Benjamin Fang

New York City Journalist

Queens, NY

I am a New York City-based journalist reporting in Queens and Brooklyn. I'm interested in writing about local news, politics, culture, social issues and the media. I graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in May 2015.

Benjamin Fang

New York City Journalist

Queens, NY

Not alone: group looks to end solitary confinement
Imagine spending 23 hours a day locked in a tiny cell alone with no human contact for months, if not years. That’s the image advocates painted at a recent rally in Astoria to reform solitary confinement . Led by members of the Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (CAIC), the demonstration was part of a series of actions held on the 23rd of every month to recognize the 23 hours a day that a person spends in isolation.
Queens Ledger
Yemeni New Yorkers close bodegas for massive demonstration
Thousands of Yemeni-Americans closed up their bodegas last Thursday and packed the plaza outside Brooklyn Borough Hall to protest President Donald Trump’s travel ban. Starting at noon, nearly 1,000 grocery stores across the city collectively shut down for eight hours. Many hung signs on their gated storefronts to explain why they closed for the day.
Brooklyn Downtown Star
Angry constituents confront pol about joining breakaway Dem group
Hundreds of irate community members packed a town hall meeting last Friday night to demand answers from State Senator Jose Peralta about why he joined the breakaway Independent Democratic Caucus (IDC) in Albany. The IDC, which now has eight members, has formed a coalition with the Senate Republicans to gain control of the chamber.
Queens Ledger
Judge sentences Peter Liang to probation, community service
A Brooklyn judge has sentenced Peter Liang to five years probation and 800 hours of community service for the 2014 fatal shooting of Akai Gurley. Judge Danny Chun of the Brooklyn Supreme Court reduced the charges against Liang from manslaughter to criminally negligent homicide and official misconduct Tuesday afternoon.
Brooklyn Downtown Star
Lifelong Greenpoint resident serves as aide at St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Virginia Sheehan is about to fulfill a dream 86 years in the making. The lifelong Greenpoint resident, who was born on New Year’s Day in 1930, will serve as an aide to Grand Marshal George Mitchell at this year’s Fifth Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Sheehan is one of 14 aides, and will represent her home borough of Brooklyn.
Greenpoint Star
MTA presents two shutdown options at L train meeting
Regular riders of the L train will have to pick their poison, and either way it will be painful. Last Thursday in Williamsburg, MTA officials revealed two reconstruction plans to repair the Canarsie Tunnel on the L line, which was badly damaged by Superstorm Sandy. The first would close the entire tunnel for 18 months, cutting off service entirely from Bedford Avenue to 8th Avenue in Manhattan.
Greenpoint Star
Protests erupt again at city hearing for Pfizer site development
After local protesters shut down a public meeting over a proposed redevelopment of a former Pfizer site in September in Brooklyn, opponents of the plan disrupted yet another hearing last Wednesday, this time at Department of City Planning offices in Lower Manhattan. More than 40 protesters filled the seating area, some holding signs, and sat patiently for the hearing to start.
Greenpoint Star
CB2 debates proposed Sunnyside development
A proposed affordable housing development in Sunnyside has caused a stir among local residents. Community Board 2 hosted a public hearing last Wednesday about The Barnett, a 209-unit, 10-story, mixed-income building proposed for 50-25 Barnett Avenue. A packed room of community members at Sunnyside Community Services voiced their thoughts, opinions and concerns, with the majority speaking in opposition to the project.
Queens Ledger
Tempers flare at meeting with homeless commissioner
Elected and community officials put Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks on the hot seat at Wednesday evening’s Borough Board meeting over the recent proliferation of shelters and lack of community notification. At the often-tense meeting at Borough Hall, Banks was questioned repeatedly about the use of commercial hotels to house homeless families.
Queens Ledger
Roundup: Some Of The Best Thoughts On Jeb Bush's Asian 'Anchor Babies' Remark
There's been a lot of heated conversation over Jeb Bush's use of the word "anchor babies" in remarks about immigration reform, and his subsequent attempt to dig himself out from under the criticism over those initial remarks. It should surprise no one that Bush's comment about his earlier comment unleashed yet another wave of angry pushback.
NPR
Lambda Phi Epsilon emerges as new Asian American fraternity at SU
He is introverted, and didn’t connect well with his classmates. Born and raised on a Native American reservation in the Yakima Valley area of Washington state, Dosono, who is Filipino, was part of the 1 percent of Asians who lived there. That’s why he decided to attend the University of Washington in Seattle, where Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders compose more than 28 percent of the student population, according to data compiled by the school in 2014.
The NewsHouse
Bill Clinton speaks at Syracuse airport in support of Dan Maffei
Former President Bill Clinton stopped by Syracuse Friday evening to stump for Rep. Dan Maffei as the District 24 congressional race nears the Nov. 4 midterm elections. In a speech to more than 750 people in a hangar at Syracuse Hancock International Airport, Clinton touted Maffei’s positions on issues like equal pay for women, college affordability and economic growth of the middle class.
The NewsHouse

About

Benjamin Fang

Copy Editing

AP Style

Cantonese

Spanish

WordPress

Social Media

Social Curation

Final Cut Pro X

I am currently a community editor at the Queens Ledger/Brooklyn Star Newspaper Group covering communities in Queens and Brooklyn.

My journalism experience includes stints with the Central New York Business Journal in Syracuse, the Queens Courier and The Local Spain in Madrid.

I am a graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications where I studied newspaper and online journalism and political science with a minor in Asian/Asian American studies.

At Syracuse, I was a lead producer for The NewsHouse, a student digital news site, and managing editor and former editor-in-chief for ALINE Magazine, an Asian-interest publication.