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 […]
Tag: Carlos Menchaca
Forest City Ratner comes to Red Hook for some good publicity, by George Fiala
Rebuilding Together, a large national non-profit organization founded in 1999, came to Red Hook after Hurricane Sandy and set up shop at 285 Van Brunt Street, taking over the office abandoned by Max Pollack Insurance. They have stayed, making it their NYC headquarters. Their mission, as stated on their 990 tax form, is to “bring volunteers and communities together to […]
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 […]
Message from Menchaca, by Carlos Menchaca, City Councilman, 38th District
I would like to invite you to our presentation on Sunday, April 12 at 2 pm at Sunset Park High School and discuss the work that we did together this past year and look at how we can move forward. Over the last year–in District 38–we have done things a little differently. Together, we have worked up the nerve to […]
The Crazy World of Politics, by George Fiala
Menchaca loses leadership spot Our cover story and editorial last issue was about the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, and how Carlos Menchaca stood in the way of the Economic Development Corporation’s “fully cooked” (as he described it) scheme for it. Menchaca used the power of his office to slow the process down in order for the Sunset Park community to […]
Editorial: Menchaca roils the waters, by George Fiala
While some (including us) might call Carlos Menchaca’s first year in office an evolution, in the vital things he has held fast to his principles – the most important being that a democracy is for all the people. He is no thoughtless revolutionary. While he signs his emails “in solidarity,” he never looks to divide people into “us and them.” Instead, as we […]
Editorial: Breaking the chains of corporate interests
Speaking truth to power can involve a personal sacrifice. Getting into a position where power will listen is a big achievement. It takes courage to risk that position if the truth is not what the powers that be desire. Carlos Menchaca, our City Councilman, did just that the other week. He used the power vested in his position to refuse […]
Are the Red Hook cranes headed to Sunset Park? by George Fiala
In an incredible overreaction, Kyle Kimball, head of the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC), announced that he was abandoning development of Sunset Park’s South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT), simply because City Councilman Carlos Menchaca didn’t give him what he wanted. SBMT comprises ten blocks along the waterfront in Sunset Park, southwards from 29th Street. It is an intermodal facility, named […]
At least another year until the Red Hook Senior Center gets its new digs, by George Fiala
A busy Friday in Red Hook began with a morning meeting at the Miccio Center to discuss the progress of the new Senior Center. The original center, on Walcott Street across from the library, was wiped out by Sandy floodwaters over two years ago. Operated by RAICES, the center offers those over 60 a place to have lunch, shoot pool, […]
Editorial: A good time for Red Hook
Councilman Carlos Menchaca, Commanding Officer Justin Lenz, and Water Taxi founder Tom Fox are three important assets that Red Hookers are lucky to have. Menchaca is finishing his freshman year in the City Council. The Star-Revue has watched him grow in the office as he learns on the job. There are no classes in how to be a councilman. What […]