{"id":219600,"date":"2026-05-04T19:06:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T19:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/219600\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T19:06:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T19:06:34","slug":"as-met-gala-draws-criticism-brooklyns-2026-peoples-ball-celebrates-inclusivity-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/219600\/","title":{"rendered":"As Met Gala draws criticism, Brooklyn\u2019s 2026 People\u2019s Ball celebrates inclusivity \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 People\u2019s Ball at the iconic Brooklyn Central Library at Grand Army Plaza on May 3 didn\u2019t need a tech CEO to deliver a dazzling show \u2014 for the people, by the people.\n<\/p>\n

The annual free and inclusive event, held on the eve of the Met Gala, celebrates Brooklyn\u2019s fashion, individuality and creativity. It offers an alternative to exclusive, high-profile events like the Met Gala, which this year has faced backlash over the appointment of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez, as lead sponsors and honorary chairs.<\/p>\n

Criticism has also centered on the staggering $100,000 ticket price, which some argue is tone-deaf given the current economic climate. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and First Lady Rama Duwaji are also breaking with a long-standing tradition of mayoral attendance at the event, opting to skip it.<\/p>\n

\"\"The People\u2019s Ball was a chance for New Yorkers to show off their fashion sense.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"The People\u2019s Ball drew Brooklyn\u2019s most fashionable crowd.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

TV and radio personality Bevy Smith and actor Ariel Polanco hosted the event, which featured live performances by Tony Award winner and three-time Grammy nominee Melba Moore, along with DJ sets by DJ Fritzo.<\/p>\n

In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the People\u2019s Ball celebrated the enduring legacy of American fashion.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Actor Ariel Polanco and TV and radio personality Bevy Smith hosted the event.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Legendary Tony Award winner and three-time Grammy nominee, Melba Moore, energized the crowd with two live performances.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Co-curator Souleo introduced this year\u2019s honorees.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

Honorees included Bethann Hardison, the first high-profile Black fashion model and activist; June Ambrose, an award-winning creative director, costume designer, stylist and entrepreneur; and Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo), an internationally recognized Native American fashion and textile designer known for blending Indigenous artistry with contemporary culture.<\/p>\n

Co-curator Souleo, who introduced this year\u2019s honorees, noted, \u201cThere is no America without the cultural contributions of women, the native and the black communities.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\"\"(L-R) Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo), Bethann Hardison and June Ambrose, honorees at the 2026 People\u2019s Ball.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Even Brooklyn\u2019s youngest got in on the fun.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"A young fashionista pays homage to Michael Jackson.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

Before the doors opened, fashionistas strutted their designs on the Brooklyn Library\u2019s plaza.\n<\/p>\n

Park Slope resident Corrie M.\u2019s dress was inspired by the monsters of \u201cThe Last of Us,\u201d a post-apocalyptic drama series based on a video game franchise. She designed a cosplay ballroom gown, complete with a headdress and a moss scarf.<\/p>\n

The People\u2019s Ball, she said, gave regular people a chance to show their creative side and \u201cstrut their stuff,\u201d adding that the Met Gala paled in comparison.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s gonna be so boring, and I think [the People\u2019s Ball] is going to outshine it,\u201d Corrie said.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Park Slope resident Corrie M.\u2019s dress was inspired by the monsters of \u201cThe Last of Us.\u201dPhoto by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Fashionistas posed on the Plaza before the event.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

Amaryllis Greene wore a white gown accented with bright red feather borders, red gloves and red high-heeled pumps, titled \u201cScarlet Authority.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe heavy theme of the color of the dress is red. I made it so I could feel powerful,\u201d Greene told Brooklyn Paper, noting it was the first time she had sewn an outfit. \u201cI love making sure people can feel like they have authority, like a person of authority, because, depending on how you look, people will make assumptions very quickly, just based on how you\u2019re dressed. So I really feel like an authority figure in this dress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Amaryllis Greene\u2019s dress was called \u201c Scarlet Authority.\u201dPhoto by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

Greene said she loved the concept of the People\u2019s Ball because it gives the event back to the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of beautiful, beautiful people out here, and they can really make some fire outfits,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

East Flatbush resident Jackie Williams waited in line alongside her friends Eunice Jemmott and Dolores Herbert \u2014 the trio calls themselves the \u201cChocolate Cuties.\u201d Williams told Brooklyn Paper she attended the event for the first time last year but didn\u2019t fully understand it until her friend decided to walk the runway at the last minute.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018You know what? I\u2019m going to do it this time. I\u2019m an 84-year-old fun-loving, adventurous lady, and one of the Chocolate Cuties, so I\u2019m gonna walk along,\u2019\u201d Williams shared, proudly wearing a dress that was a Christmas gift from her daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis outfit is very special to me. And I want to walk the walk. So I like to be kind of dazzling if I can. So I thought this would be the most fitting for [the event],\u201d Williams said.
\n\"\"Friends Eunice Jemmott, Jackie Williams and Dolores Herbert call themselves the \u201cChocolate Cuties.\u201dPhoto by Gabriele Holtermann\n<\/p>\n

Mother-daughter duo Astrid and Amara said they were looking forward to a fun night out.<\/p>\n

Nine-year-old Astrid, wearing a headpiece adorned with flowers and butterflies paired with a butterfly top, told Brooklyn Paper the ball was \u201cfun, cool, and very fashionable.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Her mother added that the ball supports the community, unlike the invitation-only Met Gala.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is for the community. Let people come in as they are, or whatever inspires them to come and dress up and represent who they are,\u201d Astrid said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s a good way for people to have fun. You know, sometimes you just need a night out and just to have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"scenes from the 2026 People\u2019s Ball capture Brooklyn\u2019s vibrant fashion, creativity and community spirit.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 People\u2019s Ball at the iconic Brooklyn Central Library at Grand Army Plaza on May 3 didn\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219601,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[1149,98,100,99,14749,1242,4225,30959,9,24,63,4230,86495],"class_list":["post-219600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-art","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-brooklyn-public-library","tag-fashion","tag-fashion-designer","tag-met-gala","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-runway","tag-the-peoples-ball"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}