The Brooklyn Ink

Three Brooklyn Congressional Representatives to Lose Clout

By Miranda Neubauer Brooklyn’s clout in the new U.S. Congress will be greatly diminished come January. Despite easy victories in November, the borough’s three most powerful congressional representatives will be removed from leadership posts in [...]

Unusual Trial Concludes in Brooklyn Supreme Court

“The defendant does not have the burden of proof, it’s the burden of the people to prove that a crime was committed and that I was the one who did it.” So began the defense’s closing arguments in an unusual trial that concluded Monday in Brooklyn Supreme Court. The central figure in the trial, Ned Morrow, was in a dual role: defendant, charged with robbing a McDonald’s in Park Slope and defense attorney representing himself. Presiding Judge Joel Goldberg, in an interview, said self-representation in such a criminal case is “very, very rare” and said it was the first time he was handling such a case in 23 years on the bench. “Usually I manage to talk them out of it,” he said, noting that in most cases “attorneys don’t even represent themselves”. Before allowing self-representation to proceed, Goldberg explained that the court had to ensure that the defendant understood the risks of such a choice. Defendant Morrow was exercising his sixth Amendment right to represent himself, called a “pro se” defense in legal parlance. While he sometimes struggled to reconcile his duties as his own attorney with his personal interest in winning an acquittal, Morrow displayed a good grounding in courtroom conventions that ensured that his performance was far from amateur hour. As for the outcome? Read on.

Positive Reception for Film Shoots Parking Proposal

By Miranda Neubauer Colorful “No Parking” notices posted on street signs in advance of film shoots throughout the city often prompt the dread and frustration that many New Yorkers associate with inaccessible or unavailable parking [...]

NY Senate Still Tied As GOP Wins US House

By Alex Alper and Miranda Neubauer As the U.S. House went Republican on Election Day, most of New York appeared to remain solidly Democratic. Democrat Andrew Cuomo comfortably defeated Republican Carl Paladino for governor. Democrat [...]

Tense Debate Over Greenpoint Homeless Shelter

By Miranda Neubauer Residents at a recent community board hearing regarding a new homeless shelter in Greenpoint expressed predictable concerns that the addition would add to crime and drug problems among the homeless in the [...]

Passion and Beauty, Even at a Sewage Plant

By Miranda Neubauer The leaves that make autumn such a pleasant sight for many New Yorkers have the exact opposite effect for Jim Pynn. “It’s a horror,” he says. The reason:  He’s the plant superintendent [...]