Dear Task Force, I have lived in the Cobble Hill Towers building for over 20 years. I am opposed to the BMT development project for many reasons but primary among them is traffic and transportation. I am in favor of continuing to see this area as working waterfront, but using high density housing to pay for it should be a […]
Author: George Fiala
The People Win! by George Fiala
Last May the NYC Economic Development Corporation, backed by Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul, gave Red Hook a death knell. They fully expected the community to remain quiescent while they pushed through their plan to add a large number of thirty, forty and even fifty story high rise buildings, mostly filled with luxury condos, along the waterfront—from Atlantic Avenue all […]
Dead Man Walking – EDC’s zombie BMT plan postponed again, by George Fiala
At 9:15 pm on Wednesday, July 16, the evening before the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force was to vote on the future of the EDC Vision Plan for the Red Hook and CWD waterfront, members received the following e-mail from Congressman Dan Goldman’s office. Goldman is the leader of the Task Force. Hi everyone, Senate Republicans are currently working to […]
An auspicious beginning for Red Hook’s Lundy revival, by Katherine Rivard
“2 IN LUNDY FAMILY SLAIN IN BURGLARY,” read a front-page headline of The New York Times on September 19, 1975. The victims were the sister and brother-in-law of Frederick William Irving Lundy, the founder of the famed Lundy Brothers Restaurant, and their deaths marked the beginning of the end for the historic restaurant. Lundy’s is no longer a household name […]
Opinion: Putting people ahead of condos, by George Fiala
As I write this, I’m listening to the news talking about the “big, beautiful bill.” That is our legislature trying to put into law all the things that Donald Trump wants to do but can’t without the cooperation of the US Congress. A certain amount of votes are needed by the Republicans. There is all kind of horse trading going […]
Toxic vapors and pollution hold up Public Place plans, by Eric Newstrom
Almost 20 years since the first decision document outlining the remediation plan for Public Place, a site along the Gowanus Canal which used to be the site of the Citizens Manufactured Gas Plant but now was supposed to become the flagship development of the rezoned Gowanus, with affordable housing and green space, sits desolate. As one of the most polluted […]
EDC wheeling and dealing trying to pass their BMT, plan by Eric Newstrom
New York City’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has delayed the vote on the vision plan for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal redevelopment. Again. “I’m very frustrated,” said Jim Tampakis, task force member, maritime expert and owner of Marine Spares International. The Brooklyn Marine Terminal task force, a 28-member advisory body that since last summer has been working with EDC to shape […]
The Community wins – Kimball loses, column by George Fiala
FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: As Kimball sees the writing on the wall about today’s vote – an email was just sent out to all the Task Force members announcing a two or three week delay, into the middle of July likely interrupting Dan Goldman’s vacation. My guess is that Eric Adams leaned into Governor Hochul to try and find more funding […]
We endorse Avilés, Hanif and Mamdani, by the Red Hook Star-Revue Editorial Team
It’s primary month. As far as the City Council is concerned, the Democratic Party primary in June is the real election, not the usually uncompetitive one in November. The battles over two city council seats in South Brooklyn, Districts 38 and 39, seem to be coming down to the wire. In district 38, which includes Red Hook, incumbent progressive Council […]
15h Anniversary Special: It couldn’t be done without the writers, by George Fiala
Over the years I have learned that the most important part of publishing a paper is assembling a great writing team. Early on I faced an issue with no writers and I had to write everything myself, which was so terrible I made sure it never happened again. Papers like this one have always been a good training ground for […]
15th Anniversary Special: What a long strange trip it’s been!
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, the trite expression goes. I may not be stronger, but I still love putting together this paper every single month. I’ve never actually lived in Red Hook, but I’ve been on its fringes ever since I moved to Boerum Hill in 1983. My very first Red Hook memory was in 1978 when I […]
15th Anniversary Special: A Potpourri of Faces
The Potpourri of faces starts in 2015 and goes through the present, with the most recent photos at the top. These photos are all taken from Star-Revue photo files, some were printed in the paper, others here for the first time. These are just some of the many people that make Red Hook a community. There are too many to […]
15th Anniversary Special: The First Five Years
The first five years refers to the years 2010-2014. Most of the photos are from Hurricane Sandy and afterwards. The big events are of course Sandy, which invaded at the end of October 2012; the many resiliency meetings that occurred afterwards; the closing (against most community wishes) of Long Island College Hospital; and various local personalities, including politicians Sara Gonzalez, […]
