If sentencing proceeds as scheduled, Trump’s lawyers argued, he will be appealing the verdict while in office.

The post Trump’s lawyers ask judge to halt Friday’s hush money case sentencing while they appeal to block it appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

BROOKLYN CONGRESSMEMBER NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS HAS REMAINED RESOLUTE in fighting the toll plan known as congestion pricing.

The post Malliotakis keeps up fight to halt congestion pricing appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

PRAISING THE START OF CONGESTION PRICING, NYC COMPTROLLER BRAD LANDER is determined to win over those New Yorkers who are “doubters.”

The post Comptroller Lander to MTA on congestion pricing: ‘Make it work.” appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

An unidentified arsonist has allegedly set three fires outside a Bed-Stuy condo building in the past month, according to police. 

The man kindled his first fire just outside 100 Ralph Ave. just before 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2024, per the NYPD, and fled the scene on foot. A week and a half later, on Dec. 18, he returned to the scene at 1 a.m. and lit another small blaze, again fleeing the scene.

He was seen most recently at 1:24 a.m. on New Year’s Day, again setting a small fire outside the building before running away. 

No injuries were reported in any of the incidents, but residents are rattled, according to News12 Brooklyn, and at least one has been staying temporarily elsewhere. 

Police are still searching for the suspect, and have asked the public for assistance — he is described as a man roughly 25 to 30 years old, with a dark complexion, standing at about 5’10” and weighing 190 pounds. He was last seen wearing a grey jacket, a grey hoodie, grey sweatpants, and gray and white shoes. 

Brooklynites with information about the incidents or the suspect are asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 or submit tips online or on X @NYPDTips. 

Overall crime in the 81st Precinct, where the incidents were reported, was down in 2024 compared to the year before, according to the latest NYPD statistics.

THE VERRAZZANO NARROWS BRIDGE, which connects Brooklyn and Staten Island over New York Harbor (midway between the Upper Bay and Lower Bay).

The post MTA: Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge will receive structural improvements from congestion pricing revenue appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

BROOKLYN SUBWAY STATIONS ON the A/C and J/Z lines stand to get improvements from revenue generated from the congestion pricing plan.

The post MTA: Two subway lines serving Brooklyn set to get upgrades appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

A rare affordable housing lottery has opened for the sale of 46 one- and two-bedroom co-op apartments in four new Bed-Stuy buildings, giving households of one to five people with incomes between $83,126 and $218,010 a year the chance to become first-time homeowners.

The lottery for the four-building development, dubbed Belle Gardens Cooperatives, is specifically designed for households who do not currently own a home, and who earn between 90 and 130% of the Area Median Income, according to the listing on NYC Housing Connect.

The cheapest apartment in the lottery is a one-bedroom unit priced at $205,827, and it is for households of one to three people earning between $83,126 and $125,820, or 90% of AMI. At the other end of the scale, the most expensive unit is a two-bedroom priced at $446,031 that is aimed at households of two to five people earning between $134,837 and $218,010 a year, or 130% of AMI.

The four buildings being offered through the lottery are all co-ops and are located at 331 and 335 Ralph Avenue, 20 Suydam Place, and 37 Rochester Avenue. The lottery doesn’t specify which units on offer are at which address.

To be eligible, homeowners must live in the apartment as their primary residence and no one in the household can own or have previously purchased any interest in a residential property, NYC Housing Connect says. Buyers must have 10% of the purchase price available for the down payment and must also meet an asset limit cap.

For the cheapest apartment, that limit is $292,357, and for the most expensive, it is $316,378. Monthly maintenance costs run between $675 and $1,080, according to the listing. Owners will be responsible for electricity.

The listing says the buildings have in-unit washer-dryers and landscaped rear yards, and 335 Ralph Avenue has a seventh-floor terrace. The buildings are all smoke-free.

The four buildings have been developed by BJF Development LLC, which won a Request for Proposals through the city’s Open Door Program to build affordable housing on city-owned vacant lots, city records show. The city transferred the long-vacant sites to the developer in 2021 for $8, with the proviso it builds affordable housing that offers homeownership opportunities.

The offering plans show James Riso, a principal at Briarwood, is a member of the LLC, along with Forysth Street Affordable Housing Senior Vice President Olga Jobe, and John Heaney III.

The city’s Open Door Program issues Capital funds to Housing Development Fund Corporations for the construction of new co-ops and condos for moderate to middle-income earners. The HDFCs can include for-profit developers, corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts, and joint ventures. According to the Housing Connect listing, the buildings will also get the city’s Article XI Tax Exemption.

Permits show David Cunningham Architecture PL is the architect behind 37 Rochester Avenue, 20 Suydam Place, and 331 Ralph Avenue, while Fulcrum Architecture DPC worked on 335 Ralph Avenue.

Renderings show 335 Ralph is a tall and slim seven-story grey brick building with evenly spaced windows and a multi-story glass bay running up the lefthand side. Permits say the building has 13 units.

The building at 331 Ralph Avenue, which is separated from 335 Ralph Avenue by a driveway, is five stories with 10 units, according to the permits, and renderings show it has a yellow and brown brick facade with light yellow brick detailing around the windows. The building has large glass windows and a setback at the fifth floor giving the top story apartments an outdoor terrace. An interior rendering shows the units have light wood floors and white cabinetry.

Renderings show 37 Rochester Avenue similar white and light wood finishes, and the building itself, which is four-stories and has eight units, has an orange brick facade on the ground floor and light beige facade on the upper three stories. Inset windows create texture on the front facade, as does a glass panel on the right hand side that runs from the second to top floors.

The four-story development at 20 Suydam Place has the most units of all the buildings with 15. Renderings show it also has a beige brick facade and light green framed windows, and it has the appearance of two buildings joined by a decorated glass panel that covers an interior stairwell. Interior renderings again show white and light wood finishes. All four of the new building permits were signed off by the Department of Buildings in 2024.

The Belle Gardens Cooperatives lottery closes on Jan. 8. To apply, visit the listing on New York City’s Housing Connect website.

This story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site Brownstoner.