Ofer chats with Susan Donoghue, President of the Prospect Park Alliance and the park administrator. At the nonprofit, Sue works closely with the City to help raise 11 million dollars annually and over 50 million dollars in capital funds to improve and operate Brooklyn’s 585 acre park. Seen as Brooklyn’s backyard, Prospect Park was built in 1867 by Central Park’s Frederick Law Olmsted. Much like the rest of Brooklyn, Prospect Park has experienced a rebirth.
Ofer sits down with Steve Hindy, co-founder and co-chairman of Brooklyn Brewery, one of the largest craft beer makers in the United States. Steve and his neighbor founded the company in 1988 following a dream to bring brewing back to Brooklyn. Always a pioneer and a risk-taker, Steve made a number of key decisions that helped make Brooklyn Brewery an international success story.
In the first episode of the new year, Ofer Cohen sits down with Jill Eisenhard, the Founder and Executive Director of the Red Hook Initiative (RHI). Jill has recently announced that she’s stepping down from the non-profit that she founded in Red Hook, Brooklyn, back in 2002. In their conversation, Jill looks back at her work to empower residents of the City's second largest public housing complex in one of Brooklyn's last industrial neighborhoods, which is home to nearly 10,000 residents.
In this episode of HeyBK, Ofer Cohen sits down with New York City Councilmember Brad Lander. Brad’s district spans established neighborhoods including Park Slope and, the once mainly industrial area, Gowanus which is now on the verge of redevelopment. In their conversation, the Councilman talks about his journey as a suburban kid who became fascinated by cities.
Ofer meets with Carlo Scissura, President & CEO of the New York Building Congress. Carlo was recently appointed Chair of the NYC Mayor’s committee in charge of evaluating the plan to fix the crumbling BQE. He has been an advocate and key player during Brooklyn’s redevelopment and construction boom over the last two decades. Born and raised in Bensonhurst and now a resident of Bay Ridge, Carlo is truly rooted in Brooklyn and his career has reflected so.
In this episode of HeyBK, Ofer sits down with Chad Dickerson, the former CEO of Etsy, a multibillion-dollar online marketplace for handcrafted goods based in DUMBO. Chad left Silicon Valley for the young startup in 2008 and led the company - through many hurtles - to become one of NYC’s greatest Tech success stories.
Ofer sits down with Jed Walentas, the real estate developer behind the transformation of DUMBO, one of the most desirable neighborhoods in New York City. In the mid-90’s, Jed became involved in his family business, Two Trees, and spearheaded the transformation of the area. In their conversation, Jed talks about growing up in a grittier NYC where DUMBO was not merely as exciting as it is today, discovering what it meant for his father to “own a neighborhood,” and about his own parenting experience.
In this episode, Ofer sits down with Karen Auster, a key force behind the new Brooklyn experience. During the past two decades, Karen’s Dumbo-based marketing firm, Auster Agency, has helped launch some of Brooklyn’s most exciting projects, including Brooklyn Bridge Park, 1 Hotel, the new Atlantic Antic and now Domino Park. Karen fell in love with Brooklyn after having an ice cream in Brooklyn Heights but it was her role as a mom that helped her find find her path.
