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 […]
Op Ed
Op-Ed: Mayor’s problems put LICH deal under renewed scrutiny, by George Fiala
Here’s what the Star-Revue naively wrote back in 2013, endorsing Bill de Blasio for mayor: We like Bill for a couple of reasons. Bill de Blasio has been a friend to the neighborhood of Red Hook, as well as all of Brooklyn as a whole. He is from the area, having represented the 39th District as City Councilman until his […]
Is de Blasio the next to go? Op-Ed by George Fiala
I was stunned by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement of the Brooklyn Queens Connector – his $2.5 billion plan for a trolley system that would serve only the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront. What shocked me was the funding source. It is to be financed by floating a bond issue backed by anticipated property tax increases on land adjacent to the […]
Commentary – The Flux of CB 6, by Mark Shames
There have been significant changes at the top of the Brooklyn Community Board 6 (CB6) hierarchy. Our Carroll Gardens’ friend and neighbor Gary Reilly, former Chairperson of CB6, has started a new domestic adventure with his wife and children in a home of their own with a backyard near Mount Kisco, New York. My guess is that even Gary would […]
Op Ed: The Importance of Participation, by Council Member Carlos Menchaca, District 38
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 […]
Op Ed: Thoughts about de Blasio’s citywide rezoning ideas, by Ed Jaworski, President, Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association
Editor’s Note: What follows was a letter sent to members of the City Council and the press. Jaworski prefaces the letter with the following: As you consider the Mayor’s-City Planning (DCP) proposals for Zoning for Quality & Affordability and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, you have heard from many who very knowledgeable about the flaws of the substance of the proposals. (Note, […]
Opinion: Trains and boats and Nursing Homes, by George Fiala
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 […]
Op Ed: Watching neighborhoods transform, by George Fiala
Last month I had a chance to see the corporate mind working. I was invited to take part in a weeklong public relations event held by BASF, the world’s largest chemical company. At their NYC event held as part of their 150th birthday celebration, they decided to focus on Red Hook as a city of tomorrow. BASF is very excited […]
Opinion: Duped by the powers that be, by George Fiala
This past week afforded me a rare opportunity to see the corporate mind in action. I was invited to take part in a weeklong public relations event held by the world’s biggest chemical company on the occasion of their 150th anniversary. As a representative of the media, I actually got to ask the actual CEO of their North American operations, which […]
In Red Hook we take care of our own, by Carlos Menchaca
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 […]
