The few customers who still shop at La Marqueta always ask “How much?” But the merchants at the storied East Harlem market have just one question on their minds these days: “When?” For years, promises of a major overhaul and expansion have swirled around the nearly defunct market, once a bustling center of activity in El Barrio.Behind a glass case in the middle of the city-owned market’s last functioning building are newspaper clippings from 2003, touting grand renovation plans. More »

Mel Gagliano looks out over the sparkling waters of Gravesend Bay at the elegant sailboats, fishing boats and yachts tied to the docks of his marina, and wonders if his two children will ever grow up to enjoy what he has worked so hard to preserve.

Less than 100 yards to the north, at Shore Parkway and Bay 41st Street in Bensonhurst, is the center of Gagliano’s agitation: an empty lot of cracked concrete and weeds, surrounded by a high fence and barbed wire. There, the city plans to build one of five marine waste-transfer stations, a sort-of driveway for giant trash barges to load up on refuse brought in from all five boroughs. And all within shouting distance of Gagliano’s Marine Basin Marina. More »

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Newcomers to East Williamsburg seem to be spending more money in trendy local bars than in old mom-and-pop stores – prompting a push by local business boosters to revitalize and promote the struggling Grand Street shopping strip. More »

The young girls leaped into the imam’s lap as if he were, well, Santa Claus. “Look how long your beard is,” said Mariama Sillah, 6, one of the girls playfully tugging at the black hair dangling from Imam Baba Jangana’s chin, her speech nearly drowned out by giggles. “You should cut it. When it gets on the floor, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to tell them to get off my beard,” Jangana said, beaming, without missing a beat.

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