Sunny’s raises $65,000 and is still looking for more According to their website, and a story that aired on WPIX-TV, Sunny’s much publicized campaign to raise $65,000 to help the bar purchase the building from Sunny’s family has succeeded. Tone Johannsen, who married to bar owner Sunny Balzano, has raised money from a number of events including an art auction. The […]
Carlos Menchaca
Middle schoolers are participatory budgeters this year, by Kimberly Gail Price
Participatory Budgeting is a community wide process that allows constituents to suggest, develop and vote on discretionary funds. For the fourth year in a row council member Carlos Menchaca has allocated $2 million for projects in his district, which includes Red Hook, Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace. Since September, volunteers have been designing and budgeting community ideas. And the time […]
Trash Talk at She-Weld, by Noah Phillips
Marsha Trattner unveiled ten new garbage cans for Red Hook Tuesday morning at a press conference held by Councilman Carlos Menchaca and the South Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SBIDC). The cans were handmade by Trattner to Department of Sanitation specifications, and will replace garbage cans along Van Brunt Street that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The City Council has pool […]
Hugs in a time of Trump, by George Fiala
As the unreal nature of a Trump presidency coalesced into the reality of an inauguration, many in Red Hook began to really understand the meaning of the phrase “misery loves company.” Some traveled to Washington or to Manhattan to take part in the women’s demonstration. Demonstrations end, but the misery remains, and with that in mind, local businesswoman and community […]
Community Pushes Back on Thor Equities Plan, by Noah Phillips
After years of speculation and rumors about Thor Equities’ intentions for its waterfront holding at 280 Richards Street, representatives from the company unveiled the “Red Hoek Point” at a well-attended Community Board 6 Land Use committee meeting. The December 1 presentation at the Miccio Center was given by Ethan Goodman, Director of New York Planning & Project Management at Fox […]
Menchaca brings NYPD and Red Hook youth together, by Nathan Weiser
The first annual Unity in the Community event with Red Hook youth and the NYPD was held in Red Hook on July 30. The day began at 3 pm with street soccer on the fields in Bush Clinton Park, and later four basketball games took place at the Miccio Community Center. According to Councilman Carlos Menchaca, who played in both […]
Menchaca takes on heavy hitting developer and wins, by George Fiala
Councilman Carlos Menchaca led a successful effort to defeat a proposed zoning change in May after hearing the community’s concerns about the relocation of a nursing home to Red Hook. The nursing home’s supporters included some of the largest development lobbyists in the city. The Oxford Nursing Home is a for-profit healthcare facility located in Fort Greene. In 2003, they […]
Message from Carlos: Resilient Together! by Carlos Menchaca
I’m proud of Red Hook. We get good results when we work together. In the last months, we looked to the future, learned from the past and planned a more resilient community. For example, at the Miccio Center, we learned about new ways of building integrated flood protection. People from all over Red Hook reaffirmed that resilience isn’t just […]
Op Ed: The Importance of Participation, by Council Member Carlos Menchaca, District 38
It always takes a village! I’ve learned that this applies in the formation of our families, but also in teaching government to respond faster and better. When neighbors unify and lead community projects, the outcomes are just so much better. Red Hook is a perfect example of this idea. Our community learned how to lead government decisions and processes during […]
Sky’s the limit for new Friends of the Red Hook Library, by George Fiala
The slow climb back for the Red Hook Library took a step forward this week with the first meeting of the Friends of the Red Hook Library. Funding for the Brooklyn Public Library has been increased the past couple of years as Mayor de Blasio and the new City Council was able to devote some more of the city’s budget […]