Brooklyn
Viewfinder: Pop-Up Installations Depicting Crying Children in Cages Appear in New York City
Police take away a pop-up art installation depicting a small child curled up underneath a foil survival blanket in a chain-link cage.
Viewfinder: New Yorkers Hit the Beach for the Polar Bear Club's Annual Dive
Polar Bear Club swimmers make their annual icy plunge into the Atlantic Ocean on New Year's Day at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
In Brooklyn, a Roving Gym Is Building Muscle and Community
Pop Gym, a Brooklyn-based martial arts collective, is bringing self-defense to unexpected venues—and the vulnerable.
Viewfinder: Celebrating in the West Indian Day Parade in New York City
Costumed dancers participate in the annual West Indian Day Parade on September 3rd, 2018, in Brooklyn. The parade is one of the biggest celebrations of Caribbean culture in North America.
The Martyring of Mollie Tibbetts
The case of the 20-year-old's disappearance in rural Iowa was a tragedy. The discovery of her body became a political crusade against immigrants that her family and community never condoned.
Spike Lee's Gentrification Problem
Lee's role in gentrification is complicated, despite his vociferous criticism of the phenomenon, because in some ways he's responsible for the Brooklyn of today.
Viewfinder: Hasidic Rabbis at the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries
Hasidic Rabbis prepare to pose for a group photo on November 19th, 2017, during the annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries.
Tracing Gentrification via Vintage Lightbulbs
Edison-era lightbulbs, known more for their fashionability than sustainability, have become a symbol of gentrification in the hipster capital of the world, Brooklyn.
The Gowanus Canal's Beacon of Hope
New York University roboticists are betting that a tiny aquatic machine will inspire the community to care about Brooklyn's neglected Superfund site.
The Tiny Robotic Scientist Cleaning Up Brooklyn
An early look at a Pacific Standard story that's currently only available to subscribers.
How AirBnB Threatens Urban Creative Space
The end result of an AirBnB'd neighborhood is not a profitable artist collective; it's an international bedroom community of "post-tourist" upwardly mobile workers.
The Geography of Housing Affordability in Texas
Housing affordability is highly variant from city to city, neighborhood to neighborhood. Don't buy the hype about the Lone Star state.
The Monetary Cost of a Wrongful Conviction in New York
A Brooklyn man who spent more than a dozen years in prison for a crime he likely did not commit will receive $3 million from New York State. He may get even more from New York City.
Demographics: 1; Gentrification Hysteria: 0
Brooklyn is the land where myths become geographic fact, at least when it comes to the New York Post.
An Unpardonable Failure: A Flawed Prosecutor
Evidence of a convicted murderer’s possible innocence sat buried in a case file for more than two decades. Now, a prosecutor in Brooklyn will have to answer for the mistake.
Why Is Brooklyn Dying?
The borough has experienced a drop in average per capita income, but there's a good reason for that.
Ironic Demographics: Brooklyn Is Dying
What can we learn, if anything, from the drop in median household income in New York City's most populous borough?
Stop Blaming the Young: Hipster Demography and Gentrification
Stop blaming young people for rent hikes in Brooklyn.
New York City's Next Williamsburg: Fishtown
How development in the Big Apple is affecting places far outside of the city's metropolitan area. Welcome to the sixth borough?
Lena Dunham Wants Brooklyn to Be More Like Chattanooga
"If they struggle for too long, they're leaving New York for Seattle, Chicago, Austin, and in some cases, even Tampa. We can't have our generation's Patti Smith moving to Tampa."
New Yorkers, You Can Buy, Rent, or Not Even Ride a Bike
The New York Observer doesn't want you to rent—or ride—a bike.
Will Bike Sharing Programs Kill More People?
New York debuts its bike-sharing program later this month. Could increased ridership on the city's already-crowded streets result in a big jump in traffic accidents?