Brooklyn Heights Blog

Last September, the Dutch frigate HNLMS Tromp (at the far end of the pier in the photo above), along with other NATO warships, docked at Pier 7 near the foot of Atlantic Avenue to allow the crew a few days’ liberty. Earlier today, as Tromp was sailing with other European Union warships off the coast of East Africa, Somali pirates, evidently mistaking her for an unarmed merchant vessel, attempted an attack:

AOL News (Jason Straziuso, AP): NAIROBI, Kenya (March 18) — These Somali pirates picked the wrong ship to hijack. Read more »

As seen from the Promenade Tuesday morning, ice floes clog the embayment between Piers 3 and 4 as a Moran tug sails into the East River. A New York Water Taxi and a Staten Island ferry are in the background. In the clear air, New Jersey’s Watchung First Mountain is easily visible on the horizon.

The parade of foreign warships visiting Brooklyn continues. As seen from the Promenade this morning, the German air defense frigate Hessen, accompanied by a Moran tug, approaches her berth at Pier 7, near the foot of Atlantic Avenue. Her sister ship, Sachsen, docked at the same pier in May. Read more »

Your correspondent got this photo of the Danish frigate HMDS Thetis from the Brooklyn Bridge this morning. She was approaching Pier 7, at the foot of Atlantic Avenue, where she is now docked. I hope the bars along Atlantic are well stocked with Carlsberg beer. Thetis is visiting New York along with nine other ships from various nations, making up NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group 1.

Update: Belgians, Canadians, Dutch, and Norwegians join in! More photos and text after the jump. Read more »

“The Waterpod is a sustainable, sculptural art and technology habitat, with 4 artists living on and off it, generating food, water, and power in a contained and self-sufficient environment,” and now it’s here in Brooklyn Heights through August 17th on Pier 5.  It’s open to the public on Fridays from 3-7 pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 7 pm.  Just walk down Joralemon Street to the very end, make a left on Furman and follow the signs.

I did on Saturday night for their benefit party.  At first, approaching the pier as the sun was setting, it was all greys and blues, the area desolate with barbed wire.  As I got closer, I caught a glimpse of the white dome bobbing against the Hudson River.  I walked the gangplank onto the barge and noticed first of all a profusion of greenery, a miniature garden to my immediate right.  I felt dizzy.  Why?  Then I remembered:  I was on a boat and it was rocking.  Then I saw a chicken coop.

The air down here was devoid of humidity, and it reminded of the days of the Floating Pool; the vast expanse of space, of water and the skyline of downtown Manhattan.  All around the edges of the barge are more gardens, some hydroponic, called window farms— suspended in the air.  On the right side of the barge are the living quarters. One room looked particularly inviting;  a loft bed, a small window to glimpse the stars and the bright ribbon of traffic on the BQE. At the far end of the boat, the galley, people were grilling fish tacos, and serving local beer.

I thought of a Japanese garden; a precise arrangement of stones, plants and flowers.  I thought of Noah’s Ark for the new millennium.  I mentioned this to Mary Mattingly, the green genius, who is the founder and Art Director.  She liked the analogy.  I asked her, “How long from conception to realization?”  She replied, “Three years.”  Click on the above link and read her log entries; they are a fascinating record of the creation and journey of the pod, as well as its philosophy. I was particularly impressed that the link marked Manifesto was a long passage from Joyce’s Ulysses.

The Waterpod is both on and off the grid.  Electricity doesn’t come from Con Ed, but rather from solar energy and even sometimes a bicycle.  Read more on the website for how this happens as well as the process for transforming rain water into drinking water.  I began a skeptic.  But when I saw a white flag unfurling in the breeze that read: I Remember Earth, I was a convert.  And you will be, too.  Take your kids, your dogs and parents.  All are welcome.

As we noted in a previous post, a new ferry stop near the foot of Atlantic Avenue is one of the locations from which expanded ferry service to and from Brooklyn will be considered at a hearing to be held at Kings County Community College tomorrow evening. Tomorrow morning, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will announce the construction of a “water taxi dock” at Pier 6, now being developed as part of Brooklyn Bridge Park and situated near Atlantic Avenue. According to the press release, “[T]he creation of the new dock will provide direct ferry service between Brooklyn Bridge Park and Governors Island.” Whether this will replace the free Saturday-only ferry from Fulton Landing, and whether it will be free, or run on a more frequent schedule, remains to be seen. Also, that the terminal is being called a “water taxi dock” raises the question whether New York Water Taxi, with its extensive service to Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Upstate, will stop there. We’ll keep you advised as more information becomes available.

Seen from the Promenade, the topsail schooner Clipper City, under auxiliary power, passes Pier 3 on her way back to her berth at Pier 17, South Street Seaport.

Commuting by water can be a pleasant, and, for many, convenient way to start or end the workday. Consider also the prospect of getting to or from LaGuardia or JFK by ferry (both would require a shuttle bus or van to get from ferry landing to terminal), or to Citi Field or Yankee Stadium, or to Coney Island to see our own Cyclones.

The City’s Economic Development Corporation and Department of Transportation are jointly conducting a study to determine what new ferry routes should be established. In connection with this, they are holding a town hall meeting at Kingsborough Community College, Room U 219/200, 2001 Oriental Boulevard, starting at 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday, July 22, to which Brooklyn residents are invited to present their ideas about new routes on which they would like to see service. Read more »

Seen from the Promenade this morning, what appears to be a huge yacht lies anchored near the mouth of the Hudson. Perhaps the owner didn’t get the memo that displays of conspicuous consumption are passé.

Update: mystery solved. The yacht is Le Grand Bleu, owned by Russian oil billionaire Eugene Shvidler. Russian billionaires were exempt from the conspicuous consumption memo, provided Putin said “Da.” (Thanks to Ulrich and Kent at NYCMaritime for the info.)

Continuing the tradition of foreign warships docking at Pier 7 (see here, here, and here), at the foot of Atlantic Avenue, the Japanese Coast Guard’s large patrol vessel Kojima (LP-21) is berthed there now.

Has the reputation of Atlantic Avenue’s bars spread throughout the navies of the world?