Real Journalism written by people
After the revelation last month about a provocative letter sent by some Gowanus Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) to EPA heads, some thought that the next monthly meeting would be filled with fireworks (see our last issue). However, Chief Engineer Christos Tsiamis, who has been providing updates to the project almost every month for the past dozen years, diffused all […]
My current brain first came into existence in the 1950’s, after the two world wars and the Great Depression—right in the middle of the Cold War. Growing up through the Bay of Pigs and Vietnam, we were all taught that the Soviet Union was the big enemy, making the threat of nuclear disaster always lurking. I never really met any […]
Editors Note: Star-Revue publisher George Fiala has been an at-large member of this group, the CAG, since 2012. If it was just about cleaning the canal, there would be no problems. But even before the Gowanus Canal was declared a Superfund, back in 2010, there was conflict between the real estate community, Gowanus residents and the local politicians that look […]
Red Hook’s PS 676 kicked off Thanksgiving week with a community potluck that was enjoyed by students and parents after school on Tuesday, November 22. Celebrants met in the cafeteria and got to choose from turkey, chicken, rice, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, Mac and cheese, rolls, fruit, packaged cookies from an Italian bakery, cake with vanilla icing, donuts, cupcakes and […]
Last month I wrote about an idea I have about the future of this part of Brooklyn, concerned mostly with land use. I think it was kind of complicated, so let me say it again but with a little more clarity. The idea is to to balance the needs and desires of real estate developers, commercial shop owners, apartment dwellers […]
I still remember being intrigued by a news report the week before Sandy saying that the late season hurricane could also incorporate a snowstorm. They called it a Frankenstorm, and coming the week before Halloween, it was mildly intriguing. But like with most impending weather disasters, you kind of go on with your normal life at the same time paying […]
Dial back a couple of years and you come to a world in complete disarray, as the mysterious Covid bug pretty quickly disrupted our normal way of life. In the space of a week or so in March 2020, the country went from a bustling and booming economy to one where almost a quarter of the country wasn’t able to […]
From time to time over the years I have written about the possibilities of Red Hook that seem to be limited by the lack of any type of governing authority specific to our unique neighborhood. Obviously we are a part of a much bigger city, but so is City Island, for example. While it is officially part of the Bronx, […]
I took the opportunity to cover two events that are written about in this month’s paper. The first was the fabulous party honoring Lillie Marshall’s service to Red Hook. The second was Nydia Velazquez’s ceremony announcing federal grants that she has directed to local non-profits. Miss Marshall’s party was inside at the Miccio Center, Nydia’s outside in the PS 676 […]
It’s been surprisingly difficult to speak with Amazon officials about the large Amazon Flex facility in Red Hook, which is located on Bay St. between Columbia St. and Hicks St. I was told to get in contact with their corporate office before I could speak to anyone but after a lot of phone calls and messages, I still couldn’t get […]
Noah Syndergaard is a great pitcher with the NY Mets. The even better pitcher is his teammate, Jacob deGrom. He’s said of deGrom: “That’s an evolution thing, and he’s gotten better every single year. Great signs, and shows you how hard he works.” Sportswriter Matt Ehalt once wrote: “Syndergaard has has an up-close view of deGrom’s historic season, and is […]
At the end of March, the EPA filed an Administrative Order making specific demands of the City of New York regarding their unkept promises at the Gowanus Canal cleanup. Christos Tsiamis, Chief Engineer of the project, has said many times in the past that the Federal government, of which the EPA is part of, has sovereignty over city government, which […]
Linda Mariano, a lifelong advocate for the Gowanus community, shown above as Miss Gowanus on the 100th anniversary of the Gowanus Flushing Tunnel in 2011, passed away last month. Brad Vogel, who we know from the Gowanus Dredgers, wrote these words in memory of her full life: “Linda and I served on the Community Advisory Group together (she helped get […]
