The
Red Hook StarªRevue SOUTH BROOKLYN’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
through Oct. 18, 2012
Phoenix Beverages to EDC: Let Us Out!
meeting of the 76th Precinct C o m munity Council, it was revealed that the Tyjuan Hill f o o t (76th precinct photo) bridges over Hamilton Avenue were ideal places for such stakeouts as they are supposedly frequented by prostitutes at night.
by Drew Petrilli he New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) currently has an Open Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new operation at the shed facility at Pier 11. The shed occupies the lot parallel to the Atlantic Basin on Red Hook’s waterfront. NYCEDC measures the massive structure as 20 feet high by 20 feet wide and 1,120 feet long. The shed is equipped with 22 roll-up doors, “12 of which are available for use”, according to the RFP. The sheds measure roughly 18 feet high by 20 feet wide. The RFP states that the proposal should suit the following objectives: • To promote commercial activities; • Support job creation and retention; • Provide local economic development opportunities; • Develop a financially feasible and economically viable project; • Minimize negative environmental impacts. The shed - according to the RFP - is on a lot designated as a Significant Maritime and Industrial Area, designed by the City to “protect and encourage working waterfront uses.” It can be expected that the proposals will be given prominence accordingly. Currently, the shed is occupied by a prominent Red Hook business, Phoenix Beverages. According to Rod Brayman, founder of Phoenix, the shed currently houses Phoenix’s recycling facilities, “among other things” peripheral to a beverage distribution business. However, according to Brayman, “it doesn’t make sense from the neighborhood’s or [Phoenix’s] point of view to have that [recycling facility] there.” Brayman cites the fact that Phoenix trucks have to use public roads to transport empty cans and bottles from their main lot to the recycling facility occupying the shed at Pier 11. The constant trips by the trucks add to unneeded wear on the public roads as well as air pollution from burning diesel fuel. It can also be deduced that it is in Phoenix’s best interests to consolidate the recycling facility to their own lot for the sake of efficiency. Rod Brayman and Phoenix Beverages want out of Pier 11 shed as soon as possible. Brayman states that moving the recycling facility would take no more than one to two months. “There is nothing in there that we couldn’t move quickly,” states Brayman. However, according to another prominent source in the company, Phoenix faces pressure from the NYCEDC to remain at the facility until another viable proposal results from the release of their RFP. From the city’s standpoint, this would ensure that there is an operation there capable of financially sustaining the shed structure. On the surface, it seems that there is no problem. As soon as a new proposal for an operation is granted by the NYCEDC, Phoenix has the green light to clear the shed within a month or two, thus saving Red Hook’s roads the wear of Phoenix trucks’ weight and the air of their diesel fuel emissions. However, Brayman is unsure “how serious the city is about the RFP”. Brayman may have a point. The NYCEDC’s stated deadline for the RFP is October 12. However, this deadline is followed by three subsequent ones, the latest of which is June 21, 2013. With this rolling deadline, the NYCEDC gives no indication that they will not extend it further, effectively scaling back a firm date of action for the Pier 11 shed indefinitely. This may correspond with the NYCEDC’s interests. If Phoenix is under pressure to postpone the consolidation of their recycling operation until a new tenant moves into the facility, the rent on the city’s shed remains paid. The NYCEDC has released an RFP for the shed, but what incentive do they
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Autumn leaves bring fall colors to President Street (photo by George Fiala)
Questions remain in police shooting
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by George Fiala
special operation of the 76th precinct ended in a man’s death on Thursday, September 20. Tyjuan Hill, age 22, was killed with a bullet to the back of his head after allegedly threatening the police with a loaded gun. According to the official police report, he lived at 626 Clinton Street in the Red Hook Houses. He lived with his mother, 44 year-old Carol Hill. A special unit of the 76th Precinct created to arrest the clients of prostitutes, dubbed “Operation Losing Proposition,” was staked out at Huntington and Henry Streets. A female officer posed on the street as a prostitute while the rest of the squad lay in wait. At the most recent
Also in This Issue: Peacemaking at Justice Center page 5
The
Blue Pencil Lunar Revue
Spoofs page 10 new original crossword puzzle page 11
plus lots more!
Paper Swan at Jalopy page 17