Strauss Bakery in Brooklyn recently created a massive four-foot, fifty-pound kosher hamantasch as part of a fundraising effort for Masbia, a kosher soup kitchen and food bank in New York.

Brad Lander, a veteran Brooklyn community organizer turned city councilman, has successfully navigated the messy world of New York politics, playing a key role in major policy changes such as mandatory paid sick leave and increased police oversight.