Celestin was in line for the second day of the MTA's Memorabilia & Collectible Pop-Up Shop. The annual event provides a rare opportunity for transit obsessives like himself to buy decommissioned pieces of the city's transit system, such as station signs and the iconic orange and yellow train seats.

Celestin came to the pop-up set on buying a sign from the 66 St-Lincoln Center 1 train station near where he grew up on Manhattan's Upper West Side. While those signs ended up being too pricey for Celestin, he said he was able to nab a more affordable one from another familiar stop: the 59 St-Columbus Circle 1, A, B, C, and D station.

"I grew up taking the subway, I love taking the subway, and being able to have a piece of it, it's a nice opportunity," Celestin told amNewYork, while holding the sign he purchased, which once pointed straphangers to the station's 58th Street exit and the uptown A, B, C, and D platform.

"I couldn't get the Lincoln Center sign; that's where I grew up. And those signs were way way way too much [money]," he continued. "But Columbus Circle is a stop that I also use frequently...This is actually a sign that would be in an exit near where I would usually get off in the Time Warner Center. So, finding something of sentimental value also really strikes a chord."

Celestin was just one of roughly 4,000 New Yorkers who line up each year outside the nondescript yard where the MTA holds the event to purchase a piece of New York City transit history.

While Celestin decided to secure a spot in the queue two hours before the pop-up opened its doors at 9:15 a.m. on Oct. 9, other transit buffs who attended it on Thursday began lining up as early as 10 p.m. the night before.

The long lines are partially due to the event's limited nature. It is open once a year, over two days, for just a few hours each; it only allows patrons to buy items in person. No one may reserve times in advance.

But Paul Dvoskin, the director of asset recovery and supply management at the MTA’s Department of Procurement, who runs the event, said the reason for its popularity is even simpler.

"There's nothing more New York than the subway system; that's just what it is" Dvoskin said. 

However, Dvoskin said that even though the MTA has been selling surplus inventory for 30 years, the pop-up format is still relatively new.

"Five years ago an idea was born to hold a garage sale of sorts and to let people just come in and purchase these items in person," Dvoskin said. "It just ended up being significantly more popular than we ever thought it would be. And then the idea was born. And since then, every year we've been holding this event."

The MTA sells an average of 2,200 items at the event each year, based on the last two years, according to the agency.

Dvoskin said the inventory comes from pieces of the transit system that MTA crews gather and store in shipping containers on the site throughout the year. Those include signage that has been replaced, parts of out-of-service train cars — such as seats and poles, MetroCards, and much more.

This year, Dvoskin said, MetroCard signs, the orange and yellow seats from decommissioned R46 subway cars, and the logos from those trains have been among the most popular items.

When it comes to the seats, Dvoskin said people find all sorts of uses for them.

"Some people just put them in their living rooms, or in their kitchens," he said. "There's also bar owners and pizzeria owners who want to create that transit ... Lots of different stories, lots of different ideas. You know, man caves, basements, stuff like that."

But a set of three used subway seats at the event goes for $1,000, while sets of two new seats cost $900 and two used seats cost $650. Most items cost somewhere in the hundreds of dollars, though some, such as MetroCards, maps, and poles, cost less than $100.

Another transit aficionado, Ted Sands, said that while he would like to attend the event next year, he may not because of the prices.

"It's expensive, that's the only part that's intense," Sands said. He was able to find a station sign for Pacific Street, near where he used to live.

Dvoskin said there are a number of factors that go into how the MTA determines the prices.

"With the station signs, a lot depends on the size of the signs, the material it's made of, the lettering," he said. "And obviously the geographical location or historical significance of the sign."

Among the event's many attendees was Spike Lee, the director of classic films like"Do the Right Thing" and "Malcolm X" and a noted New York Knicks superfan. True to form, Lee bought a sign from the 34 Street Penn Station subway — the stop for Madison Square Garden, where the 2025-26 NBA Champion Knicks play.

When asked by amNewYork why he came out to the pop-up shop, Lee simply said: "I'm a collector."

Michelle Pillepich said she was drawn to the event by seeing a subway sign hanging in her friend's apartment.

"I don't even know if she got it here," Pillepich said. "I don't know if it was stolen or what, but I've always thought it was so cool."

Similar to other shoppers, Pillepich came in with an idea of what she wanted to buy.

"I used to live on the Upper East Side, and I always took the Q train," she said. "So anything Q would be cool. But I'm kind of just looking for whatever looks fun and iconic New York."

• Explore Ascarium at the New York Aquarium
• Enjoy Halloween fun at Luna Park and Prospect Park Zoo
• Check out the Panamanian Parade and Indigenous Peoples’ Day
• See a kid-friendly musical at Brooklyn Bowl
• Join the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music’s grand opening parade
• Go canoeing on the Gowanus Canal or explore Brooklyn Bridge Park
• Take advantage of free skating days at Pier 2

Family-Friendly Things to Do This Weekend in Brooklyn

New York Aquarium Ascarium

31st Annual Panamanian Parade

Halloween Harvest

Spooktober

The Rock And Roll Playhouse Presents: Uncle Jeb’s Farm

Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Brooklyn Conservatory of Music: Grand Opening Parade

Free Canoeing on the Gowanus Canal

Pier 2 Roller Skating Free Admission Days

Open Hours at Environmental Education Center

According to law enforcement sources, the attack occurred in front of an apartment building at 993 President St. in Crown Heights just before 10 a.m. on Oct. 9. 

Based on a preliminary investigation, police learned that five unidentified male suspects confronted the teenager at the location and engaged him in a verbal dispute.

When the victim attempted to flee the scene, cops said, the quintet of perpetrators went on the attack. One of the suspects pulled out a knife and stabbed the teenager in the back. A second suspect then wielded a bat and struck the victim about the legs and knees multiple times.

Police said the victim managed to run away from the suspects and sought sanctuary at Prospect Heights High School Campus, a block away on Classon Avenue. School Safety Agents came to the teenager's aid, sources with knowledge of the incident said, and contacted cops.

The five suspects, meanwhile, were last seen fleeing on foot westbound along President Street.

Officers from the 71st Precinct responded to the school. EMS brought the victim to Maimonides Medical Center for treatment; he was listed in stable condition.

So far, no arrests have been made in the ongoing investigation, police said.

Anyone with information regarding the assault can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.

Mullin also confirmed that federal agents wore body cameras and that the cameras were on during Thursday’s operation. However, DHS has not released the footage, even as New York elected officials have called for it to be made public. 

Federal officials offered their fullest account during a press conference Friday of what they said prompted the shooting of 28-year-old Oscar Bergal, claiming he ignored orders to exit his vehicle, struck two ICE vehicles and then accelerated toward officers.

But portions of the federal account of what happened afterward are contradicted by NYPD body-camera footage and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s account of the shooting. 

DHS defends shooting

DHS official Marcos Charles said ICE officers had attempted to box in Bergal’s vehicle as part of an operation to arrest him.

Charles claimed the agents gave Bergal lawful orders to get out of the vehicle but that he refused. He further claimed that Bergal allegedly "weaponized his vehicle" — an assertion that ICE and DHS officials have previously used in explaining other uses of force, such as the deadly shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis.

“He then accelerated his vehicle, smashing into two of our government ICE vehicles, and then weaponized his vehicle and proceeded to accelerate, going towards other officers,” Charles said.

He claimed that the agents believed their lives, the lives of other officers and members of the public, were in danger — prompting them to open fire.

Mullin later repeated that account, saying federal agents had anticipated that Bergal might attempt to flee because DHS claims he had evaded an earlier arrest attempt in September.

NYPD bodycam, Tisch statements appear to debunk fed claims about ICE shooting

The federal account goes beyond what the NYPD was able to establish from its surveillance cameras Thursday night.

Commissioner Tisch said footage obtained by the NYPD showed Bergal backing a gray Honda CR-V into a parking space near a fire hydrant. A plainclothes federal officer then approached the driver’s side window with his gun drawn while a second officer moved toward the driver’s-side headlight.

The vehicle began moving forward and went out of camera view, Tisch said. The NYPD cameras did not capture what happened next or the shooting itself.

Based on evidence recovered at the scene, however, investigators determined that at least one ICE agent fired seven rounds, striking Bergal in the neck just below his left ear, Tisch said. Police recovered at least seven shell casings, while the SUV had ballistic damage to its front windshield and a shattered rear window.

Mullin would not say Friday how many federal officers fired their weapons, saying the investigation remained ongoing and was being led by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations.

The DHS also claimed Bergal was the target of an HSI investigation and alleged that he had gang ties and direct or indirect knowledge related to a previous shooting of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer.

Those allegations have not been independently verified.

Agents 'did not know' child was inside

Asked about the 5-year-old boy who was inside Bergal’s SUV during the shooting, Mullin acknowledged that federal agents did not know he was there.

Yet Mullin blamed Bergal for putting the child in danger, repeating the DHS claim that the driver accelerated and struck federal vehicles before moving toward agents.

Tisch said Thursday night that the child, believed to be Bergal’s son, was unharmed and later placed in the care of a family member.

Mullin also confirmed Friday that the federal agents involved had body-worn cameras running.

“Yes, there was body cameras, and they were on,” he said when asked whether footage existed.

Mullin said information would be released as the investigation progressed, though he did not explicitly promise that the complete body-camera footage would be made public.

Gov. Kathy Hochul had called Thursday night for any federal body-camera footage to be released “so we can establish the facts and get to the truth.”

NYPD footage shows aftermath

NYPD body-camera footage released Friday morning shows the first city officers arriving on the scene after the shooting to find Bergal already handcuffed on the ground as a federal agent appears to apply pressure to the gunshot wound on his neck.

Residents can be heard shouting at and taunting the federal agents over the shooting as NYPD officers move toward the wounded man.

At one point, an armed federal agent asks an NYPD officer “how far out” an ambulance is. The officer responds that it has already arrived.

But moments later, NYPD officers lift Bergal from the ground, carry him to a police SUV and place him in the back seat before driving him to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital themselves.

“Put pressure, put pressure,” the officer wearing the body camera tells a colleague as the NYPD vehicle begins pulling away. The officers reached the hospital just over a minute after leaving the scene.

This is the body-worn camera footage from the first NYPD officers on scene in Marble Hill last night. They responded to a 911 call for a male shot and transported the individual who was shot to the hospital to get medical care. https://t.co/aHGXF6UzeH

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) October 9, 2026

The NYPD footage contradicts part of the account DHS gave Friday.

Charles had said federal officers “arrested him, rendered first aid, and then took him to the hospital.”

While the NYPD footage supports the claim that a federal agent rendered aid to Bergal after the shooting, it shows that NYPD officers, not federal agents, transported him to the hospital, corroborating Tisch’s account from Thursday night.

Tisch said the responding NYPD officers placed Bergal in a police vehicle, provided medical assistance and brought him to Allen Hospital in stable condition.

“I want to be clear: the NYPD had no involvement in the federal operation prior to the shooting, and no members of the NYPD were on scene at the time of the shooting,” Tisch said Thursday.

Bergal moved out of New York

DHS said Friday that Bergal was later transferred to a detention facility outside New York.

Mullin said he had been placed in a “more secured facility” because of what the secretary described as Bergal’s history of fleeing law enforcement.

“He's not even in the state of New York anymore,” Mullin said. Asked where Bergal was being held, Mullin refused to say.

The revelation comes after Mamdani said Thursday night that federal agents removed Bergal from Allen Hospital in an unmarked vehicle following unsuccessful negotiations with Trump and Mullin over his release.

“For the past two hours, I have been on the phone with President Trump and Secretary Mullen, negotiating the release of the man ICE agents shot,” Mamdani said Thursday. “Those negotiations were unsuccessful. Just moments ago, ICE put the man in an unmarked vehicle and whisked him away.”

Mamdani ally comes for Tisch 

The shooting prompted protests in Marble Hill and later outside Allen Hospital, where demonstrators clashed with police as Belgal was being treated before being taken away by federal agents. 

Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 13th Congressional District, who was on the front lines of Thursday night's protest, called Friday for Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to resign and for the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group to be disbanded over the department’s handling of the protests.

Avila Chevalier, an ally of Mayor Mamdani, said an NYPD officer shoved her to the ground as she attempted to de-escalate tensions and that she witnessed unmarked law-enforcement vehicles striking protesters. She accused the NYPD of escalating the confrontation and criticized Tisch for discussing Bergal’s criminal history during her briefing on the shooting.

“The NYPD’s Strategic Response Group must be disbanded as quickly as possible, and Commissioner Tisch must step down,” Avila Chevalier said.

Mamdani, who retained Tisch after his election, has so far stood by his commissioner as violent crime has hit historic lows across the five boroughs. 

But, hours before the shooting, Mamdani had been asked Thursday morning for an update on his campaign pledge to disband the SRG. He said he remained “just as committed” to eliminating the unit and separating the police response to protests from counterterrorism operations, but did not provide a timeline.

Mamdani said the issue was “a priority, has been a priority, and we will have more to share soon.”

This story has been updated to reflect that court records identify the man as Oscar Bergal. He was previously identified as Oscar Belgal.

BKCM leadership and staff, elected officials, including Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, state Sens. Jabari Brisport and Andrew Gounardes, Assembly Members Jo Anne Simon, Latrice Walker and Bobby Carroll, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Council Members Rita Joseph and Mercedes Narcisse, and arts leaders, including Alexis Roderick Joel of The Joel Foundation, celebrated the once-in-a-generation project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Joel Foundation Concert Hall on Oct. 9.

Located at One Prospect Park West near Grand Army Plaza, the 12,500-square-foot campus includes 13 soundproofed, acoustically designed music studios, a 1,400-square-foot performance hall and a community space. The entire facility is ADA-accessible and sensory-friendly, doubling BKCM’s capacity to serve clients, students and musicians.

The $17.8 million facility was made possible through funding from the Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund, city, state and federal partners, and dozens of private donors.

The new space is also the official home of BKCM’s Music Therapy Institute, which received a $2 million grant from The Joel Foundation, founded by Alexis and Billy Joel. The institute will allow BKCM to expand its music therapy program, the largest in New York City, which serves more than 3,000 clients at more than 50 sites across the five boroughs. It will also serve as a hub for workforce training, research and advocacy, advancing the field of clinical creative arts therapies nationwide.

While the campus was completed in just under a year, from groundbreaking to opening, BKCM Executive Director Chad Cooper said the project had been about eight years in the making. During that time, Cooper noted, both BKCM’s music therapy program and community music school had more than doubled in size.

“When we started on this project eight years ago, we didn't fully appreciate how much that would matter, as more of our lives moved onto screens, and loneliness and isolation grew, and the world around us became more polarized," Cooper said. "So everything we do here, from music education to music therapy to supporting the livelihoods of emerging and professional musicians, has taken on greater urgency during these past eight years."

Toby Williams, BKCM’s music therapy director, explained that music therapists are credentialed health professionals and multi-instrumentalists trained to assess clients’ circumstances, state of being, culture and individual differences to build therapeutic and musical alliances.

Williams noted that the newly established Music Therapy Institute provides “true accessibility” for everyone, moving beyond inclusion toward belonging.

“The Music Therapy Institute will build upon the culturally responsive community music therapy model we have established," Williams said. "Our state-of-the-art virtual learning system will help us reach therapists, students, and partners beyond these walls, positively impacting the need for diversity in our field, which is a great need. This is what the Music Therapy Institute is: expanded clinical practice, workforce training, advocacy, and strengthening in the field through research and education."

Alexis Roderick Joel told Brooklyn Paper that The Joel Foundation, launched in 2012, initially focused on music education before shifting its focus to music therapy.

“We were working with Toby, and we actually encouraged this vision that they expand and create a space solely dedicated to music therapy and become the leader in this space,” Roderick Joel explained.

“Our organization started as music education, and I saw what was happening with funding in music education, so I pivoted to the importance of music in mental health, which then segued to music therapy. So I knew, in order to be able to start to get funding and appeal in an environment where they're cutting the arts, I wanted to focus in that space to be able to raise awareness.”

The ceremony also featured a performance by Amaako Buachie, who sang Billy Joel’s 1985 classic “You’re Only Human (Second Wind).” The 34-year-old Brooklynite, who has autism, joined BKCM’s music therapy program in 2018, where he developed his voice and grew as a musician. Since then, he has shared his artistry and love of music with the wider community, including at Council Member Narcisse’s inauguration in 2022.

Borough President Reynoso shared a personal story with the crowd about his 5-year-old son, who is autistic and nonverbal. Although his son does not speak, Reynoso said, he communicates, recalling how the family discovered that he was using music as a form of expression.

“It was like music for us. We like music. We figured it out. Let's just throw a lot of music at this kid because it seems to be the way he wants to express himself,” the Brooklyn beep said.

“I didn't know about music therapy, but then I came to BKCM day last year, and I said, ‘This is it. This is what [my son] needs.’ I don't know anything about music. You can't put me anywhere near music, but I needed experts to be able to help us. And now my kid is going to get that at five years old because of your work. So keep up the good work. You found not only a partner in the Brooklyn Borough President, but in the father, Antonio Reynoso.”

State Sen. Gounardes shared that his mother was a music teacher at a public school and recalled how devastated she was when New York City slashed arts and music programs in the 1990s. He said she was especially upset not for herself, but for her students, who were deprived of opportunities to learn and experience the arts.

Gounardes noted that the arts and music offer young people a meaningful alternative to social media and technologies such as artificial intelligence.

“Sometimes I get the question, ‘Well, you take these phones away from kids. What are you giving them?’ You give them music," Gounardes said. "You give them culture. You give them exposure to the arts. You let the music pierce their soul. In a broken world, what better salve than an investment like this? In a time when we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, and we're scrambling about to try to make sense of everything, music helps us make sense of everything."

The AI-powered cameras record details about passing vehicles, including their location, date and time; make and model; and unique features such as dents, roof racks and bumper stickers. The system then automatically converts the information into digital data stored in an ALPR database, which can be accessed by law enforcement agencies, local and state police, and authorized contractors.

Major ALPR vendors include Leonardo, Motorola/Vigilant Solutions and Flock Safety.

One vendor, Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based surveillance technology company, has expanded rapidly over the past decade. Flock cameras across the country capture 20 billion scans a month of vehicles passing by its roadside cameras, regardless of whether the drivers are accused of crimes. According to its own data, Flock maintains more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states, and 5,000 law enforcement agencies “rely on its technology,” including local law enforcement agencies in New York State. However, privacy and civil liberties advocates estimate that the actual number is higher.

While the New York Police Department says it does not have a contract with Flock Safety, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a Brooklyn-based civil rights nonprofit that fights discriminatory surveillance, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF, a national civil rights nonprofit, found that NYPD officers conducted 1,710 searches between March 2023 and December 2025. The records were obtained by S.T.O.P. from “Have I Been Flocked,” a national database that allows drivers to check whether law enforcement has searched their license plates.

“We had initially collaborated to determine that police in New York State were searching Flock on behalf of ICE, and while we were sorting through the data available on “Have I Been Flocked” to get the details of that, we discovered that the NYPD was also doing searches on Flock,” S.T.O.P. Project Research Director Eleni Manis told Brooklyn Paper.

The records contain little information about why NYPD officers conducted the searches. Nearly 1,000 entries were blank or contained vague, boilerplate explanations such as “investigation,” “inquiry” or “wanted person.” Other entries listed only a license plate number, gibberish such as “234234” or “dd,” or a general description of a criminal offense, such as “grand larceny,” “homicide” or “burglary.”

While the records do not indicate that every search was improper, they provide little information to determine whether the technology was used appropriately.

“There's so little information in the NYPD searches that it's impossible to tell whether officers were using license plate readers for an appropriate reason, like tracking down a stolen car, or whether they were doing an inappropriate or even abusive search of the system,” Manis said.

Andrew Case, supervising attorney at LatinoJustice PRLDEF, said the sparse records make it impossible to determine what officers searched for or why, and provide little evidence of meaningful supervisory review.

“What this means is, there's no way to tell what the officer did or why the officer did it. There's no supervisor looking at it and auditing it and trying to figure out why the officer did what they did. There's very little record to determine whether there's any accountable action here, and that's simply not the way things normally happen in law enforcement agencies," Case explained. "Usually, you have good records and good tracking so you can evaluate things. So it's not really appropriate for someone to say, ‘Well, there's no evidence of wrongdoing here because there's no evidence of anything.’ There's just a knowledge that people were searching license plates and no real sense of why."

Against that backdrop, S.T.O.P. filed a public information request on Sept. 17, demanding that the NYPD disclose the extent of its previously unacknowledged relationship with Flock. The request seeks search and audit logs, including the dates and times of searches, user identities, license plates searched, case or incident numbers, stated reasons and search results.

It also seeks contracts and agreements with Flock, Leonardo and Motorola/Vigilant Solutions; training materials; and the names, ranks, shield numbers and commands of authorized officers. The request further asks for records showing which agencies and networks share ALPR data with the NYPD, including all current contracts or similar agreements between the department, municipalities or other applicable public entities and ALPR vendors or entities that maintain databases. The request specifically names Flock Group Inc. (doing business as Flock Safety), Leonardo ELSAG and Motorola/Vigilant Solutions.

According to Case, the NYPD told S.T.O.P. it would respond to the request by Feb. 5, 2027.

“Which is a really long time," he said. "But that's kind of normal for FOIL requests with the NYPD."

An NYPD spokesperson said the department maintains that it does not, nor has it ever, shared data from its license plate readers with any third-party vendor, including Flock. The NYPD also said it does not have a contract with Flock.

However, the spokesperson noted that in 2023, a Flock representative offered “a handful” of NYPD officers trial access to its database, which they used to search for possible hit-and-runs, stolen cars and other incidents in other jurisdictions. The spokesperson said it is not unusual for law enforcement agencies to test new technologies and their potential benefits, but clarified that the department did not share any data with Flock. Although officers could search Flock's data, the company did not have access to department data, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also reiterated that the NYPD does not share data collected through its own license plate reader (LPR) infrastructure with “certain” federal agencies. The system's sole function, the spokesperson said, is to help NYPD personnel locate stolen or wanted vehicles, as well as vehicles connected to AMBER alerts, Silver alerts, missing persons, abductions or other crimes.

The rep said the department's LPR infrastructure played a vital role in investigating and arresting people accused of violent crimes, citing the apprehension of Leoncio Galvez in July 2026. Galvez is accused of raping his then-10-year-old daughter 10 years ago. He was apprehended after investigators used LPR data, according to the spokesperson.

LPRs also helped authorities track down the vehicles of three individuals who climbed out of a sewer on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan while the United Nations General Assembly was in session, leading to the arrest of two individuals, the spokesperson said.

“The technology, when used appropriately, which this department strives to do, keeps people safe,” the NYPD spokesperson said.

For advocates, the concerns extend beyond Flock to the broader surveillance industry, where switching vendors does not necessarily guarantee stronger privacy protections or greater accountability.

“We see municipalities that are dropping their Flock contracts and picking up, say, Vigilant or Axon, but their practices using Axon or Vigilant may or may not be any different or any better from their practices with Flock,” Manis explained.

Silent Writing Happy Hour (SWHH), a cherished weekly tradition among both writers and readers alike, has returned to the Williamsburg watering hole for its "senior year."

Hosted every Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., SWHH is introducing new programming for its fourth year, including senior seminars on the first Tuesday of every month. 

The night begins as usual, with writing starting at 5:15 p.m. sharp after guests listen to the honorary host read a piece of work that has inspired them. Anything goes, from John Steinbeck novels to Boar’s Head Company reports. 

Next, everyone has approximately 30 to 45 minutes to write in complete silence. Once the timer goes off, the host — known as the “sacrificial lamb”— must read whatever they wrote, regardless of whether they consider the work “good” or “bad.” Afterwards, other attendees are invited to share their work.

There’s just one rule for SWHH: You can only read what you wrote in the room that night.

“There's something really sweet about the nature of writing something and then having to live with it as it was written right there in that room,” co-creator of SWHH Jamie Hook said. “Writing is putting words down on a page, and sometimes you get lucky.”

After the traditional SWHH concludes, the “special super long edition” will begin on the first Tuesday of every month. From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., guests have the opportunity to participate in a submission party–the only time they can polish their work and chat with other writers about where they could submit it.

SWHH also has a website where writers are encouraged to submit what they wrote during the event.

“There's all kinds of stuff there,” Hook said. “Some of it is evidence of people who really have tremendous skill, and I'm excited that we get to capture some of their early baby steps on our website.”

SWHH originally began in the fall of 2023, after Hook and some friends were writing in his apartment and discovered that it was a productive way to write within a group. From there, Hook drew on his friendship with Andy McDowell, the owner of Pete’s Candy Store, to bring the event to life.

“Writing is this completely solitary pursuit,” Hook said. “But I find that it's best practiced in a group, and so people show up, and it's become a real little community.” 

What began with a handful of writers has become a community that gives people something writing often lacks: an audience. Each week, writers arrive with nothing but a blank page and leave having created something they can share.

“There will be words at the end,” Hook said. “Maybe they'll be avant-garde, or maybe they'll be narrative, or maybe they'll be poetic, or maybe they'll suck, but at least I will have done it.”

Looking ahead, SWHH will be hosting a graduation ceremony in May or June 2027 as it wraps its senior year. For now, there are no determined plans for what will come next. 

“All ideas tend to run their course,” Hook said. “Part of me loves the idea of having something this regular persist, but part of me is completely open to the idea that this is our senior year. Let's graduate.”

SWHH is completely free. For more information, visit silentwritinghappyhour.org. 

What is Ops?

Owner Mike Fadem started thinking about opening Ops as early as 2014, and when it opened in 2016, he intended it to be a neighborhood bar that would highlight his love for natural wine. 

Natural wine is wine that has not been artificially processed in any manner. The grapes are farmed with little to no chemicals, there are no additives, excessive filtration, or commercial yeasts, and the product stays as close to its raw state as possible. 

For Ops’s wine selection, Fadem went through an extensive process to curate it. His extensive travels have led him to winemakers in niche towns like the commune of Couffy in France, where Christophe Foucher produces the Rossignoux2, a second release of Sauvignon Blanc carried by Ops and one of Fadem’s favorites. Alicia Serres, a Catalan winemaker from El Pinell de Brai, has known Fadem for a couple of years and also has one of her natural wines carried in Ops.

Along with wine, they have high-quality salads and the neighborhood staple: their oven-fired pizza.

“I knew there had to be a food element because of wine, usually you need food,” he said “And I wanted it to be something really personal to me, which pizza and bread in general is always my favorite foods. I grew up, and my dad was always obsessed with seeking out the best pizzerias, and we traveled all over, eating, discussing, and critiquing. I felt like I had a specific thing to offer in the world of pizza.”

Celebration in Bushwick

When asked about why the block party initiative, rather than a private celebration, Fadem’s response reflected clearly the message he also wishes his establishment to propagate.

“Me particularly, I just, I love hosting and just bringing as many people as possible together all the time.
I just love having big groups of people together," said Fadem.

During this party, he achieved Ops' vision: the entire establishment became one big group of people, getting to know each other over a shared interest in wine and pizza. Not only did neighbors show up, but friends from Spain, France, Copenhagen, Texas, and more also came to celebrate Fadem—now a reference in the world of natural wine. 

Close friend Allen Yelent from Goldburger, a Los Angeles-based smash burger restaurant, calls Fadem “an inspiration,” and came from the West Coast to grill at the celebration—the burgers were a hit, and his touch made the party feel like a Sunday grill between close friends and neighbors. French bistro Mijoté also brought its specialties and took over the grill in the evening. 

For wine, in addition to Ops’ extensive collection, Ops offered a rotating selection from Ordinaire in Oakland, Calif., Psychic Wines in LA, Montezuma Café in Paris, and Pompette in Copenhagen.

Ops’ Relationship With The Neighborhood 

The block was packed. Pizzas were coming out of the oven non-stop. Friend groups were posted up in the outdoor seating, worldwide wine producers reunited, and even kids showed up. 

Dad David Nolen, a resident in the neighborhood, brought his 8-year-old and reflected on Ops, “This place has been around for a while, but I think we have been coming here since he was three, so maybe five years ago,” and “It was a really nice outdoor spot; the pizza was great. But the thing is, it's right off the L train, so he goes to school in Williamsburg, and it was perfect; we would pick him up, get off the train, have dinner together here.”

What was clear during this celebration is that Ops has become more than just a wine bar in Brooklyn — it is somewhere locals can trust.

“We have so many regular customers, and we want them to be able to be like, we trust Ops; it's reliable; it's always there for us; we can go over there and have something quick. We can go over there and have a birthday party. We can go over there and get whatever we need out of it,” says Fadem. 

Ultimately, Ops reflects Fadem’s life: his love of natural wine, travel, and the friends he has met along the way. The establishment's light energy and his mission to prioritize quality over profit keep customers coming back.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at least one ICE agent fired seven rounds during the confrontation, striking the 28-year-old man in the neck just below his left ear. A 5-year-old boy, believed to be the man's son, was inside the vehicle at the time but was unharmed and is now in the care of a family member, she said.

Speaking at a late-night press conference near the scene of the shooting, Mamdani said federal agents had removed the wounded man from NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in an unmarked vehicle following his unsuccessful negotiations with Trump and Mullin.

"For the past two hours, I have been on the phone with President Trump and Secretary Mullin, negotiating the release of the man ICE agents shot," Mamdani said. "Those negotiations were unsuccessful. Just moments ago, ICE put the man in an unmarked vehicle and whisked him away."

It was not immediately clear where federal agents had taken the man after removing him from the hospital.

Mamdani said ICE agents surrounded the man’s vehicle wearing construction-style vests and masks that concealed their faces, making it nearly impossible to identify them as federal law enforcement officers.

The mayor called the shooting an "outrage," demanded an end to ICE enforcement operations in NYC and renewed his call to abolish the agency.

"Tonight, a five-year-old child sits traumatized and terrified. Tonight, millions of our neighbors are wondering whether they will be safe on our streets, in our schools, at their work sites," he said. 

"We will not normalize ICE's viciousness. We will not accept its cruelty," Mamdani said. "ICE undermines public safety. It makes us less safe."

Mamdani said he had also asked Trump and Mullin to have ICE agents leave the scene of the shooting.

"These actions are making the city less safe. They are making New Yorkers terrified," he said.

"This is an agency that must be abolished," Mamdani said.

Tisch: ICE agent fired seven rounds

Commissioner Tisch provided a preliminary account of the shooting, which occurred shortly after 4 p.m. near 2 Marble Hill Ave., where federal immigration agents were attempting to take a man into custody.

According to Tisch, NYPD surveillance footage showed the man backing a gray Honda CR-V into a parking space near a fire hydrant. One plainclothes federal officer approached the driver's side window with his gun drawn, while a second approached near the driver's-side headlight.

The vehicle then began moving forward and went out of camera view. Tisch said the cameras did not capture the shooting itself.

Based on evidence collected at the scene, investigators determined that at least one ICE agent fired seven rounds, striking the driver in the neck, Tisch said. Police recovered at least seven shell casings, and the man's vehicle had ballistic damage to its front windshield and a shattered rear window.

Tisch said the NYPD received two 911 calls reporting a shooting near 2 Marble Hill Ave. at 4:04 p.m., while a federal agent separately called 911 requesting the fire department before asking for police.

Officers from the NYPD's 50th Precinct Conditions Team were responding to an unrelated call nearby when they heard reports of shots fired and rushed to the scene.

There, they encountered several men wearing different types of clothing, including construction-style vests and face masks, with at least one carrying a long gun. The wounded man was handcuffed and seated on the ground, Tisch said.

NYPD officers placed him in a police vehicle, provided medical assistance and transported him to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, where he arrived in stable condition.

"I want to be clear: the NYPD had no involvement in the federal operation prior to the shooting, and no members of the NYPD were on scene at the time of the shooting," Tisch said.

Police identified the wounded man as 28-year-old Oscar Belgal. Tisch said he had two prior arrests in NYC, including a 2023 robbery arrest that resulted in a guilty plea to fourth-degree grand larceny and five years' probation. A 2025 criminal sale of a controlled substance case remains pending, she said.

Tisch said federal agents had taken control of the investigation.

DHS blames sanctuary policies

In a statement Thursday night, the Department of Homeland Security said ICE officers had been conducting a targeted operation to arrest a Dominican national with a prior grand larceny conviction and multiple previous arrests involving assault, robbery, drugs and weapons.

The agency also claimed that the man had associations with the Trinitarios gang, a claim that was not independently verified.

DHS said the man had been arrested by the NYPD in December 2023 but was released days later, claiming that New York's sanctuary policies allowed him to remain in the community. The statement did not explain how those policies affected his release.

The federal agency acknowledged that an ICE officer discharged his weapon and that the man was injured. It claimed officers immediately rendered aid and that the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations were involved in the investigation.

DHS, however, did not explain what prompted the officer to open fire or whether the man was armed.

Mamdani rejected the tactics used during the operation, questioning how residents could reasonably identify masked, plainclothes agents wearing construction vests as law enforcement officers.

"There is no explanation for federal officers firing this many rounds into a car that has a five-year-old in the car," he said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul also said Thursday night that she had spoken with Trump and Mullin, urging them to halt ICE enforcement operations in New York. She called for any body camera footage of the shooting to be released publicly.

"I expressed outrage on behalf of New Yorkers and urged them to halt ICE enforcement operations in New York," Hochul said. "I also asked that any body camera footage of the shooting be released to the public so we can establish the facts and get to the truth."

The shooting also sparked protests in Marble Hill, where residents confronted federal agents and NYPD officers Thursday evening.

Demonstrators later gathered outside NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, where the wounded man was being treated, and clashes broke out between some protesters and police.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was among those at the hospital, where he urged an NYPD official to help keep the peace.

U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who represents the area, said he attempted to visit the wounded man at the hospital but was denied access by federal agents.

Under the expanded program, eligible nonprofits receiving a cumulative $25,000 or less in City Council discretionary funding from participating city agencies will receive their full awards within 30 days after both the organization and agency sign a grant agreement.

The program, launched under former Mayor Eric Adams' administration last year, distributed $1 million to more than 100 nonprofits during its first year, cutting average payment times from more than a year to roughly three months, according to city officials.

The announcement, made at the Bushwick Starr Theater in Brooklyn, comes amid longstanding complaints about a city contracting system that requires nonprofits seeking relatively small grants to navigate much of the same paperwork as organizations receiving awards worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The expanded pilot eliminates nine steps from that process by treating eligible discretionary awards as grants rather than traditional contracts.

Menin said nonprofits have too often been left scrambling to cover operating expenses while waiting for money already allocated by the city.

"Too many not-for-profit organizations have not been receiving their funding on a reasonable timeline," Menin said at Thursday's announcement.

"This is funding they need to literally keep the lights on and get their employees paid, and it's funding they were promised," she added.

The program will cover additional city agencies and providers with expiring multiyear discretionary contracts. Participating agencies include the departments of Aging, Health and Mental Hygiene, Social Services, Veterans Services, Youth and Community Development, Housing Preservation and Development, and Small Business Services.

City officials expect to identify and notify eligible organizations in the coming days, with grant agreements scheduled to be issued in November. Payments are expected to begin in late 2026 or early 2027.

A longstanding payment problem

The city's problems paying nonprofits are a long-running saga. 

As amNewYork reported in June, a report by former City Comptroller Brad Lander found that New York City owed nonprofit service providers more than $1 billion, while advocates described the difficulties smaller organizations face navigating paperwork and waiting for payments.

Some providers said they had been expected to begin work before their contracts were formally registered, leaving them to cover payroll and other expenses while waiting for city funding.

The Mamdani administration also faced scrutiny earlier this year over reports that it was considering delaying implementation of a 2025 law requiring larger upfront payments to certain nonprofits because of cash flow concerns. City Hall announced in June that those payments would proceed as planned.

But Thursday's expansion won't resolve the city's larger contracting backlog.

Asked about nonprofits still awaiting payments on contracts dating back to fiscal years 2024 and 2025, Mamdani said his administration had submitted approximately 96% of fiscal year 2027 human services contracts for comptroller registration by Sept. 1, allowing providers to begin receiving advance payments.

That figure, however, relates to newer contracts and does not indicate how much of the older backlog has been cleared.

"When it comes to this work, it has to continue. It has to scale up," Mamdani said. "Anything that works to expedite these payments, we will do."

Mamdani said discretionary contracts account for nearly 70% of the city's human services contract backlog, contributing to payment delays for providers.

Council Member Lincoln Restler, who chairs the Council's Committee on Contracts, said processing a $5,000 contract requires roughly the same administrative effort as one worth $500,000.

By removing smaller awards from the traditional contracting system, he said, agencies could devote more staff time to larger agreements.

"We're actually freeing up capacity at our human services agencies to be able to process bigger contracts," Restler said Thursday.

That could help speed up contracts for homeless shelters, cultural organizations and other service providers that rely on city funding, he said.

Less paperwork for neighborhood nonprofits

At the Bushwick Starr, a performing arts center serving residents of Bushwick and Ridgewood, discretionary funding helps support theater programming for older adults and young people.

The organization's co-founder and artistic director, Noel Allain, said receiving money upfront allows staff to secure teaching artists and organize programs without first having to cover expenses while waiting for city funding.

"I cannot emphasize enough how knowing about and receiving funding early helps a small nonprofit like ours plan ahead to secure our teaching artists, communicate with our partners, and plan enriching curriculum," Allain said.

Council Member Sandy Nurse, whose district includes the theater, recalled facing similar frustrations while running a youth employment program before taking office.

Nurse said she spent hours completing paperwork, navigating the city's online system and chasing down officials to secure a relatively small discretionary award rather than concentrating on the teenagers her organization served.

At one point, she said, she even suggested to her board that the organization turn down the city funding and look for other donors.

"It was a nightmare," Nurse said.

Her board ultimately decided to continue pursuing the funding, but Nurse said the experience showed how burdensome the process could be for small organizations.

"These nonprofits shouldn't have to feel like they're coming out of battle to get support from the city," she said.