Carlos Menchaca

Carlos Menchaca, Op Ed

Opinion: Trains and boats and Nursing Homes, by George Fiala

Our Councilmember Carlos Menchaca made the news today as his office plans to draft a bill banning all tourist helicopter flights from NYC. This is an issue that has a small but noisy constituency, mainly the people in Battery Park City, Brooklyn Heights and Red Hook that are directly affected by the noise of the helicopters. The copters offer a birds-eye view […]

Carlos Menchaca, Local Issues - Red Hook, Real Estate

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 […]

Carlos Menchaca, NYCHA, Red Hook Non Profits

Forest City Ratner comes to Red Hook for some good publicity, by George Fiala

Rebuilding Together, a large national non-profit organization founded in 1999, came to Red Hook after Hurricane Sandy and set up shop at 285 Van Brunt Street, taking over the office abandoned by Max Pollack Insurance. They have stayed, making it their NYC headquarters. Their mission, as stated on their 990 tax form, is to “bring volunteers and communities together to […]

Carlos Menchaca, NYCHA, Op Ed, Red Hook Houses, Red Hook Senior Center

In Red Hook we take care of our own, by Carlos Menchaca

Dear Neighbor, It has been almost 30 months since the senior center on Wolcott Street was destroyed by the waters of Super-Storm Sandy. However, the good news is the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is aggressively moving forward with plans to renovate the building next to the Joseph Miccio Community Center to serve as a fully functional senior center […]

Carlos Menchaca, Politics

Editorial: Menchaca roils the waters, by George Fiala

While some (including us) might call Carlos Menchaca’s first year in office an evolution, in the vital things he has held fast to his principles –  the most important being that a democracy is for all the people. He is no thoughtless revolutionary. While he signs his emails “in solidarity,” he never looks to divide people into “us and them.” Instead, as we […]

Carlos Menchaca, Police

The 76th Precinct loses a gem, by George Fiala

Captain Justin Lenz, head of the 76th Precinct since October 2013, tweeted that his last day at the precinct was “bittersweet.” We feel the same way. Lenz, who was transferred to the 101’st Precinct in the Rockaway’s at the beginning of this month, was one of the reasons we felt that the Red Hook community has been very lucky lately. […]

Carlos Menchaca, Editorials, Local Issues - Red Hook, Red Hook Containerport

Editorial: Breaking the chains of corporate interests

Speaking truth to power can involve a personal sacrifice. Getting into a position where power will listen is a big achievement. It takes courage to risk that position if the truth is not what the powers that be desire. Carlos Menchaca, our City Councilman, did just that the other week. He used the power vested in his position to refuse […]

Carlos Menchaca, Port Authority, Red Hook Containerport, Red Hook Shopping, Sunset Park, Uncategorized, Waterfront

Are the Red Hook cranes headed to Sunset Park? by George Fiala

In an incredible overreaction, Kyle Kimball, head of the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC), announced that he was abandoning development of Sunset Park’s South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT), simply because City Councilman Carlos Menchaca didn’t give him what he wanted. SBMT comprises ten blocks along the waterfront in Sunset Park, southwards from 29th Street. It is an intermodal facility, named […]

Carlos Menchaca, Red Hook Houses

At least another year until the Red Hook Senior Center gets its new digs, by George Fiala

A busy Friday in Red Hook began with a morning meeting at the Miccio Center to discuss the progress of the new Senior Center. The original center, on Walcott Street across from the library, was wiped out by Sandy floodwaters over two years ago. Operated by RAICES, the center offers those over 60 a place to have lunch, shoot pool, […]