Celebrating Community
From time to time over the years I have written about the possibilities of Red Hook that seem to be limited by the lack of any type of governing authority specific to our unique neighborhood. Obviously we are a part of a much bigger city, but so is City Island, for example. While it is officially part of the Bronx, […]
I took the opportunity to cover two events that are written about in this month’s paper. The first was the fabulous party honoring Lillie Marshall’s service to Red Hook. The second was Nydia Velazquez’s ceremony announcing federal grants that she has directed to local non-profits. Miss Marshall’s party was inside at the Miccio Center, Nydia’s outside in the PS 676 […]
It’s been surprisingly difficult to speak with Amazon officials about the large Amazon Flex facility in Red Hook, which is located on Bay St. between Columbia St. and Hicks St. I was told to get in contact with their corporate office before I could speak to anyone but after a lot of phone calls and messages, I still couldn’t get […]
Noah Syndergaard is a great pitcher with the NY Mets. The even better pitcher is his teammate, Jacob deGrom. He’s said of deGrom: “That’s an evolution thing, and he’s gotten better every single year. Great signs, and shows you how hard he works.” Sportswriter Matt Ehalt once wrote: “Syndergaard has has an up-close view of deGrom’s historic season, and is […]
At the end of March, the EPA filed an Administrative Order making specific demands of the City of New York regarding their unkept promises at the Gowanus Canal cleanup. Christos Tsiamis, Chief Engineer of the project, has said many times in the past that the Federal government, of which the EPA is part of, has sovereignty over city government, which […]
Linda Mariano, a lifelong advocate for the Gowanus community, shown above as Miss Gowanus on the 100th anniversary of the Gowanus Flushing Tunnel in 2011, passed away last month. Brad Vogel, who we know from the Gowanus Dredgers, wrote these words in memory of her full life: “Linda and I served on the Community Advisory Group together (she helped get […]
Red Hookers got their first view of Cesar Zuniga back in 2014, when, with the support of our council member Carlos Menchaca, he ran against Assemblymember Felix Ortiz. He didn’t do that badly, but it was not yet Ortiz’s time to lose. Here is what he told the Star-Revue then, as part of our ask-the-candidates story: “As the son of […]
Alexandros Washburn, a professor, architect, city planner and lately a real estate developer who owns a house on Van Brunt Street, made a name for himself after Hurricane Sandy by attaching himself to the many resiliency groups that sprung up after that disaster. His latest project is what he is calling a “Model Block.” He and a group of partners […]
It’s finally time for me to figure out what exactly to write in this column I have given myself. I say that because in case you weren’t aware, George is me, George Fiala, who has been running this paper since I thought of it back in 2010. I very much enjoy the groove we’ve gotten into this year, with an […]
A couple weeks ago I was surprised to see the name “Carlos Menchaca” pop up on my phone’s Caller ID. Menchaca has been representing Red Hook in the City Council for the past seven years. During all of that time I have been writing about Red Hook in this newspaper. We’ve never socialized, despite my invitations for dinner to talk […]