Assemblymember Stefani L. Zinerman

National Voter Registration Day — Tuesday, September 15

Picture Election Day in Brooklyn: familiar faces making their way toward a neighborhood school, library, or community center; the quiet murmur of neighbors waiting together; a ballot held in your hands; the sound of the scanner accepting it; an “I Voted” sticker pressed onto your coat before you step back outside.

Throughout this issue, we have honored people who understood that the future does not simply happen to a community. It is shaped by people willing to serve, organize, speak, document, and act.

Voting is one of the ways we carry that responsibility forward.

Whether you vote early, by mail, or at the polls on Tuesday, November 3, that moment begins long before Election Day. It begins by making certain that you are registered.

Tuesday, September 15 is National Voter Registration Day—a nonpartisan civic celebration created to help every eligible voter prepare to participate.

If you are not registered, let this be the day you begin. If you are already registered, confirm that your name and current address are correct. If you have moved, changed your name, or have not voted recently, check your status now.

Then reach beyond yourself.

Talk to the young person preparing to vote for the first time. Let them know that all 16- and 17-year-olds are eligible to pre-register to vote. Check on the elder who may need help finding early-voting information or a ride to the polls. Send the registration link to your family group chat. Ask a neighbor whether they have checked their status. Help someone imagine themselves walking into that polling place, holding that ballot and knowing that their voice belongs there.

The history we honor was shaped by people who refused to leave their community’s future entirely in someone else’s hands. The next chapter requires the same sense of responsibility from us.

Register. Verify. Make a vote plan. Bring someone with you.

Important 2026 Dates

● September 15: National Voter Registration Day

● October 24: New York Voter-registration deadline

● October 24–November 1: Early voting

● November 3: General Election Day; polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

REGISTER TO VOTE 

CHECK OR UPDATE MY REGISTRATION

FIND ELECTION INFORMATION

When the story of this election is written, will your voice be part of it—and whom will you help bring into the story with you?



Assemblymember Stefani L. Zinerman joined educators, neighbors and community leaders in welcoming Principal Cherina Booker to Bedford Academy High School, affirming that the school’s students, families and educators will continue to have a partner in the 56th Assembly District.

As Dr. Adofo A. Muhammad prepares to retire, he leaves behind far more than an office or a title. During his tenure, Bedford Academy became known for high academic expectations and a culture grounded in the belief that academic empowerment is the birthright of every child. His influence can be seen in the students who graduated, the families who placed their trust in the school, and the educators who helped transform that belief into daily practice.

Two messages filled the room at The Cultural Museum of African Art – The Eric Edwards Collection:

Thank you for what you built. We are ready to support what comes next.

Principal Booker now steps into leadership with a strong foundation beneath her and a community prepared to stand beside her. As the new school year begins, Bedford Academy is ready to protect what has made the school successful, welcome new ideas, and continue creating opportunities for every student to thrive.

To Dr. Muhammad: Thank you for the years, the standards, and the young people you helped prepare.

To Principal Booker: Welcome. The Vibrant 56 is ready to build with you.

This past Saturday, the 200 Jefferson Avenue Block Association welcomed neighbors from throughout Bed-Stuy and beyond to its annual block party on the block between Nostrand and Marcy Avenues. The celebration paired music, youth activities, a health and wellness fair, and The Soapbox’s For the Love of House with urgent community education and action.

Led by Block President Omar Walker and a remarkable group of concerned and actively engaged residents, 200 Jefferson has become ground zero in the fight against deed theft. As predatory actors have targeted homes throughout Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights, these neighbors have held the line against further attempts to steal property, home equity, and generational wealth.

Working with the Delta Alpha Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., the Eta Nu Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., and Shiloh Baptist Church, the Association presented “Law Day: A Blueprint to Protecting Brooklyn’s Legacy.” Heather DeLeon moderated a panel featuring Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman, Omar Walker, Access Justice Brooklyn Attorney Sunny Patel, and estate attorney Eric Apple, Esq.

Dozens of homeowners gathered outside the church with questions and a determination to find solutions. They left understanding the gravity of the threat, but also equipped with resources and actions to protect their homes and legacies.

Protect Your Home and Legacy

• Review your deed and all documents recorded against your property.
• Attend free legal clinics sponsored by the Office of Assemblymember Stefani L. Zinerman
• Enroll in your local property-record notification program.
• Complete a will and estate plan and resolve probate or heirs-property issues.
• Never sign a deed, power of attorney, or loan document without independent legal review.
• Preserve suspicious communications and seek help immediately.
• Call 1-855-HOME-456 or the Attorney General at 800-771-7755.

We thank the 200 Jefferson Avenue Block Association, Delta Alpha Zeta, Eta Nu Sigma and Shiloh Baptist Church for carving out time during a joyful community celebration to center this urgent issue and help families defend their homes, wealth and legacy.

Receiving the STooPS “Joy as Resistance” Award

At the 13th annual STooPS Summer Festival, Decatur Street once again became a living cultural commons—its stoops, sidewalks and storefronts transformed into stages for art, music, movement and community celebration.

This year’s theme, “Joy as Resistance,” was a powerful reminder that joy is not an escape from the work of building and protecting our communities. Joy sustains us. It strengthens our bonds, preserves our culture, and gives us the energy to continue creating change.

I was deeply honored to receive the Joy as Resistance Award from STooPS founder and director Kendra J. Ross. I thank Kendra and the entire STooPS family for this meaningful recognition and for thirteen years of creating space where Bed-Stuy’s artists, residents, families, and local businesses can gather, create, and thrive.

The honor was made even more meaningful because I was included among a phenomenal group of creative leaders, cultural bearers, educators and entrepreneurs: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and creator of The 1619 Project Nikole Hannah-Jones; Rotimi Akinnuoye, co-owner of Bed-Vyne Wine & Spirits; Jamila Wright, co-founder of Brooklyn Tea; educator and community leader Barry Cooper, founder and executive director of The B.R.O. Experience Foundation; and OlaRonke Akinmowo, creator, founder and director of The Free Black Women’s Library.

The celebration also included a moving posthumous tribute to Herbert Shannon Jackson Sweat Jr., a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran and longtime leader with Black Veterans for Social Justice. His award was received by Stefanie Siegal of Bailey’s Cafe, an organization that, like STooPS, understands the importance of preserving community stories and honoring those who have helped shape our neighborhood.

Mr. Sweat fought many battles—not only on the battlefield, but throughout his life on behalf of veterans, their families, and the dignity they deserve. I was privileged to honor him for his extraordinary military service during a previous Veterans Day observance. Seeing Kendra and STooPS lift his name and legacy once more was a poignant reminder that community remembrance is itself an act of resistance. We resist erasure by speaking the names of those who served, preserving their stories and ensuring their contributions are carried forward.

Each honoree represents a different expression of community leadership—telling our stories, building Black-owned institutions, nurturing young people, preserving our culture and creating spaces where our neighbors can see themselves and one another more fully.

To be recognized alongside them is both humbling and affirming. I accept this award with gratitude and with a renewed commitment to help protect the people, places, and traditions that make our community vibrant.



Thank you, Kendra. Thank you, STooPS. And congratulations to every honoree who reminds us that in Bed-Stuy, our joy is part of our power.

A Memorial Tribute to Eurila Cave

Brooklyn’s stories endure because someone chooses to notice, document, and preserve them.

Before Eurila Cave began documenting Brooklyn through her own lens, her father, Robert D. Cave Sr., was already creating a visual record of Black New York. From the 1970s through the 1990s, Robert photographed political leaders, jazz musicians, churches, businesses, families and everyday people who made up the world around him.

He raised his children on Quincy Street near Bedford Avenue and understood that the life of a community was shaped not only by its most recognizable figures, but by its neighbors, gatherings and local institutions.

He also understood the power held by the person behind the camera. Images can include people in history—or leave them outside of it.

After their father’s passing, Eurila and her brother continued to protect and share his photographic legacy. Her brother worked to digitize the collection, while Eurila helped preserve the meaning and history it held. In 2023, selections from Robert D. Cave Sr.’s archive appeared on LinkNYC kiosks across the city through a collaboration with Black Archives, placing his images of Black New York before a new generation.



Eurila carried that inheritance forward in her own distinct voice.

Through Cali York Photography, EveryDayBK and Reels by Rila, she documented Brooklyn’s people, businesses, culture, movement and joy. She turned her camera toward the everyday experiences that can easily be overlooked but ultimately become the record of how a community lived.

To Eurila, a photograph or short video was never merely content. It was memory. It was evidence that someone had been here, that something meaningful had happened and that a story deserved to be remembered.

I first met Eurila at a small, intimate house gathering for women—a circle of creatives sharing the things we made with our hands and hearts: knitting, cooking, papermaking, photography, creating things from scratch.

Eurila was the youngest among us, but she fit right in.

She was exploring then—curious, open, becoming. Over the years, it was a joy to watch that exploration deepen into a distinct creative voice and to witness the evolution of who she was becoming before her transition in August.

What always stayed with me was her instinct for gathering, connecting, and building with other creatives. She carried that tradition forward in her own way, documenting the people around her as if each image were a love offering to Brooklyn.

The last time I saw Eurila in person was at DanceAfrica in 2025. She was in full photography mode. I caught sight of those keen, flashing eyes and that beatific smile lighting up with recognition and welcome. I was wearing one of my favorite combinations—a white-brimmed hat, a blue leather off-the-shoulder blouse beneath my classic New York State Assembly jacket, and my Ron Draper pin designed especially for the Vibrant 56.

It was the kind of look Eurila would notice.

She raised her camera, then smiled and said, “I haven’t seen you in a while. Let’s take a selfie.”

That moment stays with me.

Because Eurila did more than photograph us. She saw us. Through those beautifully gifted eyes, she captured not only how Brooklyn looked, but how Brooklyn felt—its creativity, its pride, its intimacy, its movement and its people.

That is what made her such a remarkable storyteller. She understood that the everyday mattered. A familiar face, a neighborhood gathering, a small business, a celebration, a moment of laughter—these were not background details to Eurila. They were the story.

In that way, the camera passing from father to daughter represented more than a shared profession. It represented a responsibility passed down through generations: to see our community clearly, portray it with dignity, and ensure that Black Brooklyn could never be written out of its own history.

We mourn Eurila’s passing, but we also celebrate what she made possible. Because she looked, recorded, and remembered, future generations will inherit more than names and dates. They will inherit faces, movement, laughter, businesses, celebrations, and ordinary days that became history because Eurila understood their value.

The images remain. The people she saw remain. The Brooklyn she loved remains. And through all of it, Eurila remains.