Author: Brian Abate

News

Spring Bank officially opens on Van Brunt, by Brian Abate

After years without a bank, Red Hook celebrated the opening of Spring Bank at 356 Van Brunt St. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 23. Despite cold weather, more than 50 people attended the celebration including Senator Andrew Gounardes, Akbar Rizvi, the Chief Lending Officer (CLO) and president of Spring Bank, ReyJane Gaudin, the branch manager, Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes, […]

News

Rooftop ceremony at PS 58, by Brian Abate

On Dec. 10, City officials, students, and teachers met with the press on the roof of P.S. 58 at 330 Smith St. for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the installation of solar panels, part of a city wide initiative.. “At DCAS [Department of Citywide Administrative Services,] part of our mission is to help the City push toward major […]

News

The never ending Columbia Street traffic jam has an effect on business, by Brian Abate

Residents and businesses in the Columbia Street Waterfront District have been dealing with extreme traffic along Columbia St. and throughout the neighborhood. ever since the BQE bottleneck under the Brooklyn Heights Promenade was introduced in 2022. Driving just a few blocks can take 30 minutes or more as cars look to avoid the heavy traffic above. Mazzat, a Mediterranean restaurant […]

Feature Story, Quality of Life Issues, Sports

New fields lure soccer league to Red Hook, by Brian Abate

Red Hook Football Club is the highest level soccer team in Brooklyn and its leaders are looking to build a club with social justice at its core. The team plays its home games right at the newly renovated Red Hook Soccer Fields. “This actually started because I needed to find a place to play that was at a decent level,” […]

News, Red Hook Shopping

Red Hook Business Alliance returns to BWAC, by Brian Abate

The Red Hook Holiday Market runs one more weekend, the 21st and 22nd, from 1-6 pm. The Holiday Market is presented by the Red Hook Business Alliance and Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) and will take place at BWAC, 481 Van Brunt St. Door #7A. The Red Hook Business Alliance was founded in 2019 by Susan Povich and Victoria Alexander […]

News

I went to a BMT feedback session, by Brian Abate

There have been a few large community meetings and some smaller ones following Mayor Adams’ May 14 announcement about a  planned transformation of the local waterfront. This has been the plan of the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) who is tasked with leading the transformation. I attended one of the smaller sessions on October 23. Four people showed up to […]

Columbia Street, Land Use, News

63 Tiffany brings out politicos on Halloween morning, by Brian Abate

Residents of 63 Tiffany Place, neighbors, community members, and politicians all gathered for a rally outside of the 70-unit apartment building. There were about 100 people in total including all local city and state politicians, including even Shahana Hanif, who came over from Park Slope office. The building’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is expiring and that means all […]