Red Hook, Brooklyn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Red Hook is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 6.
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 of New 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 a peninsula between Buttermilk Channel and Gowanus Canal at the southern edge of Downtown Brooklyn.
Red Hook is connected to Manhattan by the vehicles-only Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, whose toll plaza and approaches separate it from Carroll Gardens to the north. Subway service in the area is sparse, with the IND Culver Line (F G) running along Smith Street and Ninth Street. The B61 bus runs as a 24-hour service from Red Hook through Downtown Brooklyn, Clinton Hill, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint, terminating at Long Island City, Queens. The B77 bus connects with the Culver Line's Smith-Ninth Streets station.
Red Hook was the setting for the H. P. Lovecraft story "The Horror at Red Hook" and Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge.
Red Hook is planned to be the site of a large IKEA location (346,000 square feet), which is replacing a historic 19th-century dry dock in the shadow of the Gowanus Expressway. Red Hook is notably isolated from major transportation arteries. IKEA is attempting to mollify critics with ferry service from lower Manhattan island, increased and extended city bus service, as well as their own shuttle service to the nearest local subway stops (see below). Local residents worry though that the new IKEA will bring heavy traffic problems and development focused on attracting outsiders. The MTA has promised to extend the B61 bus to the IKEA when it is open to the public.
Local residents of Red Hook have cited such concerns about the IKEA store as: Traffic congestion, noise, sound, air, and waste pollution, decrease in property values, among others. IKEA contends that it has factored in all these issues and that, traffic as simulated, will not be an issue, plans for pollution control are in the works, and that development plans for the 22 acre site on Beard Street will revitalize the neighborhood and increase property values. Concerns about IKEA's "hasty" destruction of historically significant buildings on and around the site were also raised.
Red Hook contains several parks, including Red Hook Park. In the spring of 2006, the new Carnival Cruise Lines Terminal opened in 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 face Prospect Park.
[edit] Famous Red Hook Personalities
- Harlan Ellison, author. Joined a Red Hook gang for book research.
- Charley Goldman, boxing trainer whose most famous pupil was the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, Rocky Marciano
- Tazz (ECW announcer)
- Joe Gallo, rogue organized crime member and subject of a Bob Dylan song
[edit] Events
- The Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival (at the beginning of June )
- Dancing in CityParks in the Coffey Park (at the beginning of June )
[edit] External links
- NYCfoto.com - Photos of Red Hook
- B61 Productions - A Red Hook centered blog
- Air Photographs of Red Hook
- The Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival
- www.redhookbbeach.com - A web site encouraging support for the community and ecologically friendly development of Atlantic Basin.
- Added Value, a non-profit organization promoting the sustainable development of Red Hook
- Hughes Bros. Hughes Barge company in Erie Basin, Red Hook
