Sunset Park, Brooklyn wasn’t always so nice. Today, it boasts a waterfront park replete with baseball fields, tide pools and a seaside esplanade, but not long ago that park was a hazardous waste site.

The credit for that transformation rests, in part, with the residents of Sunset Park, who pushed the city to clean up the waterfront. Over the last two decades, locals have racked up victories faster than Tom Brady. They blocked the construction of a gas-fired power plant, campaigned for a new shoreline walking path, and pressed transportation officials to remake a major street, adding trees and protected bike lanes, among other measures. Read More