Red Hook,the south Brooklyn neighborhood stretching below Atlantic Avenue to the
Hudson River, is a place of contrasts. Sleek minimalist condos sit
inside 19th century red-brick warehouses. The smell of salt water is
halted by sewage reeking from pipes un-repaired since Hurricane Sandy.
Construction cranes hum alongside dilapidated buildings. Wildly reviewed
restaurants buzz just a few paces from the local bodega.
One of the neighborhood's distinguishing characteristics is the open sky.
The buildings are short compared to the city, especially across the
river in Manhattan. The proximity to the water gives Red Hook the feel
of a beach town, but definitely not a resort. It's just the kind of
place artists and young urban families crave--cheap rent (until a couple
of years ago), parks, plenty of real estate to renovate.
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| Red Hook Impressions |
We visited Red Hook this year to celebrate
the one year anniversary of Hometown BBQ. I wrote about their opening
in a post last year. This year I had some time to explore and do some
sketching in the neighborhood. I stood on the streets and did my thing.
Here's a map of the neighborhood (I took small license to use this even
though it's a sketch from a map):
Van
Brunt is the main street running from Atlantic, a main thoroughfare in
Brooklyn, to the water. I started with the Ice House and its neighbor,
Bait and Tackle, the local watering holes and the places to find people
who know Red Hook.
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| The first two buildings on the right -- The Ice House and Brooklyn Bait and Tackle, Van Brunt Street, Red Hook |
Further
down the street you pass chic urban shops, vacant lots, galleries,
rusted trucks, and a custom-made bicycle shop among the array of
businesses. Kentler International Drawing Space attracts my attention
every time I visit, but I haven't managed to make it in to see what it's
all about. Hers's a few street images:
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| Kentlery International Drawing Space - Red Hook pedestrian - sign for local bagel shop |
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| Dry Dock Wine and Spirits - Van Brunt and Van Dyke |
Hometown BBQ sits at the base of Van Brunt on Reed, just across the street from
Fairway market, a massive grocery store selling everything from quarters
of beef to Brooklyn Kombucha. Around the corner from Hometown on
Conover is the legendary Sunny's Bar, owned by the Balzano family since
1890 and currently run by Sunny Balzano, "The Grandfather of Red Hook."
You can read about Hometown and Sunnys in my posts from last year.
A new addition to the neighborhood is the Hometown Shack--where they
smoke all the meat on wood-fired smokers. Two shipping containers handle
a couple of smokers and a couple more sit outside next to the gravel
yard. In the summer you can get your ribs and sit at the umbrella tables
taking in the smoke flavored salty air.
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| Hometown Shack, Red Hook near Valentino Pier |
A
few paces from the Shack Louis Valentino, Jr Park and Pier locals can
fish while enjoying possibly the best land view of the Statue of Liberty
in New York. The park and pier are named after a firefighter and parks
lifeguard Louis J Valentino who lost his life while searching for
wounded fellow firefighters.
The
lower Manhattan skyline stretches along the water, dominated by the new
World Trade Center. I happened to be there on September 11.
World Trade Center from Valentino Pier, Red Hook
We
visited the Red Hook Initiative, a local non-profit that serves the
neighborhood by providing job training and many other services. That's a
story in itself. This quote by it's founder Jill Eisenhart, describes
Red Hook aptly:
"If
you ask an outsider what makes Red Hook special, they'll talk about the
parks and open spaces, the waterfront views, the cobblestone streets,
the great businesses, churches and agencies that creat the fabri of the
community. If you ask someone from Red Hook, they'll tell you the
secret: It's the people who live here."
From Images of Red Hook, by Thomas Rupolo
