Red Hook Star-Revue, August 2024

STAR REVUE

How safe is that Columbia Street concrete plant, anyway?

In our July issue we wrote about the concrete recycling plant that temporarily occupies part of the Columbia Street Waterfront District docks. At the time, the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) told us that they “take all the necessary steps to mitigate dust and keep the public safe.” That is important because crystalline silica, a compound present in concrete, poses serious health issues for humans if inhaled. Those issued include the lung disease silicosis and lung cancer.

Following publication, we received a large number of photos and videos from neighbors of the plant that disagree with the DOT assessment, and we relayed these concerns to independent experts. All this, plus some emails from Councilmember Shahana Hanif’s office combine to tell a very different story, one that challenges the city’s claims of effective dust mitigation and care for public health.

DOT says that its current strategy— spraying water on the concrete during the crushing process and when it’s moved, as well as on the stockpiles—is enough to keep dust settled.

However, Denys Schwartz, a civil en-

by Oscar Fock

gineer in Sydney, Australia, with over 15 years of experience working on large-scale construction projects involving recycling concrete, does not believe the veracity of DOT. “It appears that not enough is being done to mitigate dust dispersion. Given its location in an urban area, I would expect the implementation of at least large-scale water spray systems and dust control barriers,” he wrote in an email after reviewing videos of the plant in operation.

Other mitigation ideas

Schwartz, who runs constructionfront.com, a construction news website, explained that other measures beyond water could be taken to mitigate dust. Barriers could be used to stop dust from spreading and blocking the wind, and certain chemicals can be used to suppress dust. These chemicals, Schwartz said, “bind dust particles together, making them heavier and less likely to become airborne.”

There is no evidence at the Columbia Street Waterfront District site of barriers or enclosures to block wind or stop dust from dispersing. Photos and videos, most taken this summer, show

that the current strategy of only using water to reduce dust is inadequate.

On June 15, wind speeds reached nearly 11 miles per hour (with gusts of 18 mph) — defined by the National Weather Service as a “gentle breeze” — along Brooklyn’s northwestern

“The whole neighborhood was covered in thick clouds of dust."

waterfront. A video from that evening, taken from a rooftop close to the plant, shows a thick cloud of dust continuously blowing from the uncovered and unenclosed piles of crushed concrete into the dense residential neighborhood.

“The whole neighborhood was covered in thick clouds of dust. It was unusual circumstances, but it happens often enough, and you could smell it,”

(continued on page 8)

After Many a Summer Dies the Swan…….or not!

by R.J. Cirillo

The first few “walking with coffee” columns were interviews with Millennials, in which we discussed

their views of “boomers.” One common complaint was that the post-war generation refused to let go of jobs, culture, politics, and basically everything. It brought to this boomer’s mind a novel by Aldous Huxley, “After Many a Summer Dies the Swan.” Written in 1939 it tells of a super-rich in-

dustrialist’s search for immortality, which ends, despite well-funded efforts, in failure.

Fast forward to last week’s NY Times story about the futurist genius Ray Kurzweil, whom I knew of during my music days, for his work developing synthesizers. Now 74, Kurzweil postulates that if he could live another 15 years he might never have to die.

He speaks of something called “singularity”, which as far as I could grasp, was a total interface between humans and computers. So, Ray, what do we do, upload 90 years of consciousness on to a hard drive? Then bounce around on computer chips? Could we lick an ice cream cone? Have a beer?

In 15 years, if this proce-

Photo: Colin Gardner

481 Van Brunt Street, 11AR Brooklyn, NY 11231 (917) 652-9128

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Editor & PublishEr

George Fiala

rEPortErs Nathan Weiser

Brian Abate

Oscar Fock

Katherine Rivard

FEaturEs Kelsey Sobel

inquirEr Lisa Gitlin

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

CraFts Marie & Sage Hueston

dEsign George Fiala

Merry Band of Contributors Howard Graubard Nino Pantano

R.J. Cirillo

Domestic Worker empowerment organization celebrates their heroes

Care Forward, a nanny organization that works to guarantee good working conditions for domestic workers, celebrated their annual Care Heros with an award program on July 11 at Emma’s Torch Cafe. Emma’s Torch provides a welcoming space where domestic workers can relax when they are with the kids they are caring for.

The Carroll Gardens Association is a member of We Rise, the domestic worker union that is part of Care Forward. We Rise brings together domestic workers, employers, community allies, elected officials and government agencies to ensure a care system is created that works for everyone.

Three of the Care Hero Awards from around the community went to the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store, Hopalong Andrew and Take Root Justice.

I will take care of you

Marguerita Aristide is a nanny who nominated her employer for a care hero award. She has been with Julia Finegan’s family in Park Slope for five years and was previously with another family in Cobble Hill for seven years.

Aristide said that Finegan is compassionate, caring, generous, sympathetic, appreciative and praised her communication skills. She appreciates how well her employer treats her.

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“What made me feel so passionate about Julia was during Covid, when everybody was worrying, she ensured me that I would be okay and that we will take care of you," Aristede said.

Besides nannies and employers, an award went to Naoki Fujita, the senior staff attorney on the workers’ rights team at Take Root Justice.

Take Root Justice provides legal services for domestic workers. The practice is often focused on wages but they have done a lot of work on discrimination. Fujita remarked that it was amaz-

by Nathan Weiser

ing to see these nannies and employers working together. Usually when he gets cases referred to him they are not good employer relationships.

“We have been winning about $250,000 a year for domestic workers in the last four years,” Fujita said. “Basically every four years, we collect about a million dollars in lost wages.”

At the the end of the evening, Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon and Councilwoman Shahana Hanif received awards for their advocacy for domestic workers.

The Assembly Member has been advocating for and has been in support of Care Forward since the beginning in 2021. She recently advocated for the Empire Act, which will increase enforcement of worker rights.

“Simon is an annual care hero for supporting domestic workers and all types of workers,” said Ben Fuller Googins, who is the deputy director of Carroll Gardens Association. “We are grateful that you are in the neighborhood and have our backs.”

Simon thinks CGA is terrific and does work that needs to be done. She is happy to support them. Wage theft is an issue she works on.“

You mentioned the Empire Act,” Simon said. “We are not there yet but that would make a big difference in the lives of people who have lost wages. It gives them a right to go forward themselves and collect those wages and really gives power to that.”

As part of the evening's program, domestic worker Doris Tapia did a dance from her home city of Cusco, Peru with traditional music. Tapia is the coordinator of the We Rise nanny trainings and has helped hundreds of domestic workers advocate for their rights. She received the first Care Hero Award.

Marissa Zanfardino is an attorney who practices employment law. She

created contracts that are used by the nanny group.

“We outlined clear tasks and job responsibilities,” Zanfardino said. “We outlined pay and pay rates. Something that is additional that we included was any benefits, for example, transportation benefits, if they are going to give an employee an MTA card. Domestic workers aren’t usually given health and dental insurance but it’s an option in the contract to try to incentivize raising working standards. They include law and recommendations and they hope people will follow the recommendations.

They included wage statements, which is a statement of hours worked, overtime hours and each time wages were paid, which helps ensure wage theft doesn’t occur.

“Something we really wanted to outline, which we took from workers recommendations, were the leave benefits, whether that is sick time, vacation time and days of rest,” Zanfardino said.

JoAnne Simon receives a hero award from Ben Fuller Googins of the Carroll Gardens Assoication (photo by Nathan Weiser)

Our position on the future of the shoreline

Afew month's ago we wrote about a land transfer that had just taken place in the Columbia Waterfront District and Red Hook, namely the coast between Brookyn Bridge Park and the large vacant UPS lot in Red Hook. That area includes the Cruise Terminal, the Red Hook Container Terminal, all the parking lots, Manhattan Beverage, the Waterfront Commission, the concrete recycling plant and a few other lots. All this land had been owned by the Port Authority. They swapped it all for the container terminal in Staten Island called Howland Hook. Our land is now owned by a complicated partnership between the NYC Economic Development Corporation and the State of NY.

For a long time the Port Authority (PA) has been trying to figure out how to entangle itself from Red Hook. They have stopped maintaining the piers, despite a legal obligation to do so, probably in hopes that Mike Stamatis would move his cranes away. They would have loved to sell the land directly to real estate developers so they could continue a transformation of the shoreline to luxury hi-rises that started in Williamsburg. However, the PA shies away from bad publicity, and maintained a holding pattern, giving the Terminal only five year leases for the past decades, which prevented them from raising capital to fix the piers themselves.

Evidently, the unusual political reality of having a Mayor getting along with a Governor allowed the Port Authority to make its move.

The community has been promised a voice in deciding the future of all this land via the mechanism of a Task Force that will inform the language of a future RFP (Request for Proposal) that will go to developers.

We asked to be on the Task Force. We were told that would not be possible. One said that it is not appropriate for a local newspaper to be part of a local community Task Force, another said there was no more room. So in light of that, I am using this space to inform what this neighborhood paper believes should be part of the discussion.

Our Eleven Points

1 - Modernize the container terminal.

The piers, cranes and associated cargo handling equipment need to be repaired and maintained in order to support a busy and profitable containerport. Necessary land must be devoted to the shipping activities.

2 - Mixed housing with ground floor commercial

A percentage of the rest of the land should be used to provide a mix of low, affordable, and market rate housing. An idea is to remap some streets and build mostly low-to-medium-rise multi-family homes. Ground floor space should be available for stores.

3 - Create a logical truck route There should be a dedicated road, perhaps built above the ground, to allow incoming and outgoing tractor trailers doing business with the terminal.

4 - A stadium

In the past Red Hook has benefitted

from an international auto race. We believe that a 1000 - 3000 seat stadium could become an attractive sports and cultural venue that would enhance the area. Of course, consideration for transportation must be part of the plan, including ferry, bicycle and bus service.

5 - Open Space

There is plenty of room for parkland, that can include gardens, bike paths, recreational water use, skateboarding and possibly ballfields.

6 - Restaurants

We love the idea of another City Island type space in the area. People flock there for seafood and ocean breezes, we could do a little of that here.

7 - A museum

Our part of Brooklyn has an illustrious past. An appropriate use could include a museum that includes exhibits on shipping, ship building, the underground railroad and the ILA labor unions.

8 - Possibly some maker space

There are many furniture makers, architects, welders and other artisinal businesses in New York that are always looking for places to work.

9 - NO public/private partnerships

Our government hates to raise taxes to provide needed services. What they do instead is partner with for-profit companies. We believe government can be a positive force in our lives, and should be capable at doing many these things. Taking profits out of housing and arenas would lower end costs for the public. Since the State is heavily involved, let them bring us some new Mitchell Lama housing.

10 - NO truck parking.

The container terminal has been renting out much of their space to trucks and to a waste company. I am told this is because they need the income. The land is too valuable for that and their income should come from shipping.

11 - NO industrial use

We are talking about things like the recycling plant that we write about on this issue's cover.

Now, I am not vain enough to think that this is the be-all and end-all. In fact some of this might not make any sense. But it should be a starting point for a conversation that will lead to a real community based plan.

While I am being assured that the Task Force will reflect the wishes of the neighborhood, and will come to life in the actual plan, based upon my experience watching the planning of the Gowanus rezoning I have my doubts. It remains to be seen how things will progress, but I would have wished the process so far to be more transparent. Evidently the membership of this Task Force is already chosen, without there being any chance for a normal person to apply to be on it. Supposedly the meetings, at least the first coming up on a ZOOM meeting, which some might say is an undemocratic way to hold meetings, will be important.

Brad Lander's Bridging Gowanus was supposed to be a similar groundsup process. In reality, a pre-determined plan was thrown in the faces of the community, with only cosmetic changes allowed to be made.

Cartoon Section with Marc and Sophie

FUNNY SIDE UP

BY MARC JACKSON

George Fiala

SHORT SHORTS:

BY STAR-REVUE STAFF

Looking for Mr. Taskforce

In May, Mayor Adams, along with Governor Hochul, NYCEDC, and the Port Authority announced an agreement that will enable the City to transform the Brooklyn Marine Terminal. Goals for the transformation include building the waterfront community to help create thousands of jobs for New Yorkers and generate significant economic impact for New York City. The process is advertised as beingcommunity-driven, so the City will assemble a Brooklyn Marine Terminal Taskforce—chaired by US Representative Dan Goldman with New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes and New York City Councilmember Alexa Aviles serving as vice chairs—to colead an extensive engagement process. A wide range of stakeholders will be involved in the process, including local elected officials, unions, waterfront stakeholders, Brooklyn businesses, workforce development, and the maritime industry.

While the taskforce is being created seemingly without accepting any applications, there is an EDC invitation to view a webinar via ZOOM, accessible only if you have access to a computer. The first meeting is scheduled for August 12th at 6.30pm. The link to the webinar is https://bit.ly/4c5ynO4

Landmarked buildings may be moved again.

Plans for a 30-story tower on 188 Duffield St. in Downtown Brooklyn were filed with the city’s Department of Buildings on Wednesday, July 10.

Currently, the landmarked Duffield Street Houses — a row of four 19thcentury houses — sit on the site. As the landmark designation covers the entirety of the lot, any changes to the site would require approval from the Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC). No permit applications for new development have of yet been filed with the LPC. Therefore, it is not clear what will happen with the Duffield Houses. Will they be moved again, or built over? These houses, built in the middle of the 19th century, were originally sited on nearby Johnson Street. They were moved in 1990 as detailed in the February 8 edition of the Brooklyn Phoenix newspaper.

"The spectacle of spectacles trundled down Johnson Street last weekend – three connected houses on wheels, being moved to make way for Metrotech developments. In January,

workers, using hydraulic pumps, hoisted the houses up onto steel “stilts” raising them off the ground. Last Friday, they were rolled to the corner of the lot where they have stood – one of them for the last 189 years. By Saturday, they were out onto the middle of Johnson Street, blocking the intersection of Bridge Street, as tow trucks pulled them a bit at a time over planks. Camera toting onlookers were out in droves, including the Public Development Corporation’s Hardy Adasko. On Sunday the houses turned onto Flatbush and headed for their new home on Duffield Street, next to St. Boniface Church. According to Jill Hittleman, the project manager for the move, the 108 Johnson house was deemed to be “of significant historical value.”

New Gowanus tower open for business

On Monday, July 22, Domain Companies and the VOREA Group announced that they had launched leasing of 420 Carroll, the first building developed through the 2021 Gowanus rezoning.

The development, which consists of one 21-story and one 16-story skyscraper, connected with an underground tunnel, houses 360 apartments, as well as high-end amenities including an art gallery, landscaped terrace and a sundeck with lounge chairs. Advertisements proclaim that residents will be able to enjoy “dining and tranquility” with “timeless” views of the Gowanus Canal, one of the nation’s most polluted and odorous bodies of water.

One quarter of the apartments are classified as “affordable".

“Following the 2021 Gowanus Rezoning, we looked to reimagine what a vibrant residential community could

Find Sanctuary in the City

We are a parish of The Episcopal Church, a part of the Anglican Communion throughout the world, dedicated to the worship of God and to the care of God’s people. Come share in our mission to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.

look like in the area, and 420 Carroll will provide its residents with a bustling environment to set their roots, from its outdoor greenspaces to its coworking space, to the lively restaurants, shops and cultural scene of Gowanus itself. We are excited to welcome residents to 420 Carroll,” reads the promotional material

Money for water

Rookie Congressman Dan Goldman sent out a press release touting the House’s passage of the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024, which includes funding and policies to improve New York’s climate resiliency efforts. WRDA also includes Representatives Nadler and Velázquez requests for $160 million for to improve local water and wastewater management, such as combined sewer overflows. The bill passed with only 13 no votes, and just passed unanimously in the Senate. This is a bill that is renewed every two years and provides local politicians opportunity to promote their participation in it as the funding is for the entire country. Much of the funding goes to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct water development projects and studies, among other things.

Brooklyn Gears Up for Epic Multi-Band Concert Extravaganza

Indie rock lovers rejoice! A “Brooklyn Beat” class reunion is in the works. Park Slope will once again bear witness to a diverse lineup of talented bands converging for a one-night-on-

ly fundraising concert on Saturday, September 14 at Young Ethel’s.

This electrifying event will showcase the unique sounds of Frank’s Museum, Hari Karaoke Trio of Doom, Medicine Sunday, M. West of The Original Rays, Robert Box of Chemical Wedding, The Squirrels from Hell and Kenny & the Eggplants, each representing a different facet of the borough’s Indie golden age of the late 1980s and early ‘90s. From the dark, powerful rhythms of Hari Karaoke to the broadly appealing melodies of the Eggplants, there’s something for every musical palate.

This musical extravaganza is the climax event for a crowdfunding campaign for the upcoming documentary film “Before it was Cool: The Brooklyn Beat from Lauterbach’s.” The event will include the public premiere of the documentary’s official trailer and a teaser reel for industry insiders.

Date: September 14, 2024

Time: Doors open at 3:00 | Show starts at 5:00

Venue: Young Ethel’s | 506 5th Avenue, Brooklyn

Tickets: Admission is FREE. Donations requested.

LETTERS to the Editor:

Good addition

Congrats on scoring a great new reporter. Oskar Fock is great!—Hildegaard Loves it here!

Working on this interim library has been one of my favorite projects in my 10+ years at BPL. A lot of that was just getting to be in Red Hook almost every day for a month!! !— Mike Fieni

Check out the bargains

Don’t forget to patronize your neighborhood restaurants during this summers NYC Restaurant Week.  It runs from July 22nd to August 18th with a wide variety of both two course lunch and three course dinner specials for $30, $45 and $60 dollars..

Don’t forget your cook and server. We try to tip 20 to 25 percent against the total bill including taxes.

The restaurant industry employees several hundred thousand people.  Our local entrepreneurs work long hours, pay taxes and provide local employment especially to students during the summer.  If we don’t patronize our local restaurants, they don’t eat either. !—Larry Penner

Why still there?

Who’s paying Toxics Targeting? And why haven’t any of these people allegedly terrified about the toxicity of Gowanus moved out of the neighborhood? !—Joe Gowanus

Blowing in the wind

“Dust is generally not a concern when the concrete sits in a static pile.” Except it doesn’t sit in static piles. It’s dumped from trucks, then moved around from place to place in the site, causing clouds of dust that anyone overlooking the site can see. You do NOT want silica dust in your lungs!—Alex

Dusty and noisy

The dust control measures are intended to protect the worksite during operations but fail to prevent dust from drying and blowing into our windows during off hours. Since operations began, our windows and cars have become significantly dirtier, and every neighbor has complained about it. The noise pollution might be even worse than the air pollution. They start at around 6 AM every day, with the sounds of beeping trucks, concrete grading machines, dust control vacuum trucks, and DOT trucks honking. It’s impossible to keep the windows open. Two years in DOT years is more like

ten years. I don’t trust their timeline, and it’s been terrible since they started. I would love to know if there’s any legal way to get them to move as soon as possible. !—RT

Visited the facility

Last week our City Council Member, Shahana Hanif, toured the facility. On that day everything was wet, which according to them helps stop the spreading of the dust. I pointed out to her that’s not the case on a daily basis and even forwarded a picture I took in March which clearly shows how dry everything was that day.

Let’s ensure that this doesn’t happen again and that going forward the city takes into account our community in the upcoming redevelopment of our waterfront. Please email me at Mr. JohnLeyva@gmail.com or ColumbiaStWaterfront@gmail.com so we coordinate our efforts. Thank you. !— John Leyva Don't forget Greenway Park

It’s important to point out that there was a pledge made by the DOT over ten years ago to create a park in partnership with the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, situated where the recycling facility now stands. This commitment was instrumental in inspiring many local entrepreneurs to invest in our neighborhood. While the present circumstances represent a shift from the original plan, long-standing members of this community are hopeful for a resolution that aligns with our shared aspirations for a park. —B Caramente

Some Gowanus legalities

My experience has been that Toxics Targeting often exaggerates and overstates environmental risks. It is an environmental data base looking for a purpose. I  also believe that the DEC does not have legal grounds for not disclosing the other properties with vapor issues. The names of individuals can be easily redacted but this is a public health issue. News organizations should sue for this information.

BTW- DEC has the authority to issue what is known as a “10-day letter” which required property owners to provide access for sampling. I have had clients receive such orders to investigate vapor intrusion from off-site sources. So the agency does not have to rely on voluntarily cooperation and does not have to hide behind the alleged privacy grounds for keeping the results from the public.—Lawrence P. Schnapfsad

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Star-Revue wins state and national awards by George Fiala

While this newspaper doesn't always hear what our readers think of our articles, we have always been well received by our industry peers. In only one year since being accepted as a member of the NY State Press Association, did we fail to win at least one award. That's twelve years now.

A personal highlight was the year that I was called up to accept a Second Place award in the feature story category for Noah Phillip's piece on Tony, the original owner of the Red Hook Coffee Shop, before he retired. As I was heading back to my seat, the presenter told me not to, as we also were the First Place winner, for a story by Sarah Matusek about Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle. Her writing career began as a reporter for a downtown Brooklyn community paper. In 2017 we won an Ippies Award, given out by the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, for having the Best Community Publication in New York. That must have shocked them so much that they stopped having the contest shortly afterwards.

Last year we joined the National Newspaper Association, composed of papers like ours from all over the country. In that first year, we were awarded two prizes for journalism, and just last month we go three in this year's contest!

For Best Health Story we were awarded First Place for Brian Abate's Asthma Series. The judge wrote: Fantastic! This is such a well researched article on a topic that seems to have been that

talk of the community at the time. Not only offering information on the different causes of asthma in the community but also offering solutions to help those who have it. Incredible job!

We received a Second Place for Erin DeGregorio's story about the Museum of Failure which exhibited in Sunset Park last year. The judge wrote: This was quite nicely done — kudos.

Another Second Place was for another Brian Abate story: The Royal Scam. This was in the category of Best Business Story, and he wrote about the sad saga of what some people think of as a beloved ice cream shop, but what in reality was a badly run but highly promoted business that escaped paying creditors by declaring bankruptcy two times. The judge wrote: Great story and great subject matter. Would have liked to hear from an employee or two about their thoughts on the extended two week furlough. Love how the story is broken up with subheads, makes for a visually appealing read. Great job.

Earlier this year we received an award from the New York Press Association as seen above - a Second Place for Best Obituaries. One of our submissions, written by Nathan Weiser, was about the live and remembrance of community member Jackie Jackson. The other was a heartfelt remembrance called "Farewell Brother" written by acclaimed author and our Insights Editor Joe Enright.

The Star-Revue will be accepting their NNA awards in person next month at their convention in Omaha, Nebraska and we appreciate the honor.

CONCRETE POLLUTION

(continued from page 1)

said David Gray, a resident of the Columbia Street Waterfront District, who recorded the video. “It was dense, and it was blowing right over the residential area. It was thick in the air. And that went on for as long as the storm lasted.”

An earlier photo, also on a windy day, shows a cloud of dust hanging over the Waterfront District, given a slight yellow tint by the setting sun. Colin Gardner, a neighborhood resident, was on the roof of his building when he took the photo.

“I was surprised because I knew it was a concrete recycling plant, and I knew there were toxins in it, and I knew there was silica in it, which causes a lot of problems in humans,” he said.

But even on calmer days, dust can be seen dispersing from practically every step of the recycling process, including when the concrete is processed into smaller chunks and powder, when it’s loaded onto barges, moved around by excavators, and unloaded from trucks.

Visual evidence of the piles of crushed concrete, the largest of which is at least two stories high, shows that large parts of the upper halves of the piles are routinely dry. The light gray-colored tops of the piles, contrasted with the dark gray bottoms, which look better watered, raise questions about the effectiveness of the dust mitigation systems.

Several community members living on or near Columbia Street keep getting their windowsills covered in concrete dust. Some say the dust is so bad that they can’t keep their windows open anymore.

“We have bought an air purifier. We are keeping the windows closed, which means we have to use air conditioning more,” said Gray, who has two teenage children.

A shared concern is the plant’s location. It was moved earlier this year the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, which is in Sunset Park, to accommodate the city’s offshore wind program. Residents want to know “why here?”

When the concrete recycling facility opened, it did so with little fanfare — no notice, no public outreach.

“There was nothing. We didn’t even realize until somebody saw the sign. We had no input; they didn’t tell the community at all that it was coming. There was just a sign there and then trucks started coming in and out,” said another local, John Leyva. Several neighbors of the plant have echoed the sentiment: one day, suddenly, the plant was just there. After months with little information and transparency, the community demands answers.

“I’ve sent lots of emails, to the DOT, to different people and community boards, representatives. No one’s gotten back to me yet,” explained Brendan Caramante, who lives across the street from the plant.

According to a technical brief written by Dr. Tara Cavalline, Professor of Civil Engineering Technology and Construction Management at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, there are several environmental considerations when operating a concrete recycling plant, which, in the case of this recycling facility, seemingly weren’t deciding factors.

The technical brief notes that concrete recycling facilities should be located “away from sensitive areas, businesses or homes.”

In addition to apartments, restaurants and bars in the area, PS 29 is a few blocks away.

A 2018 guide on concrete recycling from Iowa State University’s National Concrete Pavement Technology Center states, “Dust control strategies should account for prevailing wind conditions and utilize the

natural topography or vegetation.” The agency chose a spot on the western shoreline of Brooklyn with no natural or manmade wind barriers, even though the prevailing winds in the New York area blow from west to east into the city.

Not just lungs, but ears too

There is also nothing blocking the noise. “It’s constant noise. We cannot open our windows anymore. It’s impossible to keep the windows open, not just because of the pollution, but just the sound,” said Caramante. “It’s almost like a symphony of beeping, honking and grinding.”

His apartment also vibrates sometimes when concrete is processed. When the earthquake shook New York in April, Caramante was outside talking to a neighbor. It was only once people started coming out of their homes and told him that he realized it wasn’t just the concrete recycling plant.

“I said, ‘Was there an earthquake just now?’ We thought it was the recycling plant across the street because that’s how it feels,” he said.

After concerns about the concrete recycling operations were raised with the office of local Councilmember Shahana Hanif, she toured the facility with a group of DOT officials as her guides.

On July 15, she wrote on Instagram, “My office has received concerns from constituents about the Columbia Waterfront Concrete Recycling Facility. Last week I had an opportunity to tour the site myself and get on the ground clarity about DOT’s proactive measures to address dust and air quality, reduce trucks and truck traffic, and improve street safety and add signage.”

But the councilmember’s visit only raised more questions about the trans-

portation department’s concrete recycling operations. In an email to David Gray sent a week after the tour, a staff member of the councilmember explained what they had learned. She wrote, “There is a dust mitigation plan in place that waters down the facility several times an hour and the dust is nonhazardous to humans.”

We reached out to Hanif’s office and all she would tell us is that she toured the plant, offering no more information that she had already posted online. She did confirm, however, that the DOT had assured them the dust was safe. Multiple questions that were sent to her office were ignored.

DOT did not respond to why its officials didn’t disclose the dangers associated with inhaling concrete dust. In her email to us, Hanif did say that she, too, was awaiting a DOT response to some of these concerns.

The councilmember, while stating that “the health and safety of my constituents is my top priority,” has not provided any evidence in support of that statement when it comes to the recycling plant. Her office also did not respond to an offer to respond to comments of her constituents that we have written about in this article.

All the while, silica dust continues to escape from the concrete recycling plant into the communities surrounding it.

“We appreciate those occasions when it’s watered down. But the videos that we have, showing dust blowing, are genuine. It’s not the good days that we’re concerned about. It’s all the hours of the day when there’s dust coming off these heaps,” said Gray. “I don’t want my kids breathing in silica for two years.”

To contact the writer of this story email oscarfock9@gmail.com

ADVANCED LEARNING IN THE EARLY YEAR S

BASIS Independent Brooklyn is a PreK–12 private school that fuels ingenuity, creativity, and independence in every child as they learn at the highest international levels. Students engage in a globally inspired curriculum designed to build critical inquiry and wonder from day one.

19 YEARS OF KAYAKING

by Brian Abate

Once again this summer there is free kayaking at Valentino Pier Park.

The Red Hook Boaters teach people kayakiong twice a week on Thursdays from 6-8 pm and Sundays 1-4 pm. “We’ve been around since 2005,” said Todd Seidman, one of the Boater volunteers. “It’s New York and we’re an island so this is the ocean. As the tide goes up and down, it generates currents. The tide is high right now but when the tide is low we’re able to go under the pier and have twice as much space to paddle in.”

Those who are learning to kayak don’t go out past the embayment because the current is strong further out but it is fairly calm about 20-30 feet off of the shore. “One of the cool things for the volunteers is that occasionally we leave the harbor and go on trips to the

Statue of Liberty or Brooklyn Bridge Park,” Seidman said. “It’s also nice that a variety of people show up including folks from the Red Hook Houses, families with kids, Muslim families, Hasidic families.”

Tim Gamble talked about starting the Red Hook Boaters in 2005 and explained how Seidman got involved.

“I was very involved in Downtown Boathouse when they started their free kayaking program and served on the board there,” Gamble said. “In 2005 I decided to leave the East Village and while biking around Red Hook, I saw an apartment for rent on Dikeman and Richards. I took the apartment and moved to Red Hook.

“Immediately I started thinking about having a boathouse in Red Hook and I started talking to property owners on the water and looking for a site. I knew Owen Foote well, the founder of the Gowanus Dredgers and I asked Owen if the Dredgers would support a new group for free paddling at Red Hook. He agreed and that is how the

Red Hook Boaters started.”

At first, Gamble and the Red Hook Boaters rented a private garage space on Coffey St. and Richards St. The Dredgers gave financial support so they could buy equipment. They had free programs at the park but it was a challenge to get the boats to the park and they had to “lash them to drywall skids and roll them back and forth.”

“I spoke to the largest landowner in the area, Greg O’Connell,” Gamble said. “He would not let me rent space or give me space for insurance and other reasons but he put me in touch with Les Nelson of Bare Wood. This was a wood restoration business in the space that now houses Resiklo in the building directly above Valentino Park. This is about the time I met Todd. He helped me build the storage Racks inside the Bare Wood location. We stayed there for a year, but then Bare Wood shut down.

“I then worked with Sal Cattuci of American Stevedoring who donated a damaged shipping container to us. Bri-

an Robbins of Cornell paper rented us some land for a minimal cost and we moved into a shipping container near where Steve’s Key Lime pie is now. “At that time we were in negotiations with the Parks Department to get space. In 2008 or 2009 they agreed to let us put a container in and the program has continued to grow from there. We are still affiliated with Gowanus Dredgers. They are our fiscal sponsor and provide banking services, insurance, and all-around support.”

Though Gamble moved away in 2008, he has remained involved.

When a community comes together

by Brian Abate

One of the projects that the now defunct Red Hook Civic Association worked hard on last year was a location for a temporary library to replace the Wolcott Street library which was pretty much demolished in order to update it.

A frustration for those in Red Hook was that the next closest library is in Carroll Gardens and is also closed for renovations. While both were shut down, Red Hook residents had to rely on a Bookmobile (essentially a bus converted into a mini library) until a new temporary location was found.

Last fall the Civic Association released a press release stating: " The Red Hook Civic Association in its October meeting passed a resolution demanding a temporary library be established in Red Hook, until the new library is completed. "Do the math" said Imre Kovacs of the Association’s Services Committee: "A six year old has a limited time to develop a love of reading. A two to three year span without access to books is unacceptable." Nahisha McCoy, of Friends of the Library and Red Hook West Tenants association added "The library is the heart of the community. It is a safe space for families, teens and seniors. To take it away is a knife in the heart of our neighborhood."

Their hard work paid off and last month all involved celebrated the grand opening of a new temporary location at 362 Van Brunt Street.

The space is big enough to provide room for reading, computers for research and an area for the programs that the regular library had been providing. One program is resume help. In August, it will take place on the 1, 15, and 29 at 2 pm, led by librarian Gretchen Alexander.

“Anybody is welcome to come in,” Alexander said. “If they have a resume already, I can edit it and if not, we can work on making one from scratch and work on a cover letter as well. I did this a lot at the original branch and then during the closure, I did this at

“Brooklyn has so many surprises and this was the best one so far.”

RHI and at the Justice Center. We get training as adult specialists from the job and career services at the BPL for people with different needs like high school students and those older.”

Alexander said that on average, three people come in each session.

“There’s a big range of people that get help,” she said. “There were a lot of migrants who just arrived in the country as well as some older adults who hadn’t worked for 10-15 years and are looking to go back to work.”

I attended a Flowers + Force workshop led by Alicia Degener, president

Fof the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC.) Degener brought in flowers and showed beginners how to do flower pounding onto bags. She did an excellent job giving advice when necessary while also letting everyone do their own thing.

There were seven people of all different ages in attendance and all of them seemed to enjoy themselves. Everyone complimented each other on their work. One attendee said, “Brooklyn has so many surprises and this was the best one so far.”

Degener said that the library used to have “Story Time” events at BWAC and there are both library events and Pioneer Works events at BWAC.

“We do workshops all the time and if you check on BWAC.org, it gives a schedule,” Degener said.

Lots of programs!

Another popular series is "Comic Book Drawing Class With Mr. Nick." It will be on August 6, 13, and 20 from 3 - 4:30 pm. There will be Kids Create events every Friday in August from 3:30 - 4:30 pm. There will be a Zine Making event from 3-4 pm on August 12 and August 26. There will be Story and Play events every Friday in August at 11 in the morning. There will also be a Needle Felting Workshop on August 28 from noon to 2 pm.

Opening celebration

Politicians, local leaders, and com-

Remembering a Red Hook activist

amily, friends, neighbors, and appreciative members of the Red Hook community gathered to celebrate Nancy Kearse Gooding at a barbecue on Coffey St on July 20. Last December the corner of Visitation Place and Van Brunt was renamed after her.

Kearse Gooding was a force in Red Hook starting in the 1970's. She ran an organization that helped local people find jobs. She demanded that Red Hook have a health center and made sure that it happened.

She died prematurely at 47 years old in 1984 due to complications following surgery.

“She was a fighter,” said Nancy’s sister, Christalee. “When she knew she was right, she wouldn’t let anyone tell or convince her otherwise. She was very, very strong-minded. She stood up for her family and the community.”

“She was one of those aunts who was really hands-on,” said her niece Ivymakita Kearse Bernard. One thing that really stands out is every summertime there was a cookout at our Nancy’s house and I remember she would always buy a full pig and have it slow-cooked during the day. I assure you, even though it was for the family

by Brian Abate

she made sure everyone on the block was well fed.”

She was elected district leader and endorsed by Shirley Chisholm.

While Kearse Gooding often brought people together with food she also did so by holding “free community bus rides to Bear Mountain, Hershey Park, and other family theme parks.”

“You could tell how many people Nancy touched because you couldn’t believe how many people came to her funeral,” Christalee said. “It was a mixture of black and white people. There were so many who spoke about how she helped them personally.”

She was a tenant leader—the following was written about her in 1978 in the Brooklyn Phoenix newspaper.

TOUTED “MODEL PROJECT” IN RED HOOK BECOMING “MODEL DISASTER” FOR SOME TENANTS, BY

PETER HALEY

Tenants of a much heralded townhouse developments for low and moderate families in Red Hook claim that structural defects, an absentee landlord, and local mismanagement are making their model project into a model disaster.

munity members gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the interim library on July 9.

“We are so excited to be here and this has definitely been a journey,” said Alexa Aviles. “Without question, this would not have happened without the community’s advocacy, without going to every potential space. There was a consistent message that we needed an interim space and that a bookshelf on the sidewalk was nice but not adequate.

"This is what democracy looks like. We’ll also be tracking our new library to make sure it’s done on time.”

“This neighborhood realizes that the library is the center of the cultural, educational, and recreational kind of activity of the neighborhood,” said Nick Higgins, chief librarian of the Brooklyn Public Library.

Higgins also said that the renovation at the permanent library is going well and is on track to be finished in 2025,

RAC gardens, 31 two-family brick structure scattered on three different sites in the Red Hook area, is suffering from the effects of initial shoddy construction, tennis maintain and among their complaints are leaking roofs, cracks and walls and floors, as an inadequate heating system that leaks gas into apartments.

"We were moved into RAC Gardens to prevent vandalism of the then new structures with the understanding that the contractors would return to the repair work if necessary. said Nancy Gooding a tenant leader. We have add many managers and none of them has dealt with the fact that a great deal of work will have to be redone here.

Complaining that rents rose from $208 to $280, and in some cases 317 under PMI management while PMI has failed to hold the steady deterioration of the less than six year old development, tenants are withholding February and March rents as part of an initial rent strike.

Built by private funds in 1972 under the sponsorship of the New York urban coalition, RAC Gardens was a demonstration project aimed at redeveloping the local area without relocating local people. The urban coalition, an organization of business

labor and community leaders that seeks to solve the problems of poverty and urban decay, initially organized the project and then served as a limited partner and managing agent for the $1.8 million development. In 1974 they gave up its partnership and management role Under NCHP, the tenants, most of whom are former residents of the Red Hook Houses have had different managers.

Gooding criticized the Urban Coalition’s departure as jeopardizing the development. They have this philosophy of training people but it looks to me like we are being trained to be ghetto bums," she said

According to Richard Sherry, the coalition never intended to be in the real estate business. The Federal Government paid the mortgage, and rents were supposed to cover maintenance and operations. Tenants charged that outside of gas heat they had no visible evidence that NCHP was spending any money on RAC Gardens.

There have been talk previously of converting the 62 triplexes that make up RAC gardens into cooperatives, but few tenants want to own their apartments. Some even wished they were back in the Red Hook projects.

Joyce Kowpack who everybody loves from the library, speaks at the opening event. (photo by Brian Abate)

While Red Hook Library is under construction, visit 362 Van Brunt Street for books, computers and WiFi, library cards, programs and more!

Toddler Storytime Fridays, 11–11:30 am

Comics Club for Kids Tuesdays, 3-4:30 pm Ages 10 and up

Resume Help

Every other Thursday, 2–3:30 pm

See the full list of upcoming events and bookmobile visits: bklynlib.org/red-hook-events

Hours of Service: Monday–Friday, 10 am – 5 pm Saturday–Sunday, Closed

362 Van Brunt Street Brooklyn, NY 11231 929.969.0166 bklynlib.org/red-hook

Generous support for programming and interim library services in Red Hook provided by mmixxiazon.

Penrose Process

photos and text by William Penrose

During the lockdown in 2020—and into 2021—my friend Chris and I met up weekly for walks in Prospect Park. I would make my way on foot to our meeting spot through Gowanus from Carroll Gardens across the Union Street or Third Street Bridges. Eventually, lockdown restrictions eased, Chris married and moved to another part of Brooklyn, and my strolls through Gowanus became less frequent.

A couple months ago, while walking east along Union Street covering the same route, I was transfixed as I crossed the bridge, amazed by the rapid development along the canal—over a dozen job sites at phases between demolition and project completion. After deciding to capture the changing neighborhood by camera for one summer’s week, I returned in the morning, midday, and night. The following images were taken during four site visits over three days.

William Penrose is an arts administrator and cultural researcher who lives with his partner in Carroll Gardens. He’s currently a Program Officer at the Department of Cultural Affairs for New York City. willpenrose@gmail.com

South Brooklyn from the Manhattan-bound subway platform at Smith and 9th Street.

Transit mixers and dump trucks, many making stops nearby at MIv ready mix concrete supplier, transport material and concrete early morning over the Third Street Bridge.

Construction noise stops on Nevins Street. Two silos store concrete. The buildings across the canal at 395 Carroll Street and 335 Bond Street are anticipated to open in fall 2025.

Job site between 498 Union Street and 417 Carroll Street during the foundation work phase for an affordable housing develop-

Image taken from an open gate at 318 Nevins Street—the first of four trucks waiting to unload on site.

325 Bond Street development across the Gowanus Canal from Nevins Street with Manhattan in the background.

The question this month was to recall an experience in which they were discriminated against or treated unfairly.

James “Papa” Johnson –

One time me and my brother and my homeboys were at my uncle’s crib in East New York…and it was time for us to go home. I forgot something upstairs, and when we came back down, the five-oh were all out in front of the building, and my boys were all lined up against the building. They told one of the guys to take his shoes off. They asked for my ID and I was like, why you askin’ me for my ID? So after they harassed us they let us go, and we were walking to the train station, and they followed us all the way!

How were following you? It was a paddy wagon! It followed us all the way to the train station! There was like, five, six of us. And they were on their horns, yelling at us, saying keep on walkin.’ So we got on the train, and when we got off the train at the Lafayette station, there was another cop car at the train station at Fort Greene, it was like they were waiting for us!

It wasn’t the same cops? No, but it was like, how did they know we were there? It was like they had been communicating. They followed us all the way to the Fort Greene projects. It was like they wanted us to say something to them so they could do something to us.

Tyrone Cunningham – I went to a nice resort at Montego Bay with my fiancée Carmen. There was this one incident. We went into the buffet, and you’re supposed to wear a shirt. I had a towel, and I wrapped it around me, so I was completely covered. I wasn’t getting anything to eat, I was just waiting for Carmen to get her food. So a local worker, a Jamaican lady, came up to me. Now she’s African-American, and I’m African-American too. And she approached me and said, sir, you can’t be in the food area without a shirt on. Mind you, I had a towel wrapped

all around me, like a blanket. But I proceeded to walk out. And a white male walked right past me, right into the buffet, with just swimming trunks on, and no top. He picked a plate up, put food on the plate, and no one approached him. Not the chefs, not the waiters. And that same lady, the same African-American, didn’t approach him to say, sir, you can’t be here with no top on. And how were you feeling? I was thinking, you get the most hate from within your race. Racism is taught from within race, not taught from outside of race. Like, I’m a black male. You’re a white female. I’m not taught to hate you because of your skin color. It’s always from within.

eight years old. But this was the kicker. He said, I’m not owning it, and I’m moving out of the house.

So not only did he do this manipulative thing, but he rejected you as a friend. Yes, but what’s interesting to think about is, if he were sitting here, and he was having this conversation with you, I was a crazy person, and he was this righteous, great guy who had been victimized because this crazy person got threatened by the fact that he wanted to do something magnificent with this script.

So he did move out?

Yeah, he moved out. And I would still be open to go back to being friends with him.

PEOPLE OF RED HOOK by

Lisa Gitlin

Where we talk to anyone. This month we hung out on Conover Street.

Jacob - I’m a screen writer and I was living with a friend who was somewhat of a collaborator. He was a director, didn’t really do much writing himself. And I had a script that I kind of offered up, like, we can do this together. And he had a couple of friends who he wanted to be producers on the project….They were more his friends than mine, and I just wasn’t sure I wanted to work with them. So I said, well, this is my script, so before we make that decision I want to talk through it. So then he sort of set me up, put me in a social situation with them that would make it difficult for me to say no to them. He had writer’s block and couldn’t write a script of his own, and I was giving this to him. And then he put me in this awkward situation. I said you tried to manipulate me, you can’t use my script. I wanted him to own it. I thought that eventually he would apologize. This was a kid who’d been a close friend of mine since I was about

Jamil Kennedy Judeh – I went to prep school in Bay Ridge, and I was the only Muslim American in the whole school. And 9/11 happened.

A lot of the kids in my class had parents who were fire fighters, policemen… And everything was very emotional.

You mean that day. Not only that day. I got into an altercation almost daily. And in a school like that, that kind of thing never happened. It was a prep school!

What kind of altercations?

Fist fights.

Would they call you names?

Oh, yeah! I heard it all. Everything in the book.

Were you scared to go to school?

No. I guess I was naïve.

This went on the whole year?

Oh, yeah. It followed us for quite some time. My sister and my cousins also went to that school. We all had bad experiences. Me and my sister a little bit more. My older cousins had lost a lot of their identity by that time… They were more assimilated. Yeah. Way more assimilated. But it was all very intense. We had parents that were lost at that school.

Tameka White – I’ve been working at my current place of employment for 20 years. I’m the only African American person. We’ve gone from seven people to 32 people.

Jon Melamed In 2000 I left New York and went to college in New Hampshire.

Over the first couple of months my new roommates and I were friends, everything was good. One day we were splitting a thirty-rack of beer. One of the guys said, hey, quit being Jewish. Give me the money for the beer. You’re being wicked Jewish right now! Pay me for the beer! And I said, I can’t help it! I was born that way! And they were like, oh shit. You’re Jewish! And I was like yeah, and they were like, I never met a Jew before. And I was like, really? They said you’re really cool and we really like you, and it’s unfortunate that you’re not gonna go to heaven.

How did you know the other guy never met a Jew?

I asked him and he said no, he never met a Jew before either. But they ended up being my best friends for the year. Where were they from? Some part of New Hampshire.

Does the blue-eyed one get more pay than you do?

No, she doesn’t get more compensation, but she is the vice president of operations, so eventually she will get as much as I do.

Have your feelings about your job changed?

They have. There’s no loyalty. What I’ve given doesn’t seem to count for much. And I was mad, but now I’m not. I’m pretty much, it is what it is, I can’t go in there and be upset about it, what I can do is change the situation by getting out of it. I’ve given 20 years, and I have more to give, just not here.

So you’re looking beyond this. Yes. Yes. I have to.

Stiliani In 2016 I was working for two guys in a ceramic fabrication shop. I’m an artist, and I do good work. But this was when Hillary Clinton was running against Trump. I was a Bernie supporter. I was hardcore for Bernie. And my bosses were like, if you were a woman, you would vote for Hillary. They started dissing you for not supporting Hillary. Yeah. They would say nonsense like, well, Roe V. Wade doesn’t affect me.

So the company expanded. Yes. And a new person came in. And she was 23, young, blond, and had blue eyes, and she got a vice president of operations position without knowing what our company did at all. And they brought in another couple of very young people who are running the financial planning department. One of them is the daughter of one of the salespersons that had been there for about seven years. Another one is the owner’s niece’s friend. Another young guy came in who ended up being promoted despite complaints about his work.He’s the godson of the owner’s friend. So there is a lot of nepotism going on.

Have you told the bosses how you feel?

Well, like, the blue-eyed one, she’s a vice president, so when I complained about that they gave me director of operations, which is a level above vice president, but I don’t do anything different. It’s just a title. They changed everyone’s title. If you look on the website everyone’s a vice president, and everyone’s a director of something.

Were you friends with them? When I was in school I wanted to work for their company so much. I admired them. I worked so hard for them. You were happy to get the gig? I was delighted. I would show up early, work my ass off. And you were perfectly satisfied to work there until the presidential primary.

Yeah. They started to get really disgusting. There was just a lot of “mean girl” stuff going on, and I didn’t realize it at first because I had my bosses on such a pedestal. I had many reasons why I didn’t think that the Clinton administration was good for a lot of people. And then Trump won, and I was still working there, and at this point they were being, like, awful. They would go on these crazy rants.

Honestly I don’t remember that much after that. At some point they had me casting two tables I hurt my back really bad. And I got fired!

You got fired after you wrenched your back?

I asked not to have to (do heavy lifting) and then two or three weeks later they asked me for some tax forms, and right after I handed them in, they asked me to go. But at that point it was so unpleasant that they did me a favor.

An unbelievable hot dog coincidence!

by R.J. Cirillo

On Prospect Park West, just south of Prospect Avenue sits a small outpost of flavor and coolness Dog Day Afternoon.

The shop, opened by Joe Boyle, a Chicago native, and his partner Jay Kerr, serves up a top-shelf version of America’s national food, the hot dog.

I started eating hot dogs at Nathan’s in Coney Island when they were 25 cents. Driving a cab in the 70’s I would stop at Gray’s Papaya in the middle of the night for a dog or two. I ate them at Katz’s and backyard barbecues throughout the years and they always tasted good. When I bit into the dog at Dog Day Afternoon, this afternoon, it was a new level of taste for this old hot dog eater.

Only after opening did he find out that the Pacino film “Dog Day Afternoon” was shot across the street.

First, there was the snap of the natural casing on the first bite. Then the juiciness of the mildly spiced all beef on a soft Martin’s potato roll. Joe told me the hot dogs are shipped in from Chicago,

and steamed to them juicy but absent of any watery influence which is common in some offerings around town.

Amazingly, Joe Boyle named the place the shop after a hot dog stand back home he used to frequent as a kid. Only after opening on Prospect Park West, did he find out that the Pacino film “Dog Day Afternoon” was shot across the street.

Besides the food offerings they also have racks of vintage vinyl records for sale and a free multi-video game console you and your kids can play for free while your order is being prepared. Not to mention you can also get a copy of this paper.

There is a long list of homemade toppings available (a chili dog being put to-

Hot and Cold on Berlusconi

by Dario Pio Muccilli, Star-Revue EU correspondent

gether while I was there looked incredible) and even a vegetarian hot dog. Dog Day Afternoon 266 Prospect Park West (718) 264-1835 Open every day 12 – 7

Since Sylvio Berlusconi’s death on June 12, 2023, his memory has become a delicate subject in Italian politics. Back then the recently established Meloni cabinet chose to declare a day of national mourning and to organize an enormous funeral in Milan’s cathedral, Berlusconi’s birth place.

Afterward, there have been several proposals to commemorate the former PM, each of them causing a huge backlash in the public opinion. Silvio Berlusconi was a businessman and a politician, whose history has some pretty shady parts. There have been several proven links between his inner circle and Mafia mobsters. Marcello Dell’Utri, a long time political adviser to the former PM, was sentenced in 2004 for external complicity in mafia association. Berlusconi’s gardener in 1973-75, Vittorio Mangano, was indeed a Mafia fellow and was probably there to ensure protection to the then rising star of Milan’s financial scene. Of course, the Meloni cabinet denies all these allegations to Berlusconi and instead promotes several initiatives to build an image of him as a father of the Nation. The cabinet announced in April the decision to issue

a new post stamp and in July to name Milan’s airport after Berlusconi.

The Cabinet is composed of three main parties, Meloni’s Fratelli

It is for many unimaginable that the name of the two judges will be associated, even just on a plane ticket, to a politician whose relationship with the Mafia is still unclear.

d’Italia, Salvini’s Lega and Forza Italia, the latter being the party Berlusconi founded when entering politics in 1994. Surprisingly the latter has not been the one more active in the postmortem propaganda. Matteo Salvini,

leader of the Lega, is by far the one exploiting Berlusconi’s memory the most for electoral reasons. It is easier now, one would say, as the two leaders never really liked each other. Berlusconi saw Salvini as an idler and immoderate person, while Salvini always blamed him for having joined some governments with the center-left. Nevertheless, it was Salvini announcing the new naming of Milan airport and making it official last July 11, and Forza Italia could not do anything but  be watch. Meloni is a bit colder about Berlusconi. She does not deny support publicly, but she had begun to distance herself from the tycoon way before his death. Actually, since the Cabinet was born in October 2022, the divergence of the two about the Ukraine war ripped their relationship apart. One of the last public images of Berlusconi is him writing rude comments about Meloni while seated in the Senate. So, it would be hypocritical for Meloni to now hide everything that passed between the two of them and to be in the front line of the memory-building

operation, as Salvini instead does.

The main point however is that creating an official memory of such a controversial figure as Berlusconi way before the historical memory is established can ruin Italy’s image among the citizens and abroad.

Several observers have noticed how from Milan’s airport you can go to Palermo, Sicily. The airport of this city is named after Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone, two anti-mafia judges, brutally killed by the mafia in 1992. It is for many unimaginable that the name of the two judges will be associated, even just on a plane ticket, to a politician whose relationship with the Mafia is still unclear.

Rome, Italy - September 09, 2011: Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Giorgia Meloni attend the Atreju political meeting.

Owner Joy Boyle dishes out the dogs every day. (photo by R. J. Cirillo)

A happy ending for a neighborhood guy

by Brian Abate

The Columbia Waterfront District came together to search for a local man, Sam Richards after he went missing on July 3. At first, not many people realized he was missing, but on July 10, John Leyva of 63 Tiffany Place made a post about Richards on Instagram and began putting up flyers around the neighborhood. On July 12, Leyva announced that Richards was found and that he was all right.

Richards, who most call Sam or Sammy, became well known around the neighborhood because he spends a lot of time out walking. He is known for being friendly, and we've exchanged smiles as I've seen him going for walks plenty of times.

On July 19, neighbors got together to welcome Richards back with a celebratory barbecue in front of the Carroll Gardens Association.

“So many times with missing people, there isn’t a happy ending, so this is really the best outcome we could have hoped for,” Leyva said. “That’s why we’re here celebrating today. When I put up the signs, I couldn’t believe how many people reached out about possible sightings of Sam. Even today, some people didn’t realize that Sam was found, and they’re still reaching out about seeing him.”

The barbecue had music, good hot dogs, and hamburgers, and lots of people stopped by to chat even if they couldn’t stay for the entire time. There were also signs that said “Welcome home Sam,” and balloons that said, “We missed you.” Levitt Mack of 63

Tiffany Place was on the grill for the entire barbecue which didn't end until 11 that night.

“I saw the posters that John put up, and I immediately became concerned because Sam is someone who is ever-present on this block,” said Dana Crowley. I got nervous right away. I reached out to John and then the whole neighborhood came together to look for Sam. The really heavy lifting was done by John. He called all of the hospitals, and he went to the police station. It was a community effort but it was spearheaded by John. I’m a teacher, so I have the summer off, which gave me more time to help out.

“Sam is one of the kindest, sweetest, and gentlest people, and I think that the whole community felt the need to keep their eye on him and make sure he was found. This was truly a happy ending.”

During the barbecue, members of the Carroll Gardens Association stopped by, as did some of the folks from HOTWORX and lots of people from the neighborhood. Margaret Palca dropped off some treats as well. Everybody hugged or shook hands with Sammy, who hung out at the barbecue and also spent some time walk-

ing around the neighborhood.

“They wanted to check me out at the hospital, but I’m feeling all right,” Richards said. Regarding the response from the community, he said, “It’s beauti-

ful, and I didn’t know so many people cared. I feel the love. It’s amazing.”

“I've said it before. I live on the best block in the best neighborhood in the world,” Leyva said.

Creatively speaking, by Gene Bray

Red Hook Brooklyn 10 am. I wake up and look out my 11th floor window. Oh my God. The sky. I’m blasted. I’m overwhelmed. By blue. But not just any blue. Royal Blue. Stunning Royal Blue from horizon to horizon. It’s usually a dirty, featureless gray. With magnificent white puffs of clouds. Creeping along this royal blue sky, they’re alive, sending spiritual messages. And the sunshine. It isn’t the usual cool silver. It’s golden. I’m in a French Impressionist painting from the 1800’s. I feel like a kid again and hit the streets in a t-shirt. In the lobby a cool black woman in her 50’s scolds me.

“Where’s your coat?”

She mischievously looks around, puts her hand to the side of her mouth, leans close, and whispers “You think you’re white.”

Bam! I’m blasted with joy. Because I am white. God I feel so happy. She put a burst of wind in my sails. They are snapping and cracking. I’m sparkling. My happy feet dance out of the lobby. It’s chilly. I hit the lane and see a woman I know. She’s dressed for winter. “Lemme borrow your coat to go to the store.”

I don’t get her coat, but I do get her laughter and her smile and a burst of warmth. On the sidewalk, I see a woman wearing bubble gum pink Hot Pants. And a brand new, bubble gum pink sleeveless blouse. She doesn’t look cold. I’d guess she’s 5’ 9....... 200. A firm 200. Her smiling face gets more delightful with each approaching step.

As we pass she says “Hi” Oh My God what a voice. So soft and so low. And she drew it out soooo long. From her mouth to my soul. I may be 69, but as she passes I swing around and watch her walk away.

I pull out my harmonica.

Suddenly a smooth and funky melody comes pouring out. The music strikes her like an arrow and she swings around and starts to dance. Oh she’s so graceful. So light on her feet. She’s lost in the rhythm. She doesn’t know it, but she is the rhythm. She is the music. I hear children’s voices screaming. I swing around and see them crammed against the playground fence. Bouncing and jumping and roaring in ecstasy. I’m possessed by this music coming from who knows where. My old bones start doing my Baby Step Dance. Everyone has been hijacked and hypnotized.

Did Miss Hot Pants light the fuse? Or was it this Golden Sunshine? And these magnificent White Clouds. Under this Royal Blue Sky.

& LANTERN

Challenged local eatery with a determined owner can now accept benefits for meals under new program

Jam’It Bistro, a Jamaican restaurant at 367 Columbia Street, down the block from DeFonte's, is making history as one of the first restaurants in New York City allowed to accept Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments under the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP.)

Last month politicians and locals gathered there with the bistro’s owner Dawn Skeete to celebrate.

“This has been a long journey for us,” said State Senator Roxanne Persaud.

“In 2021 when we started this pro-

not what it’s intended to do.

by Brian Abate

“There are folks who cannot prepare a meal because of their situation. These benefits go to the homeless, the disabled, and to the elderly who are unable to prepare a meal. I would love it if the program started in Brooklyn rather than Monroe County but we’re excited to be in Brooklyn now and this is a great day.”

SNAP helps low-income working people, senior citizens, those with disabilities, and others feed their families.

Eligibility and benefit levels are determined by household size, income, and other factors. The RMP is considered

gram, I had colleagues who said ‘What do you want to do; have people buy a lobster meal and spend all their money?’ That’s the mentality of the people we were dealing with. They thought people would splurge and spend all of their SNAP benefits on one meal and we had to explain to them that that’s

Fa key part of SNAP and is designed to provide vulnerable populations with access to nutritious, hot meals.

In addition to Jam’It Bistro, Court Street's Brain Food is also part of the new program and owner Ana Cabrera was also in attendance to celebrate.

Many of those in attendance spoke

“Dawn has been a staple of the Red Hook community, she hires from the Red Hook community, and she supports the Red Hook Community.”

about Skeete’s perseverance to keep Jam’It open despite some difficult circumstances.

“I remember during the pandemic that Jam’It was such a huge supporter of mutual aid here in Red Hook,” said Carlos Calzadilla, district director for Senator Andrew Gounardes. “Dawn worked so hard to make sure there were hot meals for the community during such a difficult time.”

“I want to say on behalf of myself and Redemption Church, like Carlos, I remember Jam’It was always there during the tough times during the pandemic no matter where things were being set up,” said Dashana Gooding. “Dawn has been a staple of the Red Hook community, she hires from the Red Hook community, and she supports the Red Hook Community.”

Others who credited the work of Skeete included Maria Sanchez from the Red Hook Senior Center and Carly Baker-Rice of the Red Hook Business Alliance.

“Me and my dad took Dawn around the neighborhood when Jam’It opened up and I’m proud to say we’ve been her business acceleration consultants,” said Robert Guddahl. “The irony of it is this has been a long, hard, treacherous road. When there wasn’t a lot of foot traffic, she moved to cater-

ing, and then COVID happened and that was a big challenge. It has been a struggle, a fight, and the tenacity Dawn has is amazing. She has always been able to improve quality. She has been able to stay in business by making changes and in turn, created jobs and improved the community.”

Skeete spoke about the challenges she faced in a Star-Revue story last November and she has had to remain flexible and make a lot of changes to keep Jam’It going. Some of the changes she mentioned included making more non-Caribbean foods as well as preparing smaller meals that people could buy for lunch.

We had excellent food from Jam’It, which included, chicken, oxtail, and my personal favorite, salmon, as well as vegetables.

“What we’re going to give you today is not traditional Jamaican food,” Skeete said. “We have to diversify our options in the different neighborhoods that we feed. For example, one of the neighborhoods that has a lot of qualified individuals for this program is Bensonhurst. My thought is to let people from Bensonhurst know that I don’t just do Jamaican food. The goal is to show it’s not just one type of food and to provide a healthy, delicious, hot meal.”

Get ready for the Regina Opera's 55th Season

or local opera fans, November can't come fast enough, for that's when Bay Ridge's Regina Opera returns for the new season. They are beginning the new saeson with Tosca.

A very popular and successful opera by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, Tosca, written in 1900, is one of his most popular works, alongside La bohème (1896). Madama Butterfly (1904), and Turandot (1924).

It has all the elements of Italian opera, great music, ardent love, betrayal and death. The Regina company always gives these great works justice, complete with beautiful staging, costumes and a full orchestra.

They ended last season with another tragic opera, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. The highlight of that play is the "mad" scene which calls for some pretty unbelievable scattype singing from Lucia, always sung

by George Fiala

by highly skilled coloratura.

The performance that I saw featured the highly skilled Makila Kirchner playing Lucia. Kirchner is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and an award winner in a Metroplitan Opera vocal competition. She is considered a rising star in the opera world, and for good reason.

The plot revolves around a triangle involving Lucia, her love interest and her brother. While the audience is let in on exactly what is happening, Lucia does not know that her brother is sabotaging her love affair for financial reasons. He needed his sister to marry someone else in order to enhance his family's power. This was not at all unheard of at the time. The Medici family stayed in power in Florence, Italy for many generations due in large part to such strategic marriages.

Kirchner's acting and her facial expressions enhance her strong and ex-

pressive voice. When we realize how her brother is deceiving her, it is hard not to feel horrible, as she is convincing portraying Lucia as completely innocent and vulnerable. She is forced by her brother to marry someone she has no feelings for, which in these times may have not been unusual, given the role of women. She tries to convince herself that the marriage night is not happening, that it is really her lover she has married, and when she realizes otherwise, she stabs her new husband to death.

The famous scene, which is illustrated to the right, must be one of the most heartbreaking scenes in all of opera, calling for not only an extremely talented singer, but a great actor in order to pull it off.

The performance I saw was a rehearsal, meaning that the full orchestra was not there, however, having only piano and harp was perfectly fine, as was

the set and the costumes, which ably dressed a large cast. After the performance I had a nice meal in nearby Brooklyn Chinatown.

Regina Opera, 5902 Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn. www.ReginaOpera.org

Owner/Chef Dawn Skeete hopes to see more people from Red Hook now that she can accept EBT. She is standing next to RHBA head Carly Baker-Rice (in yellow). (photo by Abate)

Makila Kirchner losing her mind after stabbing her unwanted new husband.

Watching the cement being poured on the road to hell

There’s a proverb about good intensions often leading to doom. Take the Adams Administration’s “City of Yes Housing Opportunity.” I’ll bet the branding consultants got well paid on this one. To support City of Yes is to be for “Housing” and “Opportunity.” To be against it is to be for homelessness and despair. And as for “City”? Why, join the bandwagon, mate, it’s not just Gowanus or Red Hook – it’s the whole damned place this time!

Simply put, the proposal intends to build an estimated maximum of 100,000 apartments over the next 15 years, “sprinkled” across the City’s 59 Community Districts, in the hope that about 160 new apartments in each District each year will make it easier to find a place to live. The theory is, “If you build new apartments, the supply will decrease demand, existing apartments will become more affordable and we’ll all live happily ever after.”

"All the talk emanating from those privileged enclaves about “protecting the character of a neighborhood” – once the mantra of urban planners –is now regarded as thinly disguised racist fol-de-rol."

There’s two ways to look at this:

1) the Planners were doing too much weed while cooking this up during Pandemic down time and they really believe that 160 unaffordable apartments (condos) distributed in districts containing an average of 125,000 residents will really reduce rents; or

2) they didn’t add some zeros after the number so as not to lead to demands for Environmental Impact Studies. That would take way too long and show the potential harm these zoning changes could have on each District’s infrastructure, density, transportation and quality of life over time. Nope, better to estimate 160. The impact here at the southern end of Victorian Flatbush would be heavy. For instance, 29 stately houses built in 1905 face our major gathering place, the Flatbush Mall along Glenwood Road, and 20 of them could be demolished and replaced with 3-5 story multiple-unit dwellings containing up to 10 apartments (or condos) – non affordable, of course – exploding the density. Homeowners can add backyard dwellings 25 feet high. Two family houses can become three family, garages can become apartments. Buildings can be expanded into McMansions. All without ANY review. Half of Victorian Flatbush consists of landmarked districts that are virtually indistinguishable from the other half. The Landmarks

by Joe Enright

Commission would have to approve any of the changes above and as presently composed, that seems unlikely. The key phrase in the previous sentence was “as presently composed.”

Our anxiety is shared by the majority of neighborhoods in the City where detached homes predominate.

This locomotive left the station in late April, blew past the 59 Community Boards (30 of whom advised “we’d rather you not do a lot of this stuff”), then suffered through a 14 hour City Planning Commission hearing in early July (the Commission is presently deciding what minor tweaks to make so they can claim “we heard your complaints, people!”) And in September, the 1,300 page proposal will be plopped on the desks of 51 City Council Members for action within 50 days. It’s what’s called a “zoning text amendment” to the existing Zoning Resolution which itself is over 4,000 pages long. So City of Yes requires a 1,300 page rewrite for 160 new apartments in Flatbush every year? Sounds like, “We had to destroy existing zoning –and this village – in order to save it.”

And make no mistake, it is being referred to by Yay–and–Nay sayers alike as nothing less than a sweeping attempt to rewrite the residential zoning regulations across the entire City.

Developers wet dream

It represents the fever dream of a generation of academics steeped in land use history whose ideas have trickled down from the ivory towers, feeding the imaginations and grievances of a coalition of planners and progressive activists. Their mantra is rendered thusly: the zoning resolution passed in 1961 and subsequently modified here and there is the work of Beelzebub, designed to protect segregated enclaves of 1 & 2 family detached homes by preventing apartment houses full of “those people” on residential blocks.

And all the talk emanating from those privileged enclaves about “protecting the character of a neighborhood” –once the mantra of urban planners –is now regarded as thinly disguised racist fol-de-rol. No, these bucolic neighborhoods must be peppered with brutally ugly, bulky buildings to atone for our sins.

The entire development-realtor industry in New York City heard these cries and suddenly they were preaching from the same hymnal to every aggrieved person unable to find good affordable apartments without doubling/tripling up and looking for someone to blame. Why, it couldn’t possibly be developers or politicians. Who’s left? Must be the homeowners. When developers are told the apartments they can build in new desirable locations can all be market rate (i.e., unaffordable to most), watch out for the stampeding speculators in these low density districts. And no need to deal with the (UGH!) traditional City oversight process? NIRVANA! Simply buy a plot of land sitting on a 5,000

square foot lot that’s within a halfmile of a subway station (maybe buy two lots and conjoin them), demolish anything on it and send your expeditor down to DOB bearing the new building plan (along with a gift perhaps), and voila.

Of course, there are many other goodies for developers: apartment buildings in mid and high density zoning districts can be taller, no parking spots are required for any new buildings anywhere, incentives exist for sprinkling affordable apartments into the high density districts, and conversion of empty commercial space to residential is highly blessed.

After a New York Minute, the developer-builder-realtor community temporarily interrupted writing their donor checks to the entire political class of this great city and poured coal on the PR fire. The editorial boards of the Times and News agreed: “Frankly, Planning Dudes, you had us at City of Yes! Such a catchy phrase.” In fact, the Daily News ran two editorials (in April and July), literally advising outer borough homeowners: “If you don’t like it, move to the suburbs!”

Naturally, as one of those outer borough homeowners being told to get out of Dodge, I had to disagree and, promising to buy a lot of rounds, I got an OpEd published in the News a day after their second screed (thereby demonstrating their fair play?) So there I was, tugging at heartstrings about the transformation of Victorian Flatbush, an historically beautiful neighborhood, into a hodgepodge of cheap developer stew over the next decade if this thing passes. But here’s what I had to leave out.

I bought my house in a 1-2 family enclave in the 1980s but by segregation standards it must have been an outlier, inasmuch as the local public school had kids from all over the world. The neighborhood was just recovering from hard times, having been redlined by banks, racked with arson and plenty of other crime. My wife and I needed two mortgages and money from relatives who pretended not to remember me. This was when Brooklyn wasn’t cool.

The house leaked, drainpipes didn’t drain, and the heating system sucked. I would chase off trespassers and car thieves while the local Precinct was busy responding to homicides and robberies, I was also dragged into a PDsponsored “citizen patrol” with walkietalkies and a flashing light plugged into my dashboard cigarette lighter, gathering F-Bombs from all the cars behind us as we cruised slowly down our blocks at 15 MPH. Eden it was not. Gradually, things changed. Suddenly everybody in the world wanted a piece of the Big Apple. Many just wanted one of the thousands of empty condos in midtown to hide their assets, others wanted to make it here after hearing Sinatra belt out “New York, New York,” or while watching Seinfeld Demand for apartments increased in

the wake of downtown Brooklyn redevelopment, and active and passive harassment to force renters out and make units market rate.

There weren’t many places for growing families to live. Only 15% of the City’s housing stock consists of 1 & 2 family homes and as demand increased, prices rose. And as oldtimers sold their homes, they were bought by the usual mix of NYC emigrees and young families, all with one desire in common: a back yard, bedrooms and a nearby public school. And you know what else they wanted? Diversity. A place where we could all live peacefully together, with respect for separate customs.

Not only does my neighborhood reflect the diversity of Brooklyn, it also reflects the escalation of housing prices. After allowing for inflation, our house is now worth three times what we paid for it and that has nothing to do with my fixing the drainpipes. Flatbush homes were affordable until Flatbush became more desirable. Developers will build where the demand is greatest and where they can make a profit. But the cost of plots in desirable areas only rises as more development occurs, with the result that rental/condo prices rise too. Williamsburg and Bushwick were more affordable until they became more desirable. Duh. In the end, we’ll have more condos that few can afford in cheap nonquality buildings and neighbors will be upset with neighbors and absentee owners over-building “as of right.” All of it untested, proposed without any local study, no pilot program, no discretionary review, no trial period.

The City Council stands in the way. They will try to reprise their “City of Yes Economic Opportunity” episode from May when they were able to prevent haberdashers, massage parlors or what have you from operating out of street corner homes, and tweaked some other crazy stuff. They’ll try to tweak “Housing Opportunity” too, leaving in enough goodies so they don’t alienate their donors. Hopefully in this instance they’ll value their constituents more.

The author's NY Daily News Op-Ed last month

The Craft Corner

TURN PLASTIC COFFEE LIDS INTO A TRAVEL TIC-TAC-TOE SET!

by Marie Hueston and Sage Hueston

The back to school ads may have already started, but there is still plenty of time left in summer to play! If you or your parents often buy cups of coffee and recycle the plastic lids, save a selection of white and black lids to create your own travel tic-tac-toe set with this super simple idea! Then pack up your set to use in the playground, backyard or beach!

What you’ll need. In addition to plastic coffee lids, all you’ll need is paint and a paintbrush! Sharpies will also work if you don’t have paint. If you plan to play tic-tac-toe in the playground, have some sidewalk chalk on hand, as well.

Paint your Xs and Os. Decide which color lids will be your Xs and which will be your Os, then paint them on top with a contrasting color. We used white paint on our black lids, and black paint on our white lids, but you can bright colors too! If you only have one color lid, just paint your Xs and Os in different colors to make them stand out.

Let the paint dry completely. Once your lids are dry, you can stack them and bring them with you wherever you want to play. Toss them into a backpack or tote to carry your set.

Create your tic-tac-toe board. At the playground or park, use sidewalk chalk to draw a large board to accommodate the size of the lids. At the beach, you can draw lines onto the sand. In your backyard, you might even be able to create a board by overlapping thin branches. Then start playing!

Collect your caps when you’re done playing. Keep an eye on the weather, and if it’s going to be windy, make sure your caps don’t blow away — especially if you’re playing at the beach. Gather all the caps when you are going home so no plastic stays in the park or blows into the ocean.

Enjoy the last weeks of summer!

SEPTEMBER PREVIEW:

Save an article of clothing you’re growing out of or that got a rip or stain on it this summer to use as a patch for your jeans!

“The Bat Woman” is a pure pleasure camp antidote to grimdark superheroes

By Dante A. Ciampaglia

There are some movies that are such dumb fun they’re impervious to criticism. In fact, scratching too hard at them — tugging on this loose end or poking at that plot hole — does yourself a disservice more than it does the film. Why break the spell? Batman: The Movie (1966) is one such flick, in all of its “Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb!” lunacy. And so is the day-late Mexican Bat-mania cash-in The Bat Woman (1968), which somehow bests the Adam West supercamp masterpiece in its nutty absurdity. Maybe because no Caped Crusader in West’s Gotham fought crime in a bikini.

Directed with puckish ingenuity by René Cardona, The Bat Woman (released in Mexico as La mujer murcielago), is a copy of a copy of American comic books and the TV Batman Pop Art aesthetic. Wealthy socialite Gloria (Maura Monti) trained herself to be a superior athlete — and ultimate luchador — and uses her prowess to fight crime as the Bat Woman. Not because she’s avenging her murdered parents, mind; she just feels compelled to use her wealth to help her fellow man. And her superior skills are needed in Acapulco after a series of luchadores are found dead under mysterious circumstances (they had pineal fluid extracted from their brains).

The Bat Woman is a legendary figure, as much for her crime fighting as her skills in the ring, and she causes quite the stir when she comes to Acapulco. Notably, the commotion is because Bat Woman has simply arrived — not because she parachuted in wearing her superhero costume: blue mask with Bat-ears, blue scalloped cape, blue two-piece bikini, blue elbowlength gloves, calf-high boots. (When she’s wrestling she’s adds a gray body suit, clearly a bootleg sweatshirtsweatpants Batman costume minus the Bat logo.) Soon, she’s waist deep in a mad scientist’s plot to combine human glandular juices with fish DNA to reverse engineer evolution and create a race of aquatic gill men.

I use that term intentionally because the thing the scientist creates — in between chewing scenery with lines like “Then my vengeance will be terrible! Terrible!” — is clearly riffing on Creature from the Black Lagoon with just enough tweaks to be unique-ish.

The Bat Woman’s monster is red, crab-like, with a head calling to mind a castoff from Land of the Lost, and clearly a person in a rubber suit. The design is luridly horrific and hilarious in equal measure. The perfect ‘50s Bmovie creature.

Except this is a movie from 1968, so Pisces, the name the mad doctor gives his monstrosity, feels anachronistic. And so does most of the film.

Adam West the pioneer

Bat-mania began when Adam West’s Batman premiered in 1966. It burned hot and bright, creating a cottage industry of merchandise, injecting new life in the moribund comic book industry, and inspiring copycats at home and abroad, from Green Hornet to The Bat Woman. But Batman: The Movie, released after the first season, and a longer second season led to a bracingly fast Bat-burnout. By the time the third season (and series) finale aired on March 14, 1968, people were done with Batman.

The Bat Woman premiered in Mexico on March 12, 1968. Bad timing for a Bat-cash in. But you have to admire how slavish Cardona and his crew were to replicating the Batman vibe. Bat Woman’s costume — well, the cape and cowl, anyway — is a dead ringer for West’s. She drives a big black convertible with a red stripe down the middle and big tail fins. (The only thing missing is an atomic battery and turbine.) Many of the sets, from the mad doctor’s lab to Acapulco’s police chief’s office, feel like they could’ve been rolled out of the show’s studio. The way fights are staged and shot — from a little distance and a slight elevation — recall West’s Wham! Pow! Biff! punch-em-ups; the slight Dutch angles when characters are in close

up and the blocking of conversations seem like direct homages. And larger points of the plot, like the mad doctor doing his mad experiments from a fortified yacht (named Reptilicus, just in case we’re confused if a bad guy lives there), recalls beats from Batman: The Movie

That this all exists in a kind of Pop Art milkshake of Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and James Bond, among other reference points swirled into a luchador genre picture should make The Bat Woman an unwatchable mess. It’s anything but. Oh, it is a mess. The pacing is terrible, for instance, especially around fights and chases, which are so shaggy that they grind the movie to a halt. It’s only 81 minutes, with credits, and can often feel much longer. And there are some very confused gender dynamics at play. Bat Woman is sexy and powerful and seemingly meant to be leered at by men, in the film and in the audi-

"Mostly, though, The Bat Woman is incredibly fun to watch. It’s bonkers and goofy and stupid."

ence. But she isn’t. (At least not in the film; I can’t vouch for viewers.) She’s also kind of dim, by no means a great detective or secret agent, making a lot of sloppy decisions and overlooking clues as obvious as a Batsignal. Yet she bravely survives multiple Pisces attacks and an attempt by the mad doctor to turn her into a Fish Woman and heroically saves her friends over and over again. But the film ends on her jumping into the arms of her two male colleagues, shrieking about a mouse in her apartment, as the men laugh and say, “Women!” Are we supposed to make something of any of this? Probably not. It likely all felt like cheeky iro-

ny scaffolding a cheeky genre picture. Still, it’s hard to not notice.

Mostly, though, The Bat Woman is incredibly fun to watch. It’s bonkers and goofy and stupid with the broadest kinds of archetypal characters acting very, very big. It’s a salve for those of us utterly exhausted with how grim and self-serious superheroes — on film and in comics – have become. And like all great camp, everyone involved is taking this so, so seriously. Not because they think they’re making Art but because it’s the only way to sell something so absurd. Adam West knew this when making Batman, and Cardona and Monti know it, too. After all, how sincerely can you take a film when the crimefighter is a bikini-clad, mask-wearing socialite who’s also a luchador superstar in a world where every word of that description makes total and complete sense?

Only the most lumbering bumbling mind-controlled Fish Men allergic to fire and fun could leave this movie without a spring in their step. The Bat Woman is pure joy.

The Bat Woman is included in the series “Spectacle Every Day: Mexican Popular Cinema,” screening at Film at Lincoln Center through August 8. Visit filmlinc.org for information and showtimes.

BOOK SERIAL: Fishes, Purple, Tiny... by Bob Racioppo

Last Month

In Central Park killing time waiting to meet Susan Kemp, Zak tries to understand why he's dropped out of college. He ends up without an answer so he begins to walk to a coffee shop to meet Susan. She tells him that she's broken it off with her boyfriend, and he tells her he's done with school. He walks downtown and stops at an Automat for coffee.

20 – Blank in Brooklyn

The Sea Beach express was at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue. Zak walked one block west to get on it. The train was empty. He sat in the last seat of the last car. His mind was empty, blank again in shutdown mode. He stared at the subway ads of divorce lawyers, breath mints and a “painless dentist.” A train pulled in across the platform and his began to move towards Brooklyn. He stood and looked out the rear window. He saw mostly darkness, interspersed with flash of sparks and signal lights, but mostly darkness.

Back at home by 3, he passed his mother in the kitchen.

“How was school?”

“Fine, real good.”

In his room, he laid flat on the bed looking up at the faded white ceiling, knowing two things. First, he was a dope, didn’t know shit, and second, he’d stay in Brooklyn now. Fuck it, he’d stick to the stuff he knew. He got up, flipped over the Jefferson Airplane record on the turntable and played it loud, but not as loud as he liked it. Didn’t want to think, wanted to sleep.

“Helen Wozny was breading pork chops for dinner when the wallphone rang. “Hello.”

“Yes, hello – this is Hunter College lost and found office.”

“Sorry, who is this?”

“Hunter College.”

“Oh, alright.”

“Trying to reach Zachary Wozny, a student here. His books were found and returned to our office.”

“Oh… hold on.”

Through the door Zac heard his mother.

“You’ve got a phone call from school.”

“From school?” he said, through the door.

“Yeah, from school.” She didn’t sound happy.

He went to the phone.

“Yes, this is Zac Wozny.”

His mother stood with a hand on her hip looking at him.

“What’s going on here?” she asked. He held up his hand to her as he answered the call.

“Yes, yes, thank you... ok, I’ll be in tomorrow to pick them up. Yes, thank you.”

“You lost your books?”

“Yeah… I uh…” he mumbled.

“What’s going on, Zak.”

He covered his face with both hands.

“What’s going on,” she repeated. He took his hands down and looking at her directly said “I dropped out, I dropped out of college.”

21 – Pork Chops, Etc.

The smell of baked pork shops filtered into Zak’s room. These “pre-cholesterol-scare” chops, rimmed with a half inch of fat were his favorite meal. But dinner time was talking and tonight the subject would be his dropping out of college. By six o’clock the Woznys were at the formica table in their usual seats. Before he could take a bite his mother said to Zak:

“You gonna tell him?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Tell me what?” said Frank Wozny, cutting off a chunk of pork.

“I dropped out.”

Frank put down his fork.

“He dropped out of college,” said his mother with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“Quit school.”

“Ok… ok, what are you going to do now?”

There was a pause and Frank repeated, “What are you going to do.”

“I um, don’t know, I was thinking of…”

Frank cut him off.

“I’ll tell you what you’re gonna do, you’re gonna get a job, a real job.”

He picked up his fork.

“Yeah sure.”

Zak put his head down and cut into the pork chop which still tasted really good.

“That’s all you’re gonna say to him, that’s it?”

“He’s gonna be 18, when next week?

It’s his life now, I can’t do nothin’”

Helen shook her head and started eating her dinner. Zak didn’t know what his father’s reaction to the news would be. It wasn’t much, and he was glad of that.

22 – The New Girl

It had been another weird day and Zak wanted to get high or drunk; or high and drunk. He skipped after dinner coffee with his parents and headed up Fifth Avenue to ZAZA’s. It was Thursday night and he figured there’d be people hanging out. He was right, on the stoop just down the block on 47th Street were a bunch of the regulars. The Bergen brothers, Mike and Jimmy, Frankie Sankawiecz, known as “Sanka,” Pete the Greek, and a few

others. They had chipped in for a case of Budweiser.

“Yo Woz, where you been.”

“Hey Frankie, been goin’ to school and stuff.”

Mikey Bergen gave him a can of beer and a small brown paper bag to put it in.

“Here you go Woz, school huh.”

“Yeah, over in the city.”

Pete the Greek lit a joint and passed it around. A few of the local girls came around. Lucille, Maureen and a new girl Zak had never seen on the corner before. She had light red hair and what they called a “Sassoon Cut.” One side was really short, the other side left long, cutting over her face, almost covering one eye. Zak would never date any of the local girls, ‘cause if it went bad, you still had to hang out. He liked this new girl, and she wasn’t a regular.

It was a clear night, the wind cutting up from Gowanus Bay gave the air a clean chill. The three girls after taking some hits of pot went into ZAZA’s to warm up with hot chocolate. The guys stayed on the stoop with the beer. Zak chugged the rest of his saying “I’m going to grab a slice.”

ZAZA’s was warm from the two pizza ovens. He ordered a slice, while it was heating went to the juke box and the red formica booths where the girls sat. He put a quarter in and selected Jumping Jack Flash, Sunshine of Your Love… and had one pick left.

“Would you ladies like to pick a song?”

Lucille spoke up. “Play the Doors!”

“K, Light My Fire?”

“No, no, the new one… what’s it called?”

The new girl said. “Hello I love YOU.” Zak met her eyes. “Hello I love you… huh.”

“Yeah, that’s it,” said Lucille.

He scanned for a minute, then pressed in their pick, went and got his slice and a small coke, came back and joined them in the red booth. He sat next to Maureen, across from Lucille and the new girl.

“Oh Woz, this is Vera Sansone, we went to Bishop Kearney together.”

“Hi Vera.”

“Hi Woz…” then after a pause…

“that’s a unique name.”

Lucille chipped in. “Oh, his real name is Zak Wozny, but we call him ‘Woz.’

“Wizard of Woz” put in Maureen and they laughed a bit.

“Vera goes to art school.”

“Oh yeah, where’s that,” queried Zak.

“Downtown Brooklyn.. well really Fort Greene, it’s called Pratt.”

“I heard of that, one of the guys from Ford went there.”

“Oh you went to Ford… that was our brother school,” said Vera.

“Right… I went to a few dances at Kearny.”

“Zak goes to college, right?” said Lucille.

“Yeah, I’m at Hunter in the city.”

Zak had planned to get really stoned tonight, in an attempt to erase the Automat incident from his head, but this was much better. This being, sitting across from Vera Sansone, who wore a black turtleneck sweater under a blue peacoat, and sipped hot chocolate from a cardboard cup. Lucille said something quiet to Maureen and they left the booth.

“So what do you study at Hunter?”

“Me… uhhh, German, Geography, English, basic stuff.”

While she responded, talking about art school, he got a bit lost just looking at her face, falling a little in love with her prettiness.

And Morrison sang: “Hello I love you won’t you tell me your name.”

Vera looked down saying, “Your pizza is getting cold.”

“Oh yeah, pizza.” He picked up the slice and finished it off in a few quick bites.

They rejoined the small crowd on the stoop. All a little higher now, laughing, goofing on each other. Vera said goodbye to Lucille and Maureen, came over to Zak extending a hand.

“Nice talking to you, Woz.”

“Yeah, nice taling to you too.. .uhhh, wonderin’, could I walk you home, or something?”

“Oh, I live in Bay Ridge. I have a car just down the street.”

“Oh okay.” then. “How about I take the ride.”

“A ride, out to Bay Ridge.”

“Yeah, nothin’s happenin’ here, be like going to the country.”

Vera, after a pause, “Sure, if you like.”

As they walked down to her car, a voice sounding like Pete the Greek yelled out: “Hey, don’t trust that guy.”

Vera looked at Zak – smiled. They got into a faded blue Ford Falcon and drove away.

Continued Next Month

Author Bob Racioppo is a founding member of the Shirts, a New York-based American punk band that was one of the seminal CBGB bands. After signing a record deal they toured the US and Europe. In addition to music, Robert is an accomplished fine artist. This is his first novel. He grew up in Sunset Park and now lives in Windsor Terrace. To order a copy of the full book ($15) text 917 652-9128 with your address.

A dozen summer songs. I don’t know why London’s Los Bitchos are waiting until the end of August to release the perfect summer soundtrack, but there’ll still be a good three weeks left to fill with their new Talkie Talkie (CD, LP and download out August 30 from City Slang), and more if you allow for the changing seasons of climate change. The Bitchos’s second album is straight-up smart, sophisticated, instrumental loveliness. It reminds me of tracks by the likes of Burt Bacharach or Herb Alpert in that it’s pop pure and simple, but with richer harmonic structures and less predictable turns along the way. But they’re also direct descendents of the surf guitar tradition, the glimmering greatness of the Chantays and the Ventures. The album closer “Let Me Cook You” even includes some Dick Dale stylized speed-picking. Is “surfisticated” a thing? To put the four women of Los Bitchos among yet another male of decades past, they do for tremolo riffing what Ennio Morricone did for twangy western themes. A third of the album has already been released, with adorable videos to match, and the tunes are absolutely infectious. There’s no singing on Talkie Talkie, but with such tightly crafted melodies, you won’t miss it.

The Epic Rock of Gilgamesh. Often when trying to describe a new record, I find myself wanting to use the phrase “but it doesn’t suck.” So many offenses have been created in the name of rock that it’s sometimes difficult to give the

basics of a project without making it sound like a list of similar but insufferable projects which have come before. So, Gilgamesh, the debut album by Rubi Ate the Fig (self-released to streaming platforms last month) seeks a fusion of classic 1970s rock and traditional Arabic music, but it doesn’t suck. And with the recent popularity of the Tuareg band Tinariwen, maybe the time is right to cross back over and kiss the hem of the source. Guitarist, singer and songwriter Sharoón Eliashar was born in Jerusalem and raised in the California desert, which works as well as anything to outline of their sound. There’s an assuredness in her vocals and a twinge of exoticism in the melodies that reminds me at times of Heart’s Ann Wilson (who sadly postponed tour dates last month to undergo chemotherapy), and if her songs aren’t quite as catchy, they’re nevertheless just as solid. She realizes them with a five-piece backing band that includes the stringed qanun and saz and a selection of Middle Eastern percussion along with more traditional rock implements. Five guest players expand the palette with oud, ney and other traditional instruments. Fusion of any musical forms is often a bit silly, and Gilgamesh doesn’t break that sometimes rule. But it doesn’t need to, either. Repeat listens unveil the riches of Eliashar’s songs.

Who was that masked trout? Executing the improbable if not the impossible is the business of Detroit a cappella outfit the 180-Gs. The mysterious ensemble had already realized unlikely arrangements of songs by the Cardiacs, Negativland and the Residents for five-part male harmonies before taking on the much celebrated, sometimes maligned 1969 album Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. Mastermind Don Van Vliet and his talented accomplices pulled off a brilliant merging of Howlin’ Wolf’s blues and Ornette Coleman’s multi-angular jazz on their third release, an expansive double album released by Frank

Zappa’s Straight imprint via Warner Brothers. Trout Mask Replica Replica (CD and download self-released last month) is a ridiculously faithful rendering that underscores how mad the original compositions were. Past 180-Gs efforts have focused on material that works with some sort of thematic through-line. How unhinged the Trout Mask songs were is underscored by hearing them realized by a group of voices. But whose voices they are is hard to say. Presumably it’s all done by one David Minnick, or at least it’s difficult to find another name associated with the group, and band photos are all of figurines. Honestly, I don’t know if it’d be more impressive to know that he did it all himself or that he found four other people willing to perfect the arrangements with him. But either way, it’s a remarkable, and remarkably ridiculous, accomplishment.

The Second Lives of Plants. Last summer, Pioneer Works and Sacred Bones Records presented a surprising dedication at Green-wood Cemetery to Mort Garson’s obscure 1976 album Plantasia with performances by Laraaji, DAOUI (Angel Bat Dawid & Oui Ennui), and others. This year’s lateseason back-to-nature musical gathering happens in the MoMA Sculpture Garden on August 28 with a rare screening of the 1979 documentary The Secret Life of Plants. The 97-minute film, featuring time-lapse footage of plants living lives more complicated than they’re often given credit for, is no doubt best remembered for Stevie Wonder’s soundtrack, released as the largely instrumental double album Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through “The Secret Life of Plants”. The album came on the heels of one of the greatest runs of albums in pop history, beginning with 1972’s Music of My Mind and running through Talking Book (also 1972), Innervisions (1973), Fullfillingness’ First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976). Plants sits as a bit of an oddity before Wonder stepped into the ’80s with the platinum-selling Hotter Than July. The album itself is charming and oddly wonderful (pun unintended but almost inevitable). Hearing it in situ will no doubt help to understand the album’s own secret life.

Singled out.  New Brunswick, NJ, indie icons Screaming Females called it quits last December after some 18 years. In her first release since the break-up, frontwoman Marissa Paternoster has returned to a moniker she’s been using since she was 16. Paternos-

ter has released three albums, as well as singles and demos, under the name Noun, working with a rotating cast of accomplices. Wanted/Consumed, the new single (cassette and download self-released last month), features a new two-piece Noun with multi-instrumentalist Phillip Price (Kayo Dot, Moor Jewelry). The two songs are solid, fierce and catchy. It’s good to know Patermoster is still screaming.

Liverpool’s unflappable Unstoppable Sweeties Show seemed to have found their weird, or deepened their commitment to it, during the pandemic, moving toward improvisation and noise on 2021’s Analogy to an Allergy and applied those obfuscations to their prog-punk framework on 2023’s Frosted Glass. Their new digital single Thick Daddy gets back to some of their earlier grittiness. “Thick” is six minutes of lo-fi geometry with lots of howling. “Daddy” clocks in at nearly 10 with a half-buried narrative and not quite interlocking parts of smooth sax, jazzy guitar and space bass. At press time, the single had been up on their Bandcamp page, marked “Available for FREE today!” for two weeks, so get it before they remember.

Quinn on Books

Girls on Film

Review of “Desperately Seeking Something,” by Susan Seidelman Review by Michael Quinn

The genesis for many of director Susan Seidelman’s movies starts with scribbled notes on subway rides, capturing the essence of strangers who fascinate her. After observing people’s behavior, sketching their outfits and jotting down their words, she tucks these notes in a drawer, waiting for the right moment to use them. Out of this jumble, she crafts many fine films.

Now on the other side of 70, Seidelman reflects on her storied career in her memoir, “Desperately Seeking Something.” The book details how she honed her vision to tell stories about women through a female lens, navigating the highs and lows of critical and audience reception. Refreshingly, her memoir emphasizes persistence over drive.

Born outside Philadelphia in 1952, Susan is the oldest of three children in a cheerful Jewish family. Her father’s successful hardware business allows them to move to the nicest house in the second-nicest suburb. “My father had the letter ‘S’ for Seidelman etched in fancy script on the glass shower door,” she recalls, reflecting on the suburbs as a state of mind—clean and safe, but reinforcing uniformity and sameness, “a safety net that could also feel like a noose.”

As a teenager, Seidelman keeps a diary, formally signing each entry with her full name, and becomes interested in bad boys. Her decision to attend college defies the expectation of settling for being pretty and finding a husband. She drifts away from her fashion studies when they become too technical and finds herself drawn to the feminist movement. A film appreciation class blows her mind, leading her to New York University’s graduate film program. She can count the other women on one hand.

Film school provides a student crew and access to equipment. Her short film, “And You Act Like One Too” (1976), shot in her parents’ house, earns positive attention and encourages her to continue. Supplementing her education in New York’s movie houses, she absorbs foreign films, old Hollywood gems and cult classics. “Cinema is a language that I needed to learn,” she says.

After a bad breakup and her grandmother’s death, Seidelman uses her inheritance to make “Smithereens” (1982), a gritty film about a groupie in the downtown music scene starring Susan Berman and Richard Hell (lead singer of the Voidoids). Shot with a 16-mm camera and a small crew, the film is selected for the Cannes Film Festival and picked up for distribution by New Line Cinema. Her Hollywood break comes with “Desperately Seeking Susan,” a screwball comedy about mistaken identities featuring Rosanna Arquette as a bored housewife infatuated with a charismatic freeloader—Madonna, in her breakout role.

Seidelman’s subsequent films, like “Making Mr. Right” (1987) and “She-Devil” (1989), showcase her ability to tell unique stories with strong female leads despite mixed receptions. She later ventures into television, directing the pilot for “Sex and the City” (1998). Her Carrie Bradshaw has brown hair, wears mostly black and lives in a third-floor walkup with a flashing neon sign illuminating her window. Seidelman’s version of the city is almost noir-ish.

Seidelman’s memoir is a bit like her drawer full of notes, offering snippets of ideas. She still seems to be casting about for what they all mean. She started writing the book during the pandemic’s lockdown phase, holed up in her New Jersey home with her husband, and a bit of that bored housewife peeks through. She wonders, “Can you be ordinary and still have something extraordinary to say?”

The best part of reading this was that it piqued my interest in Seidelman’s movies. They show you things she feels that she struggles to find the words for in her book. Yet both reveal her interest in exploring women’s interior lives and externalizing them on screen.

Jazz by Grella Nothing But Vibes

The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (6th edition), introduces vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson by pointing out that if he “were a saxophonist, trumpeter, or pianist, he would be regarded as a major figure in modern jazz.” That’s no exaggeration, Hutcherson (who died in 2016) was one of the greatest of all jazz musicians of the post-1959 era. He was an extraordinarily musical player, whether inside an ensemble or soloing, and might have had the greatest aesthetic range of anyone. The evidence is in his discography—he is central to Eric Dolphy’s Out to Lunch!, Grant Green’s Idle Moments, Andrew Hill’s Judgment!, Dexter Gordon’s Gettin’ Around, Jackie McLean’s One

"He seems to be focused primarily on the overall ensemble, and it works because the albums he made for Blue Note in this period are never less than outstanding, and a couple can make a claim to being among the finest of the decade."

Step Beyond, and Tony William’s Life Time (all on Blue Note). He played with Gerald Wilson’s mainstream big band, Archie Shepp’s “New Thing” group; hard bop with Lee Morgan, funk with Donald Byrd, soul with Lou Rawls, organ groove with John Patton, and free music with Pharoah Sanders.

That’s quite a curriculum vitae, and if it’s somehow not enough to establish him as essential to the core of modern jazz, especially in the ‘60s, than the new box set from Mosaic Records, Classic Bobby Hutcherson Blue Note Sessions 1963-1970 absolutely will. This is the last set produced by recently departed Michael Cuscuna and is one of the great triumphs of the label. The ultimate goal of archival collections like this is to reveal something important that previously had been hidden to all but the deepest cognoscenti, and that’s what this set does.

But first, what is it about the vibraphone that has players like Hutcherson so neglected? There have been famous vibraphonists in jazz history, of course; Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, and Gary Burton to name a few. The contemporary scene has Joel Ross and Sasha Berliner following their paths and those of Steve Nelson and Stefon Harris. And you can follow the development of modern jazz just by digging the vibes—Hampton playing with Benny Goodman, Jackson with Charlie Parker and then with John Lewis (also ex-Parker) in the Modern Jazz Quartet, Hutcherson’s modal hard bop and free playing, Gary Burton’s post-bop and modernism (and he employed Pat Metheny), the incorporation of funk and soul and rock via Nelson and Harris, out the other side in the synthesis of musics in the styles of Ross and Berliner. But there’s a facelessness to the instrument that can leave the player anonymous. Saxophonists and trumpeters and singers can create their own immediately identifiable sounds and timbres, pianists have a broad ability to apply different kinds of touch to the keys and with ten or more notes available at once can create personal harmonic styles. But the metal bars of the vibraphone sound the same no matter who is playing them, there’s only so much variation in materials for

by George Grella

the heads of the sticks the players use, and as a practical matter you can’t really play more than four notes simultaneously on the instrument.

That leaves the subtle details of musicianship to differentiate vibraphonists, and you have to listen past the instrument to hear them. Distinctions of timing, dynamics, the shape and placement of phrases, rhythmic sense, and of course the expression and articulation of improvised solos are the signifiers and marks of musical skill. Hampton’s swing and the verve of his attack was unmistakable, the same for Jackson’s sightly understated long legato lines and Burton’s way of playing on top of the beat and carving space around each note, no matter the velocity.

Hutcherson had bits of all of these qualities, and most of all a subtlety and musical modesty that is probably the main reason he’s not seen as a major figure. As a sideman, he could be expected to lay out through stretches of tunes, as a leader it’s startling to hear how silent he is for substantial amounts of time. He seems to be focused primarily on the overall ensemble, and it works because the albums he made for Blue Note in this period are never less than outstanding, and a couple can make a claim to being among the finest of the decade.

First chronologically is The Kicker, which features tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson at his brawny, intelligent best (and should not be confused with Henderson’s later album of the same name on Milestone). This is one of the best modern hard bop album of the ’60s. It was recorded in 1963 but only first issued under Cuscuna in 1999(!), which seems to be a measure of how undervalued Hutcherson was, even by Blue Note. With Henderson, Green, pianist Duke Pearson, bassist Bon Cranshaw, and drummer Al Harewood, the rhythms are sharp and punchy, there’s tremendous suavity, and the harmonic conception brings together both the blues and modal ideas. It is the ne plus ultra of the Blue Note sound.

Several of these albums—Dialogue, with saxophonist Sam Rivers and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, another of the most stylistically capacious musicians of the ‘60s; Components, with James Spaulding at his very best on reeds and pianist Herbie Hancock; and Stick-Up! with Henderson again and McCoy Tyner showing more range at the piano that heard with John Coltrane—are relatively well known and have always been highly regarded. Happenings, which pairs Hancock with Hutcherson, Cranshaw again on bass and drummer Joe Chambers, is percussion heavy, inventive, and fascinating, both tangential and earthy. What these albums do, along with Oblique and Patterns, is establish an unusual and important subformula within the larger Blue Note album approach. Rather than three up-tempo tunes and two ballads, instead there are several grooving, often structurally complex charts that feature invigorating playing, and then one or two abstract tracks, heavy on free improvisation. The albums make an important statement about the directions of jazz during the decade, how developing structures and freedom can be integrated, how musicians don’t have to choose, how jazz can be all and more. Almost no one was doing this, maybe Shepp was close, but not in a way that centered both the mainstream and the avant-garde.

On top of this, the music is stylish, soulful, smart, swinging. Hutcherson plays with clarity and purpose while always integrating his soloing with the ensemble, like a great individual athlete who also values

teamwork. He’s never the main focus of the albums until the final sequence of records he made with saxophonist/flutist Harold Land in his band as coleader. Those four, from 1968 to 1970 are Total Eclipse, Spiral, Medina, and San Francisco, and are the summit of this decade (one album, Now! is missing from here, Mosaic explains in the booklet that because it featured vocals it didn’t fit with the rest). Land is another undervalued musician, and his playing here is fantastic and should be ear-opening.

These albums are not conceptual statements, they are all about the playing. The music often includes odd-numbered meters and world music touches, and is a statement for what was happening—and possible—in mainstream modern jazz at the end of the decade. The musicians had heard freedom, rock, and soul, and there is seasoning of other music, but this is jazz through and through, with the extended bop riffs and modality of “Herzog,” the down-home soul and mellow theme of “Goin’ Down South,” the modernist blues of Chick Corea’s “Matrix”—Corea plays piano on Total Eclipse, later replaced by Stanley Cowell and Joe Sample.

Most of these albums have been in print at one time or another, briefly, but never all at once (nor are they well-collated on streaming services, and San Francisco seems to be missing altogether), meaning that those interested in Hutcherson can now hear all this music all the way through, finally. What one hears is one of the most substantial jazz discographies of the ‘60s, and one of the most unique, from one of the great masters of the music.

(continued from page 1)

dure is possible will it be covered by Medicaid? And so to my millennial friends, your complaint is on the money. But cut us some slack, for this quest for everlasting life has been around forever. Think Ponce De Leon, roaming the swamps of Florida for the fountain of youth. Jack La Lane (you could google him) jumping around on a black and white TV in the fifties. And now Ray Kurzweil with his promise of “Singularity”. ‘Tis truly a Brave New World approaching.

COFFEE

Red Hook Softball Getting ready for the playoffs!

The 2024 Red Hook Softball League resumed play on July 11 after a Fourth of July break. In the first game of the evening, the Record Shop took on MiniBar at Dovey Diamond. Last place MiniBar jumped out to a 3-0 lead but the Record Shop responded by scoring 19 unanswered runs. They crushed five home runs in the game including three by RecKids’ Coach and 2022 League MVP Juice Brault. With contributions throughout the lineup they cruised to a 25-8 victory. In the second game, The Wobblies took on Bait & Tackle. Wobblies scored five in the top of the first but Bait responded with six of their own. The game remained close throughout and the Wobblies led 11-9 with Bait coming to the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Bait pushed across a run and had first and second with two outs but a pop-out ended the rally as the Wobblies held on to win 11-10.

On July 15, the Wobblies carried their momentum into a matchup with Hometown and jumped out to an 8-0 lead which was capped off by Nate Laux’s league-leading seventh homer of the season. Hometown made a push and cut the lead to 8-5 in the top of the fourth but the Wobblies responded with five of their own in the bottom of the inning. Rodz pitched a complete game for the Wobblies and got help from Montana who made a great diving play at third. They won

Chuck made a beautiful over-theshoulder catch in center field to preserve the lead.

the game 17-6.

On July 18, B61 took on the Record Shop in a match-up between the top two teams in the standings. The Record Shop scored three in the top of the first but B61 responded with three of their own in the bottom of the inning. B61 got a clutch two-out, threerun triple from DeLeo who was playing despite a bad back. B61 held a 9-7 lead in the sixth but the Record Shop was threatening with runners on the corners with two

by Brian Abate

outs. Chuck made a beautiful overthe-shoulder catch in center field to preserve the lead. The Record Shop threatened with runners on the corners and two outs in the seventh but the runner from first took off on a swing and a miss. B61 alertly threw to first and the runner was called out as there is no stealing in the league and if a runner takes off, the runner is out if the fielding team throws to the bag before the runner gets back. The play ended the game and lifted B61 to an important victory.

With two outs and a runner on first, MiniBar got a single to right but an excellent throw cut down the tying run at third to end the game. The Record Shop was tested but came away with a 4-3 victory.

A single and a walk set the stage for Bene Coopersmith who ripped a line drive into the gap in left-center. Two runs scored lifting the Record Shop to a 10-9 win. Coopersmith almost had a walkoff homer but he stumbled and did a celebratory summersault rounding third.

On July 22, Bait & Tackle took on Hometown in a potential playoff preview. Five consecutive Hometown batters walked to start the game and they all scored, giving them a 5-0 lead. Bait worked a few walks of their own and responded with five in the bottom of the inning. The game remained close throughout but a few big defensive plays by Bait made the difference as they threw out a runner at the plate in the sixth thanks to a great throw in left and an athletic tag by their catcher. They led 10-7 going into the seventh but Hometown would not go down quietly, scoring a run and then loaded the bases; however, the game fittingly ended with a fly out to left.

On July 25, B61 took on MiniBar knowing that a victory would secure a bye in the first round of the playoffs. A three-run homer by Morel got them off to a strong start and they never looked back. MiniBar kept it close thanks to a few nice plays in the field including throwing out a runner at home in the sixth but B61 won the game 10-5. The win clinched B61 a bye as well as the best record in the regular season.

Brian's Top Games of the Regular Season

Here we go with my countdown leading to the best game of the season!

5. The Wobblies beat Bait & Tackle 1110 on July 11. The Wobblies scored five in the first and Bait responded with five of their own. In the bottom of the seventh Bait got one run and was threatening for more but the Wobblies got out of the inning with a pop-out to beat their rivals.

4. The Record Shop beats MiniBar 4-3 on June 20. The Record Shop and MiniBar were tied at three after six innings. In the top of the seventh, Bobby Cole led off with a triple down the line. He then used aggressive base running to draw a wide throw to third on a grounder to first and then scored the go-ahead run.

3. MiniBar beats Bait & Tackle 18-17 on May 16. A pair of home runs for Bait & Tackle helped them jump out to a seven-run lead against MiniBar. However, MiniBar caught fire in the bottom of the sixth and rallied for eight runs to take the lead. There was some controversy over how many runs scored in the inning but ultimately it was determined to be eight. Down to their last out, Michael Buscemi delivered a two-run double to give Bait a 17-16 lead. However, in the bottom of the seventh, MiniBar scored two runs on a ground out to second with some aggressive base running with the second runner scoring on a very close play at the plate. The 18-17 win gave MiniBar their first win in the Red Hook Softball League

2. The Record Shop beats the Wobblies 10-9 on May 16. The Record Shop jumped out to a 6-0 lead over the Wobblies but the Wobblies strung together singles and came through with some clutch hits. They took a 9-6 lead in the top of the sixth and led 9-8 going to the bottom of the seventh.

1. B61 and the Wobblies tie 8-8 after 10 innings on June 20. B61 and the Wobblies were in a close game with B61 up 2-1 after 6. They added two more in the top of the seventh, including an RBI single by pitcher Shawn Andrew but the Wobblies responded with three in the bottom of the seventh to send it to extras. Each team scored one in the eighth as B61 got out of a jam in the bottom of the inning. B61 scored three runs in the top of the ninth including a home run by Andrew. There was some controversy during the bottom of the ninth as it looked like B61 had cut down a runner at the plate but was called safe. The Wobblies tied the game and a running catch in right field sent the game to the 10th. The Wobblies loaded the bases with the score tied 8-8 in the bottom of the 10th but a pop-out ended the inning and ended the game in a tie.

“Matías Kalwill and Jasmine Szympruch-Kalwill are pleased to share the delightful news of their union celebration. The artists, who met in Red Hook, exchanged vows at sunrise on Earth Day of 2024, April 22nd, in one of Overlook Mountain’s pristine meadows by the legendary hamlet of Woodstock, New York. They were joined by a small cohort of family and friends. Jasmine and Matías wish continued health, everlasting prosperity and wild kismet to the wonderful community of Red Hook, Brooklyn. They are forever grateful to the neighborhood for being part of these two lovers’ journey.”

Bait & Tackle team photo.

Union photo by Julia Rosenheim

Shawn Andrew of B61 in a matchup with the Record Shop. (photos by Abate)

The Hometown team.