The Brooklyn Ink

A Walk Down Coney Island Avenue

by Yaffi Spodek For many New Yorkers, the words “Coney Island” conjure up images of a wind-swept boardwalk with the Cyclone roller coaster in the background. But the famed amusement park is just one attraction [...]

Video – Lighting Up Midwood for Lag Ba’Omer

After a period of silence and solemnity following Passover, the streets of Brooklyn were lit up by massive bonfires and humming with song on Saturday night, as Jewish residents celebrated Lag Ba'Omer.

A Rare Ruling in Criminal Court

A judge declares a mistrial at Brooklyn Criminal Court, leaving lawyers left deciding whether to start again in the case of a shooting in a bodega.

Brooklyn Residents Fear Loss of Housing Vouchers

By Yaffi Spodek Olga Ovanesyan, 53, is a Russian immigrant and single mom from Brooklyn. As a student studying to be a physician’s assistant, she has no job or income and lives mostly off disability [...]

The Ritual Burning

By Yaffi Spodek The strong smell of smoke permeated the air. In the center of a large gated yard, several men stood around a metal trash can. A short, red-haired fellow wearing a black cap [...]

A Match Made in Midwood

With phones literally ringing off the hook, BlackBerry abuzz, it’s a typically hectic day for Levy, a matchmaker, or shadchan, in the Orthodox Jewish community in Midwood.

Video – Parking Around Me

A startup company is using text messages to alert Park Slope residents of available parking spots.

Free Parking Spots, a Text Away

If you’re a driver in Park Slope, you’ve probably spent about 27 minutes per day looking for a parking spot. Yaffi Spodek on ParkingAroundMe, a free service that allows drivers to give or get a vacant [...]

Free Parking Spots, a Text Away

Park Slope drivers can spend 27 minutes per day looking for parking spots, but those hours of endless circling could shrink, thanks to ParkingAroundMe.

Scary Anti-Semite Now Behind Bars

Prosecutors announced today that Ivalyo Ivanov (not to be confused with the Bulgarian soccer player) pled guilty to drawing swatstikas on several Brooklyn Heights synagogues, as well as hoarding a chache of guns and explosives in his [...]