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Investors Bank recently opened its 20th branch in Brooklyn, the latest one in the neighborhood of Williamsburg.

The site, located at 236 Broadway, is the bank’s 49th branch in New York City and Long Island.

What makes the Williamsburg branch different is its open-office design, which is well-suited for the social distancing requirements of the pandemic.

It offers banking pods instead of a traditional teller platform and private offices.

Bankers can use PC tablets to complete a wide range of transactions.

Other safety measures include a requirement by customers and staff to wear masks inside the branch. Customers are encouraged to schedule an appointment before going to the branch.

The Williamsburg site is open Monday through Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The branch’s ATM is available 24/7.

On Wednesday night, assemblywoman-elect Emily Gallagher will host residents of Assembly District 50 in a virtual town hall.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. Register for the Zoom here.

Gallagher will discuss legislative priorities, introduce her constituent services team and ask for residents’ ideas.

The assemblywoman-elect also launched a new survey for Assembly District 50 residents, which you can find here.

Gallagher will officially begin her term on January 1, 2021.

Here’s your chance to help prepare Greenpoint’s newest park.

Every Saturday this November, the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance is hosting volunteer events for the “Under the K Bridge” Park.

On November 7, NBPA is hosting a special bulb planting event creekside. By planting thousands of spring bulbs, it’ll remind New Yorkers that while the pandemic is a difficult time, spring will come and life will bloom again.

November 14 and 21 will be for winterizing the park, which is important work ahead of the season.

All three Saturday events will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Learn more and register to volunteer by clicking this link.

Get your costumes ready for the 17th annual Greenpoint Children’s Halloween Parade & Spooktacular Party!

The event will take place on Saturday, October 31 in front of Brooklyn Expo Center, located at 72 Noble Street.

The costumed participants will march up West Street to Greenpoint Avenue, and then back to the Brooklyn Expo Center. Afterward, the kids can go trick-or-treating with the Greenpoint Market vendors.

The ticketed Spooktacular Party will start at 10 a.m. with timed entries through 4 p.m. The parade will run from noon and 1 p.m.

The parade is free to join, but the Spooktacular Party tickets are $20 online or $30 at the door. Buy your tickets here.

Starting this week, ICHIRAN Brooklyn is delivering its well-known tonkotsu ramen through UberEats, GrubHub and Chowbus.

According to the restaurant, it took ICHIRAN’s craftsmen months of research and development to create a noodle that both meets standards for taste and quality and can stay fresh enough to travel.

The restaurant said in a news release that to avoid disappointing ramen fans with anything below the highest quality, ICHIRAN has avoided takeout or delivery.

“After all, ramen tastes its best when eaten right after it is served,” they said.

But at the urging of patrons, ICHIRAN found a way to develop a new noodle specifically for distance.

“The noodles made for the delivery version of the Classic Tonkotsu Ramen can maintain its consistency and flavor for a longer period of time,” they said.

Diners who order takeout or delivery can still customize their ramen with exact preferences, from richness of the broth to level of spice. The broth will be packed separately from the ramen in the takeout version.

The ICHIRAN Brooklyn location is located at 374 Johnson Avenue.

Happy splurping!

With Halloween around the corner, there’s no better place to be this weekend than Town Square’s Pumpkin Day event at the Greenpoint Terminal Market.

Set for 11 a.m. at 2 Noble Street, the beloved Pumpkin Day provides outdoor fun on the Brooklyn waterfront.

Attendees can pick their own pumpkins and decorate them with paint, glitter and colorful ribbons. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate fall!

All children, including babies, must have a Pumpkin ticket, and children must be accompanied by an adult.

You can choose the hour of choice when purchasing your ticket, and families will be allowed into the pumpkin patch. Then head over to one of the many pumpkin decoration stations and have fun!

All proceeds will help support Town Square’s programs and several local Brooklyn scouts units.

See more information, including the cost of tickets, here.

The long-awaited Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center is officially opening for limited lobby service on Tuesday, October 20.

The brand-new site will serve as both a full-service library and a community hub for environmental awareness, activism and education.

The 15,000-square-foot library doubles the size of the previous building, and provides significantly enlarged indoor and outdoor spaces, according to Brooklyn Public Library.

Some of the many new amenities include a gardened reading deck, windows that act as sun dials and a cistern to collect rainwater for the rooftop demonstration garden.

Inside the library, there are adult, young adult and children’s reading rooms, as well as collection spaces, community spaces and lab spaces. You’ll also find event spaces, lounge seating, small meeting rooms and staff spaces.

Read more about the new Greenpoint Library on their website here.

Churches United for Fair Housing, an influential organization in north Brooklyn that advocates for tenants, has launched a 501c4 sister organization called CUFFH Action.

CUFFH Action will leverage its political power for important local, state and federal elections, the group said. It will try to change the political landscape to the benefit of low-income, immigrant communities of color.

Its mission is the following: “to educate and mobilize community members and to build grassroots political power that will promote housing equity and justice among low income communities of color.”

“CUFF was born in 2009 when a group of churches and community leaders came together to fight the racist Broadway Triangle rezoning, and we won!” the group wrote. “Eleven years later, as our grassroots network spans across NYC, we know more than ever that housing justice is racial justice.”

“We continue to fight everyday to preserve and create vibrant communities that are not exclusive and are truly affordable in NYC.”

The field in the race for Brooklyn borough president just got a little more crowded.

Last week, Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon threw her hat in the ring in the contest to succeed term-limited Eric Adams, who is making a mayoral bid himself.

If elected, Simon would be the first woman to lead Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Simon was elected to represent the 52nd Assembly District, encompassing parts of Dumbo, Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, Park Slope and Prospect Heights, in 2014.

Prior to that, she served as the female Democratic District Leader for the area for a decade. She is also a former teacher for the deaf and a civil rights attorney.

Simon will compete with Councilman Antonio Reynoso, Councilman Robert Cornegy and several other expected candidates in the race. First Lady Chirlane McCray was reportedly interested in the role, as is Councilman Mathieu Eugene.

According to city health officials, the Williamsburg ZIP codes of 11211 and 11249 are seeing “a faster increase” in COVID-19 cases compared to other parts of the city.

Despite the neighborhood’s test positivity rate is only at 1.89%, below the 3% mark, health officials are still raising concerns.

As of Tuesday, the city’s reported citywide seven-day percent positivity rate is 1.38%, and the daily percent positivity is 3.25%, the highest daily report since early June 2020.

Last week, the health department issued a commissioner’s order to non-public schools in six Brooklyn and two Queens ZIP codes, requiring non-public schools to follow COVID-19 risk reduction measures.

The city is working with community leaders and community-based organizations to distribute face coverings and combat misinformation.