I was stunned by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement of the Brooklyn Queens Connector – his $2.5 billion plan for a trolley system that would serve only the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront. What shocked me was the funding source. It is to be financed by floating a bond issue backed by anticipated property tax increases on land adjacent to the […]
Month: April 2016
Commentary – The Flux of CB 6, by Mark Shames
There have been significant changes at the top of the Brooklyn Community Board 6 (CB6) hierarchy. Our Carroll Gardens’ friend and neighbor Gary Reilly, former Chairperson of CB6, has started a new domestic adventure with his wife and children in a home of their own with a backyard near Mount Kisco, New York. My guess is that even Gary would […]
Editorial: What Red Hook would really be getting, by Kimberly Gail Price
While campaigning for the mayoral race in 2013, Mayor de Blasio made frequent stops in and around Red Hook. He made lots of campaign promises to these neighborhoods, including better transportation for Red Hookers. The promise that put him on the map – the promise that took him from last place to first among candidates – was the promise to […]
Mark’s Corner: Why I support Hillary
Months ago I stated that I would vote for Hillary Clinton for President. Our New York Primary approaches in April and the contest on the Democratic Party side has tightened since I made my endorsement. This seems a good time to reaffirm my commitment and explain my evolving thoughts. I am voting for Hillary Clinton because she among all […]
Red Hook Crimes Laid To Wretched Housing in Area, Brooklyn Eagle, 1927
Rooms without windows and poor ventilation cited by Board Brooklyn Eagle, March 22, 1927 Substition of the All-Day Club for the All-Night Club was seen as a remedy for any crime menace in Red Hook by Mrs. Ida Wambold, superintendent of the Flatbush Boys Club, who today advocated the establishment of a community center for the whole family in […]
Eric Adams rules on nursing home by George Fiala
The continuing saga of the attempt to build a nursing home in Red Hook continued last month, as the Borough President Eric Adams’ office published their opinion, and the City Planning Commission (CPC) held their public hearing. The next and presumably last step comes up next, as the City Council takes up Oxford Nursing Home’s application for a zoning change […]
Judge Judith S. Kaye’s lasting legacy in Red Hook, by Kimberly Gail Price
In the early 1990s, Red Hook was on the edge of a dangerous precipice. Riddled with crime, drugs and gangs, several important influences were taking shape and coming together to alter the course of the neighborhood’s future. These quiet movements were suddenly awakened by the unfortunate murder of PS 15’s beloved principle, Patrick F. Daly. In his final moments and […]
$100 million missing from Red Hook IFPS funding, by George Fiala
On January 7, 2014, Vice President Joe Biden came to Albany to announce-together with Governor Andrew Cuomo – a $16.7 billion federally funded package of programs to strengthen New York’s infrastructure against future storms. The money was part of the $50.5 billion in emergency money that congress granted to New York and New Jersey following Hurricane Sandy, with $200 million […]
Donald Trump causes commotion at the Red Hook Civic Association, By Cosmo Politan
PS 15 was filled to capacity last Wednesday for the Red Hook Civic Association monthly meeting. The overflowing crowd packed into the auditorium for the scheduled appearance of Donald J. Trump, notorious GOP front runner for the Republican nomination. The masses were so enormous that the 76th Precinct had to send for support staff, not only to handle the hundreds of […]
Atlantic Basin Mystery SOLVED! by Horatio Hornblower
In June 2015, the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) announced plans for a new commuter ferry connecting Red Hook with other parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens at a comparable rate to subway fare. Improving Red Hook’s transportation connections has been an issue for the greater part of a century. But EDC’s choice of a landing at the very end […]