"It’s our season finale, and we’re closing out the year with a look at one of the most quietly radical movements gaining momentum in Bushwick, and across the city: a program that allows members of the community to directly determine how their tax dollars are spent. This week, we’re diving into the world of Participatory Budgeting with the office of City Councilmember Antonio Reynoso. AFTER THE EPISODE: We’d like to extend our sincere thanks to Jennifer and Councilmember Reynoso for helping...

One of the key trends to emerge as Bushwick changes is the importance of space; who has it, who’s welcome in it, and what they can use it for. With rents increasing across the neighborhood, spaces where people can gather and organize are becoming rarer, and more critical—and some businesses see an opportunity to offer communities a home. This week, we sat down with the team behind a new Bushwick venue that invites anyone in the neighborhood to come, and be themselves. AFTER THE...

Few things are as consequential to the changes happening across Bushwick as zoning laws—the rules that say what can be built and where, here in the neighborhood. Today, Bushwick is being considered for what’s called a “rezoning,” the city’s formal process for changing those rules. Everyone from city government officials to local non-profit leaders, seems to have a different opinion on what those new rules should look like. But one group in the neighborhood is attempting to stop the process...

Here in Bushwick, it’s that time of year again: Bodegas have stocked up on pumpkins, clubs are full of costumes even more spectacular than usual, and a certain spookiness fills the air. Halloween is nearly upon us. For last year’s holiday, we met with Eugene J, the mad scientist behind Bushwick’s year-round celebration of all things sweet, surprising, and Halloweeny, the Eugene J Candy Company. This year, we wanted to know: What’s he got in store for the neighborhood now? This week, we...

Before each episode of Bushwick Podcast, you hear a message from an organization called Heritage Radio Network, or HRN. Even if that name is new for you, the organization is anything but. HRN has spent the past decade here in the neighborhood making shows like ours possible—while building one of the world’s most unique audio archives from a secret recording studio tucked inside a storage container within Roberta’s Pizza. This week, we sit down with two of the leaders behind HRN to learn more...

Small business owners play a unique role in Bushwick. As we’ve heard throughout the community, many entrepreneurs view their shops as opportunities to serve the neighborhood outside the scope of business as usual, whether that’s by partnering with activists or creating spaces that bride gaps in the community. But as we’ve also heard, the realities of running a business often conflict with more purpose-driven intentions. This week, we meet with the wife and husband duo behind Quality Goods,...

As the summer comes to an end across the city, it’s the start of a new season here at Bushwick Podcast. That means we have the continued privilege of sharing more of the remarkable stories happening in the community, and the renewed duty to help break down the biggest issues facing the neighborhood today. We have some exciting episodes planned this Fall, and we’re thrilled to begin the season with a story of resilience, hope, and the power of partnership. This week, we sat down with some of...

We’re hard at work getting the new season of Bushwick Podcast ready to be the best one yet, and we can’t wait for you to hear what we’ve got in store. In the meantime, we wanted to share an update on one of our most popular stories from earlier this year: “The Everyone Store.”

"It’s our season finale, and we’re thrilled to close out a summer of Bushwick stories by partnering with our friends at the new community media project, This Bushwick Life. Together, we sat down with an artist whose work captured Bushwick at one of its most defining moments: the early 80s. In that time, she lived many lives, from disco club kid to Bushwick public school teacher, but through it all, she was one thing more than any other: a photographer. This week, we’re stepping into...

We’ve heard in previous episodes about how Bushwick has become one of Brooklyn’s most dynamic communities for everything from food to art. Take a walk around the neighborhood, and you’re sure to notice another scene that’s thriving here: thrift stores and vintage shops. But that’s not without some complicated feelings, as some people see the increasingly hip secondhand industry as a herald of gentrification. This week, we sit down with one of the owners behind Bushwick’s newest vintage shop...

This week, we finish our two-part run on Vietnamese restaurants in the neighborhood by sitting down with Falansai’s Henry Trieu, one of Bushwick’s most thoughtful business owners, to better understand: As the neighborhood and its culinary scene change in unpredictable ways, what’s top of mind for a restaurateur here? AFTER THE EPISODE: We’d like to extend our sincere thanks to Henry and the team at Falansai for taking us behind the scenes of the restaurant, and for sharing such a candid...

As we’ve heard in previous episodes, Bushwick is one of Brooklyn’s rising culinary epicenters. One of the things that makes the scene here so dynamic is that Bushwick’s restaurants don’t just serve good food—they reflect the culinary and artistic identities of visionary chefs with roots that range from right here in the city, to communities around the world. This week, we’re kicking off a two-part run about Vietnamese restaurants in Bushwick by sitting down with the chef behind one of the...

"Spend enough time around Bushwick’s artists, activists, and entrepreneurs, and you’ll start to hear the same name over and over again: Mayday Space. This week, we visit Mayday, Bushwick’s home for social movements, to learn more about one of the neighborhood’s most vital resources for everyone from local elected officials, to activist groups, to amateur wrestlers. AFTER THE EPISODE: Our thanks to Josh, Zyad, and all the folks at Mayday for sharing more about their work in Bushwick, and...

Earlier this month, Bushwick hosted one of the neighborhood’s largest annual events: a daylong celebration of street art, food, and music called the Bushwick Block Party. Of the thousands of visitors that attended this year, most were there simply to enjoy the sights, bites, and sounds. But some were there to send a message. This week, we meet Mi Casa No Es Su Casa, a guerilla art project that turned this year’s Block Party into the stage of one of their biggest demonstrations yet. AFTER THE...

June is Pride Month, which means that people around the world are gathering to honor the LGBTQ community with parades, parties, and celebrations of all kinds. Bushwick is home to one of New York’s most dynamic LGBTQ scenes and this month has some surprises in store, like the latest showcase from the neighborhood's very own queer, feminist theater company, Sacred Circle Theatre. This week, we’re going behind the scenes of Sacred Circle to learn more about how they’re reimagining theater to...

Later this summer, spaces throughout Bushwick will be taken over by r e g i o n (e s), a radical new art series using the power of performance to explore complicated topics like community and Latin American identity. This week, we sat down with some of the folks behind the series as they prepare for this ambitious new program. AFTER THE EPISODE: Our sincere thanks to Juan Pablo, luciana, Mariangela, Cecilia, STEFA, and all the folks working to bring r e g i o n (e s) to the community. The...

Summer is fast approaching in Bushwick, and as the streets fill with people emerging from our cool, rainy Spring, they're also filling with something else: trash. This week, we sit down with the leaders behind Clean Bushwick Initiative to unpack the surprising ways they’re reimagining how the community can keep the neighborhood clean and livable for everyone. AFTER THE EPISODE: Our sincere thanks to Nicole, Kristen, Debora and all the volunteers who help keep Bushwick clean. You can find...

Bushwick is home to what may be the world's only real estate brokerage where you can simultaneously rent an apartment and...buy smokable hemp? This week, we look at the story behind The Locals Laboratory, a surprising organization trying to effect positive change in the neighborhood at the intersection of real estate and therapeutic plants. AFTER THE EPISODE: Our sincere thanks to Angea, Merly, and the Locals team. You can find out more about The Locals at their website,...

Scott has worked in the kitchens of some of the world's best restaurants. But after nearly 20 years of helping to turn other people's spaces into culinary destinations, he's opened an unforgettable restaurant of his own here in Bushwick. On this week's episode, one of New York City's rising chefs shares the remarkable journey that's brought him to the community, and unpacks what the future holds for his corner of the neighborhood's electrifying food scene.

A first-time restauranteur looks back on a year of life, love, and business in Bushwick.

Coming this May from Heritage Radio Network: the stories of how artists, activists, and entrepreneurs collide in on special Brooklyn neighborhood that's changing faster by the day. Bushwick Podcast is local stories like you've never heard before.

Tucked away in one of the furthest corners of Bushwick, an unusual grocery store has quietly been pioneering access to healthy, high quality food in the neighborhood for nearly a decade. This week, we go behind the scenes of the Bushwick Food Co-op, an ambitious organization working at the intersection of food, justice, and community. After the Episode: To learn more about the Bushwick Food Co-op, visit their website: www.bushwickfoodcoop.org. And as always, if you have you any thoughts or...

This week, we dive into the world of empathy-on-demand and meet the Bushwick-based organizer bringing together clinicians, counselors, doulas, DJs, and more to ask the question, "Who Heals the Healer?" After the episode: To find out more about Who Heals the Healer, visit their website at whohealsthehealer.com. And as always, if you have you any thoughts or want to get involved with Bushwick Podcast, email us at [email protected].  

This week, communities around the country enter the home stretch of tax season. But here in Bushwick, tax season means more than just squaring up with the government. For some people, it's a gateway to a better life. And for others, it's the most fun time of the year. Join us as we dive into the surprising world of volunteer tax prep.