Ahead of the June 26 game, Jimmy Svendsen, Gjøa’s youth athletic director, told Brooklyn Paper that the club was founded by Norwegian immigrants in 1911, making it one of the oldest community soccer clubs in the country. Its youth soccer program, launched in 1918, offers camps, clinics and travel soccer. This year, about 400 young people are participating in clinics and another 400 in travel soccer, while the club’s adult Sunday soccer games are more recreational.

“We've been having youth programs since 1920, so that's something we've been doing in Brooklyn forever,” he said.

Svendsen said he was excited that both Norway and the United States had been playing well. While he would love to see the U.S. and Norway face each other in the July 19 final, he wasn't sure it would happen.

“I think Argentina looks good, and I believe Spain — though they're not looking great now — will pick it up," Svendsen predicted.

However, the avid soccer fan wasn't as confident about four-time World Cup champion Germany.

“They had a big loss yesterday. I thought they were gonna do a little better, but I wouldn't rule them out at this point,” Svendsen said. (Germany's World Cup run ended two days later with a stunning Round of 32 exit.)

Win or lose, he described the FIFA World Cup as the “ultimate” sporting event because it brings people together.

“I was at the Norway-Senegal game, and you have Senegalese fans and Norway fans all coming together and just being friendly and nice and calm. It's a nice thing to see in today's world,” Svendsen told Brooklyn Paper.

Karine Rød Haraldsson, USA director of the Norwegian Seafood Council, told Brooklyn Paper that the council is the official sponsor of the Norwegian men's national soccer team and its star striker, Erling Haaland.

The council teamed up with Norwegian cheese brand Jarlsberg to host a community soccer camp through TINE Football School in partnership with Gjøa Youth Soccer. TINE is a leading Norwegian food company owned by more than 7,000 dairy farmers across Norway.

Haraldsson said she loves the World Cup because people from around the world come together to celebrate the sport, which, she pointed out, also requires proper nutrition, including seafood, to perform at the highest level.

While she predicted Norway might lose to France, she was confident the team could advance through the knockout stage. Regardless of which teams reached the final, she hoped the players' diet included seafood.

“If they are eating a lot of seafood — they should do that — they'll get stronger,” Haraldsson recommended.

Svein-Egil Jørgensen, a special adviser for political affairs at TINE, said the World Cup is an important event. In addition to sponsoring the Norwegian Football Federation for more than 30 years, TINE has hosted football camps every summer for the past 28 years, serving more than 1.8 million Norwegian children.

Some current national team players attended TINE’s youth soccer camps. However, Jørgensen said the camps are not about developing elite athletes but about building community, having fun and teaching healthy eating habits.

“The idea is that we try to keep as many kids as possible as active as possible for as long as possible, and then some of them will become top athletes. But the general idea is that, of course, as a small country, we cannot lose anyone in small talent pool, but also it's a good thing for the public health," Jørgensen said. "So, if they get good values, they stay active, they made friends, these are all positive effects."

He said he was dreaming of seeing Norway reach the final.

“But if not, I guess it's going to be one of the regulars, like France or Portugal or Spain, you know, the big countries. But it's always fun to see in the World Cup, there's always some countries that surprise us,” he noted.

At halftime, France led Norway 3-1. TINE Football School youth coaches William and Julie, who spent a week in Brooklyn coaching Gjøa's youth soccer players, said they weren't surprised by Norway's performance.

“I’m not surprised, really, because it's the B team of Norway. We might get a tie, but I don't think we're gonna win,” William said, adding that if the coach brought in Haaland for the second half, the team could still win. “I still think that Norway is going to the final; I stand by that.”

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Gjøa youth soccer player Leo Bourbon watched the match with his father, France native Jean Bourbon, who was cheering for “Les Bleus” while Leo rooted for Norway.

Jean Bourbon's wife is Norwegian, and when they learned about Gjøa's youth soccer club, it was almost like a dream come true, he told Brooklyn Paper.

“[At the time], there was no French soccer club — now there is. But it wasn't just the Norwegian fact, it was the fact that the club is great at what they do, and the way they teach, and their approach to philosophy of soccer including everyone, and just letting the kids on the pitch basically decide how they play,” Jean Bourbon said, noting that the coaches use positive reinforcement instead of yelling at players.

According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the flag will be displayed from the city’s longest bridge throughout the Fourth of July weekend.

“I am especially proud that my team was able to get this over the finish line with our partners in government, ensuring that the flag would be flown in time for the Fourth of July and the 250th anniversary celebrations,” said State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, who represents the North Shore of Staten Island and parts of South Brooklyn.

The project has been in the works for more than a year. In April 2025, Scarcella-Spanton’s office released a statement detailing a push for the flag involving a Staten Island college student and several local elected officials.

That same month, Scarcella-Spanton, Council Member David Carr and Assembly Member Michael Tannousis sent a letter to the MTA requesting that the flag be flown ahead of the semiquincentennial.

“It is so meaningful to see this effort that has been years in the making get done. For the thousands of people who will pass over the bridge, the flag will serve as a reminder of our country’s commitment to liberty and justice as we celebrate such a momentous occasion,” Scarcella-Spanton said.

The push for the flag is, in part, a callback to the Bicentennial celebration in 1976, when a large American flag was flown from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the nation.

The bicentennial flag spanned 71,000 square feet, which was significantly larger than a full sized NFL football field. However the MTA has not publicly laid out official dimensions for this year’s display. 

“I think it would be fantastic to have the flag displayed as was done in 1976,” said Jack Torre, a trustee at the Bay Ridge Historical Society.

However, the flag display in 1976 was marred by controversy when wind pushed the flag against the bridge’s steelwork, tearing it apart on June 28, 1976.

Torre voiced concerns that some of the same issues that affected the 1976 display could arise again this year. 

“We don't want a repeat of 1976 when the flag lasted a very short time before being torn apart,” said Torre. 

“Flying the flag will be weather-dependent. We will monitor forecasts and current weather conditions closely and fly the flag only if sustained winds are below 25 miles per hour,” an official from the MTA said in a statement emailed to Brooklyn Paper. 

According to Torre, the choice to fly the flag over the Narrows also carries historical significance for the surrounding region.

“The Battle of Brooklyn was fought not far from where the bridge stands today. The historical significance of that battle and the location where the British came ashore is well-known,” Torre said.

The Battle of Brooklyn, also known as the Battle of Long Island, was one of the major early battles of the Revolutionary War. British and Hessian forces landed in southwest Brooklyn near Gravesend Bay in August 1776 before advancing inland against American forces.

“The British armada anchored in close proximity to where the bridge stands today,” Torre told Brooklyn Paper.

Torre said the bridge itself has become a cultural landmark for the surrounding communities in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

“The bridge has become a symbol of Bay Ridge. We are proud that it has recognized the accomplishment of Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 as the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America.” 

The church’s engineers submitted plans Sunday night and they are under review by the DOB, church pastor Reverend James Steward and head of Bushwick Historic Preservation Association Dina Alfano told said on Monday. The DOB said it will approve a hold for 24 hours but the church’s team must start work within that 24 hours, Alfano added.

As well, the church’s team had to confirm in writing on Monday that a contractor will by 7 or 8 a.m. Tuesday bring in equipment and Dumpsters, erect a decontamination shed, and protect neighboring buildings. Steward said the church’s engineers are working on DOB requirements such as a site plan for the Dumpsters, will be on site around 8 a.m., and they are hopeful the DOB will approve the church’s plan to save Fellowship Hall.

Church leadership has said they want to do anything possible to save the latter. They have also vowed to “rebuild.” It is up to the church to decide what to demolish and what to stabilize, the DOB said Friday. Late last week, brightly colored signs asking the public for donations to rebuild the church went up on the green construction fence.

The church has been working with an engineering firm highly experienced with New York City historic structures, local City Council person Sandy Nurse, and preservation organizations New York Landmarks Conservancy and Bushwick Historic Preservation Association to submit plans and documentation to demolish most or all of the sanctuary but to stabilize Fellowship Hall.

The fire-ravaged country-style Greek Revival white clapboard church with its iconic steeple at 855 Bushwick Avenue was completed in 1853. Fellowship Hall is a Greek Revival church addition at 867 Bushwick Avenue with a striking pediment and pilasters that was completed in 1881 as a Sunday school building. The church’s Wednesday engineer report said it is structurally stable.

This story first appeared in Brooklyn Paper's sister publication Brownstoner. 

The speaker shook hands with Mayor Zohran Mamdani on the $125.8 billion spending plan on Tuesday morning, and it is set to be passed by the council later today, June 30, the deadline date for the city budget.

The budget will make Fair Fares accessible to New Yorkers living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL) — up 50 percentage points from its current threshold of 150% of the FPL. That means individuals making up to $31,920-a-year and families of four making up to $66,000 annually will now qualify for the benefit, according to the speaker's office.

The expanded eligibility makes roughly 1.3 million New Yorkers able to access the half-priced fares, according to the speaker's office. The expansion is made possible by an additional $54 million for the coming fiscal year, on top of the $120.6 million in already locked-in funding for the program.

Menin, who made expanding the program one of her key demands this city budget cycle, said the $3 fare is just too high for many New Yorkers.

“This is the largest expansion of Fair Fares in council history," Menin said during a City Hall news conference following the budget handshake. "Specifically, that means for nearly 1.3 million working New Yorkers, we are making public transit more affordable. These are New Yorkers who rely on subway, buses, and paratransit to get to work in the morning. To make it to school on time. To access all kinds of opportunities."

The deal shows that Mamdani agreed to fund the expansion of Fair Fares, even though he has mostly spoken about his own campaign pledge to make city buses free instead.

During the news conference, Mamdani said the expansion is in-line with his broader vision for making buses free.

"We raised this fair fares eligibility to an historic amount," Mamdani said. "And we do that while delivering buses that are not only fast, but also free. And that is part of our medium-term vision, our long-term vision...We can believe and fight for these things all at the same time."

The agreed-upon expansion appears to be an amalgamation of various proposals for growing Fair Fares this budget cycle. Those pitches came from the council itself, a coalition of transit and anti-poverty advocates, and the fiscally conservative Citizens Budget Commission.

It slightly differs from what the council proposed in its April response to Mamdani's January preliminary budget plan. That proposal called for making Fair Fares free to those making up to 150% of the FPL, which would have covered everyone who was currently eligible at the time.

Jack Lobel, Menin's spokesperson, said the council ultimately chose this path because it reaches more people who are riding transit more often.

Advocates were pushing for an even larger increase — calling for both the council's original proposal and for half-fare trips to be available to those earning between 150% and 300% of the federal poverty level.

But Brian Fritsch — associate director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, one of the groups pushing for the expansion — said that although the deal was not everything advocates wanted, it is still a "really good step in the right direction."

"It's something we've been calling for years," Fritsch told amNewYork. "It's not everything, [but\ I think we want to deliver affordability to the people who need it. It won't include those that are working minimum wage full time, at very least at that level. But it'll still bring new benefits to a large number of New Yorkers who don't currently receive it, which is great."

Over two centuries since the founding fathers envisioned independence from the British and conceived the “land of the free,” indigenous New Yorkers still reckon with the near-erasure of their peoples’ stories, history, and culture from the public eye, and the lack of representation and recognition of indigenous groups in government.

“The big challenge is to continue our presence in a place that has effectively erased our presence,” Joe Baker, founding member and executive director of the Lenape Center and an enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, one of three federally recognized Lenape nations, told amNewYork.

Before it was called New York City, even before it was New Amsterdam, the land was Lenapehoking. The Lenape people lived along the coast of modern-day Pennsylvania through southern New York for a thousand years or more before settlers arrived. They called Manhattan “Manhatta,” commonly translated to “hilly island.”

First New Yorkers 'sale' of Manhattan cost natives more

The story most New Yorkers know of Dutch settlers purchasing Manhattan in 1626 for $24 in beads is largely a myth. The only remaining record is a 1626 letter from Pieter Schaghen, a representative for the Dutch West India Company who wrote that the island was acquired “for the value of 60 guilders.” 

Schaghen, who was not present for the “purchase,” names no Lenape seller and mentions no beads in the document. The Lenape treated land as shared, not owned, and likely did not view it as a permanent sale.

What followed was a violent removal. The colony’s Dutch director, Willem Kieft, made demands that led to massacres of Lenape communities in 1643. Disease and war reduced the population to only a fraction of its original 20,000 members by 1700. 

After the English seized the colony of New Amsterdam and transformed it into New York in 1664, the surviving Lenape were pushed off Manhattan Island. Many of their descendants now belong to federally recognized nations in Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada.

Baker said that progress for indigenous groups cannot be made unless their stories are actively preserved and shared. He noted the unhonored 1778 Treaty of Fort Pitt, which proposed a native-led state headed by the Delaware with a seat in Congress, as a piece of indigenous history that many schools do not teach. One of the treaty’s signatories was Captain White Eyes, whom Baker described as a fourth great-grandfather.

“As long as we’re dragging this myth, the story, this fabricated narrative of the beginnings of this country, I don’t think we can move forward in a good way,” Baker said.

Lenape descendants look to tell forgotten lessons

The Lenape Center is focused on addressing that issue today. With Teachers College, Columbia University, the center built a Lenape curriculum now being tested in city schools, which Baker said includes an introduction to the culture and language.

For most of the city’s history, the representation of Indigenous people was not seen on calendar days. This changed in 2021, when New York City Public Schools renamed “Columbus Day” as “Italian Heritage/Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” 

However, this change wasn’t universal. New York State and New York City still recognize Columbus Day as the official paid holiday, and a state bill introduced in 2017 that aims to replace the holiday did not pass. While Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the state’s first-ever proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2021, this was done in addition to Columbus Day, not a replacement of it.

In reaction to such changes, as well as Columbia and other institutions on Lenape land issuing land recognitions, Baker said that “we’re at the very beginning of change,” noting that most New Yorkers have only become aware of the Lenape in recent years.

Baker also said that the Lenape Center recently brought Delaware Tribe Chief Brad KillsCrow to meet former Mayor Eric Adams and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a monumental moment that marked decades of the people’s attempts to meet with New York City mayors and elected officials.

Representatives from the American Indian Community House (AICH), founded in 1969 to serve Native American people across the tri-state area, spoke similarly of what progress has been made and what is yet to come.

Drew Woodson, a member of the Te-Moak Band of Western Shoshone people of Nevada and the youth and education coordinator at AICH, said that recent actions are a “good first step,” but that he hopes to see the general public “actually making moves to see how Native and indigenous people can be better supported.”

Despite being historically overlooked, Native Americans are significant to New York City’s life and population. Data from the 2020 census counted 180,866 people throughout the city who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native alone or in combination with another race.

Patricia Tarrant, a member of the Mandan and Hidatsa tribes and executive director of AICH, pushed back against the idea that Native American New Yorkers are some kind of relic of the past. 

“People think that they’re just extinct, or like we’re like dinosaurs,” Tarrant said. 

When asked what people should think about as the 250th anniversary of the U.S. arrives, Baker did not describe a celebration, but instead “a moment for reflection.”

“We start with the truth,” Baker said, “and then by starting there we can enjoy a certain new freedom to move forward.”

The Quadrennial Advisory Commission, appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani in March, recommended raising pay for the mayor, City Council members, borough presidents, the comptroller, public advocate, Council speaker, and district attorneys from their 2016 salary levels, according to a report dated June 23. City & State first reported the recommendations on Monday.

The commission, in its final report, framed the proposed 18.2% increase as a cost-of-living adjustment rather than a traditional raise. The panel said the city last enacted a salary increase for elected officials in 2016, while inflation in the NYC area grew 31% between 2016 and 2025, with most of that increase occurring since 2021. The news comes as the city has yet to finalize a budget plan by the June 30 deadline, which aims to close a $5.6 billion deficit this year.

Any pay changes would still require City Council approval, and Speaker Julie Menin’s office said the Council expects to take up the issue soon.

“The Speaker has briefed Council Members on the commission’s recommendations and is currently determining next steps,” spokesperson Henry Robins said in a statement. “The Council expects to take up the issue with a vote later this summer.”

Under the recommendation, rank-and-file City Council members’ salaries would rise from $148,500 to $175,500. The mayor’s salary would increase from $258,750 to $305,800; the public advocate’s from $184,800 to $218,400; the comptroller’s from $209,050 to $247,100; the borough presidents’ from $179,200 to $211,800; and the Council speaker’s from $164,500 to $194,400.

Both Menin and Mamdani have previously said they would not take a pay increase.

District attorneys, whose salaries are tied to state Supreme Court justices and have already increased since 2016, would have their charter salary raised to $251,500. The report notes district attorneys’ salaries increased to $232,600 in 2024 and $237,300 in 2026.

The commission said it focused on economic changes since 2021 because most current officeholders began their first full terms in 2022 or later. The 18.2% figure, according to the report, reflects compounded NYC-area inflation from 2021 through 2025 and is intended to restore the purchasing power elected officials expected when they took office.

“As Deputy Speaker of the City Council, Nantasha Williams noted in her public testimony to this Commission in May 2026, increasing the salaries of the city’s elected officials is not a raise. It is a long-overdue cost-of-living adjustment,” the report states.

The report also argues that compensation levels affect who can afford to run for and remain in public office. The commission wrote that the city’s public matching funds system and ranked choice voting have made running for office more attractive to younger and more diverse candidates, including those with less accumulated wealth.

“Elected office should be fairly compensated and accessible to all qualified candidates, not only those with substantial wealth,” the commission wrote.

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication. 

More than they asked for 

The June 23 report lands after months of political maneuvering over elected officials’ pay.

The commission's recommendation is larger than the 16% raises some council members had pushed for last year through legislation before the effort drew skepticism from government watchdogs. 

That earlier proposal would have raised Council members’ salaries to $172,500, the mayor’s salary to $300,500, the public advocate’s salary to $215,000, borough presidents’ salaries to $208,000, the comptroller’s salary to $243,000 and the Council speaker’s salary to $191,000.

The commission’s recommendation now puts higher numbers before city hall, but through the independent salary-review process that watchdog groups had urged after criticizing the Council’s earlier attempt to move raises legislatively.

Citizens Union and Common Cause opposed the Council’s earlier plan not because of the proposed increases themselves, but because of the way lawmakers wanted to enact them. At a December hearing, Citizens Union Executive Director Grace Rauh warned that the Council making its own recommendation without independent input could undermine public trust.

Last year, the Council considered legislation to raise salaries without waiting for a new independent commission. 

Williams, a Queens Democrat who sponsored the bill, and Council Member Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn), a cosponsor, said at the time that action was needed because Council members had gone nearly a decade without a raise and because compensation should allow “the best and brightest,” not just the wealthiest, to pursue public service.

Williams later introduced a bill to formalize the quadrennial review timeline. The Council approved that measure on March 10, requiring the mayor to convene a commission in 2026, then between Jan. 1 and Jan. 15 of 2030, and every four years after that.

Mamdani appointed the three commission members later that month: Carl Weisbrod, a former city planning official and founding president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, as chair; Dr. Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, a former deputy mayor for health and human services; and Larian Angelo, a former first deputy director at the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget and former City Council finance director.

At the time, Mamdani said Weisbrod, Barrios-Paoli and Angelo would approach the work with “the seriousness and independence it demands.” 

The final report does include some testimony opposing the raises.

Queens Council Member Phil Wong urged the commission not to recommend any salary increase for Council members at this time, arguing that the city faced fiscal challenges and that residents were dealing with rising costs for rent, groceries, and other expenses.

Several other Council members urged the opposite, writing that salaries had been frozen for nearly a decade while the cost of living increased. They argued that compensation should not deter a diverse cross-section of New Yorkers from running for public office.

Citizens Union also testified in favor of increasing compensation to offset cost-of-living increases, according to the report, while Reinvent Albany supported appropriate pay tied to accountability reforms, including changes related to third-party travel payments and easier public access to elected officials’ financial disclosure forms.

The commission did not recommend directly adopting those accountability reforms, saying they should be evaluated by the city's Conflicts of Interest Board rather than the salary commission.

Beyond the immediate salary recommendation, the commission also proposed changes meant to prevent future long gaps between reviews. 

It recommended that the city convene the commission every four years, appoint a new commission in early 2028 to make recommendations taking effect with a newly elected Council in January 2030, and pass a law creating an automatic inflation-tied increase of 2% per year or the actual inflation rate, whichever is lower, if a commission is not convened on time.

The commission also recommended that if the City Council modifies the salary recommendations, it should explain its reasons in writing.

The absence of a deal one day before the June 30 budget deadline marked an escalation in what had become one of the final sticking points in Mamdani’s first budget negotiations with the Council. 

By Friday, Menin was publicly saying the budget was “stuck” on CityFHEPS. By Saturday, the Council’s Progressive Caucus was warning that members needed “to see movement to fund this critical program before the handshake.”

The fight has left Mamdani, who campaigned on expanding CityFHEPS and dropping the city’s legal challenge to the Council’s 2023 expansion laws, facing pressure from housing advocates, progressive members and at least some Council members outside the Progressive Caucus as he tries to close his first city budget.

“We stand committed to further funding for CityFHEPS in the FY27 budget,” the Progressive Caucus said in a Saturday statement. “Every day that this program remains unexpanded, New Yorkers are forced out of homes, unable to keep up with ballooning rent.”

The caucus added that it appreciated Mamdani and Menin’s work to close the city’s deficit, but said the emerging budget still fell short.

“We urge the Speaker and Mayor to ensure that a balanced budget does not rest on the backs of New Yorkers grappling with an historic affordability crisis,” the statement said. “We need to see movement to fund this critical program before the handshake.”

The Progressive Caucus, a 23-member bloc that includes nearly half the Council, stopped short of an explicit threat to vote no, but its statement showed that the fight over CityFHEPS continued to shadow budget talks through the weekend. The size of any potential no-vote bloc remained unclear Monday, with members and aides largely unwilling to put hard vote commitments on the record.

Still, two council members — one in the Progressive Caucus and one outside it — told amNewYork they would be a hard no on a budget deal without additional CityFHEPS funding. 

The pressure has not been confined to the Progressive Caucus. Majority Leader Shaun Abreu, said in a Friday statement that “a budget deal is incomplete without" a deal on CityFHEPS.

Other non-caucus members, including Linda Lee, Eric Dinowitz, Yusef Salaam, Susan Zhuang, Selvena Brooks-Powers, Ty Hankerson and Carl Wilson, also issued statements Friday supporting CityFHEPS funding or expansion.

Zhuang sharpened her position Monday, saying she would not support a budget that “walks away from the families this program was built to serve.” Zhuang, who has also been one of the most vocal opponents of a homeless shelter planned for her Southern Brooklyn district, argued that the city was spending money on shelters while fighting a cheaper rental-assistance expansion in court.

“The math is simple,” Zhuang said in a statement. “It costs the city far more to keep a family in a shelter than to help them stay in their home with a voucher. The Mayor promised to expand this program. Now he is fighting it in court while building shelters in neighborhoods like mine. That is backwards.”

On Friday, Menin joined 14 Council members and housing advocates outside City Hall, rather than announcing a budget agreement with Mamdani. She later told reporters that the Council was seeking at least $300 million more for CityFHEPS, while housing advocates and aligned members have pushed for $500 million.

“We are not seeing from the administration the type of investment that we need to see in CityFHEPS,” Menin said Friday. “The Council is insisting on CityFHEPS.”

The Council had previously flagged CityFHEPS as underfunded in its preliminary budget response earlier this year, saying the city’s financial plan failed to adequately account for rental assistance costs, including $145 million for first-year implementation of the Council’s 2023 expansion laws.

Council Member Pierina Sanchez, who chairs the Council’s housing committee, said Friday that there were enough members willing to oppose a budget without more CityFHEPS funding to delay the handshake. Asked whether a majority had committed to voting no, Sanchez said, “It’s enough that they held back the handshake.”

Mamdani's team says working 'around the clock' on an agreement

City Hall has not said whether Mamdani will agree to additional CityFHEPS funding in the final budget, with a mayoral spokesperson saying Monday, “We are working around the clock to deliver a budget agreement that is fiscally responsible and puts our city on a path of long-term stability.”

“The Mayor believes in CityFHEPS and keeping New Yorkers stably housed, which is precisely why we are pursuing major reforms to the program,” said spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach.

The city comptroller’s office also urged both sides Monday to reach a deal before the deadline, while warning against adding to future budget gaps.

“With the deadline fast approaching, I urge the Mayor and City Council to reach an agreement as soon as possible to prevent the potential downsides of a late budget,” the office of Comptroller Mark Levine said in a statement. “In doing so, it is critical that they avoid adding to the already large out-year gaps ahead.”

Levine’s office said that would require “clear parameters and effective cost controls” for fast-growing programs like CityFHEPS.

“This program plays a vital role in helping New Yorkers leave shelter and remain stably housed, and it must be structured and funded in a way that is sustainable over the long term - otherwise we risk putting this and other vital programs we are fighting to protect today in future jeopardy,” the statement said.

CityFHEPS subsidizes rent for New Yorkers leaving shelters or at risk of homelessness, with tenants generally paying about 30% of their income and the city covering the rest. The Council passed a package of laws in 2023 to expand access to the program, including by eliminating the shelter-stay requirement, removing work requirements and expanding income eligibility.

Then-Mayor Eric Adams vetoed the bills, and the Council overrode him. The legal fight over the laws has continued under Mamdani, despite his campaign promise to drop the litigation. 

His administration appealed the case to the state’s highest court in March, arguing the Council lacked authority to enact the expansion and that the city could not afford its full cost.

The lawsuit has become intertwined with the budget talks, with Menin and other Council members calling on the administration to settle the case and put money toward a narrower expansion. Sanchez said Friday there was no possibility that the full expansion mandated by the 2023 laws would be included in the budget.

Brooklyn Paper spoke with two queer Brooklyn lawmakers about the meaning of Pride Month and the importance of continued advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community amid what they described as an unprecedented wave of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation nationwide.

State Sen. Jabari Brisport

State Sen. Jabari Brisport, whose district includes parts of Fort Greene, Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy, is the first Black openly gay person to serve in the State Senate and one of only two openly queer state senators.

At the beginning of Pride Month, Brisport, who chairs the Committee on Children and Families, delivered a passionate speech on the Senate floor after the legislature passed a resolution recognizing June as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in New York State, telling anti-gay critics “to give it up.”

He told Brooklyn Paper that Pride Month is an opportunity to celebrate the resilience of the LGBTQIA+ community while paying homage to queer trailblazers like William Dorsey Swann, Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Harvey Milk and Cecilia Gentili, noting that their legacy continues to shape the movement and encourage LGBTQIA+ people to keep pushing forward.

“Pride is a chance to celebrate the history of resilience in the community,” Brisport said. “Being unashamed and unabashed to be who we are, to be out and proud, and to celebrate the historical figures whose shoulders we stand on.”

Brisport said the queer community is deeply concerned about the future of LGBTQIA+ rights, but noted that queer visibility remains a powerful form of resistance.

“First and foremost, being out of the closet is a major step that any queer person can take," Brisport said. "That was something that Harvey Milk beat the drum on a lot: that every time you come out of the closet, you normalize it, you make it something that is closer to home for your entire circle of family and friends, and you make it easier for other people to come out of the closet."

He recalled an experience from his years as a teacher that underscored the importance of coming out. While working as a teacher, Brisport launched his campaign for State Senate. His election win garnered significant media attention, as he was the first openly queer person of color ever elected to the New York State Legislature. He said that one of his students, who used to make anti-trans jokes in class, later apologized and told Brisport that because of him, they had found their identity.

“They had done more soul-searching and realized that they themselves were non-binary, and that's the power of just being an out and proud politician,” Brisport said.

For Brisport, Black and queer identity have long been intertwined, and he encourages young queer people considering a career in politics to “dive right in,” using their identity as an entryway.

“I kind of started in these places of identity of what is the struggle of queer community, what is the struggle of the Black community, and those snowballed into greater and greater political activism, and [now] I'm a senator,” Brisport said.

Brisport’s political career began in college when he organized grassroots support for New York's same-sex marriage legislation in 2009. At the time, same-sex marriage was far from politically popular, and his first major political campaign failed when the New York State Senate voted down marriage equality in 2009.

He admitted that he wanted to give up, but fellow activists urged him to continue organizing. On July 24, 2011, the Marriage Equality Act took effect in New York State.

“That taught me that if you believe your cause is just, you have to keep banging the drum on it. You may get your butt kicked the first time, but if you keep on doing it and keep organizing, you can eventually win,” Brisport said, noting the importance of continuing to push for morally just causes, even when they seem unpopular.

Brisport expressed disappointment that the push for higher taxes on New York’s top earners failed and warned that recent cuts to Medicaid and Medicare will disproportionately affect queer communities, which already face higher rates of health care and housing insecurity, as well as economic instability compared to cisgender and straight people. Nearly 2 in 3 transgender people live in poverty.

“We had a real opportunity to raise taxes on the wealthy, to plug the gaps in Medicaid, and keep hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers insured, but that unfortunately couldn't get past the governor in the state's budget process, and we have a real issue coming down the pike with a lot of New Yorkers, including many queer New Yorkers about to lose their health insurance,” he said.

He emphasized the importance of leveraging state and local governments, as well as nonprofits and mutual aid groups, to protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers, citing the Trans Safe Haven Act and organizations such as the Brooklyn Community Pride Center and Black and Pink. Brisport also praised SAGE, which was part of a DEI-related lawsuit against President Trump that successfully overturned an administration-wide freeze on federal grants and contracts intended for diversity, implicit bias and equity-focused programs, and the GRIOT Circle, a Brooklyn-based multigenerational organization supporting LGBTQ+ elders of color, which Brisport has supported with discretionary funding.

“I think it shows the uniqueness of us; the focus on queer New Yorkers of color, too, which is something that has not always been first and foremost in the queer rights movement,” Brisport said, noting that during state budget negotiations, he fought to include $500,000 for the LGBT Center to expand its mental health services for LGBTQIA+ members.

“Not many people are talking about mental health for LGBTQ people, so we're getting them about $500,000 for mental health services at a time when so many people in the community feel attacked. I think it would not have happened if you did not have queer state senators in the room."

The best advice Brisport received came from a fellow actor in “another life” when he was pursuing an acting career, who referred to the entertainment industry as a “big wheel” that keeps on turning.

“If you don't get picked for something, it's because it's simply just not your time in the wheel, but the wheel will keep on turning, and I think that applies to politics too," Brisport said. "Sometimes you don't get it at first, but you keep going for it. If you really believe in it, you'll eventually succeed."

Council Member Chi Ossé

Council Member Chi Ossé represents Bedford-Stuyvesant and North Crown Heights and is co-chair of the Brooklyn delegation and the LGBTQIA+ Caucus.

Ossé told Brooklyn Paper that Pride Month was not only about celebrating the queer community, but also served as a reminder that the fight for equal rights continues, urging New Yorkers to organize and advocate for LGBTQIA+ people.

“Now more than ever, as we're seeing so much of our queer siblings attempted to be erased by this fascist far right government, I find this month to be a month where we recognize our existence, but also hone in on the action steps that need to be taken in order to protect us,” Ossé said.

He noted that state and local government legislation — such as expanding access to affordable gender-affirming health care, making the city more affordable for queer New Yorkers, particularly trans people, and creating a shelter system that supports trans and queer youth — were instrumental in ensuring the city remains a safe “haven” for the queer community. LGBTQ+ youth are more than 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their non-LGBTQ+ peers and make up as much as 40% of all youth experiencing homelessness.

“Those are various different ways that we can step up and support our community,” Ossé said.

Queer representation in state and local government matters more than ever, and one of Ossé’s top priorities is ensuring the city is affordable for queer New Yorkers, as New York City — particularly Brooklyn — serves as a sanctuary for the LGBTQIA+ community. Last year, the City Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus was instrumental in securing more than $13 million, a record amount, for gender-affirming care for trans youth, LGBTQ youth services, and funding for the Trans Equity Fund, which supports trans-led organizations.

“Without us being in the respective seats that we are in, I don't think there would be people who would be advocating on behalf of trans people as much as we were," Ossé said. "I truly believe that that representation has translated into dollars that are allocated to save and protect and keep trans people alive."

When Ossé ran for City Council in 2020, he openly embraced his identity, and he advised young people who are afraid to come out because of family dynamics or where they live to find a community that embraces queer people.

“Ensure that you are being safe in your process and find a community, whether it's in New York City [or] whether it's in whatever town you're in. If it's not in the town you're in, I would urge you to come to a place that’s a safe haven, so that you could live freely and live safely and be yourself,” Ossé advised.

The most important lesson Ossé learned from the queer rights movement was the importance of intersectionality. He noted that LGBTQIA+ rights trailblazers not only fought for queer rights but also against racism and misogyny while advocating for queer people in countries living under oppressive regimes.

“You can't just fight for rights for gay people, you need to fight for rights for all queer people. You can't just fight for rights for white gay men, you have to fight for the rights of Black queer women [and] Black trans women," Ossé said. "Those are the lessons that I have learned through the queer civil rights movement, especially as it's progressed throughout the years."

The celebration began at Holy Name of Jesus Church, 245 Prospect Park West, where attendees gathered for an 11 a.m. Mass followed by a presentation of honors before the parade got underway around noon.

Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree, the annual parade celebrates patriotism, liberty and community — values rooted in the organization's mission of "Pietas," or love of God, love of country and love of neighbors.

This year's march took on added meaning as communities across the country prepare to mark America250, the nationwide commemoration of the United States' 250th anniversary, while for organizers the day also served as a reminder that keeping the century-old Brooklyn tradition alive is as much the point as the celebration itself.

"The committee members and myself and others that are involved with the parade feel it's very important to keep the legacy of the parade alive," Ted General, a member of the Brooklyn American Independence Day Parade Committee, told Brooklyn Paper ahead of the march. "As well, the Knights of Columbus have a patriotic wing, called their Fourth Degree, and one of the things that they are encouraged to do is to promote patriotism and Americanism."

Founded in 1905, the Brooklyn Independence Day Parade is recognized as New York City's oldest continuously running Independence Day parade and is typically the city's only annual parade dedicated to the holiday.

While it was originally held on July 4 itself, organizers shifted the event to the Sunday before Independence Day in recent years — the only major change to the tradition over its more than century-long history. The route has also evolved over time, with the parade previously calling Sunset Park home. This year, festivities began at Holy Name of Jesus Church, 245 Prospect Park West, with Mass and ceremonies at 11 a.m., followed by a 11:30 a.m. step-off north on Prospect Park West to 9th Street, then west on Ninth Street to Fourth Avenue.

The parade once again featured the NYPD Ceremonial Color Guard and FDNY Color Guard, along with marching bands, American Revolution-era reenactors, vintage automobiles and a variety of community organizations.

Additional reporting by Barbara Vasquez