Exclusive: Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair discusses party’s future amid leadership fight
In the June Democratic Primary, the Brooklyn Can’t Wait coalition, a reform movement aligned with Democratic District Leader Julio Peña III, AD-51, won 22 of the 42 district leader seats on the Kings County Democratic Party Executive Committee. Under the existing rules, that number gave reformers a majority, putting them in the position to elect Peña as the next county party chair in September. However, Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who has served as chair since 2020, responded with a package of 10 bylaw changes that would substantially alter who gets to vote. The changes were announced at a closed-door meeting at the Thomas Jefferson Club on Aug. 25.
Happy Tuesday in New York City, where if there was any doubt that Zohran Mamdani has made it to the big leagues, it was put to bed on Sunday when the mayor earned the highest honor a public figure can receive, joining the pantheon of New York legends before him.
Hundreds of people gathered in Washington Square Park on Sunday to judge a Zohran Mamdani lookalike contest, in which nine well-dressed contestants with dark pushed-back hair and closely-cropped facial hair competed to take home a $100 prize and the ultimate distinction as the mayor’s doppelganger. The city has seen a string of these kinds of lookalike events over the past year, including Adam Sandler, Timothee Chalamet and Jalen Brunson.
One thing about lookalike contests, like posing for a caricature or looking in a funhouse mirror, is that it really clarifies your most recognizable features. I’ll leave it to you to determine what makes for a true Mamdani, but whatever it is was perfectly captured by Amadeo Fusca, who edged out the competition with a neat beard and a crinkly-eyed smile. Fusca also earned some brownie points with the crowd by wearing a Knicks jersey underneath his suit, a look sported often by the mayor during the Knicks Finals run.
Fusca has already been impersonating the mayor on social media since the Democratic primaries, amassing millions of views. “(I) just put on my regular garb and I took a shower and I kissed my wife and I said I’m going to the park to be with the people today and hopefully everybody has a good time,” Fusca told ABC news.
It’s always comforting to know that if this whole mayor thing doesn’t work out for Zohran, the city has some backup available.
The inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Atlantic sets sail from Brooklyn Bridge Marina on Tuesday, with six international teams embarking on a 3,200-nautical-mile race across the Atlantic to Lorient, France.
Residents within CB18 can visit 1097 Bergen Ave. on Wednesday, Sept. 2, for a Back to School giveaway.
Elected officials urge DOT to create a new traffic safety plan for the Third Avenue corridor.
Year-round outdoor dining on the city’s streets has become permanent through a bill that Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed into law Monday.
Interfaith 9/11 memorial service at Seth Low Park to mark 25th anniversary of terror attacks.
A lawsuit against Amazon accuses the online merchandise giant of secretly overcharging its advertising customers more than $20B.
The massive, all-night raves held at the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s dance warehouses have worn out their welcome with neighbors.
An 18-year-old boy is dead after a fire erupted inside his Crown Heights apartment at 7 p.m. Friday, and fire investigators are looking into whether it was caused by a lithium-ion battery explosion.
Police are searching for a man suspected of robbing six different mosques across New York City, including two in Brooklyn, over the last two years.
A woman was sexually assaulted in South Park Slope, and police are seeking the public’s help in locating the suspect.
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Our World In Photos
Photo: Andrii Marienko/AP
UKRAINE — Life goes on … wearing bow ties, children dutifully descend to educational shelters in a beleaguered country with the poor fortune to be a Russian neighbor: School children enter an underground school on their first day back, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
The US Open is getting longer as players already worry tennis tournaments are becoming too long
Serena Williams, of the United States, and Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, high-five during a mixed doubles match at the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in New York. Photo: Yuki Iwamura/AP
The U.S. Open was a week old by the time Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz opened their title defenses.
What once was a two-week quest for a Grand Slam championship now extends into a third week, and U.S. Tennis Association CEO Craig Tiley was asked how he hoped to continue that growth.
“Four weeks,” he said with a smile.
Some players might fear he is serious.
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The Mini
Cartoon Sketchbook
By Christopher Weyant
For the Road
Happy Birthday “Grace and Frankie” star Lily Tomlin!
On this day in 1892, the Eagle said, “The preliminary examination of Lizzie Borden ended yesterday so far as testimony was affected. The counsel will sum up today. Speeches of this sort seldom change conclusions, and there is less reason than usual just now for making them. Of course it will be remembered that this proceeding is not for the purpose of affirming the prisoner’s guilt or innocence. Its object is to determine whether there is sufficient reason for holding her for the more elaborate trial which is to come by and by.”
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