Hello! Welcome to Ward 6, a grassroots, hyperlocal newsletter about the people, places and communities of Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook and the Columbia St Waterfront in Brooklyn.
I’m Julie Holstein, longtime journalist and Brooklynite, the founder/editor of Ward 6.
What is WARD 6?
WARD 6 is a weekly, reader-supported digital newsletter for and about Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook and the Columbia St Waterfront, Brooklyn. Think of WARD 6 as a micro newsroom, with a mix of original stories, collaborations, one-stop shopping for local events, curated links to other juicy stories and much more. Above all, WARD 6 is where people who love our neighborhood come for conversation; it’s a backyard fence to yell over, a water cooler to meet at, a friendly place to connect.
Why trust me?
Why start a neighborhood newsletter after nearly two decades working in network news? Because no matter where work took me, I'd come home to Brooklyn wondering about the stories unfolding on my neighborhood.
I started my career in NYC at NBC Nightly News where I covered elections, the summer and winter Olympics, 9/11 and countless other stories. Investigations and deep-dive storytelling is what I really wanted to do and moved to CBS and my then-dream job at 60 Minutes. For nearly 17 years, I traveled the globe reporting on big names and big stories, and I collaborated with some of the best journalists in the business. In 2024, I helped launch the show’s first podcast, A Second Look,about memorable stories from the show’s archives that are still relevant today.
But I’d come home from long days at the studio and was struck by how juicy and important the stories of my neighborhood were. Maybe even more important than the global issues we were covering because the people of Brooklyn were directly impacted.
With WARD 6, I finally get to tell these stories and give something back to the community. Expect the high standards from all my years as a journalist with a twist of fun.
My Brooklyn Love Story
Brooklyn is my favorite place on Earth. I’ve walked, jogged and biked in almost every nook of our neighborhoods (and beyond) and care deeply about their past and present, and future.
My parents were originally from the Bronx, then relocated to California in the late 60s.. My partner and I, both Californians, moved east in the late 90s, first in for a few years in Manhattan. A bit unmoored, in search of community and a normal-sized fridge, we headed to Red Hook. Like many of you, I fell head over heels, madly in love.
We didn’t know much about the neighborhood, but a friend from high school was giving up his apartment on Atlantic Ave. Three flights of stairs above Damascus Bakery became our new home, with near-constant sweet aromas of pita and pastries, a normal fridge AND a kitchen. Our landlords became our first local friends.
Two kids, five NYC schools, and three apartments later, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
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