New York Botanical Garden’s Eric Sanderson brings decades of research to Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery in pop-up ‘Before New York’ exhibit, exploring the natural history of Brooklyn. Photo: Ella Spungen/Brooklyn Eagle
Happy heat wave in New York City, where temperatures are expected to breach 90° every day till Saturday, and may reach as high as 105°.
Luckily, we at the Daily Brief have just the solution: a trio of wet stories to help cool you down.
1) July 4th is right around the corner, which means preparation is ramping up for the largest maritime gathering in the history of America. Massive ships from all over the country and the world — including at least 40 tall ships, 32 warships and an aircraft carrier (as well as 200 military aircraft and 20,000 sailors) — are sailing into New York Harbor this week to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th.
The celebration will culminate with a massive harbor parade in the Hudson, with the tall ships passing the Statue of Liberty before continuing up the river to the George Washington Bridge.
2) Just days before it was scheduled to open, the long-bedeviled Redhook public pool announced that the facility would remain closed through most of July due to a flooded filter plant. The pool was also shut down last summer until mid-August due to equipment failure, prompting city officials to promise a more proactive maintenance plan before the next pool season.
This latest abrupt closure leaves the residents of Redhook, 35% of which live below the poverty line, without a place to cool off during the extreme heat this week. “Whether that’s our parks, our public transit to protected bike lanes … Red Hook is always getting shafted in terms of the resources available to most New Yorkers,” Kathy Park Price, a spokesperson for New Yorkers for Parks, told Streetblog NYC.
3) Everyone knows New York City has the best tap water in the world. As Mayor Eric Adams once put it, we boast the “champagne of municipal water.” But does that claim hold up to professional scrutiny? Gothamist brought in a water sommelier to sample tap water from a collection of cities. Spoiler alert: NYC was the only one to earn a 10/10 rating.
Who needs an AC when you’ve got the news? Stay cool everyone!
NYC will experience a heat wave this weekend with temperatures feeling as high as 112 degrees.
The city has released details and a map of restricted zones and viewing zones in Brooklyn Heights for the Macy’s July 4th fireworks event.
During July, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden will host a series of live music events on their grounds.
Ceremonial cannon firings will take place over the next few days at the U.S. Army Garrison in Fort Hamilton in honor of the International Naval Review 250.
The Our Lady Of Mount Carmel Feast, a beloved annual Italian neighborhood tradition, begins on July 8.
A major mixed-use complex received approval for its rezoning application from the Department of City Planning.
The federal court trial for Luigi Mangione has been moved to January 2027, in the latest postponement as court personnel try to coordinate parallel trials.
Six men, including two former professional basketball players, were indicted in Brooklyn federal court over an alleged scheme to manipulate sports betting outcomes.
A corpse was found at P.S./I.S. 113 Anthony J. Pranzo in Glendale on Tuesday.
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Our World In Photos
Photo: Firdia Lisnawati/AP
BALI — Balinese Hindu ceremony marks the beginning of the Tenganan calendar year, spanning across June and July, celebrating the birth of their ancestors: Women in traditional dress gather during a Balinese Hindu ritual called Usaba Kasa, a ceremony held to express gratitude to God for a bountiful harvest and the safety of their village, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
Looking at history from the hyperlocal ‘hoods’ where it happened: Historian Ron Schweiger retells Battle of Brooklyn
The Wyckoff–Bennett Homestead on Sunday, June 28, celebrating 250 years of freedom. Photo: Loretta Chin/Brooklyn Eagle
To celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary, Flatlands resident and Brooklyn Borough Historian Emeritus Ron Schweiger, 81, put together a program titled “The Battle of Brooklyn, Prior to, During and After the Revolutionary War,” which took place at the Flatlands Library, 2065 Flatbush Ave., on Friday, June 26.
“We did lose the Battle of Brooklyn, but we ended up winning the war. If we didn’t win the war, I’d be speaking to you right now in a British accent,” Schweiger quipped.
The Battle of Brooklyn took place on Aug. 27, 1776. It was the first and largest battle of the American Revolutionary War following the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
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Happy Birthday rapper and producer Missy Elliott!
On this day in 1901, the Eagle reported, “The indications are that all July weather records will be smashed today. The mercury has been bounding upward at a fearful rate since daylight and unless an unexpected breeze springs up during the late afternoon it is probable that the record of 99 degrees on July 3, 1898 will go to smash. The record for July 1 in the last thirty years was outdone at noon today. With five hours to spare, the thermometer may show the mercury at near the 100 mark before the evening shades come to relieve a suffering humanity …”
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