Happy Friday in New York City, where thousands of businesses, students, and workers are part of a national general strike today to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions that sparked widespread outrage, including the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota this month.
The National Shutdown campaign encourages participants to observe a day of “no work, no school and no shopping” today to put economic and political pressure on policymakers and bring attention to what they perceive as systemic abuses by federal immigration agents.
Protesters are expected to convene throughout the city today, with a large-scale demonstration planned for 4 p.m. at Foley Square. Activists are also calling on state lawmakers to pass the New York For All Act, which would block state resources from assisting ICE and prohibit state and local officials from participating in federal immigration enforcement.
Expect many local business closures today. “We believe we must disrupt ‘business as usual’ and local commerce in order to affect change and help bring attention to the violence and injustice brought on by ICE and our federal government,” Emily Shum, owner of the Williamsburg coffee shop Land to Sea, told Eater.
Organizers are also encouraging those who can’t strike because of work obligations to get involved by assisting strikers with child care, transportation and food. Extend the strike by abstaining from working out, doing chores or eating vegetables as well. Who said solidarity can’t be indulgent?
City Council Speaker Julie Menin created a bipartisan Antisemitism Task Force to address an unprecedented rising tide of antisemitism across New York City.
Missing Long Island teen Thomas Medlin, age 15, was last seen on the Manhattan Bridge minutes before security cameras caught a splash in the river. Police are working to bring closure to the case.
Federal prosecutors can’t seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a judge ruled Friday.
Williamsburg cemented its lead in Brooklyn’s retail market in 2025, accounting for nearly a quarter of boroughwide retail dollar volume, driven by sustained leasing on Bedford and Wythe avenues and North 6th and North 3rd streets.
A fire inside a Borough Park building left six civilians and one firefighter injured on Wednesday, Jan. 28.
The Danish Fastelavn celebration originally scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 7, was moved to Saturday, Feb. 28, due to prolonged winter weather.
The Brooklyn Chinese-American Association will hold its annual Chinese New Year parade on Sunday, Feb. 22, to celebrate the Year of the Horse.
Snow artist Fernanda Carvalho made snow paintings and snow sculptures in Bay Ridge.
Our World In Photos
Photo: Dita Alangkara/AP
MELBOURNE — Leap-frogging into that backhand: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain plays a backhand return to Alexander Zverev of Germany during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
Horseback riding … in Brooklyn!
Anthony Danza and New Testament in mid-flight. Photo courtesy of Jamaica Bay Riding Academy
While urban growth and automobiles reduced their numbers, several sites, such as Jamaica Bay Riding Academy, continue to offer urban riding and lessons today. Anthony Danza is the owner of Jamaica Bay Riding Academy, a family‑owned equestrian facility in operation since 1972. “There is nothing better than connecting with a horse and nature,” Danza told the Brooklyn Eagle.
The Mini
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Cartoon Sketchbook
By John Darkow
For the Road
Get lit: On Friday, MASARY Studios unveiled a new light art installation along the block-long storefront windows of the former Macy’s building on Fulton Street. “In Every Transition, A Pattern” will be on display through March 16. The artwork creates a kaleidoscope of colored lights on the windows and sidewalk, in a dynamic pattern driven by audio recordings from the nearby area. Music, conversation, traffic, pigeons, crosswalk signals, subway sounds and more were compiled in a sound score programmed to control the lighting. Learn more about the installation.
Happy Birthday to Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale!
On This Day in 1963, the Eagle wrote, “Telephone users would be able to call anywhere in the continental United States for a dollar or less under new interstate night telephone rates proposed yesterday.
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