Red Hook Star-Revue, June 2023

2010 Thirteen Years of the Star-Revue 2023 Special Section starts page 11

STAR REVUE

Scott Pfaffman on Gregor Wiest and the Wall Gallery

Iwas invited by a friend to attend, on the evening of May 19th, a banquet to honor the work of German artist Gregor Wiest at The Wall Gallery located at 41 Seabring Street in Red Hook. The Wall Gallery is two years old and has had 5 exhibitions. It was established by myself and Franz Landspersky, two compatible Red Hook neighbors in a former accounting office and studio across the street from the NYFD  Engine 202, Ladder Company 101.

The exhibition had previously  enjoyed a very successful opening night which featured the extraordinary ensemble known as Synchol. Several hundred people attended that evening and celebrated the results of Wiest’s month-long artist residency:  With material quickly procured and a handful of preparatory

drawings in place a group of 12  large drawings and 2 sculptures were made in the gallery space.  A major body of work forged in a few very busy short weeks. It was, I am told ,a wonder filled evening. But this night was set aside for  a smaller gathering of artists and friends of the artists assembled to appreciate, perhaps more contemplatively, Gregors’s work. And enjoy a meal together. The director, Franz Landspersky, refers to these regular pot luck dinners as “artists banquets” to imply a feast of all the senses. And so it was.

Spaetzle and cabbage

Conversations overheard concerned film, politics, european history, philosophy, local history, economics, misconceptions, propaganda, and that’s just a partial list of what I was able to under-

stand since a good deal of the chatter was in German. Goat stew, roast pork, spaetzle, cabbage, beets, roasted cauliflower, ample beer and wine, a table set for 20, the kind of beautiful dinner that can only be accomplished  by the  offerings of random and uniquely talented guests.While we enjoyed each other’s company I began to feel the artwork exert its influence.  And to me the conversations seem to grow more focused as the subjects gain clarity. Or perhaps I had simply fallen into the striking context of the art.

Wiest is the type of artist that occupies the wild periphery of domestic culture. Self sufficient in every way, Wiest carves his path into our visual arena with an intensity that seems drawn from some deep elemental force. Facing these works requires an act of affirmation.

Confronting them without this commitment would be a tragic error. The viewer will have avoided the messages in this work and be the poorer for it. In all of these works most prominent is the strange viscous black pigment applied masterfully in numerous ways to collaged pieces of white translucent paper, They create an architectural assembly of images within landscapes which are populated with distorted figures and a  collection of marks  and gestures the origins of which seem to reside within those same elemental forces that propel and reinforce these pieces. Perhaps the images are the vulcanized remains or the brilliant birth of a unique alternative visual energy, one  that sometimes haunts and sometimes coddles our sensations. And like most really great art these

(continued on page 5)

Celebrating Community

Photo by Marc Veit Schwaer, NY painting & sculpture by Gregor Wiest

481 Van Brunt Street, 8A Brooklyn, NY 11231

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Editor & PublishEr

George Fiala

NEws Nathan Weiser

Brian Abate

Katherine Rivard

FEaturEs Erin DeGregorio

CulturE Roderick Thomas

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roCk Kurt Gottschalk

Jazz George Grella

Film Dante A. Ciampaglia

books Michael Quinn

CartooNs Marc Jackson

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wEbmastEr Tariq Manon

kids Editor Marie Hueston

dEsigN George Fiala

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Merry Band of Contributors

Michael Cobb

Michael Fiorito

Jack Grace

Howard Graubard

HOLDING UP THE BUILDING

HOWARD GRAUBARD ON POLITICS

VOTE TO DISRUPT INJUSTICE

For most voters in Brooklyn, including virtually every Democrat in Brownstone Brooklyn and Sunset Park (outside of the vicinity of Chinatown) there will only be one race on the ballot in this year’s primary: a seat on the Civil Court bench. For most of you, this is a race involving candidates you never heard of the day before yesterday who you won’t remember the day after tomorrow. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t important.

To a large extent, the quality of our justice depends upon the quality of our judges. I do not come here to denigrate any candidate, or even to denigrate the Party organization (and those who know me know that I have no trouble doing that), which actually put together a pretty good slate of judicial candidates, only one of whom faces a primary.

guably have some upsides.

I would not expect Ms’ Haskin’s bench to be “hot,” but hot benches, while more fun to watch, arguably do not always result in the best decisions. So, my guess is she would perform her job functions competently, and would not embarrass the system. In too many years, that is the best we can do, and in some years I’ve gladly voted for judicial candidates of similar (and sometimes even somewhat inferior) quality.

the same forum (something I’ve done multiple times) who, whatever their public stance, has ventured a different position privately. It is a pretty open secret that virtually everyone in Brooklyn politics who’s seen them in action, lawyers and lay-people alike, understands that Linda Wilson is far more qualified.

FOR EDITORIAL, ADVERTISING OR EMPLOYMENT INQUIRIES, email gbrook@pipeline.com

Nino Pantano The Red Hook

Founded June 2010 by George Fiala and Frank Galeano

Let me start by saying that court attorney Turquoise Haskin, the one County Organization judicial candidate facing a primary, is adequately qualified to be a judge, although, in my humble opinion, she could probably benefit from a bit more seasoning.

Ms. Haskin is not blessed with great speaking skills; she is rarely fast on her feet, and often seems to have trouble breaking away from her prechewed talking points, but while such things are not entirely irrelevant to the bench, she appears to have decent educational credential and legal experience, as well as a worldview that indicates a good heart and an open mind. Although well-connected to some Party Leaders, Ms Haskin sometimes display a political naivete that may ar-

Sometimes, that’s just the best we can do with the choices we have. But this year we can do better. This year, we can vote for Linda Wilson.

In contrast to Ms. Haskin, Wilson, a court attorney in the Appellate Division, who is backed by most of the organized reform and insurgent elements who have taken sides, is one of the most impressive candidates for judicial office I’ve ever seen, in addition to having been an outstanding civic activist with groups such as the Park Slope Civic Council.

Ms Wilson has been served in nearly every court a Civil Court Judge might find themselves working in, as well as some they would not. While her career has primarily been within the Court system, the breadth of Wilson’s experience is pretty stunning.

Frankly, there are few I’ve spoken to who have seen these candidates at

I am not exaggerating when I say this isn’t just a matter of opinion; Linda Wilson is just objectively better. In her public appearances, Linda Wilson does not need pre-chewed talking points; she spontaneously speaks simultaneously from the heart and mind, answering left field questions with sophistication and thoughtfulness, looking at things from every plausible angle and always looking for the justice underlying the law. She is dogged and determined to find the right answer, for as long as it takes, and to figure out how to best do justice within the parameters of the law, and when appropriate, to test those parameters. In fact, Wilson came up with a pretty damned good turn of phrase, telling one audience, she sees her job function as to “disrupt injustice.”

Wow! How I wish I came up with that one.

As an adversary of the County organization who has not hesitated to back the County candidate in judicial races where they are the most qualified, I can say unequivocally that this is not one of those times.

On June 27th, please vote Linda Wilson for Civil Court Judge.

I have to say that even in those year where we are blessed with many choices in many contests, we are rarely blessed with such a fine opportunity to do the right thing.

"I do not come here to denigrate any candidate, or even to denigrate the Party organization (and those who know me know that I have no trouble doing that)"

I'D HAVE BEEN HAPPY WITH 13 MONTHS!

After ten years working for a Brooklyn community newspaper publisher I started my own business in 1988.

My company, Select Mail, provided, as I dubbed it with my first sign, "Computerized Public Relations and Marketing." This was somewhat of a new idea back then, as businesses were only just beginning to replace typewriters with desktop computers.

My boss at the paper, the late Michael A. Armstrong, envisioned a digital office back in 1979. We were paying $250 a week to a big mailing company on 4th Avenue to maintain our subscription list and print out 13,000 labels a week.

I was the General Manager, and one of my big responsibilities was to bill all the advertisers, collect the money and pay as many bills as I could. The idea that I could keep track of all this with a tool on my desk was quite enticing.

Once we got our IBM PC (a trade for advertising in 1982), it became my job to figure out how to make it do all the above tasks. It was a big challenge, and after figuring out how to program in dBase, I got it all to work.

It turned out that those 13,000 people who received the Phoenix in the mail each week had only ever subscribed once—the paper never sent out renewal notices. Once we had everything in the computer, I asked Mike if I could send out bills to all those people. He was dubious, and didn't think it would bring in much, but in fact in those days people in Boerum Hill, Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Red Hook actually depended on their weekly local paper, the way people today use their phones to see what's going on. All of sudden thousands of $9.50

checks starting arriving each month, making my job of paying everybody much easier.

When the time came that I felt the need to go out on my own, I figured that if I could do that for the Phoenix I could do it for others. I decided that sending press releases and newsletters and advertisements in the mail for others might have a future. And with a computer I wouldn't need many employees.

I didn't have much money, actually any, and I needed another new device called Laser Printer, with which I could produce professional, typeset copy and create the things to mail. So I went to my mother for the initial capital investment of $3,000, with which I bought a Hewlett Packard Laserjet

It turned out not many people around here had one. I still had my reporter friends from the paper. My first office was actually around the corner from the Phoenix, at State and Hoyt Streets. One day my friend Don Corbett came by and said he was looking to move to another paper. When he saw the printer he asked if I could do his resume for him.

He was so happy with the look of the resume that I thought maybe I could supplant my slow-growing mailing business with a resume service.

I ended up writing hundreds of resumes, offering free career advice along with it. The main thing I always said was that if they really wanted something, be persistent. I said that the movie stars we see in the theaters are not necessarily the greatest actors, rather they are the ones who didn't give up their dream and stuck with it. Really, I was thinking of myself, as

my first dream was to be on the radio. I did get a couple of radio jobs, but then got mad when I didn't become famous right away and so I gave up that dream.

The mailing business grew with fits and starts and eventually brought me close to Red Hook at 101 Union Street, near Columbia. It was a large space, and I spent a lot of time driving to IKEA as I ended up creating both an industrial and a music space. By the spring of 2010 I had my mailing machines running as well as a lively weekly music jam.

I had always wanted to somehow get back into the newspaper business.My best friend ran a weekly paper in Port Chester and I missed the newspaper lifestyle that he had–kind of a crazy one but with the idea that your are doing interesting and different things all the time.

Armstrong was also a major influence in my life, and I kind of always wanted to see if I could be a publisher like he was. Driving to IKEA took me right down the middle of Red Hook, a place where in another time of my life I was careful to pretty much avoid, although my original forays to it were kind of interesting. I took the bus to the Kentler Center on the eve of the first Iraq war where Florence had an anti-war exhibit happening. A hairy evening was when my car kept breaking down as I was taking a date to Lillie's, and my favorite story, the time in 1986 when my marriage was on the rocks and I needed to get someplace that was more miserable than I was so I could feel better. That place was the very end of Van Brunt Street, with garbage all over the place and a barbed wire fence at the end. I got out of the car,

with Exile on Main Street playing full blast on the tape player, and looked through the barbed wire in hopes that the misery would cheer me up, and lo and behold I saw the Statue of Liberty standing right out there. I remember thinking what the hell was THAT doing there? From that moment on life got better, and now I go right through that fence (now upgraded) every day on the way to work!

In any case, I remembered all the advice I used to give and decided that for once in my life I ought to listen to my own, which was to be persistent and pursue your own dream. So just like I made up the idea of Select Mail, I decided to start a paper in Red Hook, which as far as I could find out, never had one.

I didn't get famous right away, and still haven't, yet here it is thirteen years later and I'm still plugging away with this rag, and guess what—it's the greatest thing ever—for me, for my writers and artists, and hopefully not too bad for the couple of people out there who still pick up newspapers. And if that's you, which I guess it is... THANK YOU!!!! —

George Fiala

That's my daughter reading our 4th issue in our space at 101 Union Street in 2010. (photo by George Fiala)

Keg and Lantern Award Winners

Red Hook’s Keg & Lantern, located at 158 Beard Street, won multiple awards including the FX Matt award, given to the Best Craft Beer Brewery in New York State, in the 2023 TAP NY competition. Keg & Lantern also won a bronze medal for their Jamm Session IPA, and a silver medal for their Gothic Dark Lager.

The TAP New York Craft Beer & Music Festival 2023 took place on Saturday, May 20, and Sunday, May 21 at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts at Woodstock. It included live music from the Wailers with special guests The Classy Wrecks, and Blues Traveler with special guests Black Dirt Bandits and Vanessa Collier.

Daniel Defonte Way

Defonte’s Sandwich Shop, which celebrated being open for 100 years last year, will finally have their own street naming. The ceremony will take place in front of the store at the corner of Columbia and Luquer St. at 10 am on Saturday, June 17.

Kimberly Price wrote in 2015 in the Star-Revue that the street naming idea began after owner Daniel Defonte passed away. "To honor Danny, Spanky (a former employee) started a petition to rename a block after him. The block from Commerce to Luquer Streets on Columbia would be called Daniel J. Defonte Way. Spanky said he didn’t want it to be street or place because, “it was his Way that set us straight.”

Current owner, “Little Nicky” Defonte was delighted about the idea. “If anybody deserves this it’s Danny. It’s a beautiful thing that they want to honor my father like this.”

The Hook at the Waterfront Museum

Brooklyn’s Brave New World Repertory Theatre will present the American premiere of Arthur Miller’s unpublished screenplay, The Hook, adapted for the stage by Brooklyn-based writer Ron Hutchinson with UK director James Dacre, and directed by Claire Beckman, co-founder and producing artistic director of BNW Rep. The immersive setting will be onboard the barge of The Waterfront Museum moored in Red Hook. Performances are set over three weekends, June 9 through June 25 at 8 pm.

Based on true events that took place on the Red Hook docks in the late 1930’s, The Hook was inspired by the real-life story of Pete Panto, a young South Brooklyn longshoreman who after leading a revolt against corrupt union leadership, mysteriously disappeared, to be found years later murdered by The Mob. Beckman says “The ‘hook’ of the title is Red Hook, Brooklyn. It is also the classic tool of a longshoreman; an extension of his arm, a claw for gripping heavy crates and sacks of goods - or for use in a fight. The play gives a closer look at the tightly knit working class community doing the dangerous work of loading and unloading the ships. Back-breaking work which made New York the world’s richest and most important harbor.”

Waterfront Museum, 290 Conover Street, (718) 624-4719

Photoville back in Dumbo

Photoville NYC 2023 will take place June 3-18 at and around Fulton Ferry Landing. Exhibitions this year take place, in part, in Brooklyn Bridge Park’s recently opened Emily Warren Roebling Plaza.

Founded in 2011, Photoville has sought to populate New York’s public space with perspectives as diverse and international as the city itself. In pursuit of this mission, they launched the Photoville festival, activating public spaces, amplifying visual storytellers,

and creating unique and innovative exhibitions and other programming. The festival continues to create a welcoming, safe, accessible space for all artists and attendees. Another Perspective juxtaposes the work of three generations of photographers (Khary Mason, Joseph Rodriquez, Jamel Shabazz) with differing relationships to the criminal justice system.

Another exhibit is Clayton Patterson’s Front Door: Residents and Writers, an exploration of the diversity of the Lower East Side and the markings made by local graffiti writers between the mid-1980s and early-2000s; and Nguan’s All the Dreamers, a collection of candid portraits made on board the Staten Island Ferry between 2014 to 2022.

Charge up people

New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced new data on the city’s curbside Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charging pilot, showing high usage and reliability at plugs across the city in what is the nation’s first-ever evaluation report.

“The data is clear: New Yorkers love curbside Level 2 EV charging and our equitable distribution of infrastructure brought promising usage across communities," said Mayor Adams.

“Providing charging options that are convenient and accessible to diverse neighborhoods is critical to the transition to electric vehicles,” said Raghu

Sudhakara, vice president of Distributed Resource Integration at Con Ed. Curbside Level 2 charging is one piece of NYC’s broader EV strategy, articulated in  PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done. This strategy also includes transitioning taxis and for-hire vehicles to electric vehicles, supporting a requirement for private parking garages and lots to make EV charging available, and studying and piloting the East Coast’s first low-emission zones.

Get in the water at Valentino Pier!

The 2023 boating season in Red Hook has begun. Since 2006 the Boaters have been paddling inside the protected waters of the Louis Valentino Jr. Pier Park. They provide all the equipment along with paddling & safety tips. You arrive, put your name on a list, and then take a kayak out for a short paddle to explore the cove.

This year's schedule is as follows:

Thursdays 6 pm - 8 pm from June 1 through August 17,

Saturdays 1 pm - 4 pm from June 3 through June 24

Sundays 1 pm - 4pm from July 2 through September

City of Water Day: Saturday, July 15th (closed July 16)

For questions, write them at info@ redhookboaters.org.

LETTERS

More on Ample Hills

Nice article, glad someone is shining a light on this. There is something even more insidious/newsworthy here, but first a correction: the standalone ice cream business was not generating cash flows that were helping to stem losses across Schmitt, it itself was burning cash because the factory was too large for the amount of ice cream it could sell. The only option was to grow its way out of trouble, which it couldn’t do fast enough. However, here’s the dirty bit: Schmitt is controlled by an activist hedge fund manager named Mike Zapata, who bought control of the company before it acquired Ample Hills out of bankruptcy (his hedge fund, Sententia Capital, owned ~10% of Schmitt). When it became clear he couldn’t turn around Ample Hills fast enough to stop the bleeding, he made a tiny loan from his hedge fund ($1M) so that he could effectively put Schmitt/Ample Hills back into bankruptcy and take 100% control as the sole creditor (don’t think it’s happened yet, but assuming it’s imminent) wiping out the majority of shareholders. He did this to save his reputation with his hedge fund’s investors, including billionaire Mario Gabelli, at the expense of the Ample Hills brand, the employees, and the other shareholders. Zapata received offers to help finance the business and keep it alive, but it would have cost him control and would’ve wiped out his investment. This is the real story! —John

From the editor: Thanks so much for this, John. Since we wrote the article, the whole kit and kaboodle was auctioned off. I happened to wander by the factory one day and met the former manager and a long haired older guy who insisted that Zapata was a good guy and that it was the court system that did in the company.

They had bought the insides of the factory, he said he had a frozen food business. I then spoke with the landlord, Greg O'Connell, Jr., who told something different about Zapata and that he couldn't wait until all the equipment was gone and he could rent his space out for the betterment of the neighborhood. He also clued me in to the fact that the original owners, the original founders that also declared bankruptcy, had actually bought the leases of three of the stores, sold separately in the bankruptcy auction. One of the three was their original location on Vanderbilt Avenue.

In the meantime, they opened up an ice cream/donut shop, also in Prospect Heights about a year ago, called The Social.

Adding value to our environment

Destiny Mirabel was working in one of the greenhouses when I walked up to the Columbia Street farm one afternoon in late May. I had imagined the farm’s Distribution Manager clad in overalls, perhaps wearing a pair of knee high rubber boots and wiping a moist brow on their shirt sleeve as they walked up to introduce themselves. Instead, I was met by a petite young woman with a long, silver-purple ponytail, her fingers adorned with long sparkly nails, and her sweatpants and basketball sneakers rounding out her manicured, yet comfortable look. Red Hook Farms is not your grandparents’ farm.

Hot and sweaty

In a society where younger generations are willing to spend considerable sums on indoor plants and succulents, but cannot distinguish onion flowers from garlic blossoms, Destiny’s experience is singular. She began working at the farm in 2017 through Red Hook Initiative’s Summer Youth Employment program. The farm was not necessarily her ideal choice when being placed in the Summer Youth Employment program, but, after being placed there, she slowly grew to understand its importance: “At first, I honestly did not like it. I feel like everyone’s first summer is really brutal. It’s very hot, just sweaty. And if you’re not used to the physical labor, it’s a lot of hard work.” However, after growing vegetables herself and seeing others enjoy them, she came to recognize the impact of her hard work. She has been at the farm ever since.

Red Hook Farms provides a community-supported agriculture program (often abbreviated as “CSA”), as well as a weekly distribution for members of the community. Today, young people (aged 14-19) are no longer as-

Gregor Wiest

(continued from cover)

works embrace us in a physical relationship to their space. and suggest a subtle invasion of our own personal space.

The press release for Gregor Wiest New Work, printed below with the permission of the gallery, makes extravagant claims for these month old objects and reading the self admitted hyperbole one might be misled as a viewer fresh to his work. If we choose to join this immersion what can we expect? Is it real?  And can we choose not to be changed,  by the obvious magnetic charms of art so compelling and challenging? Obviously the outcome is completely dependent on the individual. Prejudice frequently overwhelms  our receptivity to unique experience, and we decide not to decide and so limit our thought to the comfortable confines of the lived and known. As a result  we limit also the scope of our lives and retard the development of our understanding new concepts and gaining new experience.

by Katherine Rivard

signed, but instead apply directly to work at the farm through the Youth Farmer Program. Each year about 22 apprentices work for about 3 days a week, earning a salary as they learn the skills of a full-time employee and providing them with valuable job experience. The program is just one of several at the Red Hook Initiative, a community-based nonprofit in Red Hook that focuses on empowering youth, building community, and investing in residents.

Columbia and Wolcott

In 2022, Red Hook Farms produced 19,760 pounds of produce between its two farm sites. This was fueled by its committed staff and 2,352 hours of volunteer work. The nonprofit works out of two farms: Columbia Street Farm (2.75 acres) is owned by the Parks Department, while the Wolcott Street Farm (1.1 acres) is on the site of the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Red Hook Houses. Locals can buy produce at the RHI’s farm stand (open Saturdays from 10 am to 2pm), or by committing to the CSA program, where members receive a box of 6 to 10 lbs of seasonal produce weekly from June through November. Members can also opt to add fruit (provided by the city’s GrowNYC program), eggs (from the Hudson Valley), or cheese (from New York State farms via Saxelby Cheesemongers) to their CSA subscription.

Beyond providing fresh local produce for the community, Red Hook Farms ensures that everyone can afford its produce. Pricing for the CSA program is on a sliding scale based on household income, with four different price levels, and with the additional option for NYCHA residents to pay in weekly installments. For NYCHA residents who are unable to afford the CSA program altogether, RHI also of-

Gregor Wiest exclaims (I think eloquently): “Open your eyes to his, yours, our, soul! Let vision stoke the hearth and  heart”. A promise of new worlds awaits everyone who is  willing.

The Wall Gallery is supported through the sale of art and the generous contributions of time and money of it’s  founders. They seem constantly scrambling to raise additional funds for advertising and publications. This is where you come in: The purchase prices of these remarkable works are stunningly low. And if you or your keepers have a sense of decency or fair play, or any inclination to support the living culture around you, and wish to improve your domestic arrangements or otherwise can spare some discretionary income you should spend it here and spend it now.

Please note: Another rare opportunity to witness  Gregor Wiest pyramid of human cognition  AKA “New Work” will be on the evening of June 17th to mark the closing days of this continentshifting landslide of culture.

fers a unique program in which residents can volunteer time on the farm or provide their food scraps in return for vegetables.

Multiple purposes

As NYC Parks Dept. property, the Columbia Street Farm is open to the public whenever staff are working. Beyond using it to grow produce, Red Hook Farms runs Farm-Based Learning programs that allow children and youth of all ages to learn about farming. Plump chickens rest in a coop, a “bee buzz area” includes two hives and various plants for pollinating, and small informational signs dot the farm, naming plants and describing their benefits: the farm is filled with opportunities to teach visitors about a range of topics. Beyond being a place to volunteer, purchase produce, or provide food scraps to be composted, Destiny emphasized that the farm is a community center meant to be enjoyed by everyone: “Just feel free to

Hyperbole pales when finding words to describe what you will see. Come.

Artist in Residence at The Wall Gallery

Don’t let Disney and Amazon steal from you the real magic that flows from the art of Gregor Wiest! Hyperbole is a familiar and favorite means of communication for us. We find its (un)critical structure essential to discovery of the overlooked aspects of our visual sense, that acuity which is lustful and primarily unfulfilled. Gregor Wiest ‘s works change our perception of these tooevident values. His strategy is nuclear, essential, uncompromised. The results are the volcanic remains of the last and most recent attempt to make sense in a senseless world.

Scott Pfaffman Curator at Large

The Wall Gallery

www.wallgallerybrooklyn.net

stop by! We want more people from the community to stop by and come through… It’s a space where they can come and feel free to hang out, sit down, and take in the environment.”

As I walked home from the farm, a black plastic bag blew high in the air, slowly making its way towards the waterfront. Just a block from the farm, car after car of Amazon workers were parked, ready to deliver packages at a moment’s notice. While many are conditioned to receive packages or groceries at the click of a button, wrapped in plastic and shipped from around the world, Red Hook Farms stands as a unique opportunity to pause and return to a more natural environment, even in the city. The farm is a reminder of how hard work and community can change lives, teaching visitors and volunteers essential skills, and providing residents with healthy, real food.

Alex Isidoro on the left Amalia Jaimes Lukes in the middle and Destiny Mirabel at right strike a pose at the Columbia Street Farm. (photo by Brian Abate)

After the party with Gregor's art at the Wall Gallery.

The Star-Revue has two openings:

1 - DISPLAY ADVERTISING SALESPERSON. The job involves meeting neighborhood store-owners and educate them about the wonderful goodwill they will get by advertising in the local newspaper. Another aspect is to talk to bigger corporations such as hospitals and schools to tell them that this is the perfect place to get their messages across to the people they are serving. You get paid with a percentage of what you sell, which is called a commission. This is a part-time job to supplement your income - you decide on the hours.

2 - WE ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO LIVES IN NYC PUBLIC HOUSING, preferably Red Hook or Gowanus, to write about things going on where you live. You do not need any experience. As long as you can put on paper interesting stories that our readers will want to read, you are our person. You don't have to be a great writer to start - see how we edit your stuff and learn from it. This is a free-lance position, meaning part-time.

For both positions call George at 917 652-9128 or email me at gbrook@pipeline.com

Red Hook parks have been slow to reopen, but are looking good

Last month the Brooklyn Parks Department gave an Zoom update on the progress of the Red Hook ball fields and the four phase construction project.

Phases one and two are complete with the exception of a soccer field that will be finished this summer. Davey Ives, the chief of staff of the Brooklyn Parks Department, gave the update.

Ball fields 1-4 are set to open by June and soccer field 2 was going to open during the summer. However the soccer field and track around it won't open for at least another year due to an unexpected problem with a drainage pipe.

Chris Syrett, the capital design and construction team leader, reminded viewers that the work had to be done because of historical lead contamination. Before Robert Moses built the parks, metal refineries were operating on that land in Red Hook.

There are many steps that the EPA has taken to ensure long term that the site will be up to standards and well maintained.

They will keep checking

Long term controls will include inspecting the area for years to come to make sure that the cover treatment of the area and ball fields is maintained. This includes multiple layers going below surface level.

“We have the simple section of the remedial treatment for most of the park, which is a synthetic turf cover for the fields, a drainage layer and clean fill beneath that and a demarcation layer,” Syrett said. “In some areas, we removed the soil and it’s just grass for passive recreation.”

In order for Parks and the EPA to take necessary precautions during construction they did continuous air monitoring when the soil was disturbed.

All of the data from the air monitoring that they did is available on the Parks website. In addition, Parks and the EPA put exposed soil in piles using a tarp and dusted and watered down areas whenever necessary.

Phase One, which includes ball fields 5-8 across the street from the Rec Center, has been completed since last year. Those fields includes a new synthetic turf just like the rest of the complex.

Phase two includes ball field 9, also close to the Rec Center, and soccer field 2. Ball field 9, a baseball field, has been open since last year. Soccer field 2 is close to opening. They are putting the finishing touches on the drainage. When it opens phase two will be complete.

Phase three includes baseball fields 1-4 (in the back near IKEA), soccer fields 3 and 5 and the track. The great news that Parks had to announce was

by Nathan Weiser

that ball fields 1-4 and one soccer field will open soon.

Memorial Day has been the target day for the contractors to open those fields. It will likely be a little after Memorial Day since they were still waiting on some items to be delivered.

Bad pipe causes delay

The Parks Department was working closely with DEP during design. Once construction started DEP determined that two large pipes underneath the track were not reconstructable.

Parks included items in the Phase 3 reconstruction contract to reline and repair the pipe. However, during construction, DEP saw that the pipe required full replacement. They are replacing the one outfall pipe with two 48’’ diameter pipes.

Replacing the two massive sewage pipes is a complex project. The water table is very low, which requires dewatering. Due to these issues, they anticipate the track and soccer field opening in the fall of 2024.

“It is unfortunate that we have to replace the pipes and it will take longer than any of us want,” Syrett said. “They are enormous. We have to first remove the existing pipes and put down dry piles to support the new pipes. We also have to keep constantly dewatering the site.”

They have been working closely with DEP to get the proper design for the construction and have been pushing the contractor.

Restrooms and handballs courts are open

The rest rooms near the track, which had to be closed for a short amount of time recently, are open to the public. The handball courts are also open. Phase four includes soccer fields one and six. This design is complete but the phase is currently in procurement. Parks has been working closely with DEC on this phase of the project. However, this phase is delayed since last fall they were informed from DEC that there was consent agreement for this property with two adjacent land owners.

Douglas MacNeal, with NY State DEC, said that industries directly to the south and east of fields one and six also create contamination. This has migrated under Field 1 in particular.

“We have an existing order with both of those responsible parties to address that contamination,” MacNeal said. “We have been working with them and Parks to get a plan in place that will allow them to address the contamination to ensure future safety of park users while allowing the Parks Department to move forward.”

DEC is working with LANXESS and Honeywell on agreements to address the contamination at Field 1. Field 6 is

not part of this area of concern. Syrett believes that it will be about an 18 month construction for these two fields. This might shift a little due to the remediation that the other responsible parties are taking part in. The Parks Department hopes to begin construction on phase four during the summer but a lot of the above agreements have to fall into place.

As of now, they think field six will close sometime this summer. Many factors add up to the procurement process taking so long. They need to know that the contractor can do the work, it depends on their timing and on ordering all of the materials. It’s contingent on agreements between the responsible party, the DEC and Parks.

This time the politicians showed up

Council member Alexa Aviles who missed the last Parks update, thanked Parks for holding this meeting and for answering questions and talked about how important parks are in Red Hook.

“Green spaces are incredibly important and as we move into the summertime, where Red Hook has lost so much space given the construction happening in the NYCHA houses, it is even more important for us,” Aviles said. “To community members, keep asking these questions and if we did not get to something please be sure to contact our office so we can coordinate with Parks to get the responses that we all need.”

Aviles requested that Portosans be added to the complex as the additional fields open. If the pool is in use, it limits the available public restrooms. Ives said they will try. The restroom by the track is now also open but Aviles wants bathrooms available at the other end so seniors and kids do not have so far to walk.

A few community members Zoomed and with some question. One was about the amount of trees that have been planted. There was a question about wanting to reduce the fencing that is around the handball courts. The fencing is there because the area is an active construction site. It’s narrow and Syrett said they can look into it.

Tiffany, who is a project manager, said they are trying to get the more permanent fencing installed, so they can remove the temporary fencing so there is not so much in front of the restroom and near the handball courts. There were questions about permits and which fields will be made available for adults. All the fields that have opened or will be opening can handle adults but the permitting office tries to prioritize the youth as much as possible.

They are rethinking a little how they will permit the fields since they have been closed for so long. Parks added that if anyone from the NYCHA buildings is looking for field time, please reach out to the Parks permits offic and let them know. From time to time, the track will be permitted for events and this will include school events or track meets. There was a question about making sure people are actually using legit permits.

“We only have a handful of parks enforcement patrol officers, so we are kind of limited, but you can call the office,” Ives said. “We do spot site visits to make sure the correct people are using the permits.”

They will likely be having the next parks update meeting in the fall.

A sign put up at ballfields 1-4 when they closed a couple years ago. The left side was actually completed on time, but the right side is delayed because of an unanticipated drainage pipe failure. (Star-Revue file photo)

Talking to the volunteers of Red Hook Mutual Aid

Red Hook Mutual Aid calls themselves an “independent corps of local volunteers that helps connect community members to resources, information, and supplies in an accessible format.” I spoke to a few of them about their volunteer work.

“I moved to Red Hook during the pandemic and about three years ago, I was sitting in Sunny’s and a volunteer overheard my conversation and let me know that they were doing an event in Coffey Park that Saturday and said I should stop by,” said Stephen Dunn. “I met a few of the volunteers at the event and I was interested so I decided to register.” Red Hook Mutual Aid has a buddy system as well as a big group chat for the volunteers.

“For example, someone could say ‘I’m out of town but my buddy needs someone to help her get to the doctor this weekend,’ and then another volunteer could step in and help out,” Dunn said. “In my case, I ended up picking up food from the pantries in the neighborhood and delivering it to a few different households. Then I ended up getting set up with a retired school teacher who had issues with mobility and any time she could avoid having to go out and get the food, it was helpful.

“I moved to New York for college so I never dealt with NYC public schools but it was really fascinating hearing about it from a retired teacher’s perspective. She started out teaching as an entry-level job and then put in the time and work and was able to retire with a pension.”

Another time, Dunn along with another volunteer delivered and installed an air conditioner for someone.

IS FRANCE BECOMING A UKRAINE HAWK?

by Darius Pio

“Another French airplane for Zelensky (to go to the G7)” states a comic strip on the French weekly Canard Enchaîné, portraying Zelensky getting on an airbus and a French politician telling him “We’ve agreed that it’s just a loan.”

Far from being just a comic strip, this little joke shows how airplane diplomacy is having an impact on the country's foreign policy. Macron is eager not only to show support to Ukraine, but to be the best at it, exploiting the ongoing war to restore French grandeur abroad and possibly to distract attention from domestic problems such as retirement age reform.

With forthcoming US elections threaten Ukrainian support due to a possible Republican takeover, and German public opinion pressuring Berlin to be less involved, Paris is willing to occupy a first-level role by filling a void that might emerge. Zelensky is raising the stakes day after day. He has already notched a win the F-16 jets dos-

by Brian Abate

“Volunteering was a great way to get out and know people in the neighborhood and it was also really spiritually rewarding to go out even if it was just for an hour a week, and feeling like you’re improving someone’s life,” Dunn said.

Though Dunn moved out of Red Hook, he still speaks very highly of Mutual Aid and he made a financial donation too, saying, “It’s very heartwarming to see how organized this grass roots community-based system is to improve the lives

She helped me advocate at the school and move into a school that was better for him, Brooklyn New School.”

Afterward, Myrie decided to volunteer, saying “I know what it’s like to go through a stressful time, and I wanted to get involved and help people too. Around Christmas, I volunteered with my son to help give out presents and flowers and it was an awesome experience.”

Myrie also volunteered at events to help migrants in Red Hook and helped others who had trouble with mobility by bringing them groceries.

“It brings me a lot of joy seeing the way people react,” said Myrie. “Last December we made some deliveries for elderly people who had trouble getting around and some were crying tears of joy just knowing there were people who were concerned about them and thinking about them at the time when they needed it the most.”

Lizzie Hurst also made some special connections while volunteering. She first heard about the group through word of mouth and became part of the buddy system.

help get her through the storm. It’s little things like that which make me smile.” Hurst moved away from the neighborhood but still volunteers and has partnered with another volunteer, Mia, to help her new buddy, Betty. She has helped her get a cellphone and coordinated rides to take her buddy to physical therapy every week.

of the people in this neighborhood.”

Like Dunn, Deon Myrie found Mutual Aid during the pandemic, though she first learned about it through flyers left on doors in her building.

“My son went to Success Academy in Cobble Hill, and he was only four when the pandemic hit, so it was very hard for him,” Myrie said. “It was hard for him to adjust to online learning. There was a lot of confusion and it was chaotic for him and for me. I called Louise and told her about the situation and she introduced me to Tara through the buddy system.

sier, a request that has finally met the approval of Biden during the G7. It’s a huge step and Zelensky has been patiently courting all governments as he works to collect enough weapons and supplies to oust the Russians. But, even as France might be Europe's premiere military power, at least on the continent, it cannot supply all the Kyiv needs. Nevertheless, it seems they are looking to up the ante.

On May 22nd the government took to Parliament a military budget that is the biggest since 1960, when France was involved in the Algerian independence war.

This increase is not just a way to help better the Ukrainians, but as often in politics, a way to help Macron. He needs a great win abroad right now, after a series of defeats have tarnished his political path: the retirement age reform even if achieved has condemned Macron to public hatred. The reform of the European Union towards a more social-democrat fashion is proceeding slowly with each step possible only with German agreement, making his project of a common European defense organization falter as NATO has regained momentum.

More influence for Macron

Following the traditional French-style foreign politics, Macron had wanted

“When I joined the buddy system, it was towards the beginning, and for the most part I’ve had the same buddies since I began in 2020,” said Hurst. “I worked with my first buddy, Ellestine, for a long time mostly chatting with her on the phone, bringing her some food and treats and calling her for her birthday.

“One time there was going to be a big storm coming so I called up Ellestine to ask if she needed me to pick up any supplies. In addition to things like a flashlight etc., she made sure to have pralines and cream ice cream, and biscuits to

NATO, always seen in France as an US tool, to reduce its power replaced with an all-European army.

After the war broke out, Macron tried to open diplomatic channels meeting both Putin and Xi-Jinping during March 2022. These attempts were a failure, humiliating Macron who represented France.

Macron now understands that the only way to matter is within NATO, so he’s trying to get more influence inside the alliance, both with support for Ukraine and the increased military expenditure.

This strategy is far from being easily achievable, as while France wants to influence the alliance more, there’s Turkey working somewhat successfully to do the same. Moreover, antiNATO sentiments are still strong in France, dating back to de Gaulle during the 1950's.

A measure of French success would be the role the country will play in the forthcoming nomination of NATO's

“We spent six months or so helping clear out Betty’s apartment so it could be re-painted when it was in a pretty bad way with paint peeling and the realization that there was lead paint which also meant helping her get to a hotel,” Hurst said. “That was actually one of my favorite parts of volunteering because we got to spend a lot of time together. It was really cool going through her old stuff, and seeing her daughter’s yearbook and her old clothes and getting to try them on.

“We also chat on the phone, especially during holidays, and have lunch together. It’s a different kind of relationship than I’ve ever had before. It’s almost like family.”

new General Secretary, as Stoltenberg's term will end soon. He has stated that he doesn’t want to seek any extension. Seeing a French Secretary General is an absolute fantasy, that is a goal Paris is trying to achieve.

Then we’ll see if all of Macron’s effort will be worth it for him, as if the mission will be accomplished it will be so natural for him to show himself as the EU herald and the promoter of a renewed, Eurocentric and less American NATO.—Dario Pio Muccilli reports about European politics for the Star-Revue. He is an Italian currently living in Paris.

Muccilli

“Volunteering was a great way to get out and know people in the neighborhood and it was also really spiritually rewarding"

Deon Myrie and her son

A challenge you don’t want to take

On April 2nd Barbara, a retired New York City school teacher, parked her silver 2021 Hyundai Tucson SE in a spot that had miraculously opened up, right across from her Park Slope home. Sadly, that night her car joined the ranks of the Hyundai TikTok Challenge.

For numbskull young-ins, that Challenge is pretty easy to conquer. You see, Hyundai models from 2015 to 2021 were manufactured with traditional ignition keys lacking the built-in immobilizing technology that makes losing such a key so expensive to replace. And Hyundai is all about reducing costs. So to start a 2021 Hyundai, just use a screwdriver to remove the wheel covering (elapsed time 20 seconds), thereby exposing the ignition cylinder. In another 10 seconds yank the cylinder out, exposing a metal receptacle that’s exactly the size of the USB-end of an iPhone charger cord. Insert. Rotate. Drive. Go crazy. Wreck it.

This non-challenging challenge started to sweep across the land last Summer, affecting thousands of Hyundai and KIA models built on the cheap. Barbara felt immune to all that, having an off-street parking spot…Until that one fateful night when TikTok came calling…

For the Hyundai owner, the challenge is to retain your sanity. First comes the wave of panic upon walking to your car and noticing it isn’t there. Next comes the web searches/phone calls to see if it’s been mistakenly towed for ransom at the pound. Nope. Then the realization the thieves have your ID in the glove apartment. Gulp.

Now comes the stroll to the 78th Precinct to report the car stolen. Painless if you can find somebody to take your report. Then enter GEICO. In this case Barbara declined their offer to provide a replacement rental (she’d have to pay 20% of the cost), electing to share her son’s car.

Be patient, Ma'am

Now came Hyundai Plaza on Nostrand Avenue. “Cancel your lease! Why I never…out of the question with a stolen car, why GEICO has to work out the payment to us and all that, so just be patient, ma’am!”

by Joe Enright

A day later, on April 5th, the 72nd Precinct called. Eureka! Rushing to Sunset Park, Barbara found a forlorn Firered Sonata sitting outside the Precinct on the 4th Avenue sidewalk.

“That’s not my car, officer. Different model and color. But it does bear one of my plates.”

“Thank you, ma’am. So many stolen Hyundais, it’s hard to tell them apart.” Which is why they invented VINs one would suppose.

The plate was not returned to her but vouchered as evidence instead – just

Alas and alack, the front end was easily repaired but ignition parts were in short supply thanks to…yes, the popularity of the TikTok Hyundai Challenge among numbskulls. As the weeks dragged by, Barbara returned to Plaza Hyundai. “Why, we would be delighted to speak in depth about your concerns madam, but your car is still listed as stolen. I’m afraid these matters take some time, the paperwork and all, don’t you see? Now excuse me, I have to attend to a Kia TikTok Challenge customer.”

in case her silver Tucson was found in another Precinct so as to, you know, make her challenge a bit more difficult. “Oh, and by the way, there’s a ton of recent tickets on your car you should take care of.”

Good to know. Barbara then frequented more web sites/made more calls to prevent liability for the tickets and cancel her EZ-Pass.

More fees

“That’ll cost you $16 to cancel, ma’am.” Miraculously, on April 14th the 72nd Precinct called again. At 6:00am. Her Hyundai Tucson had been found! But she needed to rush to 4th Avenue & 29th Street to claim the car right away because the assigned police officer’s tour was ending soon and Barbara didn’t want to sit around waiting for some random NYPD employee to notice her, did she?

Barbara foreswore a shower, threw on some threads and made it on time. Office Anthony and his colleagues proved to be polite, and very helpful, gathering the vouchered stolen plate so it could be joyously reunited with its twin on her no-longer stolen car sitting nearby with a dented front end. A tow truck was called and Barbara caught up on her sleep. All’s well that ends well? Not so fast! We got more words to spill here, bud.

Flash forward to May 19th. The Tucson is ready! Oh, happy day, just in time to scoot up to Cambridge for a graduation ceremony, then out to the Island for a family gathering and then…

Eastern Parkway, May 27th: “Barbara, what are those swirling lights behind us?” and “Barbara, why is that other car swerving in front of us?”

“Ma’am, you are operating a stolen

car. I’m afraid you’ll have to accompany us to the 71st Precinct on Empire Boulevard.”

Oops. Somebody forgot to cancel the alarm on the car. Was it sweet Officer Anthony? Was it the Police Administrative Aide operating the computer on April 14th or was it one of those worm holes that swallows up paperwork? I called the 72nd Precinct, emailed and otherwise importuned the NYPD for an answer and we held the mighty Red Hook Star-Review presses, waiting for an answer…Too late. The story must be told now to warn others.

Yank the cylinder out, exposing a metal receptacle that’s exactly the size of the USB-end of an iPhone charger cord. Insert. Rotate. Drive. Go crazy. Wreck it.

After all that happened, Barbara could use a drink.

Civic Association 2.0 meets again

On May 15, I attended the monthly meeting of the revived Red Hook Civic Association at P.S. 15 on Sullivan St. The meeting was scheduled to begin at 6 PM but I arrived early and chatted with some other attendees outside of the school. Shortly afterward, Jacqui Painter arrived we were allowed into the building.

We went to the auditorium, and it got a little noisy with kids playing in the gym behind us. The meeting began with all first-time attendees introducing themselves.

Next, leaders from different committees summarized what they were focusing on in their own specific meetings, while Carolina Salguero of PortSide kept track of the time to make sure the meeting would move along smoothly and stay on schedule. First up was the organizing committee and Imre Kovacs mentioned that he had found another location for future meetings at the Red Hook Recreation Center, 155 Bay St., which should be quieter. The new site will also allow everyone to sit face to face rather than in rows. No one had any complaints about moving future meetings to the Rec Center.

Nathan Shepard, who has been active in the Association, recommended that everyone who is interested should

by Brian Abate

join each of the subcommittees (using email) especially while they are in their early stages. There is no responsibility attached and it would allow everyone to bring up any new issues and ideas that could be addressed by the various subcommittees. Shepard also said he was happy to help anyone interested in joining subcommittees after the conclusion of the meeting. Salguero suggested distributing flyers widely, especially to NYCHA buildings to make sure this Civic Association is inclusive, before focusing on subcommittees. She added that the last Civic Association was not inclusive to everyone.

Not inclusive?

We reached out to the president of the last Civic Association, John McGettrick, with Salguero’s comment. He said that “despite what Carolina has to say, we worked closely with Emma Broughton, Lillie Marshall, Andrea and Jay McKnight, Bea Byrd, Judith Dailey and Wally Bazemore.” All these people lived in the Red Hook Houses. He offered that NYCHA created the two tenant organizations, each of which serves a similar purpose to the Civic Association. One might similarly say that those organizations are also not ‘inclusive,’ yet for issues of interest to the community at

large they often collaborated with the Civic Association.

McGettrick continued: “In fact, Andrea and Jay McKnight were co-chairs of the Civic Association for many years. The Civic Association worked with both Tenant Associations in the formation of the Red Hook Justice Center. We all worked together to improve B61 bus service. The Civic Association promoted the Atlantic Basin for the location of the Ferry Terminal for the benefit of the entire community. We helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for PS 15 through Friends of PS 15 fund-raisers. We all worked together to improve Coffey Park, especially the bathrooms. While it didn’t work out as well as we hoped, we all worked together to help the Community Board create Red Hook’s 197A plan. We helped bring attention to the lead in the ballfields, we were against the proposal to bring toxic sludge from the Gowanus Canal to the neighborhood, and finally, we all worked hard to prevent Mayor Giuliani from routing all of NYC’s garbage through the neighborhood.”

McGettrick now splits his time between the Adirondack’s and Florida, but he is still a regular visitor to Red Hook.

We also asked Carolina for clarification of her comment, and she specified that she did was not necessarily referring to race. Instead, she said it was not a place where everyone was allowed to speak. PortSide was never allowed to make a presentation, despite the fact that one time they were on the agenda.

Bus to Manhattan?

Next, Imre Kovacs recapped that the public services subcommittee was focusing on a potential bus route from Red Hook to Manhattan, library updates, better street sweeping, and the need to get kids from Red Hook to use the ballfields more often. A motion to support friends of the Red Hook Library passed.

“For the bus route, we want the MTA to take a look at more recent data and find out how they reached the conclusion that they couldn’t have a bus go from Red Hook to Manhattan,” Imre said.

Parking permits?

Rob Cantave spoke about the infrastructure development subcommittee and listed some areas of interest. They included developing an online, easily shareable neighborhood map, sewage upgrades planned for the neighborhood, traffic/safety/transportation with regard to last-mile warehouses, cruises coming to Red Hook and how they are recharging, and Council Member Alexa Aviles’ office proposing a parking permit for Red Hook.

Afterward, Jose spoke about the activism subcommittee and said members of the community worked to define exactly what it is and what it should look to accomplish. The subcommittee should serve the whole community, with a focus on outreach, community gathering, and intervention. Everyone is welcome.

Finally, Carolina reported for Jim Tampakas from Tampco Mechanical, who was unable to attend the meeting, saying “145 Wolcott St. (owned in part by Alex Washburn, could become another last-mile warehouse.”

Carolina also spoke about the importance of making sure PortSide will not be displaced and said that the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) made and then broke promises to PortSide. Others in attendance voiced their support for PortSide as well.

A few people in attendance reiterated the importance of making sure the Civic Association will be inclusive of everyone in Red Hook, and especially to be careful about using inclusive language that won’t put anyone down.

Towards the end of the meeting, the idea of a possible Civic Association barbecue was mentioned.

Move to the Rec Center

The meeting concluded with Jacqui telling everyone that the plan is for the next meeting to take place on June 12 at 6:30 at the Rec Center. Usually, meetings take place on the third Monday of the month but since Juneteenth is on the 19th, the meeting will take place on the 12th. Everyone is welcome.

The May meeting took place at PS 15. The next one will be at the Red Hook Rec Center on June 12.

2010 The Red Hook Star-Revue 2023

House of Pizza and Calzone, Frankie at F&M Bagels, IKEA, Waterfront Laundry, SBIDC, Elite Fitness, Accardi Hardware, 5 Burro Café, Calexico, Frank Galeano, Fultummy’s, Charles White, Laura Buscaglia, Margaret Palca, Danny Kalb, Jalopy Café, Alma, The General Slocum, Red Hook Boaters, Millbern Travel, Pimental Drycleaners, BWAC, Suite 352 Hair Boutique, Red Hook Films, Union Street Star Theater, Anna Mumford, Rocky Sullivan’s, Bait and Tackle, Moonshine, Cora School for Dance, Liberty Industrial Gases, Bishop Tucker, Phoenix Beverage, Greg O’Connell, Thor Equities, Red Hook Cruise Terminal, imadeanart.com, JJ Burkard, Sugar Lounge, Diego Restaurant, Baked, Jake’s Barbecue Restaurant, M Shanghai String Band, Krista Dragomer, Tiburon, Joe Zito, Josie Rubio, Red Hook Community Garden, Red Hook Ramblers, Brooklyn General, Botta di Vino, PETRA, Lobster Pound, Danielle Vigilante, Jack Lewis, CHIPS, Lisa Cowan, Everbrite Mercantile Co., David Buckel, Robert Painter, Stumptown Cofee Roasters, Miccio Center, Kiki Valentine, Smokey’s Round Up, Lilla, Michael and Pings, Movers Not Shakers, B61, Cool Hand Movers, Caselnova, Michael Sokol, PS 15, Caitlan Cassaro, Peggy WynsMadison, Vince Musacchia, Roy Sloane, Summit Academy, Shapiro’s Corner, Liberty Sunset Garden Center, Dean Haspiel, Shen, Foxy & Winston, Metal & Thread, Union Max, Brooklyn Collective, Uhuru, Gallery Small, Dry Dock Wine and Spirits, Torrey Maldonado, Off the Hook, Jabus Building Corp, Cornell Robbins,

2011

Sal Meglio, Daniel Squadron, Red Hook Streetcar Study, Paris Burlesque Club, Shore Power, Sunny’s, Red Hook VFW, Saipua, Marsha Trattner, Avalon Childcare, Bluebird Midwifery, Emilio’s Auto Restoration, Red Hook Barber and Beauty Salon, The A-Bones, The Good Fork, Visitation Church, Pro Electric, Alex Battles, Craig Hammerman, Marry Ann Massaro, Brooklyn Greenway, The Agnes Humphrey School for Leadership, Carter Kustera, Flickinger Glassworks, Saxelby Cheesemongers, You Showed Me, Alex Battles and the Whisky RebellionMiknic, REK, Pickett Furniture, Bamboo Bike Studio, Lunacy Design, Robin Ha, Red Hook Crit, Seanchai & the Unity Squad, BigSkyBrooklyn.com, The O’Connell Organization, Gallery Small, Red Hook Senior Center, Realty Collective, Anna Mumford, Kidd Yellin, Freebird Books, B & D Heating, Kentler International Drawing Space, Jonathan Ames, Kotobuki Bistro, Father Claudio, Christopher Hrones, Larsen’s Bakery, BQE Enhancement Project; Ledelle Moe, Whistling Wolves, Emily Eagen, Barbe’s, Adam Eisenstat, Hidden Patios, Mission Dolores, Cobble Hill Coffee Shop, Hope and Anchor, Red Hook Fest,

Blind Boy Paxton, Hilary Hawke, Talib Kweli, Portside, Copy Cottage, The Other Side; Marla Duckman, PAVE Academy, Red Hook Neighborhood School; Linda Mariano, Happy Hours Day Care, Cacao Prieto, Pamela

Warren, Esposito’s, Caputo’s, Sahadi’s, Urban Meadow, Urge Overkill, Red Hook Pirate’s Festival, Kevin’s, Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Club, Bargemusic, Red Hook Community Farm, Trocom Construction, Ennis Park, Marietta’s Dry Goods Store, Proteus Gowanus, Gowanus Yacht Club, Richard Buckner, Red Hook Raiders, Rob O’Neill, Sara Gonzalez, Velmanette Montgomery, Red Hook Civic Association, Red Hook Star-Revue Music Festival, Jay Tanner, Sal Catucci, American Stevedoring, John Mcgettrick, Hamilton Avenue footbridge, Screwball Spaces, Vinegar Hill House, 204 Sackett Street, PS 15 Flea Market, Lou Pernice, Chris Ward, Nydia Velazquez, Mary Anne Pietanza, Kiki Valentine, 2011 Taste of Red Hook, Ernest Porcelli, Thor Equities, Rottentoof records, residential parking bill, Red Hook Transportation Plan, Participatory Budgeting, Urban Divers, Casa Di Campagne, Bar Bruno, Lucky Gallery, Dog Day Cyclery, Try Rae’s First, Max J. Pollak & Sons Insurance,

2012

Martin Snaric, Matt Graber, Brooklyn Community Foundation, Added Value, Occupy Red Hook, Red Hook Rise, Reg Flower, Carey Monserrate, Red Hook Rec Center, Michael Racioppo, Kimberly Price, Drew Middleton, Rucola, Emma Morcroft, Robert Barnes, Julian Adler, Red Hook Community Justice Center, Phoenix Beverage, Curtis Skinner, Natasha Campbell, Summit Academy, DeFonte’s, Brad Lander, Joan Millman, Zaria Forman, Pilar Montero, PAVE Academy, EPA, Gowanus Canal, Christopher Tsiamis, Patrick Daly School, Spike Lee, Tony Mignone, B61 overcrowding, Olive’s Very Vintage, Valentino Pier, Buschenschank, The Invisible Dog, Jackie Jackson, Fine Fare, BumbleBeesRus, Tyrone Lewis, PS 15, Mary A. Whalen, Red Hook Youth Baseball League, Jill Eisenhard, Tanya Wilson, Red Hook Initiative, Red Hook Crit, Pok Pok, Derrick Barncoat, Stop and Frisk, Candice Sering, Red Hook Crit, Waterfront Museum, Columbia Street Connector, Red Hook Initiative, Steve Levin, Marshal Dohne, David Trimble, Richard Rosenblatt, Gerianne Abriano, Bian McCormick, Tom Fox, Viviana Gordon, Home/ made, April Fools, Phuong Nguyen, Brooklyn Studio Tours, Ana Ocampo,

Ralph Amendola, Red Hook Youth Baseball League, Local 1814 ILA, Naureen Rashid, Erik Dilan, Michael Grimm, Lou Sones, Felix Palacios, Judge Alex Calabrese, Brooklyn Studio Tours, SRB, Gallery Small,Father Claudio, Jeffrey Schiff, Khary Bekka, Sabrina Carter, Bayou n’Brooklyn, King Killer Studios, Wally Bazemore, Red Hook Pride Day, Red Hook Fest, POP Paradigms, Landswan Elam, Brett Taylor, Red Hook Lions Club, Shore Power, Scott Pfaffman, Ray Hall, Mollie Dash, Jenna Weber, toxic sludge, GBX, B77, Kaashiem Palmer, Mother Cabrini mural, Jenna Weber, Gallery Brooklyn, Hannibal Buress, John McGill, Brooklyn Ice House, High-Beam, IBZ zoning, Bigprototype, Pickett Furniture, Constructive Display, RHAP, Deirdre Swords, Ta-Shawn David, Ulli Gruber, Rachel Schapira, Gordon Clay, Tiffiney Davis, Nicky Bananas, Lightstone Group, Mrs. Hart Crane, Gertrude Holzendorm, Red Hook Senior Center, Judith Dailey, Gallery Brooklyn, Dorothy Shields, Lillie Marshall, Frances Brown, Fernand Barbot, Red Hook Summer, Water’s Edge Diner, Teen Chef, Vito Lopez, Family Day, Go See Art in Brooklyn, Mollie Dash, Cora Dance, Anna Christie, Van Brunch Street, Buddy Scotto, Charles Hynes, Kathryn Sennis, Frank Seddio, Sunny and Ralph Balzano, Tyjuan Hill, Pier 11 shed, Peacemaking, Images of Red Hook, PS 15 Flea Market, Dance Theater Etc., Frank Tihocki, Manny Flaherty, Paper Swan, Gowanus BOA, Robbie Giordano, Red Hook Harvest Festival, Taste of Red Hook, Red Hook – A Rare Masterpiece, Hurricane Sandy, Red Hook renews its spirit with a Sunday Jam at Sunny’s, Damage at Red Hook Houses is unprecedented, Jan Bell, Red Hook Slim, Billy Durney, Fairway, Mark’s Pia, Jason Horvath, Nancy Carbone, Pioneer Supermarket, Seersucker, Restore Red Hook, Cecil House, John Burkhard, Cecelia Cacace, Elizabeth Demetriou, Leroy Branch, Dorothy Savitch, Star Theater.

2013

Frances Medina, Gowanus Dolphin, Phaedra Thomas, John Muir, GBX, Brian Honan, Wally Bazemore, GrowNYC, Nydia inauguration, Tufaro Transit, East River Ferry, Bushwick Gospel Singers, Tyquan Carter, Nancy Manter, Long Island College Hospital, John Battis, NYS Nurses Association, East River Blueway, Katie Dean, Court Street Grocers, PJ Hanley’s, Maribel Agosto, Pete Waldman, Shadow, 600 Highwayman, Project Hope, Christine Quinn speaks at the Red Hook Civic Association, Brooklyn Collective, The Vultures after LICH, Moby Dick Rehearsed, SUNY Destroys LICH Residency Program, Bea Byrd, Superfund Primer, Lich is not a priority in SUNY’s Sustainability Plan, Red Hook Fest, Red Hook Prom, Falconworks, Mothers Against Gangs, 100

Works on Paper, Elizabeth Ehrhardt, Prom Queen, John Barnhart, FEMA’s new flood maps, Needless angst over the future of the Miccio Center, Marilyn Gelber celebrated new PS 15 library, Douglas J. Sarno, Natalie Loney, Daniel Wiley, Gowanus CAG, more hours for the library, Carmelo Anthony dedicates new court, CitiBike shortage in South Brooklyn, Martha Bowers, Carroll Gardens dog run, Bob Diamond, Red Hook Urban Farm celebrates six years, Ian Marvy, Lillie Marshall, Red Hook East and West hold joint meeting at the Miccio Center, Lions Club celebrate 20 years, Michelle Williams, Greenway Initiative Gala, Happy Hookers celebrate 100 years, Bill de Blasio, Roy Sloane, Jeff Strabone, Jill Furillo, Judge Demarest, Dean Kesete Thompkins, Karen Broughton, Columbia Waterfront Fall Festival, Fourth Avenue redesign, Tragedy at Centre Mall, Carl McCall, Caflos Menchaca, Night Out Against Crime, Fairway hosts a Fireman’s Cookoff, Posh Tomato, Kempton Bags, Park Bagels, Brooklyn Crab, Hometown, Dry Dock, Bota Di Vino, No Sludge in Red Hook, Carlos gets a little help from his friends, Letters to the EPA, NY Rising Community reconstruction, Captain Schiff bids adieu, Lesley Ware, Banksy, Atelier Roquette, Dance on the Greenway, Down home Hometown opens their doors, Sandy Anniversary, Sweet Lorraine Gallery, Champions of Change award to Portside, Red Hook Tool Library in Coffey Park, Mark’s Pizza, Jim Totten, carpenter, Felix Ortiz, Skip Williams – hospital hitman, Elite private school to be built near Red Hook Houses, Gowanus Superfund Record of Decision, Anthony Johnson, Lindsey Donnellon, Extreme Kids and Crew, Bernetha Curry,

Digital Stewards, Remembering Sal Meglio, Surprise Red Hook parade, Alex House, Samora Coles, flood insurance, Pioneer Works, Bridging Gowanus, FROGG, Red Hook Holiday windows, La Bottega, Jenny Belin,

2014

NY Rising, Justin Lenz, BASIS School strictly business, bring fun and commerce to the Revere Sugar Factory land, Rebekah Windmiller, Cora Dance’s Red Hook Lilve, Tera Peterson of Lunacy Design, Jackie Donovan, Susan Saunders of NY Printing, Red Hook meets BASIC at Civic Association meeting, Lee Wellington, City Planning presents transportation study at Miccio, Craig LaCourt exhibit at Hometown,

Columbia Street Merchant Association, LICH controversy continues, PS 676 presents Cinderella, Drill and Play at Miccio, Pathmark, She-Weld, Red Hook Winery, Camila’s Café, jherelle Benn, 76th Precinct Community Council says all is well, Red Hook Trolleys donated to museum, Red Hook Hub, Jessica Colon wins Community Spirit Award, Kilimanjaro Initiative, Phaedra Thomas tells Red Hook West that BASIS threatens local jobs, Judge Carolyn Demarest says she made a mistake letting the state take over LICH, Jay McKnight, Red Hook Superstar, Sheryl Braxton, Eric Adams, Menchaca leads NYCHA meeting at PS 15, Red Hook Volunteers, Jovan Burch, Jim Vogel, Khadijah James, Calling for a stronger Civic Association, Reader contribution from Felicitas Oefelein, Olivia Hockenberry, Real time bus tracker to Red Hook, Red Hook Coalition holds public meeting, Carlos Vogel to create Red Hook theater group, Columbia Street Jiu-Jitsu, Lydia Bellahcene, Shery Nash-Chisholm, Jean Austin, Brooklyn Bridge Realty, Independent Neighborhood Democrats, Dr Richard Becker, CEO of Brooklyn Hospital, comes to 360 Van Brunt Street, Up for Anything performed at Jalopy with Barry Meara, Ben Schneider, Jen Storch, Geoff Wiley, William Robertson, Reg Flowers and Maddie Bouchard, Robert Berrios, Bus Superstar, Celebrating Red Hook, Sandy kills Coffey Park sycamores, Renovation to close Coffey Park for a year, twins for Jalopy owners, Hot Wood Arts, Avlee Greek Kitchen – worthy successor to Joe’s Superette, Coastal Prtection update, Lime shortage affects Steve, portrait of Dustin Yellin, Coffey Park fenced off, Shore Power a year away, Danielle Johnson, Buddy Scotto honored by Independent Neighborhood Democrats, curtain closes on Long Island College Hospital, Red Hook 2024 (a review of Estate 4 promo magazine), Daniel Cruz loses life due in part to late ambulance arrival, Scott Stringer listens to Red Hook complaints, including mold and money shortages. First Marc Jackson cartoon!, Menchaca addresses Precinct Council meeting, we interview Francis D’Angelo, places to view 4th of July fireworks, End of an era – Goltens closes, Ivo Sisic, Dan Zarrilli, Take Back Gowanus challenges Brand Lander’s Shared values, Red Hook Coaliltion finalizes long term community recover plan – blueprint for future disaster coping, Sister Viriginia Ingram honored at New Brown Baptist Church for her own

centennial, Tish James on NYCHA downsizing, The Star-Revue speaks to Pete Morales, Mother Cabrini Park receives belated blessing, Battle for Red Hook Library, Spaceworks, the story behind the Clement Garage, Shannon Hummel, Asbestos safety in Public Housing construction, Editorial: For a better library, not a smaller one, Racquetball at Red Hook Park, Shola Olatoye tours Red Hook Houses, RHI jumps on the disaster preparedness bandwagon, Red Hook Farm on the way to recovery, Red Hook Oldtimers Day, Eric Adams comes to box at the Miccio Center, Red Hook Coalition winds down with $479,344 in the bank, Port Authority under fire in Red Hook, Jo Anne Simon, Doug Biviano and Pete Sikora debate in race to replace Joan Millman, Ready Red Hook, Music on Pier 9, PS 15 now a magnet school, Parks apologizes for hasty fencing at Valentino Pier, Pig Island Festival, John McGettrick writes an article for us about Valentino Pier Park, South Brooklyn HS subject of documentary, City balks at Gowanus retention tank idea, Port Authority cancels music fest, BGI holds half-marathon, Buddy Scotto celebrates birthday at the Carroll Gardens Association, Triangle smell, Parks wants to put giant bathroom at Valentino Pier, community objects, Tribe Bicycle opens on Van Brunt, Raaka comes to Red Hook, Remembering Tony Sterling, Intercourse magazine, Felix Ortiz supports new 25 mph speed limit, another Barnacle Parade, Vinnie Marrone promoted to Detective, Red Hook Community Thanksgiving Dinner, Gertrude Dorf, Margaret Roper, Mark’s Pizza debuts new signage, Shared Brooklyn opens, Local Leaders hold Christmas vigil at the Flagpole, StarRevue supports the founding of a new Friends Group for the Red Hook Library, Another year before new Senior Center opens, new Menchaca outreach person, Julian Morales, speaks to Red Hook West Tenant meeting, Lillie announces furry toys from IKEA will be given away for the holidays. Khary Bekka ends the year with an essay on Psychological Seduction. 2015

Containerport in jeopardy?

Menchaca stands up to EDC, Shared, Friends of the Red Hook Library, garbage problem at 135 Richards, Red Hook gentrification, Joan Millman retires, Coffey Park still closed, Red Hook Transportation Study released, Estate 4, Civic Association meeting small but spirited, Steve

Kondaks, Readers respond to Estate 4, Stronger Together, Brooklyn State Company at Sunny’s, Mark Shames, Captain Lenz transferred, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Superfund on schedule, Airbnb in Red Hook, Pile Driving a concern, Andrea McKnight retires from Community Board, Frances D’Angelo passes, Remembering John Burkard, PS 15 exhibit at Hope and Anchor, Dell Cherry scandal, Star-Revue wins newspaper awards, PB voting, Ballfields to close again for lead remediation, Menchaca writes a message to our readers, Red Hook History column debuts, ReStore Red Hook to repurpose itself, Scott Stringer cites dysfunction in Build It Back program, Senior Center still not ready. Karen Blondel walks out of library meeting, also attended by Reg Flowers, Carlos Menchaca, Leroy Branch and Naila Rosario. Earth Day brings generations together at the NYCHA farm, including Judge Calabrese and his father. Summit Academy holds successful banquet. When graft was honest – the story of Coffey Park. Kimberly Price writes about the Lehigh Valley Barge. Falconworks presents spring performances at PS 15. Eric Fallen opens gallery on Van Brunt. Union band with George Fiala on drums plays at Hometown. Dog Day Cyclery opens their doors for the first time. Cobble Hill to change forever as skyscrapers replace LICH. Dance Theatre Etcetera presents 22nd Annual Red Hook Fest. Buddy Scotto honored at Memorial Day Breakfast by Marty Golden. Big Idea Week comes to PS 15. PS 15 raises $9,000 at gala. Pete Morales and Sandy Serrano meet with Carlos Menchaca on status of Senior Center. Julian Morales speaks at Red Hook West Tenant Association meeting. Friends of Red Hook Library holds Lego drive. Cora holds another prom. Mark Shames on politics and zoning. Scarface and Lemon Anderson to highlight Sum-

Street. Civil War photographs on exhibit at Jalopy. Addabo names new CEO. Red Hook History: When the Pointers and the Creekers divided Red Hook. More problems for Red Hook parks (first story by Nathan Weiser, still with the Star-Revue). Red Hook Walks, a street fair on Van Brunt. Red Hook Ballfields a Leaden Mess, StarRevue presents Celebrating Red Hook at IKEA, Sue Ascolese honored at Hope and Anchor, Ray Hall hosts theater at Calvary Church, Molese club looks to the future, The Great Atlantic Basin Mystery (what does EDC have against it), Menchaca casts doubt on nursing home proposal, Menchaca looks to get us a better deal than a $2 million bathroom, Pictures from Family Day, My mom – Dorothy Savarese, A brief history of 360 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook gets its very own Record Store, John McGill Banned, Van Brunt Street Fair brings a truck free afternoon, Alexandros Washburn, Red Hook’s resilience expert, Interview with Beverly Cobin, Red Hook shows up at Borough Hall to give EDC some ferry suggestions, Carlo Vogel and Ben Schneider interview themselves, Will Pathmark survive? Lack of trust at the Gowanus CAG, Laura Eng’s Religious News, Barnacle Parade photos, Michelle Tampakis turns lemon into lemonade, Pizza Moto opens on Hamilton Avenue, Menchaca adds dinner and bingo to Participatory Budgeting at RHI, In Loving Memory of Vince Musacchia, honoring Joan Millman at the Court Street Senior Center, Keeping Carroll Gardens tradition alive at the Mola Club, Gowanus Activist Joseph Alexiou publishes a history of the canal., The Red Hook Glass Bottom Dramatical Players present new play, Ling Gee employee killed by falling tree in Coffey Park, checking out 99 Cent Dreams on Lorraine Street, Red Hook ballfields won’t be finished until 2020, Parks tells us, Remembering Bette Stoltz, by Brad Lander, Made in Brooklyn holiday gifting,

2016

merStage in Coffey Park. Will a nine story nursing home become Pioneer Works new neighbor? Deam Moon appears at Pioneer Works. Forest City Ratner sends forced volunteers to RHI and the Miccio Center. Local churches vandalized. Op Ed by George Fiala: “Our political leaders continue to insist on the importance of a working waterfront – but in fact they do little to support one.”, After 14 months being closed, Coffey Park work finally gets done. Justice Center’s Restitution Crew upgrades the neighborhood. Edward’s Lunch spices up Lorraine

Miniature Golf coming to Red Hook, A conversation with Felix Ortiz, IKEA advertises 99 cent breakfast, $5.99 Meatball Plate, $4.99 Energy Salad, Petition to rename street for Daniel J. DeFonte, Karen Gopee becomes Criminal Court judge, Theatre Uzume, Empowerment Through Basketball – Rebound program, Library to be renovated using community ideas., Red Hook Summit promotes unified resiliency, Miccio Center discussion on flood resiliency, RHAP shares ideas about love, Summit Academy collects clean water for Flint, Michigan, Coltrane tribute at Pioneer Works, Sunny Balzano’s Beautiful Life, Federal Money will modernize and beautify Red Hook Houses, Strong Place for Hope threatened with eviction, BASIS school celebrates their 100th day of

2010 The Red Hook Star-Revue 2023

classes, Harriet Zucker is Red Hook canine savior, Best NYCHA meeting ever!, The Death Traps of Red Hook, Rocky Sullivan’s is Red Hook’s authentic Irish Bar, Why is NYC delaying Gowanus cleanup, Op-Ed by Carlos Menchaca: The Importance of Participation, Mark Shames: Why I support Hillary, Tim Sultan reads from Sunny’s Nights at Book Court, Osvaldo Miguel, a Red Hook Hero, $100 Missing from Flood Protection funding, Judge Judith Kaye’s legacy in Red Hook, Permanent Exclusion can led to an innocent person’s eviction at the Red Hook Houses, Janet Andrews celebrated at Justice Center, Bush Terminal Park has permanent Street Soccer court, Sunny Balzano passes suddenly, Adult Dance Classes return to Cora, Ferry location still up in the air, Red Hook gets a comic book hero courtesy of Dean Haspiel, Proposed agreement places Gowanus retention tank on private property, Both Red Hook and Lower Manhattan planning for Integrated Flood Protection, IKEA remodels café, Michael Racioppo is against plastic bags, Star-Revue winner of four statewide awards, Menchaca takes on heavy hitting developer and wins, City looking to evict Gowanus’ Eastern Effects studio for retention tank work, Senior Center to open by the end of the summer, Strong Place daycare saved, Red Hook Library fashion show fundraiser a success, Bay Street softball fields closed through 2018, Big Dawg Party Rental, Red Hook Fest goes global, Mermaids on display in Boerum Hill, Red Hook’s new Tenant Union led by Ben Fuller-Googins, NYCHA’s mold problem, Red Hook pool open, Collaboration is the word at Supersmith, Mayor of Molesi visits Sacred Hearts/St. Stephens, Death ends life on the mend, a story about the death of Jaheim Smallwood, shot at 75 Bush Street, first story by reporter Noah Phillips, New Ferry to dock at Atlantic Basin, Shore Power is operational, NYU Langone installs da Vinci robotic surgeon at NYU Lutheran Hospital, Bridging Gowanus returns, Living through the gentrification of Carroll Gardens, by Mary Ann Pietanza, Ragas at Pioneer Works, Red Hook’s Joshua Palacios drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, Ray Hall holds fish fry to raise money for Old Timer’s Day, Alex Washburn, Red Hook’s professor at large, CitiBike invades Red Hook, Michael Little, surfer, tends bar at Pioneer Works’ garden, Bridging Gowanus – an Opposing View, by Rita Miller, Triada Samaras and Lucy DeCarlo, Brooklyn Americana comes to Brooklyn, Addabbo’s new WIC program, Deirdre Swords, a special talent who created a Red Hook Institution, Shore Power operational, but not in use, Celebrating Red Hook Special Section, Miracle on Mill Street –FEMA upgrades will modernize and upgrade NYCHA living, Brooklyn Bridge Rotary club to honor Buddy Scotto, Mystery Junk in the Gowanus (Emily Kluver’s first story for the StarRevue, Superfund Cleanup moves into next phase, NY Times article lets

Red Hook know about plans for Formula E racing in Red Hook, Opening of Senior Center delayed to December, Amy Helfand designs rugs made in Nepal, Rocky Sullivan’s to move to old Lillie’s bar, Civic Association holds big September meeting, which included State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, The Fish Gods of Erie Basin – reporter Noah Phillips goes night fishing with Robbie Giordany, Tony Sterling case still unresolved, Summit Academy teams with IKEA on new career center, Community updated by Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency at PS 15 meeting, Morning Music with James McBride, Chuck Cleveland, Georgia Caterer, Turkey Expert Bryan Mayer of Fleishers, Open House at DE-CONSTRUKT, Good Fork publishers cookbook, Dedication of Sponge Park, Diabetes Support Group formed in Red Hook, PSA1 Community Cops to become Peacemakers, Mother Cabrini, a Saint who walked among us, Celebrity Wedding at Visitation Church: Demonic of Dramatic?, Chris Ward’s plan for Red Hook, Thor Equities debut’s plan for sugar refinery site, What will Trump mean for Red Hook, Serve to get communities of color over the hump, by Khary Bekka, Red Hook Christmas is special, Who was Sol Goodman, anyway – the story of Red Hook’s Rec Center. Floor damage puts Senior Center work in limbo,

2017

Red Hook Entrepreneur Jeremy McCool aims to transform electric car industry, Gas service out for Christmas at 130 local NYCHA apartments, Andrea McKnight challenges Lillie Marshall for Red Hook West TA Prez, Locals to MTA – Bring back the B71!, Brendan J. Dugan obituary, Red Hook Houses receives kitchen appliances via Felix Ortiz, Local land-use expert holds open office hours, Carroll Gardens Library gets homegrown mural, Purbird opens up on Henry Street, Hugs in a time of Trump – people get together at Sunny’s to cope, Sonia Sotomayor charms at St. Francis College, Christmas joy at the Rec and Miccio Centers, Santander Bank discovers Red Hook, Lillie Marshall wins 63-36, Love Red Hook Style, Nydia Velazquez joins women at huge Washington protest, Young PAVE gym teacher dies suddenly, Ray Hall flies a drone, Nino Pantano has been around forever, Risha Gorig and Franz Landspersky perform at Bait

and Tackle, Dabriah Alston manages increased Red Hook WIFI access, Confrontation at Visitation Church, Local Clergy respond to immigration ban, Nydia in forefront to save healthcare, Special PI Day section, Chris Ward pushes AECOM proposal, including Red Hook subway, at the Brooklyn Historical Society, City sends BQX promoter to Civic Association, leaves with a message that Red Hookers are not interested, Summit seniors receive full college scholarships after appearing on the Ellen Degeneres program, Mardi Gras fundraiser at the Red Hook Library, Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Club to take part in End Hunger outreach, Mingo Tull, the Music Man of Red Hook, Carroll Gardens Association lobbies in Albany, Red Hook Container Terminal faces uncertain future, Trash Talk at She-Weld, Pablo Sierra teaches tennis, Good Friday tradition continues in Carroll Gardens, Rocky’s is back! Atlantic Basin Ferry to start June 1, NYPD rolls out NCO program, Many Artistic Endeavors of Beriah Wall, Red Hook Cranes could be history, Locals wary of plans for new bar on Beard Street, Estate Four unloads most of their Red Hook properties, Star-Revue captures prestigious ‘Ippies” award at CUNY, Protest at Red Hook Ballfields, the Felix Awards, Humberto Lopes donates to PS 676, Red Hook Flea envisioned, Balloon Pete, the Glass Man, Supersmith launches summer education program, Walt Whitman at Barge Museum, Summer job roundup, Cora Prom crown Menchaca, Derby watchers crowd Sunny’s, Red Hook Walks returns, The Hook to be invaded by thousands of racing fans, Large Snakes found dead at Valentino Pier, Red Hook Labs announces summer shows, Ballfields to be closed longer than thought, but they will be pretty when done, Where to see the Fourth of July fireworks, Headless Torso found near Waterfront Museum, Steve’s Key Lime pies will be sold at Brooklyn’s new Dekalb mall, Neighborhood Portrait: Samora Coles, Jim Tampakis has a plan to maximize Red Hook’s waterways and reduce truck traffic, Thor Equities vacant Richard Street property keeps neighborhood in suspense, Red Hook getting $100 million for flood protection starting this summer, Francesca Van Horne entrances Jalopy crowd, Pioneer Works garden offers a haven

in the heat, Regina Opera performs at Carroll Gardens Library, Baked founder moves on, Glass Castle author’s time as a local community journalist, Defontes – a religious experience outside of church, In memory of George Kornienko, Summer travel to Philosophy Park, Neighborhood Portrait: Marlene Pantin, Vander Carter, also known as Chef V., prepares for a street food revolution, NCO Cops meet with community at Miccio, Verona Street has an indoor batting cage, Bridging the Gap feted at Borough Hall, Second Sundays – one of many programs at Pioneer Works, Menchaca faces five challengers in Democratic primary, Announcing Celebrating Red Hook 2017, Old Timer’s Day planned for Red Hook VFW, Obituary for Eugene “Mohammad” Mack, New park planned for Carroll Gardens, Mission Martial Arts comes to Van Brunt St, Neighborhood Portrait: Dan Al-Mateen, Jan Bell grows a music festival, Michael Pesce keeps an Italian tradition alive, NYCHA construction begins five years after Sandy, Red Hook’s Ortiz sisters pray for their Caribbean relatives, Jo Anne Simon meets her constituents for coffee, 76th Precinct’s Paul Grudzinski retires, Skateboard park planned for Harold Ickes Park, Looking back at Sandy, interviews with Trevor Budd, John Gorden

Gauld, St. John Frizell, Charles Flickinger, Bea Byrd, Gabriel Florenz, Martha Bowers; Red Hook Walks returns, Brooklyn Clay Tour, Neighborhood Portrait: John Heyer II, Jonothan

Munez receives prestigious scholarship, Kustera Projects presents The Callas, Senior Center to Open Really Soon, Mexican artist Bosco Sodi who makes Red Hook his home, Red Hook remembers Suzanne Amendola, Religious News – Interviewing Leroy Branch, UPS signs deal to move to Red Hook, replacing Snapple, Gospel Tabernacle helps feed the neighborhood, Red Hook’s Cruise Terminal will be upgraded and more ships will be coming in, Local beverage moguls talk business with Eric Adams and Alicia Glen, Giant chess board a hit at Red Hook Walks, Pozallo Club celebrates special mass at Sacred Hearts, Digital Stewards showcase local talent, Neighborhood Profile: Lou Sones, Red Hook Open Studios set for November, Reporter Halley Bondy writes about motherhood, Almost a year of Trump and we’re still OK! Broadcaster John Hockenberry entangled in harassment story, Hannah Senesh School honors WW2 namesake, FEMA money helps Red Hookers to gain struction skills, Dance performance follows community Thanksgiving, Velazquez holds Town Hall to discuss Superfund, Menchaca on NYCHA’s lead problem, Thinking Foxy & Winston for gifts, Nobletree Coffee opens in Red Hook, Harbor Middle School envisioned for Red Hook, Neighborhood Profile: Chicko, Eric Adams imports Red Hook youth to promote BQX trolley folly;

2010 The Red Hook Star-Revue 2023

2018

After Destroying LICH, Andrew Cuomo sets his sights on Red Hook, Senior Center finally opens – Miccio gets its basement back!, Growing up on Columbia Street, by Tina Portelli, Justice Center teams with Red Hook Labs to create new film makers, Good Shepherd is all around us, Diana Reyna leaves Borough Hall, Menchaca holds second inauguration, Christmas at the Rec Center, Celebrating the new Senior Center!, AECOM and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce want to tell us how to live, Nancy Carbone leads Red Hook Non-Profit, NYCHA rebuilding to be done by 2021, Civic Association takes on major topics including buses, recognizing local heroes, PS 15 benefit, warehouse developments, the Sugar Factory, AECOM, Flood Protection, Barking dogs are annoying neighbors in Beard Street lot, Rocky Sullivan’s hosts Justice Center fundraiser, Local leaders discuss climate change, IKEA’s Valentine’s Day ideas, Nydia Velazquez promotes Americorps program, under threat from Trump, Nan Goldin show at Pioneer Works, Still time to catch Iceberg show at Kentler, Panzerotti Bites a new addition to Smith Street, Wet Whistle Wines – a seamless transition, Leaving piles of Sitt in Red Hook, Bait and Tackle closes after 13 years on Van Brunt, Hope and Anchor ends a 15 year run on Van Brunt. Star-Revue holds pizza party, Local Leaders want to restore and reclaim Red Hook, Red Hook to lose parking spaces, Red Hook seniors happy with new location, Honoring Sue Amendola at the Civic Association, Artists responding to AIDS subject of new BWAC show, Red Hook Art Project looking for volunteers, Rita brings new life to Van Brunt, Francesca Van Horne returns to Jalopy, Black History celebration at Senior Center, Making Red Hook Better – “Why not create a Government Improvement District (GID) and allow a slight tax assessment to fund a paid Red Hook Supervisor, as well as a small office.” Mayor’s Action Plan presents confusing agenda at the library, PS 15 fundraiser fills Pioneer Works, Introducing the Healthy Geezer, Folk Music is music of the people, by Matt Caprioli, Red Hook Labs features international photo exhibit, Target Margin Theater moves to Sunset Park, Tiny Star-Revue tops larger Brooklyn papers in statewide newspaper contest as Sarah Matusek and Emily Kluver win most of the writing awards, Menchaca hosts Thor Equity honchos at the Rec Center (note – this is the only time we’ve ever used the word honchos in a headline), Redemption Church launches in Red Hook, Nothing but excuses from Parks, no solutions from politicians as ballfields remain closed for yet another year, Summit’s Analeza Edore wins school’s first athletic scholarship, Foxy and Winston leaves Red Hook, Neighborhood in transition as Hope and Anchor’s letters removed and For Rent sign removed from the former Bait and Tackle, Sheryl Nash-Chisholm creates a local fashion

show at Red Hook Labs, Risha Gorig stars in the Puppet Dance at Jalopy, Red Hook Fest celebrates 25th year, Star-Revue reviews Visitation Street, by Ivy Pochoda, RHI wins money in Innovation contest, Joe Sitt gives the finger to Red Hook, Menchaca gives it back, Star-Revue suggests Nydia Velazquez for the next mayor, Spotlight on Red Hook Atelier, New Book highlights criminal justice reforms at the Justice Center, Port History at PortSide, Ample Hills Red Hook Factory near completion, Outdoor Mass at Cabrini Park, RHI to release yearlong study on violence, Movie with scenes shot at Bene’s Record Shop hits home, first article by then-intern and now reporter Brian Abate, Neighborhood Portrait: Francesca Van Horne, Tesla a topic at Community Council meeting, Abby Hollander band at Jalopy, Nets fail to show up as planned at Miccio Center, Robbie Giordano recalls a Sunny Balzano story; Park Slope Author delivers inspiring new memoir, Glynne Hiller’s Passport to Paris, Plenty of neighborhood passes to the eVillage, William Robertson and his Open Microphone at Bene’s Record Shop, Some progress in ballfield reconstruction, Residents gather to give input at North Gowanus Visioning public meeting – first Star-Revue story by current contributor Erin DeGregorio, Ferry Tripping to Bay Ridge and Sunset Park and the Rockaways, and finally to Atlantic Avenue, Star-Revue talks to neighborhood delis, George Bromfield is a loyal Fairwayite, Ample Hills opens on Van Brunt, Ulli Gruber’s windows at Sunny’s, Art Tours with the Gowanus Dredgers, Real Estate interests despoil Erie Basin fishing, by Robbie Giordano, Invasion of the Rolling Dutchmen, Atlantic Avenue Preview, PS 676 on the way up with Priscilla Figueroa, Taste of Red Hook benefits RHI, Gary’s Spirit, Robbie Giordano remembers his friend Gary Fisher, Build A Block meeting talks local policing with Offer Jovin and Officer Class, Parks Apart Show Opposite Sides of Red Hook, Brian Abate gives the lowdown on Coffey Park and Valentino Pier on a nice summer day, Repeat break-ins exasperate fearful NYCHA residents, Menchaca has BQX doubts,Fandangoe turns grief into art, Dan Zanes Night Train 57 comes to BAM, Sweet Selections from Red Hook

Winery, Shopping Atlantic Avenue, Fresh Food abounds in the hood, Thrive Collective hosts Red Hook tournament, Red Hook Mourns William Robertson, the first story written for the Star-Revue by Brett Yates, Governors Island Expansion ideas explained at CB6 meeting, When Will Red Hook Get Its Flood Protection, by Brett Yates, Sue Amendola Street Naming, Civic Association touches touchy topics, including illegal garbage dumping, giant warehouse woes, BQX proposal, Charter buses parked on Bay Street, BQE reconstruction, Mayor de Blasio comes to Court Street to celebrate Buddy Scotto’s 90th Birthday, other guests included Nydia Velazquez, Joan Millman, John McGettrick, and members of the Carroll Gardens Association, which he founded, Summit Academy and PS 676 dads take their child to school day, Potoprens at Pioneer Works, Home Audios Series Serves it up at DE-CONSRUKT, Dan Zanes shines at Brooklyn Americana Festival, Wayne Kramer’s new memoir, Brooklyn Comedy Festival, Interview with Brooklyn Jazz Festival organizer Mike Golub, Hanks Saloon closing soon, Shared Brooklyn Coworking now open, Musicians in the Hook – Jamie Branch interviews Dave Hassell, Matty McDermott, Godzilla vs Sandy – Celebrating another Barnacle Parade, BASIS talks trucks, CB 6 shoots down Hamilton Avenue developer, After three decades, Tony from Red Hook Coffee Shop is hanging it up, by Noah Phillips, In case you were wondering what those bumpy things are that have suddenly appeared on just about every corner of the city…. By Erin DeGregorio, Gowanus CSO Facility Updates, October 2018 edition, Gowanus CAG feels neglected, Morton Lichter at Court Tree Collective, Interview with photographer Andrew White, Alsarah and the Nubatones at Bam, by Stefan Zeniuk, Bar Chord resounds with positive vibrations, by Mike Cobb, Briana Murphy reviews Mary-Elaine Jenkins’ debut album, Dekunle Somade speaks with Comedic Director John Hammond, Theater of the Liberated visits Red Hook, Red Hook Handball Courts are here to stay, This could be the year for Summit basketball, by Nathan Weiser, Red Hook Initiative by Brett Yates (the longest story we every ran, although this one is running close),

Community Leaders convene at Library summit, BASIS parent ranks on Red Hook at 76th Precinct Community meeting – Karen Broughton responds by saying she walked to the meeting through Red Hook in the dark with no problems, NYC DEP drops bombshell at Superfund meeting – wants to build a tunnel to hold excess sewage instead of two tanks, Trucking the topic at Civic Association, by George Fiala, Michelin Star born in Gowanus – Brett Yates reviews the restaurant Claro, Try Rae’s First to close, Red Hook expands art scene with Open Studios, by Carly Quellman, Lizzie and the Makers tour around the city to promote their latest EP, Meanwhile, Jay Tanner at the Jalopy Theater,

2019

City places homeless shelter in Red Hook, Reti Center proposes floating industrial center at GBX, Dutch delegation visits Community Justice Center, Enhanced crosswalks are coming to Columbia Street, NYU Langone Health Survey declares Red Hook an under-resourced and medically underserved community, Menchaca makes front page of the Daily News (by staff firings right before Christmas), Why I hate Newspaper columns, column by Brett Yates, Teaching Feminism at Yeshiva, What to check out at Pioneer Books, Carly Quellman on Michelle Obama’s memoir, Donald O’Finn, Artist rebel proprietor of Freddy’s Bar, by Mike Cobb (we still gets lots of hits on the online version of this article), New Brown Church gives music scholarships, Graphic Designer Samantha Dion Baker discusses her “Draw Your Day” book, by Erin DeGregorio, Swapping Pen and Paper for a pair of Kickboxing Gloves at a class, by Erin DeGregorio, Getting to the Point of Acupuncture, Jen Nelson on red Hook Pilates, Summit boy basketballers continue their winning ways, Exclusive Interview with Folksinger Greg Brown, by Mike Cobb, The Inside Story Behind the Rise of the Fortis Towers, by Brett Yates, DEP’s CSO Proposal explained to the Gowanus CAG, PS 15’s partnership with Cafeteria Culture, PS 15 still seeking buses for field trips, Actor Gary Sinise launches book at Friends of Firefighters, Gowanus by Design discusses rezoning framework before Big Meeting, Red Hook Streetscape embodies Paranoia in Local Short Film, Skin Deep by Kelsey LiebensonMorse, Say hello to the 2019 Pioneer Works Residents, Author Rachel Cline’s new book looks at MeToo –years before the movement started, by Matt Caprioli, The CopperPot advertises for Valentine’s Day Dinner, Lucreci Dalt at the Issue Project Room, The Chills to play the Bell House, Prospect Heights Bar the Way Station offers a social cure for Dr. Who fans, Bret Yates: Just Say No to NYCHA Privatization, My Ticketmaster Nightmare, by George Fiala, Space, by Kelsey Liebenson-Morse, Red Hook Neighborhood School hosts Commu-

2010 The Red Hook Star-Revue 2023

nity Game Night, Erin goes on a tour at Li-Lac Chocolates, Getting to know Furniture Artist Joseph Cauvel and CAUV Design, Uhuru Design’s Red Hook Roots, Q & A with Red Hook’s Allison Reeves, Red Hook’s New Buildings, A Critical Review, Latest Gowanus zoning plan revealed – City Planning presents a Disney-like vision of Gowanus, Gowanus Landmarking Coalitiong launches website, Trucks worry Civic Association, Cool People are cool at DE-CONSTRUKT, by Brett Yates, Ballfields remain dormant, NYCHA announces Maximum Income Policy and Section 18 Dispositions, by Brett Yates, Drama Ministry of Calvary Baptist Church Celebrates Black History, by Brett Yates, Pete Morales reflects on 70 years in Red Hook, Vegan Food is like Butter at Sans, by Brett Yates, Brooklyn Tattoo’s Adam Suerte, Women and Food, by Carly Quellman, Hank’s Saloon resurfaces at 345 Adams Street, Slavic Soul Party, a Park Slope Institution, My Two Wild Days in Zoning Class, by George Fiala “Luckily, our Councilman Menchaca, who, like Brad Lander, believes in affordable housing, understands the need for a balance between change and tradition. Jam’it adds Caribbean spice to the hood, Khary Bekka speaks at South Brooklyn High School, the new Red Hook buildings, a photo essay by Micah Rubin, Summit Academy in Jeopardy, Parks Department claims ballfields will open in 2021, Gowanus Dredgers have Canal Vision, Gowanus CAG frustrated as rezoning plans move forward, Urban Recover, Red Hook’s Quiet New Neighbor, BQX Courts Small Business Owners, Bekka teaches workshop, Gowanus Landmarkks Group rallies against destruction, Felix Ortiz introduces Green New Deal legislation, On the (Queer) Waterfron, by Elzia Grace Martin, The Brooklyn Folk Festival, In Conversation with Travis Good of The Sadies, Review of Girls on Grass’ album Dirty Power, Incoming Karaoke Nightclub raises concerns, Veronica Chambers to speak at PS 15 Library, Senior Citizens vamp at Fashion Show, Gaelic League Branch Marches for Irish Language Rights outside of Rocky Sullivan’s, BumbleBeesRus celebrates 7th Anniversary, Meet the Miccio’s New Director, Roland Knight, The Monster that Surrounds You: Tyjuan Hill, Ronald Williams and the 76th Precinct, by Brett Yates, CB6 Gives approval to DeFonte’s Street naming, Gowanus Neighbors give City Planning a piece of their mind, BASIS School is sold to hedge fund, Fort Defiance kicks off Tenth Year with new Duke Riley mural, South Brooklyn HS partners with Pioneer Works, Project Based Learning grows at PS 676, Corner of Carroll and Court named after PS 58 Principal Giselle McGee, Target Margin Theater’s Marjana and the Forty Thieves is charming, but disjointed, Orphan Guitars, by Michael Cobb, Risha Gorig’s new film – I am – I am Robot, Interview with Girls on Grass, Participatory Budgeting is kind of boring, by

Brett Yates, Trump inspires Katy Park Price, Rachel Williams, STEM pioneer, Red Hook Star-Revue wins three statewide awards, Trump and China, Straight out of Brooklyn, Hook Arts Media screens student films, Red Hook buildings that should be landmarked, Nydia Velazquez hosts another Superfund Town Hall, Red Hook Lobster Pound celebrates Ten Year Anniversary, Langone opens a food pantry, Brad Vogel leads tour of Gowanus landmarks at-risk, The Last Days of the Swift Folder, by Brett Yates, Cycling in the City, a history at the Museum of the City of NY, Bushwick to Red Hook by bike, Billion Oyster Project, Get Rid of Specialized high schools, by Brett Yates, Business Association for Red Hook planned, About My Cat, Yugoslavia, a novel by Pajtim Statovci, BWAC Summer

Season, Regina Opera presents Il Trovatore, Sally Saul at Pioneer Works, Mark Jupiter Gallery launches inaugural show, M. Shanghai plays Jalopy, Jaimie’s Music World, Lizzie and the Makers at Coney Island Baby, The Original Dogg – Swamp Dogg, Red Hook Roxx, 20 years of Cowboy Technical Services, Jack Grace on NY

Musicians in Peekskill, Brian Dwan at Barbes, Diply, Lil Nax X and Billy Ray

Cyrus, by Roderick Thomas, Rhythm Section

Sundays at Bembe, Is Yimby the new limousine liberal?, Summer of Revel, Beer at Svendale, Don’t Buy Brad Lander’s Yimby Junk, by Brett Yates, Human Scale NY rallies against rezonings, The future of industry in the new Gowanus, What the Gowanus Canal streetscape might look like, Red Hook Container Terminal gets busier, Formula E returns to Red Hook, Star-Revue Focus on Sandwich, Bed-Stuy priest a candidate for Sainthood, BASIS celebrates their first graduation, Broadway Cast Members perform in Brooklyn, Kayaking in Red Hook, Alice’s Tea Cup Café, Breakneck Ridge tried to warn you, Throwing stones with Philip Johnson, Top Tips from Jack Grace, Roots Café, dedicated to music and community, A talk with DJ Valentin Lamar, The Gig Economy is Burning Out the Music Industry, A View from the Bridge, at the Waterfront Museum, Pioneer Works Community Lunch is the best deal in town, by Brett Yates, David Sharps on 25 years of the Waterfront Museum, Art Under the Manhattan

Bridge Overpass. Imagine There’s No Beatles, Art Shamsky, After the Miracle, Brett Yates on Micromobility for All, UPS plans giant hub in Red Hook, Who Killed Good Cause Eviction, Some Facts about the Beard Street Flooding, The Left Forum, 2019, Viewpoint by Roderick Thomas: A little bit of Trump can be found even in the melting pot, Krok delights the palate with delectable Thai cooking, by Brian Abate, Swimming laps at the Red Hook Pool, by Anne O’Neil, Capitalism, Schools and Grades, by Richard Wolff, 11 Education Alternatives in NYC, Reading help at the Red Hook Library, New York Teachers question Regents, by Brett Yates, Breaking down the proposed District 15 school rezonings, Jeffrey Lewis – Anti Folk Hero and Comic Artist, Talking to Guitarist Extraordinaire Scott Sharrard, by Michael Cobb, Hanks Saloon has left the building again, by Jack Grace, The Thames Delta is your old backyard, by Mike Morgan, New Music from Broooklyn’s Bathe, by Roderick Thomas, The

With four giant "last-mile warehouses" planned for our neighborhood, we need a HUGE infrastructure project - like the proposed bypass highway above, in order to keep trucks from overwhelming us. Somebody needs to get on this right away. That's what government is for.

Sultan Room, NY’s Newest Badass Music Venue, by Stefan Zeniuk, Prince Product Keeps Appearing, Kurt Gottschalk’s first contribution to the Star-Revue, Rip it up and start again: BAM’s exceptional showcase of 1980’s women filmmakers, Dante Ciampaglia’s first appearace in the Star-Revue, Midsommar Should be Better, by Caleb Drickey, The Vision Behind Red Hook’s Peninsula Gallery, by Piotr Pillardy, Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance presents a Sparkling Die Flermaus, by Nino Pantano, The Tiger’s Wife Author returns with a glorious tale of the American West, by Rachel Aherin, Presidential Jeopardy, by Joe Enrights – another first appearance of one of our current writers, Mama D’s Perfect Night Out is a

perfect night in, by Roderick Thomas, Brett Yates: Last Mile Distribution Needs New Rules, District 15 rezoning may overlook Red Hook Neighborhood School (PS 676), Felix Ortiz could face a real primary challenge next year, Video: A Dream Deferred spotlights frustration and hope in NYCHA, Medicare for All comes to Brooklyn, No big news from the Parks Department, Does the Landmarks Commission care about Industrial New York? By Brett Yates, Summit Academy to remain in Red Hook after all, by Nathan Weiser, Fall 2019 Community Theater Preview, Heights Players kick of their 64th season with Gypsy, The Gallery Players Love the Stage, Scott Pfaffman has seen a lot of things! Interview with John Buchanan, Jack Grace on the Americana Festival, The Root Cellar: John Pinamonti and Sunny’s Bar in Red Hook, by Mike Morgan, The New Afrofuturism of Oshun, by Roderick Thomas, Busking and Grinding in NYC by Jody Callahan, Fall Television Preview: Are TV reboots here to save us from a dystopian future? By Anna Ben Yehuda Rahmanan, Theater: Mac Wellman’s Wilderness of Thorns and Mirrors, by Brett Yates, Loro: An iconic portrayal of Silvio Berlusconi, by Dante A. Ciampaglia, Brett Yates questions the need for golf courses, Where the 2020 candidates stand on public housing, by Brett Yates, Menchaca’s Finest Hour didn’t go well, Brett Yates was at his Industry City presentation, Brett Yates journeys to Amazon facility, Red Hook’s homegrown climate strike,, Movie Review: Ad Astra, LGBTQ community wondering why it took so long to arrest a predator of black men, by Roderick Thomas, An attempt to organize Red Hook’s Do Gooders, by Nathan Weiser, Come for the nostalgia, stay for the steak, the Star-Revue goes to Delmonico’s, by Linda Stern, Faro is Bushwick, and Bushwick is Faro, by Brett Yates, The Supergroup Women of Country – the Highwomen, by Rebecca Castellani, Book Review – Cruel to be Kind, the life and music of Nick Lowe, by Kurt Gottschalk, In stereo: Andrew White interviews Don Dixon and Marti Jones, The Long Ryders, Pioneers of Alt Country, by Michael Cobb, Where are all the Protest Songs, by Jack Grace, Louis Prima Jr, and the Witnesses, by Mike Fiorito, NY’s Newest Tradition, the Barnacle Parade, Kings Plaza has Staying Power, Identity crisis: Why be Black when you can be Afro-Latino, by Roderick Thomas, New library coming to Red Hook, old one to be demolished, by Brett Yates, On Domestic Violence, a local view, by Khary Bekka, Joker V Parasite: The State of Class War at the Movies, by Dante A. Ciampaglia, Acme Smoked Fish’s humble beginnings and Fish Fridays, by Erin DeGregorio, Manhattan’s oldest Italian Restaurant is landmarked and looks it, Brett Yates on Barbetta, Sahadi’s Fourth generation keeps it growing. The Contradictions of a Soccer Star, Caleb Drickey on Maradona, Drinking on the Job, by Jack Grace, Ragas Live and Anthony

REMEMBERING THE RED HOOK VOLUNTEERS, PAGE 7

Red Hook Truck bypass

Braxton: Jazz at Pioneer Works and Columbia, George Grella’s first column for the Star-Revue, Survivor Story: Blake Sandberg’s Aliens Attempt Second Landing, by Kurt Gottschalk, Lil Kim returns with a Listenable LP, by Roderick Thomas, Brooklyn Bread rises, by Brian Abate, Educator condemns Halloween Arrests, What Happens to NYCHA’s hidden tenants under RAD, Robert Manning has a better idea for Industry City, Red Hook kids work to create a better bridge to Carroll Gardens, Dustin Yellin’s life is an adventure, interview by John Buchanan, Clinton Street stores moved to Columbia, How 2019 became the year of Mother Cabrini, A beautiful night celebrating Prince, Cold Metal for the Long Winter, by Kurt Gottschalk, Psychedelic Country Folk Pioneer’s Kacy and Clayton by Mike Cobb, Ras Kitchen, Ital Cookin, Reggae Music and Jamaican Culture, by Micheal Cobb, Jack Grace says to buy a record, better for artists than streaming,.

Brett Yates says “Let’s start over on Gowanus Green, 76th Precinct honors cops for fatal shooting in Gowanus Houses, Appeal rejected in Tyjuan Hill case, Red Hook Flood Protection System delayed, by Brett yates, Promised return of skateboarding track to Ickes Park still not happening, Feeling the Holocaust, by George Fiala, Brooklyn Public Library Contract go to Donors, by Brett Yates, Nintendo Jazz Nights and Nutella Burger, 10 Truly Iconic Wigs by Erin DeGregorio, Exile in Donkeyville, Review of Liz Phair’s memoir, Book Reviewer Michael Quinn’s first Star-Revue appearance, When will the blues come, by George Grella, Mick Barr’s Outcast Metal, by Kurt Gottschalk, Robyn Hitchcock at Murmrr, Hugh Pool Makes NYC Look Good, by Jack Grace, Psychedelic Punk for the Literary Teen, Kurt Gottschalk reviews a new book by Gibby Haynes, Liberty Valance, Ascap, Rolling Stone & the Man: Gather those Rose Buds, by Joe Enright, Real Estate Money keeps the BQX alive, Opinion: A disappointing endorsement in State Senate race, by Brett Yates, Footage of Gowanus Shooting goes public, Seniors express strength, joy and love through dance, No Such Thing as an Anti-War Film: 1917 and the limits of ambition, Film review by Caleb Drickey, Jazz’s State of the Union by George Grella, Bowie’s Blackstar Revisited, Don Duggan and His Brooklyn House Concerts, by Mike Morgan, Leave Lizzo Alone: Society’s Dishonest Dialogue, by Roderick Thomas, Psychedelic Rock with Iranian Spin, by Mike Cobb, Hoek Pizza hosts live comedy, by Brett Yates, Yates View: The BQX runs on Astroturf, Eight Facts about the Fort Hamilton Army Base, Justice Center celebrates Black History, by Nathan Weiser, Watch out for ICE, More interim flood protection coming, soon, How Pioneer

Works got its blue fence, by Vanessa Rosa, March Film Previews: Sorry We Missed You; The Way Back; First Cow; The Hunt (opening March 13, 2020) Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always, A Quiet Place: Part II, Mulan; The Buzz is still growing – Jack Grace on Buzzy Linhart, who died on February 13, A Worst Record Countdown, by Joe Enright, Calvary Church celebrates Black History, In Simulacrum, Zorn Rethinks a Composer’s Role, by Stefan Zeniuk, The Ghosts of Conover Street, by Joe Enright, Do Not Let Andrew Cuomo Become President, by Brett Yates, Chase to close local branch, What did we know and when did we know it – a look at COVID coverage, by George Fiala, Living with the Plague – a Report from Turin, Dario Pio Muccilli’s first dispatch for the Star-Revue, An anxious intermission for cinema workers, by Brett Yates, Red Hook’s elected officials respond to the pandemic, by Brett Yates, Justice Center becomes Emergency Court, Parents Adjust to homeschooling, 12 Days that Shook the World, a diary of March 2020 by Brian Abate, Andrew Gillum: Sex, Politics and Black Masculinity, by Roderick Thomas, Wedding Plans put on hold due to Pandemic, by Erin DeGregorio, Movies to watch while stuck and home: Shawshank Redemtion, An American in Paris, Rio Bravo, Miami Vice – by Caleb Drickey and Frank Meyer, Guitar Lessons in the age of isolation, by Mike Fiorito, Technology and the Pandemic: A 1918 Musician’s Crossroad, by Jack Grace, Musicians Grapple in a gutted industry, by Stefan Zeniuk, The Bridges of Gowanus, by Joe Enright. Spaceworks artists may be evicted during pandemic, Using the health crisis to break up NATO, by Dario Pio Muccilli, Q & A with a doctor on the front lines, by Brett Yates, Red Hook Laundromat Reopens, Public Housing Weathering Storm, Coronavirus interrupts State races, Tropical Fruits invade Food Bank, Hard Boiled Lovely Eggs go over light, by Kurt Gottschalk, A Live Streaming Music Renaissance is here (for now), Covid takes a Brooklyn Newspaper pioneer – Mike Armstrong, who founded the Brooklyn Phoenix, a COVID casualty, by George Fiala, Vote for Bernie Sanders in NY’s Presidential Primary, by Brett Yates, Outrage and Police Violence –Breanna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd the latest victims of racist violence, by Roderick Thomas, Brisport, Walsh lead fundraising race, BRAVO Ambulance answers the call during emergency, by Erin DeGregorio, News from Italy: The plague won’t stop art, Local Restaurants respond to pandemic “new normal” by Brian Abate, This is where the Italians Shop – D. Coluccio & Sons, Book Review by Quinn: The Dairy Restaurant” Red Hook’s Justice Parade, by George Fiala, RHAP & PS 676 soldier on, by Nathan Weiser, When people from all walks of life need help, by Jorge Bello, Remembering Joe Ferris, by Robert Carroll, Chronicling Pandemic Times

in the neighborhood, by Brian Abate, Great National Takeout Day support BLM, The Streaming Scene, by George Grella, The Impending Red Hook Traffic Disaster, by Brian Abate, Stepping In to help her neighbors,

apology from the Governor, The Story of the Red Hook Vounteer Jams, by Gene Bray, Where art is (storm) king, by Piotr Pillardy, Gowanus Lost and Found: New exhibit documents a changing neighborhood, by Dante

READ ENDORSEMENT PAGE 3

Star-Revue wins newspaper awards

to us for Coverage of the Environment, which included Jorge Bello's ongoing coverage of the Gowanus Superfund project.

We were judged by members of the Pennsylvania News Media Association. A judge wrote of our coverage:

T"I read all the stories in the category and 'Superfund Science Advances in Gowanus' kept coming back to mind. The description won me over. Black Mayo. Ugh. I could just smell and feel the water. Great job." Other winners in that category included the East Hampton Star and the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

We also captured a first place in the category "Best Large Space Ad." We entered one of a series of half page ads

Nathan Weiser on Jacqui Painter, Local Government’s Benign Neglect, by George Fiala, Gentrification and the Black Church, by Roderick Thomas, Sunset Park’s Frankels does a reboot, Our Pandemic Acid Trip, by Jack Grace, Liturgy and the Sacrament of Experimental Metal, by Kurt Gottschalk, This one’s for you, Pete – Joe Enright on Pete Hamill, Star-Revue honored with SIX statewide awards, our most ever, Red Hook Shares a Fridge, Jim Tampakis works for Red Hook’s Future, Brooklyn bike-touring company struggles to survive in a world without tourism., If the US ignores Belarus, Russia wins, by Dario Pio Muccilli, Superfund Science advances in Gowanus, Holding up the Building: Politics by Howard Graubard – a Felix Ortiz post-mortem, Rose vs. Malliotakis, by Peter Haley, Feels Good Man Sings the Ballad of Pepe to save American Democracy, by Dante A. Ciampaglia, Remembering Buddy Scotto, a special section, Red Hook Breeds an Activist for the times, Nathan Weiser on Na Lakan Masego, EPA Gowanus Dredging imminent, Houses of Worship remain wary, diligent in these times, by Erin DeGregorio, Why Sweden goes maskless, by Dario Pio Muccilli, Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Club feeds Red Hook, Buddy Scotto was my friend and I will miss him, by George Fiala, The little known story of the building with the subway on top, by Joe Enright, The Evil That Men Do: Confessions of a reluctant David Lynch Fan, by Kurt Gottschalk, Music Venues try to cope with the virus, by Mike Cobb, Without a Transportation Plan, Red Hook is Screwed, by George Fiala, We are COVID orphans: Grieving locals at Cobble Hill Nursing Home demand

prepared by RetroFret - a vintage guitar shop that opened last year on Luquer Street. The judge wrote "Clean, great design, great visual. Nice testimonial at the bottom. Draws you in." Other winners included the Southampton Press and the Mahopac News.

Finally, Steve's Key Lime got us an honorable mention with his monthly ad series. The category was Best Advertising Campaign. The judge wrote "I appreciate the whimsey of the business itself, carried through the ads." Other winners included Dan's Papers and the Warwick Advertiser

A. Ciampaglia, Red Hook businesses adapt to hard times, by Brian Abate, The Yuck is Coming Up, Jorge Bello with a report from the Gowanus Canal, Online learning not popular in much of Europe, by Dario Pio Muccilli, Reynols is the most important band in the history of rock, by Kurt Gottschalk, Steve’s Key Lime’s December ad: 2020 Good Riddance! Happy new year, everyone.

Last year was difficult, as Steve himself wrote in one of his winning ads - we look forward to the 2021 contest!

2021

Five Years Hence (David Bowie remixed and remembered) by Kurt Gottschalk, Closed Senior Center stays vital, by Nathan Weiser, 2021, What Took you so long, by Joe Enright, Lions Club continues Red Hook Tradition, Red Hook ballfields in no danger of reopening soon, Vaccine skeptics abound in Europe, COVID makes it even harder to be homeless, The future is Black, female and Latina, by Roderick Thomas, Hi-end audio is a surprise best seller as COVID keeps people home, by Micah B. Rubin, The Met in the time of the virus, by Piotr Pillardy, History of NY’s Democratic Party, by Howard Graubard, Is This Red Hook’s Future?

Alexandros Washburn’s 15 story Red Hook hi-rise, by George Fiala, Gowanus neighbors try to slow down the inevitable construction onslaught, by Jorge Bello, COVID weddings deferred, by Erin DeGregorio, 15 Stories and what do you get – a lot of market rate apartments, by George Fiala, The Record Shop is perfectly Red Hook, by Gene Bray, Running a movie theater during a pandemic – Brian Abate talks to the Cobble Hill Cinema, New documentary “America’s Last Little Italy” speaks to all Italian Americans, by Dante A. Ciampaglia, Two new stores open in

Kathryn Garcia and Paperboy Prince are the most genuine candidates you will ever meet. One of them should be your next mayor.

2010 The Red Hook Star-Revue 2023

try City, Keg and Lantern opens in Red Hook, Soul, the Movie, by George Grella, The Killing of a Black Revolutionary, by Roderick Thomas, Replacing Brad Lander, by Toby Burns, Carlos Menchaca dubious of Washburn’s development plan, BASIS marks Black History month by immersion in Black culture, Tom Delgado gives the whole world tours of NY during the pandemic, Big Questions about Public Place remain, by Jorge Bello, Not everybody loves the Governors Island rezoning, Cesar Zuniga wants to be your next City Council rep, Star Revue wins three statewide awards including a First Place for best coverage of Environment, as well as creative advertisements, Paperboy Prince and Kathryn Garcia campaign for Mayor, PS 676 hosts autism awareness day, Superfund says Buyer Beware on Gowanus Rezoning, by George Fiala, Election Spotlight on Jacqui Painter, Election Spotlight on Erik Frankel, Linda Mariano FROGG founder passes away, How Participatory is PB anyway, LGBTQ rights still a fight in Italy, Lil Nas X the Bad Guy, by Roderick Thomas, How Comic Books can Save the World, Jazz by Grella – Is it Safe? Cool, calm and capable, Kathryn Garcia is plotting to be the next mayor, by George Fiala, Star-Revue goes for a walk, District 38 candidate make their case at a Zoom debate, Election 2021 – Spotlight on Alexa Aviles, Paper Boy Love Prince, Antonio Reynoso, Eric Adams, Roderigo Camarena, Robert Cornegy, Jim Tampakis is a Red Hook Warrior, A look at the CB6 conditions attached to their approval of the Gowanus rezoning, Parks Department reminds us that Red Hook has ballfields, Motorcycle Activism in Red Hook, Hip Hop has found its princess on Doja Cat’s Planet Her, by Roderick Thomas, Kentler celebrates Richard Mock, Open Studios returning in fall, Electric Car Racing returns to Red Hook, Brooklyn Heights doctor promotes alternate therapies for depressions, mainly psychedelics, by Peter Haley, Support for Belarus is complicated, Vision 25 Delights Red Hook, by George Grella, A Hippy Commie remembers, by Joe Enright, BASIS School fears truck invasion, Parsing Eric Adams on the Gowanus Rezoning, by George Fiala, Red Hook locals miss their ballfields, The Star-Revue goes for a walk in Brooklyn Bridge Park, by Brian Abate, Hollywood’s forever war on terrorism, Wiggly Air, by Kurt Gottschalk, premieres with Prince and Patti Smith, The Dukes of Snyder, Part 1, by Joe Enright, The Queen of All She Sees, Patti Smith returns to SummerStage, by Kurt Gottschalk, Velazquez and Jo Anne Simon convey concerns over Gowanus rezoning, Donors help 676 offer free school supplies, Domestic workers demonstrate in Park Slope, What is the DSA and why are all three Red Hook legislative seats about to be their property, by George Fiala, Radio Free Europe keeps growing, by Mike Cobb, A Lion in Winter, Miles Davis’ Lost Concert, by George Grella, Government plan leaves O’Connell properties on their own, Taking the big post-pandemic step, Amazon opens its first Red Hook facility, by Brian Abate, Remembering Sheryl Nash-Chisholm,

Wes Anderson’s French Dispatch is fun, but could use a good edit, by Dante A. Ciampaglia, Live at the BRIC Jazzfest, Looking ahead with new councilwoman Aviles, Joe Ferris remembered with a street sign, Red Hook Rec Center closes for a while because of Hurricane Ida, Red Hook’s Caviar Connection, by Brian Abate, Introducing Marie’s Craft Corner, by Marie Hueston

2022

When Carpenters were King, by Michael Fiorito, Update on Red Hook Rec Center and Ballfields, PS 676 to become the Harbor Middle School, Police discuss theft and traffic, New Votive Ship at St. Paul’s Church, by Erin DeGregorio, Red Hook goes Mossy, by Brian Abate, The Old Stone House receives over $10 million, Opera Reviews by Frank Raso, Turn paper towel rolls into children’s playthings, Staten Island remembers Patrick Daly with an annual award. We should too, Red Hook’s Field of Dreams is almost ready but no leagues yet planned, Our new BP will be more than just a cheerleader, The High Value Man? Self-Help experts are exploiting everyone, by Roderick Thomas, Assemblymember Mitayne’s online chats, Fight Club in the age of the Great Resignation, by Dante A. Ciampaglia, Recycle magazines and Catalogs into Valentines Collages! Rising Crime Rates, Mental Illness and Stop and Frisk, by Roderick Thomas, The Drift Anchor Manifesto, by Franz Landsperky, Parks Department holds online meeting to give a status update, What’s with all those For Rent signs, by Brian Abate, George and Brian’s Sandwich Odyssey, American Utopias, New Risha Gorig film to be featured at Jalopy, The Oscars was historic, and yes, Will slapped Chris, Lillie Marshall honored, Speaking to the Odessa Journal, Something is lost in a Zoom world, by George Fiala, Millions to local charities, Comedy Show celebrates Women’s History Month at Borough Hall, George and Brian’s Ukrainian Odyssey, Everything Everywhere All At Once, an oasis of imagination in a desert of souled corporate synergy, in which Dante Ciampaglia writes: “it’s a vibrantly weird, challenging, and uniquely untrod trail diverging from the rutted road of Hollywood homogeneity.” Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus, by George Grella, Turn Empty Tea Boxes into Miniature Easter Baskets! Star-Revue honored for Best News Story by state newspaper organization “Gowanus Neighbors try to slow down construction onslaught,” Progress on the last mile warehouse front, Reynoso hosts “Brooklyn is Africa” Exhibit, Ribbon Cutting ceremony at long shuttered Red Hook ballfields bring the former Borough President to town, Bike program at PS 15, It’s complicated: Dirty Development in Gowanus, A trip to the Ukrainian Institute, Ukrainian Museum, the Verenyk House, and Arka International, Papi’s Home: Mark Borino’s music with Drake, by Roderick Thomas, The Erasmus Program furthers Europe, Henry Threadgill’s Modern World, by George Grella,

Turn Clear Cups into pretty containers for Mother’s Day gifts, by Marie Hueston, Calabrese court goes back live, Plastic Free lunch day at PS 15, PS 676 celebrates getting together, Biddybros achieve big, Help the Red Hook library, by Nathan Weiser, Why I care about the Ukraine, by George Fiala, Bang on a Can Plays Long, And Wide, In Downtown Brooklyn, by Kurt Gottschalk, The Evil that men with guns to in John Ford’s America, by Dante A. Ciampaglia, Quinn on Books: Mama’s Boy, review of One Headlight by Matt Caprioli, Turn a Shoebox into a Play Space for Mini Figures and Tiny Toys, by Marie Hueston, Buddy Scotto remembered with a sign, by Joe Enright, Wshat I think about the last mile warehouses in the neighborhood, by George Fiala, PS 676 eats oysters, Red Hook Houses construction taking a very long time but will be beautiful, by Brian Abate, Parks Department celebrates Juneteenth, Red Hook Library’s current plans, PAVE Academy marches against guns, by Nathan Weiser, Pete Morales celebrated on his 80th birthday, Jessica Wilson, our neighborhood storefront lawyer, by Brian Abate, Raised on Missisippi Soul: Discover Bhi Bhiman’s musical journey, interview by Roderick Thomas, Michael Quinn reviews Be My Baby, by Ronnie Spector, Turn Cardboard Inserts into Summer Board Games! RHAP becomes a Van Brunt neighbor, Addabo workers want a piece of the pandemic pie, Food Bazaar is a Red Hook perk, Malai ice cream is on the menu this summer, Red Hook Regatta returns to Valentino Pier, Formula E celebrates our neighborhood, Monthlong Ukrainian film festival, by Brian Abate, A Baedeker of the countries that were once Yugoslavia, by Dario Pio Muccilli, Meet JACQ: The comedian who taught JLO and Keke Palmer how to strip, by Roderick Thomas, Turn Paper Plates into Animal Wall Pockets! By Marie Hueston, Successful return of the Red Hook Bar League, Jaimie Branch (1983-2022), by George Grella, Mitaynes answers McGettrick on warehouses, by Brian Abate, PS 676 welcomes inaugural class of sixth graders, Khary Bekka gives back to Red Hook youth, Hot Bird: no oil, no fat, just bureaucracy, Brooklyn Family Justice Center – an important resource, Turn old composition notebooks into decorative journals! By Marie Hueston, Agreement to monitor large Whales locally extended to 2028, by Erin DeGregorio, Community Board meets in person, finally! by George Fiala, The Wall Gallery announces show by Martin Colden, Introducing the BASIN Gallery, by Brian Abate, Trying to understand Sandy after ten years, 2012 Seen through our pages, by Brian Abate, The Frankenstorm, by Joe Enright, Turn black construction paper into spooky Halloween garlands! By Marie

government faces familiar challenges, by Dario Pio Muccilli, Steve Keene, by Blake Sandberg, Turn leftover Halloween candy into Thanksgiving Place Cards! Shortage of church organists presents a spiritual challenge, by Erin DeGregorio, A Cat Stevens Christmas, bay cartoonish Marc Jackson, I guess LICH is never coming back, as Henry Street luxury skyscraper opens, Notes from a former political prisoner: Thirty years ago, by John O’Hara, Public art on Conover Street, City program tries to keep abuse victims in their homes, Red Hook welcomes new judge, Tar’s counterintuitive conservatism, by Kurt Gottschalk, Turn an empty delivery box into a cute dollhouse.

2023

Camille Martin redefines luxury skin care for women of color, by Roderick Taylor, Local nonprofits await promised money, Judge Calabrese says goodbye!, A plethora of local groups get together of plan a plethora of local events, Big Peach, by Joe Enright, New Right-wing Italian

Hueston,

Remembering Lauterbach’s, by Ranaan Geberer, understanding Hunt’s Point, Bronx’s Asthma Alley, by Brian Abate, Waterfront Commission Case heads to Supreme Court, by Erin DeGregorio, Let us Taco Together – calling for an exploratory meeting to make a new Civic Association, Red Hook surprised by new cruise ships, Schism on the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group threatens its existence, by George Fiala, Breadand a better world-rise at ACQ Bread Co., by Katherine Rivard, Turn Leftover Gift Wrap into a Pretty Decoupage Craft! Yes Virginia, there is (still) a Community Board, by Katherine Rivard, The Mayor has a plan, NYC apartments were never really “affordable,” by George Fiala, Meet the Brookliner, cartoon by Sophie Furman, Breathing diseases in the neighborhood, Part 2, Hamilton Avenue footbridge gets an upgrade, We Miss the B71: CB6 residents call for bus line restoration, sound off on MTA’s proposed new bus network in Brooklyn, by Erin DeGregorio, Revel to recharge in Red Hook, Public Place battle tamped down by EPA scientist, Harbor School talent showcase, by Nathan Weiser, Apotheke is a real Red Hook soap opera, by Brian Abate, Nabate returns with Black Girl Magic, by Roderick Thomas, The Bunker Giorno Foundation, by Blake Sandberg, Turn Toilet Tubes into a cute Valentine’s Day Bouquest, Community Board 6, a slow start to the new year, by Katherine Rivard, All Hail our new Civic Association, Politicians say the BQE is killing people, Red Hook Library closure will leave a huge gap, Hoping for the best as Gowanus builds up, by Oona Milliken, Brooklyn Bridge park to be recreated in Gowanus, by George Fiala, The Gowanus Crossing of Vinnie Coppola, by Joe Enright, It’s time to explore what Irish whiskey can be: What do do, where to go this St. Patrick’s Day, Black Masc, a look at Black masculinity, by Roderick Thomas, Breathing diseases in the neighorhood – Part 3, Mold, Spotlight on Brooklyn Collective: Shop, Sketch or Host a Party at this local gem, by Marie Hueston, Aviles holds presser on last-mile warehouse bills, My Singularity Slut, Joe Enright meets his chatGPT, Turn an empty yogurt cup nito a St. Patrick’s Day Pot of Gold, One Man’s mission to protect the pigeons,

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Cormac McCarthy's The Passenger -A Meditation

For my book club, I suggested we read Cormac McCarthy’s newest novel, The Passenger. I’m not, by any stretch of the imagination, what you’d call a McCarthy expert. Over the years I’ve taught The Road to great success in high school creative writing classes, and it remains the first and only McCarthy novel I’ve read. I am, however, very aware of McCarthy’s influence on modern American literature, one of those writers that you should read. I respect him from afar. Despite knowing this, I’ve had a copy of All The Pretty Horses on my bookshelf for years that has remained unopened. Somehow my all women book club (so far we’d only read women authors) seemed like the right opportunity to explore more McCarthy. Retrospectively this was not well thought out on my end.

I was primarily intrigued by The Passenger since McCarthy wrote the book at age eighty nine. In a highly ageist society, I wanted to support his efforts. I was also intrigued that the two companion novels, The Passenger and Stella Maris, released within a month of one another in fall of 2022, focused around a brother sister relationship and that McCarthy was writing a central female character for the first time. When most of us think McCarthy, we see taciturn men, the west, blood, guns, death, violence. We think of stereotypical American masculinity. I wanted to know what explorations of femininity such a man, and a man in

by Kelsey Sobel

the later part of life, would conjure up.  The book opens with a young woman taking her life. Soon after, we are introduced to a series of conversations between Alicia, the young woman who has died, and the character she converses with during her ongoing and acute struggles with paranoid schizophrenia known as “The Kid.”  The writing is abstract, cerebral, sparse. The first few pages don’t include a plot to speak of. McCarthy uses italics to mark Alicia’s mental projections and that’s about the only help we get. To her, these conversations are real, so they are real for readers, too. They can be maddeningly intellectual yet maddeningly meandering. It is possible to think McCarthy is intent on scaring off readers. I personally like to think at age eighty nine, you write exactly what you want. Throughout the book, McCarthy continues to include Alicia’s internal monologues without advancing or reversing the plot. Plus, we know she’s dead.

The central conflict in the novel is the forbidden love between brother and sister, but McCarthy treats their relationship from a sanitary, yet internally tortured vantage point. There is pain

and sorrow, but there isn’t much action. The siblings have buried everything deep down and this repression is mirrored in the pacing of the novel itself. Alicia and her brother Bobby, who is referred to mostly by his last name, “Western” live in prisons of their own brilliance and stuntedness, two sad stars who never find their place in society.  Throughout the novel, there is also the thread of a missing passenger recovered from the wreckage of a plane, but most of the novel follows Bobby from bar to bar in New Orleans, his only living companion, a cat. Bobby is so solitary that even that cat disappears.

My book club members didn’t make it beyond the first few pages. Truthfully, I can see why. I kept reading out of a mix of curiosity and stubbornness—I’m an English teacher, after all. I wouldn’t give up. The Passenger is, in many ways, impenetrable. It asks readers to embody reading as opposed to hanging on to details, characters or places. McCarthy has set us afloat in his exploration of life’s most potent topics: grief, loss, longing, desire—all that is forbidden and unattainable.

Despite the abstraction of the novel as a whole, I found myself tearing up in the last few pages of the book as Bobby lives out his aimless days in Spain. The Passenger is a meditation on loneliness. It’s a study of loss, of wanting things that you can never have back. The Passenger speaks to the sincerest depths of grief. McCarthy doesn’t tie himself down with creating a world where there is hope. Bobby’s world is hopeless and he knows this. The question is what will he do?  In the second half of the novel, Bobby spends a winter alone in a deserted cabin. He sleeps among the rodents. He has no one, nothing. He is kept alive by thoughts and memories of his sister.  So why do we read hopeless books about hopeless lives? To inhabit the recesses of other people’s psychology - to understand their experiences. At eighty nine, with twelve novels behind him, there is no question that McCarthy knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s created a novel that stretches a mood of despair across all 383 pages. If you’re interested in carefully examining the exquisite pain-fullness of surviving despite yourself, McCarthy offers you this meditation. If you don’t like it, he doesn’t care.

I have Stella Maris in my library queue, but I’m waiting for the right time to dive back in. The time I suggested we read The Passenger and everyone hated it has become the stuff of book club mythology.

Cat Cafe gets $165k from New York State

In mid-May, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that $7.6 million would be awarded to 21 animal shelters and humane societies across the state for capital projects that “will help ensure adoptions for New York’s dogs and cats.” One of the recipients in this fifth round of the program is Brooklyn Cat Cafe, a volunteer-run adoption center and community space in Brooklyn Heights.

The money will help the cafe expand its to a second floor and create a fullservice medical suite. The expansion will include an outdoor catio; a nursery for cat moms and kittens; a shelter room dedicated to cats who are positive for feline leukemia; and a space for single, adult cats.

“The new space will provide shelter cats that cannot be housed in Brooklyn Cat Cafe’s main space with better enrichment and more opportunities to socialize with people, leading to quicker adoptions and increasing our ability to rescue other cats waiting for intake. In addition, the new medical equipment and veterinary space will allow us to treat rescued cats more quickly and make them available for adoption sooner,” said Anne Levin,

by Erin DeGregorio

head of the animal service.

NYS breaks animal ground

As the first state in the country to fund capital projects for animal shelters, New York has dedicated more than $33 million to the program.

“Animal shelters and humane societies across New York provide essential care for dogs and cats as they await their new families and forever homes,” said Gov. Hochul.

“Part of the reason why we wanted to create a cat cafe is because we need more places where people can come and meet adoptable cats,” said Managing Director of Rescue Julia Rosenfeld.

Underlying Crisis

Though an estimated 500,000 homeless cats roam freely in New York City, Levin believes this number is much higher—by 200,000—given the lack of accessible and affordable spay/neuter services.

“It’s great that New York State is supporting shelters. It’s definitely needed and hopefully it will help to increase adoptions and education about rescuing animals,” Levin said. “But, the underlying crisis of homeless animals in New York City—specifically home-

less cats—is that shelters are dealing with about five percent of the problem, because there’s very limited or no affordable spay/neuter.”

“We’ve seen the impact in waves,” Rosenfeld noted. “At the beginning of the pandemic, everyone wanted to adopt a cat and cats immediately found homes. But at the same time, during the pandemic, access to most spay/ neuter was extremely limited because veterinary care was significantly harder to access. We have since seen the impact of that because there are more kittens being born, because cats who would have been spayed/neutered two years ago weren’t. So, at least to me, it has felt much more overwhelming because there are a lot more cats.”

According to a study, spay/neuter surgery with vaccination for cats at private veterinarians ranged between $400 and $1,000. To help combat this financial barrier, a discounted rescue veterinary clinic for cats at Brooklyn Cat Cafe was opened in 2020. A year later the group opened a deeply discounted spay/neuter and surgery clinic for cat rescuers and low-income cat owners—the only low-cost spay/ neuter option that is currently avail-

able for owned cats in New York City without several months’ wait. Since launching the clinic 3,200 cats have been treated.

More money needed

Since the State grant funds only half of the Cafe’s project costs, the Brooklyn Cat Cafe needs to raise an additional $165,000 before the end of August to match the grant and secure its funding. The Cafe has received nearly $6,300 in donations as of May 29. To make a donation, visit catcafebk.com/ donate

I wanted to know what explorations of femininity such a man, and a man in the later part of life, would conjure up.

Catrina NYC's detour in Oaxaca

While walking down Henry St., I noticed a shop called Catrina NYC with colorful jewelry and tshirts outside the front door. Looking through the window, I could see there was more jewelry, artwork, dolls, toys, textiles, and much more.

After going inside, I was greeted by Karina Perez and her dog, a dachshund named Caramelo. Perez was kind enough to tell me about her shop and her own journey to Cobble Hill.

“I was actually born here in New York but when I was one and a half years old I moved to Oaxaca, Mexico and I lived there for 20 years,” Perez said. “I always knew I wanted to come back since I have family here in New York including my father. I also knew there were more opportunities here. My mom is in Mexico and I always go back to visit every year.”

Perez makes some of the smaller items in the shop like keychains and bracelets but the rest are made by indigenous people from Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

“I have a lot of things from Oaxaca since I met a big community of artists when I was growing up there,” Perez said. “I’ve also traveled to other countries and people tell me this is ‘my art-

by Brian Abate

work and I’m making it to support my family.’ When I think the art is good, I can begin negotiations with the artists.

Helping artists back home

“Whenever people stop in and buy things, it isn’t just important for me, but also for all of the people who are supporting their families by making the art. The biggest challenge I face is when it’s not so busy. A lot of the local people go away on vacations, especially in the summer but thankfully there are also tourists who visit here and they stop in and buy some things. The winter can also be tough with the cold weather and fewer people going outside, and February was a tough month. I’ve been here for a year now so I think more people are getting to know about the store, which helps.”

Perez also spoke about her appreciation for her customers and the neighborhood, saying “There are a lot of kind people who come in, and everybody likes something different. Five people say they love the hummingbirds, then five people say they love the dresses, and in the summer a lot of people like the hats.”

A few of her own favorites include the toys and the textiles because of how unique they are. Additionally, when making some of the toys, including

some of the dolls, mothers, fathers, and children work together to make them, with each family member having his or her own job in the process.

Perez also explained the long and sometimes difficult process to make the different pieces including small sculpted animals and Day of the Dead skulls, saying “First they make little pieces and get the shapes right. Then they paint in layers, adding a lot of details, and then they add glitter to them.” Other pieces, including the hummingbirds, are made by hand with beads. Others are made by burning wood, “and the process is really beautiful. Watching it is like watching magic, and everything takes a long time because they have to be very precise.”

In addition to teaching me a lot about the items in Catrina NYC, Perez said that she hopes other customers will be able to learn about the cultural origins of various pieces of art. One of Perez’s favorite things about her work is that she is able to have her dog, Caramelo with her.

“He is 11 months old, and he’s my baby,” Perez said. “He’s from Oaxaca, Mexico, and he has two brothers. One is in Mexico with my mom and the other one is with my cousin who lives in Queens.”

Perez hopes more people will hear about Catrina NYC, stop by, and help spread the word since the store is still fairly new. There are a lot of beautiful pieces of art as well as clothing and I think it is a good place to go when buying a gift.

“I’m really happy to be here,” Perez said. “I want to keep having unique art, and continue supporting the artists who make the beautiful pieces that are here at Catrina NYC.”

Catrina NYC, 331 Henry Street, Brooklyn, NY (929) 644-2171

A REGINA OPERA OPERETTA

Brooklyn’s Regina Opera, known in recent years for some heavy lifting in productions such as Verdi’s Il Trovatore, and dramatic turns such as Puccini’s Il Tabarro, has ventured into the light side with their production of Sigmund Romberg’s The Student Prince. Romberg was a prolific tunesmith in the early days of Broadway, but he is best known for the three operettas he composed in the 1920’s – The Student Prince, The Desert Song and New Moon The Student Prince was the first and most well-known of the three and it continues to occasionally find its way into the repertory of opera companies, mostly due to its “hummably” memorable songs. There isn’t one melody from the show that will not get stuck in your head.

Regina Opera just closed their 53rd season with The Student Prince, which was one of four operas never performed before by the company. While all four choices were once very popular, their current seldomseen status was a treat for all of the creatives involved and the audiences as well. The Student Prince was one of three operas presented this year in English. (Their excellent productions of Menotti’s double-bill of

The Telephone and The Medium being the other two.) Despite the lingua franca, Regina Opera continues to use a first-rate supertitle system so that the audience doesn’t miss a word. In any situation involving great vocalists – whether it be concert, opera or musical –sometimes singers must emphasize certain elongated vowels in order to hit certain notes, and the result can be baffling without supertitles.

The plot of Romberg’s operetta is pure fluff – a young prince goes off to study at University and falls in love with a lowly peasant serving the students steins of beer. His grandfather, the current King, dies before he can graduate and now, promoted to king, he must marry someone of aristocratic standing and abandon his beloved waitress. It’s almost the kind of thing Gilbert & Sullivan spoofed in the previous century, but the heart-felt love songs and sad, realistic ending sell the story to just about everyone who isn’t deeply cynical.

Romberg, who also wrote beautiful film scores, gives the orchestra a great deal to feast upon. Led by the great Gregory Ortega, who conducts at Regina Opera frequently, the audience was treated to two mini-concerts – first the joyous overture which featured every

melody from the show, and secondly, the intermezzo before the third act. Regina Opera can pride itself on its reliably top-shelf musicians in all its productions - and where else does a small theatre invest in a full 30-piece orchestra (and one that good?)

Romberg never met a reprise he didn’t like, so luckily Regina Opera had a men’s chorus par excellence (who are given most of the reprises.) Whether they were on stage or off, the audience couldn’t wait to hear the mighty group, continually catapulted by the soaring high notes of tenor Jax Hassler.

For more information about Regina Opera’s Season 54. go to www.ReginaOpera.org

Karina Perez and her dog. (Abate photo)

Photos from The Student Prince by Stephen Pisato

Emma Straub's Magic Touch

Once a bookseller at the legendary BookCourt, today Emma Straub has a bookstore of her own — with two locations. Six years ago, she and her husband Michael Fusco-Straub opened Books Are Magic on Smith Street in Cobble Hill. Last fall, they opened a second store on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. Straub is also a New York Times-bestselling author, having written five novels, three picture books, and one short story collection. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Her father Peter Straub, who died last September, was a bestselling writer of supernatural and horror novels, including “Ghost Story,” “Julia” and, with Stephen King, “The Talisman.”

Straub’s most recent novel, “This Time Tomorrow,” comes out in paperback this May. Its story focuses on a New Yorker named Alice Stern, who is witnessing the decline of her beloved father Leonard. On her fortieth birthday, Alice magically travels back to 1996. Suddenly she’s 16 again, with a new appreciation of her body, her best friend, but especially Leonard, who seems younger than she ever remembered him being. Given a chance to do things over, with implications for both of them, what will Alice do differently?

I met with Straub on an early spring morning at her bookstore’s Smith Street location, while the staff bustled about getting the store ready to open, to talk about “This Time Tomorrow,” her unexpected role as boss, and her favorite things about the neighborhood.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s the reaction to “This Time Tomorrow” been like so far?

This book is so personal, even though it’s about time travel. On my book tour, someone always came up to me sobbing. I’ve hugged so many people. I’ve had really meaningful moments with people who’ve lost someone. I didn’t expect that. It’s been lovely.

The heart of the book is Alice’s relationship with her father. Your father died a few months after the book came out. How has that changed your relationship to the book?

This book was always about my dad and me. And he loved that. It wasn’t something that I did sneakily. We talked a lot about it. If the book felt important to me before he died, now it feels, like, “Will I ever care about any book I write in my life ever again?” What’s crazy is

by Michael Quinn

that when other people open up this book, it’s interchangeable in some way with all my other novels, whereas to me, it feels like its own category—its own species!—because it’s so personal. As a teenager, Alice feels uncertain about what she wants to do with her life. At 40, “she felt like everyone she knew had already become whatever they were going to become, and she was still waiting.” How has writing this made you reflect on where you are in your own life — what you thought it would be like versus how it’s turned out so far?

I was born in 1980, so I’m part of a group of people who recently turned 40. It’s not by accident or by choice that our lives look so different from our parents’. The landscape is really different.

I always knew I wanted to be a writer. I always knew I wanted to have children. I always knew I’d stay in New York. The bookstore is the biggest surprise. I started working at BookCourt in 2009, and I really wanted to live close to work, so we moved to Columbia Street. Six months later, they announced they were closing. We had just had a new baby. No matter how unhinged it sounds, opening a bookstore seemed easier than moving again. Maybe the bookstore is our midlife crisis—a shared midlife crisis with my husband! I certainly never thought I’d ever be the boss of anything. At one point, Alice observes, “That was New York, watching every place you’d kissed or cried, every place you loved, turn into something else.” As a lifelong New Yorker, what has been the most painful change to the city?

The mall-ification. New York went from small stores to chain stores to empty stores. Obviously, I care about small businesses. The tiny stores you loved are gone. BookCourt was a very painful loss—for me. It was a good thing for them [owners Henry M. Zook and Mary B. Gannett]. They wanted to retire! But there have been so many losses. Gray’s Papaya on West Fourth. H&H Bagels on Broadway.

But that is how it works in New York. Now that I’ve run this business for the last six years, I understand that if someone operates something for 10, 20, 30 years, that is a success! Places don’t owe it to you to exist forever. Real serious labor goes into it every day.

What’s been the most promising change to the city?

I love Brooklyn Bridge Park. I use it ev-

ery day, and it just gets better and more beautiful.

Imagine someone’s never been to Books Are Magic. How would you describe its sensibility?

We are an energetic bookstore. We are vibrant. We are somewhat noisy. We are friendly, I hope. We are bright. We never wanted this to be a sleepy, dusty bookstore with one person sitting on a stool, reading a paperback. Our staff is incredible: so smart, so funny. What I loved about BookCourt was that it was a bookstore. They sold books. It wasn’t about books and “gifts.” You couldn’t buy a candle. The one thing I knew we could do, the only thing we had experience in, was making t-shirts and tote bags, because my husband is a graphic designer by trade. We’d done that for our friends’ band, the Magnetic Fields.

All we want is to feel welcoming and be a safe, warm, happy space for our customers. That’s really number one. We want this to be a place where you can come every day, even just to look around. I’m really proud of how wonderful it is. What differences are you noticing about the two stores and their clientele?

We’re still gathering data in Brooklyn Heights. We don’t yet have a real lock on what the neighborhood needs and wants. So far, it feels really different. We’re selling more mystery there, more history, more nonfiction, whereas the crowd on Smith is into young fiction. Carroll Gardens has a big Frenchspeaking population, so we had to find out how to source French books. There are always different challenges to figure out. But it’s fun.

What are your thoughts about the new Barnes & Nobel on Atlantic Avenue?

When I worked at BookCourt, Barnes & Nobel opened on Court Street. I remember how threatening that felt, how scared I was for BookCourt. The world is so different now. I no longer see them as the enemy. They are our ally. They serve their purpose. You couldn’t get an SAT prep book at Books Are Magic unless you special-ordered it. My 9-yearold loves manga; they have a much bigger selection than we do. I want them to thrive and succeed. Then again, if it were an Amazon store we were talking about, I’d be murderous.

Someone’s new to the neighborhood. What places would you put on their “must-see” list?

Go to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Have dinner at Popina on Columbia Street. It’s very close to my house, but that’s not why I love it. They make fresh Italian pasta. I’d travel for it. Or have the cavatelli with sausage at Frankie’s. Go to Sahadi’s, my favorite place in the world—then cross Atlantic Avenue and have a drink at Elsa’s.

My children love what we call the Lollipop Diner [the Cobble Hill Coffee Shop, where they give out lollipops at the end of a meal.] There are so many pizzas, and we have so many arguments over preferences. My 9-year-old likes a square slice; my 7-year-old likes a triangle.

Ride a bike to Red Hook, have key lime pie at Steve’s, or some barbeque at Hometown. Do some people-watching on a pier. My son wanted to learn how to fish, so we walked down there, and several men were like, “Hey, I’ll show you!”

What surprises you most about living here?

My favorite part of living here is what makes my family crazy. I can’t walk down the street without saying hello to everyone. [From behind a bookcase, Straub’s husband Mike jokes, “It makes it hard to walk down the street and have a conversation!”] I see the same people. My old teachers, people I went to school with. I love that my dentist is also my neighbor. It’s my community. I don’t know if I could run a bookstore where I didn’t live. I love when I’m out somewhere and run into a friend who, when she introduces me to someone new, says, “Do you know who this is? She owns the bookstore.” I get to be that. What’s dreamier than that?

What’s your favorite part of running a bookstore?

My booksellers. And small children. When I’m in here and get to hang out with a two-year-old for five minutes. And puppies!

What’s your least favorite part?

Because I have more than one job, I can’t devote myself 100%, 100% of the time. Right now, there are two bookstores, so even less is possible. I often feel like I’m not here enough, although the store is very well-cared for.

Book you stock that always sells?

All About Love, by bell hooks, sold hundreds, hundreds, hundreds. Alison Roman has a new cookbook out, and we’ve sold thousands of her books. We

(continued on page 27)

The original Books Are Magic, on Smith Street, features a nowiconic mural, by Jon Bocksel, where authors and readers are often photographed with their books. All photos by Michael Quinn.

The bookseller in her natural habitat (Smith Street location).

A red bench outside the Montague Street location is a popular spot for reading – and for people-watching.

A neon sign at Smith Street. Both stores feature exposed wood, white walls and natural light

Past Lives Review: Celine Song’s Exquisite Debut Feature is What Grown Ups Have Been Missing at the Multiplex

Going to the movies right now feels like huffing exhaust. The fumes of tired franchises, hyperfrenetic filmmaking, and cheap sludgy visual effects choke multiplexes and streaming services, strangling creativity and our own good judgment.

But there are still rare clearings in the miasma, when a film can be a cleansing blast of the cleanest oxygen that reminds us why we love cinema in the first place —and what we could have if only we made different choices.

Past Lives, writer-director Celine Song’s debut feature, is that kind of work. A wise and exquisite film shot through with bold chances and achingly authentic performances, it’s a slow burn that begins with a deceptively simple foundation before crescendoing in an emotional wallop.

Twenty-four years after Nora (Greta Lee) emigrated from South Korea with her family, she reunites in New York with childhood sweetheart Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), both confronting what might have been, could be, and never will. If that sounds ho-hum it’s because, broadly speaking, we’ve seen this kind of story before — a reliable old saw storytellers have taken in countless directions.

But in Song’s hands, it feels fresh and alive, an unpretentious grappling with fate, regret, and the waves churned up by our choices. Song builds Past Lives around three key moments in Nora and Hae Sung’s story. The first, set in Seoul 24 years ago, establishes the relationship between the then-12-year-olds just as Nora (whose name in South Korea is Na Young) and her family leave for Canada. The second jumps ahead 12 years, to when Nora is a hopeful playwright in New York, Hae Sung is an engineering student in Seoul and the two find each other thanks to Facebook and Skype (and Hae Sung’s dogged determination).

(It’s worth mentioning that in the second chapter, set in 2011-12, Song tells Nora and Hae Sung’s reconnection entirely through glitchy Skype conversations. They never occupy the same physical space, and that Song gets so much emotional traction out of what we’ve been conditioned to believe is an impersonal,

by Dante A. Ciampaglia

almost dehumanizing form of communication is a testament to her skills as a filmmaker and storyteller. It’s also the first great depiction of that time in our digital lives, which isn’t something I expected to find in this kind of film.)

The final act jumps another 12 years to the present, when Nora and Hae Sung finally reconnect when he visits Nora — who is now married to Arthur (John Magaro) — in New York. Each chapter builds on and reverberates against the other, subtly setting us up for its quietly shattering final moments.

This is only achieved because Lee and Yoo are so good here, both individually and together. They not only have to carry these characters over the expanse of time and memory, they are routinely required to run an emotional gamut within a single shot. And not all

these kinds of performances out. Indeed, with a single exception, Past Lives is a monument to her confidence — and quiet audacity — as a filmmaker. (The film opens with this strange eavesdropping framing device that never appears again and is never developed. It’s the only time you sense this is the work of a rookie feature director.) The simple maturity of the pacing and script are evidence of her command of craft. But just to prove how good she is, there are numerous shots in the film that run, uncut, for a minute or more: Nora and Hae Sung discussing their lives on the steps of Jane’s Carousel, in Brooklyn, or facing each other silently, deeply, in front of a blue garage door on the Lower East Side; Hae Sung and Arthur, sitting together at a cocktail bar, separated by an empty seat, where Nora had been, a chasm of language barriers and unease about each other’s place in Nora’s life.

of it is interior. In the last chapter, Nora is as loose and breezy as Hae Sung is uptight and constricted; she flows through the frame like the breeze, and he occupies space (and clothes) as if it has him compressed like a vice. By the final moments, as they make peace with the past, she becomes a bit stiffer and he more fluid — two halves, so long missing, reintegrated, assuming aspects of the other and becoming more dynamic.

Song’s script does a lot of the heavy lifting on that score, but Lee and Yoo are ultimately the ones who get us fully invested in Nora and Hae Sung. When Hae Sung tells Nora that, for him, “you are someone who leaves” but to Arthur “you are someone who stays,” it hits with a force that only comes from feeling total empathy with these people. It’s impossible to imagine Past Lives with anyone else in the roles. That, of course, is thanks to Song’s ability to draw

These aren’t the showy one-shot spectacles of an Alfonso Cuarón film, nor do they wallow in the artifice to create discomfort or unease. They’re more like contemporary updates to Ozu and Wong Kar-wai, extended beats of catharsis and communion that come as conversational and relational capstones. The characters don’t want the moments to end, and we don’t, either. (Cinematographer’s Shabier Kirchner’s gorgeous work in these long takes — indeed, the whole film — certainly helps.)

I didn’t, at least. After watching sequel after sequel and franchise flick after franchise flick, all cut like coked-up music videos, my eyes and brain unable to focus on any one thing in a frame overstuffed with digital monstrosities for more than two seconds, it was luxurious to settle in with a quiet, rich, and assured piece of cinema. There are no fireworks in Past Lives, nor, for that matter, villains. It’s the exceedingly rare grown-up movie for grownups who live grownup lives of hopes, anxieties, and compromises. Song grapples with big ideas: why we are who we are, what we want out of life, who we want to spend our lives with. That kind of quiet profundity puts it at odds with where mainstream studio filmmaking is right now. But it makes it the perfect film for our post-pandemic moment. Its questions are ours — and we could use all the help we can get in finding answers.

Seeing Past Lives in a real-deal movie theater with a crowd of friends and strangers is as good a place as any to begin the journey. Past Lives is now playing in theaters across the city.

"A wise and exquisite film shot through with bold chances and achingly authentic performances, it’s a slow burn that begins with a deceptively simple foundation before crescendoing in an emotional wallop."

Photo Credits (Clockwise from upper left) Celine Song, Greta Lee Credit: Jon Pack; Teo Yoo, Greta Lee Credit: Courtesy of A24; Teo Yoo, Greta Lee Credit: Jon Pack; Greta Lee, Teo Yoo: Credit: Jon Pack

Cruel to be Khanate. The biggest news of last month, perhaps tied with Tina Turner and the debt ceiling, was the first new album by “drone doom supergroup” (so says Wikipedia) Khanate in 14 years. To Be Cruel popped up without prophecy on streaming sites on May 19, with a CD and the usual assortment of buy-me-please limitededition vinyl designs coming from Sacred Bones on June 30. The digital release is three tracks, each about the length of an LP side, suggesting that either a fourth will come with the double vinyl or it’ll be a Rahsaan Roland Kirk three-sided dream. But dispense with the consumer baiting, it can be streamed and downloaded now and it’s gloriously crushing. All four original members are present and accounted for: vocalist Alan Dubin (primarily of OLD); guitarists James Plotkin (Phantomsmasher and countless epochal production efforts) and Stephen O’Malley (Sunn O))) and myriad other implementations); and drummer Tim Wyskida (Khlyst and latter day Blind Idiot God). The band doesn’t just toss out genre, they create horrifying scenarios with well-crafted, artisan art metal. “It Wants to Fly” sets a scene of terror with thick, slow, visceral guitar and Dubin’s starkly discernible lyrics. (“I’m going to take you apart / It’s alright, you can look away / Your body is alive / I can see the skin crawl / Look if you want to / You can look if you want”—needless to say it goes on from there.) The partially whispered title track is another horror. Their four previous albums have also been released for streaming and download for the first time with physical formats expected in the near future. It’s a drudge worth taking.

Spanish bombs. A more melodic doom, by way of Sevilla, can be found in the five-piece Pylar, featuring guitarist Bar-Gal (aka Ricardo Jiminez Gómez of the excellent Orthodox, whose 2022 album Proceed is well worth seeking out) and keyboards and French horn, violin, mandolin, hurdygurdy and modular synth all in the mix.

Límyte (CD, LP, download out June 23 from Cavsas/Cyclic Law) is the band’s seventh studio album and the third part of a trilogy they began in 2019. “Límite,” the long first track, comes off something like a heavier, dirtier, Dirty Three. The closer, “Ruptura-afuera,” is a nervous sleepwalk through simple riffage. Between the two is a brief, psychedelic ritual titled “Aniquilación,” but strange proceedings are buried throughout the sludge. Where Khanate is in your face, and readying to peel your skin, Pylar is a threat on the horizon, but not one to be ignored.

been making some of the old titles, originally released on CD-R, available on vinyl. That label is also issuing their new First Aid Kit (LP and download June 9), an immensely and immediately likeable record and not a bad place to start delving into their unusual songmaking—endearingly enigmatic as ever, in their own, particular way. “1,000 Times” (“I think about you at least 1,000 times a day / I can’t get you off of my mind / what’s wrong, what’s wrong, what’s wrong with me?”) is every bit as catchy as that one 4 Non Blondes song, whatever you think of it, and not entirely dissimilar. It’s like a musical glue-trap but there’s always something gurgling underneath.

“Never Ending Nightmare” also sticks to the ear with bubbly bass and synth masking the tension in the words.

Daughter Quinnisa Rose Kinsella Mulkerin was entering her teen years (and marking a decade appearing on record) during the lockdown recordings, and First Aid Kit puts the women out front. Father Caleb doesn’t sing but with his smart production, the mix is

Thicker than water. The recordings of South Portland’s Big Blood have always struck me as music for the weirdest campfire ever. That might be me projecting a fantasy onto their Maine home base (I’ve been to Maine twice, had fun both times, don’t recall any fires), but their music strikes me as somehow distant but intimate. It might have something to do with a couple making music together in their home for a very long time, going back to the mid ’90s, when they were part of the freak folk collective Cerebus Shoals.

In the years since Shoals disbanded, Colleen Kinsella and Caleb Mulkerin have put out a couple dozen and then some albums, mostly recorded at home and self-released, while raising a daughter who would become a band member. Most of their records are available free or by donation through the Free Music Archive and their Bandcamp page, and the Massachusetts-based Feeding Tube Records has

big and bright enough to swim in. The album closes with the down empo “Weird Road, Pt. 1,” following in reverse gear Part 2 on 2019’s Weird Road EP. It’s a long, less traveled and, yes, weird road they’ve been on these last 17 years, and not about the destination.

Pure pop punk for now gorgeous mothers. The second album by NYC duo Gorgeous arrives June 2 (CD, cassette, download from Cactus Records) and it’s deliciously odd, landing in my ears somewhere between Deerhoof and the marvelous Birthday Ass, who are well overdue for a second record themselves. (Oh, Birthday Ass, where are you?) Sapsucker is tauter, but still as frenetic as their 2019 debut Egg, with catchier songs and brighter production. The songs wobble around with a wonderful disjointedness, only sometimes anchored by Judd Apperman’s ADHD drumming. Dana Lipperman plays layered guitar lines while singing obtuse lyrics of everyday discontent. “Traffic director / Hannibal Lecter / Nobody asked him to step in / Hands got bigger and bigger / Everywhere and nowhere at all / Tumescent or tumorous / His hands grew voluminous / Hands got bigger and bigger,” she laments on “Big Hands,” one of the catchier tracks in the album’s fast-paced half hour. There a manic energy to their songs that rewards repeat listens. Gorgeous isn’t only skin deep. Meanwhile, a decade since their first release, Motherhood is issuing a two-track digital single (June 24, from Forward Music Group), following a full-length this time last year. The New Brunswick trio apparently affectionately known as “Mum” has a lot of story to their songs, helpfully explained in their press release since I’d never have picked up on it otherwise. What I pick up on is something that seems in-you-face gregarious, with a lot of energy and musicality. “Dry Heave” is a screamer with a detective theme interlude. “Wandering” is a bit softer with vocal harmonies and bouncing organ. The video has a cartoon dog. Understanding things is overrated.

It’s like a musical gluetrap but there’s always something gurgling underneath.

Quinn on Books

Using Humor to Fight Antisemitism

Review of Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew, by Jeremy Dauber

Review by Michael Quinn

Born in Brooklyn in 1926, Melvin Kaminsky was the youngest of four boys whom the fatherless family doted on. “Until I was six, my feet didn’t touch the ground,” he remembers. He was quick with a smile, a natural mimic, and good at making people laugh. He honed his comedy chops on the stoops and streets of his Brownsville neighborhood.

As a teenager in Brighton Beach, he took up the drums, allegedly using a shortened version of his mother’s maiden name, Brookman, as his stage name because that’s what fit on the bass drum. Too young to enlist in World War II, he headed to the Catskills’ famed Borscht Belt for a summer gig, providing rim shots for the comedians. One night he did an act of his own. He was an instant hit.

“Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew,” by Jeremy Dauber, a professor of Jewish literature and American studies at Colombia University, is not only a biography of the comedy genius but a smart, snappy, and insightful investigation into how Brooks can take any subject and “make it funny by making it Jewish.” In Brooks’ world, someone doesn’t just eat a fish. They eat a herring—in a Western.

Sincere and irreverent

By now, we’re so used to this kind of bonkers comedy it’s easy to overlook how much of a trailblazer the 96-year-old is. Neither anti-Semitism nor social norms can get him to be anything other than himself. He is always sincere, and he is always irreverent. (For example, he always referred to his movie star wife by both first and last name, Anne Bancroft.) Like the Trojan Horse of comedy, Brooks presents himself as an innocuous gift, worms his way into an impenetrable room, and launches a noholds-barred attack from the inside, leaving his victims dying with laughter. His goofy demeanor is completely disarming. He advertises himself as the bulls eye when really, he is the one firing the shots. After all, how does comedy work? Someone observes something, captures what makes it unique, then turns it on its ear—you might have only been half-listening, but suddenly you burst out laughing. It’s like your body gets the joke before your mind does. Only later do you realize that the joke might have been made at your expense. By then, Brooks has homed in on someone new.

An early target was comedian Sid Caesar, whom Brooks worshipped and relentlessly perused. Brooks had a retort for each of Caesar’s rebuffs, which eventually wore him down and finally won him over. Brooks then charmed his way into the writers’ room, “popping Raisinets…pitching…ideas at a mile a minute.” While working on a television variety show, he befriended Carl Reiner. Together they developed Brooks’ most famous improvisational character, the 2,000-Year-Old Man, who recalls witnessing some of history’s most important events—with a Yiddish accent.

Dauber helps us see how the roots of Brooks’ comedy can be traced to vaudeville and burlesque comedy traditions. He helps us hear how Brooks has a musician’s ear for timing, perfectly punctuating his material with well-placed gags and zingers. And he helps us truly appreciate Brooks’ gift for parody: lampooning something familiar and doing something unexpected with it. As he points out, Brooks’ most successful films from the 1970s all follow the same winning formula: “The Producers” (spoof on show business), “Young Frankenstein” (spoof on Universal horror films), “Blazing Saddles” (spoof on Westerns). Brooks’ stamp on things is unmistakable. He brought his experience of being an American Jew to the mainstream—and made it mainstream. His humor is oppositional. It’s bold. It’s outsider. It’s fearless. And as Dauber points out, what’s most winning about it is that it “shines with love and affection for the community it mocks.”

Jazz by Grella Envision the Scene

“Community” is a word that arts organizations use a lot these days, and I in no way want to undercut the sincerity behind that when I point out that the word’s popularity is fundamentally driven by the kind of grant-writing-thinking that pretty much every arts organization has to adopt in contemporary American life in order to even hope for some of the crumbs of public funding that don’t get swallowed up by Lincoln Center and other big name institutions. In our current culture of culture, the rich institutions are rich because they attract rich people, their richness is a prominent part of their endurance, and that richness gets further rewarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and others. Success is rewarded, need and quality are sometimes fulfilled, as long as you can demonstrate how your project is going to productively engage with the “community.”

Just what is that community? In jazz, it’s based around what the people in this community have for at least three-quarters of a century called the “scene.” The scene is both external and internal, group- and individual-based, the collection of musicians who play regularly, the places they play, the people who go see them play. Nobody says this anymore, but jazz heads used to make the scene, be “scenesters.” The scene is a real thing, though, felt both through its presence and absence, and changes are palpable. Like, I know the scene still misses the late, great, irreplaceable Steve Dalachnisky.

The community of Vision Fest

Steve was a regular pretty much every place jazz was being played, an embodiment of the scene. A leader in this community through his own enduring presence, you always saw him at the Vision Festival, and seeing him, you knew that you were in the presence of a community. And no jazz event in New York City comes closer to making and supporting a community that the Vision Fest. It’s not the only major jazz event, the Winter Jazzfest has its own substantial presence and is certainly larger in both geography and personnel, but what the Vision Fest does so well is bring in likeminded people—those who gather together because they share similar values—and, for a period, creates a real home. This year, like most years, for the 27th edition running June 10 and 12-18, that home will be Roulette, mostly. (I have a bad habit of pointing out that Roulette is inside the same YWCA building where John Cage used to occasionally earn some cash by whitewashing the hallways—can’t we make it some kind of heritage site, a place where a great artist managed to temporarily earn a living?)

A community is an extended family, and the Vision Fest’ parents are William Parker and Patricia Nicholson, who pretty much gave birth to it and have, through organizing and performing, been nurturing it into full adulthood. Each as an artist has their own overlapping working and performing communities, very much anchored in New York and the creative jazz scene, so the Vision Fest community is not just notional but a real thing. Through the year, you can find them and the musicians they play with at places like First Park, Nublu, the new FourOneOne in Williamsburg, any place where there is an emphasis on freedom in jazz. In some sense, the festival is an opportunity for so many colleagues to get together in a concentrated way, in front of an audience that can come night after night—community, yes, but more like an extended family reunion.

Opens June 13

And what a family! The opening night of concerts is June 13, and it’s a celebration of the great French bass-

by George Grella

ist Joëlle Léandre. In what’s going to be a marathon performance for her, she’s leading four different sets: a trio with flutist Nicole Mitchell and pianist Myra Melford; accompanying poet Fred Moten; returning with another trio of violist Mat Maneri and pianist Craig Taborn; and then finishing with a septet with horns and strings, including Ingrid Laubrock, Steve Swell, Maneri, Jason Kao Hwang, and Joe Morris. That is one of the major jazz nights for all of 2023 in this city, but of course there’s so much more. One urgent highlight is an actual reunion, the set on June 14 from Gerald Cleaver’s band Black Host. This group’s 2013 release, Life in the Sugar Candle Mines (Northern Spy) is their sole album and still a teeth-rattling mix of free jazz and rock, with a feeling of relaxed but intense concentration, thrilling heaviness and an ensemble direction that is assuring. Almost the whole original band will be together at Roulette, with bassist Pascal Niggenkemper this night replaced by two other bass players, Dezron Douglas and Brandon Lopez. If you can only make it to one night, this is the one I would pick, and not just for Black Host, but also to hear the great bassoonist Karen Borca with scene hero Rob Brown, the great drummer Hamid Drake leading a band that includes Joshua Abrams playing bass and guembri, Jamie Saft at the keys, and tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, while bassist Mark Dresser ends the night with a septet that brings back Mitchell and includes reed player Mary Ehrlich.

Other sets I want to point out include dancer K.J. Holmes and drummer Jeremy Carlstedt in duet and drummer Mike Reed’s Separatist Party (with cornetist Ben LaMar Gay), June 15; Parker and Nicholson each delivering a set, Nicholson dancing to follow Parker’s Maya Space Station Flight 66, with Cleaver, sizzling guitarist Ava Mendoza, and the unsung Lee Mixashawn Rozie playing mandolin and flute, all on a night that opens with vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and closes with the great pianist Matthew Shipp’s quartet and then a late set with Mississippi to NY Freedom Band, all followed by two late night jam sessions at FourOneOne (June 16); and the Saturday and Sunday shows including a youth group led by Parker and the Sun Han Guild (including flutist Laura Cocks) on Saturday, while the Sunday Grand Finale honors legendary bassist Reggie Workman, 85 years strong. That day culminates in a 10pm set with Workman and a band that features pianist Jason Moran, vocalist, Jen Shyu, tenor saxophonist Odean Pope, and drummer Gerry Hemingway, while earlier Workman accompanies poet Kayo, and the evening starts with an augmented version of 75 Dollar Bill.

With all this music, you’re likely to be caught between exhilaration and exhaustion. You can cool out with some compelling community events: June 10 is the afternoon-long “Conference on the Legacies of Black Creative Arts / Spirit of the Ancestors” at The Clemente, with Nicholson, academics and musicians discussing the spirituality that drives and is embodied in the kind of creative jazz that reaches toward a free and existential expression, and how that can be part of a struggle for justice. At Roulette on the afternoon of June 12, there’s a symposium on “The Ecology of Media and Music,” focusing on accessibility and inclusivity in the creative arts.

Film screenings locally

There are also film screenings on June 10 and 12 at The Clemente and Roulette, respectively, including a documentary on artist Robert Janz and one on the personal journey of saxophonist Sonny Simmons. These are all parts of the concentration of bringing people together into a community that sees the possibilities in freedom.

EMMA STRAUB

(continued from page 23)

For schedules and tickets, go to www.artsforart.org/ vision.html also sell many of my novels. When I leaf through my earlier books to sign them, I think, “Who wrote this?” They came from such a different brain—she is a stranger to me.

Book you insist on stocking that is a bit slower to fly off the shelves?

We have tons of those! We carry pretty much the entire catalog of everything ever written by Meg Wolitzer and Lorrie Moore, just because I love them the most. Any bookseller could name titles that are important to them. That’s what makes an independent bookstore so great.

A book that almost everyone would be happy to receive?

Right now, “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,” by Gabrielle Zevin. Fully half the staff read it and loved it. It’s an incredible story. “Crying in H Mart,” by Michelle Zauner, we sold thousands. It hasn’t slowed down for us since the minute it came out.

I mean, Books Are Magic is not the whole world. When a book does well here, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s crossed over into the public consciousness. We get behind the books we love and they’re big hits for us here, even if some of them aren’t national bestsellers.

My relationship with writers has changed so much since we opened the store. It’s not competitive. It’s cooperative in this new way, where I can say, “Come in, and we can do something together.” We work together in support of their success.

Joëlle Léandre/ Fred Moten

Marie's Craft Corner

TURN AN EMPTY PAPER TOWEL TUBE INTO A MERMAID WAND!

by Marie Hueston

Whether you’re singing songs from the liveaction Little Mermaid everyone’s buzzing about, or preparing for the Coney Island Mermaid Parade on June 17, this easy-to-make wand will get you into the spirit!