This is New York City, but today nobody’s rushing. People are lollygagging down the streets while the 95-degree heat penetrates their bones. So it’s not too hard to get them to stop and talk to me about their relationships with their phones—the very phones that most of them are staring into before our conversations begin.   Christopher Loyd: I’m trying to […]

When Victoria Law helped launch NYC Books Through Bars in 1996, her goal was to send a few boxes of books to incarcerated women and juveniles in the tri-state area. Law, a student at Brooklyn College with a keen interest in prison abolition, had seen the impact books can have in prison, watching several friends become voracious readers while incarcerated. […]

Welcome to ‘Wednesdays in Red Hook’, a close-up look into the day-to-day life of people in our community, including the hard work, unexpected encounters, and delightfully mundane moments that make up an average Wednesday in Red Hook. Mike McGuinn is a local commercial marine repair technician who lives and works in Red Hook. But beyond boats, he’s many people’s go-to […]

Henry Watkins, a Minister at Calvary Baptist Church, was originally from Borough Park and moved to Red Hook with his mother and sister when he was 13. “It was rough when we first got here,” Watkins said. “We came from a quiet neighborhood, and it was night and day. When we first came out here, you either knew how to […]

It may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking of interesting areas in New York City, but the neighborhoods in southeast Brooklyn are known as hidden gems by the residents for good reason. Marine Park and coastal Sheepshead Bay are home to not only the largest park in the borough but also miles of shoreline, making […]

Many New Yorkers have gotten invested in soccer with the World Cup taking place in the United States, but there are also plenty of local teams that play throughout the year, and unlike the World Cup, it’s free to attend the matches. One of those clubs is Central Park Rangers (CPR), which, despite the name, plays throughout New York and […]

Red Hook FC has had an incredible spring season. Last season, they lost some tough games, then bounced back and found a way to make the playoffs, but lost 4-3 to Osner’s FC in the first round. This season, Red Hook FC has been dominant. They won their home opener 3-1 over NY Empire FC and then took revenge against […]

MiniBar, the Record Shop, B61, and the Wobblies are also off to strong starts this season. On June 8, there were two high-powered matchups, including B61 taking on the Record Shop. The game began with a great diving play at first by Jacob “Juice” Juice, though B61 did take the lead on an infield hit by Shawn “Sho Nuff” Andrew. […]

If you go to Powerhouse Arts in Gowanus—that imposing, rust-red fortress dominating the canal—and make your way up to the second floor, you’ll find yourself confronted by a startling sight: a corpse, lying fully naked in an operating theater. This is not, of course, a real corpse. It is a very convincing facsimile, made of silicone by the artist Chella […]

What happens when three good friends open a bar together for the first time? During my first visit to 317 3rd Ave., the up-and-coming Atlantic City-themed bar, Shania’s Max Bet, is still largely under construction. A massive disco ball sits in a gargantuan cardboard box. The bar seats are wrapped in tidy plastic wrap and sidled next to a tower […]

At first glance one might not suspect that Renee Keitt is a prominent New York City community organizer, housing activist, and urban agriculturalist. Soft spoken and seemingly shy, one might take her for a poet or a social worker. But within her slight frame resides a deep understanding of the struggles of the underdog, especially when it comes to the […]

“Hurly Whirly,” a freshly-installed sculpture on 4th Avenue, brings a playful and dynamic energy to Gowanus. Towering large at 11 feet tall and eight feet wide, the plywood sculpture stands out along the drab strip at the intersection of 2nd Street and 4th Avenue. The piece is composed of three-dimensional cut-outs, perfectly fit together and painted in an eclectic pattern […]

Extreme rainstorms and flash floods have become an increasingly common problem for New Yorkers in recent years. Thunderstorms that hit New York City recently dumped nearly six inches of rain on some parts of Brooklyn and prompted a citywide flood advisory. Storms like this can easily overwhelm a sewer system built to withstand up to 1.75 inches of rain an […]