and Bill Self marked the second straight year Hall-of-Fame coaches clashed in the second round. In the 2025 tournament, John Calipari’s Arkansas took down Kansas in the opening round before downing the Red Storm in round two.

This year both coaches were safe from the Razorbacks, who advanced to the Sweet 16 in the West region where they take on #1 Arizona. Still, Kansas vs St. John’s marked the third time coaches with 2+ national titles clashed in March Madness.

The Johnnies shot early and often, showing confidence even when the three pointers stopped falling. They took an early advantage but weren’t able to build a gap against Kansas in the first half. St. John’s took 23 three pointers in the opening half, setting a record for a team coached by Rick Pitino. They only hit seven, with three of those shots coming in the opening three minutes of action.

“They don’t believe we can shoot and we’re proving them right,” said Pitino during an in-game interview. “But we’re gonna keep on shooting them until they go in.”

The shooting got more conservative in the second half, as the Red Storm went 4/12 from downtown. They were able to coast into the back end of the half up 14 points, their largest lead of the night, but Kansas began to chip away at the deficit.

Up just one point, Bryce Hopkins came up clutch with the biggest three of the night. The senior transfer didn’t hesitate as he caught and shot from the elbow to put the Johnnies up by four with 1:30 left to play.

Bryce Hopkins connected on a few clutch threes against Kansas, including one to put the Red Storm up by four points with under 2 minutes to play.

The Jayhawks stayed close, scoring to bring the lead down to two before Peterson drew a shooting foul to tie the game from the free throw line. With a few fouls to give, Kansas intentionally fouled to limit the Red Storm shot clock to just over three seconds for the final possession.

Three seconds was all that was needed as Dylan Darling drove into the lane for a quick layup as time expired. The Red Storm piled onto the junior guard, celebrating his only made field goal of the night.

The 67-65 win marks the first trip to the Sweet 16 this century for St. John’s, setting up some thrilling matchups in Washington DC this weekend.

Darling’s game-winner was his first made field goal of the game, a testament to the junior guard’s confidence.

Johnny vs Goliath

Now the biggest test of the year awaits Pitino and the Red Storm. The Duke Blue Devils struggled against #16 Siena in the opening round, but they looked much more like the tournament’s top seed as they thrashed TCU in the round of 32. Still, they wouldn’t be the first #1 seed to crash out of the tournament, as the defending champion Florida Gators fell to #9 Iowa in the second round, the biggest upset of the tournament so far.

It will be another test against future NBA talent as Duke features the Boozer brothers, Cameron and Cayden. The freshman fraternal twins will look to carry Duke to a 6th ever program title, and interestingly enough the Blue Devils defeated the Red Storm at some point in each of their previous title-winning campaigns.

The other Sweet 16 matchup in the East Region features another Hall of Fame coach in Tom Izzo. His #3 Michigan State Spartans will take on a future Hall of Famer in Dan Hurley and the #2 UConn Huskies in what’s sure to be an incredible matchup in DC.

Should the Johnnies and Huskies both advance, it would set up a remarkable BIG EAST rematch on one of the biggest possible stages.

Ejiofor was dominant in his first two games. How far can the Red Storm captain carry this St. John’s squad?

Tip-off between the Red Storm and Blue Devils will be at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC on Friday, March 27 at 7:10pm. The Huskies and Spartans will play afterwards at 9:45pm. The winners will clash in the Elite Eight on Sunday, March 29.

Cups of Care: Meet the Brooklynite Behind “The Tea Stand”

BQE Admin on March 23, 2026

A community volunteer (left) and Miles Kirsch (right) pose for a photo after helping serve free tea at Herbert Von King Park. (Photos: Jacqueline Cardenas)

By Jacqueline Cardenas | news@queensledger.com

BED-STUY — It was the ubiquitous tea houses and warm connection he felt with fellow tea drinkers during his trip to the Middle East and North Africa 7 years ago that led Miles Kirsch to begin giving out free tea at public parks across Brooklyn.

The 29-year-old wanted to relive the ambiance of the tea houses he visited, but more than anything, he wanted to create a space where people can “slow down.”

By mounting gallons of water onto his bike, propping up a tea stand and laying out a blanket in a park, “people can just engage with their neighbors, engage with strangers, in a way that in today’s world is so difficult to do,” Kirsch said.

The Tea Stand was brought to life in December 2022 after Kirsch served tea at his local Brooklyn park and has since hosted various pop-ups where free tea has been served across the 5 boroughs.

Other programming include “Distros” where tea is served at food and resource distribution centers, “Tea Talks” where a small group of neighbors gather to connect via storytelling and tea, and more.

By creating these different opportunities for people to slow down, Kirsch said he wants to help stir people’s imagination.

“I want people to think, what else can be free in our world? What else can our public spaces be providing? And the tea stand is a great way to, in a simple way, inspire those types of ideas,” Kirsch said.

Formed in 2022, the Tea Stand has already distributed upwards of 9,000 cups of free tea.

Over 9,300 free cups of tea have been served to date, though some question how The Tea Stand remains operating without the traditional business model and without Kirsch working a full-time job.

Over 100 people contribute an average of $10 per month to The Tea Stand via a subscription that gives them access to curated tea boxes delivered to their door once per season, a travel cup and more.

This means there’s over $1,000 coming into The Tea Stand every month, Kirsch said.

“That’s almost my rent. It was my rent until my landlord raised my rent,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

Kirsch has also garnered the support from over 100 loyal volunteers who donate and help serve tea in the parks, which allows for Kirsch to integrate the community into some of the decision making process of how the tea stand runs.

Kirsch previously worked in Biotech though after quitting his job in October 2022, he says he has been “privileged” to be able to use his savings in order to pay off other living expenses until the Tea Stand becomes more economically stable.

“The fact that I can spend my life biking around, hosting events and serving free tea and have my rent covered, it’s pretty amazing, and like the just ambient support that I feel and the accountability is one of the most positive forces I’ve ever had in my life,” Kirsch said. “It’s motivating, it’s humbling. It keeps me grounded. It also allows me to imagine what this can become.”

Two community members enjoy their free tea served by The Tea Stand earlier this month.

But the work isn’t done alone.

Aidan Kaminer, a 26-year-old who moved to Brooklyn from Connecticut last August, has volunteered for The Tea Stand frequently and said each time “it’s special.”

He first interacted with the Tea Stand when he attended a community healing clinic hosted by Field Meridians, a Central Brooklyn based artist collective.

“They had sort of ear acupuncture, there was yoga, there was all the plant things. And that’s where I met Kirsch and the tea stand, because he was there serving tea. And I said, wow, there’s a cool guy here serving tea too. That’s awesome. I want to also maybe be the guy serving tea,” Kaminer said.

He said events like the ones The Tea Stand hosts show how community grows through shared effort.

“If you invest your love, time and energy in these spaces, you get it back,” he said. “New York is a city that, if you give to it, it gives back.”

Kirsch’s close friend of over 10 years, Adin Vashi, has also become a trusted voice of reason and collaborator of The Tea Stand particularly amid economically uncertain times.

Vashi recalled the time Miles applied for a grant that would have been transformational for The Tea Stand though he didn’t end up getting it.

“I think that hurt,” Vashi said. “We talked a lot about expectations, and there was no guarantee that he was going to get it, but it’s still really hard to totally divorce yourself from that. That’s like a lifelong kind of goal.”

Moments like these have led Vashi to become a compassionate soundboard for Kirsch’s as they navigated through an “uncomfortable” period.

Two friends share a warm cup of peppermint tea.

“I think just a great thing about having someone to talk to about it is that you can be uncomfortable, doubtful and not be like, freaking out, or be immediately like, ‘Oh no, I have to, like, change everything, or I have to get a job, just because it’s not making enough money yet,’” Vashi said.

The two meet bi-weekly and discuss everything about how to improve the Tea Stand, from the finances, the programming, the technical and the spiritual.

Whether he is helping Kirsch decide on which font fits best a social media graphic or the two are talking about The Tea Stand’s philosophy, Vashi’s support has led the two-long time friends to refer to their as bi-weekly gathering as “Chashi meetings.”

Chashi, is a Japanese term for a tea master whose primary role is to advise tea distributors and ensure their tea blend is well-balanced and true to their vision.

Even though The Tea Stand isn’t covering all of his living expenses yet, it has provided Kirsch with something much richer: community.

“The amount of love and support that I receive back from that is overwhelming,” Kirsch said.

Brad Lander Calls for Pause on BMT Process

BQE Admin on March 23, 2026

Brad Lander, the former city comptroller and now congressional candidate, speaks last week at a forum on the planned redevelopment of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) in Red Hook.

By Jack Delaney | jdelaney@queensledger.com

CARROLL GARDENS — Red Hook residents may have gained a powerful ally in their fight against the Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) redevelopment — but he’s not making any promises yet.

On Wednesday, March 11, nearly 100 locals gathered in the bowels of Sacred Hearts & Saint Stephen Church by the BQE trench. The meeting was ostensibly an info session about the BMT’s environmental review process, and kicked off with a presentation by Hilary Semel, director of the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Coordination (MOEC).

Once the Q&A arrived, however, attendees went on the offensive. Axel from the Columbia Waterfront District posed the essential question: Could the environmental review lead to any meaningful changes to the existing plan, which would see approximately 6000 homes built along the decrepit piers south of Brooklyn Bridge Park?

Semel’s answer — that the review’s findings were non-binding — triggered a muffled outcry. Local activist John Leyva argued that the process was simply meant to appease residents, while the New York Economic Development Corporation moved ahead without alterations to its original proposal. (“This is BS. Quote me on that,” Leyva would say after the meeting.)

A Red Hooker named Lou agreed: “The preamble makes it seem like the mostly-port alternative has no legs,” he noted, referencing a master document called the draft Scope of Work. “It’s a foregone conclusion that there will be housing.”

Other residents raised what they view as fundamental issues with constructing high-rises on the waterfront. Maria LaRocca pressed officials about a recent study published in Nature, which found that scientists have been severely underestimating sea level rise. Lisa Baustead, a veteran business owner from Carroll Gardens, added that buses were already gridlocked at the intersection of Atlantic Ave and Columbia St — what would happen with thousands of additional cars? And Pablo Garcia highlighted the 10 tons of waste that would need to be removed daily, to which an EDC rep replied that they were in contact with DSNY.

As part of the review process, known as CEQR, the MOEC is required to study the environmental impacts of alternative plans. Yet despite soliciting applications from potential port operators, the city has thus far signaled it is unlikely to tweak the core proposal.

These are familiar concerns, ones which failed to scuttle the BMT project when it passed a task force vote last fall. But a new face was in the crowd on Wednesday: former Comptroller Brad Lander, who joined the line to ask his own question.

“Why are we moving forward with one fleshed out plan, and a vague sense of another?” said Lander, pressing Semel. “Sometimes there’s urgency. Here it just seems like — hit pause, and let the alternatives develop.”

Semel replied that the city “had to start somewhere,” leading to a brief back-and-forth. The meeting wound to a close, and locals chatted with Lander, who said he was still researching and considering his position on the BMT. But even that was significant — Though the forum was a reminder of residents’ frustrations with the engagement process, it also introduced a curveball into an already tumultuous contest over the future of Red Hook.

State to Owner of Toxic Gowanus Lot: “Time’s Up”

BQE Admin on March 23, 2026

The Gowanus Oversight Task Force hosted an info session on Thursday, March 12, to discuss the polluted land that’s earmarked to become a mixed-use development called Gowanus Green.

By Jack Delaney | jdelaney@queensledger.com

GOWANUS — One of Gowanus’ most controversial sites is finally seeing some movement.

For years, state regulators with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) have struggled to enforce the cleanup of a huge — and massively polluted — chunk of land along the banks of the Gowanus Canal.

From the 1860s until the 1960s, the Citizens MGP site off Smith Street was home to a manufactured gas plant that provided energy to the neighborhood, but left coal tar and other toxic byproducts in the soil. Today, the zone slated for remediation has been divided into four parcels, each with their own roadblocks.

Parcel 4, or 424 Hoyt St, has frustrated DEC officials for a simple reason: They can’t get in. Since 2019, the owners of what is now a commercial parking lot for food trucks have ignored regulators’ attempts to test the property and formulate a cleanup plan.

The state’s patience has finally worn thin. Last week, at a meeting of the Gowanus Oversight Task Force on Thursday, March 12, DEC representative Andrew Guglielmi announced that his team had issued a “record of decision” document for Parcel 4, and will be entering the site — “Whether or not they want us to” — later this summer.

Along with the move to confront Parcel 4’s owners, Guglielmi added that seven years of stop-and-start remediation have removed approximately 66,000 gallons of pollutants from the site. And he dropped another piece of good news: The dispute resolution, a lawsuit by National Grid in 20 that argues it should not be the only gas company on the hook for remediation, “is very close to being over.”

At the end of Guglielmi’s presentation, the auditorium broke into applause, a rarity for meetings in Gowanus about remediation efforts.

But other aspects of the cleanup continue to face local scrutiny.

Andrew Guglielmi of the DEC said his office will be taking action on Parcel 4 this summer.

At an info session last summer, DEC regulators announced that the Citizens MGP site would be handled under New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), rather than the stricter framework of a State Superfund designation. Residents immediately called foul, arguing that the BCP is insufficient given the high level of toxins in the soil and that it would result in superficial remediation.

Yet Guglielmi pushed back against a similar line of questioning at last Thursday’s meeting. In response to a resident wondering why only Parcel 4 was placed under the Superfund program. “No one approached us,” Guglielmi maintained that his office would have transferred it to the BCP — which incentivizes outside companies to take on remediation in exchange for tax breaks — if an applicant had materialized.

The DEC rep also noted that a sub-slab depressurization system (SSDS) will block any toxins from seeping into the apartments planned at the western wing of the parcel, a project known as Gowanus Green. (Building A is set for completion in 2029; the developers shared that over 120,000 people recently applied for only 45 affordable units in the neighborhood, highlighting what they say is an urgent need to expand the local housing stock.)

Only some of the crowd was convinced. Jack Riccobono, a member of the grassroots advocacy group Voice of Gowanus, blasted the DEC for using the BCP — a decision he said would endanger future residents, given that some evidence suggests toxins may be migrating off-site.

“You’ve been misleading the public about these two programs, and we’re sick of it,” he told Guglielmi. “It’s about money, not about health.”

Monitor Point: Reynoso’s a Yes

BQE Admin on March 20, 2026

Union members hold signs in support of Monitor Point at a public hearing at Brooklyn Borough Hall on March 11.

BY COLE SINANIAN

cole@queensledger.com

This is part of a series on the Monitor Point development. Read our previous coverage here and here.

A controversial plan to build three mixed-use towers, new open space, and a museum on the Greenpoint waterfront has earned the Borough President’s support. 

In a 23-page letter, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso recommended the approval of the Monitor Point development, though urged developers to boost affordable housing and called for the full funding of the unfinished Bushwick Inlet Park, which sits adjacent to the site of the proposed towers. 

The Monitor Point development — set to be located at 40 Quay Street and 56 Quay Street next to Bushwick Inlet — would transform Greenpoint’s last undeveloped waterfront property with its completion in the 2030s.

But since its Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) began earlier this year, Monitor Point has pitted several highly vocal community groups against each other in what has brought bitterness and spectacle to each public meeting. Activists both for and against the development show up armed with signs, while “boos,” cheers and catcalls have regularly rung out during public testimony. Critics of the plan — which includes City councilmember Lincoln Restler and local groups Save the Inlet and Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park — have raised environmental concerns and called it a land grab that would take what was once designated park land and turn it into a playground for the wealthy. 

Meanwhile, building maintenance and construction workers with the Local 79 and SEIU-32BJ unions have supported the project, arguing it would bring good jobs and much-needed affordable housing to the already gentrified neighborhood, and have accused “no” activists of being gentrifiers more concerned with saving wildlife and greenspace than housing working class people.

“The quality and quantity of testimony, engagement, and public participation speak to the fact that the implications of this land use application reach deeper and stretch wider than the Project Area’s literal boundaries,” Reynoso’s recommendation reads. 

The towers, set to be developed by the Gotham organization in partnership with the MTA, would rise 21, 41 and 56 storeys. The development would add some 3,000 residents to the area, as well as a museum to showcase the history of the famous Monitor battleship, public plazas, retail space, and a network of meandering public walkways that developers say would finally connect the Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfronts for pedestrian access. Twenty-five percent of the towers’ 1,150 units would be permanently affordable at 40-80% Area Median Income (AMI), while the developers have applied for City subsidies that would fund additional affordable apartments, raising the total percentage to 40%. 

The West Building — to be located in the western half of 40 Quay St. — would include the two taller towers, while the East Building would sit on the eastern portion of the same property and rise to 21 stories. Both buildings would front Quay Street, with the West Building set to be separated from the street by a 60-foot wall. An old MTA mobile wash facility currently occupies the property, which developers would relocate to somewhere within the North Brooklyn Industrial Business Zone (IBZ). 

The adjacent property — 56 Quay Street — would house the Greenpoint Monitor Museum. The project would require both an upzoning for the 40 Quay St. property from medium to high-density and a demapping of 56 Quay St., which is currently designated park land on the City Map, though it is owned by the Greenpoint Monitor Museum. 

A Gotham rendering of the proposed “portal” to Bushwick Inlet Park.

To critics, Monitor Point represents a betrayal on the City’s part. The park land at 56 Quay was set aside by the City as part of the 2005 Williamsburg-Greenpoint rezoning for the future Bushwick Inlet Park, though in 2026, only a small portion of the promised park is open. 

“This was the central jewel of the Greenpoint Williamsburg rezoning,” Restler said at a January public hearing. “And 20 years later, we do not have a fully funded park.” 

In his recommendation, Borough President Reynoso took care to recognize the significance and historical context of the project. He described the application as a “proxy for the continued outcomes of the 2005 Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning.”

“The Borough President recognizes the frustration of Greenpoint and Williamsburg residents who bristle at the prospect of a separate, adjacent project breaking ground before the park is finished, particularly considering the housing development that has taken place in North Brooklyn since 2005,” the recommendation reads. 

Reynoso’s recommendation proposes several modifications to the developers’ plan, including that City planners “identify a parks and open space acquisition and development strategy for Community District 1” in order to fully fund the completion of Bushwick Inlet Park. 

Regarding affordable housing, Reynoso suggests that developers “maximize affordable housing” via multiple strategies, like increasing the floor area of the East Building to accommodate more affordable units, and to increase the range of affordability to allow access to moderate income households making 90-120% AMI. 

In line with recommendations from both Councilmember Restler and Community Board 1, Reynoso’s recommendation also suggests upping the total percentage of affordable units from 40% to “at least 50%.” 

In February Community Board 1’s Land Use Committee voted unanimously to reject the project unless developers could guarantee 75% of units are affordable. The full board, however, contradicted its Land Use Committee the following week and recommended the project’s approval, albeit on the condition of at least 50% affordable housing units. 

Developers and architects with the Brooklyn-based FX Collaborative Architects presented the proposal at the March 11 hearing.

At a public hearing at Brooklyn Borough Hall on Wednesday, March 11, union workers, environmentalists, and pro-housing advocates fell along familiar battle lines over the fate of Monitor Point. 

During their presentation, developers argued that 40% affordable housing is the best they can do while preserving financial viability, and that the 2005 park designation is outdated. 

In response to questioning from Reynoso’s representatives, Kelly said that affordable housing developments around the city with 50% or more affordability are often developed on land given to the developer at no cost. As Gotham will be paying rents to both the MTA and the NYC Parks Department, anything higher than 40% affordability could compromise the economic viability of the project, Kelly said.

“We’re open and receptive to ideas on how to increase affordability,” he said. “But that can’t be done at the expense of the viability of the development. We want to do more affordable housing if it’s feasible, but we won’t commit to doing things that we can’t deliver.” 

David Lopez, a North Brooklyn local whose family emigrated from Puerto Rico in the 1950s, testified in support of Monitor Point, cited the importance of permanently affordable housing for keeping working class New Yorkers in the neighborhood. 

“The area has changed drastically over the last 25 years,” Lopez said. “Bodegas have been replaced by cafes, mom and pop businesses have been replaced by high-priced  bars, boutique hotels, and Michelin-rated restaurants. A major way to keep families in the neighborhood is to create permanently affordable housing, and this project is offering that. Turning down 460 affordable apartments is a privilege that many working class New Yorkers don’t have.”

Greenpointer Laura Treciokas, meanwhile, spoke out against the Monitor Point towers, raising concerns that they could “turn what should be shared public space into an amenity for luxury tenants,” and significantly boost the neighborhood’s population without adding infrastructure to accommodate. 

“In exchange, the community receives very little, essentially a narrow walkway and a street extension, while nearly 3,000 additional residents are added,” Treciokas said.

Stephen Chesler, who sits on Community Board 1 and has been a vocal critic of the project since the outset, criticized developers for neglecting to show detailed renderings of the towers. 

“The community board specifically requested that from them, and they refused to provide it,” Chesler said. “Which is very telling that they know that there is huge community opposition, because of the density and impact this project will have on Bushwick Inlet Park.” 

A petition against the Monitor Point development launched by Save the Inlet has 5,460 signatures. 

The public hearing and Reyonoso’s recommendation marked step two of the project’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which guides development in New York City. 

Developers presented the application before the City Planning Commission (CPC) on Wednesday, March 18, before Reynoso’s recommendation was made public. The CPC now has 60 days to review the application before making its recommendation. 

 

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