With the local primaries just weeks away, we continue to focus on the candidates in New York's upcoming election.

Ofer talks to Cesar Zuniga who is running for City Council in the district that covers Sunset Park and Red Hook, two of Brooklyn's most important neighborhoods for future development. The son of Mexican immigrants, Cesar has a background in education and serves as chair of Community Board 7, which voted down the expansion of the Industry City complex along the Sunset Park waterfront after a bitter debate. 

Wrapping up a series on the District 33 City Council race, Ofer sits down with Elizabeth Adams, legislative director for the outgoing Council Member, Steve Levin.

Elizabeth grew up in a rent stabilized apartment, and affordable housing is central to her platform that local government can do more to help struggling New Yorkers as the city rebuilds. 

In the latest installment of our series looking at the race for the City Council District 33 seat, Ofer sits down with April Somboun.

The candidate studied international public policy at Columbia and has worked in marketing and communications. She's a Brooklyn Heights resident, refugee, and working mother who is proud to call herself an outsider in this very important race for the district that covers neighborhoods in Downtown Brooklyn, Greenpoint, and Williamsburg.

Ofer kicks off a short series focusing on the City Council race for the 33rd district, which has a large slate of candidates vying for the seat. We invited some of the top fundraisers to hear their vision for this diverse district covering Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Boerum Hill.

The first guest is Toba Potosky, a Brooklyn Heights resident and community activist involved in his own middle income Mitchell Lama complex and public projects from  the renewal of Cadman Plaza Park to the controversial plans to fix the crumbling BQE.

Originally from Queens, Toba is passionate about holding public officials accountable and  improving life for all Brooklynites. 

Host Ofer Cohen sits down with New York City mayoral candidate Kathryn Garcia, a Brooklynite with a fascinating story. Garcia got her start in the Bloomberg Administration, but more recently, served as sanitation commissioner and was appointed food czar for the City’s emergency food program during the pandemic. In our conversation, Garcia lays out her vision for the future and shares her experience as a working parent in New York – and how she had to tackle her own shyness in making the decision to run for mayor.

City Council Member Robert Cornegy Jr grew up in Bedford Stuyvesant and represents the neighborhood in the City Council's 36th District. In this podcast, Councilman Cornegy lays out his vision for the city, which includes sitting down with real estate developers, promoting public private partnerships, reforming the city's land use process, and more. Councilman Cornegy, a former professional basketball player, holds the Guinness World Record of tallest politician, and is running for Brooklyn Borough President.

HeyBK is back at a time when Brooklyn, along with the rest of NYC, is trying to rebuild all that was lost during the pandemic. This season, Ofer Cohen talks to leaders and political candidates about their vision as the city reopens and rebuilds. In our first episode, Ofer sits down with Ray McGuire, the Wall Street executive running for New York City Mayor. Listen to the former head of Citigroup talk about his experience growing up, how he first came to New York, and his plans to create a more equitable city for the future.

In this episode, Ofer sits down with Sue Donoghue, President of the Prospect Park Alliance and the park administrator. 

At the nonprofit, Sue works closely with the City to help raise 11 million dollars annually and over 50 million dollars in capital funds to improve and operate Brooklyn’s 585 acre park. 

Seen as Brooklyn’s backyard, Prospect Park was built in 1867 by Central Park’s Frederick Law Olmsted. 

Much like the rest of Brooklyn, Prospect Park has experienced a rebirth. Some 30 years ago it was in disrepair but today, Prospect Park is free of cars and bustling with activity, people, bikes, athletes and programming. 

Ofer sits down with Steve Hindy, co-founder and co-chairman of Brooklyn Brewery, one of the largest craft beer makers in the United States. Steve and his neighbor founded the company in 1988 following a dream to bring brewing back to Brooklyn. Always a pioneer and a risk-taker, Steve made a number of key decisions that helped make Brooklyn Brewery an international success story. As you’ll hear, Steve had faith in the Brooklyn brand from the very beginning and helped put Brooklyn on the map.

In the first episode of the new year, Ofer Cohen sits down with Jill Eisenhard, the Founder and Executive Director of the Red Hook Initiative (RHI). Jill has recently announced that she’s stepping down from the non-profit that she founded in Red Hook, Brooklyn, back in 2002. In their conversation, Jill looks back at her work to empower residents of the City's second largest public housing complex in one of Brooklyn's last industrial neighborhoods, which is home to nearly 10,000 residents. In the past 18 years, Jill has built an organization that serves thousands of young people with after-school programs and job training. RHI runs two urban farms and survived Hurricane Sandy in 2012, but RHI also has a larger vision to give residents the tools to create social change.