Real Journalism. Written by Real People.
I attended Imre Kovacs’ memorial service on Saturday, Aug. 15 at River of God Christian Center with an image of my Imre as an unassuming octogenarian who seemed to be everywhere in the neighborhood—joining protests against the city’s evil plan to gentrify our waterfront, socializing in Red Hook’s interim library that he helped to establish, attending various community events, and
For over 16 years I have been leaving copies of this paper every month in the news rack at the top of the stairs of the Red Hook Justice Center. Now-retired Judge Calabrese is a huge fan of the paper, as we are of him. Last month I received an email from a recent Justice Center hire, Andrew Benjamin, with
Soil vapor is still leaking into the annex of PS 372 in Gowanus, according to a letter to parents and staff from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Department of Health (DOH) sent out over the Juneteenth holiday weekend. Now, the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory group is seeking answers from the state agency about the
The city broke ground on the Red Hook Coastal Resiliency project in September 2025, and now, almost a year later, it’s more disruptive than ever, according to local business owners and residents. On Thursday, Aug. 6, a group of local businesses convened with City Council Member Alexa Avilés and representatives from the New York City Department of Design and Construction
On July 1, Tanya Chernyak, a former Scholastic book designer, and her husband, Patrick Preziosi, a small press and consignment manager at McNally Jackson, opened a bookshop in Red Hook. Red Hook Books will be a new place to “buy, read and make books.” The couple and their dog, Ralphie, live in the neighborhood and have always dreamt of opening
For more than a decade, the Democratic establishment has relied on the same warning whenever a progressive candidate threatens its preferred nominee: They are too radical. Too divisive. Their politics might play in a Democratic primary, the argument goes, but they could never survive a general election. The problem for those still making that argument in 2026 is that Democratic
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. Today we’re following Eric Sanderson, a producer, mixer, engineer, and session musician who owns Harbor Studios, a recording studio at the very end
Concrete, the gray, rough material made of rock, sand, and water, might not be sexy, but it sure as hell is important. The material is a vital component in modern infrastructure due to its versatility and durability. “Concrete is the most widely used construction material on Earth,” explained Alexios Shaw, co-founder and chief financial officer of Ionic Order, a marine
In search of the perfect date night in Gowanus, my girlfriend and I had a simple goal: find a few good drinks, something to eat, a dance floor and, ideally, not spend a small fortune. First Stop: Liar Liar Our first stop was just a few blocks from the F train, at the corner of Nevins Street and Sackett Street,
In the half-century since the Vietnam War, the Weathermen have acquired the reputation as the violent and unhinged offshoot of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the tamer, collegiate anti-war organization that was founded in the early 1960s. Recently, while contemplating the upcoming 25th anniversary of 9/11, I got a sudden urge to watch the definitive documentary about the
A pony walks into a bar … no, wait, a pony owns the bar. Pony’s, a new cocktail bar and café from couple and co-owners Elana Shvalbe and Michael Furac, opened on Aug. 22 at 424 Van Brunt St. Visiting Pony’s, one might expect a bar with obvious swings at horse-isms. Maybe some sort of polo mallet leaning lazily in
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
Almost exactly a year after devastating fires ravaged the warehouse that housed the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) on Van Brunt Street, a makers market featuring many of the affected artists is popping up in Red Hook. Brooklyn Pop-Up, which hosts makers markets around the city, is collaborating with BWAC for a special pop-up market on Saturday, Sept. 19, and
The 2026-2027 season at the Target Margin Theater begins on Sept. 17 with The Nonsense Lab, a three-week performance festival of new work that explores the theme of Nonsense, this according to an Aug. 18 press release. The Nonsense Lab includes three performances: Let Me Be an Animal, a dance by choreographer Caroline Fermin, “celebrating the slow, awkward, sweaty, and questioning parts
In some cultures, there’s a belief that death comes not when your heart stops beating, but when you’re forgotten. To remember something is to keep it alive, even if only in your heart. That idea is the key to A Few of Each, the collection of cityscape art currently on display at Gowanus Wine Studio on 3rd Avenue. The exhibition
I first met Vincent Coppola in 1961 when we were high school freshmen at St. Augustine High School on Park Place in the Slope. After a career in journalism and some notable books, he’s now ensconced in Savannah, a city which, like Vinny, acknowledges the presence of ghosts. The interview has been edited to leave out the boring bits. Full
I think it’s hard to be just a little interested in aliens. Either they don’t register, or they become an obsession. My first serious boyfriend was in the latter camp. Kevin believed he’d been abducted as a child, an experience he found terrifying. Sometimes he was afraid to go to sleep. He was an artist. Aliens made their way into
When Bill Evans died in the late summer of 1980, age 51, he was already the most influential pianist in jazz history. He wasn’t the first pianist to create the idea of modern jazz piano; Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Ahmad Jamal, and Bud Powell (the last two important influences on Evans) were all playing and building the ongoing context and
