Bensonhurst Bean is the first online-only community news site serving Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
We cover the diversity of the neighborhood and the news, issues, events and businesses that matter to its residents.
Launched in June 2011, Bensonhurst Bean blends original reporting on community news with contributions from neighbors, and we tie it all up by bringing together all the important online information relevant to Bensonhurst residents.
Where we excel is building community – online and off – and that comes by focusing on the needs of all residents. If you have an issue you’d like us to cover – or just want to share an amusing anecdote – get in touch!
Who We Are
Ned Berke (Editor & Publisher) is a lifelong Brooklyn resident. After graduating Rutgers University, he freelanced for community papers, then edited and wrote for one of the largest television trade magazine publishers in the world. After a stint freelancing from Lima, Peru, he returned to work full-time to bring Southern Brooklyn residents the news they need and deserve. His first local news website, Sheepshead Bites earned him the title of “Best Local Blogger in Brooklyn and Manhattan” (The L Magazine), and Sheepshead Bites was included in a Reynolds Journalism Institute list of the nation’s most promising hyperlocal news ventures. (E-mail)
Laura Vladimirova (Lead Blogger) is a writer and photographer residing in Gravesend, Brooklyn. She’s a bit of a Brooklyn nomad, having also lived in Midwood, Bensonhurst, Park Slope, and Sheepshead Bay. Her writing and photographs have been published internationally, but her favorite work centers on uncovering the stories within her local community. (E-mail)
