I happen to love adventures, and unexpected treats are always a highlight of life. However, being surprised at discovering a great evening at the Regina Opera is akin to kids from Manhattan attending an event at the Kings Theater and telling their friend’ parents, who grew up watching baseball at Ebbets Field, that they’ve “discovered” Flatbush. I’m probably the last […]
Author: George Fiala
It’s November, and I’m giving thanks! by George Fiala
When I started this paper back in 2010, I would have been surprised to know that it would still be going strong today. What’s kept this paper going has been the contributions of our talented crew of writers, our advertisers, the local merchants who allow us to distribute the paper at their locations, and finally and equally as important, the […]
How can humans who can do such great things also be so reprehensible?
Iwas struck by a conversation I had with my friendly UPS driver the other day. I told him that I had just gotten back from a two week vacation overseas, and he told me he just did the same. He had spent a week in Poland and a week in Belarus visiting family. I’ve spent most of my life not […]
Community Board meets in person, finally! by George Fiala
They had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the auditorium at PS 32, but by the end of the night the members of Community Board 6, local politicians and their representatives, and various interested community members were having such a good time re-meeting each other that you might have thought it was an early holiday party. Since the beginning […]
Column: I’ve changed my mind about the Columbia Waterfront, by George Fiala
It’s always been the view of this paper (and me) that the Columbia Street waterfront, the stretch of coastland between Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Red Hook Cruise Terminal should always remain a containerport. Actually, in addition to the shipping facility, it is also home to the beer distributor Manhattan Beverage and also the Waterfront Commission, a leftover from the […]
Column: Food Bazaar is a Red Hook perk, by George Fiala
We are lucky to have Food Bazaar in the neighborhood Before I ever made Red Hook my stomping ground, I had been to Fairway, Food Bazaar’s antecedent. Not so much to shop, but to take various people, including my daughter, for a fine lunch of a whole broiled chicken with sides, and the Statue of Liberty in the background. One […]
Words by George: An unexpected benefit, column by George Fiala
Believe it or not, I think COVID has given me a precious gift. It’s kind of a long story but I’ve got the room this month so here goes. It all started in December 2019, when a friend of mine who just happened to start the Brooklyn Paper back in the 1970’s, Ed Weintrob, told me that if I hadn’t […]
Brian and George’s Ukrainian Odyssey, by Brian Abate and George Fiala
Last month we did sandwiches. This month we were going to do another food item, but we decided instead, because of the tragic stuff happening in the Ukraine, we decided to take a look at what’s going on in NY’s Russian and Ukrainian neighborhoods. It’s not a perfect view, we didn’t go millions of times, we only went to three […]
Column: Today’s horrors, by George Fiala
I’ve lived in the United States all my life. But both my parents were from a part of the world that has been hugely in the news since the end of February. They came here from Czechoslovakia after World War 2, pretty much as refugees, my dad as soon as he could, my mom waited for her visa and just […]
Opinion: Governing by Tweet, by George Fiala
Not much space to write this month, but that’s fine. I was actually going to write about how much of news gathering, as well as politicking, is done not in person anymore, but via Twitter and other non-social media thingies. So this can be like an expanded tweet. I’m not sure if Red Hook yet knows this, but for the […]