Author: Michael Keller (Michael Keller)

There are ghosts in Midwood and to understand the neighborhood it is essential to know them. You can hear their names still spoken in reverent tones, as if the men they referred to were still alive. Or, you can find their faces in picture frames on fireplaces, in modest Orthodox homes off of Ocean Parkway. In the beginning I only knew of their names. But I wanted to know more.

By Becky Bratu and Lillian Rizzo To understand Brooklyn, you have to know its history, its neighborhoods, its people. And its Bedford Avenue. The southern end of Brooklyn’s longest thoroughfare begins at a Sheepshead Bay pier and ends at Greenpoint’s 35-acre McCarren Park, which was once a public pool, then concert venue and now, once...

Over the past two weeks we have been running stories aimed at the question, “Who is Brooklyn?” Today is the last day of the Bedford Avenue Project and although some features, such as the interactive map, will continue growing, we offer two final pieces written by the editors of the The Brooklyn Ink, Mike Hoyt...

THE WHO IS BROOKLYN? MAP The Brooklyn Ink is collecting data on as many people in BK as possible to answer the question “Who is Brooklyn?” We’re making an interactive map that you can view as it develops. We are asking residents “How long have you lived here?” and “How long do you plan to...

By Idil Abshir, Yolanne Almanzar, Joseph Deaux, Mariya Karimjee, and Abigail Ronck Reporters for The Brooklyn Ink speak to residents of Bedford Avenue who explain why its longest avenue matters. . Brooklyn Native Jose Ortiz talks about moving back to the borough and the new neighborhood he found around Bedford. . Shannon Shaughnessy: Bedford Avenue,...

The staff of the Ink stitched together an interactive slideshow that takes you from McCarren Park in Greenpoint to Sheepshead Bay. Along the way we’ve put together eight audio slideshows of businesses or places along the avenue. Click on the embedded video icons to play them.

Bedford Avenue is the longest street in Brooklyn. It runs a little over 10 miles from Greenpoint to Sheepshead Bay. The staff of The Brooklyn Ink is starting the Bedford Avenue Project to examine the stories of this diverse borough and to ultimately answer the question “Who is Brooklyn?” Check out the Ink‘s Becky Bratu...

Ink reporters spend a good deal of time traversing the borough, looking for stories fit to print. We sample a good many breakfasts, lunches and dinners and have, along the way, come upon our favorites. Here, then, are our picks for the borough’s best – if not always best known – food options. Every palette...

The Brooklyn Ink staff chronicled the borough on Monday, November 30 as it woke up from the holiday and went back to work, school and life. Click to check out the reports across Brooklyn neighborhoods.

by Alex Gecan Even at 10:00 A.M. on a Monday, customers at Red Hook’s Chelsea Garden Center clamored for Christmas trees. The nursery, at 444 Van Brundt Street, offers live trees for the holiday season. “We get lots of first-timers,” said Manager Rose DiCostanzo. She said that she sold three families their first Christmas tree...