The
Red Hook StarªRevue
NOVEMBER 2016
FREE
SOUTH BROOKLYN’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
The Fish Gods of Erie Basin by Noah Phillips
Paulie McDonald is looking for striped bass tonight. “They’re the biggest, meanest thing out here,” says McDonald, “and that’s what I’m trying to catch.” McDonald is standing on a crumbling concrete bulkhead behind one of the long brick warehouses that define the Red Hook landscape. Even as he speaks, McDonald’s eyes are fixated on the tip of the fishing rod planted in the bucket in front of him. It’s around 1 in the morning in late October, and a bit chilly. “The fishing gets pretty good this time of year, but it’s cold, so you’ve got to be kind of diehard,” says McDonald, who is 32 and has a construction shop in Red Hook. “I’ll come out, I’ll suffer. A little bit of weather isn’t going to stop me.” McDonald and his friends have been fishing in Red Hook for more than ten years. Until recently, they caught a huge diversity of fish, from bait like bunker and minnows to larger game fish like herring, bluefish, blackfish, fluke, and striped bass. But in early October, the ecology of Erie Basin was disrupted when work began at a new development on site of the old Revere Suger Refinery. Per the local fishermen, the work has clouded the water and possibly released long-encapsulated toxic materials into the water column. “I go down there every day and I see what they’re doing, and how they’re doing it, and it just bothers my mind,” says Robbie Giordano, another local fisherman and neighborhood barman. “I haven’t seen any dead fish floating yet - that’s because most of them are smart enough that they get a taste of the water and they get out of there.”
Erie Basin
Look at a map of Red Hook, and Erie Basin immediately draws the eye. Roughly 90 acres in area, it is formed by the artificial peninsulas of Van Brunt Street on the west side and Columbia Street on the east side. The basin also separates the Buttermilk Channel to the east and Gowanus Bay to the west. Erie Basin was built in the 1840s by
Red Hook Star-Revue
William Beard and Jeremiah and George Robinson as an offloading point for goods coming down the Erie Canal from the Midwest. It was a major part of what made Red Hook and New York - one of the biggest shipping centers in the world.
Robbie Giordano prepares his gear for a night of fishing in Erie Basin. (photo by Noah Phillips)
“Erie Basin is very deep in some places because it was created to use as ship dockage. There were ship repairs there, there was off-loading of rice, grains, sugars, big ships with deep hulls would need to go in there,” says Giordano, who has lived in Red Hook for the last ten years and has fished Erie Basin for the last eight. “A lot of people don’t know this, but Erie Basin actually has an opening on both ends.” Giordano, 45, has been fishing since he was two years old. He majored in Fisheries and Marine Technology at Kingsboro College, and worked for the New York Water Taxi until a traffic accident put him behind the bar at Verona Lounge. He says that Erie Basin’s natural geography makes it one of the best spots in New York Harbor to fish. “Erie Basin has been a tremendous source of life in terms of fish ecology and bird ecology,” says Giordano. “The water quality used to be probably the highest of any as far as clarity, oxygen levels, and condition overall than anywhere else in New York Harbor.” He says that clear ocean water is pushed along the southern shore of Brooklyn, flushing Erie Basin every 12 hours with the tide. ”You can actually see it happening. You see chocolate milk on one side and this greenish clear water moving against it on the other side,” says Giordano. “There’s a deep channel that comes all the way from the Breezy Point jetty along the Belt Parkway, all
the way along Brooklyn. The first relief point is Erie Basin.” The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) designates parts of Erie Basin as a Priority Marine Activity Zone as well as a Significant Maritime Industrial Area. The IKEA site, formerly a U.S. Dredg-
ing Shipyard Site, was restored as part of DEC’s Brownfield Remediation Program. Rodney Rivera, who works at DEC’s Long Island City office, also says that Erie Basin is prime real estate for many forms of life. (continued on page 3)
Tony Sterling case unsolved
O
by Nicole Rothwell
n October 5, 2014, Howard “Tony” Sterling was murdered in Red Hook, Brooklyn. For the last two years, Bobby Boomer and Omar Gray were held in pretrial detention, only to be released this past August and September respectively. It was a Sunday morning when Sterling was fatally shot in his home. The murder of Sterling, who was known to some as the “Santa Clause of Red Hook,” was a tragic loss for the community. In December 2014, Gray and Boomer were arrested for his murder. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s (DA) Office confirmed in an email to the Red Hook Star Revue that on August 16, 2016, Boomer was
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acquitted at trial and Gray’s case was dismissed on September 16, 2016. The DA’s office could not comment beyond this because both cases have been sealed. “There was clearly reasonable doubt, but in my opinion, I don’t think he should’ve been charged,” Lawrence Fredella, Boomer’s defense attorney, said in a phone interview. Fredella said the prosecution argued that Boomer and Gray had attempted robbery at Sterling’s residence, and that Boomer shot Sterling in his leg before leaving. “They made their allegation based on, what I thought was, faulty witnesses and also video (continued on page 5)
November 2016, Page 1
Community Telephone Numbers: Red Hook Councilman Carlos Menchaca............... (718) 439-9012 Red Hook Assemblyman Felix Ortiz........................ (718) 492-6334 Red Hook State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery.. (718) 643-6140 Gowanus Councilman Brad Lander......................... (718) 499-1090 Park Slope Councilman Steve Levin........................ (718) 875-5200 CB6 District Manager Craig Hammerman ............ (718) 643-3027 76th Police Precinct, 191 Union Street Main phone ............................................................... (718) 834-3211 Community Affairs................................................... (718) 834-3207 Traffic Safety............................................................. (718) 834-3226 Eileen Dugan Senior Center, 380 Court Street..... (718) 596-1956 Miccio Community Center, 110 East 9th Street... (718) 243-1528 Red Hook East Dev. Office, 62 Mill St...................... (718) 852-6771 Red Hook West Dev. Office, 55 Dwight St.............. (718) 522-3880 Brownstone Republicans...info@brownstonerepublicanclub.com NYCHA Satellite Police Precinct, 80 Dwight Street Main Phone................................................................ (718) 265-7300 Community Affairs.................................................... (718) 265-7313 Domestic Violence.................................................... (718) 265-7310 Youth Officer.............................................................. (718) 265-7314 Auxiliary/Law Enforcement Coordinator ............ (718) 265-7378 Detective Squad........................................................ (718) 265-7327
Happenings, etc. For more events and community meetings, visit our website at www.star-revue.com and click on the “calendar” tab. To get your event listed in this section, email editor@redhookstar.com and include “happenings” in the subject line.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3
The Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Club will be holding its 5th Annual Gala and Birthday Party, where Buddy Scotto will receive a Life Achievement Award for his work in the neighborhood. 6:30 – 10:30 at Dyker Beach Golf Club, 1036 86th Street. Tickets $125/person.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Pioneer Works will present two concerts of the music of Patrick Higgins, featuring Vicky Chow, Mivos Quartet, and Wet Ink Ensemble. The music will be paired with immersive art installation in collaboration with artists Tauba Auerbach and Alexander Arroyo. 7 pm, 153 Pioneer Street.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Bring your pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, and other holiday gourds for the NYC Compost Project Pumpkin Smash event at the Red Hook Community Farm. You smash them–and the NYC Compost Project will turn them into compost for City parks and green spaces. 10 am - 12 pm, 103 Otsego Street. Scotto Funeral Home’s 56th Annual Mass in memory of all departed loved ones at noon. Light refreshments to follow. Sacred Hearts/St. Stephens, Summit and Hicks Streets
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6
Carroll Gardens native son and storyteller Vito Gentile will share his stories, poems, and memories of growing up in South Brooklyn. 2 pm - 4 pm Sacred Heart/St. Stephen Church, 125 Summit Street.
RELIGIOUS SERVICES
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7
Christian
River Of God Christian Center
110 Wolcott Street, 646-226-6135, Secretary, Sister Roslyn Chatman. Sunday - Family Worship 11:00 - 1:00 pm Scripture, read in English and Spanish Wednesday - At The Gate 12:00 noon, Prayer 7:00 - 7:30 pm, Bible Studies 7:00 - 8:00 pm, Thursday Prayer 7:30 - 8:30pm, Friday Youth ABLAZED Ministries 6:00 - 7:30pm, Senior Pastor, Donald Gray
The Record Shop will be hosting Monday Night Live, a series of fall readings. This month, Salome on the Rocks - a modern adaptation of an Oscar Wilde play. 8 pm at 360 Van Brunt St. Atelier Roquette, a Red Hook restaurant and event space, will host a potluck screening of the debut episode of “Dinner Party,’ Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg’s new show on VH1. 63 Commerce St, 7 pm - 10 pm.
Visitation Church
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10
New Brown Memorial Baptist Church
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13
98 Richards Street , (718) 624-1572. Office open Mon-Thursday 9 am - 3 pm. Saturday Mass at 5:00 pm English; Sunday 10:00 am Spanish, 12:30 pm English. Community Prayer on Tuesday and Thursday at 8:00 pm. Baptisms are held every other month. Please call to arrange for Baptisms, First Communion, Confirmation and Weddings. 609 Clinton Street, 718 624 4780 Pastor A.R Jamal. Sunday School at 9:30 am. Sunday Worship at 11:00 am. Bible Study -Wednesday at 7:30pm. Communion every first Sunday
Stretching Far and Wide Global Ministry, Inc.
382 Hamilton Avenue, Studio B 1-800-948-9042 Archbishop Dr. Barbara Jackman, Overseer Rev. Dr. Dwayne Barnes, Pastor Services are held every Sunday @ 10:00 am Communion every First Sunday stretchingfar.webs.com stretchingfar@aol.com
St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish
467 Court Street, (718) 625-2270 Rectory Hours: Monday-Thursday 9:00 am - 11:30 am, 1:00 pm-4:00 pm, Friday 9:00 am - 12:00 noon. Masses: Saturday 5:30 pm, Sunday 10:00 am, Monday - Thursday 9:30 am.
Saint Paul and Saint Agnes Parish
Church Office 234 Congress Street (718) 624-3425 Hours: M - F 8:30 am-12 St. Agnes Church Office 433 Sackett Street, 718-625-1717 Hours: M-F 1pm-430pm Email: stpaulstagnes@gmail. com St. Agnes: Saturday 5pm Vigil Mass Sunday 9 am (English), 11:30am (Spanish) St. Paul’s: Saturday 5pm Vigil Mass Sunday 8 am & 9:30am (English); 11am (Spanish) Monday & Tuesday 8:30am (St. Paul’s) Wednesday & Thursday 8:30am (St. Agnes) Saturday 8am (St. Paul’s)
Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary - Saint Stephen Roman Catholic Church
125 Summit Street at Hicks Street, (718) 596-7750, info@sacredhearts-ststephen.com Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 9:00 am - 5:00 am, Friday 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, Saturday 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:30 pm, Sunday Masses at 8:00 am, 10:00 am, and noon (Italian/English) Weekday Masses during winter months at 8:30 am and 12:00 noon Confessions: Saturday at 4:45 pm and by appointment. Baptisms every third Sunday at 1:00 pm.
Geraldo Uscategui, who grew up in Red Hook and worked at the Justice Center, will be celebrating the release of his new book, The Rumdog Chronicles, from 6 pm - 9 pm at 200 5th Avenue in Brooklyn. Red Hook Open Studios will take place from 1 pm - 6 pm all over the neighborhood. A map of participating artists will be printed out and distributed as well as available on RH Open Studios’ facebook page.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17
Eat, drink and be thankful at P.S. 15’s 25th Annual Thanksgiving Community Celebration. 5 pm - 8 pm at the Patrick F. Daly School.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19
The Resiliency Product Expo will be showcasing new products and designs to help homeowners, builders, and designers create a more sustainable environment. The Expo will also include presentations, a walking tour, and workshops. 202 Coffey Street, 11 am - 4 pm.
The
481 Van Brunt Street, 8A, Brooklyn, NY 11231
FOR EDITORIAL, ADVERTISING OR EMPLOYMENT INQUIRIES, email: info@redhookstar.com, or call (718) 624-5568
The Star-Revue is published by
St. Paul’s Carroll Street
199 Carroll Street Parish Office: 718-625-4126 Sunday Mass at 10 am Weekday Morning Prayer - Mon.-Thurs. at 7:30 am Weekday masses as announced Holy Days as announced \ Church open for prayer Tues. 6-8pm & Sat. 2-4pm http://stpaulscarrollst.weebly.com/
Jewish
Kane Street Synagogue
236 Kane Street, 718 875-1550 http://kanestreet.org/ Friday night services, 6:00 PM Shabbat services, 9:15 AM Sunday Services 9:00 AM
Kimberly G. Price & George Fiala
Noah Phillips, Advertising Manager Nathan Weiser, Noah Phillips, Emily Kluver Reporters Halley Bondy, Arts Laura Eng, Religion Contributors: Mary Ann Pietanza, Nicole Rothwell
Congregation B’nai Avraham/Chabad of Brooklyn Heights
If your religious institution isn’t listed here, let us know by emailing info@redhookstar.com Thanks! Page 2 Red Hook Star-Revue
Red Hook StarªRevue
The Red Hook Star-Revue is published monthly. Founded June 2010.
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November 2016
Construction on Red Hook shores disrupts ecosystem (continued from page 1)
“The marine ecology of Erie Basin is productive for seaweed, barnacles, and possibly oysters due to restoration projects. It also has rocky, shallow, inter-tidal, and deep water habitats, which are used by many forage fish to feed and hide from valuable predatory fish,” writes Rivera in an email to the Star-Revue. “The predatory juvenile fish also use the habitats to hide from larger predatory fish.” McDonald puts it in simpler language. “We’re in New York City, but I’m in sort of my own personal space right now, away from all the millions of people that drive me crazy on a dayto-day basis. I’m looking at the Statue of Liberty. I’m looking at the Verrazano Bridge. I’m looking at New Jersey, and no one can really bother me here,” says McDonald, his eyes still on his rod. “It’s basically as close to nature as I’m going to get, and I’m right here in New York City. It’s a pretty beautiful thing.”
“They’re digging down so deep and they’re pulling up so much stuff,” says Giordano, pointing at the cloudy water of Erie Basin. False Albacore
McDonald and his friends usually purchase or catch bait in the afternoon, and meet at their spot after dark - often after Giordano closes the bar. Depending on how good the fishing is, they might stay out all night. “I’ll stay out till five in the morning, I’ll sleep on the concrete for an hour, get up, and go straight to work,” says McDonald. “I’ll be there by 8 o’clock, covered in fish blood and ready to knock out some construction.” McDonald says that it’s rare to find a fishing community that so respects Mother Nature. “Especially in New York City, guys just come out and poach fish. Anything they catch, they’re gonna keep,” says McDonald. “We respect the rules, and put back fish that are under limit or out of season. We pray to the fish gods, really, and that’s what makes a fishing community. Respect for a higher power.” In early October, Giordano saw something special as he made his rounds, something he had never seen before. “I’m going to scout for bait, and I see these explosions on the surface. It was as if someone was dropping 9-pound, 10-pound bowling balls into the water,” says Giordano. The explosions were moving quickly, and following a school of small bunker, leading Giordano to induce that the “explosions” were caused by a species of tuna often called false albacore. “It was amazing. It was amazing to see them in Erie Basin. That is a sign of water quality and available food
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source, and all those elements coming to g ether,” says Giord a n o . “If I had hooked and landed a false albacore in Erie Basin from the shore, I guarantee that would have been the first time it had ever happened [since the I n d u s trial RevoMcDonald casts out his line after catching (and releasing) an oyster toad. (photos by Noah Phillips) lution]. Guaran“This time last year I would see three pany; by 1931 all of it was,” wrote teed. And I came within inches of do- or four big schools of bunker on a Thomas Flagg in 1991 when the city ing it.” daily basis,” says Giordano. “I’ve been was considering acquiring the refinBut things changed quickly at Erie Basin. there every day since the construction ery as a cultural and historic landstarted. Since then, there have been mark. “Sugar refining was once a ma“The very next day when I went there, no visible signs of life except a little bit jor component of Brooklyn’s industry, it was as if I had walked through a here a little bit there.” with major installations in several ardoor into the desert - coming from a eas. The Revere site was probably the rainforest, coming from the jungle,” “There’s a mussel bed out there where last of these.” says Giordano. “I’m looking around, I all the fluke and flounder go in the don’t see anything, I don’t hear any- summertime. All those mussels are The Revere Sugar Refinery was in conthing - I can smell the bunker when going to probably die - or become con- tinuous use until at least the mid 1980s, they’re there, I don’t smell anything.” taminated,” adds Giordano, “I can’t when the company went bankrupt. The watch it for more than five minutes. I building was purchased by Joe Sitt of Work had begun on Red Hoek Point, Thor Equities in 2005 for $40 million get disgusted to see what’s going on.” a new development by Thor Equities and demolished throughout 2007on the former site of the Revere Sugar Richards Street Bulkhead “Red Hoek Point will include two 2009. In 2015, Thor Equities announced Refinery, just to the east of IKEA. its plans to build Red Hoek Point. “They’re really going hard over there. heavy timber frame buildings with Although Thor Equities has permits They’re disturbing things so much. 23,000 square feet of retail and resfor its work in Erie Basin and DEC’s taurant space, and more than 795,000 They’re digging down so deep, and Rodney Rivera says that the work square feet of creative office space on they’re pulling up so much stuff,” says three levels,” should not be causing any pollution, says Thor Eq- Red Hook’s fishing population and uities’ website. others report a significant drop in wa“The campus ter quality since the work began. also features Mike McCann, an Urban Marine Ecoloa public wa- gist who works with the Nature Conserterfront espla- vancy, says that it’s likely the fish have nade and open moved to other areas in the harbor. courtyard.” “Fish and other marine organisms are But before work attracted to structure in the water, but can commence if you disturb that structure, they’ll go on buildings, elsewhere,” writes McCann. “Those Thor Equities animals are probably not dead - just must restore the attracted to some other structure nearbulkheads on its by. So if you stop construction or add Thor Equities has begun repairing its bulkheads. site, which juts new structure, it will attract life again.” around 700 feet into Erie Basin. Giordano, pointing at the cloudy waGiordano says that if Thor Equities ter of Erie Basin. “All the silt, and the “We are installing a new steel sheet has all of the permits, the approval muck and the layers that have been pile bulkhead around the entire pe- process cannot have been stringent enclosed - as they bucket that stuff up, rimeter of the property to replace the enough. DEC did not respond to email half of it just blows out, gets directly failed and decaying timber bulkhead,” asking about the approval process. injected into the water column and writes Thor Equities spokesman “I don’t know if it’s legal or illegal, all I stirred around by the current, and just Joshua Greenwald. “The old timber know is that there was this very unique settles back down on top of everything cribbing is being removed in order to ecosystem that’s been undone,” says that’s alive. It kills everything. It’s toxic drive the new steel sheeting.” Giordano. “No one bothered to look materials and heavy metals that now The site at Richards and Beard Streets, at what was going on here before they are exposed.” formerly known as the Richards Street just said ‘go-ahead, build this, dig this Since the work began, Giordano and bulkhead, was used for sugar refining up.’ This should be a protected area. his friends have not been able to catch since before World War I. It should be a protected ecosystem. any of their bait, and the game fish “By 1915, some of the property was in It should be a fish haven, and no one also have dropped off. use by the American Molasses Com- looked at it like that.”
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November 2016, Page 3
RELIGIOUS NEWS BY LAURA ENG laura.eng59@aol.com.
Confirmation Candidates Make Pilgrimage to Holy Doors
W
ith the Year of Mercy, as proclaimed by Pope Francis, ending this month, thirty local Confirmation candidates - Confirmandi - made a pilgrimage to the Holy Doors of the Cathedral Basilica of St. James in downtown Brooklyn Saturday afternoon, September 15. Led by Religious Education Coordinator of Visitation BVM Parish, Sylvia Dobles and Director of Religious Education of Sacred Hearts/St. Stephen Parish (SHSS), Nancy Arkin, the candidates from both parishes gathered in front of SHSS Church on Summit and Hicks Streets. They then processed to St. James on Jay Street where they and their chaperones, including Visitation’s Father Eamon Murray and Catechist Robert Berrios, were greeted by St. James’ rector, Father Peter Purpura. After entering the Cathedral, the teens took a moment to quietly pray and meditate. They were then asked to make a personal commitment to Jesus, as well as to perform a spiritual or corporal act of mercy as thanksgiving for receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. Afterwards, the Confirmation candidates were bestowed with a special blessing by Father Eamon. Youth Minister, Laura Ramirez-Galeas, observed that the teens conducted themselves “with a sincere heart” at the Cathedral. She also noted, “the kids were able to use this opportunity as a step to their confirmation, but also as a way to experience God’s mercy by doing something that they have never done, and by putting their own comfort aside to encounter God in the silence of the heart.” After leaving St. James, the group then processed back to SHSS Church, where they were warmly welcomed by Father Victor Ashiagbor, who celebrated Mass along with Father Eamon and Monsignor Guy Massie. One of the Confirmation candidates, SHSS parishioner Michael Vito Jacob Muñoz, age 13, said what he liked most about the pilgrimage was getting to know the kids from neighboring Visitation Parish on the long walk. Michael said he felt at home at St. James Cathedral, even though they were there for a short time. He was grateful that he got to pray there and said “I always pray for world peace!” Michael chose his great-aunt Victoria Denaro to be his Confirmation sponsor. All the candidates from both Visitation and SHSS parishes received the Sacrament of Confirmation later in the month on Friday, October 29 at an evening Mass at SHSS Church presided over by Auxiliary Bishop James Massa. The Jubilee Year of Mercy began on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 2015 and will conclude on November 20, 2016, which is the So-
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Confirmation candidates at St. James Cathedral. (photo by Laura Ramirez-Galeas)
lemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The four basilicas in Rome have “holy doors” which are only opened during Jubilee years so that pilgrims can enter them to gain a plenary indulgence - or forgiveness of a temporal sin. Similarly, cathedrals, basilicas and churches around the world opened their own holy doors for the local faithful.
Blessing of the Animals
To mark the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, two local churches conducted Blessings of the Animals. The blessing at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Sunday, October 1, took place inside the sanctuary because of threatening weather. Fathers Peter Cullen and Bob Griffith were joined by Father Victor Ashiagbor of Sacred Hearts/St. Stephen. Together they blessed a number of barking dogs and quiet cats. Both pets and their humans were then invited to stay for refreshments. On the evening of the actual feast day, October 4, Father Chris Cashman blessed a total of 39 dogs and three cats outside of St. Mary Star of the Sea Church. It is the custom of Father Cashman, a proud dog owner himself, to distribute a gift of a traveling water bowl or a St. Francis medal to all animals present each year.
Happenings/ Upcoming Events
Sacred Hearts-St. Stephen Church 108 Carroll Street Youth Ministry Mass on Saturday, November 19 at 5:30 pm at Sacred HeartsSt. Stephen Church for the youth ministry of SHSS, Visitation BVM, and St. Paul/ St. Agnes. For more information, call (718) 596-7750. Assumption BVM/St. Boniface Parish 55 Cranberry Street Arise Together in Christ - a program of spiritual renewal will be meeting for six consecutive weekly sessions. All are welcome! For information, visit www.brooklynoratory.org. Joan Sexton Memorial Women in the Church Event - “The Courage to Keep (continued on next page)
November 2016
Religion
(continued from previous page)
Facing the Wind: What Sustains Catholic Women in the Church.” On Saturday, November 5 from 9:30 am-12:30 pm at Newman Hall. The Oratory’s Annual Baronius Lecture on Church History on Wednesday, November 9 at 6 pm. “The Sense of the Faithful in the Development of Doctrine: John Henry Newman’s Influence in the Era of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis” will be delivered by Kenneth L. Parker, Steber Professor of Theological Studies at Saint Louis University.
Congregation Mount Sinai 250 Cadman Plaza West Bluegrass Shabbat-First Fridays@CMS on Friday, November 4 at 6:30 pm. Southern-style oneg (snacks) will follow services. Visit http://www.jewgrass. com/ for more information. Kristallnacht Observance with Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Brita Wagener on Saturday, November 5 at noon, after Shabbat services. The Consul General will speak about the late German prosecutor Fritz Bauer, Esq., who worked tirelessly to obtain justice and compensation for victims of the Nazi regime. Kiddush luncheon will follow. Parent-Child Challah Baking on Thursday, November 10 at 5:30 pm. $10 per child, adults are free. Must RSVP to marleneantebicms@gmail.com. Wise Aging Lecture with Rabbi Rachel Cowan on Saturday November 19, with talk at 11:30 am and lunch at 12:30 pm. River of God Christian Center 110 Wolcott Street Women’s Retreat on November 4-6, will include a trip to the Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster, PA. Flea Market on November 19 from 10 am-5 pm in the Christian Center basement. Sacred Hearts/St. Stephen Church Summit & Hicks Street All Souls Day Parish Memorial Mass on Wednesday, November 2 at 7 pm for all who have died between November 1, 2015 and October 31, 2016. 56th Annual Scotto Funeral Home Mass in memory of all our departed loved ones on Saturday, November 5 at 12:00 noon. Light refreshments to follow. “Memories of a Brooklyn Kid,” a thoroughly entertaining collection of poems, essays and all sorts of excerpts by native son and master storyteller, Vito Gentile, on Sunday, November 6 from 2-4 pm. Admission is free and refreshments will be served. For more information, call (917) 863-3405. The 150th Anniversary Gala on November 13, 2016, 4 pm cocktails, 5 pm dinner at El Caribe Country Club. Cost is $135 per person. For information e-mail 150@ SacredHearts-StStephen.com. Thanksgiving Parish Mass on Wednesday, November 23 at 7 pm. Blessing of the Cornerstone of the Church and Mass with Bishop Frank Caggiano on Sunday, November 27 at 10 am. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament every Saturday from 4-5:15 pm and on First Fridays from 7:15-8:30 am followed by Mass.
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St. Agnes Church Sackett & Hoyt Streets Deacon Leroy Branch, Jr. was chosen by the Brooklyn Diocese to receive the “Shining Star” award on Friday, October 21 at Gargiulo’s Restaurant. Congratulations to Deacon Leroy! All Soul’s Day on Wednesday, November 2. Mass for beloved deceased will be celebrated at 8:30 am. Sounds on Sackett on Saturday, November 19 at 7 pm featuring dueling sopranos, Juliana Fazzone and Karen Merchant. Tickets are $20 for adults, children 12 and under are free. Tickets are available at the door and in advance at St. Agnes/St. Paul’s parish offices. Visit online at soundsonsackett.com Family Movie Day “For Greater Glory” on Sunday, November 13 at 11:30 am at St. Agnes Hall. For more information, call (718) 625-1717. Monthly community fundraising lunch on Sunday, November 20 from 1:30-3 pm at St. Agnes Hall. Tickets for $7 are on sale now at St. Agnes/St. Paul’s parish offices. All are welcome. Religious Education late registration for grades 1 to 8 will take place any Sunday during class time from 10:15-11:30 am at St. Agnes Hall. Adult Religious Education for adults who are interested in being baptized, receiving communion or being confirmed, please call (718) 625-1717. Leave your name, phone number and email address and you will be notified when classes are to begin. St. Mary Star of the Sea Church 467 Court Street Mass of Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 24 at 9 am. You may bring an item of food you will use at your Thanksgiving table to be blessed. Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Thursday, December 8 at 9:30 am and 7:30 pm. St. Paul’s Catholic Church 234 Congress Street An animal rescue group will be at St. Paul’s hall on Saturday November 5 from 2-4 pm. Come learn about animal rescue. Religious Education - see information under St. Agnes listing or see Mr. Gorman after the 9:15 am Mass on Sunday to complete registration. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 199 Carroll Street St. Paul’s 28th Annual Auction and Dinner on Saturday November 5 at 5 pm. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased by calling (718) 625-4126. The youth group is collecting CLEAN, NEW, WARM men’s socks for homeless men who eat at the CHIPS Center. Please drop off socks on Sundays during Coffee Hour following the 10 am Mass or at the rectory at 199 Carroll Street. Visitation BVM Church 98 Richards Street Healing Mass on Wednesday, November 9 at 7 pm in Spanish and on Friday, November 25 at 7 pm in English. Movie Night featuring “War Room,” on Saturday, November 12 after 5 pm Mass. For more information, call (718) 624-1572.
Free Art Classes at Red Hook Public Library
A
by Emily Kluver
t the beginning of October, ProjectArt—a nonprofit bringing arts access to low-income students—began offering free classes at Red Hook Public Library. The program, founded in 2011 by artist and former struggling student, Adarsh Alphons, has since expanded from a small borrowed office in Harlem to a large scale national arts program.
Teacher in the Red Hook art program, Yasmeen Abdallah said of student growth, “Demonstrated knowledge, comfort, and inquisitiveness when talking about art is an admirable result of being exposed to it from a young age.”
Alphons’ initial goal was to “put paintbrushes in the hands of as many children that don’t have adequate access to arts education as possible.” Today, the program prides itself on incorporating practice in public speaking skills, attention to detail, and confidence, as well as general arts education and practice.
In Abdallah’s lessons, she focuses on “recognizing the potential of discarded objects.” She hopes that in these lessons, students learn “to see the potential in all things and people, and the realization that anything and everything is possible.” With courses taking place at local libraries, the foundation hopes they are able to offer an ideal place for families with children of all ages to access both art classes and additional library services like tutoring, reading, and activities.
Students point out that they particularly like frequenting the neighborhood art galleries with ProjectArt programming, and teachers note that the opportunity to learn how to chat with local art professionals with “confidence and ease,” assists in student growth.
ProjectArt plans to continue offering free art classes at the Red Hook Public Library. Though the fall programs are already underway, parents can sign up their children for the next round of courses, beginning February 7. Programming is available for children ages 4-17.
Summit Academy teams with IKEA on new career center Summit Academy Charter School will host a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Grand Opening of the new College and Career Readiness Center on Thursday, November 10, 2016 at 9:30 am. This free event will take place at the Agnes Y. Humphrey Campus and is open to the public. Guests may RSVP with Mrs. Turner at Summit Academy Charter School at (718) 875-1403. The event will mark the opening of Red Hook’s first College and Career Center and the beginning of a partnership between Summit Academy Charter School and IKEA. Scholar led tours of the school will follow the ceremony at 9:30am. “I am delighted to welcome the Red Hook community into our College and Career Readiness Center,” said SACS Executive Director, Natasha Campbell. “Thanks to IKEA, Brooklyn, we are able to extend our college preparatory initiative to young people in our
community.” Summit Academy Charter School has established a track record of offering a high-quality education to all children. The inaugural class of 2009 enrolled in 6th grade at Summit performing below grade level and demonstrating basic proficiency on state assessments throughout middle school. High school scholars, who scored “basic proficiency” on middle school state assessments had significantly better performance on high stake exams in high school. Specifically, 82% of the class of 2016 passed the English regents exam the first time they took it. The class of 2016 was only the beginning. The aesthetically beautiful and scholar centered design of the College and Career Readiness Center is destined to increase our scholars’ engagement in the college application process” said Campbell.
Community updated on flood protection program A community meeting was held on October 13 at PS 15. A large gathering was told by the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency about a $4 million plan underway to study the feasibility of building walls around Red Hook to protect against future flooding. If the report is accepted by FEMA, $50 million will be released to build such a system. It turns out that 10 foot walls are a FEMA requirement to qualify
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Jim Tampakas working with city proctor.
homeowners for reduced flood insurance rates, which many in the audience were interested in.
November 2016, Page 5
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November 2016
Tony Sterling’s killers still at large, two years on (continued from page 1)
Local Councilman Carlos Menchaca consoling family members at Tony Sterling’s funeral, two years ago at Calvary Church. (Star-Revue file photo)
surveillance,” said Fredella of the prosecution’s argument. Fredella disclosed that the prosecution’s case was weakened by inconsistent DNA evidence and a fingerprint, both found at the crime scene. The fingerprint did not match Boomer, Gray nor Sterling, said Fredella. Fredella said that the DNA evidence found on a bedroom dresser did not match Boomer or Gray, and was never compared to Sterling. Gray’s defense attorney, Barry Krinsky, also said that there was “insufficient evidence” to detain and try his client Gray. “I made multiple motions to dismiss this case on various grounds over the last two years,” as Krinsky said in a phone interview. Paula Boomer, Bobby Boomer’s mother, said while she is grateful to have her son back home, she remains saddened about Sterling. “It’s a load lifted off me and the family. It was a lot of prayers and a lot of
faith. I always trusted that this would happen because he told me from the beginning ‘I never did this,’” she said about her son’s acquittal. “I trust my son.” Since his release, Boomer has focused on readjusting and finding a job. Each day he participates in a city-sponsored re-entry program. The murder of Sterling and the unsolved case only heightens the fact that a life was taken, leaving a grieving community. “I met Tony back in 1982, when I moved to Red Hook and was by myself and he became like a brother to me,” said Dawn Blondell, who was a close friend to Sterling. “His untimely death was devastating for me on a personal level. It took me a long time to gain back my equilibrium,” added Blondell. It has been two years since Sterling’s murder and the Red Hook community is without closure. The NYPD did not respond to comment about the Sterling investigation.
Morning Music with James McBride
by Emily Kluver On Saturday mornings, in the small basement of the New Brown Memorial Baptist Church, Damon DueWhite and James McBride sit and wait for their jazz students to arrive. It doesn’t matter if the children come with no knowledge of music, natural talent, or even special needs. All of the kids in the projects are welcome, as long as James McBride at New Baptist they dedicate themselves to the music. two students set up at individual McBride, famous author of the memdrum kits. oir, The Color of Water, considers himself more a jazz musician than a writer, As DueWhite walks between his stuwhich is perhaps why four years ago, dents, his dry sense of humor and he and his long-time friend, Due- no-nonsense attitude keep the boys White, began teaching jazz to the chil- focused on their task. He sets the bar dren living in the projects of McBride’s high, subtly encouraging students with statements like, “I know you can childhood neighborhood, Red Hook. do better than that,” and “you know Today, the two teach separate lessons. what you’re doing.” McBride goes upstairs to the church’s plush and warm-toned chapel space It is clear that DueWhite and McBride to teach a student on the piano, while are not in this for the money, neither (continued on page 10) DueWhite remains downstairs with
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November 2016, Page 7
LETTERS:
Mike Drop:
NO NEUTRAL CHOICES by Michael Racioppo
T
he late great historian, Howard Zinn used to say, “you can’t be neutral on a moving train.” What he meant was that we are part of a world that is moving whether we like it or not and therefore have choices to affect its direction. Soon, you’ll have an opportunity to vote for our next president. If you are one of the people that feel this election offers two bad choices, I’ve got news for you. We have only one future and sitting it out is not an option. I read things in academic journals on the failings of the “lesser evil” argument and how things must get worse before they get better. Yeah, tell that to someone who loses their healthcare or food stamps because you believe things must get worse before they better. Or tell it to someone as Trump’s hot headedness ends the 60-year prohibition of nuclear weapons, not to mention other possible destabilizing events in a Trump presidency. It’s the most entitled response. Many who offer it have little fear as they have a net that those who live on the margins don’t have. All we have is a choice and it’s clear. Vote for Hillary Clinton or risk being part of why Trump got elected. A more local choice that seems to be a constant topic for discussion is the future of Gowanus - both the canal proper and the surrounding neighborhoods. The topic has as many plot twists as the local studio production of the “Americans.” The one constant is the federal presence overseeing the dredging and capping of the waterway and working with NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and National Grid to remediate the Manufactured Gas Plant sites. However, regarding everything else, it seems as if one day there is momentum for this, then fast forward a bit and there’s momentum for that. I can’t say with any certainty what the future will hold. What I can say is that I’m incredibly encouraged at the process that has been unfolding. I’m referring to the NYC planning commission’s formal kick-off meeting to a neighborhood wide planning study, held on October 27. This followed our lengthy series of neighborhood meetings to develop a statement of our shared values and Department of City Planning’s informal meetings held this summer and fall. The purpose of all this organization and effort is to build a consensus on the best way to create a neighborhood that can - by re-examining our zoning manage change and allow for a healthy mix of business, affordable housing, and a strong arts culture that is supported by a robust infrastructure. This meeting was just a first step in the next phase of a process initiated to rescue us from a dystopian future dominated by hotels and storage facilities by matching our zoning to our values. The planning meeting was very well attended. I’d guess over 200 people gathered on a chilly, rainy night. We are engaged and this matters. The wants, needs and dedication to what happens in Gowanus did not go unnoticed by our elected officials, including Councilman Brad Lander and Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon, as they noted the great turnout. Their leadership and support for engaging in what is never an easy discussion is much appreciated. Over the years, as the City Planning’s own website notes, there has been an ongoing dialogue about what to do. With this dialogue, there have been various snags and bumps along the way. But I’m hopeful that we now have, with the support of Lander and Simon, the means to make a freshly scrubbed Gowanus great. The next meeting in this process, focused on sustainability and resiliency, will take place on Thursday, December 8. Time and location TBD. Michael Racioppo is the Vice Chairman of Community Board 6 and the Executive Director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation.
Statement of Assistant Speaker Felix W. Ortiz on the passing of District Attorney Kenneth Thompson
“I am saddened to learn of the passing of Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson today. Ken Thompson worked to transform the District Attorney’s Office since his election, changing the way wrongful convictions were treated, developing a new marijuana policy and treating minor infractions in a new light. He was a great fighter for Brooklyn and for justice. My thoughts are with his family.”
On the passing of Richie Brullo
Noah: Thank you so much for attending the Staff appreciation/ Remembrance Luncheon. It was a pleasure to have you with us. You fit in as part of the Addabbo family. The article is perfect! You captured the whole idea behind the event. The pictures are beautiful. Please convey to George my heart-felt gratitude for your spending the day with us.- Bea Byrd
Heartbroken
I’m heart broken. I didn’t know till now that he passed. What a great and funny person he was to me and my sons. I remember him being the only one at the clinic after Sandy to make sure everyone who needed their meds could get to them. Will be very missed. - Rose Quintana
From a co-worker
I worked with Richie under Thriftway Pharmacies for 16 years. I will miss dearly. He would rush any script for elderly and sick Kids. He was hyper! We went TOE TO TOE on sarcasm! He loved his daughter and granddaughter and his mother. Rest In Peace my BEAGLE FACE - Lydia Bellahcene
Takes a huge exception
I take exception to referring to Hillary as the least damaging of the two major Presidential candidate. Unfortunately, Democrats like those of Park Slope including Michael Racioppo, march locked-step with the Clintons, similarly to Racioppo distant relatives in Italy in the 1930’s did with Mussolini. I am voting for the native New Yorker, Donald Trump. Why? 1) My health is the most important thing to me. Obama promised the American people that if you like your plan, you can keep it; if you like your
SHORTS:
RHI expansion approved by CB6 committee
Last month a meeting of the Land Use Committee of Community Board 6 met at the Red Hook Initiative (RHI).
The Star-Revue is looking for someone to sell Neighborhood Service ads. This work can be done by phone and e-mail. If this might interest you, please email Noah@redhookstar.com
Page 8 Red Hook Star-Revue
One of the items on the agenda was a zoning application on behalf of RHI. They are looking to legalize their expansion and needed to be designated as a community facility rather than occupying a building meant for manufacturing use. The committee voted unanimously to approve their idea, which next goes to the Department of City Planning.
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doctor, you can keep him/her. Obama lied and is proud of his lie and so are all the Democrats in Congress who voted for Obamacare and those who supported it, including Hillary. I lost my insurance plan, lost my doctor (unless I want to pay cash) and got thrown into a garbage plan called Oscar which is going to be garbage deluxe next year as they are reducing its providers from 40,000 to 10,000 and hospital network from 71 to 30, most city hospitals. And of course, the premiums and deductibles are rising. Whatever Trump will do with the health insurance crisis has to be better than what Hillary has proposed which is to dump everyone in a Canadian style one payer health plan run by the government. The government runs the post office and we all see how that works! 2) Sex scandals and talk: its almost even between Hillary and Trump, except, Bill touched, Hillary defended Bill, trash Bill’s victims and lashed out at everyone and everybody who felt that Bill deserved to be impeached. The only thing Trump is guilty is being baited by the low-life Billy Bush and I would like to see the entire video which was released to hear what preceeded Trump’s locker room talk. 3) Hillary is a liar and a professional liar so voting for her, no one knows what she will do 4) Trump is a successful businessman who has a track record in fixing things – he repaired the ice skating rink in Central in 90 days in contrast to the city which had not fixed it in 6 years. 5) Race: Hillary grew up in an all white suburb – Park Ridge – of Chicago which at the time, had no blacks, Jews or Catholics. In 1964, Hillary worked for the campaign of Barry Goldwater for President; at this time, Goldwater was against granting Blacks civil rights, making Hillary a support of a racist. 6) The FBI said that Hillary made a mistake and decided not to charge her. Has anyone been given a traffic ticket and used this excuse successfully in court? Just tell the traffic judge that ” I made a mistake when I ran the stop sign so please don’t give me a ticket” Tell that to a judge in Traffic Court in Staten Island and you’ll get 2 points on your license plus a $160 fine. 7) There appear to be two sets of laws in the country: one for the Clintons; the other for the rest of us. Trump for President; Hillary belongs in jail. - Stewart
New York Harbor and Container and Trailer on Barge Service
A $1,632,296 grant will support the New York Harbor Container and Trailer on Barge, an existing service that operates in New York Harbor between Red Hook Container Terminal in Brooklyn, NY, to Red Hook Barge Terminal in Newark, NJ. The grant will be used to purchase infrastructure that will support improved barge operations and the creation of a crane operator training center that will improve both safety and container throughput.
November 2016
Mystery Junk in the Gowanus, Continued by Emily Kluver
A
re there treasures untold lying beneath the oily surface of the Gowanus canal?
An organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of historical artifacts, Archeology and Historic Resource Services (AHRS), have attempted to answer this question. In a recent report they explored the identity and history of a number of large mystery items found in a 2010 sonar scan of the Gowanus Canal. The history of a boat, most recently called the S. S. Gay, has been outlined in previous reporting, but the other items, found in the 4th Street turning basin and 6th Street basin of the Gowanus, have foggier histories—some of which remain completely unknown. Three of the remaining items are presently unidentified due to the depth at which they are submerged, as well as their relative size. ARHS speculates that the items could be failed parts of the canal’s retaining wall, old floating work platforms, or pieces of the other wreckages that have shifted over time. These items have been given level two monitoring, and will be watched in order to assess archeological significance. Two additional structures, one found in the sonar scans and one found by looking down into the canal from the bank, have been identified as small aluminum boats. They likely sank sometime after 1955, when the United States Army Corp last dredged the canal. These kinds of boats were commonly made in the 1950s and thousands remain in use today, giving the boats no historical significance. However, there are two items that present a clearer window into the history of the Gowanus Canal, two sunken barges. The Gowanus Canal, which was constructed on the Gowanus creek in 1850, saw heavy traffic by wooden barges between 1915-1950. These barges were brought from place to place by small tugboats and were widely used in the area to transport railroad cargo between the Port of New Jersey and the Port of New York. In the 1960s and 1970s, wooden barges were abandoned in large numbers and left to rot. By 1964, use of the Gowanus Canal had dwindled, as
Red Hook Star-Revue
more and more materials were transported by road vehicles. For decades, a 110-foot long wooden structure has seen sticking out of the canal at low-tide. It has been identified with limited certainty as Spartan 357, a wooden barge likely built in the 1920s. This remnant of the Gowanus’ history as an important waterway has been identified as a covered barge due to its one story deck house, was used commonly in the New York area in the first half of the 20th century. AHRS has not been able to conclusively identify the barge. However, photo documentation provides evidence that the barge had not sunk in the canal before 1974. Further research revealed that this same year, Spartan Dismantling Corporation, a company located along the canal in the 1970s, bought a wooden barge matching the description of the current wreck. Documentation reveals that their wooden barge, called Spartan 357, sank due to damages sustained while being maneuvered around another barge in 1979. The wreck took place across from the Spartan Dismantling Corporation, placing the sunken wreck in the 6th street basin of the Gowanus Canal, at the approximate location of the wooden structure in question. With no further information on similar wooden barges sinking in the Gowanus during this time period and in this location, AHRS has concluded that the current wreck is in fact Spartan 357. The second barge, 125-feet long and constructed of welded steel, sits further into the 6th Street basin. Its rusted metal exterior pokes well out of the water during low-tide, giving AHRS enough information to identify it as a deck scow, which were common barges throughout the New York port after World War II. Due to the sizes of both barges, it would have been impossible to navigate this steel barge in or out of the 6th Street basin around the wreckage of the sunken Spartan 357. Trapped by the sunken wooden barge, the steel barge was presumably abandoned in the canal, AHRS concluded. Preserved wooden covered barges and steel deck scow barges remain in (continued on page 10)
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November 2016, Page 9
Addabbo celebrates life of beloved pharmacist Richard Brullo by Noah Phillips
R
ichard Brullo worked for more than 30 years as a pharmacist in the Red Hook community. Brullo, who died in August, was remembered at a memorial lunch October 21 at Addabbo Family Health Center, where he worked.
Brullo was remembered by his coworkers for his quick wit and generosity.
many people in the community.” According to coworkers, Brullo took extra steps with insurance companies to fight for his patients’ access to the medicine they needed. He would call patients if their prescriptions ran out, and if they could not afford to pay for their medications, he would often pay for it himself.
“He just had this way about him that was joking, borderline sarcastic, that was just part of him,” remembers Carolyn Fortune, a Licensed Practical Nurse who worked with Brullo for more than 20 years. “But what I didn’t realize until after he passed away was that he helped so
“Richard even helped me because my insurance didn’t cover everything,” remembers Fortune. “In this day and age, you don’t see people who are generous benefactors to other people who might not be able to afford certain things, and to be modest about it. He never boasted about anything that he did.”
Phlebotomist Nikola Dene, whose office adjoins the pharmacy and was very close with Brullo. (photos by Noah Phillips)
Brullo began his career in Red Hook at the South Brooklyn Health Center Pharmacy, located across from Coffey Park on Richards Street. He stayed on as pharmacist when Addabbo purchased the facility in 2012 and worked through Superstorm Sandy despite power outages and the evacuation of the clinic’s first floor.
McBride
(continued from page 7)
Hook to teach jazz, McBride says, as if it is the most obvious thing in the world, “This is my church. These are my people.”
getting compensated for their classes. They just love music. Why start this project? DueWhite simply says, “I have a passion for music and a passion for working with children.” His personal goal is to “keep the kids engaged.”
McBride’s parents helped found the New Brown Memorial Baptist Church. Today, the church still stands, and McBride remains devoted. He says, “Church is not as powerful an influence as it once was, but the community is strong.”
“Students have become professional test-takers,” DueWhite exclaims, throwing his hands in the air. “Don’t even get me started.”
“They don’t have a lot, but they have everything they need.”
Back upstairs, McBride sits with a talented young piano student. Her hair brushes the edge of the piano bench as she looks up, instructed by McBride to play a G chord without looking at the keys. He tells her that he wants her to really hear it, to feel it. She tries a few times before getting it just right, and then, pushing her widerimmed glasses up her nose, she focuses on McBride as he gives her further instruction. Before long, short jazzy tunes spill from the keyboard.
Richard Brullo
Addabbo will be placing a plaque in Brullo’s honor at the clinic’s entrance on Richards Street. The memorial lunch at Addabbo Family Health Center, October 21, 2016.
(continued from page 9)
existence today—both at museums and in service. Because these two specific wreckages have deteriorated over the years and better examples of these barges exist, the two Gowanus wreckages have been classified as having no historical value.
McBride explains that this young pianist has been accepted into the Lincoln Center Middle School Jazz Academy, a rigorous program designed to further the musical studies of dedicated young jazz musicians. He has a clear sense of ownership over the place and his students, seeming to want to protect it and hold it at a distance from outsiders.
Who knows? Maybe the most interesting objects are yet to emerge from the mysterious murky waters of this local waterway.
“We’re not looking for handouts from our neighbors,” he states multiple times. He continues vehemently, “We don’t want publicity.”
The preliminary rounds of pulling out large debris from the Gowanus began at the end of October in the 4th Street turning basin and is expected to continue for the next month.
Page 10 Red Hook Star-Revue
“Even now, when I go to the pharmacy, it’s just this sense of loss,” says Fortune. “Of course there’s new people there and we welcome them, but we don’t hear him saying something crazy and funny anymore. That part of our family is gone.”
Gowanus In addition to the large chronicled items, clean-up crews expect to find a variety of small trash—from tires to traffic cones. While the artifacts present in the Gowanus may not be historical treasures, they certainly present a unique window into the history of our area.
When asked why he returned to Red
In late July, Brullo suffered from an allergic reaction to an unknown substance. He went into a coma and suffered brain damage, eventually passing away on August 7.
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November 2016
FALL FOOD Georgia Caterer in New York by Emily Kluver
N
o event is complete without good food.
Which is why, when it came to hosting a memorial lunch at the Joseph P. Addabbo Center, Beatrice Byrd - board member at the Addabbo Center and long-time active community member - called Chuck Cleveland. Cleveland runs a small catering business out of his Flatbush home, but he is deeply connected to the Red Hook community through the Addabbo Center. Cleveland has frequently found himself in Red Hook as a patient, a family friend of Byrd, and during a time of need after Hurricane Sandy - a security worker for the center, . But most importantly, his food does not disappoint. With dishes ranging from rich Southern classics to light Spanish fare, all made with incredible attention to detail, Cleveland’s cooking caters to all kinds of palates.
Despite his quick growth and natural talent, Cleveland still has to live up to his grandmother’s cooking. “[My family] wasn’t sure [about my cooking] at first, but now it’s sort of a competition between me and my grandmother.” Cleveland has expanded into bizarre foods and different cooking styles, testing out dishes that his grandmother would never go near. She sticks to the traditional Southern cuisine, but Cleveland will branch out to dishes from all sort of cultures, Latin to Caribbean. His current favorites include his own take on oxtail served with rice, lobster mac and cheese, chicken wings with his own special sauce, and seared swai, a type of whitefish, served with fresh vegetables. Just thinking about his seared swai makes Cleveland light up with pride, “I’ve made it before and people are always mad there’s not more.”
History in Georgia
However, about 10 years ago, all of this culinary success would have been unimaginable.
Having never received formal training, he first began learning to cook by watching his grandmother in the kitchen. No one knew Cleveland was interested in cooking, but instead he learned on his own, perfecting dishes through simple trial and error.
History of Blue Chip Catering
Cleveland recalls growing up in Georgia where “food was the biggest thing.”
Cleveland recalls that around age 10, he decided to try making fried chicken while his parents were out. He took
At the time, Cleveland was bringing his own meals to his “dead end job,” and people kept saying, “That smells good, where’d you get it?” No one, he claims, believed that he could cook like that. For fun, Cleveland began coming to work with extra samples for people to try.
His food was a hit.
Before long, Cleveland began selling meals to people during his shift. Then, the second shift started getting jealous. He expanded his efforts. When third shift started coming around, Cleveland sat and thought to himself, “This could work.” At first, Cleveland toyed with the idea of opening a restaurant, but that notion was quickly set aside. He explains, “If I were to open a restaurant, I wouldn’t want to be the guy out front in a suit. I want to be in the kitchen creating. I like to get dirty.” If not a restaurant, what? Considering his skill set and interests, Cleveland decided to open a mobile catering business - catering in any state, for any occasion. Caterer Chuck Cleveland.
pieces of poultry, covered them in flour, and heated up some oil. The result, he claims, was disastrous. “It ended up black and disgusting. The oil was too hot and I added too much flour.” Over time, Cleveland continued trying to perfect his cooking through trial and error. He made something, tasted it, and then made it better the next time. Slowly, his skills grew.
Red Hook Star-Revue
It was important to Cleveland that his company catered to the average Joe. He wanted his food to be accessible, and still today he works with people’s budgets to ensure they can get great food at a decent rate. Anyone who is unsure about hiring Cleveland to cater an event simply has to request a tasting, free of charge. “Some people do it for the money,” Cleveland says with a smile, “For me, creating something and someone enjoying it is my repayment.”
Chuck Cleveland’s roast pork. (photos by Emily Kluver)
over time. Five years Cleveland relocated to New York, which has kept Cleveland busy promoting and expanding his small business. He takes off his cap, exposing short tufts of grey hair. “When I came to New York 5 years ago, I had no grey hair. Now, it is.”
Future Endeavors
Cleveland is not sure he wants to continue catering forever. He has con-
sidered a few other options - a food truck or maybe a small restaurant in his Flatbush neighborhood. After all, the men at his local barbershop have already become devoted fans of his food. They could use a good restaurant nearby. All Cleveland knows for sure is that he wants to keep cooking. He claims, “I don’t even want to be known on a national level. I don’t care. But I do care how my food tastes.”
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Blue Chip Catering grew and formed
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November 2016, Page 11
FALL FOOD
Take it from the Turkey Expert by Emily Kluver
T
hanksgiving is arguably the most important meal Americans cook in their homes all year. It is also one of the few days that people take on an entire turkey. Needless to say, many people could use a little more practice. To offer people a little more insight into their holiday birds, Bryan Mayer, Director of Education at Fleishers Craft Butchery, opened up about his tips and tricks for choosing and preparing a turkey.
Broad-Breasted Turkey
One of the first questions people have to consider in their choice of bird is whether to buy a standard broadbreasted white turkey or a less common heritage turkey. In the 1950s, the broad-breasted turkey first became the most commonlyraised breed and has held that role since. For many years, they have been the most well-known turkey variety, finding a home on most Thanksgiving tables. “The broad-breasted turkey is your industrial standard, which accounts for your Butterballs,” Mayer pointed out, naming the type of turkey many people gravitate toward during the holiday season. These turkeys, as their name would imply, are bred for their large breast size. Because of their disproportionate size, they are unable to procreate naturally and are often raised in an industrial setting, which raises concerns of animal cruelty - small cages, limited range of movement, and cheap feed, sometimes filled with animal bi-products. Mayer points out that not all broadbreasted turkeys are raised in this setting. Fleishers makes a point of selling exclusively pasture-raised birds,
meaning the turkeys live outdoors, with optional access to the indoors for warmth or safety. The birds are allowed to scratch and peck for bugs and grubs as they would do in the wild, while supplemented with vegetarian feed, a diet which gives the meat a more complex and slightly gamey flavor. When asked what to look for, Mayer stresses that the best birds are pasture-raised and antibiotic free. However, he claims, nothing compares to a heritage bird.
Heritage Turkeys
Heritage turkeys, which Mayer uses for his own Thanksgiving dinners, differ from more common poultry in a number of ways.
Against convention, Mayer prefers a method of cooking involving removing the turkey’s back and lying it down
Bryan Mayer, Director of Butchery Education at Fleishers.
flat called spatchcocking. Heritage turkeys, due to their more natural size, procreate freely. They are less standardized by industry, offering breeds indigenous to North America. But most notably, they live longer and develop slowly. These birds have a life expectancy of 2-7 years and grow at a slower rate than their industrial cousins. Mayer notes that their slow growth rate and long lives cause them to be fattier, with a better texture and thicker skin, which keeps the meat juicy while cooking. Though people are used to a blander bird, Mayer believes the flavors of a
heritage bird offer a superior taste, sometimes buttery or nutty, and just the way a turkey ought to be.
ing the bird in salty water, for anywhere from a few hours to days. But Mayer prefers dry brining to wet.
However, because heritage turkeys live longer lives and thus take more time and effort to raise, they come at a higher price. At Fleishers, a heritage bird runs at $11.99 a pound, while a broad-breasted bird will go for $7.99 a pound.
“Wet brining is possible,” he says, “but the skin gets soggier and the water makes it less flavorful.”
Cooking
Against convention, Mayer prefers a method of cooking involving removing the turkey’s back and lying it down flat called spatchcocking. This method, he points out, allows the different cuts of meat to cook at the right temperatures - a hard goal to achieve - by giving people the flexibility to put the parts that cook longer on the edges of the pan. The goal is to get the breast to 150 degrees and the thighs and legs to 160170 degrees. “I check it multiple times because it cooks fast, maybe around an hour and a half.” Mayer says. Mayer acknowledges that this method does take away from the dramatic presentation of a whole turkey, so he has a few tips for those set on keeping the bird whole, too. If cooking traditionally, Mayer says, “You don’t want to use a deep-sided roasting pan. You want the whole bird exposed. Use a sheet pan with a wire rack for good air circulation.” This method also takes about twice as long, depending on the turkey size.
Brining and Prepping
Brining, a popular turkey preparation technique, is generally done by steep-
Page 12 Red Hook Star-Revue
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Dry brining, done by coating the turkey with salt and leaving it in the refrigerator overnight, allows for more flavor, juicy meat, and crispy skin. Mayer even adds a little bit of baking soda to further encourage extra crispy turkey skin. Whatever you do, Mayer says, “Stay away from butter.” Though people often like to stick pats of butter into the turkey breast or slather it over the top of the bird, Mayer claims that this waters down the turkey and won’t settle into the muscle the way people hope it will. Instead, it causes soggy skin. Alternatively, Mayer suggests making clarified butter or buying ghee - a type of clarified butter used in South Asian and Arabic Cuisines - which has all of the water cooked out and will not prevent the crisping of the skin.
Buying Your Turkey
You can preorder your holiday turkey from Fleishers online to pick up in one of their Brooklyn storefronts at 175 Van Dyke Street in Red Hook or 192 5th Avenue in Park Slope. You can also call or stop by local butcher shops in your area, including G Esposito & Sons at 357 Court Street in Carroll Gardens; Paisanos Butcher Shop at 162 Smith Street in Cobble Hill; or Staubitz Market Meats at 222 Court St. in Cobble Hill.
November 2016
FALL FOOD An Italian Thanksgiving Feast with Theresa
A
nyone who thinks their Thanksgiving tradition of roasting a turkey and mashing potatoes is complicated should talk to Theresa “Terry” ScottoSpinelli. This lifelong and well-known local around Carroll Gardens knows a thing or two about holiday feasts. Many days, Scotto-Spinelli can be found working in Scotto Funeral Home, which was founded by her parents in the 1920s. However, on Thanksgiving, you will find her hard at work in the kitchen. As the daughter of two Italian immigrants, Scotto-Spinelli’s Thanksgiving preparations begin the Italian way - with a lasagna in the oven on Wednesday night before the big day. She explains, “I make the lasagna the night before so it isn’t mush when you take it out.” Lasagna, not commonly served in stereotypical Thanksgiving scenes, is a popular holiday dish amongst ItalianAmericans. Scotto-Spinelli starts hers off on the stovetop, making the gravy, or sauce, with a mixture of on-ions, garlic, seasoning, and a variety of tomato products.
Red Hook Star-Revue
by Emily Kluver
She lets them cook down for about an hour and a half, meanwhile boiling noodles and making her famous meatballs. She rolls out golfball-size chunks of meat, seasoning, egg, and bread crumbs. Afterwards, she fries them on each side and sets them aside for later. Smiling brightly, Scotto-Spinelli confides, “I make good m e a t b a l l s. They’re very popular.” With layers of sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture, and crushed meatballs piled high, Scotto-Spinelli puts her dish in the oven. She takes it out, cools it, and sets it aside for the following day. Thanksgiving Day begins with church for many Italian-Americans. “We like to go to church in the morning around
9 am,” Scotto-Spinelli relates, “We thank God for all our blessings.” Additionally, she says that she tries to go to the cemetery to visit her parents and her late hus-band. Amongst Italian-Americans, as with many others, Thanksgiving is first and foremost a holiday about family. Upon returning home after church, the rest of the cooking commences. Scotto-Spinelli explains, “For the old-timers, dinner starts with antipasto, then lasagna, turkey with all the trimmings, and all kinds of desserts, of course.” Similar to stereotypical American
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feasts, Scotto-Spinelli whips up turkey, sweet potatoes, vege-tables, gravy, cranberries, and stuffing. But in addition, she makes roasted chestnuts, baked as-paragus coated in egg, breadcrumbs, and cheese, and stuffed artichokes filled with garlic, pars-ley, and bread crumbs. All of this work in the kitchen is not even the half of it. A great deal of time is spent in stores, searching for the right ingredients and various side dishes. Scotto-Spinelli’s first course, beginning around 5 pm, is antipasto. Mozzarella and assorted pep-pers, artichokes, and olives come from Caputo’s Fine Foods. Antipasto meat, along with the meal’s other meats, comes from G Esposito & Sons. Locals like shopping at the neighborhood stores because “they just taste better.” After antipasto, Scotto-Spinelli says that everyone gets distracted by conversations and football, but eventually it’s time to regroup for the lasagna course. Reheated just before dinner, the lasagna comes out and everyone fills themselves with noodles piled on noodles. (continued on page 14)
November 2016, Page 13
FALL FOOD Italian Holiday (continued from page 13)
A full meal on a regular day, lasagna can be a challenge to get past, especially for some of the younger members of the family. “The old-timers like to keep eating. The younger people are mov-ing away from old-fashioned ideas about having all the food.” If the lasagna course is not enough to hold you over for the year, the third course looks a lot like what people might expect to find at a typical American holiday meal, with a few additions and Italian twists. Turkey stuffed with a peeled apple and slathered with butter, along with sweet potatoes covered in marshmallows look vaguely familiar. But look closer and rolls make way for Italian loaves and lard bread from Mazzola Bakery. Stuffed vegetables and mushrooms take the place of corn and green bean casserole. Even stuffing gets a facelift. Scotto-Spinelli learned to cook many of these dishes from her father, who shared her passion for food. She loves putting out a full Thanksgiving meal for her family, but she emphasizes
Page 14 Red Hook Star-Revue
that she suspects Italian Thanksgiving traditions are quickly fading and making way for typical American-style meals. For now, after the third course has been thoroughly picked over and stomachs have had suffi-cient time to rest, it is time for espresso and dessert. Pastries in the form of cannolis and other assorted Italian baked goods are brought in from Court Street Pastry and F Monteleone to take the place of pies. With the end of the dessert course, the meal comes to a close about four hours after it began.
Scotto-Spinelli’s Thanksgiving preparations begin the Italian way - with a lasagna in the oven on Wednesday night before the big day. Caputo’s Fine Foods 460 Court Street Court Pastry Shop 298 Court Street F Monteleone Bakery & Cafe
365 Court Street G Esposito & Sons 357 Court Street Mazzola Bakery
While many American classics find a place in Scotto-Spinelli’s Thanksgiving feast, the Italian way of cooking and eating shines through, putting a unique touch on a classic meal. “We Italians are known to eat well,” ScottoSpinelli laughs, “That’s why we look the way we do.” Thanks to the dedication of locals like Theresa Scotto-Spinelli, as well as long-time neighborhood shops, Italian traditions continue to find a place on Thanksgiving tables throughout Carroll Gardens.
EVERGREEN LIQUOR STORE INC. 718 643-0739
Stores mentioned in this article:
Mon. - Thurs. 11 am - 10:30 pm; Fri & Sat. 11 am - 11:30 pm; Sun. 1 pm - 9 pm
196 Columbia Street, between Sackett & Degraw
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evergreenliquor@yahoo.com
November 2016
Artists Open House in Red Hook by Halley Bondy
E
veryone knows that Red Hook is a haven for art and handmade wares. Now, buyers can get face time with dozens of neighborhood artists on the same day - and get in some great shopping too!
The second annual Red Hook Open Studios takes place Sunday, November 13 from 1-6 pm. Fifty-five jewelers, architects, woodworkers, metalworkers, painters, and more will open their doors all over the neighborhood. Participating studios include Door 14, Hot Wood Art, 7C Studios, Two Black Pigs, DE-CONSTRUKT, and more. The artists will be available to sell or demonstrate their work. Deborah Ugoretz and Katie Lincoln, whose studios can be found at Door 14 at 461 Van Brunt Street, launched Red Hook Open Studios last year. Lincoln is a jeweler, while Ugoretz specializes in calligraphed and decorated Jewish marriage contracts, paintings, and works on cut paper. “We have a floor with about 10 artists and makers, and we kinda like each other!” said Ugoretz. “We wanted to have an event where we could show our work to the public, get their feedback, and maybe even sell.” Ugoretz and Lincoln eventually pulled their neighbors into the event using a simple submission process. They noticed that a business lull takes place in November, so they decided to nestle Red Hook Open Studios between the larger-scale Gowanus Open Studios in October and the holiday rush. During its inaugural year in 2015, buyers and tourists came from all over the city to scope out Red Hook Open Studios. Ugoretz and Lincoln hope it will be even bigger this year. “We had a ton of people from the Bronx and all over,” Lincoln said. “There’s a lot of migration to the neighborhood. People want to see the artist studios, and they’re very curious about Red Hook.” Participation is open to any artist in Red Hook, which makes for an extremely varied day of studio-hopping. Ambitious shoppers can walk away with everything from textiles from The Feinberg Studios on Van Brunt, to pans from SHE-weld on Ferris Street, to porcelain tiles from Flat White on Dikeman Street.
Take your pick!
There will be a few newcomers to Red Hook Open Studios this year, including fabricators at the new venue Supersmith on Dikeman Street, as well as artists in Treasure Island on Lorraine Street. After a long day of shopping, head to the after party at Hot Wood Art at 481 Van Brunt St. from 6-9 pm. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/redhookopenstudios
Red Hook Star-Revue
Clockwise from upper left: work by Lizbeth Mitty, Ross Carlisle, Rebecca Spivack, and Richard Upchurch
The Good Fork launches cookbook at neighborhood gala by Noah Phillips
P
ioneer Works’ ample floor was covered in Red Hook luminaries Tuesday night for the launch of The Good Fork Cookbook, a collection of Chef Sohui Kim’s recipes hitting the shelves on November 1. ”Seeing this amazing turnout, it’s obvious that my children were right when they said, ‘mom’s a famous chef - dad’s a waiter that drinks beer,’” said Kim’s husband and business partner, Ben Schneider, from the stage. “We have one of the most talented, amazing, culinary teams… So this is really a toast to you.” Kim herself, who turned 39 this past week, decided to merge the book release and her birthday party. After she came on stage and thanked everyone for their support, Schneider led the room in a deafening chorus of “Happy Birthday.” A cake shaped like the cookbook was paraded onstage. The Good Fork restaurant opened in March 2006 at 391 Van Brunt Street, and has become a neighborhood favorite for its Korean-inspired American cuisine. They have a rotating menu and feature special cocktails such as the Sake To Me, which in ad-
dition to sake boasts vodka, lemon, elderflower syrup, mint, and cremant. Schneider and Kim also recently opened Insa, a Korean barbecue and Karaoke bar, at 328 Douglas Street in Gowanus. The event boasted drinks, Good Fork food, a temporary tattoo table, and live music. Neighborhood band, 79.5 performed later in the evening, and the beautifully designed, 224-page cookbook was on proud display as well. “[Kim’s] influences and techniques range from French and Italian to American and Korean, but every dish is comforting, unfussy,” says the website of Abrams Books, Kim’s publisher. “The Good Fork Cookbook shares the recipes that made The Good Fork Brooklyn’s favorite mom-and-pop shop.” One recipe readers may look forward to is that of Kim’s trademark Koreanstyle Steak and Eggs with kimchee rice. The book also includes essays by Kim and Schneider about the origins
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of the Good Fork, which Schneider built himself. “You guys are the pillars of this amazing community,” one Facebook commenter wrote on Kim’s wall after the event. “Thanks for throwing such a wonderful Red Hook bash! And congratulations on a splendid book.”
November 2016, Page 15
The Descent of Art: Betty the Flake Chipper
P
erhaps 2 million years ago, somewhere in Africa, a hominid great ape looked down at her rough stone chopper. We’ll call her Betty.
by Alexandra Corbin
gering of a formerly consistent pattern. For Epicurus it had a distinctly accidental, even random dimension to it. The Greeks ran with the idea. If something could sharply and randomly deviate from the predictable, then humans could be said to be free from the machinations of the Gods and be willfully free to deviate as well. From the Epicurean concept of chaos comes the humanistic glory of human free will .
She was about 14 years old and was tired from watching all the children including hers - running around. Her sisters were playing nursery, and she had time off. Already back then we assume that there was “allomothering” – allowing others to take care of one’s own children. She wondered if she could take anUsing her precious free time, Betty other rock and further chip the one in squatted beside a tree trunk looking for her hand, maybe she could get a really termites to eat. She held a rough rock in sharp and huge flake. her hand and bounced it in her palm. She happened to have a stash nearby Instead of using it to smash termites and went to retrieve one of her favorthough, she began examining the rock. ites. But we do. For millions of years, hominids had She struck the rock on her smaller rock Maybe this was a familiarity so deeply refined flint rocks into a tool for clob- and off flew a small chip. She picked it ingrained in her smallish brain that she bering things and smashing food open. up, turned it over and over and noticed didn’t realize what she was copying. Betty noticed the flakes that flew off that one side seemed flatter. She no- But there was a stealth and magnetic when the men knocked these cores ticed that this side seemed to imitate pull toward symmetry that dominates together, and she liked them. In fact, many females had noticed that the flakes could be useful in rearing the children.
When Betty decided to use the chopper to
Betty collected the particularly shiny ones, the sharpest ones, and the ones that had the flattest surface. She had little piles hidden all throughout the savannah, which her troop regularly circumnavigated. What characterized hers was sharpness. They did a great job in cutting up the meat that formed the bulk of her group’s diet. She didn’t just find them useful - she began to covet them. Today, her little piles of things are called middens. All animals make piles of things that matter to them - most notably the food caches of corvids like crows, who can remember thousands of hidden stashes. But this was different. For Betty there were far too many to be of use. Hers was a curated collection, among the first art collections. They were cherished as objects with addictive tactile and visual sensations. She liked fondling and admiring them. This time, something in her brain went off when she picked up the stone core. It was too heavy and not nearly as useful as the sharp edges of her chert flakes. Maybe she could intentionally make it look like a big flake this time. Maybe she was just angry because someone had killed her mother, leaving the carcass for the vultures, and she wanted to chip, chip and keep chipping. She turned the large stone around and around. Perhaps it was just the opposite and she wasn’t hungry at all. Perhaps she was enjoying a perfect sunny day in the savannah.
strike the flake instead, turning it around and around to decide precisely where to hit, what began to emerge was artistic. the look of outspread butterfly wings. Then, she thought that if she did that to the other side, maybe it would really look like the outspread wings. And so she tried it. What she saw was a marvel to her and has become a marvel to us all.
No one knows if her mate or mates were watching, learning or hooting. They were all great at Simon Says because it mattered a great deal what the leaders of the troop were going to do. They Down the center ran a kind of longitu- didn’t seem to be able to fully anticidinal line running between the chipped pate behaviors of others, so they kept edges like the body of the butterfly. Like the symmetry of her own body; like her two bilateral arms, eyes, legs, hands Holiday Crafts Show even nostrils. Like the feet of her chil- The fourth annual American Fine dren. Like everything she most liked in Craft Show will exhibit the work of six her life. Brooklyn-based artists this year, along Most paleontologists start the record of creative endeavor around 70,000 years ago with a couple of scratches found in ochre in a South African cave called Blombos. But when Betty decided to use the chopper to strike the flake instead, turning it around and around to decide precisely where to hit, what began to emerge was artistic - a rude facsimile of her own attributes of bilateralism and symmetry.
Life seemed in balance - she wasn’t scared of noises or surprises today. Survival took a back seat and she finally had the freedom to act upon her natural curiosity.
She had seen this hundreds of times in her reflection in the water; it had mesmerized her. She was so used to looking down in the water for this remarkable image of herself that she had become an expert at reading herself in reverse and moving her arms and body in complete counterpoint to her normal expectations.
What came next is what Epicurus based his atomic theory on. He would have called her abrupt, but fecund change of habit and direction a “swerve,” a rejig-
Most of her troop never even noticed their faces looking back at them from the ripples. And today, the great apes still do not appreciate their reflections.
Page 16 Red Hook Star-Revue
to this day.
studying and forgetting. They made a point of studying facial expressions and movements to help anticipate things. But they never remembered. They could ape anything anyone in their extended troop of about thirty could do. It just never stuck. No such Betty rock exists in the human paleo-logical record. There are uniface rocks like choppers but no uniface intentional bilateral flakes which we have come to know as hand axes. This in itself is far more fascinating because what we do have are vast collections of bilateral biface hand axes. This means that very quickly, hominids turned the chert flakes around and carefully sculpted both faces, forming four equally formed wings. Perhaps what started as a swerve or whimsy not only became a fad, but a beloved and admired characteristic of humanness. Betty’s ability to transfer into a free standing and stable design was a deep brain neural concept that mirrored her own existence and pushed forward the ascent of mankind. Thank you, little Betty, for art took a giant leap into existence that day.
“Up to a certain point in the book, everything I write is true,” Uscategui said. “It’s emotional and it’s raw… The best way I can say it is, in life, I went to the left and found myself where I am now. In the book, I simply went right. Hence the premise is life with an alternate ending.”
with the pieces of 83 other artists, in late November. These local artists - including Brooklyn jewelers, a furniture maker, a fine artist, and a potter - will Uscategui’s childhood isn’t the only display and sell their work. The exhibition of craft arts, presented tie he has to Red Hook. During Hurby An American Craftsman Galleries, ricane Sandy in 2012, he was a court will take place on November 19-20, officer at the Red Hook Justice Center. He was involved with recovery efforts 2016, at Brooklyn Museum. after the courthouse was flooded with The cost of the show $16 at the admisfive feet of salt water. sions desk, with included general museum entrance. Book tickets online at The book is currently available on Kina discounted rate until November 10, dle and will be released in paperback on November 10 from 6-9 pm at 200 2016. Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.
Red Hook author published
The Rum Dog Chronicles by local author, Geraldo J Uscategui will be released in paperback in November. Uscategui, a native Brooklynite, grew up in various neighborhoods in the borough including Red Hook. His “fiction based on true events,” as he refers to it, recalls his childhood adventures and adversity.
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Uscategui has already received high praise from readers. “Rum Dog takes you on a wild journey of sorrow and loss, of over coming some unimaginable situations. His writing is so vivid you can feel the stories and the pain coming to life,” commented Rachel. For more information, visit www.therumdogchronicles.com.
November 2016
Long before "Pre-K was for all"
Head Start was there for you. Innovators not imitators.
We approve your application – not the DOE
Project Social Care Head Start program is run and directed by parents like yourself, supporting the academic, social, and emotional development of children. In addition to education services, our program provides children and their families with health, nutrition, and social services. The Head Start community has proven results for the last 50 years in educating and caring for our youngsters.
At PSCH, school readiness is our goal, our commitment, and our promise.
Apply Today!
Longer hours + extended hours available Organized curriculum individualized for each child. Absolutely free, no co-pays.
Call the PSCH office at 718.871.3100 ext. 301 or apply with an easy on-site application at our address below.
76 Lorraine Street, Brooklyn, NY
Red Hook Star-Revue
Continuous 2 year program [ages 2.9 yrs - 5yrs]
718.858.8111
info@pscheadstart.com
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November 2016, Page 17
Diabetes Support Group meets in Red Hook The scary truth is that it’s probable you have, or are at risk for diabetes. The data on rates of diabetes are overwhelming. The Journal of the American Medical Association did a study that found that “in 2012, one half of American adults had either diabetes or prediabetes… more than one-third of those who met the study’s criteria for diabetes were unaware they had the disease.” The statistics on increasing rates of childhood type 2 diabetes are even more alarming. Unfortunately, these national statistics are reflected in our community. We all know people affected by diabetes, and we know it can be hard to always be proactive about our health. Diabetes is preventable, and the good news is that there are a lot of great resources out there that provide help with diabetes, along with other health problems. The Red Hook Diabetes Support and Education Program (RHDSEP) meets twice a month in the Red Hook Library, has refreshments, discussion,
health care providers, guest speakers, giveaways, and will be hosting activities in the library throughout the month of November for National Diabetes Month. Getting information, making small changes, and supporting your friends and family to do the same is one of the best ways you can improve your health. Upcoming events for National Diabetes Month are listed below. Check them out! November 3, 6-8 pm, 7 Wolcott St, Red Hook Library: Diabetes info table November 5, 2-4 pm, 7 Wolcott St, Red Hook Library: RHDSEP Meeting with Benjamin Judd, PA-S Customized doctor sheet distribution November 10, 6-8 pm, 7 Wolcott St, Red Hook Library: Diabetes info table November 12, 9:30-4 pm, Brooklyn Law School, 250 Joralemon St: AoneC Lifebox: Brooklyn Beats Diabetes™ Annual Diabetes Workshop November 14, TBD, Mt. Sinai Hospital: World Diabetes day event November 17, 6-8 pm, 7 Wolcott St, Red Hook Library: Diabetes info table November 19, 2-4 pm, 7 Wolcott St, Red Hook Library: RHDSEP Meeting with Melissa Magwire, CDE- Diabetes Paraprofessional Training* and TCOYD * Work in a medical office? Interested in free certification courses in diabetes education and insulin pump training? Spread the word - we need community educators!
The
Red Hook StarªRevue
BARS!
There are so many to choose from. In this day and age, so modern in many respects yet so arcane in others, the familiar sight of a long countertop placed before a shelf of bright gleaming shiny multicolored mysterious profane delicious bottles of warmth and good cheer is a comfort and a joy. Whether you are drinking alone, looking to mingle, or already have one or two friends of your very own, Red Hook and its environs has the saloon, cocktail lounge, dive, drinking hole, cantina, or sports bar for you.
Twenty SPARK Prize finalists have been chosen among a pool of 150 applicants. Seventeen are Brooklynbased organizations, including three from Red Hook: Dance Theater Etcetera (DTE); Red Hook Initiative (RHI); and the Red Hook Community Justice Center (RHCJC). The Spark Prize of $100,000 will be awarded to five of the chosen finalists from the Brooklyn Community Foundation (BCF). They have partnered with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and local businesses to launch a new campaign called Brooklyn Gives. All 20 finalists are also eligible for a $5,000 matching grant. Any money they raise on Giving Tuesday - a national day of philanthropy designated for donations to nonprofits - will be matched by BCF. “Brooklyn is home to nearly 3,000 nonprofits, yet they collectively receive less than 5% of funds distributed by New York City foundations,” said Brooklyn Community Foundation President and CEO Cecilia Clarke. “We created the Spark Prize to drive support to the borough’s vibrant nonprofit sector and showcase outstanding community-led solutions addressing Brooklyn’s most critical challenges.
RED HOOK
BAIT & TACKLE
To support DTE, RHI and RHCJC, donate online on Giving Tuesday, which falls on November 29 this year. For more information about each organization and how to donate, visit their websites.
Coffey Park playground to be renovated
The playground at Coffey Park will be closed throughout the month of November to replace the safety surface under the swings and playground equipment. Other nearby playgrounds are DiMatina on the corner of Rapeleye and Columbia Street, and Bush Clinton on Lorriane and Henry Streets. ~Noah Phillips
Maker’s Market to return
The 3rd Annual Maker’s Market at Atelier Roquette is back on Saturday, December 10 from 11 am-6 pm. If you are a Red Hook maker, and want to participate, email info@roquettecatering.com.
Each of Red Hook’s finalists are unique and important neighborhood assets. DTE, founded in 1994, uses the arts and art education as a vehicle of
Seaborne
Quiet cash-only cocktail lounge. Mon-Sat, noon-3 am; Sun noon - midnight. 718-852-4888. 228 Van Brunt Street.
Sunnys
You won’t find any food at this crusty establishment, but you will find a lot of taxidermied animals. 3pm-4am M-F, 1pm4am Sat & Sun. (718) 451-4665. 320 Van Brunt St. LIVE MUSIC 9PM MONDAYS
Botanica
Fancy cocktails and rare beers - from the folks who brought you Widow Jane distillery next door. Mon. closed; Tue, Wed 3-10 pm; Thu, Fri 3 pm -12 am; Sat 12 pm - 2 am; Sun noon-11 pm. (347) 225-0147. 220 Conover St.
When you drink at Sunny’s you’re drinking history - this bar has been around for over 100 years. LIVE MUSIC Thu, Fri, & Sat nights. Mon closed; Tue 4 pm-2 am; Wed-Fri 4 pm-4 am; Sat 10 am–4 am; Sun, 10 am–midnight (718) 625-8211. 253 Conover St.
Verona Wine Bar
A new, low-key, family owned place. Excellent tapas, mixed drinks, and wine (of course). Mon-Tue closed; Wed-Thur 3 pm-midnight; Fri-Sat 3 pm-3 am; Sun 3 pm -9 pm. (929) 3376014. 253 Van Brunt St.
ROCKY SULLIVAN'S
outdoor patio & karaoke. Sun-Thur 4 pm-2 am; Fri-Sat 4 pm-4 am. (917) 733-1054. 200 Columbia St.
The Hop Shop
Extensive beer list with a friendly atmosphere. Mon, closed; Tue-Thur, 5 pm-midnight; Fri 5 pm-2 am; Sat, noon - 2 am; Sun noon-midnight. (718) 852-2184. 121 Columbia St.
Jalopy Tavern & Theater
Half solid bar with tasty drinks and food, half kickass venue and music school. Live music almost every night. Mon-Thur 4pm-2am; F,ri 4 pm-4 am; Sat noon-4 am; Sun 11ammidnight. (718) 395-3214. 317 Columbia St.
Mazzat
A wholesome, warm, friendly Mediterranean restaurant with tapas and full bar. Noon-10pm daily. (718) 8521652. 208 Columbia St.
Phil’s Crummy Corner
Lively sports bar with fresh, authentic Puerto Rican food. Mon, closed; Tue, Wed & Sun, noon-2 am; Thur-Sat noon-4 am. (718) 246-1252. 323 Columbia St.
Fort Defiance
DJ
Ice House
Neighborhood atmosphere with full kitchen and full bar. Weekly trivia, Irish classes, and live music most nights, including jam sessions. (718) 246-8050. 34 Van Dyke St.
Bar Tano
COLUMBIA WATERFRONT
Halyards
Cocktails and food in the heart of Van Brunt. Mon, Wed-Fri, 10 am-midnight; Sat, Sun 9 am-midnight; Tue 10 am-3 pm. (347) 453-6672. 365 Van Brunt St.
Hometown Bar-B-Que
Barbeque joint with rustic aesthetic and live music on weekends. Fri-Sat, noon - midnight; Sun noon-10 pm; Mon closed; Tue-Thur noon-11pm. (347) 294-4644. 454 Van Brunt St.
Hope & Anchor
social transformation. RHI began as a program in a local hospital in 2002, and has three youth development programs designed to nurture and support teens and young adults facing systematic inequalities. RHCJC is community court that hears civil, family, and criminal cases from three police precincts. It also offers remediation and conflict resolution services, and has been in operation since 2002.
BAR DIRECTORY
Cozy laid-back tavern with punk music, decent bar food and a back patio. Noon-4 am daily. (718) 222-1865. 318 Van Brunt St.
Brooklyn-style diner with karaoke Fri & Sat from 9 pm-1:30 am. Mon-Wed 11:30 am-11 pm; Thur-Fri 11:30 am 1:00 am; Sun 9 am-10 pm. (718) 2370276. 347 Van Brunt St.
Page 18 Red Hook Star-Revue
Red Hook groups SPARK finalists
B61
A friendly bar with wide-open windows, sidewalk seating, and Alma Restaurant upstairs. Mon-Fri 4 pm- 4 am; Fri 5:30-11 pm; Sat 2 pm-4 am, Sun 1 pm-4 am. (718) 643-5400. 187 Columbia St.
40 Knots
Cheap drinks, $1 pool table, juke box
www.star-revue.com
RESTAURANT & BAR
GOWANUS
Cozy Italian bar & bistro with full menu. Mon-Thur 11am–midnight; Fri 11 am–1 am; Sat 10am-1am; Sun 10 am-midnight. (718) 499-3400. 457 3rd Ave. Games, cocktails, craft & classic beers, pub food. Mon-Thur 4 pm-2 am; Fri 4 pm-4 am; Sat 2 pm-4 am; Sun noon-2 am. (347) 532-8787. 406 3rd Ave.
Lowlands Bar
Local dive with a large back patio and paninis. Mon-Thurs 5 pm-4 am; Fri 1 pm-4 am; Sat 10 am-4 am; Sun 1 pm-4 am. (347) 463-9458. 543 3rd Ave.
YOUR AD HERE!! $810 for 6 months $1440 for one year
November 2016
Cora Dance Pop Up
On October 20, Cora Dance began their 2016-2017 season with a pop-up performance at Atelier Roquette. Both dance youth companies performed what Executive Director, Shannon Hummel described as “works in progress.” Shannon also debut a solo work in progress of her own. The Red Hook drew Not only wasCivic the Association evening intended a larger crowd and had a larger agento bring out friends, family and supdaporters than many the earlier meetings of theof organization, but also to this year. The September meeting kick off their annual fundraising camwas held in the PS 15 auditorium andto paign. Their goal is to raise $25,000 president John McGettrick held sway over a number of local topics. He began with a tirade against city and state government as even more money has been slashed from the much vaunted Integrated Flood Protection Program. Originally slated as a $200 million project by the governor, it was cut in half (as reported first by the Star-Revue) earlier this year. When asked why, McGettrick was told that the $200 million was simply a typographical error. It now seems cut in half again, as the city has moved from the IFPS budget to it's flawed Build It Back program, which has run into huge cost overruns while many in flood areas are still out of their homes. "It's four years since Sandy, and we are still no closer to any sort of real flood protection," said McGettrick.
outfit all 200 of their students in new uniforms because Shannon said “Cora is a place where everyone should feel like they belong,” no matter their economic resources. “Uniforms create unity,” she added.
Civic Association holds a big September meeting Cora also announced that one of their byFamily George Fiala major donors, The Meriangoff Foundation (MFF) will match every cent raised before Election Day on he feels that a balance will be struck tion divulged, and only Tuesday, November 8. somebody and some stands removed as their us- because Foris more information about their fall happened to look at age monitored. campaign, or to donate visit www.coSomeone asked about the many new their website - www. radance.org. No Parking signs at many corners. It thehookrc.com.
was explained that these 'daylight' corner signs help trucks making turns on our narrow streets. It was pointed out that NYC has a 55 foot limit on truck traffic that is never enforced, and these signs kind of legitimize the larger trucks. McGettrick point out that they also prevent smushed cars. The next subject was the new forprofit detox center being built on Van Brunt Street across from Dry Dock Wines and Spirits. Mary, co-owner of Dry Dock, felt that the owners snuck in their building without informing the community, leaving her to wonder what kind of neighbors they will end up being. McGettrick said that we were treated shabbily by the community board. The center's previous application a couple of years ago for a nearby location caused controversy at the board The conversation moved to the new and so this time they simply bypassed Citi Bike stands throughout the neigh- any community oversight and are borhood, which some feel has been building it as-of-right. The original JoAnne Simon, Nydia Velazquez Brad Lander Park, located overdone. McGettrick said heand would filingshelp for dedicate the newSponge building were as a by the Lightstone buildings on the banks of the Gowanus. The park is among other city try to get someone from DOT to dis- hotel with large rooms - only recently initiatives meant to help remediate excess rainwater in Gowanus. The EPA has demandcuss this at the October meeting, but was the real nature of the construc-
Local pols dedicate park on the Gowanus
ed retention tanks to remediate the rest. (photo by Emily Kluver)
The
McGettrick, as a way of introduction to the special guest, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, again announced his longterm desire for ferry service to Governors Island from the AtlanVelmanette Montgomery, fresh off a primary victory, was a tic Basin, something special guest along with Leon T. Gelzer, the new Sr. Mortgage that EDC is still con- Development Officer at Santander Bank. (photo by Fiala) sidering. mandatory for upcoming closings of Montgomery spoke of her desire to libraries in Sunset Park and Brooklyn see maritime uses of our waterfront Heights, and that she would look into maintained -as they are a great job it for Red Hook. generator. She has been supporting a Harbor Middle School as a feeder Finally, Andrea McKnight introduced school to Governor's Island public Leon T. Gelzer, newly stationed at the Harbor High School. She said that local Santander Bank. The bank is in such a school could be located either danger of violating the Community in Red Hook or Sunset Park. Reinvestment Bank - which mandates She urged everyone to vote for Hillary in the upcoming presidential election. She was asked about plans for an alternate library while the Red Hook Library is closed for repairs next year. She stated that such plans were made
local banks support the surrounding community - and his mandate is to make Santander a true Red Hook bank. He has already issued a $40,000 grant to the Red Hook Iniative for financial education, and he is looking
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Red Hook
November snapshots Rocky’s last night at 34 Van Dyke St.
The 4th Annual Red Hook
Barnacle Parade
Harvest Festival
at the Red Hook Community Farm
Page 20 Red Hook Star-Revue
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November 2016