Just before the summer, a presentation was made to the Red Hook Civic Association at PS 15, and to Community Board Six (CB6) at the Miccio Center, regarding an application to build a nine story nursing home right in the middle of Red Hook, close to Pioneer Works. The South Oxford Nursing Home is a Fort Greene facility that has […]
Real Estate
Op Ed: Watching neighborhoods transform, by George Fiala
Last month I had a chance to see the corporate mind working. I was invited to take part in a weeklong public relations event held by BASF, the world’s largest chemical company. At their NYC event held as part of their 150th birthday celebration, they decided to focus on Red Hook as a city of tomorrow. BASF is very excited […]
Will a 9 story nursing home become Pioneer Work’s future neighbor? by George Fiala
Much of Red Hook first learned of a plan to locate a large, for-profit nursing home facility behind Van Brunt Street, adjacent to Pioneerworks, at the monthly Red Hook Civic Association meeting on June 24. The property, which was purchased by the nursing home operator back in 2003, has been rented out on a month-to-month basis to an ironworker and […]
Pile Driving in Red Hook – an increasing concern, by George Fiala
A topic that the short-lived Red Hook Coalition attempted to tackle a few years ago was the many vacant lots that dot Red Hook. As the real estate market has begun to take care of that problem itself, a new problem has taken its place – pile driving. Since Red Hook is now in a FEMA designated flood zone, most […]
A New Vision for Brooklyn Bridge Park, by George Fiala
In case you haven’t noticed, a waterfront park has been taking shape just north of the Red Hook Containerport. Brooklyn Bridge Park, conceived of in the 1980’s and 90’s, and built this century, has not been without controversy. For much of Brooklyn’s history, the Fulton Ferry piers were a busy hub for loading and unloading cargo ships. By the early […]
Readers respond to Estate Four plans
Last month Estate Four released new artist renderings of their plans for the Red Hook waterfront. The NY Times published them alongside an article headlined “Stylish Plans for Sleepy, Industrial Red Hook.” This of course made major news in our little part of town, and so we asked readers to comment. What follows are responses submitted via email and Facebook. […]
Development without displacement: ensuring affordability in Red Hook, by Ben Fuller-Googins
Red Hook is undergoing a renaissance. At least according to a recent The Real Deal article that sees the accelerated growth in market rate housing and commercial construction as “livening up this remote Brooklyn community.” Such “livening up,” however, is often accompanied by diminished affordability and displacement, disproportionately affecting working class families and people of color. Already, 48% of Red […]
A Red Hook monument goes silent forever, photos and text by Micah B. Rubin
For 60 years, the ruckus of machines and tools rang though Golten Marine’s machine shop at 160 Van Brunt. A hive of mechanics and workers toiled for long hours as they rebuilt engines and drive systems of ships and tankers stranded throughout the world. Even when it was quiet, an air compressor’s hiss rang through the workshop. On July 3, […]
Red Hook 2024, by Micah B. Rubin
If all goes according to plan, Red Hook’s “back” will be unrecognizable within ten years. The Los Angeles-based developer Est4te Four has a reputation for breathing new life into abandoned and derelict buildings. They’ve turned gritty neighborhoods in Milan and London into centers of culture and fashion. Their current projects at 160 Imlay Street and 202 Coffey Street are set […]
Update on BASIS Independent School in Red Hook, by George Fiala
Since we published our last issue, we have learned a few things about the effort to build an elite private school close to the Red Hook Houses. The owner of the land, who is also a general contractor (his for-rent sign on the lot last summer did say ‘build to suit.’ is Humberto (Herbie) Lopes. Mr. Lopes is a large […]