RedHooky 1.2

Goodbye to Guyville

2006-11-05T16:31:00.000-05:00

Well, this is it. We've moved out of Red Hook. I probably should of written this in the sentimental flush of the week of the actual move, or sometime before that while I was still in Red Hook, soaking in its ambiance (for lack of a better word), but there was just too much going on. So now its two or three weeks on, and we're well out of Red Hook. Sentimentalities have faded, and my inclination is to look forward to figuring out the new neighborhood rather than reflecting on the old.

But I told myself I'd make one last post, so here it is. Yeah, Red Hook was/is Guyville. To the point of sometimes making me wonder. I mean, jeez, some of the locals were the classic "more interested in their cars than their girlfriends" kind of guys. Of the various Red Hook characters walking the streets, its got to be two to one guys. And doing all the guy things, whether they were tricking out their cars, or hanging out in one of the multiple neighborhood clubhouses, these were guys. Of course there are a couple of ladies that stuck out of the crowd, mostly the nice ladies of the Red Hook Ladies Club. They have their own clubhouse - for those of you in the neighborhood who couldn't figure it out, that sort of store with the great pane glass window on Van Brunt near Sullivan, where they set up the holiday decorations in the lot next door, that's the Red Hook Ladies Club. Mostly they're affiliated with Visitation, B.V.M. Visitation is, of course, the beautiful old Catholic Church by Coffey park. One of my favorite memories of Red Hook will no doubt be Visitation covered in snow late on the night of the big January snow storm last year. With the snow on the church and in the park and in the street, too fresh to have been plowed, you could have been in one of the old upstate post-industrial towns. Hell, it could have been Bedford Falls. But it was beautiful.

I always wanted to post about Visitation. For all the angst about the newcomers and the old timers and the gentrifiers and preserving this old factory or that old piece of the working waterfront, not much got said about Visitation. If anyplace was an institution down in Red Hook, Visitation was and is. Of all the places we frequented - the bars, the stores and the restaurants - very few really gave you a chance to meet the rest of the neighborhood like Visitation did. I'm not going to say much about it. It gave me an insight into the neighborhood that I wouldn't have had, and that you can't get from most other places. Stop by, take a look at the stained glass. If you own one of the newer businesses on Van Brunt, do them a favor and put an ad in their church bulletin - seriously, they need the help and its important to a lot of the people in the neighborhood.

But why leave?, you must be asking. Ah, the rent was raised, you probably figure, bitten on the ass by our own gentrification. No, we just found ourselves in a position to look for something more permanent and there's not much available in Red Hook. We couldn't afford, and didn't want a house, and there are no co-ops, and few condos for sale. Besides that, lets be honest, Red Hooks got its problems. I won't go into them because its not my problem at this point, and far be for me to badmouth someone else's neighborhood.

Williamsburg, Shmilliamsburg

2006-03-16T15:29:00.000-05:00

From an article in yesterday's NY Times lamenting the intrusion of market forces into Williamsburg:

"...she was awakened by the sound of cars burning in the street outside; she said thieves would bring the cares there, strip them, and set them afire to dispose of them."

Hey! I've only been in Red Hook for a year and a half or so and I remember this happening here. Maybe 'cause the last time it happened was a couple of months ago!

Ikea, the Graving Docks, and the US Army Corps of Engineers

2006-03-04T15:18:00.000-05:00

Just a bit of an up-date... it looks like something is happening at the Ikea site. A visit to the area today reveals that the blue wooden construction wall now goes all the way from Halleck St to the end of the site, the length of about three blocks or so. The demolition appears to be handled by a local Red Hook company, Breeze Demolition. Despite that, there's definitely nothing happening at the Ikea Red Hook website. Its been registered as "temporarily unavailable" for some time now.

The movement on the demolition seems to have been triggered by the decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to authorize Ikea's building related to the waterfront. Interestingly according to the Environment News Service, "Prior to construction IKEA is required to submit a detailed plan to the Corps and NYSHPO, showing how construction activities will be done in a manner that avoids impacts to the historic Graving Dock No. 2. The Corps and NYSHPO must approve that plan prior to initiating any construction." (This matches what I read on the actual news release from the Corps website, but for some reason the site won't come up today. Go figure.) I haven't seen anything from the Municpal Arts Society, or any of the other groups fighting for the protection of the Graving Dock, so I don't know if this represents a victory or not. It could be that as far as the Corps is concerned, filling in the Dock without actually destroying it represents an effort to "avoid impact".

On a side note, one way or the other, as far as I can tell this is all a little confused anyway. According to the history of the Todd Shipyards, Every Kind of Shipwork, by Bradford Mitchell, Graving Dock #2 was filled in back in 1976, and Graving Dock #1 was still active as of 1981 when the book was written. Mitchell's account of the docks is pretty thorough. Both Graving Docks were dug in 1866 by James Simpson. Simpson didn't own the docks at that point, but he eventually took over them over by sublease in 1884. Simpson was originally from Boston, and the docks were known as the "Boston Docks". The steam pumps that drained the docks were buried over in 1943. (They are probably still down there.) Graving Dock #2 was the site of the construction of whatever "Landing Craft, Infrantry" that were built in Red Hook for World War II. Only 24 were built here, and that was early in the program. These 24 were built here only because the New Jersey plant that was the main site was not yet up to full cabilities by 1944.

So there ya go... I'll post again in about 3 or 4 months.

What's up with the weird spam comments?!?

2005-11-18T12:35:00.000-05:00

Okay, I hadn't posted in a long time and I'm reluctant to get back into the blogging and all, but what the hell is up with the blog comment spam? I suspect that its a way to bump sites up the Google rankings? Does anyone know if this is true? How can it be stopped? Also, is there a clever term for it yet, like spam? Maybe like Blam or something?

Long Lost Redhooky

2005-11-02T13:18:00.000-05:00

This isn't a re-start of Redhooky, but since 160 Imlay came up on Curbed today I thought I'd throw out an update.

The brief recap... or the story so far:

Initially the 160 Imlay's developer applied for a variance on the industrial / manufacturing zoning. The Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) approved the variance. The Red Hook Gowanus Chamber of Commerce (RHGCC) sued the BSA for making an impropoper variance. The case languished for a while and until the BSA motioned to have the thing dismissed because the RHGCC didn't list Imaly (the building's owners) as a party to the suit. The Supreme Court denied the motion, but the Appellate Court granted it, dismissing the case. The RHGCC appealed the dismissal, and that's where we've been for awhile.

So... On Oct. 25, the State of NY court of appeals reversed the dismissal. I won't go into why... you can read it yourself at:

2 No. 168
In the Matter of Red Hook/
Gowanus Chamber of Commerce,
Appellant,
v.
New York City Board of Standards
and Appeals, et al.,
Respondents.

So there it sits for another winter, watched by a couple of tough German Shepherds and an abandoned, or, more likely, stolen Mercedes.

In more interesting, or at least better news, the Fifth Avenue Committee has moved forward on Red Hook Homes, a mixed income project that will provide about 60 owner occupied units. The project is centered around the construction site on Wolcott between Van Brunt and Richards, across from Daly School and around the corner from Hope and Anchor.

So despite this not being a restart of Redhooky, maybe I'll renew the postings. As long as I stick to just posting info and not trying to write my take on things it may not be a problem. Truth is I don't really have the time to put into it.

Imlay is a Go... and the rise of Social Democracy in Red Hook

2005-05-16T10:11:00.000-04:00

So Imlay is a go. I've said before that I think the Imlay St. project is probably a good idea, so I'm glad to see this move forward. It will be welcome news for lots of the small shop owners in the area. It will also bring in some new residents that will probably change the local political consituency in a way that will get the city's attention on occasion - i.e. we'll be getting rich neighbors with connections. Yes, its a problem that money plays such a role in politics (in NY and nationally) and when the revolution comes they'll be the first ones against the wall, but until then I'd like some stop signs, I'd like to see the area around P.S. 15 made into a School Zone, and I'd like to see some repaving going on here and there.

There was also a good interview with Greg O'Connell on the Center for an Urban Future's website. O'Connell comes across well. I don't know him, but he does have a good reputation, and he sounds reasonable in the interview. I know he was involved in funding the lawsuit against the Imlay Street project. I'm curious to see if he and Batkin put aside their differences now and start to cooperate, or if they jack up the competition. I'm waiting for the announcement that the ground floor of 160 Imlay will be a D'Agastino's or a Gourmet Garage.

In the course of O'Connell's interview he talks about the Ikea project and highlights the differences between Ikea and some of the other big box stores. This is an important point. There is a tendency to group large retailers together and in particular to put them all in the Wal-Mart category. This is a real mistake. On the face of it they may seem alike, but they really do run on very different business models, particularly in their labor relations. Within their stores Ikea has a very good reputation as an employer - lowest turnover in the industry, best employee benefits, higher than average wages. See this article about Ikea's St. Paul, Minnesota operation. Wal-Mart has the opposite reputation - highest turnover, benefits so low as to impose huge costs on public welfare programs, and wages that depress local job markets. The Christian Science Monitor currently has a piece on Wal-Mart, but there's a ton of stuff critical of the Wal-Mart model out there. Considering where the two companies come from - Swedish social democracy vs. the traditionally hostile to organized labor US South - this is hardly suprising. Where Ikea has had more problems is in the overseas suppliers. To their credit, they have cooperated with organized labor to address some of their supplier problems.

Painting all large retailers as the same is potentially a very big mistake. Ikea may well be a better deal than it seemed. Who knows, they may even end up as a sort of trojan horse for social democracy in the USA? How great would that be?!?

Workers of the World Unite.

Red Hook's leaky bubble... ?

2005-05-03T20:26:00.000-04:00

There is an awful lot going on these days in and around Red Hook. I've been a bit slack to post, and tonight's post won't be very long, but hey... this blogging thing is just a bit on the side, y'know.

Anyway, the most interesting thing in terms of Red Hook-in-the-news is probably the Brooklyn Papers' interview with Doctoroff regarding waterfront development. Doctoroff basically confirmed that the city is most interested in moving the industrial shipping center of Brooklyn south towards Sunset Park. Despite being pretty clear about Sunset Park though, he wasn't all too specific on what the city wanted to see happen with the piers north of the cruise ship terminals. My guess is that if you take a look at the Brooklyn Bridge Park controversies over ever increasing housing, and at the Williamsburg / Greenpoint residential rezoning, you can probably figure out what's on the boards - more housing. I read someplace that you should never buy a place in New York for the view. Those of you that look out from Columbia Street over Governors Island and the East River might want to mull that one over.

But as for current development... I've been doing a bit of a dogwalker's survey of the neighborhood... day after day, walking the same routes, seeing what's going on or not. What I'm seeing says that maybe the Red Hook part of the bubble is leaking just a bit. There are a number of places, up and down Van Brunt, and deeper onto the side streets that have either had for sale or for rent signs for a suspiciously long time. At least one decent sized apartment building on Van Brunt has been renovated and empty for more than a three months now. Word is they were just asking too much. And one Red Hook listing on Craig's List has seen a couple of drops in the asking price. Financial bubbles operate on unrealistic expectations. If real declines in the rental market cause investment buyers to have to readjust their revenue expectations, prices may begin to stall. Hmmm...

The American Theatre Wing in Red Hook

2005-04-25T17:43:00.000-04:00

Okay, in truth Kurt Weill has only the most tangental relationship to Red Hook, but I think its kind of an interesting story. And it wasn't just Weill, but also George Kaufman and other theatre types. Anyway the story is, during World War II the whole country was mobilized in the war effort. This included the entertainment industry, which organized the American Theatre Wing. The Theatre Wing decided to produce a number of short, patriotic skits that would be performed in factories around the country during the lunch break. These were known as "Lunchtime Follies". The Follies were written and performed by major stars of the day, including Weill who was also one of the organizers of the productions. One of the first performances of the Follies was held in Todd's Shipyard here in Brooklyn:

From the June 23, 1942 New York Times article "Whistle While You Work"

"With its canteen for the allied enlisted man continuing in a flourishing state in Times Square, the American Theatre Wing is branching out a bit to take entertainment to factory workers engaged in the war effort. After a sort of break-in performance out Long Island way a week ago, it knocked yesterday on the gates of the Todd Shipyards in Brooklyn..."

There is a more detailed account of the American Theatre Wing at their website. http://americantheatrewing.org/ww2.php

Kind of interesting, no?

The Cross Harbor Tunnel

2005-04-19T18:59:00.000-04:00

Okay, I've decided to mostly ignore the comments from my "gentrification rant". Not that I don't value the comments and input. I do. Really. Its just that I'm not particularly inclined to deal with them at the moment.

What I will deal with at the moment is a question that someone asked in the comments about the Cross Harbor Tunnel... namely, why do folks in Maspeth care about the tunnel project? Mostly because much of the truck traffic would be transferred out to Maspeth by the tunnel. The tunnel would be exclusively for rail freight. It would link the Bay Ridge Branch rail line that begins at the waterfront at about 65th Street in Brooklyn, and goes through Sunset Park, Borough Park, etc, up into Queens and terminates at the Maspeth yards. The Sunset Park waterfront would be refitted to handle large containers that would be loaded directly on the freight trains that would move straight out to either New Jersey, or Maspeth. From either location you've got much better access to the interstate system and further rail lines. (See the map at the Cross Harbor project web page.) Getting goods back and forth from the relatively poorly located (as in on an island - Long Island), but more sea accessible and deeper Brooklyn waterfront to greater national transportation network has always been a problem. The folks at the Waterfont Museum can give you the rundown on the history of the cross harbor barges.

So the cross harbor tunnel would move the center of the freight shipping activity to the Sunset Park area. It would probably get a good deal of large truck traffic off of the BQE, but it would also dramatically up the amount of rail freight traffic moving through Brooklyn. And it would make Maspeth a major transit point. So at the moment opposition is strongly based in the Maspeth and Borough Park neighborhood. So there ya go.

Doesn't anyone want to know about the Kurt Weill stuff?

Where am I?

2005-04-16T11:51:00.000-04:00

This post is kind of an out-of-Red Hook experience... I'm away for the weekend, but I've got a bit of time and a bit of internet access so I thought I'd get something up on RedHooky.

Reading the Times today there's big news on the cruise ship front with Carnival deciding to bring their biggest ships to the neighborhood. I suspect the City had already worked something out with Carnival when they refused to act on the Germany shipping offer that was reported in last week's Carroll Gardens Courier. I've said before that I believe that there is a longer term, if unstated, plan to bring most of the industrial shipping to the Sunset Park waterfront. Figure that there is better highway access in Sunset Park, more of a working industrial base, and talk of a massive cross-harbor freight tunnel that would make moving commodities much easier. One of the more interesting parts of the cross-harbor tunnel project is that it would move much of the freight forwarding and trucking aspects of the waterfront and deep into Queens. (Someone posted a link in the comments section about an AM-NY article covering the tunnel. There is a lot more on the web about the tunnel if you start to Google it.) Keep in mind that the politician that both of the local papers describe as closest to American Stevedoring, and one of the most vocal proponents of both the idea of a working industrial waterfront and the cross harbor tunnel is Jerry Nadler. I've got no complaint against Nadler and I think he's a good congressman, but he does not represent Red Hook. Our Representative Nydia Valezquez is oddly quiet about much of the controversy surrounding waterfront issues. (Although she has been vocal in opposition to more waste transfer facilities in the district, which is great.)

Batkin, of 160 Imlay fame, is cited in the Times article as claiming to have received offers to covert the second Imlay St building into a hotel. That'd be interesting development. Last week's Courier also had a ton of news concerning the Imlay conversion. Apparently both parties were back in court about a week ago. Hopefully this means that a decision will be coming down soon.

Well, that's about it for now. As for the Redhooky methodology... I'm looking to post on a schedule of two posts a week or so. I'm also considering adding a couple of new folks to see if I can get more posts up, but I'll have to work that out a bit. Finally, I'll probably try to post less about the goings on and add a bit more about what I know about Red Hook as a place. In my obsessive digging around on the internet I've found out all sorts of odd things about the neighborhood. Ask me about Kurt Weil's conection to Red Hook! Really.

So where was I?

2005-04-09T09:23:00.000-04:00

So I let the blog go for awhile... and not just because it was too much time. As of late Red Hook as a place has had me at about at wits end. I still like it here and I still find it to be a great and interesting place, but I don't think it wears the winter well. Through January, February and March it seemed that the streets got dirtier and dirtier. The whole place just seemed to get grim and grimy. Let's put it this way, during the course of the winter I found three dead animals in the streets. Okay, actually four. That's pretty grim.

And I think that is probably the reason I'm more in favor of Ikea and the Imlay Street projects, than not. Its a simple matter of hoping that if Ikea comes, there may be more traffic, but maybe there won't be the big piles of trash on Beard St. that are there now. Sure, the derelict buildings might make a poignant photo that captures the tragedy and desolation of urban life, but ya know what? I'm not that keen in living in a set piece for tragedy and desolation. At let's be honest, you know why they found asbestos on the Ikea site? Because the whole freakin' place is tainted by industrial waste. Its great history to know that they built many of the landing crafts from the Normandy invasion in Red Hook, but all that shipbuilding leaves some pretty rough stuff - the dirty underbelly of industrial history. Ya know where you can find the most comprehensive history of the Todd Shipyards Brooklyn operations on-line? At the website for some law firm that specializes in Mesothelioma cases. The site has been poisoned for years. Good luck to Ikea if they want to clean it up.

Regardless, though, I'm here in Red Hook for a while. I do like the place. But I also want to see it get better. And by better, I mean that I want to see it become a better place to live. Yeah, I know... "What about the working waterfront?!?" I've got nothing against the working waterfront, so long as that doesn't mean garbage on the streets, and derelict buildings.

A New RedHooky

2005-04-08T17:04:00.000-04:00

Over the past couple of months I've fallen behind on updating Redhooky. I considered dropping the whole thing, but I've decided to just sort of adjust the blogging to reality. I simply don't have much time for it, but I will try to keep up. The only real goal at this point is to post up-dates on what's going -- i.e. events and development. To that end:

From the Diesel Gallery on Van Brunt:

"New Work" exhibit at Diesel Gallery
Karni Dorell and Stuart Nicholson

Opening
April 15th, 7-10:30 pm with performances
Show runs through May 7th

Gallery Location:
242 Van Brunt Street (between Commerce and Delevan, B-61 bus stops in front)
Brooklyn, NY 11231
Directions: A, F to Jay, B-61 to Van Brunt and Commerce or F train to Carroll, exit at front of train, take a right on 2nd Pl, walk three blocks to BQE, cross over the BQE at 1st Pl, continue straight on Summit Street, 2 blocks, left on Van Brunt Street (3 blocks to gallery)
By Car: Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, exit Hamilton Ave., do a U turn, go back to Van Brunt St., take a left and go three blocks

Gallery hours: Saturday 1-5pm

Diesel is also running a benefit in the near future, details are below:
It will be the 2nd "Continuum II" benefit on Saturday May 21st from 7 to 10:30pm. Tickets are $125, but the way they've got it all arranged, that will also buy a piece of original donated artwork. So if you'd got the money, its a good way to get good art. Or at least art. I don't know what you like.

It you're interested in either attending or donating a work of art, contact Diesel. Go to the show on Saturday the 15th and they'll tell you all about it.

A Guest Post

2005-04-08T16:57:00.000-04:00

A Guest Post from the ever poetic Bill:

Red Hook Blog

I sit on a stoop on Van Brunt Street listening, watching.... scenes that are as foreign to me as rivers and trees are familiar. A plastic bag scrapes down the sidewalk. Trucks lumber past, big and muscular. Van Brunt is a masculine, beefy name, and the namesake street bears its burden well: big trucks shake building foundations, pound broken pavement; loads shift, crash; engine whines and muscles into a lower gear.

Wind at my back, sunlight in my eyes. My front side bakes in the warm, harsh light. My neck feels chilly fingers of a breeze that knows it has time on its side, months to grow strong, colder. I can live here, and I cannot.

The days and months that flow from this moment are vague to me, yet omnipresent, like the drone of a horn or signal that now invades my ears, now is gone. The wind, my friend, has taken the the noise to the river, away, buying me not silence, but respite. Its from a factory, she guesses, just another of a cacophony of backdrop noises that makes up the audible canvas of a city. The reaction of many, or some, would be to find escape, silence. But this is all worth listening to. Are not our thoughts as loud and crazy as what we hear externally? More so, probably, because they strike emotional chords, then reverberates with a force as unpredictable as the idle thought that passes through my head. How can you hear yourself think with all this racket, someone might ask? How can you think without it, I wonder?

In lucid moments, I have a strong urge to shape and mold my life flow, give it direction and purpose. But my history of inaction in the face of decisive, life-changing events hangs over me like a specter. I leave this question of direction unresolved so I can settle on a more pressing issue: hunger.

Back... or I will be soon

2005-04-08T15:54:00.000-04:00

Okay, I know its been awhile... but stay tuned Redhooky 1.2 is coming soon.

Request a Traffic Signal on Van Brunt Street

2005-02-07T13:27:00.000-05:00

Q: How Can I Request a New Traffic Signal?
A: You can request the installation of a traffic signal by writing to the Department of Transportation's Signal Engineering Intersection Control Unit at 34-02 Queens Boulevard, Long Island City NY 11101.

Do it today. Send a letter to the Department of Transportation. Send a copy to Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez's Brooklyn Office, 268 Broadway, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11211. Send another copy to City Council Representative Sarah Gonzalez, 4808 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn 11220.

The Next Red Hook Project - The Revere Sugar Refinery?

2005-02-07T11:49:00.000-05:00

In the comments section on the last post someone alerted me to Craig's List post advertising the Revere Sugar Refinery. According to the post, the owner is asking $650,000 for the whole thing. Its a great location, but chances are that almost none of the existing structures are of any use at all. An old post on the WaterFrontMatters website mentions that the property is "known to have contamination issues" which would most likely make any develop extraordinarily complicated and expensive. If nothing else, you'd have to pull out that sunken lightship!

I think the big risk for the site is for a big box store. With Ikea going in next door, there will undoubtably be interest in mirroring that development. And although I'm not adamantly opposed to the Ikea project, I would be opposed to allowing it to become the dominant development on the waterfront. The borough, the community board and the city should probably get involved as soon as possible to try to make sure that the site is developed with some sort of plan in mind.

So what's going on with Imlay?

2005-02-02T10:15:00.000-05:00

The announced deadline for a decision on the conversion of 160 Imlay had been January 18th, but it seemed that nothing was ever announced. After weeks of searching on-line, I got frustrated enough to call the New York State Court and ask what was going on. I was told that the January 18th deadline was actually the date that Judge Lewis (the presiding Judge in the case) had given to two parties to file their final statements. The Judge then has 30 to 90 days to make an actual decision on the case.

There is the possibility that the Imlay case will become more than just a neighborhood issue. I believe it was the Courier (c'mon Courier... how about a website?!?) that earlier ran a story concerning the donations from the developers to the fund for the NYC 2012 Olympic bid. The Village Voice mentioned the connection in their story about Imlay. And recently the the Observer and NYC have addressed the question of whether big donors to the Mayor's favorite causes are getting special treatment. So far the specifics of the relationship between the Imlay project, the BSA and the NYC 2012 fund haven't really broken into the wider debate.

Personally, I'm a bit torn by the whole thing. As I've said, I think the influx of new residents would be a good thing for Red Hook so I support the Imlay conversion. Likewise, I would like to see the Olympics come to NYC. For all the trouble that the Olympics would inevitably bring, on balance I honestly think it would just be fun and exciting to see NY host the Olympics. If anything, I think the Olympic bid as it stands doesn't include enough Brooklyn events. One way or the other, it would be a shame if the Imlay project got caught up in this kind of outside problem.

Wintery Red Hook

2005-01-28T13:27:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted much in the past week or so. In short, I've just been swamped with work, and the blog is a very part-time calling. In the spirit of a "what's going on" post... apparently the Hook will be featureing MiniKISS this evening -- a little person KISS tribute band. I'm not sure if I'll make it, but it sounds like a hell of a show.

Other than that, Sorry about the lack of posts, and I hope to post more in the next week.

Red Hook in Newsday

2005-01-18T10:20:00.000-05:00

Hey, by the way... nice article in Newsday today featuring the Red Hook Cafe and Grill - one of my favorite breakfast spots in the neighborhood!

A Red Hook proposal - Building a Design District

2005-01-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, I really don't have time to write this today, but I had said that I would post some ideas on how Ikea could be a better neighbor and I never got around to it. I've got a couple of ideas, but I'd like to throw the big one out there first...

A Design District on the Waterfront:

With a broad coalition across public and private lines, I believe we could promote the creation of Design District in Red Hook. Within, and immediately surrounding the neighborhood there are a number of institutions that could come together to form a consortium around home and interior design. With Ikea coming, and Lowe's and Home Depot already here, three of the largest home and interior design retailers are present. In addition, there are a number of small shops in the neighborhood that specialize in wood working, capentry, plumbing, used and refinished furniture, contracting, and marble and glasswork. In addition, one of the locals of the United Brotherhood of Capenters is located right here in the neighborhood. Together these institutions will have a tremendous capacity to make Red Hook a center for home design.

There are two things missing though - an educational element, and public intervention to bring all these actors together. Educational institutions are historically vital for these kinds of districts. They train local workers and entrenpeneurs for the commercial institutions, and they constantly introduce new innovations into the field which keeps the district sustainable. The best educational element would be a two tiered structure. One of the design schools of New York city (the Parson School, the Pratt Institute, the Fashion Institute Technology) should be invited into the neighborhood to establish an university level program in the neighborhood. They should be partnered with a New York City public high school that specializes in furniture, home and design. It may be necessary to create an entirely new school in the neighborhood. The high school would have a two track system. One would be focused on trades and skills, including small business management. By partnering with the local chapter of the Brotherhood of Carpenters, some graduates come out as skilled union members. The second track would focus on directing students toward university design school. Some will go straight to the partner university's program, others will go to other programs. The high school should draw most of its students from Red Hook Houses.

Public intervention will be required to make this happen. The City will have to offer incentives to bring these businesses together. The Deparment of Education will have to participate in organizing the high school. Whichever design college participates will need support to bring a campus to the neighborhood.

A dedicated Design District in Red Hook would make the community more of destination. It would promote practical education, and commercial activity. It would build on characteristics of the neighborhood that are already present. The mixed-used character of the neighborhood will not need to be overwhelmed. Small shops can co-exist with larger businesses and homes.

So that's one big idea for Red Hook. If anyone wants to forward this on to anyone who might get this going, please do!

2005-01-14T13:53:00.000-05:00

Hi Bec! Pretty nifty site, right?

Skeptical, but not opposed (following up on Imlay)

2005-01-12T16:49:00.000-05:00

The recent post about 160 Imlay was linked to Curbed today, and RedHooky was even quoted. Although Curbed notes my skepticism about the Imlay conversion and the especially the NYPost editorial about it, I think I should be more clear about my own opinions of the project. As I noted in the first piece on the Imlay project, I think the influx of new residents would be a real boon for the new businesses in the neighborhood. The variance board's requirement that the developers not add additional floors and that the first floor be used for commercial space goes a long way toward making the project more in keeping with the "mixed-use" character of the neighborhood. In short, I support the conversion of the Imlay building to residencies, but remain cautious about overall development in the neighborhood

There is definitely room in Red Hook for growth in terms of residents and commercial businesses - including some industrial uses. The neighborhood is not being used to its capacity. The most important issue, however, is managing the growth. I think the traffic situation is a good example. Despite warnings of the "narrow cobblestone streets" not being able to handle increased traffic, at one time Red Hook was one of the most used shipping ports in the country. During the boom years of Red Hook, there was substantially more traffic on these streets than we're seeing now. That's not to say that traffic isn't a problem now, and that its not going to get worse as new businesses and residents come in. However, its a problem that could be managed better now, and will have to be managed better in dealing with the future growth. In the short term, a couple of stop lights on Van Brunt Street between Hamilton Avenue and Reed Street would control some of the traffic flow and reduce the hi-speed truck runs a bit. And a stop sign at the corner of Verona and Richards just seems logical. In the medium term, restoring the Conover Street extension which was recently removed from the cruise ship terminal plan should be a priority.

In the longer term, we need closer and more consistent attention to comprehensive planning. Community planning is nothing new for Red Hook, and is probably where I am most skeptical of the Manhattan Institute's analysis. Where their approach emphasizes private enterprise in development, I feel strongly that public concerns should be at the fore. Red Hook was involved in one of the earlier commmunity planning efforts in 1996. A plan was written and is available from NYC.gov website. (Okay, I admit I haven't read it yet. But I will!) . I think the variance board's conditions on the Imlay Street project recognize the developer's responsibilities to a certain degree. More responsibilities can be put on private developers, however. Developers, whether they are building the Ikea or Fairway, or converting Imlay, have entered into the neighorohood and as such have neighborhood citizenship responsibilities. Requiring the Imlay developers to incorporate the Greenway into their plans, or even participating in the Conover Street extension, should not be too much to ask. However, without proper forums, and good-faith participation from both residents and developers, the right questions rarely get asked, and development becomes an exercise in community confrontation.

Baked website and Imlay Street in the NYPost

2005-01-11T11:42:00.000-05:00

The new Van Brunt bakery - Baked - has passed along their webaddress - www.bakednyc.com. Its a very spiffy website. Welcome to the neighborhood.

There is an article posted today about in the NYPost about the Imlay street development. (Red Light in Red Hook) The article is essentially a shorter version of a piece originally posted on the Manhattan Institute's Center for Rethinking Development website (Thinking About Desolate Neighborhoods & Environmental Reviews). Take the piece with a grain of salt - the Manhattan Institute is a conservative think tank, with a pretty clear neo-liberal / "free market" agenda. There is some good information in there, including the January 18 deadline on Judge Lewis' decision on the Imlay conversion.

Happy New Year... and Ikea finally arrives (with a bang and a crash)

2005-01-08T20:08:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted at all during the holiday season, things were a bit too busy. We also did the regular holiday traveling from one family to the other and back again which kept me away from my computer for much of the time. Regarless, a happy belated holidays and happy New Year to all.

While we were gone it seems that Red Hook has been busy. Besides the obvious (Ikea) there appears to be at least one other neighborhood development. A new bakery called "Baked" is poised to open just down the block from Hope & Anchor. Word is that it will be open by the middle of this week. From the looks of it, Baked is going to be something of a coffee shop / bakery, which should be a nice addition to Van Brunt Street.

There was one reply on the call for local websites. One of our hi-tech neighbors got in touch - The Future Now, Inc. Their websites (www.grokdotcom and www.futurenowinc.com) are posted on the sidebar. Its good to see "grok" in common usage... very late 60s-sci-fi hip. Let's hear from more folks.

Anyway, the big story of course is the start of the demolition of the Todd Shipyard buildings on Beard Street. Unfortunately, the first building for destruction was probably the most appealing of the lot. It was a pretty red-brick structure with arched windows. Although the demolition generated a bit of press and public consternation, it shouldn't have come as much of a surprise. A quick look at Ikea's plans on their website (www.ikearedhook.com) shows that they don't intend on keeping any of the old structures. My own opinion on the project is mixed. I hate to see buildings as pretty and as historically significant as those at the Todd Shipyard destroyed, but at the same time, it was perhaps worse to see them unused and deteriorating. Leaving aside whether or not Ikea is a good idea for Red Hook, the destruction of the Todd Shipyards was years in the making.

Although they may be the ones finally taking it apart, Ikea is only sort of really responsible for what is happening to the Todd Shipyards. Perhaps more directly than many other locations, Red Hook has been "shaped by war and trade". For Red Hook, and the shipyards that are at its core, declining fortunes comes on the heals of two major changes. The first is the movement away from naval power. For the Todd Shipyards, the biggest boom years were during World War II. The Shipyards either repaired, refitted, or built thousands of ships for the war effort. A big navy was vital to winning World War II, whether for transporting troops, moving material or fighting. After World War II long range aircraft largely replaced ships for military transport. What shipbuilding that was done after World War II was mostly moved south and west, where costs were less and work could be done year round.

The second big changed was the use of containerization in shipping. At one time the Erie and Atlantic Basins in Red Hook were among the most busy ports in the world. Containerization revolutionized the shipping industry. When containerization came to dominate, ports like Red Hook which only had limited container facilities were essentially abandoned. Currently American Stevedoring is the only container facility here in Red Hook. Compared to the container facilities in New Jersey, Brooklyn's are relatively smaller. I believe that Brooklyn has a deeper natural draft, however, which makes shipping here still attractive.

You could also argue that containerization is one of the things that makes Ikea possible. Shipping flat packages in containers from low cost production sites is one of the ways that Ikea keeps its products cheap. Without containers, the savings in low end production in Thailand or Malaysia would disappear into the transportation costs.

So maybe Ikea could have been better neighbors by at least saving the facade of the Todd Shipyards, but the yards themselves and all their place in the industrial world was gone long before our new Swedish neighbors got here.

Later this week I'll post two ideas on how Ikea could be a better neighbor - trees for all, and the start of a home design district.

websites?

2004-12-17T23:12:00.000-05:00

If you're a local business-- you be the judge-- send us your website and we'll post it on our links link. rh