Real Journalism. Written by Real People.
Last month we wrote that a long-planned plan to protect Red Hook from future hurricanes failed to protect places like Food Bazaar, the Beard Street Warehouses, and the Red Hook Container Terminal, despite the city’s claim that they consulted with the stakeholders from all those places. The claim was true, but they didn’t listen to the stakeholders. A major property […]
BA: Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. Is it all right if I jump right in? AA: Yes, of course, I’m happy to. Go for it! BA: You went to Somos, the annual political conference that takes place in Puerto Rico. Did you make some good connections? AA: It’s a good question. Somos is a very […]
DoorDash gave out turkeys along with the Red Hook Initiative and Council Member-elect Alexa Aviles in honor of Thanksgiving at the Red Hook Neighborhood Senior Center. “We’re proud to have supported the Red Hook Community Senior Center, the Red Hook Initiative, and Council Member-elect Aviles in their work to provide seniors with nourishing meals ahead of Thanksgiving,” said a DoorDash […]
PS 676 held a Thanksgiving celebration on a windy day in the schoolyard for community, parents and students. The food at this event was a real group effort provided by many people and local organizations. The food was a combination of homemade dishes from parents and school staff as well as donations from Redemption Church Red Hook, Red Hook Art […]
In the earlier days of this newspaper, I only occasionally wrote a column. There either had to be something compelling in the local news that I wanted to opine on, or there was extra room in the paper that needed to be filled. But now, as I’m starting to grow up, along with the paper, I’ve made a commitment to […]
Flood Insurance I’ve been in contact with with Jim Tampakis of Tamco Mechanical for the past year regarding the issue of numerous last-mile warehouses moving into Red Hook. He has been pushing for them to use green modes of transportation, including using the waterfront rather than relying solely on trucks. Tampakis has become an advocate for the Red Hook community, […]
Hurricane Sandy provided headline opportunities for New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo. In January 2014, Vice President Joe Biden came to Albany to announce a statewide program to protect against natural disasters. As the online news site Politico wrote: “The state would build a $200-million flood protection system in Red Hook, Brooklyn, an area particularly hard-hit by flooding during Hurricane Sandy, […]
Red Hook’s PS 676 held their first Hispanic Heritage Celebration on October 15 as part of National Hispanic Heritage month. Adding to the Hispanic heritage theme of the event was the ethnic food that Kimpanadas, a new restaurant on Smith Street, donated. The owner is a friend of pastor Edwin Pacheco from Redemption Church. A world map gate gave students […]
After more than 160 years as a repository of human and industrial waste, the Gowanus Canal is leaving its toxic legacy behind—or under. Last month marked a milestone in the Superfund cleanup of the waterway, as the bottom of the canal north of the 3rd Street Bridge was successfully injected with a five-foot layer of cement in a process known […]
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 […]
I actually had my column all written before this. This is the month when the City Council, led by local Councilmember Brad Lander, will most likely allow the transformation of Gowanus from a gritty, funky, artsy/industrial neighborhood, into a modern, affluent community dominated by high rise luxury apartments. It will end up resembling countless high-rise affluent neighborhoods throughout the world. […]
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc in our community. Basements were flooded, cars destroyed and power was out for almost a month – mostly at the Red Hook Houses,NYC’s second largest public housing project. That’s when Carlos Menchaca came to the neighborhood, dispatched by Kathleen Quinn, at the time Speaker of the City Council. He made himself familiar at the […]
The Scherman Fund is a huge non-profit fund with hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, including millions invested in hedge funds, some in the Cayman Islands. As Program Director, Alexa Aviles managed a portfolio in the tens of millions. She was given a mission to spread the money around to various progressive groups in New York and around the […]
