Real Journalism written by people
As the unreal nature of a Trump presidency coalesced into the reality of an inauguration, many in Red Hook began to really understand the meaning of the phrase “misery loves company.” Some traveled to Washington or to Manhattan to take part in the women’s demonstration. Demonstrations end, but the misery remains, and with that in mind, local businesswoman and community […]
After years of speculation and rumors about Thor Equities’ intentions for its waterfront holding at 280 Richards Street, representatives from the company unveiled the “Red Hoek Point” at a well-attended Community Board 6 Land Use committee meeting. The December 1 presentation at the Miccio Center was given by Ethan Goodman, Director of New York Planning & Project Management at Fox […]
The first annual Unity in the Community event with Red Hook youth and the NYPD was held in Red Hook on July 30. The day began at 3 pm with street soccer on the fields in Bush Clinton Park, and later four basketball games took place at the Miccio Community Center. According to Councilman Carlos Menchaca, who played in both […]
Councilman Carlos Menchaca led a successful effort to defeat a proposed zoning change in May after hearing the community’s concerns about the relocation of a nursing home to Red Hook. The nursing home’s supporters included some of the largest development lobbyists in the city. The Oxford Nursing Home is a for-profit healthcare facility located in Fort Greene. In 2003, they […]
I’m proud of Red Hook. We get good results when we work together. In the last months, we looked to the future, learned from the past and planned a more resilient community. For example, at the Miccio Center, we learned about new ways of building integrated flood protection. People from all over Red Hook reaffirmed that resilience isn’t just […]
It always takes a village! I’ve learned that this applies in the formation of our families, but also in teaching government to respond faster and better. When neighbors unify and lead community projects, the outcomes are just so much better. Red Hook is a perfect example of this idea. Our community learned how to lead government decisions and processes during […]
The slow climb back for the Red Hook Library took a step forward this week with the first meeting of the Friends of the Red Hook Library. Funding for the Brooklyn Public Library has been increased the past couple of years as Mayor de Blasio and the new City Council was able to devote some more of the city’s budget […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
I would like to invite you to our presentation on Sunday, April 12 at 2 pm at Sunset Park High School and discuss the work that we did together this past year and look at how we can move forward. Over the last year–in District 38–we have done things a little differently. Together, we have worked up the nerve to […]
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 […]
