Just as Ten Montague Terrace had its window to hell in Michael Winner’s 1977 The Sentinel, so an apartment at 169 Clinton Street seemed to writer H.P. Lovecraft, the 120th anniversary of whose birth was yesterday, during his residence there in 1925-26. Born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, Lovecraft came to New York to pursue his writing career. He lived in Flatbush during a brief, unhappy marriage, then moved to the Heights. Dan Lockwood writes in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle: (more…)
Archive | Red Hook RSS feed for this section
H.P. Lovecraft, Master of Horror, Lived in Brooklyn Heights
Tall Ship to Visit Red Hook
The barkentine Gazela will arrive at Pier 11 (enter at Pioneer and Conover Streets), Red Hook, this Wednesday, August 18, and remain through Monday, August 23. Tours of the ship will be available Thursday from 2-5 pm, Friday from 2-6 pm, Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, and Monday from 2-5 pm. A $5 donation is requested for tours, but is not mandatory.
Cabaret Red Light will present two performances of Seven Deadly Seas, one at 8:00 pm and one at 10:00 pm, on Gazela’s deck each evening Thursday through Sunday (Monday is the rain date). The show is described as “an adult thing” because it includes “a modest burlesque” at the close. Tickets are $25, and may be purchased here. (more…)
Red Hook to Heights Trolley May Be on Track
A while back, prompted by the news of old trolley tracks being dug up and scrapped in connection with infrastructure work at Fulton Ferry, we noted wistfully the neighborhood’s history of extensive light rail service, and wondered, even more wistfully, if at least some such service might be restored. Now, it seems, thanks in large part to federal funding secured by Rep. Nydia Velazquez, this may happen.
New York Post: After two decades of false starts, the city is finally back on track with plans to build a light-rail or trolley line connecting Brooklyn’s most transit-starved neighborhood with its downtown area.
The city Transportation Department expects to select a consultant within the next two months to study running the mile-long line from the Red Hook waterfront to Atlantic Avenue at the edge of Brooklyn Bridge Park, which is in walking distance to several subway and bus lines.
According to the Post article, the study will also consider extending the trolley line along Atlantic Avenue to Borough Hall, with its many subway connections. Bob Diamond’s dream may yet come true.
Update: Brownstoner has a piece on this, with a link to a map showing a proposed rote that has the trolley line starting at Fairway, proceeding up Van Brunt Street, jogging over to Columbia Street and following it up to Atlantic Avenue, where it turns and follows Atlantic to Boerum Place, then goes up Boerum to Joralemon Street, turns left and loops back to Boerum by way of Court and Livingston Streets.
Trolleys: Our Past; Our Future?
As reported in The Brooklyn Paper last week, workers installing new water and sewer lines near the foot of Old Fulton Street encountered some trolley tracks that had been buried under asphalt for many years. After consulting with city officials and an archaeologist, the contractor “ripped up the tracks and threw them in the trash.” This drew an angry response from some preservationists and from advocates for the restoration of trolley service like Red Hook resident Bob Diamond (more about Brooklyn trolley history here and about Bob Diamond’s project here). (more…)
Montague BID Stresses Service to Merchants, Community
The Montague Street Business Improvement District (“BID”) held its annual meeting at Eamonn’s yesterday evening. BID Executive Director Chelsea Mauldin (photo at left) said the BID must respond to the economic crisis by providing more services to businesses on Montague in, among other things, marketing and technology. As an example of marketing assistance, she cited a program the BID developed with Pratt, in which design students have worked with one merchant on Montague to create a new image, including sign, logo and cards.
The BID will try to address the vacancy problem by promoting “pop-up stores” for which landlords will extend short-term leases either for a specific event–in this connection she mentioned master pumpkin carver and Heights resident Hugh McMahon, who would like to set up a temporary space before Halloween–or as a trial for a possible longer relationship. (more…)
The Envelope, Please.
The award for zaniest headline goes to Mike McLaughlin of The Brooklyn Paper for this.
Hmmm…methinks young Mike’s (we hope) temporary state of deprivation may be affecting his writing style.
Velvets and James Brown? Can’t fault his taste in music.
Heights Fave La Bouillabaisse Resurfaces in Red Hook
Gothamist reports that restaurateur Neil Ganic will be opening his La Bouillabaisse, once an Atlantic Avenue favorite, in Red Hook next door to his other eatery, Lillie at 44 Beard Street: (more…)
Maybe They’ll Call It “Chateau Buttermilk Channel”
According to this Brooklyn Paper story,
a California winemaker plans to open a winery in a nineteenth century warehouse building near Fairway in Red Hook. He intends to make wines from grapes grown on the North Fork of Long Island and in the Hudson Valley.
Three Cunard “Queens” Due Tomorrow
Tomorrow will be a first in history: three Cunard "Queen" ships: Queen Mary 2 (shown in photo), which makes Pier 17 in Red Hook its home port; Queen Elizabeth 2, on her final visit to New York after forty years of service before being retired to serve as a floating hotel in Dubai; and Queen Victoria, first Cunarder to bear her name, on her maiden voyage, will all be docked in New York. Early risers may, from the Promenade or rooftop vantage points in the Heights, see the ships arrive: Mary to the south, heading for Red Hook, and QE2 and Victoria proceeding up the Hudson to the cruise ship terminal on the West Side of Manhattan. The ships will depart their docks early in the evening and rendezvous near the Statue of Liberty, where there will be a fireworks display beginning between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m., weather permitting, before they head for the ocean to continue their cruises. This will also be visible from the Heights, though lower Manhattan (Battery Park and adjoining parks in Battery Park City) will offer better views. (Thanks to reader CJP for correcting the time of the fireworks display.)
Nabe Chatter