Going dark: the young New Yorkers building a future without smartphones
The Summer of Ludd is the latest in a growing movement in New York City and across the country, as the first generation to grow up on social media is pushing back against an industry that they say has commodified their attention for profit. The media spokesperson for the event was a puppet, named Gowanus, manned by a rotating cast of organizers, allowing the loose team behind Summer of Ludd to remain anonymous. Photo: Ella Spungen/Brooklyn Eagle
Happy payday in New York City, where the talk of the town is who’s getting raises, and who’s resorting to the picket line.
Yesterday, the New York City Council voted overwhelmingly (42-6) to award themselves an 18.2% pay raise — their first raise since 2016. The change comes after an independent 3-person panel convened by Mayor Mamdani recommended the council adjust their salary to account for rising costs of living.
City council members will see their annual base pay jump to $175,500 from $148,500. The salary for the City Council Speaker will increase to $194,400 and the mayor’s salary to $305,800. Mamdani and Council Speaker Julie Menin both announced they are refusing their pay increases.
Council members aren’t the only ones getting a boost. The council also voted unanimously yesterday to award public school “paraprofessionals” — including teacher’s aides, assistant teachers and special education workers — a $10,000 bonus. “This is a mandate because we heard the numbers: $32,000 starting salary, in the most expensive city in the world,” Councilmember Carmen de la Rosa, the bill’s sponsor, said at a press conference. “The way we can quell some of the issues of poverty is by putting money directly into people’s pockets.”
Not everyone is happy with the decision. Mamdani, who supported the bill as a candidate, now argues the one-time payment system violates the city’s labor laws.
“I have been clear that questions of compensation are best resolved through the collective bargaining process that respects workers and their unions,” the mayor said in a statement. “However, the Council’s passage of this legislation is in direct violation of the Taylor Law.”
Elected officials and school paraprofessionals may be getting paid, but the city’s public defenders are having to go about it the old fashioned way. Approximately 500 workers representing low-income defendants at Brooklyn Defender Services and Queens Defenders went on strike yesterday after failing to come to an agreement with their union on higher wages and better benefits. The walkout could prove highly disruptive for thousands of low-income New Yorkers and strain the court system in Brooklyn and Queens.
“While we always hope that our courts and those they serve experience no disruptions, our entire judicial system remains committed to ensuring full operations should any arise,” a spokesperson for the state Office of Court Administration told The City Reporter.
A coalition of reform Democrats known as “Brooklyn Can’t Wait” claims they have enough votes to control the Brooklyn Democratic Party come September, and has chosen Sunset Park district leader Julio Peña to be the party’s next chair.
After expedited repairs, the Red Hook pool is set to open Saturday.
Head to Hoyt Open Street on Saturday, July 25, for live music and a bite or a drink.
Mayor Mamdani released the city’s “Rental Rip-off Report,” a package of 23 policy changes shaped by testimony from 2,400 residents.
Of 15 NYC restaurants now under consideration for either a “Bib Gourmand” or a star ranking by the prestigious Michelin Guide, three are located in Brooklyn.
A man was sitting inside his vehicle at an auto repair facility in Canarsie when two men allegedly stole it at gunpoint and drove off.
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Our World In Photos
Photo: Martin Mejia/AP
LIMA — Don’t worry about separation of church and state — we may have problems with superstition and sports: Peruvian shamans perform a good luck ritual with a doll representing Argentina's Lionel Messi outside the National Stadium in Lima, Peru, Friday, July 17, 2026.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
Metropolitan Museum of Art shows work of retired Brooklyn teacher
Monique Stanton with her art called Tapestry on display at Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition’s latest exhibition. Photo: John Quaglione
Retired teacher and Bay Ridge native Monique Stanton made the move from the classroom to the art studio, emerging as a wood artist.
Before transitioning to artist, she taught art at P.S. 102 in Bay Ridge for over 30 years. She taught kindergarten through fifth grade. She was also an adjunct teacher at St. John’s University.
“I’ve always been involved in the arts, and since I retired, I decided to put my energies towards creating art of my own. I’ve been really loving it,” she said.
Stanton officially retired in 2019 but continued to work part-time as an F-status art teacher until 2024. She currently volunteers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and participated in a staff art show.
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The Mini
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For the Road
Happy Birthday “Baywatch” star David Hasselhoff!
On this day in 1934, the Eagle reported, “CINCINNATI (AP) — Humidity is nature’s greatest aid to man in his efforts to prevent and control forest fires, a recent survey shows, and lack of humidity outranks scanty rainfall and high winds as the greatest enemy of the firefighter.
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