Author: Brian Abate

Food

Breakfast at Wraptor, by Brian Abate

After enjoying many evening meals at Wraptor Restaurant and Bar, 358 Columbia St., I decided to try breakfast. I got a western omelet which came with toast and fries. The omelet was big and tasty, and the eggs weren’t runny at all. There were big portions of ham, onions, and peppers in the omelet. I also had a glass of […]

Features

Sports: New season of Red Hook Softball, by Brian Abate

The Red Hook Locals Softball League is back for a fourth season and began with a triple header on April 17. In 2022, B61 beat Bait & Tackle to become champions and win the Colucci Cup, in 2023, Bait returned the favor and beat B61 in the championship, and last season B61 beat the Wobblies in the championship. Unlike last […]

Feature Story

Local law firm specializes in local justice, by Brian Abate

Messing Law in Red Hook might be considered a “triple A firm” consisting of the team of Aaron Messing, Alessandra Carcaterra Messing, and Alessandra (Ale) Maldonado. Both Aaron Messing and Maldonado attended Fordham Law School but they took very different paths to get there. While Messing was born and raised in Manhattan, Maldonado was born in Peru, grew up in […]

Feature Story

This year’s Jane’s walk celebration included a tour of Cobble Hill

I attended the Cobble Hill Jane’s Walk on a most beautiful May 2, led by volunteers Susan Dresner and Strephen Wing. This is a yearly chance to learn some in-depth history of a neighborhood, and in this particular case, Dresner’s go-to places for food. We met early that Friday near the Bergen Street subway station. Dresner began by explaining that […]

Feature Story

Wraptor celebrates the start of spring

Red Hook’s Wraptor Restaurant, located at 358 Columbia St., marked the start of spring on March 30. Despite cool weather in the low 50s, more than 50 people showed up to enjoy the festivities. “We wanted to do something nice for everyone and celebrate the start of the spring so we got the permits to have everyone out in front,” […]

Feature Story

Wraptor is working hard to invigorate the dining experience of the ‘other side’ of Red Hook, by Brian Abate

Enrique Barranco opened Wraptor Restaurant and Bar a few years ago at 358 Columbia St. at the corner of Seabring St. in Red Hook. He spoke about the challenges the restaurant faces, the best parts of his job, and his love for Red Hook. “I knew owning a restaurant was part of the dream but I wasn’t sure if I […]

News

Carroll Gardens Association empowers Nannys, by Brian Abate

The Carroll Gardens Nanny Association (CGNA) is working to raise the standards in the domestic work industry. Rosemary Martinez, Wendy Guerrero, and Charon Best are all a part of the CGNA with Martinez working as a domestic worker organizer and Guerrero working as a program coordinator. All three have in common that they all did domestic work after moving to […]

News

Spring Bank officially opens on Van Brunt, by Brian Abate

After years without a bank, Red Hook celebrated the opening of Spring Bank at 356 Van Brunt St. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 23. Despite cold weather, more than 50 people attended the celebration including Senator Andrew Gounardes, Akbar Rizvi, the Chief Lending Officer (CLO) and president of Spring Bank, ReyJane Gaudin, the branch manager, Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes, […]