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Lawsuit won’t delay Public Place cleanup, but will they ever break ground? by Oscar Fock

November 18, 2024 No Comments

At the beginning of October, National Grid, the energy company primarily responsible for cleaning up the Gowanus Canal and the former Citizens Manufactured Gas Plant site (also known as Public Place), filed a lawsuit against 40 defendants, claiming they’re not doing their part to clean up the canal. Following the news of the lawsuit, concerns arose among community members that

Still no end date for NYCHA construction, by Nathan Weiser

November 18, 2024 No Comments

Councilmember Alexa Aviles hosted a Town Hall last month to talk about construction at the Red Hook Houses. “We have not had a meeting about all this construction in a long time,” Aviles said. “I thought it was going to be important that we have NYCHA come tonight and not only give you the update from their perspective but to

Harbor Middle School celebrates Hispanic heritage, by Nathan Weiser

November 18, 2024 No Comments

PS 676 / Harbor Middle School hosted Hispanic heritage family night on October 22 from 4-6 pm in the cafeteria. This was one of their many theme nights throughout the school year. There were many activities at the different tables, Spanish music to listen to and different Red Hook organizations at the event. There was information on a table about

Residential composting takes big strides throughout the city, by Katherine Rivard

November 18, 2024 No Comments

In a time when the City’s Administration seems awash with scandals and resignations, few NYC bureaucrats have been as effective as Jessica Tisch, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY). The citywide composting program, which requires all residents to compost their organic materials, is just one of several sweeping DSNY initiatives implemented during her tenure. The program was rolled

I wet to a BMT feedback session, by Brian Abate

November 18, 2024 No Comments

There have been a few large community meetings and some smaller ones following Mayor Adams’ May 14 announcement about a planned transformation of the local waterfront. This has been the plan of the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) who is tasked with leading the transformation. I attended one of the smaller sessions on October 23. Four people showed up to

63 Tiffany brings out politicos on Halloween morning, by Brian Abate

November 18, 2024 4 Comments

Residents of 63 Tiffany Place, neighbors, community members, and politicians all gathered for a rally outside of the 70-unit apartment building. There were about 100 people in total including all local city and state politicians, including even Shahana Hanif, who came over from Park Slope office. The building’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is expiring and that means all

DEP, EPA propose alternatives for next phase of CSO tank construction, by Oscar Fock

October 11, 2024 No Comments

In early August, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced they had finished the first phase of the construction of the combined sewer overflow (CSO) tank that will sit between the Gowanus Canal and Nevins Street. This phase, which included building a deep underground concrete perimeter around the site, has been a source of concern for neighbors for

The city now wants blue highways. Jim Tampakis has advocated for it for years, interview with Oscar Fock

October 11, 2024 1 Comment

New York City is remaking the Brooklyn Marine Terminal into a waterfront fit for the 21st century. One plan the city has for the marine terminal is to act as a hub for its “blue highways” initiative, an effort to move some freight from the streets to the city’s waterways. 120,000 trucks pass through the city each day, with many

The Indisputable Benefits of Going Phone Free, By Kelsey Sobel

November 18, 2024

According to the Pew Research Center, 97% of Americans own a cellphone. In 2024, nine-in-ten Americans are smartphone users, which is up from 35% in Pew Research Center’s first survey of smartphone ownership from 2011. My own relationship with technology is a standard story for someone born in 1989. I enjoyed my childhood with the most aggressive form of technological

A bigger Ocky Way coming soon!, by Katherine Rivard

November 18, 2024

A chopped cheese, bread swapped for a Jamaican beef patty. Bacon egg and cheese, but coddled between raspberry Pop-Tarts instead of a roll. Halal chicken with Salsalito turkey and spicy Doritos, all sandwiched between pancakes. Ingenuity is alive at the TikTok-famous Red Hook Food Corp (603 Clinton Street), where Rahim Mohamed has grown a following for his wild off-menu creations.

If Only Trump Could Have Been Our President Back Then, by Joe Enright

November 18, 2024

April 30, 1789. Our first President is sworn in and announces: “I exchanged more letters again with King George, a very fine monarch, one of the best in my opinion and I agreed with him that we were very unfair to the British in how we fought, like guerillas in a jungle. To be honest, we should have fought more

Walking with Coffee, by Bob Racioppo

November 18, 2024

A BOOMER-TO-BOOMER DIALOGUE with JOE FORD After several columns talking with millennials I’m switching it up this month and talking with a fellow boomer Joe Ford. Joe is a recording engineer and music producer, and full disclosure I grew up with him in Sunset Park Brooklyn. This change is sparked by a comment in a previous column describing boomers as “too old

Remembering Patricia Wirth Sweeney, by Brian Abate

November 18, 2024

Patricia Wirth Sweeney, affectionately called “Patsy” and “Pat” passed away in Red Hook at the age of 93 on Oct. 15. She was born on June 27, 1931. “She always said she was born in Red Hook and that she was going to die in Red Hook,” said her son, Thomas Wirth. “She loved Red Hook and she took a

Once again Open Studios brings Red Hook a crowd, by Brian Abate

November 18, 2024

The ninth annual Red Hook Open Studios took place the first weekend of October with a kickoff Scrappy Reading event. Artists and makers throughout the neighborhood open their studios and give the public a chance to see (and buy) their work. The Scrappy Reading event took place on Van Brunt Street and featured Jax Preyer, Dean Haspiel, Lilly Dancyger, Niguel

Red Hook Community Cinema Expands to Multi-Day Film Festival, by Dante A. Ciampaglia

November 1, 2024

Red Hook is long overdue for its close-up. And this month, it gets one. Running November 1-10, the 2nd Annual Red Hook Community Cinema film festival showcases 25 films made in, about, or that feature the neighborhood. The series opens Friday, November 1 with Isaac Dell’s Boys at Twenty at 7 pm, followed by a costume party at 9. Like

An ode to the bar at the edge of the world, theater review by Oscar Fock

October 24, 2024

It smells like harbor, I thought as I walked out to the end of the pier to which the barge now known as the Waterfront Museum was docked. Unmistakable were they, even for someone like me maybe particularly for someone like me, who’s always lived far enough from the ocean to never get used to its sensory impressions, but always

Millennial Life Hacking Late Stage Capitalism, by Giovanni M. Ravalli

October 11, 2024

Back in 2019, before COVID, there was this looming feeling of something impending. Not knowing exactly what it was, only that it was going to impact the economy for better or worse. Erring on the side of caution, I planned for the worst and hoped for the best. My mom had just lost her battle with a rare cancer (metastasized

Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Club returns to it’s roots, by Brian Abate

October 11, 2024

The first Brooklyn Rotary Club was founded in 1905 and met in Brooklyn Heights. Their successor club, the Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Club, is once again meeting in the Heights in a historic building at 21 Clark Street that first opened in 1928 as the exclusive Leverich Hotel. Rotary is an international organization that brings together persons dedicated to giving back

A Carroll Gardens  pizza icon remembered, by Brian Abate

October 11, 2024

Family, friends, and neighbors gathered to mourn Onofrio Gaudioso at Sacred Hearts & St. Stephen Church on September 9. Born in 1941, Gaudioso was remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather, and a true gentleman. Gaudioso and his brother-in-law John Teutonico became the owners of House of Pizza and Calzone 132 Union St. in 1963. “We are here not because

An ode to the bar at the edge of the world, review by Oscar Fock

November 20, 2024

It smells like harbor, I thought as I walked out to the end of the pier to which the barge now known as the Waterfront Museum was docked. Unmistakable were they, even for someone like me — maybe particularly for someone like me, who’s always lived far enough from the ocean to never get used to its sensory impressions, but

Quinn on Books: In Search of Lost Time

November 20, 2024

Review of “Countée Cullen’s Harlem Renaissance,” by Kevin Brown Review by Michael Quinn “Yet do I marvel at this curious thing: / To make a poet black, and bid him sing!” – Countée Cullen, “Yet Do I Marvel” Come Thanksgiving, thoughts naturally turn to family and the communities that shape us. Kevin Brown’s “Countée Cullen’s Harlem Renaissance” is a collection

MUSIC: Wiggly Air, by Kurt Gottschalk

November 18, 2024

Mothers of reinvention. “It’s never too late to be what you might have been,” according to writer George Eliot, who spoke from experience. Born in the UK in 1819, Mary Ann Evans found her audience using the masculine pen name in order to avoid the scrutiny of the patriarchal literati. Reinvention, of style if not self, is in the air

Film: “Union” documents SI union organizers vs. Amazon, by Dante A. Ciampaglia

November 18, 2024

Our tech-dominated society is generous with its glimpses of dystopia. But there’s something especially chilling about the captive audience meetings in the documentary Union, which screened at the New York Film Festival and is currently playing at IFC Center. Chronicling the fight of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), led by Chris Smalls, to organize the Amazon fulfillment warehouse in Staten

Puzzling Times or The Victory of Culture, by Roger Bell

November 17, 2024

Park Stickney is a harpist who lives in Switzerland and Sunset Park. He played recently in a Sunset Park bar, solo, duet and in trio* all together a set of jazz infused miracles. His banter was almost as captivating as his music, and another of his gifts which he freely shared, The performances were a rich alchemical mix and transformed

Red Hook Community Cinema Expands to Multi-Day Film Festival, by Dante A. Ciampaglia

November 17, 2024

Kaizers Orchestra Returns to Conquer the US

October 7, 2024 No Comments

Kaizers Return Kaizers Orchestra has always marched to the beat of their own drum. Now, after their first U.S. performance in years, the legendary Norwegian rock band made it clear they haven’t missed a step. Fresh off a triumphant show at Sony Hall, where their theatrical mix of rock, folk, and energy electrified the crowd, I had the chance to

Afrobeats vs. Amapiano Takeover: For the Culture and Social Justice

August 9, 2024 No Comments

Afrobeats vs. Amapiano Takeover at Barclays Center On Sunday, August 4, the plaza at Barclays Center echoed with the sounds of Afrobeats and Amapiano as the two genres took center stage at the third annual Africa Everything: Afrobeats vs. Amapiano Takeover. From 12:00 to 6:00 PM, music lovers, undeterred by the cloudy weather, gathered to experience the best of these

Picture of Troy Ramsey Holding a Guitar for the Cover Art of his single, Pick Up Truck.

Troy Ramey’s Soulful Journey to “Pick Up Truck”

July 17, 2024 No Comments

On June 28, 2024, the acclaimed singer-songwriter Troy Ramey released his latest single, “Pick Up Truck.” Known for his soul-stirring voice and evocative lyrics, Ramey’s new song, which began as a light-hearted jest, has evolved into a heartfelt piece that captures the essence of summer drives and the joy of music. Backstory The story of “Pick Up Truck” began

Music: Wiggly Air, by Kurt Gottschalk

May 13, 2024 No Comments

Another music in a different chamber. The term “chamber pop” has been tossed about at least since the 1960s, when such prophetic composers as Burt Bacharach and Brian Wilson—as well as producers Shadow Morton, Billy Sherrill and Phil Spector, although they tend to be left out of the story—started crafting three-minute, orchestral gems in the pop tradition. Chamber music has

Jazz: Enemies at the Gates, by George Grella

May 13, 2024 No Comments

Gatekeeping gets a bad rap—and it should! Guarding information and experiences to keep them away from people is generally bad. At the very least, it’s a petty and infantile exercising of very limited and temporary power, trying to create an artificial sense of exclusivity and prestige in a pluralistic, democratic culture—snobbery in other words. At worst, you get self-perpetuating, smug

Jazz: Spaces And Places, by George Grella

January 12, 2024 1 Comment

Music making is a social activity. Anyone with a laptop and a bedroom can make an album, but there’s limits to that, not the least how far one’s imagination can go without the stimulus of other personalities. When musicians get together to play it’s a social activity, they make something together whether or not they’re in front of an audience.