Appetizer I stepped into the original Fedora, on West 4th and Charles, nearly 20 years ago. I was looking for a place to have a quick drink. Its neon sign drew me to its ivy-covered building, its entrance a few steps below street level. Inside: red light, a pink portable stereo on the bar next to a glass bowl of […]

My partner, Rainer, is German. He came to America at midlife to find himself, which included coming to terms with being gay. I once asked him what he learned about the Holocaust in school. I feared it might be something like, “Hitler was a great man. It’s too bad — he almost got away with it!” But no, that wasn’t […]

I walked all over Red Hook on a warm, windy day, and asked: What pisses you off? Amy Dench: Inequality. Anything from racial to economic inequality makes me angry. There’s so much downward pressure on people who don’t have as much as others. There’s a lot of discrimination (concerning) issues that really affect their lives on a day-to-day basis. And […]

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 […]

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 […]

It was Ian Marvy’s idea to create an urban farm in the early days of modern Red Hook. The farm has provided an alternative education to hundreds of local kids, volunteer opportunities for many, not to mention farm fresh vegetables to all members of the local CSA. We asked Marilyn Gelber, city planner and founding president of the Brooklyn Community […]

At P.S. 15 Patrick F. Daly in Red Hook, staff are reshaping the way elementary schoolers learn educationally and socially. They’ve put special emphasis on programs for students with intellectual disabilities and students who are learning or want to learn a second language, making sure those students have the same advantages and interactions any other child would. P.S. 15’s ACES […]

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,” […]

Dave Lutz and Imre (pronounced Eem-reh) Kovacs are two old friends – senior citizen old – who run around Red Hook like a couple of teenagers. After more than a half century of New York City life, people get tired. Not Dave and Imre. Both of them have been advocates for community gardening in public and private spaces all over […]

Most New York natives and Red Hook residents are likely aware of the neighborhood’s rich industrial history and bounty of artisanal businesses, but as a five-year transplant to New York City, I had a lot to learn from the locals to find out what they think makes the area so unique and a hub for artisans to thrive. “It’s like […]