Those who were willing to join the February Community Board 6 meeting in person were rewarded with the chance to peek around a sleek, modern building in the heart of Gowanus and to sample some baked goods provided by one of the board members. The building is home to the Van Alen Institute, a Gowanus-based nonprofit. The baked goods (vegan, […]
News
NYPD Community Meetings: What are they all about? by Katherine Rivard
On January 9 at 2:35pm, a commuter waiting for their train at the 9th and Smith station rushed to find help after seeing someone fall onto the tracks. Officers Morgan Brown and Meir Green sprang into action. As the train approached, Officer Brown stood by the entrance to flag the conductor. Meanwhile, Officer Green jumped into the subway tunnel to […]
Column by George: All hail our new Civic Association!
I‘ve often written that Red Hook needs an organization that represents the viewpoints of everyone in our pretty unique community. An institution that presents our views to the rest of the world, including those outside entities looking to change things here, including real estate developers, government agencies and large corporations. Also a place where our local politicos can come and […]
Brooklyn Bridge Park to be recreated in Gowanus, by George Fiala
February’s CB6 Land Use committee was host to a couple of presentation by designers of two small park areas that are part of the Gowanus rezoning. The first presentation for a park that will be on part of the Pig Beach property was made by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates who are the designers of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, a much […]
Part 3 in our series: Breathing diseases in the neighborhood , by Brian Abate
There are a lot of different asthma triggers in Red Hook, including outdoor factors like truck pollution and indoor factors like vermin, smoking, and one of the most common triggers: mold. “One of the frustrating things is medication alone isn’t enough to treat asthma if someone is going to continue to get exposed to these factors that can exacerbate their […]
Avilés holds presser on last-mile warehouse bills, by Brian Abate
Council Member Alexa Avilés spoke at City Hall Park on February 16 about the unchecked growth of last-mile delivery hubs and three new bills she will be introducing to deal with them. The three bills are co-sponsored by Council Members Jennifer Gutiérrez, Sandy Nurse, Selvena Brooks-Powers, Julie Won, Shahana Hanif, and Lincoln Restler as well as Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, […]
Politicians say the BQE is killing people, by Brian Abate
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, Council Member Lincoln Restler, representatives from the offices of Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, and other leaders spoke about the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) outside of Jaime Campiz Playground in Williamsburg on February 13. They condemned NY State for not working with the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) to re-design the BQE in […]
Column: NYC apartments were never really affordable, by George Fiala
The new beautiful people who love to equate social justice with unconstrained real estate development love to say that everybody could get a great place to live whereever they want if only developers were allowed to build anyplace they wanted to, as tall as they like. If you don’t believe me, go to the website of the supposed non-profit, Open […]
Yes Virginia, there is (still) a Community Board, by Katherine Rivard
There are many things that set New York City apart—its spirit, grit, bustle… and community boards. Only a city with such dense neighborhoods and opinionated residents could possibly give rise to so many hyper-local, active resident groups. And unlike in most cities, NYC residents have a unique opportunity to weigh in regularly on their neighborhood’s actions and developments, thanks to […]
Public Place battle tamped down by EPA scientist, by George Fiala
After the revelation last month about a provocative letter sent by some Gowanus Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) to EPA heads, some thought that the next monthly meeting would be filled with fireworks (see our last issue). However, Chief Engineer Christos Tsiamis, who has been providing updates to the project almost every month for the past dozen years, diffused all […]