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New York Hoops, Nationwide Impact

BQE Admin on May 7, 2026

How New York is headlining the hardwood

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

New York City is balling out, but the impact of local hoops is being felt across the country. The Knicks are red hot, former Johnnies are playing big postseason roles, and Brooklyn’s past youngsters are forging paths forward.

Jose hoops at home

Brooklyn native and former Christ the King standout Jose Alvarado laced up his shoes at the Mecca for his first playoff series as a Knick. Jose played five of the six games against Atlanta, scoring 5 and picking up a steal on average in 9.6 minutes played.

While most of the heavy lifting was done by Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mikal Bridges, the Puerto Rican point guard helped keep NY’s energy and effort with the rest of the Knick reserves.

On Monday night Jose picked up another 5 points as well as an assist, a rebound, and a steal as the Knicks trounced the Philadelphia 76ers by 39 points.

Daniss in Detroit

Daniss Jenkins went undrafted after a stellar senior year at St. John’s. The guard followed Rick Pitino from the Iona Gaels to the Red Storm for his final year, where he averaged 14.9 points and 5.4 assists.

Now with the Detroit Pistons in his second year as a pro, Jenkins is starting to make a name for himself. He knocked down a huge buzzer-beating three against Orlando to help Detroit overcome a 3-1 series deficit, leading all bench scorers with 16 in the Game 7 win.

Jenkins isn’t the only former Johnnie playing postseason ball this year. Julian Champagnie spent three years in Queens, standing out in his sophomore and junior seasons. While it took the sharpshooting guard some time to settle, he’s finally carved out a significant role for the San Antonio Spurs. Champagnie cemented his role over the past two seasons, playing all 164 regular season games with 68 starts this past year.

Pitino’s stars blossom

Pitino’s other stars are also starting to blossom on the NBA stage. In the 2nd round, Jenkins took on the Cavs, featuring one of Hall of Fame coach’s top performers at Louisville, Donovan Mitchell.

For the upcoming NBA draft, Pitino’s recent senior standouts have been invited to the combine this month. BIG EAST Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor will be hunting a first round selection, accompanied by Dillon Mitchell, who hopes to impress with his defense, athleticism, and potential.

A first round selection would be the first out of St. John’s since Philadelphia drafted Moe Harkless 15th overall in 2012 (Dom Pointer was a 2nd round pick in 2015, but only played in the NBA Development League and abroad).

BK’s past powers Cavs

The Brooklyn Nets of years past have their fingerprints all over Cleveland’s Game 7 win against Toronto. Leading the charge was Kenny Atkinson, who coached Brooklyn during some pivotal years. Atkinson picked up his second playoff series win, also advancing out of the first round last season.

The difference-maker in the winner-take-all game was Jarrett Allen. The former Nets 1st round draft pick recorded a monster double-double with 22 points and 19 rebounds. Allen averaged 11.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game in the series.

A few other former Nets filled out the Cavs roster. James Harden averaged a hair over 20 points per game with 6 assists and 5.3 rebounds. Dennis Shroder also added some minutes off the bench for Cleveland, 

Cloudy skies ahead

After what seemed like an eternity, Natasha Cloud has put pen to paper. The veteran guard will be with the Chicago Sky for the 2026 season, joining another former NY fan favorite in Courtney Vandersloot.

Cloud averaged about 10 points and 5 assists in her one year with the Liberty. Between her contagious energy and unshakable passion to speak on social issues, Natasha stands out despite joining New York after their championship season and playing just over 40 games.

Brooklyn Electeds Renew Call to Repave Broadway

BQE Admin on May 6, 2026

Local elected Chi Osse (center), Sandy Nurse (right) and Antonio Reynoso (left) spoke at a rally by Thomas Boyland Park on Wednesday, April 29. Photo by Cole Sinanian.

Lawmakers and residents alike are fed up with the ragged roadway that runs through Bed-Stuy and Bushwick. Can they finally repair it?

BY COLE  SINANIAN 

cole@queensledger.com 

BED-STUY— Brooklyn’s Broadway corridor has always been bumpy. Up until the 1950s, what is now the shadowy underside of the elevated J Train was a cobblestone thoroughfare traversed by the Broadway Line streetcar.

Now of course, the streetcar is long gone and the cobblestones have been paved over, leaving pedestrians and motorists alike to contend with a minefield of potholes and cracked asphalt that can turn a simple car ride into a torturous affair.

“If you know anything about Broadway, you get in the car and you’re going to be slapped back and forth,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso at a recent press conference on the corner of Broadway and Granite St. “You might need a neck brace by the time you make it down six blocks.”

Straddling Bushwick and Bed-Stuy and stretching roughly from Howard Ave to the east and Flushing Ave to the West, the Broadway Corridor has long been a source of ire for local residents, who’ve urged elected officials for years to address both the poor state of the roadway and rampant crime and drug use that’s plagued the poorly lit space below the tracks. During the historic blackouts in the summer of 1977, it was the site of major rioting and looting that at one point left two full blocks of Broadway on fire. Nowadays, the Department of Transportation has identified the corridor as among the top 10% most dangerous in Brooklyn, with an average of 14.8 people killed or severely injured (KSI) per mile.

It’s no help that Broadway forms the border of several different political districts, allowing local electeds to defer responsibility for its repairs to their neighboring representatives. The north side of the Broadway Corridor spans City Council District 34, State Assembly District 53, State Senate District 18, and Congressional District 7, while the south side — or the Bed-Stuy portion — encompasses City Council District 36, State Assembly District 56, State Senate District 25, and Congressional District 8.

But now, as the Mamdani Administration doubles down on its commitment to “pothole politics” — or the idea that trust in government can be cultivated by addressing small, everyday issues that affect New Yorkers’ qualities of life — a coalition of Brooklyn elected officials whose districts touch the corridor are renewing calls to fund its total repavement.

At the press conference, held Wednesday, April 29th next to Thomas Boyland Park, Reynoso, alongside City Councilmembers Chi Ossé and Sandy Nurse as well as several local community board leaders, spoke passionately about the state of the roadway as the J train rumbled overhead. A group of community members from the surrounding Bed-Stuy, Bushwick and Ocean Hill neighborhoods stood behind the speakers, holding up photos of some of the road’s ugliest blemishes.

“It’s disgusting, it’s unsafe for both drivers and cyclists and pedestrians,” Ossé said. “This is the wealthiest city and wealthiest country in the world, and this corridor does not speak to that.”

Ossé and Reynoso both pledged to contribute $1 million to funding the corridor’s repavement, a far cry from the estimated $110 million that Nurse a total restructuring of the corridor would likely cost. They also highlighted the necessity of the elevated train to the area’s residents and the relative lack of investment in road infrastructure in comparison to other parts of the city.

“This elevated train was deeply important to Brooklyn and getting us around,” Reynoso said. “But what happens is they built that infrastructure and then forgot about it,  they just built it and left us alone. They abandoned this community. They neglected this community. They don’t make long-term investments.”

Ossé also evoked the famous Myrtle/Broadway intersection, which has become an internet meme in recent years for its disorienting and contradictory atmosphere. The intersection is perhaps most famous for its trio of oddly placed fast food joints — the Popeyes, Checkers and Dunkin Donuts nestled side by side.

Ossé jokingly referred to the intersection as a “cultural heritage site,” before taking a more serious tone.

“As much as it has become a joke within meme culture, it speaks to the broader need for investment within this entire corridor,” the second-term City Councilmember said.

Speaking at the press conference, Brooklyn Community Board 4 and longtime Bushwick resident Roberto Camacho drew attention to the costs incurred by drivers whose cars are damaged by Broadway’s potholes.

“How much money do you think people pay when their cars get damaged and their insurance goes up with no fault of their own?” Camacho said.  “Or some senior trips and breaks their ankle and gets hurt and they have no health coverage? It’s an investment that helps everyone.”

Community Board 16 District Manager Sydone Thompson, meanwhile, called out the city’s inaction in fixing the Broadway corridor and urged all Brooklynites who use the road to support the initiative.

“The Broadway corridor, the entire span affects all of our districts— Bed-Stuy, Bushwick, all of it,” she said. “So we all need to fight. We need every elected from every level of government to put the money where your mouth is, because I’m tired of my car breaking an axle on Broadway.”

She continued: “I think the city needs to understand [that] for the amount of money you would pay out in lawsuits, you can fix this.”

COBB: The Colorful Characters of Leonard Street’s Past

BQE Admin on May 6, 2026

Actor Mickey Rooney (left) and gangster Al Capone (right) both spent time on Leonard Street. Photos via Wikimedia.

From Hollywood stars to brutal gangsters, the unassuming Greenpoint street has hosted a multitude of colorful characters.

GEOFFREY COBB | gcobb91839@Aol.com

Author, “Greenpoint Brooklyn’s Forgotten Past

A friend, John Dereszewski, who lived for many years on Leonard Street, recently posted some memories of his days on the street on Facebook, so I thought I would expand on them and write a piece about this quiet local thoroughfare. The street was once the Eastern end of the Meserole farm, but as the neighborhood grew, the Meserole family sold off the area. It was surveyed and a street was created running through the former farm. The street, named after Superintendent of School Buildings Samuel Leonard – who oversaw the building of nearby P.S. #34 – opened in 1852 and ran from Broadway in Williamsburg to the now long-gone Bushwick Creek. In 1865, it was extended to Greenpoint Avenue.

The street was once home to one of the most feared mobsters, Sonny Franseze who grew up on the corner of Leonard Street and Jackson Street. Reputedly legendary gangster Al Capone carved his name into a social club there owned by the Franzese family.  Sonny, allegedly a longtime underboss in the Colombo crime family, was reputedly inducted into the mafia as a teenager. Sentenced to 50 years in prison for allegedly orchestrating a number of bank robberies across the country in 1967, he was paroled in 1978; however, Franzese was re-jailed at least six times on parole violations in the decades that followed. He is alleged to have killed between 30 and 60 people during his career as a Mafia enforcer. In 2017 at the age of 100, he became the oldest federal inmate in the United States and the only centenarian in federal custody. He was released and lived three more years until his death at age 103 in 2020.

The block between Driggs and Nassau contains two noteworthy buildings on its west side. A former Protestant church became for many years the Greenpoint Knights of Columbus meeting hall. The Knights became famous for marching in their full regalia during Greenpoint’s frequent parades and processions. Later, the St. Stan’s American Legion post, home to many brave veterans, shared the building with them.  Down the block was a former public-school building that became The Polish War Veterans Club. Many of the heroes of the storming on Monte Casino during World War II settled in Greenpoint and became members of the club. When they died off, the club closed and eventually became a condominium apartment.

The office of Doctor McCartney, a beloved local physician who treated locals for decades, was situated about midway between Nassau and Norman Avenues. Further down the street, on the corner of Leonard and Norman Avenue is my favorite Polish flower shop, Paradise Florists, run by a Polish family for decades. Their beautiful bouquets for my wife have gotten me out of the doghouse on many occasions. Across the street from the flower shop is the Greenpoint branch of the library. Sadly, it was once an elegant Carnegie Library with a graceful marble façade. In the 1960s, the buildings foundation was found to be unstable and instead of repairing this architectural gem, it was torn down and lost forever, replaced by a drab modern structure that thankfully also has been replaced by the nicer present library.

Around the corner from the library, on the west side of the block was the home of legendary politician Peter McGuinness, whom I described in my book The King of Greenpoint. The political leader of the area between World War I and World War II, McGuinness was beloved both for his kindness and great sense of humor. He was honored when Oakland Street was widened and named McGuinness Boulevard. Though McGuinness lived in an apartment in the building, he never owned it. This political power broker remained a renter all his life. Longtime local physician Doctor Smith had his office on the block. Smith was an old-fashioned general practitioner who delivered many local babies until a heart attack prevented him from doing it. A thing of the past, he often made home visits to treat severely sick patients.

One of the greatest actors ever was born on the corner of Meserole Avenue and Leonard Street, Oscar award winning actor Mickey Rooney, whose parents were local Vaudeville actors. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the silent-film era.  He was the top box-office attraction from 1939 to 1941, becoming one of the best-paid actors of that era.  678 Leonard Street is the home of the Polish National Church, which differs from the Catholic Church, to which the vast majority of Poles belong.

Heading north, one sees the rear of the Saint Anthony of Padua church, whose school educated many local children. Sister Francis Kress, a nun , taught in the parish school, while also becoming the first community member to alert the local community about the many environmental dangers posed by our long history of industrialization. At the very end of the street, one finds my favorite local watering Hole Tempkins, where a beer is the perfect way to end this little journey up Leonard Street.

Bushwick Residents Clash With ICE, NYPD Outside Wyckoff Hospital

BQE Admin on May 5, 2026

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso slammed ICE and questioned NYPD’s loyalties at a press conference May 4. (Photo: Cole Sinanian)

BY COLE SINANIAN

cole@queensledger.com

BUSHWICK — Hundreds of New Yorkers clashed with NYPD officers and masked federal agents outside a Bushwick hospital for more than five hours Saturday night, after word spread that ICE agents were inside with a man they had detained.

The chaotic scene began unfolding at around 9:00 p.m. at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, when local activists spotted a Chrysler minivan known to be used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) parked outside the hospital. Locally known ICE agent Brendan Cuni and his unidentified partner had taken a Nigerian man named Chidozie Wilson Okeke there for injuries he had allegedly incurred during his arrest.

An estimated 200 to 300 protesters amassed outside the hospital over the course of the night. By 10:30pm, the NYPD had arrived to control the crowd, leading to violent clashes during which cops were seen shoving and throwing New Yorkers to the ground as protesters attempted to block ICE vehicles and federal agents pepper sprayed protesters in the face. By the early hours of Sunday morning, nine people had been taken into custody.

The confrontation comes amid a recent uptick in ICE activity around the city, with ICE sightings reported in Long Island City on April 14, Crown Heights on April 21, South Ozone Park on April 22, East New York on April 28 and 29, and Corona on April 30. A total of 17 confirmed sightings have been reported since April 14, according to information provided by Hands Off NYC. ICE agents can be distinguished from local police by their vests, which are usually green and say “POLICE,” “ICE,” “ERO,” or “HSI.”

Local elected officials condemned ICE after Saturday’s incident and renewed calls for its abolition. Although New York’s sanctuary city laws prohibit the NYPD from aiding ICE with immigration enforcement, videos and eyewitness accounts from Saturday’s incident that appear to show police officers protecting ICE agents have raised questions about the NYPD’s relationship with federal authorities.

“Bushwick is very, very clear, we do not want ICE in our neighborhood,” said District 37 City councilmember Sandy Nurse,  who was present at the protest Saturday night. “And not only are we saying it, we are organized. That is why 200-300 people showed up here on a Saturday night, at the drop of a hat, to show up for our neighbors.”

‘They are killing me’ 

Footage obtained and published by The City appears to show what happened before ICE brought Okeke to the hospital. In the video, a masked agent wearing a police vest is seen pointing a taser at a man seated in the driver’s seat of a vehicle — which a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson later identified as Okeke.

In a statement, an unnamed DHS spokesperson told The City that Okeke was not tased. The spokesperson also said that Okeke “refused to comply with officers’ lawful commands to exit the vehicle and weaponized his vehicle to attempt to hit ICE officers.” Okeke, the spokesperson said, had overstayed his visa and had been previously charged with assault and criminal drug possession.

But the video of the incident calls into question the DHS spokesperson’s claims. In it, the man can be heard screaming repeatedly as two agents appear to attempt to drag him out of the vehicle.

“Somebody help me,” the man screams at one point. “They are killing me.”

Nine people were taken into custody on the night of May 2. Photo via Micaela.

Saturday Night Chaos

Videos posted to social media show at-times violent clashes between police and residents outside Wyckoff on Saturday night. In one, posted to social media by journalist Karina Dale Gerry, an NYPD officer can be seen grabbing a protester by the shirt collar and throwing him to the ground. In other, a masked agent verbally engages a protester before shoving them and pepper spraying their face.

24-year-old Bushwick resident Micaela, who declined to give her last name, arrived outside the hospital around 10pm after seeing a post about the ICE sighting on Reddit. She said that when she arrived there were only about 60 protesters, but the crowd quickly grew to what looked like hundreds.

“We were on the sidewalk, and we kept telling the cops to go home,” she said. “They were telling us to go home, but we told them, ‘once you go home, we can go home.’”

Tensions peaked around 2:30 a.m., she said, when the two ICE agents emerged from the hospital dragging Okeke by the arms before forcing him into the car. By this point, two drones and at least one helicopter were flying overhead, she said.

“They were trying to get the detainee in the car, but we’re all blocking the car,” Micaela said. “We were throwing garbage on the floor, trying to block the exit so they wouldn’t be able to escape.”

Throughout the night, Micaela said she observed NYPD officers acting aggressively towards protesters and seemingly targeting women and weaker-looking men.

“They were clearly targeting more of the smaller people, the scrawny people, a lot of women,” she said. “The first arrest was a woman— her shirt was coming up. I told them, like, ‘Let her go, her shirt is coming up, her private parts are literally being shown.’ But they didn’t care.”

At one point, Micaela said an officer began chasing her down the street, but she was able to seek refuge in the apartment of a Bushwick neighbor who had left her window open and was helping to hide protesters from the cops.

“I’m so thankful for this neighbor in Bushwick,” Micaela said. “If anything, ICE should know not to mess with Bushwick. I think ICE needs to learn from this and realize that this is not going to happen in Bushwick ever again.”

Protesters attempted to block ICE vehicles by building trash barricades. Photo via Micaela.

Sanctuary City? 

According to a spokesperson with the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information (DCPI), multiple 911 calls were placed at 10:25pm on May 2 of  a ”disorderly group” of about 200 protesters. Officers arrived on scene minutes later and began issuing “verbal commands to disperse.”

The spokesperson wrote that “officers observed numerous individuals acting in a disorderly manner, obstructing vehicular traffic, and blocking emergency entrances and exits at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center.”

At 2:15 a.m. the ICE agents attempted to leave the hospital with Okeke in tow, the spokesperson said, but protesters blocked the exit and refused to disperse, while one reportedly broke the rear window of the ICE vehicle. Several arrests were made between 2:19 a.m. and 2:30 a.m.

Of the nine individuals taken into custody, eight were arrested and charged with resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief, while one was issued a criminal summons and later released.

“The NYPD does not conduct or participate in civil immigration enforcement,” the spokesperson wrote. “We had no prior awareness or coordination regarding the ICE operation that took place last night.”

Electeds to ICE: “Get the F— out”

Following the incident, local elected officials and community leaders slammed ICE’s conduct and questioned the police’s role in the skirmishes.

“I’ve made very clear that our laws leave nothing, no room for interpretation about the fact that our NYPD will not participate in civil and immigration enforcement,”  said Mayor Mamdani during a Monday press conference.

On the morning of May 4, CM Nurse, as well as Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, City councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, and several others spoke at a press conference held across the street from the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center.

Reynoso began the conference by leading a chant of “ICE Out!” Meanwhile, officers with the NYPD’s Community Affairs Bureau stood guard nearby.

“It’s us New Yorkers who pay their salary,” Reynoso said in Spanish.  “So they have to protect us. Not help an organization that’s attacking immigrants.”

“‘ICE, get the F out,’” Gutiérrez said. “You have no place here, we are not safe here with you. In fact, we are going backwards.”

Other speakers praised the Bushwick community’s response to ICE appearing in the neighborhood.

“This is the reason why we know that this happened,” said Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez. “Because the community came out, to send a strong message, that in this neighborhood, and in New York City, we fight for immigrants.”

“I wanna thank everybody who is organized, who has gotten trained, who has learned their rights, who is telling other people their rights, who is reporting ICE sightings,” said CM Nurse. “Please keep doing it.”

A Breath of Fresh Air

BQE Admin on May 5, 2026

Photos by Maryam Rahaman.

Amid lush gardens and live music, Kingsland Wildflowers offers visitors a  birds-eye view of an ongoing environmental success story.  

BY MARYAM RAHAMAN

GREENPOINT — In Greenpoint’s industrial business zone, over 25,000 square feet of rooftop gardens provide a literal breath of fresh air at the Kingsland Wildflowers Community Engagement Center. The gardens live on top of an active film studio at the edge of Greenpoint, right next to Newtown Creek. Last Friday evening, families, friends, and couples followed stone paths around the garden as the sunset over the roofs, sitting and stopping to hear live performances from musician Joe Feldmann and the duo Drifter.

The gardens opened in 2016 through the efforts of Alive Structures, Broadway Stages, Newtown Creek Alliance, and NYC Audubon. Funding for the site came from the Greenpoint Community Fund, a $19.5 million New York State grant program. The money comes from a settlement with ExxonMobil, which was ordered to pay for environmental contamination at its Greenpoint facility by funding projects that improve the local environment and engage the community.

Newtown Creek forms part of the border between Brooklyn and Queens. The waterway was once marshland abundant with oysters and fish frequented by the Mespat tribe prior to European colonization. Though the Dutch and English used the creek for commerce and agriculture in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, heavy industrialization in the nineteenth century deeply transformed its ecology.

With little regulation, businesses had free reign to use the creek as a dumping ground for industrial byproducts well into the twentieth century. The most famous consequence of this was the Greenpoint Oil Spill. Discovered in 1978, it is the largest underground oil spill in United States history, with over 17 to 30 million gallons of oil found. Advocates and lawsuits helped secure a win against ExxonMobil in 2010—the same year the EPA declared Newtown Creek a Superfund site.

But thanks to remediation efforts, marine life and wetland plants have begun to recover. As of September 2024, 13 million gallons from the Greenpoint Oil Spill have been removed from the creek.

Photos by Maryam Rahaman.

Places like Kingsland Wildflowers help connect the community to Newtown Creek Alliance’s mission of education, restoration, and advocacy. From the roof, people can observe activities happening across the creek, as well as catch sight of the City’s largest wastewater treatment plant—part of which looks like eight giant silver eggs. The organization also restores sites along the creek to create “pocket parks,” which help build a relationship between the creek and the community.

“We’re located in an industrial business zone and because of that we see a lot of neglect,” said Brenda Suchilt, the restoration and volunteering coordinator at Newtown Creek Alliance, said.

“There’s people that live in the industrial business zone. There are people who work here…We experience it as people who work in this area every year, and we’re not alone.”

The presence of plants and green space in the gardens helps to address the urban heat effect, where cities experience higher temperatures compared to rural areas because of limited greenery and dense structures. In New York City, temperatures can even vary block to block based on composition—which is particularly important in the industrial zone.

“It’s pertinent for us to have these public events and invite people to come in so they can see that there are things in the industrial zone and the benefits of what green infrastructure looks like in larger scale buildings,” Suchilt added.

Plants native to New York City, including ones with white and pink flowers, burgeoning prickly cacti, and long, needle-like leaves were also available for purchase. All are plants grown by Newtown Creek Alliance’s in-house nursery, which Suchilt says has an “ethos” of providing the community with affordable access to indigenous plants.

“The beautiful thing about using native plants is that we become immersed in nature,” Suchilt said. “I think the more you plant native plants, the more that you immerse yourself in it, the more people really understand the intuitive way that we can all exist together.”

If you do visit, make sure to ask for help reaching the roof on the third floor, which Suchilt describes as a “secret garden.” By August, Suchilt says the plants reach eye-level.

Open hours are free and will take place every Friday until June 26, with live entertainment ranging from traditional Irish folk music to storytelling on select evenings. Visits can also be scheduled by appointment Monday-Friday from 10am-5pm. The space will also host its first monthly “Greenhouse Gang” event on May 5th, where volunteers can sign up to help with potting plants for the nursery. For more information, visit kingslandwildflowers.com.

As Feldmann closed his set with about half an hour of sunlight left, he said, “enjoy the views, buy some plants, support your local nonprofit.”

Despite Open Cup wins, City stumbles in MLS

BQE Admin on May 3, 2026

Boys in Blue fall to DC United after eliminating the Red Bulls

Former NYC shotstopper Sean Johnson kept a clean sheet for DC in Queens (Photo: Noah Zimmerman)

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

CITI FIELD – It was another deflating outing in Queens for New York City FC on Sunday afternoon, now winless in their last seven league matches. While NYC’s flame was burning blue early in the season it has cooled since their defeat to Miami, seeing them drop from 1st to 9th in the East.

It hasn’t all been doom and gloom for New York. Outside of league play the club has enjoyed success in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, a competition in which NYC has often struggled. In their first four seasons of play the Boys in Blue were eliminated in their first cup match, twice to the NY Cosmos (formerly of the NASL) and twice to the rival Red Bulls.

The Red Bulls got their number once more in 2022, but this year City were able to flip the script, booking a trip to the quarterfinals for the 3rd time.

It was a trio of assists from Maxi Moralez that saw New York City vanquish their rivals on the road. The Argentinian delivered three great crosses for headed goals as NYC won 3-1 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, NJ.

Players, coaches, and fans hoped the big cup win would help reinvigorate the club as they returned to league play, but it wasn’t remotely the case. New York looked weak and ineffective on both ends of the pitch as DC United scored once in each half for a 2-0 win.

The NYC back line desperately misses Justin Haak. As the goals keep leaking it’s clear that it was a mistake to not prioritize retaining the homegrown defender. Partnered with Thiago Martins as a CB last year, Haak helped New York to one of the better defensive records in the league. This year they’ve already conceded 18 goals, tied for 13th worst in MLS.

The offense is also leaving plenty to be desired. The front office suggested they would pick out the right striker to hold the club over until Alonso Martinez returns from injury but no signing landed. Instead the club has relied on Nico Fernandez Mercau, who cooled off since starting the campaign on MVP pace, as well as a few youngsters still in need of development.

It didn’t help the New York offense that Sean Johnson was in great form. The former NYC man (and 2021 cup winner) made a number of phenomenal stops in goal for DC to help preserve a shutout.

The Boys in Blue need to get their play back up to MLS standards in order to remain viable in 2026, but their next stop in the Open Cup also looms later this month. On May 20 NYC will head to Ohio to play the Columbus Crew, with a win putting them into the cup semifinals for the first time in franchise history.

New York will also play Columbus in their next league match, hosting the Crew at Yankee Stadium on Mother’s Day. Between that match and their Open Cup rematch, the Boys in Blue will be on the road as they visit Charlotte on May 13 and the Red Bulls the following Saturday.

Bushwick Inlet Opens to Public After 100+ Years

BQE Admin on May 1, 2026

The opening of the newest section of the long-awaited Bushwick Inlet Park  gives Greenpointers direct access to one of the Brooklyn waterfront’s most peaceful corners. But with three residential towers likely to be built next door, for some the inlet’s opening is bittersweet. 

BY COLE SINANIAN

cole@queensledger.com

GREENPOINT — The fences around Bushwick Inlet came down this week, opening the rare and tranquil cove to the public for the first time in more than a century. The Motiva Parcel — as the strip of land around the inlet is known — officially opened on Thursday, April 30 after having been fenced off for months to allow newly planted trees and shrubs to take  root. 

With ample birdwatching opportunities, water access for kayakers and perhaps Greenpoint’s first and only beach, the Motiva Parcel —  located at the north end of 14th St — is the latest section of the incomplete Bushwick Inlet Park to open to the public. It’s one of six NYC Parks-owned parcels that the City set aside as part of the 2005 Williamsburg/Greenpoint rezoning to be developed into a sprawling, 27.8-acre waterfront park, a park that, as of 2026, remains mostly unfinished, with the bulk of the property still in need of major environmental remediation before development can proceed. 

“I’m just really excited for neighbors to be able to access such beauty right in our own community,” said Greenpoint City Councilmember Lincoln Restler in an interview. “And you know, this is something that we celebrate, but with clear recognition that we’ve got a long way to go.”

The section that opened Thursday was acquired by the City in 2014 from a fossil fuel company called Motiva Enterprises for $5 million. It joins two other sections of the park to have already opened — the hilltop gardens at 50 Kent and the soccer fields at 86 Kent — bringing the total park land acreage to 9 out of the eventual 27.8 total.  

Since the 2005 rezoning, tens of thousands of housing units have been built along the Greenpoint and Williamsburg waterfronts, while development of the promised park has stalled. As this area of waterfront land was once populated by fuel storage and the oil and gas refineries of companies like Standard Oil, Motiva Enterprises, Astral Oil Works and Bayside Fuel, expensive remediation measures are needed before the rest of the park can be completed. 

The next section of the park to open will likely be an 8.5-acre parcel acquired by the City from CitiStorage, located east of Kent Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets. Funding has been secured and remediation talks are underway, Restler confirmed, though National Grid — which is responsible for cleaning up the site — has been slow to cooperate. According to Restler, there remains a gap of $75-100 million to fund the park’s completion. 

“There are a lot of moving parts on the cleanup,” Restler said. “Each parcel is different. We’re waiting on some environmental analysis from the State Department of Environmental Conservation. But I think that if there’s a will on the part of the Mamdani team to move this park forward, then we can find a way.”

Members of Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park pose in front of Bushwick Inlet on Wednesday, April 29. Photo by Cole Sinanian

But for some locals, the Motiva Parcel’s opening has been overshadowed by what could soon be built next to it — the highly contentious mixed-use mega-development called Monitor Point. Proposed by the Gotham Organization and set to occupy the property immediately north of Bushwick Inlet, the Monitor Point development would see 1,150 housing units built across three high-rise towers, public open space, and a museum to honor the Monitor battleship built next to the inlet. The project is in the midst of a lengthy approval process and has received support from the local community board and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, though both Reynoso and Restler have called for developers to commit to more affordable housing. Currently, Gotham has committed to making 40% of  the towers’ units affordable at 40-80%  Area Median Income (AMI). 

Local activists with the groups Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park and Save the Inlet, meanwhile, have opposed the Monitor Point project since the beginning. A project of such scale would threaten the inlet’s rare and sensitive ecology, they argue, while the high concentration of luxury apartments could effectively privatize the inlet for the towers’ wealthy residents.

As the inlet’s calm waters lapped at the sandy beach Wednesday evening and a family of ducks floated by, a small group of Greenpointers gathered at the water’s edge, many of whom were board members and volunteers for Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park. 

Present at the gathering was 35-year Greenpoint resident Trina McKeever, who raised three now-adult sons in the neighborhood. She explained that while she’s grateful that Bushwick Inlet is finally accessible and the park appears to be moving forward, she also hopes that the public’s interaction with the inlet will help them better appreciate it and understand the threats it is under. 

“It’s definitely bittersweet,” McKeever said. “But what it does is gives everybody the opportunity to actually see where that building is in relation to the park, and hopefully there’ll be even larger groundswell of opposition to Gotham.”

She continued: ““I have three sons that grew up in Greenpoint, and the waterfront was all walled off. “I really feel that this particular site is sacred. It’s next to the inlet, and there just aren’t places like that in Greenpoint.”

Restler agreed. 

“The access to the water, the Zen-like feeling of being on Bushwick inlet, it just really, really got me when I had the chance to be down there,” he said. “People’s mental health will improve as a result of this little parcel.”

Mamdani Creates Deed Theft Office

BQE Admin on May 1, 2026

City Council Member Chi Osse was arrested last week at a deed theft protest in Bed-Stuy. (Photo via @chiosse)

Mayor Mamdani this week created a new office to regulate deed theft, after a Brooklyn rep was violently arrested and “slammed on the ground” last Wednesday at a housing protest in Bed-Stuy.

Council Member Chi Ossé, who represents Bed-Stuy and parts of Crown Heights, was one of four people arrested outside the home of Carmella Charrington, a local who is fighting eviction from her Jefferson Ave brownstone.

In footage posted on social media by Ossé’s staff, the 28-year-old — a DSA-affiliated rising star who became the youngest member ever elected to the city council in 2021 — can be seen speaking heatedly with a police officer outside the front gate, before another cop wrenches him face-down against the sidewalk.

Ossé was one of four protesters arrested, and he was released from the local precinct after being charged with two counts of disorderly conduct and one count of obstructing governmental administration. The second-term lawmaker promised to file a misconduct report, noting that he felt “dizzy” and had sustained mild head injuries.

A spokesperson for the NYPD claimed that they had given multiple warnings to clear the area, and that Ossé had resisted arrest. Meanwhile, state Attorney General Letitia James said she was “deeply disturbed” by the video, and North Brooklyn rep Lincoln Restler called the police officers’ conduct “outrageous.”

Deed theft occurs when scammers transfer a property to themselves without the owner’s knowledge or consent, typically through forged signatures or tricks that target older residents. The practice has come under scrutiny in recent years, with state-level complaints skyrocketing by 240% from 2023 to 2025.

Although James’ office determined that Charrington’s case was one of a dispute between heirs, rather than textbook deed theft, Ossé’s arrest has drawn increased attention to scams that often target Black and Brown New Yorkers. The problem is particularly dire in Brooklyn, which accounted for 1,500 of the 3,500 instances of deed theft recorded citywide between 2021 and 2023, making it the most impacted borough by far.

“When my grandmother was sick before she passed, she had a stroke, there were still people knocking on her door in Crown Heights asking her to sell her home,” Ossé told reporters. “We are seeing the displacement day in and day out here in Bed-Stuy — you can see the changing of the neighborhood, and a huge reason for that is because of deed theft.”

Last Friday, only two days after Ossé’s arrest, Mayor Mamdani formally established the first-ever Mayor’s Office of Deed Theft Prevention, and appointed Peter White as its inaugural director.

White, an attorney with Access Justice Brooklyn, has long worked on deed theft and foreclosure cases. The nonprofit’s head hailed him as “a brilliant lawyer and advocate,” and fellow experts largely applauded the appointment.

Scott Kohanowski, the general counsel at the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, singled out a clear priority for the newly-created office: “Just more transparency,” he told the Star. “So many of these scammers and speculators are shielded with our LLC laws, so it’s really hard to identify who the actors are. One thing I’d like to see is this new entity and the AG’s office having access to that information, so they can start connecting the dots.”

SCHWARTZ: I Believe I Have the Perfect Relationship with My Neighbor

BQE Admin on May 1, 2026

Kimmy and her neighbor-slash-landlady, Lillian, in the show “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”

By Lana Schwartz | lana.schwartz925@gmail.com

Becoming friends — true friends — with your neighbors in New York City is as elusive as finding a rent stabilized apartment. The fantasy is that you can socialize without leaving your apartment. The reality typically is that, at best, you don’t have anything in common with your neighbors except your address. At worst, you hate them. They’re loud, they have bad taste in music, and usually both at the same time. Worst of all, they could be doing that while simultaneously paying less money in rent than you.

No wall, floor, or ceiling has ever been thick enough for me to consider any direct neighbor as anything but annoying, quite frankly, if I’m considering them at all. Phone numbers have only been offered so I can send pleas to “please turn the music down, it’s 5 a.m.” 

Yet recently I have found a more satisfying relationship with a neighbor, one that I believe is perfect.

I believe the key to this affection for my neighbor is that he lives in the building next to mine, rather than in my building. We have all of the neighborly camaraderie without any of the contempt familiarity can breed.

Our interactions go as follows: When I see him, I say “hi.” He says “hi” back. Though one time he did say that I’m “always walking around places,” which is an accurate summation of what I’m usually doing.

He is an older man, though I have no idea how old and I will probably never find out. How long has he lived in Greenpoint? Does he still like living here? These are all questions I don’t have. The simple, uncomplicated wave of recognition we share is more than enough for me. I even look forward to it. There is no expectation or intimation of small talk. It is a relief to know I can walk by and wave without having to say I’m “good” or talk about what the weather is doing. There are no hopes of deepening our relationship, and by the same token, no disappointments.

Still, I’d be upset if he wasn’t there anymore. I’d like to think he feels the same, and that, if needed, he could provide an accurate description of me to any real-life Law & Order: SVU detectives should I become a victim of an unspeakable crime. But there wouldn’t be an unfillable hole in the other person’s life if one of us was gone; and in New York City, where people are always arriving and leaving, there’s more than enough people with whom you share actual relationships with to miss. I wouldn’t want to add to my neighbor’s burden (whatever that burden may be, but like I said, he is older, so I imagine there are burdens).

Wave to the people who live on your block. You may get lucky and wind up with the kind of relationship like I have with my neighbor, though there are no guarantees. What we have takes no care, no maintenance, and therefore might be impossible to replicate.

COBB: A Paean to Puebla

BQE Admin on May 1, 2026

Generations of migrants to Brooklyn have come from the town of Chinantla in Puebla.(Photo via economia.gob.mx)

Brooklyn’s Mexican community has significant historical ties to its central region, thanks to a chance encounter over 80 years ago.

GEOFFREY COBB | gcobb91839@Aol.com

Author, “Greenpoint Brooklyn’s Forgotten Past

We are again ready to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, a holiday commemorating the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Ask most Mexicans living in New York City what part of Mexico they come from, and they will answer Puebla, a region located in central Mexico.

One of Mexico’s smaller states in geographic size, Puebla, though ranks fifth in population with over six million inhabitants. More than one million people from Puebla live in the United States, most of them in New York City neighborhoods including heavy concentrations in Sunset Park, Corona and Elmhurst.

According to estimates from the Pew Research Center and the Mexican Migration Project, approximately 70% of Mexicans in New York have roots in Puebla. Estimates claim that at least 200,000 People from Puebla live in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area, making Puebla the main state of origin for Mexicans in the Northeastern United States. The migration has been so extensive that it now represents one-sixth of the population of Puebla.

Like most Mexican immigrants, Poblanos are hard working. Many work in restaurants, construction and retail. Many of the Poblanos working in our city send a large portion of their earnings back home. In 2023 alone, migrants from Puebla sent more than $2.4 billion in remittances to their home state, according to data from the Bank of Mexico, and most of that money came from New York.

Many towns in Puebla have a long and deep connection to New York City, perhaps none more than the small town of Chinantla, whose migration started more than eighty years ago, when Pedro Simón and his brother, Fermín, hitched a ride to New York City with an Italian American tourist they met in Mexico City. The man not only took them all the way to Times Square but even put them up in a hotel and got them jobs mopping floors at a restaurant. The day they decided to stay in the city, they left their hotel feeling celebratory, only to be showered by confetti in Times Square. It was V-E Day.

Decades later, the brothers returned to Chinantla, where they built big houses. Since the Simon brothers first arrived here, generations of migrants from Chinantla have come to New York City. Money from the United States has helped revitalize the town. Funds from migrants built the town’s schools and rebuilt its church, financed and designed its potable water system and illuminated its streets. Second and even third-generation New Yorkers keep their connection to the town. Teen-age girls from Brooklyn compete every year in the annual beauty pageant to be Senorita Chinantla, and often win.

Though the Simon brothers might have been the first Poblano migrants to New York City, they certainly were not the last.  In the 1960s there were few economic opportunities in Puebla creating a second wave of Poblanos, many of them from the same small Puebla villages. At the end of the 1960s, when there was a lot of work in manufacturing and in the restaurant industry, the weekly income of the immigrants ranged from U.S.$50 to $80, considerably more than they would earn back home. New York Poblanos encouraged their friends and families in Mexico to migrate and within ten years, there were 6,000 New York Poblanos, and by 1980, 25,000. The 1982 and 1994 economic crises, as well as the 1985 earthquake, sparked a mass migration to New York. Within the United States, tougher anti-immigrant laws in California pushed Poblanos to seek safe haven with friends and family in the northeast.

The Puebla state government has so many of its citizens living in the United States that it created the concept of Casas Puebla in several U.S. cities with large numbers of Poblanos. A Casa Puebla advises Poblanos on immigration policy, consular matters, and customs. In addition, it also tells Poblanos of their rights as residents in the United States and strengthens their bonds with their families in Mexico.  The first Casa Puebla in the United States began helping Poblanos New York City in May 1999.

One of the clearest indicators of the size of the Poblano community in New York City are the many restaurants and food trucks owned by Poblanos. Former New York chef and television host Anthony Bourdain worked with so many Poblanos, including his sous chef Eddie Perez, that he filmed one of his episodes entitled “Where the Cooks are from” in Puebla. One of the best Poblano eateries is Tulcingo del Valle, which is located on tenth Avenue in Manhattan and is famous for its tacos. Another great Poblano spot is Aquí en Bella Puebla on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, which serves delicious Mole sauces, for which Puebla is famous.

The Zaragosa Deli across from Manhattan’s Stuyvesant town has created an army of devoted fans with its blue-plate daily specials, which might include egg-filled albondigas in Chile sauce, pork ribs and verdólagas (purslane) in salsa verde, smothered chile relleno, or its signature dish potato and chorizo enchiladas. In Greenpoint, a Poblano family owns Acapulco, which has been serving up tasty Poblano dishes for decades.

Poblanos are a huge presence in New York City and Poblano culture is an integral part of the cultural mosaic that is New York City.

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