Songs of love and pain and monsters. Thank God, or some benevolent power, that Daniel Johnston staked his ground long before the era of social media. These days he’d be consumed and forgotten in a matter of days—memed, mocked and left by the side of the road. But anyone who heard of Johnston back in the ’80s and ’90s likely […]

Local activists and the state environmental agency are at odds over how to clean up a toxic site in Gowanus that the agency determined poses a significant threat to public health or the environment. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has placed the site at 459 Smith St., formerly the location of a manufactured gas plant, into the […]

Gathered inside a conference room inside the Brooklyn Marine Terminal on Monday, Sept. 22, were 25 task force members in charge of the future of New York City’s last working waterfront. The room was packed: In addition to the task force members and in some cases their staff, were also dozens of Economic Development Corporation staff, including President Andrew Kimball. […]

When Community Board 6’s October meeting opened up to public comment regarding a redesign of Court Street, participants echoed their concerns about the board’s transparency, with some residents saying they were not properly made aware of the changes that came to pass. At the end of the meeting, community members were allowed the customary three minutes to speak. Most chose […]

It’s around 11 pm in the warehouse on 481 Van Brunt St., and Ethan Cornell is getting the last details ready for his show the next day. He is tired, having worked late the night before, as well. A podcast is playing in his headphones when he hears a harsh, squealing noise from the studio on the floor above. Not […]

Members of the Columbia Street Waterfront community announced that they have officially formed the Columbia Street Waterfront Association (CSWA). Their mission is to “to promote the health, vitality, and character” for the neighborhood and “to advocate for the interests of residents, businesses, and others with a stake in the Columbia Street Waterfront community.” CSWA was formed in part because when […]

At the second residents-only community meeting to discuss Red Hook West’s PACT conversion on Oct. 21, Resident Association President Karen Blondel said that these meetings were being gatekept due to frequent outsider desires to influence the housing complex. “We got too many outsiders trying to make decisions for my residents, and it’s not about that on my block,” said Blondel […]

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the recent interview with Gersh Kuntzman and Kevin Garcia “Opponents of BQE tunnel think trucks and cars are the problem…” by Eric Newstrom. This is probably one the most important issues facing the communities along the BQE corridor, so thank you to the RED HOOK STAR for facilitating this public dialog especially […]

Dear Readers, As most of us know, elections are on Tuesday. While we often write about the doings of our local politicians, we haven’t heard from anyone specifically about this election. Except for Matthew Morgan, who is running for the City Council seat in Park Slope/Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill for a seat currently held by Shahana Hanif. This is not an […]

In July, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that there is a proposal on the table for how to clean up a chunk of Public Place, the infamous Gowanus site that used to house a manufactured gas plant. The site, under which there is a coal tar plume reaching about 150 feet deep, has been divided […]

The four objectives outlined by Mayor Adams for revisioning the BQE Corridor – Urgency & Resiliency, Equity, Fiscal Responsibility and Stakeholder Involvement – are noble goals that have been met with universal approval. The call for a “transformative solution” and the recognition that this is a once in lifetime opportunity to address the problems of what may be the worst […]

“More affordable housing in New York City!” is a universal rallying cry and political platform. You could almost imagine there’s consensus behind the words, a shared vision of what constitutes “affordable housing” and how to bring more of it into existence. But you’d be wrong. Due to the Charter Revision Commission appointed by Mayor Adams last December, there will be […]