Radio Free Bay Ridge

Today we're bringing you interviews from Fight Back Bay Ridge's "Art of the Gerrymander" auction and art show. The show was a one-night fundraiser for the grassroots activist group. Rachel spoke throughout the night with local activists, artists, and neighbors about how arts and politics intersect, and to hear more about the issue of the day: our Gerrymandered district and how it affects our democracy. We'll learn more about what it's like to organize these events, how activism provides new senses of belonging and friendship, and how art can empower people to change their neighborhood.

Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/art-of-the-gerrymander

Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever bespoke podcasts are artfully designed and distributed to the masses.

On October 3rd, sixteen-year Republican State Senate incumbent Martin Golden faced off against second-time Democratic challenger Andrew Gounardes at a debate held at the Fort Hamilton Senior Center. Today, our co-host Dan will bring you there... and by popular demand, we will provide analysis and fact-checks between questions! Who prevailed? Who made the most misstatements? Was the moderator biased, as the Republicans claim? Who is the woman who Marty dismissed, claiming she had been ignored by his office for over 200 days? We'll get to the bottom of these questions, and more, in our first debate fact-check episode! Enjoy.

Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/fact-check-golden-gounardes-debate

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Last year was the "Summer of Hell"... but how hellish was it? In this brand-new episode, we look Bay Ridge's transit ridership numbers with our local transit correspondent Brian Hedden.

Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/bay-ridge-transit-2017

Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever you follow the plentiful populations of free-range migrating podcasts that occupy this world.

What do we do with a million dollars? That's the question we need to answer as we begin Bay Ridge's first Participatory Budgeting cycle. A people-driven grassroots process, we get to decide as a community how to allocate part of our own tax dollars. Learn what's involved in this mini-episode!

Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/participatory-budgeting-bay-ridge

Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever hyper-local podcasts roam free.

Welcome to Bay Ridge! Moving season is over, and we want to welcome our newest neighbors with a brief overview of our little corner of Brooklyn, complete with food, drink and event recommendations from the Radio Free Bay Ridge team, and ways to get plugged into the progressive community in the neighborhood.

Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/welcome-to-bay-ridge-2018

Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever hyper-local podcasts can be seen fleetingly in the wild.

On today's episode, we'll bring you our recording of the June 6th, 2018 march in solidarity with Pablo Villavicencio Calderon. Pablo, a deliveryman, was arrested trying to deliver pizza to the Fort Hamilton Army Base. A few days after his detainment by ICE, neighbors organized, attended, and spoke at a rally in front of the Fort Hamilton Army Base. We'll bring you a narrative of the events that day with live recordings of the speeches given by neighbors, politicians, and activists.

Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/march-for-pablo-villavicencio-calderon

Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever hyper-local podcasts can be seen fleetingly in the wild.

Today we sit down to chat with Mathylde Frontus, running for New York’s 46th State Assembly District. The district covers the southern portion of Bay Ridge. Mathylde is a nonprofit director, scholar, and organizer who grew up in Coney Island. She has focused her life and studies on Social Services, mental health, community organizing and education. She's also been a major component of the anti-violence initiatives going on in Coney Island. We'll also dig into what is driving Mathylde’s candidacy: a desire to systematically reform government. This includes improving community feedback (by creating new mechanisms such as a community think-tank), encouraging residents to become more aware of their government (by creating new civic workshops to help people run for office), and by pushing for more transparency in the Albany budget process to uncover corruption and improve accountability. We also discuss specific issues, such as education and mental health services.

Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/

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Today, Rachel and Dan sit down with Andrew Gounardes to talk about his campaign to win the Democratic nomination for New York's 22nd State Assembly District, which includes Bay Ridge and a huge chunk of Southern Brooklyn. If he wins the primary, he’ll be squaring off against Republican incumbent Martin J Golden, the lone Brooklyn Republican in the State Senate who has gerrymandered the district in his favor. We’ll talk with Andrew about his life in public service, as well as Mr. Golden’s inability to solve perennial problems in the neighborhood. We also discuss reforming New York State’s archaic voting laws, how to get engaged in civic life, improving neighborhood transportation options and street safety. We also chat about property taxes and housing reform, including giving the city control over rent laws and making it easier to own a home. Andrew also discusses his proposal for a major South Brooklyn waterfront park, connecting and expanding the green spaces along the Narrows and Gravesend Bay!

Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/

Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever fine hand-crafted locally-sourced artisan podcasts are sold.

Today, Rachel and Dan are sitting down and talking with Ross Barkan, who's running for the 22nd New York State Senate District, currently occupied by Republican incumbent Martin J Golden. Ross is a former journalist and was briefly a teacher at Fort Hamilton High School. He's been a longtime political reporter, with an in-depth knowledge of Albany politics and brings a unique, insightful perspective on how to fix a corrupt and often unresponsive political system. We'll go over exactly what a State Senator does and how Albany dysfunction affects Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. We'll also get into the weeds on specific transportation, education and climate-change policy proposals for the neighborhood, like an exciting new commuter rail line running through the heart of the district, reducing student debt burdens, and tidal protections for the next superstorm.

Today Radio Free Bay Ridge is sitting down with Ahmed Mansour, a budding documentary filmmaker. We'll explore the story behind his upcoming film "Brooklyn, Inshallah" which covers last years City Council run by Khader El-Yateem, and more importantly, the community that turned out to support him. We also discuss what's next for Ahmed as an artist, and how he perceives Bay Ridge from the point of view of being a simultaneous outsider and insider.

Show notes are available at http://www.radiofreebayridge.org/2018/05/07/brooklyn-inshallah/

Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever fine local podcasts are sold.