Socialists now represent Bed-Stuy on three levels of politics

Hey all,

Bed-Stuy has a new State Assembly representative, after socialist Eon Huntley decisively beat incumbent Stefani Zinerman for district 56 on Tuesday.

In this edition: the socialist sweep of Bed-Stuy, the World Cup watch spots you’re not thinking about, a Saint James Joy block party and get a special edition Jay Z library card.

On Tuesday night, the election victory party chanted “Bed-Stuy sweep” as the electeds stood on a stool next to Hatch bar on Tompkins Ave, just across from the campaign headquarters of Eon and Jabari Brisport.

“Now in Bed-Stuy we have socialists representing on a city council level, state senate and state assembly,” Terah Ehigiator from NYC-DSA said during a victory call with members and media on Wednesday night.

Eon — a retail worker, union organizer, former PTA-president and father-of-two, who grew up in East New York and has spent over 17 years in Bed-Stuy — won 58% of the vote. Zinerman had held the seat since 2020.

Bed-Stuy Stoop chatted with Eon and Jabari last week about their joint effort, with the pair running as Democratic Socialists of America candidates with a focus on supporting the working class, taxing the rich and pushing a progressive agenda.

“I haven’t had weekends in more than 10 years,” Eon told Bed-Stuy Stoop. “I have the struggles of knowing what it’s like to be a working-class person and trying to make change, but also have the demands of capitalism, the demands of having to provide for your family, the demands of just trying to be alive, and how hard and difficult that is.”

On Wednesday, with 94% of the vote counted, only 14,477 people voted in Tuesday’s election.

There are 145,408 people living in district 56, which goes from Nostrand to Ralph. It’s not even all of Bed-Stuy.

So the elections are decided by just 10% of residents voting. To be clear, this is a Democratic primary, not the general election, but in a Democratic-stronghold such as this area the primary essentially determines who will hold the role.

Jabari, a former public school teacher, held his spot as a state senator covering Bed-Stuy, Clinton Hill and parts of Crown Heights and Brownsville, with 78% of the vote, despite a challenge from Marlon Rice.

Jabari had predicted that he was “on track to outperform what I've done in the past” and he grew his vote from 70% last election.

“I feel like I represent this district well, and that I was elected with a mandate to fight against special interests and the rich on behalf of the rest of us. It's a record I've consistently held up on education, on housing, in many areas,” he told Bed-Stuy Stoop before the election.

City Council representative Chi Ossé, who had actively endorsed and supported Eon and Jabari’s campaigns, spent Tuesday night and Wednesday celebrating the DSA wins across the city (Chi led the “bye Stefani” chants at the victory party, declaring in a perfect deadpan: “Before I am a son, before I am a brother, before I am an elected official: I am a hater”).

“If you are unsupportive of building affordable housing on parking lots, if you accept money from Michael Bloomberg aligned groups, anti-Palestinian groups, and big real estate PACs, AND if you aim to sow division in our beautiful community of Bed-Stuy: you are more than guaranteed to lose an election here,” wrote Chi on Instagram.

Chi often gets mentioned as a strong challenger against Democrat linchpin Hakeem Jeffries — although the DSA voted last year not to endorse Chi for the seat, since it’s such a longshot to win. Will this election change that?

In district 57, which covers Clinton Hill and also includes parts of Bed-Stuy, DSA member Phara Souffrant Forrest, a nurse and activist who was first elected to the State Assembly in 2020, won re-election.

The DSA had a gangbuster night across the city, with nine out of their ten candidates winning. Gustavo Gordillo, a co-chair of NYC-DSA, declared himself in a “state of political euphoria” during a victory call with members and media on Wednesday night.

A primary criticism of DSA is often that it is party of gentrifiers and transplants. But that ignores the fact that Eon, Jabari, Chi and Phara all grew up in Brooklyn, portraying a younger and more progressive Black politician than what the district has previously seen.

Terah Ehigiator from NYC-DSA noted in the victory call that the city doubled its representations of Black socialists in office after Tuesday’s election. He pointed out that Eon and Jabari had also worked to focus on deed theft, a problem that has specifically impacted the older local Black community, as well as broader working class issues.

The voting map of Eon’s win is particularly interesting as it shows that in general the places that went for Zinerman include major New York City Housing Authority public housing such Marcy, Sumner, Brevoort and Kingsborough Houses. Jabari’s are less clearcut but do seem to show that he lost the Marcy and Farragut Houses.

To Bed-Stuy Stoop, it seems significant that messages from DSA candidates do not seem to connect with — or at least, aren’t reaching — NYCHA residents. That will need to change moving forward.

If anyone has more insider info or thoughts on this, we’d love to hear it, please comment or send through an email.

Things to do this week:

• Saint James Joy: The Clinton Hill block party kings are performing at Emmanuel Baptist Church on Lafayette Ave (also known as New York Attorney General Tish James’ church) for a block party on Saturday from 9am-6pm.

• Raymond Bush Playground: Yoga for Everyone (led by Jill Hubbard Salk) will be held on Friday June 26 at 6-7pm at the park on Marcus Garvey Blvd. On Sunday, a family event for kite making and storytelling “exploring traditions of flight, freedom and Black communal care” will be held at the park on Saturday June 27 from 4-6pm.

• Dyke March Brunch Party at Gladys: Make t-shirts and signs at Gladys Books and Wine before heading to the Dyke March as part of Pride in Manhattan.

• Central Brooklyn June Tenants Circle: At the Macon Library on Sunday June 28 from 2-4, particularly good if you’re keen to organize your building or getting involved in tenant organizing.

• Black Restaurants Week: The New York Black Restaurants Week runs from June 19-28, so you’ve got a final few days to get out and try. Rustik Tavern on DeKalb Ave has a $40pp special.

News from the nabe:

• To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Jay Z’s debut album Reasonable Doubt, Brooklyn Public Library is releasing a Jay Z library card today, June 25. The Marcy branch, on Marcy Ave, close to where Jay Z grew up, will have a special selection of books selected by the rapper and entrepreneur himself.

• Construction is occurring for a new ice cream spot at the former Dreamery, the short-lived vegan ice cream shop from Clementine Bakery.

• Bingo Wholesale, a Kosher grocery store chain, bought a $50m site between Park and Flushing Aves.

Stooper of the week:

Shout out to Quiana, who Bed-Stuy Stoop recently spotted on a sunny weekend painting her tree pit — we are always on alert for the greenest blocks!

Watching the World Cup

Sporty girl summer continues, of course, with the World Cup and all the usual sports bar suspects are playing it nonstop (even Athena Keke’s, the women’s sports bar on Greene Ave, is playing every game).

Here’s a list of slightly non traditional viewing spots:

• BKB: Owned by a Parisian and a Belgian, French restaurant BKB on 327 Stuyvesant Ave is an official watch party bar. During games you can grab a burger and drink (wine, beer or NA drink) for just $26.

• Ursula: Everyone’s favorite burrito spot on Nostrand Ave is screening the games and even has a special Brooklyn World Cup Cup (say that fast three times) you can get a Michelada in.

• Chez Oskar: The French bistro at Malcolm X Boulevard has been showing a huge amount of games and also has the $26 meal deal — and the food is great.

• Dolores: And if you’re looking for a place to watch Team Mexico’s games with street tacos and cold cerveza, check out Dolores on Tompkins Ave, they’ve got an incredible set up with a grill and projectors.

Thanks for reading Bed-Stuy Stoop — we launched earlier this month and are so thrilled to have over 1500 of you reading already. If you haven’t yet, check out our interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning Nikole Hannah-Jones about her new bookstore and bar coming this fall to Bed-Stuy, and our chat with the owner of new children’s clothing store Cosmo.

If you like what we’re doing so far, we encourage you to upgrade to a paid subscription — currently $50 annually or $5 per month. Original reporting takes time and energy, and your support is the only thing that keeps this going.

Every month, 5% of all proceeds from subscriptions will go to a different local organization or charity, and this is the final week raising funds for mutual aid group Bed-Stuy Strong.

Until next week!