Author: George Fiala

GNCJ posters held up
Land Use, NYCHA, Quality of Life Issues, Real Estate

Community Concerns Raised at Latest DCP Gowanus Rezoning Forum

City Planning’s February 6th event to show the public the progress of their Gowanus rezoning plan turned into a kerfluffle when the 5th Avenue Committee sent Red Hook’s Karen Blondel into the PS 32 auditorium with chairs and a megaphone. “After two years of community engagement in this process, the City of New York continues to exclude any commitments to […]

Food

NYC Restaurant Week Winter ’19: South Brooklyn Edition

There’s no need to leave the borough for delicious food and fine dining, South Brooklynites! Here are the neighborhood eateries that are participating in NYC Restaurant Week Winter ’19 (Jan. 21 – Feb. 8), according to nycgo.com. Prices listed below are per guest and do not include beverages, taxes or gratuity. Benchmark Restaurant – New American steakhouse (Park Slope) Chef […]

Gowanus Canal

DEP’s CSO proposal explained to Gowanus CAG

The first Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG) meeting for the new calendar year was held on Jan. 22 without Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s presence due to the partial federal government shut-down – the longest shutdown in U.S. history, which had reached Day 32 by the meeting’s date. CAG member Brad Vogel facilitated the night’s agenda that featured the NYC Department […]

Community Board 6, Gowanus Canal, Land Use

Gowanus by Design Discusses Rezoning Framework Before Big Meeting

Gowanus by Design, a local non-profit urban design advocacy, made a presentation at Community Board 6’s Landmarks & Land Use committee meeting held on Jan. 24. Team leader David Briggs talked about some of the goals and impacts of NYC Department of City Planning (DCP)’s Gowanus Rezoning Framework. “What we’re trying to do is give the community a tool and […]

Kids, Red Hook News

P.S. 15 gets involved, by Erin DeGregorio

P.S. 15 students were invited to celebrate the New Year with Mayor Bill de Blasio as he publicly announced the enactment of a Styrofoam ban. NYC manufacturers and stores can no longer sell or offer cups or plates made from the crunchy white synthetic material. There will be a six-month grace period from the ban’s Jan. 1 start date before […]

Red Hook News

Uhuru Design’s Red Hook Roots and History

Uhuru Design, headquartered in Red Hook, is a multi-disciplinary design firm, founded in 2004. Bill Hilgendorf, Uhuru’s co-founder, explained that he had studied abroad in Sweden for a semester, which is when and where he really fell in love with furniture design and interior spaces. He and his business partner Jason Horvath both attended the Rhode Island School of Design […]

Red Hook News

Going Behind the Scenes with Furniture Studio Hachi Collections

Japanese designer Shuya Iida attended furniture design school in Tokyo, where he learned how to build cabinets and chairs. After graduating in 2009, he moved to New York and studied English. Soon after he began working for a Japanese construction company, making furniture pieces and learning how to build rooms from the ground up. Four years later Iida founded Hachi […]

Red Hook Stories

Brooklyn Craftsman Gene Manigo Rebuilds Life and Builds Custom Home Furnishings

Eugene “Gene” Manigo, 66, lifts a long piece of wood that looks like a door and places it nearby a saw in his workshop, Hammer Time Studios. He provides instructions to his apprentice, explaining what length and width he’d like for this piece and how thick the wood should be. The two discuss and confirm numbers before the electric saw […]

Real Estate, Red Hook News

Q&A with Local Architect Allison Reeves

Architect Allison Reeves has been practicing her trade for the last 25 years – working on a range of residential, restaurants and small-scale retail designs to large-scale cultural and educational projects. Her goal has always been to provide modern design with a focus on the innovative use of materials and research-based solutions. Reeves thought about going out on her own […]