The man who built a device to land planes on top of his Columbia Street Factory

by Joe Enright

Just north of Defonte’s Columbia Street sandwich mecca there stands a three story brick apartment house, 12 Luquer Street, built in 1885. There I spotted an early form of contractors advertising their work, but instead of an ugly temporary placard stuck in the front yard, they embedded a very small iron plaque in the front wall at eye level:

M. Gibbons & Son, Builders, 318 Columbia St Bkln

Tasteful, but proud, the mark of an enterprise that seemed confident they would be around for a good long while. And they were, from 1869 to 1930. Sadly, their office address and everything near it disappeared dur-

Red Hook softball league finishing 2nd season on new Red Hook turf

by Brian Abate

The Red Hook Locals Softball League is back for the second season in a row after a long hiatus waiting for the ball fields to undergo lead remediation and hurrican proofing.

The Wobblies, Bait & Tackle, the Record Shop, and B61 have all returned, and Hometown has joined as an expansion team. Greg “Greggles” Fischer, who plays for Bait & Tackle spoke about the season with us.

“B61 had a team a while back, but as the situation with the parks turned into construction forever, Bait & Tackle, and the Wobblies would just play each other in a pickup game,” Fischer said. “I’m pretty sure there’s been a league since around the mid2000s but I don’t know the exact year since that was before I was playing.” ing the creation of the Battery Tunnel Plaza in the late 1940s, now occupied by the expansive Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority building.

Their extensive workshops that occupied most of the block across from their office are now a parking lot for the TBTA. Ah, but one hundred years ago, that block was much in the news.

In fact, in every newspaper. Because it was going to be the site of the first rooftop landing strip for airplanes.

The Gibbons were one of the largest employers in Red Hook as the 20th century dawned. 300 to 500 laborers and craftsmen worked for the company at any given time between its

(continued on page 10)

According to Fisher The Record Shop is in first place at 9-2, B61 is in second at 7-4, the Wobblies are in third at 6-5, and Hometown is still looking for their first win. The Wobblies beat Bait & Tackle in an important battle for third place on July 27. The regular season consists of 12 games. The playoffs are quickly approaching. This year the plan is to have a play-in game between the fourth and fifth place teams. The date for that matchup has not yet been decided. All of the playoff games will take place on Field 9 (this is one of the four fields between the Rec Center and Amazon) with the semifinals on August 10, and the championship on August 17.

“I think it’s important to mention that we also came up with a new name for Field 9,” Fischer said. “We call it ‘Dovey Diamond.’ The field is named after a former Red Hook resident and proponent of the softball league named Gary Dovey who passed away.”

Fischer also explained the process for getting a ballfield permit, saying “We apply for the summer permit in January. ‘Dovey Diamond’ is technically considered a baseball field and there aren’t too many baseball fields left in the city so there are a lot of high school games played there. Getting

(continued on page 10)

481 Van Brunt Street, 8A

Brooklyn, NY 11231

(718) 624-5568 www.star-revue.com george@redhookstar.com

Editor & PublishEr

George Fiala

NEws Nathan Weiser

Brian Abate

Katherine Rivard

FEaturEs Erin DeGregorio

CulturE Roderick Thomas ovErsEas maN Dario Muccilli iNsights Joe Enright musiC Kurt Gottschalk

Jazz George Grella

Film Dante A. Ciampaglia books Michael Quinn

CartooNs Marc Jackson

Sophie Furman wEbmastEr Tariq Manon kids Editor Marie Hueston dEsigN George Fiala ad salEs Liz Galvin

Merry Band of Contributors

Matt Graber

Howard Graubard

Nino Pantano

Kelsey Sobel