The
Red Hook StarªRevue
MAY 2016
SOUTH BROOKLYN’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
FREE
Ferry location still up in the air by George Fiala
T
he long awaited next step in the selection of a Red Hook commuter ferry stop arrived in April with the publication of the NYC Economic Development Corporation’s (EDC) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), covering 17 new passenger ferry stops, including Red Hook. There are currently a number of ferries traversing the waters around Manhattan. The East River ferries are operated by NY Waterways. and connect various locations north of Brooklyn Bridge Park to lower and midtown Manhattan. Additionally, a ferry route connects Governors Island with downtown Manhattan. The NY Water Taxi has been operating ferries between Red Hook and lower Manhattan since 2002. Hornblower Cruises and Events, a West Coast company, has been operating ferries going to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island since 2008. EDC began studying expansion of NYC ferry service under the Bloomberg administration. A 245 page report was issued in 2013. The following is a quote from that report: “Private developers would likely benefit from expanded ferry service to Red Hook, to serve as an amenity to their projects. New landings would impact property owned by Estate Four and the O’Connell Organization, and potentially unlock value for future development. Further study is needed to determine whether the proposed developments on Coffey Street and Imlay Street will generate enough traffic to warrant a new service or landing, and whether a public-private partnership could be structured to fund ferry investment.” Ferry expansion carried over from the Bloomberg to the de Blasio admin-
Red Hook Star-Revue
tives came to that hearing to explain again to EDC officials why the Atlantic Basin was the community’s preferred location. The overriding reason was the centrality of the basin to Red Hook residents. It is at the end of Pioneer Street – much closer to the residential community than the Beard Street Pier. The Atlantic Basin also has the potential for sufficient off-street parking – as many of the parking spots adjacent to the Cruise Terminal are severely underutilized.
EDC's artist rendering of new ferry stop looks like it could be behind Fairway. (courtesy NYC Economic Development Corporation)
istration. De Blasio trumpeted NYC Ferry expansion in his 2015 State-ofthe-City Address. He added a, saying that new ferries would start to be added starting in 2017. EDC proceeded full steam ahead.
Unusual choice
In August 2015, Red Hook community leaders were shocked when – at a meeting of Community Board 6 – EDC announced their two proposed locations for the Red Hook Ferry Terminal. The first was at the end of the Beard Street Pier, on property owned by the O’Connell Organization; and the second was at Valentino Pier. Many in the audience - including local businessman Jim Tampakas - pointed out that the Atlantic Basin, which abuts the Red Hook Cruise Terminal, would be a much more suitable location for a number of cogent reasons. CB6 member, Jerry Armer proposed a resolution strongly urging EDC to consider the Basin as a potential location. The resolution passed, and the next battle was fought in September 2015 at a public hearing in Borough Hall.
Almost thirty Red Hook residents, merchants and political representa-
Tim Gilman-Sevcik, a Red Hook homeowner who suffered extensive damage from Sandy and a member of NY Rising, said that the community was unanimous in its displeasure of EDC’s ideas. He said (continued on page 6)
It's The Red Hook!
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May 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
Happenings, etc. TUESDAY, MAY 10 NYCHA Careers in Construction Resource Fair. Join NYCHA and its office of Disaster Recovery and get information on union opportunities, job training, Free OSHA 10 classes, and services from other community partners. Hamilton Madison House, 50 Madison Street, Manhattan. Registration required (718) 218-1517 4 - 7 pm
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18
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
In the midst of New York City’s housing crisis,it is becoming increasingly harder to find an affordable home. Come learn about the causes of the crisis and how to navigate the affordable housing application and lottery system. 6:30-8:30 pm Carroll Gardens Association 201 Columbia Street 6:30-8:30 pm
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
FRIDAY, MAY 20
THURSDAY MAY 19 Stop Bullying - a workshop featuring Norbert Davidson, Gang Prevention and Intervention Unit, Office of Safety and Youth Development. RSVP Frank McCrea (2120 602-4304, Red Hook Library, 7 Wolcott Street, 2 pm
Dance Theatre Etcetera presents Red Hook: Move It, a community dance party. Enjoy a live dance performance, free snacks, beverages and a live DJ! PS 15, 71 Sullivan Street, 6:30 - 8 pm
SATURDAY, MAY 21
Friends of the Red Hook Library present a Fund Raising Fashion Show. $25 admission includes local fashions and models, light refreshments and an opportunity to help our local library present additional programs for the community. For tickets call Minetta Brown (718) 260-9753 or Roslyn Chatman, (646) 226-6135. 7 Wolcott Street, 5:15 - 8 pm 100 Works on Paper Benefit for the Kentler International Drawing Space. 353 Van Brunt Street, 6 pm
RELIGIOUS SERVICES 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
Visitation Church
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.
New Brown Memorial Baptist Church
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 830am-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)
EXPO Gowanus, a community event that will highlight the many exciting projects underway and plug in interested volunteers. This year, the event will take place on Saturday May 21 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at 5th Avenue and 4th Street.
TUESDAY, MAY 24
Know Your Rights as a NYCHA Tenant. What are your rights & responsibilities as a NYCHA tenant? Come learn about the Red Hook Community Justice Center’s Housing Resource Center and the housing court process. Justice Center, 88 Visitation Place 6 - 8 pm
ONGOING
ULAY & JAŠA Water Mark / Cutting Through the Clouds of Myth a site specific installation and performance curated by Mitra Khorasheh May 6 – June 1, 2016 Opening reception and performances On May 6, 7, and 8, 6 - 10 pm. @ Kustera Projects Red Hook 57 Wolcott Street,
Friends of the Red Hook Library present an
EVENING OF FASHION Fund Raising Fashion Show to support children’s events and art supplies
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 11:45 am (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.
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/
SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2016 5:15 - 8:15 PM
Jewish
Kane Street Synagogue
$25 Admission includes dinner and a raffle ticket!
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
Congregation B’nai Avraham/Chabad of Brooklyn Heights
Contact for Tickets:
Minnetta Brown 718 260-9753
Red Hook Library 7 Wolcott Street
If your religious institution isn’t listed here, let us know by emailing info@redhookstar.com Thanks! Page 2 Red Hook Star-Revue
Roslyn Chapman 646-226-6135
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May 2016
Red Hook gets an eponymous comic book hero by Halley Bondy
W
hat if Brooklyn was a sentient being, with feelings and a pulse? If Brooklyn seceded from the rest of the world, what would serve as currency? And who would be the hero?
John Frizell.
These are the kinds of questions comic book artist, Dean Haspiel asked himself while conceiving, writing, and drawing the brand new comic series New Brooklyn with fellow artists Seth Kushner, Shamus Beyale, Vito Delsante and Ricardo Venâncio.
In the comic, Red Hook (the neighborhood) is a war-torn battleground, and Van Brunt Street is a kind of no man’s land - with Martians on one side and humans on the other - holed up in Fort Defiance. And yes, it was weird to see Red Hook depicted as so badly beaten up, In the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The windows of Fort Defiance are boarded up! the people Inside, though - they’re bloodied, but unbowed. They’re totally defiant. They’re fighting back
In the series, the borough of Brooklyn (a character unto itself ) can’t take it anymore. “I guess you could say I was feeling a little cranky,” Haspiel said. “I was dealing with the fact that everyone was getting booted out of my art studio in Gowanus, and that artists keep getting booted out of Brooklyn. New York and Brooklyn don’t actually support the arts, and nobody is paying attention to each other.” Inspired by the infamous 2014 incident when German artists swapped the American flag with a white flag on the Brooklyn Bridge, Haspiel imagined a world where Brooklyn could just throw up its hands and say “f--you” to the rest of the world. In the series, the white flag incident sparks a total secession, creating a self-sustaining universe where bartering is rampant, where art is as important as money, and commitment to community is of the utmost value. Yet, it is also plagued by greedy villains, violence, and lawlessness.
Red Hook - The Bad Boy
For one of the New Brooklyn installments, Haspiel needed a badboy protagonist - and only one name was dark, complicated, and bold enough for the task: The Red Hook. “Whenever I go to Red Hook, it feels a little nefarious, a little dangerous,” he said, who was born and raised in Manhattan and moved to Carroll Gardens 19 years ago. “I fell in love with Red Hook in the 90s when I started going to Sunny’s. It was a much more mysterious land back then. Dogs would be chasing us. It was ominous - and even the name ‘Red Hook’ just grabs you.” In Haspiel’s comic, The Red Hook is a red-clad thief with a hot girlfriend named The Possum. Hook lives in the Fairway warehouse building, paid for by his theft and general selfishness. He’s a bad guy who faces a massive life event that will change him forever - but you’ll have to read the comic to find out how. Aside from visiting Sunny’s regularly, Haspiel is known in the Red Hook arts scene. In 2010, his graphic novel Cuba: My Revolution, co-written with Inerva Lockpez, was featured in Kentler Art Gallery. He also drew an installment for the Mars Attacks comic series in which aliens invaded Van Brunt Street. He even used Fort Defiance as a weapons holdout, which was adamantly approved by owner St.
Red Hook Star-Revue
Haspiel was nervous about depicting the Fort in such a way, especially because Sandy apparently happened around the same time. Frizell ultimately loved it.
And so in the comic, Fort Defiance is a place where the human spirit finds resilience - the ability to get back up after you’re knocked down. It’s a place where people come together to help each other and solve problems. And that’s kind of as true in life as it is in fiction - even If those problems are aliens with laser guns. Haspiel’s fame extends far beyond Brooklyn world, however. He is well known for his collaborations with Harvey Pekar on the American Splendor series. He has worked on countless comics for Marvel, DC, and more during his decades-long career. These days, he’s all about The Red Hook, however. Webtoons.com is currently running it exclusively, rolling out a chapter a week. The online run will end around late September, and he hopes to run a print version of The Red Hook in the fall of 2017.
A new chapter featuring Red Hook can be read each week at webtoons.com
“I fell in love with Red Hook in the 90s when I started going to Sunny’s. It was a much more mysterious land back then. Dogs would be chasing us. It was ominous - and even the name ‘Red Hook’ just grabs you.”
Other installments of New Brooklyn will be available on Webtoons after The Red Hook run. The Brooklynite chronicles the life of a Brooklyn cartoonist with a superhero alter-ego. It was written by Haspiel’s cohorts, Shamus Beyale and Seth Kushner, who passed away from leukemia in May after completing the series. In The Purple Heart, written by Haspiel, Vito Delsante, and Ricardo Venâncio, a US Navy soldier hopes to return quietly to his home borough, but Brooklyn has seceded - and it needs a guardian.
A Brooklyn universe that tells a story
It can be tempting to read deeply into all the Brooklyn references. Characters named Benson Hurst and The Green Point also make appearances throughout The Red Hook, for example, and tons of landmarks are familiar. However, Haspiel insists that these aren’t supposed to be exact representations of neighborhoods, so die-hards should try to detach a bit. “It’s definitely a Brooklyn universe, but at the end of the day, I just want to tell a story,” he said. “Red Hook is my favorite place on earth, but that doesn’t mean he’ll always be the best guy on earth.”
Dean Haspiel working in his Gowanus studio, Hang Dai Studios. Photo by Matthew Ballen.
The
Red Hook StarªRevue
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
Kimberly G. Price & George Fiala Halley Bondy, Nathan Weiser, Mary Ann Pietanza, Laura Eng, Marc Jackson and Mary Staub, contributors
www.star-revue.com
May 2016, Page 3
RELIGIOUS NEWS BY LAURA ENG laura.eng59@aol.com.
An Array of Springtime Events
A
wide range of events have been taking place at churches and temples around the neighborhood this spring, ranging from historical commemorations to concerts to Passover observances. On Thursday, April 15, a ceremony was held at St. Paul’s Church in Cobble Hill to honor Father Thomas Byles, a heroic English priest who perished on the Titanic in 1912, 104 years on that exact day. The evening began with Adoration of the Eucharist and a prayer service celebrated by Monsignor Joseph Nugent and Deacon Leroy Branch. The attendees then moved into the front entranceway of the church where a new plaque was unveiled by teenage sister and brother, Cady and Benjamin Crosby. The Crosbys hail from Washington State and were instrumental in bringing recognition to Father Byles when they founded an educational nonprofit called Titanic Heroes. Following the ceremony, the Crosby siblings performed moving speeches from two Titanic survivors. Father Byles was aboard the Titanic on his way to Brooklyn to perform the marriage ceremony of his brother and sister-in-law when disaster struck. Accounts from survivors reported that he was offered a spot on a lifeboat at least twice, but instead chose to minister to the passengers still on board, thereby sacrificing his own life. The wedding went ahead at St. Paul’s on April 20, 1912 and was followed that same afternoon by a requiem Mass for Father Byles, also at St. Paul’s. On Saturday, April 17, the Stonewall Chorale, the nation’s first LGBTQ chorus, performed In Paradisum, a requiem Mass sung completely in Latin at St. Agnes Church, as part of the Sounds on Sackett Concert Series. The 60 Chorale members were led by conductor and music director Cynthia Powell and accompanied by pianist Eric Sedgwick, who played the recently restored Wissner concert grand piano. St. Agnes seemed an ideal setting, both acoustically and aesthetically, for the soaring voices and the solemn music which filled the grand Neo-Gothic church. The concert concluded with a standing ovation by the audience of over 250 people.
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Titanic hero Father Byles rememberd at St. Pauls Church.
included the customary hunt for the afikoman, a piece of matzoh hidden during the meal and usually found by a child. The afikoman at the CMS seder was found by Moira Weinstein, Lexi and Daniel Elkin, David and Sydney Goldman, and two-year old Koby Wasserman.
Happenings/Upcoming Events
Congregation Mount Sinai 250 Cadman Plaza West Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday, May 4 at 7 pm. Join the entire Brownstone Brooklyn Jewish community as CMS hosts this annual commemoration, featuring Holocaust readings and songs and testimonies from survivors. Interfaith Scripture Reading on Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30 pm at Plymouth Church, 57 Orange Street. The Oratory Church of St. Boniface 109 Willoughby Street Annual Parish Fundraiser/Auction on Friday, May 13. For questions regarding food, contact Giulia Melucci at gmelucci@gmail.com or Torkil Heggstad at torkilheggstad@gmail. com, for setting up, contact Theresa Schieber at theresa.a.schieber@ gmail.com, and for auction items, contact Father Anthony at bonifaceauction@gmail.com. Oratory Choir Concert Series on Sunday, May 22, 4 pm, Pro Musicis presents: Celebrating the Piano Trio Featuring Joseph Haydn’s “Trio for piano, violin and cello in B-flat major,” among Haydn’s most harmonically adventurous works. Tickets available through Eventbrite http://ow.ly/Yobtg. Fr. Dennis’ Book Club on May 15 The Blue Flower, by Penelope Fitzgerald at Aula Maxima. New members welcome.
On Saturday evening, April 23, Rabbi Seth Wax and Congregation Mount Sinai hosted a Second Night of Passover Seder. The evening provided a perfect opportunity for 65 Congregation members and guests-including those who do not have family nearbyto celebrate the holiday together.
River of God Christian Center 110 Wolcott Street A Big Hat Affair on Saturday, August 13. Save the date! Women’s Retreat on November 4-6 and will include a trip to the Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster, PA. Save the date!
A traditional Passover seder of matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish, eggs in salt water, brisket and chicken, macaroons, and an assortment of kugels was enjoyed by all. The festivities also
Sacred Hearts/St. Stephen Church Summit & Hicks Street An Evening with The Lord on Friday, May 13 at 7 pm, preparation for the Feast of Pentecost with evening
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May 2016
Religion
(continued from previous page)
prayer in a contemporary musical setting during Eucharistic Adoration. Parish Schools Reunion, A 150th Anniversary Event, on Saturday, June 11. School building tour at 4:30, Mass at 5:30, dinner and dancing at 6:30. Tickets are $50. For information, contact Reunion@SacredHearts-StStephen.com Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)-Learn more about the Catholic faith, become baptized, complete the sacraments. For information, call 718-596-7750.
St. Agnes Church Hoyt & Sackett Streets Sounds on Sackett-The concert series will continue on Saturday, May 21 at 7 pm with Edsel Gomez, premier Latin jazz pianist and Grammy nominee, performing an array of Puerto Rican, Brazilian, and Afro-Caribbean selections. Tickets are $20 and children under 12 are free. For more information, call 718-625-1717. St. Mary Star of the Sea Church 467 Court Street May Crowning on Sunday, May 1st at the 10 am Mass. Mothers Day Mass on Sunday, May 8th at 10 am. First Holy Communion on Sunday, May 22 at the 10 am Mass. Statue of the Grieving Woman-Grand unveiling and rededication of the statue honoring all parish boys who
Red Hook Star-Revue
died in World War I on Sunday, May 29th following the 10 am Mass. Light refreshments to follow in the Parish Center.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 199 Carroll Street Third Friday Supper, the final one of the season on May 20 at 6:30-8 pm, $15 for adults, $5 for children, $30 maximum per family.. The theme will be BBQ. Assistant Bishop Geralyn Wolf will be celebrating Mass and preaching on June 5 at 11 am. Bishop Wolf will also be prepared to celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, to Confirm and receive new members into the Church. Visitation BVM Church 98 Richards Street Healing Masses on Wednesday, May 4 at 7 pm with Father Ricardo Argañaraz, Founder of Koinonia John the Baptist, on Wednesday, May 11 at 7 pm in Spanish, and on Friday, May 27 at 7 pm in English. Pre-Pentecost evening prayer, May 9-13 at 7.00 pm focusing on teachings on the gift of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost Sunday on May 15-Mass at 10.00 am in Spanish and 12.30 pm in English. Sundays in May-All parishioners are invited to spend the afternoon in Coffey Park across from the church with the Community of Koinonia John the Baptist and to barbecue, weather permitting.
Visitation hosts very special Easter Sunday concert by Alan Egre
A “beautiful and inspiring” performance of the Easter section of Handel’s Messiah attracted people from all over the New York Metropolitan area and even as far away as Boston. The performance was done at the Verdi Tuning “A=432 Hz” by the Schiller Institute New York Community Chorus. “I’ve never seen the church so full!” exclaimed Sister Maire, Music Director of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary R.C. Church. More than 400 people attended the performance at Visitation on Easter Sunday. Eighty choristers, a thirty-one-piece orchestra, four soloists (Gudrun Bühler, soprano; Mary Phillips, alto; Everett Suttle, tenor; and Philip Cutlip, bass-baritone), and conductor Maestro John Siegerson filled the front of the Sanctuary on Easter Sunday night. The combination of the Verdi Tuning, the acoustics of the 150-year-old church, and the immense amount of work that went into preparing, had the audience members commenting that you could hear every voice perfectly, even at the very back of the church. The attendance and the performance was a product of the efforts of the Schiller Institute New York Community Chorus and the Foundation for the Revival of Classical Culture. Their goal is to make this music accessible to everyone, using classical beauty to counter the ugliness in the culture. The Schiller Institute New York Community Chorus holds weekly rehearsals every Wednesday at the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary R.C. Church at 7 pm in the side chapel. Rehearsals are free and open to everyone, regardless of musical background. For more information, call (646) 509-5451. To watch a full recording of the Easter performance, go to facebook.com/schillerchorusnyc.
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May 2016, Page 5
Tell EDC where to put our ferry on May 24, 2016 (continued from page 1)
that Atlantic Basin is one block from the bus and two blocks from public housing. He said that EDC’s locations featured ice floes, choppy water and extreme winds. He called Pioneer Street a logical central location for the long overdue improvement in transportation for the community.
The fight for the Red Hook commuter ferry terminal may come down to a battle between our two largest businesses, and the residential community. He wondered why no EIS was being done at the Basin. He said that it cost less, as the ferries could dock right by the land, eliminating the need for any gangway or floating barge. The comments were recorded by EDC, and the newly released EIS changed one of the locations for the ferry stop, and added two others. The two new locations are the community requested Atlantic Basin. The other is the existing facility behind IKEA in the Erie Basin. IKEA would love to snag the commuter ferry terminal. According to spokesperson Lorna Montalvo, it would be a perfect fit. “We have the infrastructure, the parking, and shuttle service. Additionally, Citibike will be here by the end of July.” The NY Water Taxi has been bringing shoppers to IKEA and Fairway for a
number of years. However, they recently announced that this summer would be their last. They claim that the city has been unfair with them by giving the contract for the new ferry service to Hornblower and not to them, or a combination of the NY Water Taxi and NY Waterways. The NY Post reported that the coowners, David Neil and Helena Durst recently told their 200 employees that “we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice, unless New York City’s Economic Development Corporation changes its present course, but to close New York Water Taxi and cease all operations by the end of 2016.
The second new location was the communities’ choice - Atlantic Basin. A lot of refurbishing to the bulkhead would have to take place in order to place the ferry stop there. “Due to the deteriorated condition of the bulkhead at the potential Atlantic Basin site, a new pile supported gangway landing and cutoff sheetpile bulkhead would be constructed inboard of the existing structure. Concrete pile caps and deck would be installed to support the gangway connection in order to alleviate the need to demolish the existing bulkhead,” the EIS states. The original proposed landing located at the end of the Beard Street Pier has been moved from that often blustery location to the back of Fairway, and to the right of the threatened Water Taxi
d
c
Red Hook Library Fundraiser
On May 21, the Friends of the Red Hook Library will be hosting their first fundraiser – an Evening of Fashion! Models will strut their stuff down a red carpet, while guests munch on local fares from all over the neighborhood. Local resident, Karen Blondel will emcee the fashion show.
The event will run from 5:15-8:30 pm. Tickets are $25 for adults and free for children younger than 12. Youth under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Every ticket holder will receive a raffle ticket for one of four prizes available. Winners must be present at the event to claim their prizes.
o
OPEN STUDIOS 12PM-7PM
OPENING PARTY 7PM-12AM
FRIDAY THE 13TH OF MAY 125 DIKEMAN ST
FURNITURE / CERAMICS / DESIGN / SUPPLY / HARDWARE WWW.SUPERSMITH.ORG ::: WWW.SHOOOKANDCO.COM
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The four potential ferry stops, clockwise from upper left: Erie Basin, Atlantic Basin, Valentino Pier, Fairway. (courtesy NYC Economic Development Corporation)
All proceeds will be used specifically for the Red Hook branch to purchase art supplies and benefit children’s events.
Shook n
All the EIS had to say about the Valentino Pier site is that it is owned by the Parks Department, and adjacent to Coffey Street.
The fight for the Red Hook commuter ferry terminal may come down to a battle between our two largest businesses, and the residential community. EDC has personal relationships with the businesses. Residents will once again have to make themselves heard at the next public meeting scheduled for Tuesday evening, May 24 at 6 pm, at St. Francis College, Remsen and Clinton Streets, Brooklyn Heights.
The Water Taxi told the Star-Revue that they are in negotiations with EDC to try and work out a solution to keep them in business.
s u p ers m i t h a
landing. The EIS expresses a concern about the noise factor to the residents above Fairway, but notes that windows are double paned and should alleviate any noise problem. Windows on all sides of the Fairway building were recently replaced.
For addition information, or to purchase tickets, contact President Minnetta Brown at (718) 260-9753, or Rosalyn Chapman at (646) 226-6135. Tickets will also be available for purchase in advance at the library (7 Wolcott Street), and will also be available at the door the day of the event. Friends of the Red Hook Library meet once a month to advocate and raise money on behalf of the local branch. If you are interested in joining or learning more, contact Sandra Sutton at the library at (718) 935-0203.
www.star-revue.com
Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Gala
Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Club’s (BBRC) Annual Gala commemorates a special occasion for the group. After organizing in 2011, BBRC is celebrating their 5th birthday as a chartered member of Rotary International. Rotary International is a world-wide organization devoted to helping those in need around the globe. Their motto, “service above self,” clearly defines their mission. BBRC is committed to carrying on that legacy in Downtown and South Brooklyn. They have sponsored children who do not have access to life-saving heart surgeries through Gift of Life Foundation. BBRC sends youth to leadership training and summer camps, collects food and donations for food pantries, ships clothing oversees for men exiting prison, and presents selfimprovement seminars to homeless pregnant and postnatal women at St. Francis residency. Rotary is a volunteer based organization. All proceeds raised go towards projects BBRC chooses, both locally and internationally. To sponsor, place a journal ad, purchase event and raffle tickets or donate, visit www.brooklynbridgerotaryclub.org. For more information, email gala@brooklynbridgerotary.org.
May 2016
Proposed agreement places Gowanus retention tank on private property
T
by George Fiala
he Gowanus Canal, separating Park Slope from Carroll Gardens, is one of the most polluted waterways in the United States. Over a century of heavy industrial use has left it with a highly toxic combination of coal tar as well as raw sewage deposits. It was added to the EPA’s Superfund list in 2010, which mandated the Federal Government to oversee its cleanup. The EPA is wedded to a strict cleanup schedule, as detailed in its Record of Decision (ROD) which mapped out the cleanup plans. The ROD was issued in September 2013. The project will include a dredging of the canal, followed by capping the floor of the canal with a layer. The layer will prevent coal tars and other toxins that remain under the dredged bottom from creeping upwards into the canal. The cleanup is paid for by past polluters that still maintain a corporate presence today – a group of more than thirty entities. The largest of these is National Grid, the successor of Brooklyn Union Gas, who created much of the coal tar pollution as part of its methane gas manufacturing operation. The other major polluter is the City of New York. The bulk of the city’s pollution responsibility comes from shortcomings of the sewage system in communities surrounding the canal, including Carroll Gardens and Park Slope. Over the years and continuing through today, raw sewage is pumped into the canal during heavy rainstorms. The ROD mandated a reduction of this Combined Sewage Overflow (CSO) which would be alleviated by the construction of two large retention tanks. The tanks would store the excess rainwater/sewage until the storm subsides. The sewer pipes would then be
Slide showing the two possible retention tank locations.
able to handle the quantity of water/ waste, and pump everything to the sewage treatment plants. The EPA suggested placement of one tank at the Salt Lot, a facility owned by the city on Second Avenue and Fifth Street, adjacent to the Canal. The second tank was suggested for underneath the swimming pool in Thomas Greene Park, located between Douglass and DeGraw Streets. Thomas Greene Park is the site of a former gas manufacturing plant. The EPA determined that a large pool of the toxic coal tar is located directly under the park’s outdoor swimming pool. Gravity causes the tar to slowly
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retention tank element of EPA’s ROD.” In 2013, the Brooklyn Paper reported on the city’s defiant attitude toward building of the tanks. “The city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) told The Brooklyn Paper that sewage overflow shouldn’t be the focus of the fed’s so-called ‘Superfund’ cleanup of the canal and that the main issue is the industrial waste that has been sitting in the canal bed for decades, so it has no plans to follow the federal government’s order to build two storage tanks to keep raw sewage out of the polluted channel during heavy rain storms.” EPA's Walter Mugdan will be happy to end the legal sparring with NYC. (photo by Fiala)
creep into the canal; the EPA ordered the pool dug up for the tar to be removed. They reasoned that since the pool had to be dug up anyway, the tank should be built in the fresh hole, and the pool be rebuilt above it. Understanding the value of the pool to neighboring residents, including tenants at the nearby Gowanus and Wyckoff Gardens NYCHA communities, they also dictated that a temporary replacement pool be located nearby during the five years that the park would be closed. The city disagreed with this plan, taking the position that the park needed to be reopened as soon as possible. Their counter proposal was to purchase the properties across the street from the park - using eminent domain if necessary - and locate the tank there. The two real estate parcels are referred to as the “Head-of-Canal” location. Six months of intense negotations between the EPA and the City ensued, and a settlement was finally reached on April 16. This agreement allowed the city to locate the tank in the Head-of-Canal, subject to certain stipulations. The proposed settlement is currently under public review – anyone is allowed to comment on the agreement, and those comments will be considered before the EPA finalizes the agreement. The public commentary period ends on May 31. Comments can be mailed to Walter Mugdan, U.S. EPA Superfund Director, 290 Broadway, Floor 19, New York, NY 10007, or emailed to mugdan.walter@epa.gov. Mugdan presented the agreement on two successive days during the last week of April. He appeared at a public meeting on Monday, April 25 at PS 32 in Gowanus, and the next evening at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Gowanus Community Advisory Group (CAG) at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea home in Carroll Gardens. At each meeting, he was subject to a barrage of questions, many of them dealing with a potential delay in the cleanup that the proposal may cause. Others questioned the additional expense to the city as they will have to purchase the properties and to dig a second hole. Thomas Greene Park is owned by
the city – locating the tank there would not necessitate a land purchase. Mugdan presented the same slideshow at both meetings. He explained that by law, the EPA could force the city to place the tank in the park, but he recognized the city’s desire to preserve as much park space as possible. The ROD did not recognize the city’s desire to place a “head house” above ground – next to the tank – as a way to mitigate odors during tank cleaning. This structure would have to be placed in the park, with the potential for losing some park area. While Mugdan insisted that the EPA still believes that the park is the better location, he was satisfied with the settlement. The city will be obliged to work concurrently on plans to develop the tank at both locations. If a pre-determined time schedule is not met on the Head- of-Canal location, the EPA can force the city to pivot to the park location. The city’s first deadline is April 2020, at which time they must have finalized acquisition of the two parcels. The proposed agreement’s additional requirements include the removal of the toxic wastes from under the pool; the city’s full cooperation with National Grid; the building of the temporary pool ensuring no loss of swimming time for the community; removal of additional toxins at the Head-of-Canal; assurance that if the tank is not ready by the time the Canal is dredged and capped, the city will perform maintenance dredging; financial penalties for failure to comply with the terms of the agreement; and reimbursement to the EPA for oversight costs it will incur as it ensures the timely completion of the tank. Mugdan addressed fears that the city was in fact employing delaying tactics to avoid having to build the tank altogether. The city’s relationship with Superfund has been contentious from the beginning. Mugdan told the audiences at both meetings that what cinched the deal was the city’s waiving of their right “to any legal challenge of EPA’s selections of CSO controls in ROD,” and that the “agreement reflects NYC’s willingness to implement CSO
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The question of building the tanks at all will be permanently put to rest with this agreement, according to Mugdan. However, finalization will not come before the end of the public comment period, and the EPA will have to consider each and every comment. Mugdan said the three scenarios are possible: that the public deems the agreement fair and it becomes finalized; that changes are suggested which the city agrees to; or changes are not agreed to by the city and everything goes back into limbo. The first public comment at the Monday meeting came from Community Board 6 member Glen Kelly, who called it a “boondoggle.” He added, “this agreement will cause the city to become a problem,” referring to potential delays in the cleanup. He urged the EPA to use its power to force the city to build the tank under the swimming pool. Many questioned the potential use of eminent domain, when a suitable location is already owned by the city just across the street. Eric Landau, Acting Deputy Commission for Public Affairs at DEP assured the audience that “eminent domain is their last resort.” He affirmed that DEP is in constant communication with Dumbo’s Alloy Development, who currently controls the two parcels and would like to build two low rise commercial buildings on the property. At a previous CAG meeting, Alloy’s president, Jared de la Valle, presented a plan in which they would donate a portion of the land to the city’s Park’s Department if they were allowed to go ahead with their project. An unexpected twist came when Ian Defbaugh, representing Eastern Effects Studio, wondered what was going to happen to their film studio, located just south of the Head-ofCanal location. Eastern Effects owns a twelve-year lease in the building, which is now also threatened with seizure by the city, who plans to use the land as a staging area. Defbaugh explained that his company had made a million-dollar investment in the property, which is used to film “The Americans,” and employs a number of local residents. His fears were not addressed at the April 25 meeting.
May 2016, Page 7
Both Red Hook and Lower Manhattan planning for Integrated Flood Protection
A
t the second Integrated Flood Protection System (IFPS) meeting for Red Hook at the Miccio Center on April 7, the community and local businesses were able to here from the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency, Councilman Carlos Menchaca, Congresswoman Nadia Valazquez, the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) as well as other agencies. They all want to make sure that Red Hook is better prepared for a possible future flood and that the community is heard from. The IFPS in Manhattan is a year further along in the process than Red Hook is. According to Michael Shaikh, Deputy Director for External Affairs in the Office of Recovery and Resiliency, the Red Hook project is functioning on a similar timeline in terms of the length that it will take for design and community engagement. The community engagement and the preliminary design have only just begun in Red Hook. Since the money was available sooner, the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCRP) was able to move ahead faster. The next steps will be getting through the environmental impact statement process and then the contracting and construction. Red Hook can learn from the Manhattan IFPS because they are further along in the process. One of the two Manhattan projects, the ESCRP runs from 23rd Street down to Montgomery Street. The Red Hook project is very similar in the design and community engagement stages. “Trying to get the input from the community about what they want,” Shaikh said. “There is really not much fundamental difference between the projects right now,” Sahikh added. “What will be different is how they manifest themselves in the design and the construction because they are looking at different geographies and different parts of the city and different dynamics of the water. So, you will have structural differences, but in terms of the processes themselves, they are almost identical.” The other project in Manhattan is known as the Lower Manhattan Protect and Connect Project (LMPCP), which will run from Montgomery Street down to the Battery. Their project has been paid for by the federal government but only a portion of it is funded so far. Funding for the projects in Brooklyn and Manhattan will vary slightly. According to Shaikh, it is partly FEMA money and partly Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Red Hook. The funding for the ESCRP comes from HUD money, which came out of the Rebuild by Design competition. “With the [LMPCP], that is going to be a combination of HUD money and city capital,” Shaikh said. “I believe there is a little bit of city capital in the Red Hook project as well. It is HUD and
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by Nathan Weiser
FEMA money for Red Hook, HUD for East Side Coastal Resiliency and then HUD and city money for Lower Manhattan Protect and Connect.” The total amount of money that is slated to be given to the Red Hook project is $100 million, which is less than the $200 million that was previously promised. Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (NY’s 7th Congressional District), sent her thoughts via Communications Director Alex Haurek, indicating that she is skeptical that $100 million will be enough.
"Large scale projects like this one typically cost more than projected. A case in point in my district is Brooklyn Bridge Park, which well surpassed original cost estimates, and is now approaching $400 million.” “Given that previous proposals suggested funding commitments of $200 million, it’s difficult to see how this more recent funding level of $100 million would be sufficient,” Velazquez said added. According to Velazquez, large scale projects like this one typically cost more than projected.“ A case in point in my district is Brooklyn Bridge Park, which well surpassed original cost estimates, and is now approaching $400 million.”
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez addresses crowd at April 7 IFPS meeting.
sure that we are picking up on the right local information, to make sure that the project is effective, and it’s meeting the necessary needs.” A vital part of this process is to ensure the IFPS does not have any adverse effects on the environment. If it does, the project must be redesigned to alleviate those impacts. At the meeting, Councilman Carlos Menchaca emphasized the need for community engagement among the multitude of change in the neighborhood.
Velazquez noted the similarities of the two projects sizes and the cost of ESCRP. “Also, in my district, the East Side Coastal Resiliency project’s length of waterfront is comparable to Red Hook’s and it received $335 million,” she said.
“I am excited to see a lot of the same faces - and actually some new faces from Red Hook - our friends who are going to help make sure that we bring your voices to the conversation,” Menchaca said. “The next thing I want to say is that there is a lot of planning happening in Red Hook. Everything from the ferry that is on its way, CitiBike, the almost half a billion dollars that is helping the [NYCHA] buildings and bring resiliency in a way that we have never seen in Red Hook.”
Progress can now be made with Red Hook since the funding is now in place. By the end of 2016 or the beginning of 2017, the design concept will be finished, options will have been evaluated, the preliminary design will be completed. The project will then move into the environmental impact assessment phase.
Menchaca wants to make sure that the residents engage in all of those processes by bringing their knowledge to the meetings. He wants to force the city to stay in the same rooms and listen. He told everyone who attended the meeting that all of their voices count. He encouraged them to keep coming back.
The environmental impact assessment will follow the community engagement and preliminary project design. Shaikh stressed that the community engagement is of utmost importance in the process.
There was confusion about the amount of money available for the process. HUD will provide $50 million, and $50 million will come from FEMA. Menchaca doesn’t want to focus on the $200 million because he thinks that what they design fully will end up costing more than $100 million.
“Community engagement and input is vital throughout the entire process,” Shaikh said. “That’s the one common thread through all of the projects, not just in Manhattan and in Brooklyn, but in the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. It is constant conversation with communities, community groups and elected officials. Just to make sure that everyone’s ideas are heard, making
“We are going to spend $100 million to make sure that we get a stand alone project to actually provide protection for Red Hook,” Menchaca said. “As soon as we get the planning done - which is what you are doing today - we are going to ask and advocate, and make sure that the governor and mayor fork over
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the rest of the money to get us whole in this community because that’s exactly what we deserve.” Menchaca credited Congresswoman Valezquez for fighting for the community of Red Hook in Washington D.C. She talked at the meeting about how important it is that discussions happen so that the best solution for reducing flood risk is chosen. Jessica Colon from the mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency, and previously worked at the Red Hook Community Justice Center for five years. Her involvement with the community and during the Sandy recovery efforts has led to her current position at the mayor’s office. “I want to say that we definitely understand the urgency and the importance of what we are trying to accomplish tonight,” Colon said. “We really want to get your thoughts and expertise as we start to develop this project. We want you to participate and share your voices. This is your time.” The design must incorporate an in depth understanding of Red Hook’s needs. Once identified, the needs must be addressed, which ideally will lead to additional funding. The neighborhood’s needs will be assessed through a feasibility study before moving into the design and construction phases. The current project may be the first of several, if more protection is needed. Group discussions produced multiple ideas. One group wanted to ensure HUD money went toward local hiring; another group wanted mobile medical services. Other ideas included containing sewage overflow, providing food and other supplies to the neighborhood, and access for firetrucks and buses. Velazquez emphasized that additional resources will be necessary to protect Red Hook in an adequate manner from any future flooding and extreme weather.
May 2016
BWAC returns
Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition (BWAC) is back with their 24th Annual Pier Show opening Saturday, May 7. The show will offer three distinctively different exhibits, including Roode Hoek, Wide Open 7, and Recycle. Roode Hoek celebrates Red Hook’s Dutch past leading up to its multicultural present. Show chair, Anna Annus Hagen asked artists to create “mindscape images” that tell the story of one of the oldest neighborhoods in America. Wide Open 7 is BWAC’s 7th annual national juried show with nearly 2,000 submissions. Juror, Beth Saunders, Curatorial Assistant at The Metropolitan Museum of Art chose work of nearly every medium – a wide open selection. Recycle, in its second year, introduces visitors to the re-use genre. The artists look toward the future - considering the planet’s resources - and create innovative art with repurposed materials.
counted meal specials, and mystery prizes of food discounts and gift cards. They also offered samples of their healthier and more sustainable fare the company announced last year. The remodeling included upgrades to the seating areas. The space now offers a family-oriented area with long tables for families and interactive sensory installments for small children; a place for a “quick bite for a shopper on the run,” which consists of high tables and chairs intended for single occupancy; a charging station for mobile devices and tablets; and a living room atmosphere area called “Fika,” which is Swedish for “to have coffee.”
Miniature golf in Red Hook
On April 23, Shipwrecked, Red Hook’s very own indoor miniature golf course opened their doors for business. But before, the Red Hook Star-Revue had a chance to explore the new area and play a round.
Cat Cafe opens
But Shipwrecked is more than just mini golf. The course brings guests through a whole world of storytelling, imagination and theater. Aboard the sinking ship named “Paper Towel” – because “Bounty” was already taken – the captain invites players to help rescue his treasure.
Levine is opening NYC’s first permanent cat café. Her popup in Fort Greene, The Cat’s Meow, hosted 4,000 visitors in ten weeks. Her permanent location, Brooklyn Cat Café, opened May 7.
This course is not the run-of-the-mill windmill themed mini golf. The theater follows players as they make their way through the adventure. Owners, Ryan and Chris, spared not special effects as they added talking tikis, water pouring into a sinking ship, explosives, and finally the lost treasure rediscovered by teams of mini-golfers.
BWAC is located at 481 Van Brunt Street, #7A. The show runs from 1-6 pm on the weekends until June 12. - Kimberly Price Are you feeling stressed? Would relaxing and playing with an adoptable cat help? Anne Levine, President of Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition (BBAWC), thinks it will.
In addition to spending time with the cats, who range in age from kittens to adults, the café will be a place for visitors to adopt the cats, access information, consult veterinarians and other experts about cat ownership, and learn about animal rescue and advocacy. Café-goers who are interested in adoption can apply directly at the café, or apply on their website. Lounging and relaxing among the adoptable and pre-screened cats will cost s $5 per half hour, and free for children under 3. Reservations are not required, but recommended. Visitors will also be able to purchase bottled drinks and pre-packaged food at the café, as well as coffee and other snacks at the adjacent Atlantic Bagels Café. Premium cat food brands, WeRuVa and Stella & Chewy’s will supply food for the cats-in-residence on a regular basis. Medical care for the cats will be overseen by vets at Vinegar Hill Veterinary Group. Brooklyn Cat Café is located at 149 Atlantic Avenue. Hours Wednesday-Friday 3-7 pm, and Saturday-Sunday 11 am-7pm. They are owned and operated by BBAWC, a non-profit focused on improving the welfare of homeless animals in Brooklyn. - Kimberly Price
IKEA Remodels Cafe
IKEA Brooklyn held a grand reopening of their newly remodeled restaurant on April 19. IKEA restaurant manager, Kathy Sample used a giant pair of scissors to celebrate the upgrades to the Swedish furniture store’s eatery. The celebration began Friday evening and continued throughout the weekend with goodie bag giveaways, dis-
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Shipwrecked was created from repurposed materials and pieces of miniature golf courses from across the country. Boots and a shovel - still covered in dirt - used to excavate other courses are on display. A layout of each hole is made uniquely out of salvaged materials like cardboard and wood. Multi-purpose rooms are available for meetings, birthday parties and special events. The designated space has balcony access overlooking Red Hook Park. The entire venue is also available for private parties. Their website, www.shipwreckednyc. com, describes the new venue as “a family owned and operated business created by two best friends who met in college and moved to NYC to pursue careers in theater. After starting their own families, they saw a need for a unique interactive business in Brooklyn. Using their expertise from Broadway, they moved forward on an idea they had tossed around for 16 years.” Shipwrecked is open Sunday through Thursday from 10 am-9 pm, and Friday and Saturday from 10 am-11 pm. General pricing is $14 to play the course; $12 for seniors and military; $10 for children 2-12; and free for little ones younger than 2. A spectator pass is available for $7. They offer group rates for parties of $15 or more. They are located at 621 Court Street on the 2nd floor. For more information, visit www.shipwreckednyc.com, or call (718) 852-4653. - Kimberly Gail Price
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May 2016, Page 9
COLUMN: Plastic Bags by Michael Raccioppo
S
ocial engineering, a term not fully understood, is the effort to influence and change the behaviors of large groups of people. At its best this can be good; at its worst it can be bad, but often falls somewhere in between. The damage of pollution is understood but the passive actions we take on a day to day basis, to affect it is not something that we fully contemplate. What is understood by roughly 98% of scientists is that there is no doubt that human behavior is leading to A dead turtle washed up in Red Hook, dangerous and expensive consesmothered in plastic quences of global warming and climate change. This probably won’t work as a campaign slogan or a bumper sticker, but what we need now is some good social engineering. We need it fast, and we need it every way - even if seemingly small and mildly inconvenient. Surely we should act when it would cost little today, and save a lot tomorrow. An example has passed a vote in the city council in the form of Intro 209A. The bill puts a five-cent fee (compromised down from 10 cents) on the most common plastic and paper bags. The bill has been awaiting a vote since 2014. One of the bill’s two lead sponsors, Councilman Brad Lander recently told The New Yorker that “this will probably be the most divided vote in recent City Council history,” because “people feel strongly about the fee, but that’s also the reason it works. They don’t like to pay it, so they modify their behavior.” Lander continued, “Plastic bags have ended up all over the place because they’re currently objects of no value that are given away for free.” Intro 209A gives them value. This plan has value, leading to fewer plastic bags polluting our city. Other examples of social engineering include smoking bans, reducing smoking, and its negative health effects; seatbelt requirements, and lowered speed limits that reduced traffic fatalities. Those opposed will cite that such a fee is regressive and impacts those who can least afford it. However, the Value Added Tax (VAT) can be seen in a similar way, yet it funds much of the great social safety net of Nordic countries and thus helps those who most need. I’d love for this bill to somehow advance us toward a social safety net like VAT in Finland, but my dreams are unlikely to become reality. However, the reality of climate change and its affects are going to hurt those who can least afford it. So a 5 cent fee that reduces our use of plastic bags and pollution is a step in the right direction. Robert Kennedy said “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope” and that ripple can “build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” Global warming - and how we will deal with it - is the issue of our time. We must send as many ripples as possible to protect the only planet we have. This bill is certainly a tiny ripple of hope but when it knocked down the walls of resistance at the New York City Council, it will feed a mighty current. Michael Racioppo is the First Vice Chairman of Community Board 6, and the Executive Director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation. He has previously worked for Joan Millman. He is a member of the Independent Neighborhood Democrats. Follow him at @mike_racc at Twitter.
LETTERS:
as Andy Gump. - Tony Caputo
Editors Note: We maintain a lot of our old stories on the website Star-Revue. com, and so people keep commenting on them. Like these below:
The only thing this article didn’t mention is the sexual harassment accusations against him during his last years at GW. Good riddance! Editors Note Williams helped SUNY rid itself of the Long Island College Hospital
Burkard's column brings back memories
You mentioned Joey Ambers and that brought back memories of the times I drove my Dad down the point to see him. My father also spent a lot of time at the Post since he was a WW2 veteran that was a little famous in the neighborhood due to his friendship with Audie Murphy, e and my dad were in battle together and each took turns at saving one another’s ass. He was know as on Court St and the Point
Misses LICH
SHORTS:
you just need to record the various types of debris on your favorite beach or surrounding waters once each week during the season.
New Program at BumbleBees
BumbleBeesRus, the pre-school at 76 Lorraine Street, announced a new partnership between Project Social Care Head Start and Bubble Bee Day Care The Early Head Start Child Care Provider Partnership brings new opportunities to enhance the education and program quality for Red Hook children. Under the Partnership, a new stateof-the-art playground will be built, new furniture and materials will be added to the classrooms, and teacher training will be provided. In addition, supplies such as diapers, wipes and formula will also be provided for children under this new partnership. Classes will feature smaller group sizes with a 1:4 ratio, improving the quality of learning for students ages 0-3. Extracurricular activities, such as Spanish language lessons, Kinderdance, art instruction, and yoga will heighten the educational experience in Bubble Bee Day Care. Bubble Bee tells us, “We look forward to the positive impact this wonderful new partnership will have on our children, families and staff. The opportunity to strengthen our relationship with the Red Hook community and improve education will help support the foundation our children need to be future leaders. The Early Head Start Child Care Provider Partnership will raise the bar for early childhood education, and we are proud to play a primary role in this collaboration.” Enrollment in the program is ongoing. For more information, call Program Director Rivka Reinetz at (718) 676-0080, ext. 111.
Protect Your Beach
Help Wanted at the Red Hook Star-Revue Looking for editorial interns, fledgling reporters and experienced freelancers.
email George at gbrook@pipeline.com
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (EDC) is sponsoring Volunteer Floatables Beach Surveillance for the summer of 2016. Floatables are waterborne waste materials that float. Styrofoam, balloons and fishing line are considered floatables. Raw sewage and medical waste are also floatables. The project will help save turtles, birds, fish, and other marine life from ingesting these items, or from being entangled in fishing lines and other assorted litter. Volunteers do not have to pick up or touch anything. To become a monitor,
Page 10 Red Hook Star-Revue
On the departing Skip Williams
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I spent last weekend at Methodist's emergency room with a friend. All 200 beds were taken. We need definitely more emergency room space in this area. - Rosanna Cervone
Flood anomalies
Our block stayed bone dry, hurricane flood water proof, and we are a block from the water, go figure!! William P. Burkard
DEP needs volunteers to assist in order to be aware of potential floatable problems as early as possible. Volunteers will receive all materials necessary for monitoring, including letters of authorization and acknowledgement. For more information or to volunteer, call Ozone Layer LLC at (212) 8894216 or email ozonelayerllc@me.com.
Local writer publishes
It’s easy to complain about your job -until you read a book like Death, Brooklyn, and the Gritty Side of Grace. In the new memoir/novel, Brooklyn social worker, Carolyn Gartner chronicles an intense, emotionally wrought internship in hospice. Throughout her service, the protagonist meets people from all walks of life, from a man who abused his wife for decades to a cancer patient who reminds her, eerily, of herself. These people all have one thing in common, however: they are dying. In brief, hospice care is a service for terminally ill, imminently dying patients. Social workers like Gartner are responsible for facilitating the patients’ emotional and spiritual needs during their final days. It’s not easy or straightforward work, which is why Gartner’s protagonist -- based on her own reality -- doesn’t approach things with a straightforward lens. The real Carolyn Gartner left her job in TV production in her mid-30s to pursue a degree in social work. Inspired by the likes of Mother Theresa to help the underserved, Gartner is now a hospice social worker with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. She is an avid blogger, but Death, Brooklyn, and the Gritty Side of Grace, released on Black Rose Writing publishers, is her first book. As she embarks on hospice visits and classes that might send a weaker person screaming, Gartner’s character seeks solace in music. Her thoughts remain curious, imperfect, complicated, and tenaciously optimistic. Death, Brooklyn and the Gritty Side Of Grace is a reminder that social workers are indeed human, even if their self-sacrifice seems inhuman at times. The book is available for purchase at www.blackrosewriting.com/non-fiction-death-brooklyn-and-the-grittyside-of-grace. - Halley Bondy
May 2016
OP-ED: Mayor's problems put LICH deal under renewed scrutiny by George Fiala
Here’s what the Star-Revue naively wrote back in 2013, endorsing Bill de Blasio for mayor: We like Bill for a couple of reasons. Bill de Blasio has been a friend to the neighborhood of Red Hook, as well as all of Brooklyn as a whole. He is from the area, having represented the 39th District as City Councilman until his election as Public Advocate in 2009. His replacement, Brad Lander, is his friend and supporter, and that means much to us. During his tenure as Public Advocate, he has fought for our hospital as well as the entire Brooklyn healthcare system. Bill represents the working class. His focus extends into the outer boroughs just as much as Manhattan. We believe as mayor, Bill will fight for middle and lower-class rights, and slow down an overdeveloped real estate market where other reasonable services are needed more than high dollar condos.” We should have known better, but the Star-Revue only began publishing in 2010 and politics wasn't quite my field before then. What I should have known is that he is a political operator – the opposite of an idealist whose main interest is in governing fairly and honest. In the late 1990s de Blasio worked for Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was then a member of President Clinton’s cabinet. Cuomo headed HUD, and de Blasio was Cuomo’s NY/NJ Regional Director. In 2000, de Blasio headed the NYC operation for Hillary Clinton’s 2000 NY Senate race. His job was
to make sure that Hillary received key support from the various ethnic communities. The NY Times wrote in 2013 “Never was he more instrumental, his colleagues say, than when he soothed the feelings of Jewish leaders after Mrs. Clinton kissed and embraced Suha Arafat, the wife of the Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat. Indeed, Mr. de Blasio stayed in close contact with Assemblyman Dov Hikind, concerned that Jewish leaders might endorse her Republican opponent, former Representative Rick A. Lazio. He went from operative to politician the next year, when he used many of the contacts he had made in the Clinton campaign to raise money for a successful City Council race for the seat now occupied by Brad Lander. He served two terms and then ran for Public Advocate, defeating Mark Green in a run-off. The Public Advocate was a position created in 1993 and has been effective thus far as either a stepping stone to a higher position, or a nice honor for an older public servant. De Blasio entered a crowded field to run for mayor in 2013. His candidacy was kind of an afterthought until two things happened – Anthony Weiner imploded on the front pages of the tabloids due to lewd texting, and Bill de Blasio made headlines by having himself arrested. The arrest, made on behalf of the Nurses union and others trying to save Cobble Hill’s Long Island College Hospital (LICH), finally put the hospital’s plight on the front pages as well.
The Star-Revue spent a lot of time covering the LICH story, and we thought of de Blasio as a godsend. He became mayor, and with the power of the office… he did nothing. Instead, he is doing the antithesis, working behind the scenes with the real estate developer that stole LICH in order to further bamboozle Cobble Hill. Then we read that he makes personal phone calls to real estate developers telling them how much money to donate to his own political action committee. These are real estate developers with business before the city – usually variances so they can build taller and denser and more profitably – at the expense of public space. Then he has the nerve to write an oped extolling Jane Jacobs on the 100th anniversary of her birth. And how has he lived up to promise of her humanistic city? By installing wooden benches! At a meeting in St. Ann’s church The Brooklyn Paper reports that fed up Brooklyn Heights residents are now calling the mayor’s affordable housing program a “Trojan Horse.” Yes – finally it’s in print. We wouldn’t have put the following in print as little as two weeks ago – but emboldened by the growing smell of scandal, let’s say what we’ve thus far only heard whispered - that de Blasio was in on the whole plan to get rid of LICH from the beginning. And here’s our wild conspiracy theory: Governor Andy told Bill he’ll help
Did Bill pretend to have a feud with the governor before he really did? (Star-Revue photo)
him become mayor - if Bill would help Andy become President. And so they hatched the whole LICH scenario together, using poor Carl McCall as the hatchet man. All of course, with the ending that the governor wanted: to show his fiscal prudency to the nation, as he closed unprofitable hospitals. But then Bill was stupid enough to go up to Albany and demand a tax increase to pay for his pre-K idea. Governors raising taxes haven’t played well in recent presidential elections. Andy couldn’t believe Bill could be such an ungrateful snot rag, and the rest - “the feud” - is history.
Star-Revue snags 4 awards in state-wide newspaper competition by Kimberly Gail Price
The New York Press Association is a state-wide trade group for local journalism founded in 1953. The Red Hook Star-Revue joined NYPA in the Spring of 2012. Since that time, we have won 13 awards in their annual Better Newspaper Contest (BNC). This year, the Star-Revue was honored with four awards. Each award is accompanied by a description of why the entry was chosen for recognition. First place: Coverage of Education The Red Hook Star-Revue, Brooklyn George Fiala and Kimberly Price “Kimberly Gail Price’s article on PS 15’s project draws the reader in to share real moments with real people. An outstanding read with a fantastic lead: ‘That’s so Brooklyn!’“ First Place: Best Advertising Campaign - Mark's Pizza The Red Hook Star-Revue, Brooklyn George B. Fiala “The campaign shows creativity and humor. These ads jump off the page in a way that is eye catching and illuminates the product. It also shows the paper’s knowledge of the community.”
Red Hook Star-Revue
Second Place: Best Interaction with Readers The Red Hook Star-Revue, Brooklyn George Fiala and Kimberly Price “Great concept – instead of telling the readers what the paper thinks, the paper asked readers to share their opinions.” Second Place: Best Editorial Cartoon The Red Hook Star-Revue, Brooklyn Vince Musacchia “Looks like this artist will be sorely missed.” Editor’s Note: Vince drew editorial cartoons for the Star-Revue until 2013. He remained a dear friend to the paper even after he stopped drawing for us. He passed away in 2015, and was entered in this category posthumously. Publisher, George Fiala was a life-long friend to Vince, and we will always be grateful that he chose to share his talents with us. As a community publication, the competition among our peers is fierce. Washington publishers chose excellence above all else. We are thrilled at being selected among the best of the best. But mostly the Star-Revue is so proud to call Red Hook our home!
T
he annual NYPA Spring convention is a chance to meet with fellow publishers, editors and reporters. We sit in sessions and learn from professionals about reporting, editing, advertising and technology. And we celebrate the art of respectable, professional journalism. For one weekend a year in Saratoga Springs, we get to know our peers. We understand the uphill battles they face, because we face our own. We listen, we learn, we encourage, and we congratulate. We remind one another that print cannot be dead if so many of us still exist. The convention is held every year at the Gideon-Putnam Hotel. The NYPA prepares an extravagant weekend for their members, including a mock casino paper money, an awards banquet, and ice cream and coffee breaks. Seminars are led by Pulitzer Prize winners, icons of the journalism community and life-long professionals who have dedicated their entire careers to the betterment of ensuring that media continues to thrive and remain trustworthy. Every year, the Star-Revue emerges with enthusiasm and fresh ideas to bring back to our community. We may be small, but we are mighty. We may feel isolated, but we are connected to a community. We love what we do, and we thank every one of our readers for the support you have shown over the past 6 years. If you stop reading, we’d just be talking to ourselves! - Kimberly Gail Price
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May 2016, Page 11
Kentler's annual benefit always a winner by Halley Bondy
I
f you’re looking for a steal on quality artwork for your living room, look no further than The Kentler International Drawing Space. On Saturday, May 21, Kentler will celebrate its 26th year and 14th benefit. For the price of admission, each attendee will receive one drawing or work on paper donated by an artist from somewhere in the world - from the Czech Republic to New Zealand to Walla Walla, Washington. Each of the 150 pieces vary widely in inspiration, form, and color, but they’ll all grace the walls of Kentler until attendees take them home. Tickets are $250 a person and $350 a couple - though the artwork may be worth $550 or more. In addition, attendees can enter a auction to win prizes, including a 24-hour drive in a Tesla car, gift sets from the likes of Baked and Stumptown, and artwork by renowned Red Hook artists Dustin Yellin and Alexander Gorlizki – worth thousands. Food and drinks from local vendors, including a punch by Fort Defiance, will be served. Even for the most casual art collectors, it’s tough to resist. The goodies aren’t the only reason to attend the benefit, however. Kentler International Drawing Space is a
26-year-old renowned institution that depends on benefits like these for its very survival. Kentler may have lived through serious trials – including tough beginnings in Red Hook’s dilapidated 90s, Hurricane Sandy, and the social media boom that transformed the art world - but funding is always an uphill battle for a non-profit art space.
Funding shortfall
“There is less federal funding for nonprofits these days, and there are more non-profits,” said Kentler Director Florence Neal, “It can be difficult to get people to come to a physical space when everything is on a computer. But an art space is a very special thing. We’re essentially inviting people to come to a garden, and they can see where it takes them.” Throughout the year, Kentler hosts exhibitions and solo shows in addition to the benefit. This year, Kentler will exhibit the Flatfiles, an archive of curated works from about 240 artists around the world. The works include everything from dark abstracts to landscapes to whimsical drawings made from a ballpoint pen. Throughout the decades, the artwork moving through Kentler has grown higher quality and more renowned, making Kentler one of the most es-
Florence Neal holding a work by Sepideh Salehi. It is an ink, watercolor, pencil and collage production
teemed institutions for drawings and works on paper in the world. A curator from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for example, will hand-select pieces from The Flatfiles for the Met’s June-July show.
Everybody helps
Neal said artists used to donate their throwaway pieces to the annual benefit, but these days, they’ve stepped up in the name of exposure.
You can buy tickets to the 100 Works On Paper Benefit (although they are displaying more like 150 pieces) by visiting Kentlergallery.org.
“They choose something that represents them, that they can also part with,” Neal said. “It’s the support of these artists that keeps me going yearround.”
Battle of the Decades at Cora’s Red Hook Prom
T
by Mary Staub
he battle of the decades is coming to Red Hook the first Saturday in May. On May 7th, Cora Dance will throw their 4th Annual Red Hook Prom. Adults can dance the night away until 11 pm, whilst supporting Cora’s pay-what-you-can youth programs, which aim to make dance and artistic expression available and accessible to all. The group’s overall mission is to use the arts to foster understanding and common ground amongst diverse populations.
students. “Cora has been instrumental in the neighborhood for a long time,” she said. “Their students are representative of the diversity of the neighborhood.”
This year’s prom is an 1980s versus 1990s dance party battle. Attendees are invited to show their support for their favorite by dressing the part. Throughout the night, attendees can bid for their decade in tip jars stationed throughout the dance hall. A bid count at 10 pm will determine whether local DJ, Robert Lux spins music from the 80s or 90s for the final hour.
King and Queen
“The community they’ve created is for kids that are more creative and specifically interested in dance. As a youth, it’s important for kids to have a place to really be expressive,” Hagman said. She also noted that Cora’s programming extends to all kinds of dance for each individual student’s preferences and personality.
“You choose: dress in 80s or 90s style, and meet us on the dance floor for an epic battle of the decades,” Cora’s prom invite proclaims.
The prom takes place in the gym of the local South Brooklyn Community High School (SBCHS). Drinks and nibbles will be featured from local favorites Botta di Vino, Sixpoint Brewery, Hometown BBQ, and Court Street Grocers. The event will also include a beauty station by the Gowanus-based Elements Hair Studio and a silent auction. The “Red Hook Royalty,” selected for their volunteer work for Cora over the past year, will officially be coronated.
This year’s prom is sponsored by Realty Collective, a local real estate company. President, Victoria Hagman chose to support the Prom specifically because Cora has been “very impactful,” and includes a rich diversity of
Prom King and Queen are Scott Pfaffman and Nahisha McCoy, both parents of Cora youth students. King Pfaffman, a local contractor, is being honored for the pro bono work he provided when Cora moved into their
Page 12 Red Hook Star-Revue
new space last year on the second-floor of Red Hook Ministries. He and his workers replaced the floors, installed heaters and a new fridge, and built cabinetry. Queen McCoy is being crowned for her role as lead volunteer for Cora. She picks up children from local schools and brings them to Cora for afterschool dance programs, helps organize other volunteers, and distributes flyers.
Red Hook mother and real estate salesperson Elizabeth Ehrhardt is crowned Prom Queen at the first Cora Prom.
But why a prom? Shannon Hummel, Cora’s Founder and Artistic Director, came up with the idea when she was looking for ways to have a gala fundraiser geared towards locals. And, she thought, who doesn’t like a prom? Especially a prom devoid of teen angst and inhibition. “We wanted to have a gala fundraiser. Shannon wanted a way to involve the community and everyone who is involved with Cora, not just big funders,” said Kelsey Kramer, Cora Dance’s Communications Manager.
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The evening is focused on dancing. Cora’s Youth and Professional Companies will perform, but guests are also encouraged to shake it down on the dance floor. “It’s mainly a dance party—that’s pretty much what it is,” said Kramer. “It’s mostly centered on dancing and having a good time.” Admission to the Red Hook Prom is $100, or pay-what-you-can with a $5 minimum. For tickets and more information, visit coradance.org/redhook-prom.
May 2016
RED HOOK HISTORY.... FROM THE PAGES OF THE
Oh Yes, There Was Red Hook Lane, but about Minden’s – Ah, That’s Different Sunday, August 6, 1939
Editor’s Note: This topic is especially timely today as the last remnant of Red Hook Lane, which was once a cow path between Red Hook Point and downtown Brooklyn, is about to be demapped by the city in order to accommodate downtown Brooklyn real estate developers. It looks like the Lane was already on its last legs back in the 1930’s. This is from the Old Timer's column that was a regular feature in the old Eagle. On January 29 a query of mine was published concerning an argument I had with a friend. It was my contention that 40 years or more ago there was a Minden Brothers’ Café on Fulton Street between Smith Street and City Hall. Specifically, on Red Hook Lane corner. My pal asserted there never was a Red Hook Lane in that vicinity. “Who picks up the marbles?” we asked the Old Timers. Replies to this momentous controversy appeared on the Old Timer’s page of February 12. I personally received some 20-odd letters at my home in Street Petersburg, Florida. But I am afraid the matter will have to be put before the United States Supreme Court for settlement. Judge for yourself. Here’s what the Old Timers have to say:
Red Hook Star-Revue
Yes – And No
There was a Red Hook Lane in the vicinity of City Hall, (the present Borough Hall), years ago. On one corner was Gildersleeve’s fish market, and on the other, a saloon - the owner’s name of which I do not recall – Mrs. James F. Miller, 714 Flatbush Ave No, Minden never had a café in the vicinity you mention. His first café was on the corner at Kent Avenue and Broadway, in Williamsburg. He also had a roadhouse on Ocean Parkway, where everyone stopped in the horse and buggy days. After closing his Kent Avenue and Broadway café, Minden opened a restaurant on Broadway near Myrtle Avenue not far from the old Gaiety Theater. He also had a restaurant in Jamaica. There was a Red Hook Lane off of Fulton Street between Court Square and Smith Street where the old Imperial Café had quite a trade. Hope I have helped a wee bit. – Mrs. Florence Waite Fegan, 169 Underhill Avenue In 1850, my father was born on Red Hook Lane near Fulton Street The house is still standing, but is now used as a machine shop of some kind. In my childhood about 40 years ago, I well remember Minden’s Café located just where you said it was. The marbles are yours. – Mrs. Fahje
Pickup Marbles
You pick up the marbles? Your pal is wrong. There was a Red Hook Lane. The Imperial Hotel was owned or operated by Minden. Upstairs was a dance hall called either the “Colonial” or the “Colony Room.” Minden also had a place on lower Broadway, and one at Myrtle Avenue and Broadway. – Old Timer Minden Bros. Café was on Red Hook Lane and Fulton Street. Foley’s Café was on Red Hook Lane and Willoughby Street; they were alongside of each other. – Bert Bartlett, Bellerose, N.Y. You are quite correct. Minden Brothers Café was on the corner of Red Hook Lane. It was patronized quite a bit too. Fulton Street was always so crowded and the Smith Street corner was a busy one. Men from the nearby carts and offices frequented the place. Pick up the marbles. E. Gamble, 215 Greene Avenue See, you are an Old Timer and know something. Your pal is a back number if he says there never was a Red Hook Lane in the Borough Hall Section. It is now a continuation of Pearl Street But years ago if I got the story straight, it was the beginning of a road that took
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you all the way to Red Hook Point. Also remember Minden’s Café and a good many other things in the neighborhood. – Old Timer Here’s the lowdown: Red Hook Lane was formerly an old lane that ran from Fulton Street at Old City Hall to Red Hook Point. It is now a continuation of Pearl Street. Think the name was changed about a year ago because the City Planning Commission intends to cut a street through from Boerum Place and Bergen Street to Hamilton Avenue and the name at present suggested is Red Hook Avenue. This new street when built will run between Court and Smith Sts. Speaking of Minden’s, he only had one place in Brooklyn at the Broadway ferries. The café on Red Hook Lane was known as the Imperial and owned, I believe, by Otto Huber, the brewer. – Manhattanville
May 2016, Page 13
Mixing books with basketball by Nathan Weiser
R
ay Hall has helped many kids in Red Hook with his Books & Basketball program in Coffey Park every summer.
He realized that a lot of kids were struggling with reading in school, so he decided to emphasize reading as well as basketball during the eight-week program. “We made reading first. That is why it is called books, and then basketball,” Hall said. “We use the basketball as a conduit to grab the kids together. Once we get the kids we present them with a book [provided by the program], a book about basketball.” Hall’s goal was to do something different and create an educational component around basketball. The Books & Basketball Program, which begins after the school year ends, has been around since 2002. It is a component of the overall Red Hook Rise organization, which was started by Ray and his brother Earl in 1994. Gary Robinson has been a part of Books & Basketball and Red Hook Rise off an on since July of 2000. He liked the appeal of the program since it emphasized education. “Most of the kids in Red Hook, once they get out of school, they will not pick up another book, whether it is a common book or a textbook,” Robinson said. “I thought it was a solid idea coming up with a basketball program where you actually have to read a book in order to play your game.”
Books donated by NBA
He pointed out that they have gotten most of their books from a program that the NBA used to have called Read to Achieve. Robinson said that Hall reached out to them and they said that they had books they could send. Many of the books were about NBA athletes. “Most of the players didn’t know anything about it, so actually reading the book gave them more insight into what the NBA was about or how that individual got to the NBA and what he needed to do,” Robinson said. “They had books on Allen Iverson and David Robinson, this is going back a few years. [The kids] learn about how this guy grew up and how he went to school. What his NBA dream was, and how he achieved it.” Robinson got involved in the program because he was sitting in Coffey Park 16 years ago watching Hall try to get 20 kids together for a scrimmage. He said that they were all over the place. Afterwards, Robinson asked Ray and his brother, Earl if they wanted help. “It just so happened that a gentleman that used to coach me when I was starting out, Mr. Murray Hanson, actually came up and introduced me to them,” Robinson said. Hall has a 12 and under age limit after previously doing the program for kids 17 and under. They brought the age limit down because some of the kids don’t want to listen, the older kids,” Webb said. They decided to concen-
Page 14 Red Hook Star-Revue
trate on the younger kids. “Kids get older and kids get involved in other situations, so we only wanted to have younger kids part of it,” Hall said. “So, we scaled it down for 12 and under.” Books & Basketball consists of 10 teams. While two teams are playing a game the other teams are reading. “They are sitting around in a read aloud session with their team, their coach, and whatever guest reader that we have come out,” Hall said. “You have to read that day whether you read before your game or after your game. While you are sitting around waiting for your game, they just start reading. The reading part is very important.”
“I do the exercises with them,” he said. “And then Ghost [Earl] will come and do the basketball part. I make them do their exercise before they start playing the games. Run laps, do a couple of push-ups, things like that.”
Robinson is one of Ray Hall at a recent fish fry that raised funds for the annual Old the coaches dur- Timers Day for a committee that Ray also heads (photo by Fiala) ing the games. He that well. But now, they are reading offers a reward for his players when they win their games. fluently, they are much better readers. By practicing with them and sitting In addition to the games, participants “With my team if we won the game I down with them and reading out loud do a fitness challenge, during which supplied pizza,” Robinson added. “That they have gotten better.” the kids are taught the fundamentals was my carrot in front of the stick for my of basketball. Hall thinks that the kids team. That’s how I got my team to go Besides his annual program in the have to learn the value of practicing out there to do the best that they could.” summer, Hall’s goal is to use PAVE the sport as well as playing games. Academy and the Miccio in the winter.“ Kids often start with the program at “The problem with a lot of these kids five years old and continue with Books It’s so they keep their minds active and in the inner city is they don’t undernot just running these streets because & Basketball until they are 12. stand that anything in life, you have to you can easily get sucked up in these practice at it,” Hall added. “You have “Now, those kids that are 17, 18 and 19, streets if you are not focused,” Hall to come up and create a system. They they are the coaches for those kids that said. “We figure, our program, whothink they can just go out there and are 12 and under,” Hall said. “It is a cy- ever else is doing programs out here, cle. They come back and they give back.” if you are doing anything for kids and play basketball.” Hall has found that, from a basketball just keeping them off the street - keep“With my team if we won the standpoint, this program has led to ing them engaged in positive activities the kids being more disciplined, more - that is what it is going to take.” game I supplied pizza,” Robin- conditioned, and having a better unAnother outlet that the Books & Basderstanding of the game. son added. 'That was my car- Webb’s son is an example of someone ketball participants have is being able to play at the Dodge YMCA on Atlantic who this program has had a profound Avenue. According to Robinson, the rot in front of the stick for my impact on. His son is 19, was involved Dodge YMCA found out about the proteam. That’s how I got my team with the program for 11 years and is gram, and they wanted to expand their now playing basketball in college. Sprite Junior Knicks League. to go out there to do the best “I can say for my son, he liked the program,” Webb said. “Without this, “We got them in there to play in their that they could.'” I don’t know if he would have gotten Sprite tournament,” Robinson said. into basketball or not. But he loves the “They get a pass to use the gym.” game and he plays for his school up in Robinson spoke to some of the kids that Playing by rules Hall emphasized the importance of Syracuse. It’s a good outlet for the kids.” he coached when they were about 12, getting the kids used to playing with a Webb recalled that his son told him a who are now 20-25 years old. “Some of referee and a whistle because that cre- few weeks ago that if it weren’t for Hall, the have gone onto college and some of them have jobs,” Robinson said. he would not have played basketball. ates more structure. “When you play with a whistle it is a In terms of the reading aspect of Books Hall and his staff help participants whole different game,” Hall said. “That & Basketball, the kids are more active work on their college transcripts. is why we have to educate the kids participants in school as a result of the College and job prep about playing under a whistle, as op- program and the program has received “I bring a lot of them down here,” Hall posed to playing in the schoolyard praise from the local school for the af- said at his office. “We have what we call fect that it’s had on the kids. with their friends.” a career day, a career week. I tell them, since I am the manager for this whole “As far as the literacy part, they are a The program’s trained coaches who facility down here, I have a little meetlot better readers,” Hall said. “Once help facilitate Books & Basketball coach all over Brooklyn in tourna- you get kids or people shy over read- ing with the kids and tell them what ments with the Parks Department and ing amongst people in a big audience, kind of companies are down here.” then they flourish. These kids no lon- “What do you like to do? Oh, I want to at the Miccio Center. Webb, coach and Red Hook resident, ger sit in the back of the classrooms do plumbing. Another guy is a carpenhas helped with the Red Hook Rise anymore. They aren’t afraid to be ter. Another guy is an electrician. Anprogram since 2001. He got involved asked to read out of a book now. It’s a other guy is a set designer. Another guy is working in the office. We bring them with Red Hook Rise when he ran into big turnaround.” “All the schools, PS 15 and PS 27, the prindown here and we let them sit in these Ray in Coffey park 15 years ago. cipals at that time, had commended us offices for the day. They eat lunch with “I asked what they were doing. He said, on doing a great job because we provide the company and the company teach‘we are getting a basketball league up a summer reading program, ” Hall added. es them what they do for business.” and we have done this since 1994. He “A lot of programs don’t do that. It’s easy said, ‘Come on out. Bring your son; try This program will start on June 28 or it out.’ From that day on, I have been to be a kid and just run around playing July 1, and will take place on Tuesdays, all of the time, but you are doing nothing working with him.” Webb said. Thursdays and Sundays. Kids can sign educational in the summertime.” up until July 4. So far, Webb said 40 Webb coaches the kids for 45 minutes before they start playing league basket- “The kids have improved,” Webb add- kids have registered. Last year, Books ed. “Some of them, they couldn’t read & Basketball had 150 participants. ball games.
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May 2016
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT! H
-You MUST eat breakfast -Eat a balanced meal that includes lean protein, vegetables and whole grains.
by Tracey O'Connell ow many times have you gone to bed, determined that tomorrow you will build a plan of action to become a healthier you? Morning comes, and you push your plans for the next day, or the day after that. This can go on for weeks, months and even years. You may want to lose 10, 20 or even 50 pounds but you never get there. You are not alone, I’ve been there myself. Whether you work outside of your home, or not, we are always in a hurry to do something or other. Instead of starting the day with a nutritional breakfast, we grab the first thing that doesn’t take much time to prepare. At lunchtime we repeat the same practice - fast and easy - or skip lunch altogether. By the time we think of it, it’s time to pick up the kids from school and drop them off to soccer practice. Not eating a balanced diet can cause health problems, but it can also led to depression and anxiety. However, here’s the good news- you’re absolutely normal, and definitely not alone. 1. Breakfast- the most important meal of the day
This may sound like a lot of food, but eating these foods will begin to fuel your body, speed up your metabolism, help you gain focus, and give you the energy you need to conquer the world. 2. Pack Your Lunch Whether you work inside or outside of your home, get into the habit. This will allow you to include what you need to become healthier and happier. - Include veggies with your lunch: carrots, celery, and bell pepper slices. Veggies will keep you hydrated and give you a feeling of fullness. - Pack your lunch at night. Five minutes at night is like an hour in the morning. Benefits of packing your lunch - save unwanted calories - Limit fat and salt intake
ment for us to survive. Our bodies are made up of 60% water, our brains 80%. We can easily become dehydrated if we do not drink at least 8 glasses of water per day. Even our simple daily routines could deplete our necessary water supply. If you work out, you will need to increase your water intake. Why Water is Important:
3. Hydrate with H20 Water is an extremely important ele-
4. Dinner By following the tips above, you shouldn’t be “starving” at dinner time.
The organs of our body depend on water to survive. For instance, the kidneys filter out toxins and anyt h i n g else our bodies d o n ’ t n e e d . The only way for this to happen is to make it part of a daily regimen. Dehydration can lead to kidney failure and loss of bodily functions. It can impede the signals sent from your brain that tell our legs to walk. Dehydration can also cause heart failure, anemia, or other fatal consequences.
Here’s my recommendation for dinner: -Unwind and relax (we tend to eat more when we’re stressed.) - Start dinner with a salad/and or soup, by eating this recommendation first, we become satiated. Remember our tummies are only as big as our fists. It doesn’t take a lot to fill them. Eat slowly and consciously, preferably at the table, and maybe calming music.
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Still hungry? Wait at least 15 minutes before going on to something a bit more substantial. Remember, this is the last meal of the day; your body and mind are starting to relax and get ready to rest. The last thing you want is to try and go to sleep with a full belly...bottom line. Good nutrition is part of the overall plan if you want to lead a balanced, healthy life. Nutrition plays a crucial role to harmonizing your body, mind and inner self.
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May 2016