Brooklyn

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a heads-up that his uncle loves to debate politics at the dinner table.  Thanks to situations like this one, home, whether yours or someone else’s, isn’t always the move for the holidays. Or maybe you don’t celebrate Christmas at all. Which means it’s…

There are, according to Tony Muia, several misconceptions about Dyker Heights and the extravagant Christmas decorations that appear along its blocks every year. For one, residents are under no obligation to festoon their homes and lawns with lights and animatronic characters—a tradition that dates to 1986, when Lucy Spata arrived in the neighborhood and saw…

The holidays are here.  In the next couple of weeks, people will spend more time with their families and friends, gathering for dinners, games, and, of course, to unwrap gifts. Around Brooklyn, a slew of community centers, churches, and other organizations will host toy drives to make sure as many kids as possible have a…

It’s the time of year when you shop for gifts for everyone on your list. And, in the spirit of giving, why not use this occasion as a reminder to be intentional with where you spend? To get you inspired, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite small businesses with brick-and-mortar stores in Brooklyn to…

Whether you like it or not, dancing in the “clerb” is in style again. Gone are the days of treating the dance floor like a forgotten middle child, nervously babysitting your phone in a corner, or standing with your back up against the wall. Not today.   Instead, it’s time to lose yourself to the music….

A new apartment building in a family-friendly neighborhood in Brooklyn that’s geared toward DINKs—that is, couples who are dual-income, no kids—will accept lease applications this week, according to the New York Post. The building, located at 655 Union St. in Park Slope, is designed to lure childless 20- and 30-somethings to the area with fancy…

We’re approaching subfreezing temperatures,  and you might have noticed flurries this morning, which means December is here in earnest.  On Friday, brave the cold for tree lightings in Sunset Park and Carroll Park, featuring music and family-appropriate fun. If you’re trying to stay indoors, you can immerse yourself in the art installation “Mercedes, Part 1,” an…

If there’s one thing that’s certain in this lifetime? It’s that Jay-Z loves Brooklyn. And for what it’s worth, Brooklyn loves Jay-Z right back. (Just last year, the biggest library in the borough dedicated basically what could be considered a shrine to the rapper, culminating in an exhibit that got thousands of people to sign…

While New York may always be known as the city that never sleeps, it’s sleepier than it was prior to 2020, and nightlife in the city has shifted substantially.The impossibly fast-paced city is seeing an influx of wine bars, reportedly for the vibes. Drinking wine is undoubtedly a different experience than shots and beers. It…

Thanksgiving is here, and Brooklyn’s going all in on the holiday season. Beginning Friday, you can experience the 2024 Dyker Heights Christmas light displays. For more holiday cheer, head to Dumbo for ice skating at Roebling Rink and seasonal markets. Or shop local at the Makers Show Holiday Market at City Point on Saturday, with…

One of the most hotly debated Thanksgiving side dishes is about to have its moment—the mac and cheese. Online, there’s plenty of conversation about what makes the perfect mac and cheese. Is it better baked? Should you use multiple cheeses? Do eggs truly belong in the recipe?  Wherever you stand on the matter, there’s a…

Life is all about celebrating moments with a little “something sweet.” Made it through a hard day? Obviously it’s time to grab a slice of key lime pie to make it all better. Had a great day? Clearly you have to stop and get apple cider donuts at your local Trader Joe’s to keep the…

It might not be Thanksgiving yet, but based on the events happening across the borough this weekend, Brooklyn is ready for the holiday season.   Celebrate New York Bartender Week with creative cocktails made by Brooklyn bartenders, or buy a tree early from one of four Greg’s Trees Brooklyn locations. Indie music heads can catch LCD…

With the busiest travel season nearly upon us, it’s no surprise that many Brooklynites are choosing to stay put and enjoy a quieter borough for the long holiday weekend. While many may have already preordered the bird and fastidiously compiled a menu of side dishes that accounted for the prep involved with each, others are…

Thanksgiving is just about here, and across Brooklyn, organizations are stepping up to provide people with a warm meal to celebrate the holiday.  Before the day, and even on it, groups are giving out turkeys and meals. Below is a list of distribution sites around the borough. We’ll update this post as we hear about…

A Brooklyn priest who gave pop singer Sabrina Carpenter the green light to film part of the video for her single “Feather” in the church has been further relieved of his responsibilities following an investigation, according to the Associated Press.  Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, the now-former leader of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Annunciation Parish…

Anyone from a Caribbean nation (or territory) knows that Brooklyn is considered one of the major outposts of our diaspora. The section of Brooklyn known as “Little Caribbean”—an area that includes parts of Flatbush, East Flatbush, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens—is, according to its website, “home to the largest and most diverse Caribbean-American-LatinX community outside of…

A slew of dark-haired New Yorkers in black leather jackets flooded Brooklyn’s Maria Hernandez Park on Sunday for the latest in a growing list of look-alike contest—this one focused on former One Direction member Zayn Malik. The celebration of chiseled jawlines and smoldering gazes drew One Direction fans and dozens of contestants, each armed with…

Paul Mescal, the rising Irish actor who starred in Hulu’s Normal People and the Oscar-nominated Aftersun, is about to make his American theater debut in Brooklyn, according to the New York Times. Mescal will reprise his role as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams’ classic play A Streetcar Named Desire in a Brooklyn Academy of Music production…

The cannabis legalization train keeps on chugging. After a whirlwind couple of years of delis and smoke shops flooding the streets with ganja, things have begun to settle down. Sure, you can still smell weed smoke wafting from most corners of the city, but those less-than-legal shops have largely been shut down, leaving a graveyard…

Lundy’s, the old-school seafood restaurant once located in Sheepshead Bay and known for serving up to 2,600 guests at any given time, is reopening in Brooklyn after shutting down nearly 20 years ago, according to Gothamist. Sandra Snyder, the wife of Red Hook Winery’s Mark Snyder, is behind the reopening. Snyder said the restaurant will…

A two-alarm brush fire broke out on Friday evening in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, with 60 FDNY firefighters and emergency medical workers rushing to the scene to extinguish the blaze. The FDNY was alerted to the fire around 6:40 p.m., the New York Post reports. The fire began in the center of the park, in the…

New school or old school, here’s where you can bask in those classic diner vibes and get a great meal.

After a stretch of warm weather, it’s finally cooling down in Brooklyn. And while the week didn’t go as many of us had hoped it would, there’s a lot going on in Brooklyn this weekend, and possibly something to take your mind off the past few days.   The 20th Annual New York Comedy Festival kicked…

Donald John Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday morning, marking a dramatic end to a polarizing presidential campaign and securing a second term in office.  “This was a movement like nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump said during his victory speech in West Palm Beach, Fla., as the crowd chanted…

After months of build-up, rallies, and Saturday Night Live appearances, Election Day is finally here. On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Americans will vote for the next president of the United States. Then they’ll go home—or to friends’ houses, or to bars—to anxiously track results after the polls close. Brooklynites are, of course, no exception. And there…

In less than 24 hours, millions will flood polling sites across the country to vote for the next president of the United States. In Brooklyn, thousands have already finalized their decision. But if you had to wait until Election Day to cast your ballot, BKMAG has you covered with everything you need to know about…

“We try to make sure that humanity is what we’re giving them.” That’s Derrick Hamilton, talking about the purpose of the organization he co-founded, Friends and Family of the Wrongfully Convicted. The group has a multi-tiered mission, aimed at supporting people who have been locked up despite being innocent. First, the organization provides legal support…

Election Day is less than a week away, and millions of people will vote for our next president. But if you can’t or don’t want to wait until then, you can join the thousands of New Yorkers who have already cast their ballots. Early voting began in New York this past weekend, and the city…

That Halloween events to check out in Brooklyn—for both weekends.

BSE Global is actively seeking minority- and women-owned businesses to supply goods and services for their teams and arena.

As a shopper these days, I’m very picky. My priorities when it comes to purchasing clothing has matured as I have since I was 17 for a number of reasons. At 17, I got my first job working at one of the biggest, most popular, and frankly ethically problematic clothing companies out there. I saw…

PHOTOGRAPHY Shan Wallace Representation is something that doesn’t really seem that important, until you don’t have it. Many young black kids grow up gifted at something, but it never occurs to them, or even their parents, what exactly those gifts are simply because they’ve never seen or heard of a person that looks like them…

Everyone celebrates April 20th in their own way. Joints, bongs, edibles: take your pick (or don’t at all, we won’t judge!). No matter your fancy, while weed is decriminalized in NYC, it’s still not always the most straightforward to get your hands on. In honor of the 4/20 holiday, we’re sharing a personal essay from…

PHOTOGRAPHY DP Jolly STYLIST Brandon Davis SUBJECT Darnell L. Moore AGE 42 OCCUPATION Editor-at-Large at CASSIUS, Writer NEIGHBORHOOD Bed-Stuy What do you say to someone who’s fly without fail, every time you see them? Whose off-days, when they’ve just “thrown something together,” makes you reconsider what an on-day looks like? And who always looks as if…

PHOTOGRAPHY DP JOLLY I’d been thumbing through my Facebook feed, last summer, when I first came across a video of comedian couple, Chicklet and Maleni. Chicklet, whose real name is Steven Negron, had been attempting to stunt on Instagram with a bottle of D’usse. That the bottle was actually filled with Iced Tea instead of the…

Age: 9 Pronouns: She/Her Neighborhood: Windsor Terrace Most Likely to: Surprise you Favorite Quote: “Girls just wanna have fun.” Lola Glass has a lot on her plate. She’s spray painted murals in Coney Island, at the Bushwick Collective, and at Art Basel in Miami. She’s also currently collaborating with Unfamous and Brooklyn Cloth to design…

Age: 29 Neighborhood: Crown Heights Most Likely to: Produce a Broadway musical by 2020. Favorite Quote: “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.” – Althea Gibson Everybody wants to be the boss. Or at least, most infatuate themselves with the idea of being a boss because of the association with power. But power…

Every year, our annual 30 under 30 lists highlight young Brooklynites who are marching fearlessly into the future, taking the borough with them―wherever they go. Following their lead, we asked ourselves what we could do better to ensure that these lists fairly reflects this borough’s population, and everything it has to offer. If not everything,…

PHOTOGRAPHY DP Jolly NAME Holly Elizabeth Rice OCCUPATION Writer and Plus-Size Youtuber AGE 25 NEIGHBORHOOD Bushwick When I pull up to Holly’s crib and she shows me her looks for the shoot, I notice—almost immediately—that, of the three outfits, only one includes a coat. Wanting to make sure that she was knew it was brick-ass-cold outside, and it was outside and not inside that…

Because of the internet, and social media, artists have been blessed with the unprecedented power to connect with their audience directly. That power comes with a responsibility. One many artists are learning to wield. One such artist is East Flatbush’s own, Adrian Daniel. Since Adrian’s first album, Disillusions, came out last year, his momentum in the industry,…

On the corner of Graham and McKibbin is Eastwick, a fusion restaurant, that combines Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes with New American cuisine. At first glance, Eastwick reminded me of lots of other restaurants that I’ve seen pop up since I moved to Brooklyn from Washington Heights five years ago. The large windows, distressed wooden…

On a recent weekday,  Jad Abumrad was tucked into a booth in his local diner in Brooklyn, sipping coffee, wearing headphones, and checking his phone. “I’m not listening to podcasts,” he said, looking up. “That feels like work.” That’s one of the only unfortunate side effects of being one of America’s most revolutionary audio hosts…