Eight years ago Long Island College Hospital (LICH) closed down for good (though the emergency room still remains) and three years later Fortis Development Group began construction on 5 River Park, a high-rise building at 347 Henry St. While Fortis is continuing construction on more high rises where the hospital once was, 5 River Park is now complete. The condominium […]
Author: Brian Abate
Kitchen designers open Dumbo showroom, by Brian Abate
Reform, a Danish Kitchen company formed by Michael Andersen and Jeppe Christensen, celebrated the grand opening of their flagship kitchen showroom in Dumbo this November. The address is 39 Main St. The new location in Dumbo is Reform’s largest showroom investment ever and marks the beginning of the brand’s expansion into the United States market with three more showroom openings […]
Refusing cold cash brings hot fine, by Brian Abate
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, a Brooklyn based food company that describes themselves as “the nationally adored brand known for making decadent and delicious dairy and vegan ice cream with high-quality, simple ingredients,” was fined $33,000 by NYC because they violated a local law requiring stores to accept actual cash, unless they install a machine that will convert cash into prepaid […]
Thanksgiving Story by Brian Abate
There are three things that I associate with Thanksgiving: family, food, and football. I love all three of them so it’s one of my favorite holidays. My family does not have many traditions but we have always gotten together at my aunt and uncle’s house on Thanksgiving and when I was little and they lived in Brookline, Massachusetts, I would […]
Local Non Profits eagerly await promised government money, by Brian Abate
On March 22, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez announced that she was earmarking $1 million of federal money to 11 community groups from Red Hook and Gowanus. We followed up with as many of the groups that would return our calls and found out that the money has not yet been sent, and when it does arrive, it will be in four […]
Rebuilding Ukrainian sports starts in Brooklyn, by Brian Abate
While many New York fans were focused on the postseason for the Yankees and Mets, there were other baseball games in New York this October. The Ukrainian national team took on the NYPD team and the FDNY team in back-to-back charity games at Maimonides Park in Coney Island. Money raised in the games is going towards helping rebuild many of […]
2012 seen through our pages, by Brian Abate
This month marks 10 years since Hurricane Sandy devastated Red Hook. Initially, I couldn’t remember all of the details but I did remember that school was canceled for a week. That says a lot because we were lucky to get one day off, even for blizzards. Fortunately, I’ve been able to look through all of the 2012 editions of the […]
Two dear friends collaborate to create Red Hook’s newest business, by Brian Abate
This June, Liz Galvin and Jaimie Walker partnered to open up Basin Gallery & Studios at 344 Van Brunt St. Both were kind enough to talk to me about their beginnings, Basin, and their friendship. “We were casually looking for a place for an art studio but we didn’t have time pressure so there wasn’t a sense of urgency,” Galvin […]
Successful return of the Red Hook Bar League, by Brian Abate
B61 defeated Bait & Tackle 29-7 in an impressive offensive display to win the championship in the Red Hook Locals Softball League. This was the first season softball was back in Red Hook after years without any leagues while everyone waited for the fields to re-open as they were shut down due to toxins in the soil. B61 had contributions […]
Mitaynes answers McGettrick on warehouses, by Brian Abate
Last month I wrote about District 51 Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes’ proposal for a bill that “Establishes an indirect source review” for last-mile warehouses. This month, two members of Mitaynes’ team reached out to me to clarify what the proposal would accomplish. “We believe it’s very important to update the community on what’s going on around them and we want to […]