Editor’s Note: As Senior Editor Kelly Mena compiled this list, she did so in modestly, not including any of her many stories. We invite readers to do a search on the KCP site under her name. Among the stories that deserve mention as top stories of 2017 is her coverage of the Brownsville City Council election, the Bedford Union Armory and Broadway Triangle developments, and the BQX Trolley proposal. SW
5. City Council Race Gets Down & Dirty Moving Into Homestretch, Story by Kadia Goba, Published: August 29, 2017
This story really made me laugh because when it comes to Brooklyn politics anything and everything is fair game even cookies and lawn signs.
I love how our Senior Reporter, Kadia Goba was able to make frivolous election spats into a serious, but playful story. Bay Ridge was a very contentious race this election season being that there was a very competitive primary for both the Democrats and Republicans, which was only the appetizer for an even more contentious general election that saw Justin Brannan narrowly beat John Quaglione.
4. Cunningham Takes On Eugene, WFP Sits On Their Hands, Story by Phoebe Taylor Vuolo, Published: September 20, 2017
The City Council race for District 40 was one of the more cutthroat races of the election season. Incumbent City Councilman Mathieu Eugene was going in as the candidate to beat with a strong backing in the Haitian community while newcomer Brian Cunningham was pushing progressive policies trying to oust the third-term incumbent.
However, in the primary vote, Cunningham just missed coming in first by 10% of the votes leading his campaign to reassess. Instead of taking a second place defeat they went on to run in the general election on the Working Families Party, a move they hoped would lead to a victory.
In the end, Eugene won, but seeing the grassroots organizing and mobilization of young progressives in the district was refreshing and also hopeful for the future of local politics.
3. Protesters Make Cumbo’s State Of The District Address Contentious, Story by William Engel, Published: May 18, 2017
This is one story that really stood out in my mind because of the nuances surrounding the event.
City Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo has had a very interesting year. She has gotten re-elected for a second term, she has ushered through passage of a a major redevelopment project in her district and she has become a mother all in a year’s time.
However, all of these accomplishments weren’t easy for Cumbo to achieve, in particular the Bedford Union Armory deal that still is being battled in a community that is seeing more high-rises and rising rents than affordable housing and schools in the area.
Cumbo went into her State of the District Address in the wake of pulling her support for the original Bedford Union Armory Redevelopment Plan that at the time included luxury condominiums. She had just held a press conference earlier in the day alongside Public Advocate Letitia James and Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams to stand against the project and force the developers to draw up a new plan. The residents of District 35 are some of the most outspoken and radical constituents in Brooklyn, and are very vocal about their disdain for big time real estate development and so-called “corrupt politicians.”
2. 48th Council District Candidate Interview: Steve Saperstein Story By Heather J. Chin, Published: October 3, 2017
This was a very interesting interview, from a perspective I never really thought about before. Steve Saperstein was a local Bay Ridge resident who wanted to bring change to a district he felt was lacking adequate attention and resources.
However, he was going up against incumbent City Councilman Chaim Deutsch, who works very hard for his constituents and has one of the more active district offices in the City Council.
Most of the interviews on KCP tend to skew toward a “getting to know you” type of piece so when first reading over this interview I immediately noticed that it wasn’t in line with our other profile pieces, but that it was more of a political profile of Saperstein’s views on District 48 and Deutsch.
I appreciated the tactfulness of the interview and it’s attention to what the candidate was looking to do for his community. In the end, I think it was a great piece and goes to show that sometimes people don’t want to get to know you, but what to know what you are going to do for them, that really matters.
1. Exclusive: De Blasio Allegedly Lifted Dangerous Building Vacate Order For A Top Fundraiser Story by Stephen Witt, Published: February 24, 2017
This story definitely took me by surprise not only did I read it along with the rest of Brooklyn after it was published, but I also was away when the story originally hit the headlines.
I was very proud of our Publisher Stephen Witt for writing such an important and exciting piece, but also for going back to his roots as a hard-nosed reporter with some of the best sources in the industry. More importantly, I was proud that he was finally able to write a story years in the making without having to look behind his back or fear the loss of his job.
It’s very rare that you meet reporters like Stephen Witt and when you do, you can really feel their passion and love for reporting. He has taught me many things in our short time together, but one thing he never relents on is making sure that you bring issues and conflict to the forefront and really hold elected officials accountable for their actions. Witt won’t let anyone get away, not even the Mayor of New York City.
