- Red Hook, Brooklyn
Red Hook is a neighborhood in the
New York City borough ofBrooklyn , USA. The neighborhood is part ofBrooklyn Community Board 6 .Location and history
Before annexation into the 12th Ward of Brooklyn, Red Hook was a separate village. It is named for the red clay soil and the point of land projecting into the
East River . The village was settled by the Dutch colonists ofNew Amsterdam in 1636, and named Roode Hoek. In Dutch "Hoek" means "point" or "corner" and not the English hook (i.e. not something curved or bent). Today, the area is home to about 11,000 people.Red Hook is part of the area known as
South Brooklyn , though it is northwest of the geographic center of the modern borough. It is apeninsula betweenButtermilk Channel , Gowanus Bay andGowanus Canal at the southern edge ofDowntown Brooklyn .Red Hook is connected to
Manhattan by the vehicles-onlyBrooklyn-Battery Tunnel , whose toll plaza and approaches separate it from Carroll Gardens to the north. Subway service in the area is sparse, with theIND Culver Line (NYCS Culver IND north) running along Smith Street and Ninth Street. The B61 bus, formerly a trolley line, runs as a 24-hour service from Erie Basin Red Hook throughDowntown Brooklyn , Clinton Hill, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint, terminating atLong Island City, Queens . The B77 bus connects with the Culver Line's Smith-Ninth Streets station.There is also a free ferry service, operated by
New York Water Taxi , that runs between IKEA and Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan.Patrick Daly, the Principal of P.S. 15, was killed in 1992, in the crossfire of a drug-related shooting while looking for a pupil who had left his school. The school was later renamed the Patrick Daly school after the beloved principal. [ [http://nymag.com/nymetro/realestate/urbandev/features/3648/ Rogan, Helen, "Red Hook Catches the Wave";
nymag.com ;August 7 ,2000 ] ]Red Hook's current eclectic mix of living artists and industrial businesses create a neighborhood coined "Residustrial" in 2008 by artist and resident John P. Missale. Red Hook also contains several parks, including
Red Hook Park . In the spring of 2006, the newCarnival Cruise Lines Terminal, more formally theBrooklyn Cruise Terminal , opened at Pier 12 at Pioneer Street, Red Hook, bringing additional tourists to Brooklyn.Red Hook is the only part of New York City that, on land, has a full frontal view of the
Statue of Liberty , which was oriented to faceFrance , the country which gifted the statue to the United States following the centennial of the United States.IKEA in Red Hook
Red Hook is the site of a large
IKEA store (346,000 square feet) that opened on June 18, 2008 near theGowanus Expressway . [ [http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2008/06/17/2008-06-17_9_questions_for_the_brooklyn_ikea_store_.html Baker, Mike; "9 questions for the Brooklyn Ikea store manager";nydailynews.com ;June 17 ,2008 ] ]The building of IKEA was controversial as it replaced a 19th-century
dry dock which was still in use. Residents cited concerns includingtraffic congestion , an increase in property values and destruction of the area's traditional transit-oriented neighborhoods and historically significant buildings in the area. [ [http://www.bigcitiesbigboxes.com/ikeared_hook/index.html "TEN (10) REASONS TO OPPOSE IKEA-RED HOOK"; bigcityboxes.com; May 2005] ]Brooklyn artist
Greg Lindquist (b.1979) exhibited a group of paintings in February 2008 in New York City that depicted the Ikea site in process, juxtaposing the maritime decay with the new construction.A report from
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced the findings and recommendations of its Maritime Support Services Location Study. The study found that New York City needs eight more dry docks. According to the report, it will cost 1 billion dollars to replace the one Ikea is using as a parking lot. [ [http://www.nypost.com/seven/06232008/news/regionalnews/ikea_berth_pangs_116788.htm Calder, Rich; "IKEA BERTH PANGS: CITY DOCK DEAL A $1B BLUNDER";nypost.com ;June 23 , 2008] ]In addition Ikea and its contractor demolished Civil War era buildings and exposed the community to asbestos. Ikea's contractor was found to be in "violation for not having filed asbestos work, failing to monitor the air, not posting any warnings, failure to construct decontamination protections before disturbing the asbestos-containing materials, and doing nothing to protect and decontaminate the material, as well as the workers and building waste." [ [http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/28/5/28_05nets2.html Wisloski, Jess; "Ikea hit with asbestos fines"; brooklynpaper.com;
January 29 ,2005 ] ]A free ferry service for shoppers from Manhattan proved more popular than expected. [ [http://www.nypost.com/seven/07172008/news/regionalnews/hook_rocks_ikea_boat_120276.htm Calder, Rich; "HOOK ROCKS IKEA BOAT"; nypost.com;
July 17 ,2008 ] ]Events
*The Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival [ [http://www.dancetheatreetcetera.org/upcoming.html Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival] ]
People associated with Red Hook
*
Harlan Ellison , author. Joined the Red Hook gang "The Barons" to research his novelWeb of the City .
*Ray Sharkey , actor best known for his role in the TV series "Wiseguy ".
*Charley Goldman , boxing trainer ofRocky Marciano .
*Tazz , Smackdown announcer.
*Joe Gallo , rogue organized crime member and subject of a Bob Dylan song.
*Carmelo Anthony , NBA Basketball player.
*Hell Razah , rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate.
*Shabazz the Disciple , Rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate.
*Vanessa Ferlito , actress who portrayed Aiden Burn, also a Brooklyn native, on "".
*H. P. Lovecraft , fantasy, science fiction, and horror author.
*James McBride, author, "The Color of Water" and "Miracle at St. Anna".In popular culture
*Red Hook was the setting for the
H. P. Lovecraft 1927 story "The Horror at Red Hook ".
*The area was used as the setting forArthur Miller 's 1955 play "A View from the Bridge ".
*Pier 41 at 204 Van Dyke Street was used as the setting of a bar scene in the 2005Will Smith film, Hitch. [http://www.mm-agency.com/blog/mtv-real-world/real-world-brooklyn-docks-at-pier-41-in-red-hook/3266/ Martin, Michael; "Real World Brooklyn Docks at Pier 41 in Red Hook"; mm-agency.com;July 21 ,2008 ] ]
*The cast of "", the upcoming season ofMTV 's reality television series "The Real World ", resides at Pier 41.References
External links
* [http://www.nycfoto.com/showPage.php?albumID=521 NYCfoto.com] - Photos of Red Hook
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