Encore! Encore! Our 17 Most Read Stories of 2017
Gentrification and skyscrapers, buzzing drones and hand-woven pillows–these were among the year's hottest tales
Since The Bridge launched in late February, more than 200 features have been published. We serve up the most-read one more time, in the order of their popularity:
1. The blossoming of Bed-Stuy: Is gentrification racist?
Gathering on the stoop on Decatur Street between Tompkins and Throop in Bedford-Stuyvesant (Photo by Mattia Insolera/LUZ/Redux)
A Brooklyn author explores a neighborhood’s transformation and finds that many of the assumptions about it don’t quite fit. Read more.
2. Inside the blight of empty Brooklyn storefronts
(Illustration by Heather Jones)
Greedy landlords? Not so simple. The haunting retail vacancies have many causes–and need a concerted response. Read more.
3. A vegan diet saved his life. Now he wants to save yours
The borough president does some shopping at the farmer’s market on the plaza in front of Borough Hall (Photo by Erica Sherman/Brooklyn Borough President’s Office)
Diagnosed as a diabetic, Borough President Eric Adams embraced a new regime. Can he make Brooklyn a healthier place? Read more.
4. Lots of buzz: How a Brooklyn drone service took off
Outfitted with high-definition video gear, Aerobo’s drones can be worth as much as $250,000 (Photo courtesy of Aerobo)
For as much as $30,000 a day, Aerobo flies missions for moviemakers, media giants and big business. Read more.
5. Nostrand Avenue: Why it’s the new gentrification flash point
The sure sign of a burgeoning population: stroller traffic at the busy intersection of Nostrand and Atlantic avenues (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein)
As a new restaurant sparks protest, the corridor’s small-business owners wonder: Will we survive rising affluence? Read more.
6. A Brooklyn designer’s Ethiopian dreams
Hana Getachew, whose family left Addis Ababa when she was three years old, had an inspiring homecoming 18 years later (Photo by Steve Koepp)
Bolé Road Textiles weaves modern ideas with traditional craftsmanship, to vibrant effect. Read more.
7. A novelist writes her own bookstore fairy tale
Novelist and future bookstore proprietor Emma Straub at home in Brooklyn last May (Photo credit: Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times/Redux)
When a beloved Brooklyn shop closed, Emma Straub faced the daunting task of replacing it. But then things went even better than planned. Read more.
8. Brooklyn’s first supertall skyscraper begins to rise
The supertall skyscraper at 9 DeKalb Ave. will be integrated with the classical-style landmark, the Dime Savings Bank (Rendering courtesy of JDS Development Group)
The tower underway at 9 DeKalb will dominate the downtown skyline. Is the borough ready for its ‘badass’ aesthetic? Read more.
9. Meet the blogger who got the Paul Manafort scoop
Katia Kelly, whose blog Pardon Me for Asking covers Carroll Gardens and the surrounding area (Photo by Max Kelly)
Katia Kelly of ‘Pardon Me for Asking’ covered her Brooklyn neighborhood with a hyper-local focus. Then she got a hot tip and ran with it. Read more.
10. Made in Brooklyn, right in front of your eyes
Lowercase’s products are painstakingly crafted in the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park (Photo courtesy of Lowercase)
How a new brand with vision, Lowercase, created a stylish product rarely manufactured in America anymore: eyeglasses. Read more.
11. This Brooklyn ad firm has no respect for boundaries
Madwell founders David Eisenman and Chris Sojka in their headquarters with an atypical piece of office furniture: a vintage Chrysler (Photo courtesy of Madwell)
At Madwell, a suddenly hot creative shop, everyone is into everyone else’s business–and they like it that way. Read more.
12. Why Eliot Spitzer’s comeback starts in Brooklyn
Eliot Spitzer on the construction site of 420 Kent, the residential complex he’s building in Williamsburg (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg)
Making bold moves in real estate, the former governor is building a massive apartment complex in Williamsburg. Read more.
13. A hospital is selling moms on giving birth in Brooklyn
Jessica Ellias, of Bay Ridge, gave birth to Matthew seven weeks ago at NYU Lutheran hospital in Sunset Park (Photo by Jacqueline Mia Foster)
As medical giants set up shop in the borough, NYU Lutheran wants to be the premier maternity destination. Read more.
14. Ten things the HR people are thinking about you
Stay calm: the recruiters want to impress you (Photo by Bartek Szewczyk/iStock by Getty Images)
At a Brooklyn conference, HR reps tackled the big issues of their business: diversity, employer branding, and sending out “exploding offers.” Read more.
15. Why young women flock to this engineering school
Members of the Alpha Omega Epsilon sorority at NYU Tandon at a club-day event (Photo courtesy of AΩE via Instagram)
Brooklyn’s NYU Tandon is moving toward gender parity by making tech more welcoming to female students. Read more.
16. Why rivals fear this real estate agency
A Compass agent demonstrates its new software tool, Collections (Photo courtesy of Compass)
Opening its third office in Brooklyn, the startup brokerage Compass is shaking things up with technology, venture capital, and rapid growth. Read more.
17. Inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s epic comeback
The 5-Axis CNC router at Situ’s fabrication plant in the Navy Yard can create swirly, curving, complex forms (Photo: courtesy of SITU)
Left for dead a generation ago, the giant industrial park is now overflowing with artists and manufacturers. How it all happened. Read more.
