Red Hook
May 14, 2008
Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
Photo by McBrooklyn
Neighborhood Newcomer Bashes Bar Tabac
Food blogger Andrea Strong recently moved to Brooklyn, and while she loves the Grocery, she's got nothing but hatred for Bar Tabac: "You see, I live down the block from Bar Tabac, a wannabe faux French bistro owned by the same folks that own Jules, Café Noir and Cercle Rouge, that recently and unfathomably to me, was voted best neighborhood bistro in the Time Out Awards... From where I sit, which is just a few yards from this hellacious restaurant’s front doors, it’s a rude, self-important, obnoxious cave (with al fresco seating) for French ex-pats and ubiquitous hipsters in the Brooklyn area." Yowch!
This Week on Chowhound
One Chowhound has good things to say about the newly opened South Brooklyn Pizza (Court at 4th Street, Carroll Gardens), and another spotted Uncle Louis G's "iconic blue & white striped awning" on Smith Street near the New St. Claire. Meanwhile, Chowhound's Outer Borough Digest shares a few positive reviews of the new Israeli restaurant at 641 President Street, Delicious on the Slope.
Now Open: Lookout Hill Smokehouse
230 Fifth Avenue at President Street, Park Slope; (718) 399-2161
Time Out New York reports that Lookout Hill Smokehouse has opened in the old Biscuit space: "Two smokers pump out the expected lineup of brisket and ribs, along with a few wild cards such as lamb, hanger steak and kielbasa from nearby butcher Jubilat." Heart Fish shares some photos of the place.
After the jump: Lost City ponders the new 360 signage, a review of the Olive Vine Café, BeerMenus.com expands to Brooklyn, and a big-time pastry chef sets her sights on Clinton Hill...
May 13, 2008
Irony Alert: City Honors Longshoreman at Cruise Terminal
Remember when the city Economic Development Corporation was trying to evict American Stevedoring and its hundreds of longshoremen employees from the Red Hook Piers? Neither do we. Well, now that everything is cool at the piers and the longshoremen won a 10-year lease, it makes total sense that the city hold a ceremony there this Tuesday "to pay tribute to the workers who made the waterfront great and to those who are working today to revitalize the great Port of New York," said a city press release. They city, elected officials and "supporters of the working waterfront" are celebrating the rededication of The Working Brooklyn Waterfront, a mural made in 1963 by noted artist Bernard Seaman. The mural was first installed in the Brooklyn Longshoremen's Medical Center in Cobble Hill. It was reinstalled at the cruise terminal when that building was scheduled for demolition "due largely to the efforts of the members of the ILA Local 1814 and funded by NY Container Terminal." Although never addressed by name, we're going to guess "NY Container Terminal" is American Stevedoring, the EDC's old nemesis. Glad to see everyone's put that whole mess behind them.
Lease Ends Uncertainty for Red Hook Cargo Docks [NY Times]
City Releases Vision for Container Port [NY Post]
EDC Plan for Container Port [Brownstoner]
Photo by Seth Holladay.
May 12, 2008
Will IKEA Be a Traffic Nightmare for Red Hook?
Today's NY Post has a story that looks at the measures being taken to mitigate the car and people traffic that some believe is going to overwhelm Red Hook when the home-furnishings giant opens next month. First off, there's going to be a free Water Taxi running between Lower Manhattan and IKEA every 40 minutes when the store is open. Second, the MTA is extending the B61 and B77 bus lines so they stop directly in front of the store, and IKEA is going to offer a free shuttle between the Borough Hall/Court Street, Smith/9th Street, and 4th Avenue/9th Street subway stops every 10 minutes. The closest subway stop to IKEA, Smith/9th, is more than a mile away from the store. The retailer built 1,400 parking spots and expects 14,000 cars to flock to the store every Saturday. John McGettrick, co-chair of the Red Hook Civic Alliance, believes that number is going to be closer to 20,000, and he says the traffic is going to sink Red Hook's character. "There's been no IKEA in this country ever put in a situation like this; most others like the ones in Elizabeth and Paramus in New Jersey have direct access off highways," says McGettrick. "This is on a tiny peninsula that is basically a dead end."
IKEA Goes to Se-a in Red Hook [NY Post]
Photo by marko boni.
May 8, 2008
Big Red Hook Warehouse Buy for Manufacturing Biz
A building supply company that's rented space in Red Hook recently got a little help from the city to buy the warehouse near that waterfront that it's been leasing. Extech Building Material closed on an $8 million
160 Imlay Finally Gets the Go-Ahead [Brownstoner]
May 6, 2008
Design Competition Trying to Hook Biking Visionaries
Last week the Forum for Urban Design announced details of a competition it's holding to solicit plans aimed at making Red Hook an extremely bicycle friendly neighborhood. The competition involves submitting design proposals to FUD that consider the possibility of building a bike garage in or near the Smith-9th Station; envisioning a bicycle network for Red Hook; and identifying possible funding sources for the project. Judges for the competition, which has a grand prize of $4,000, will include officials from NYC Transit and the DOT. One of the main points of the competition, whether or not it actually results in a design that's put into play, is to "introduce the concept of a bike garage to an audience in New York City," according to Lisa Chamberlain, executive director of FUD. "It’s a good place to try it on small scale. Another good place to have it would be in Downtown Brooklyn," near Borough Hall, though Chamberlain notes that "it would be much more complicated there than in Red Hook." Bike garages have been built in cities like Amsterdam, Berkeley and Seattle, and they deter theft and shield bicycles from the elements.
Could Red Hook Become a Biker Haven? [Brownstoner]
The Bicycle Master Plan Design Competition [FUD]
May 5, 2008
Broker Dreams Of Outlet Shopping At Revere Site
Good brokers don't just sell property, they sell a vision, especially when dealing with raw land or an area on the cusp of change. Red Hook might have missed this past gentrification wave but the sleepy neighborhood of 11,000 will no doubt be flooded with shoppers once IKEA opens June 18. Change is inevitable, considering IKEA openings in far less dense cities have caused deadly stampedes, rendered stoplights useless and clogged expressways so badly desperate shoppers simply parked and hopped the fence (things calmed down after awhile). Some people try to push back the tides of change, others surf on them. Massey Knakal director of sales Landon McGaw told us he thinks the neighborhood is ripe for an outlet mall and said Thor Equities' Revere Sugar Refinery site would be the perfect location. The refinery has been demolished, leaving a huge waterfront lot between Fairway Market and IKEA that allows 1.3 million square feet of development, according to Property Shark. "There's no outlet shopping in all of New York City," said McGaw, adding that he has a direct line to one of the nation's most prolific outlet shopping mall owners and knows developers here who have been mulling the idea. "Vorando, Related [Companies], they all have their eye on Red Hook." Just think, one day you could outfit your entire life for rock-bottom prices by visiting Red Hook's waterfront: Nab your pre-fab dining room set and bold curtins at IKEA; last season's J Crew khakis at Revere Outlet Mall; and gourmet fare at Fairway. See how Thor Equities responded after the jump...
Continue reading "Broker Dreams Of Outlet Shopping At Revere Site"
April 30, 2008
Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
Photo by roboppy
Bars in Battle with Neighbors
Park Slope's Union Hall (pictured above) is up for their liquor license renewal next week, and according to Eater, community members issued a 1200-word press release railing against this stroller-free establishment. Meanwhile, Gothamist reports that Greenpoint's Studio B has received a stop work order from neighbors who are hoping that the club's proposed tropical rooftop oasis will be nipped in the bud.
New Brooklyn Openings
Looks like there's nothing but love for the recently opened Root Hill Cafe on 4th Avenue an Carroll Street. Ed Levine describes their Clover-brewed coffee as "pretty amazing" and Slice loves the cafe's outdoor canine accomodations. Eater reports that a new bar and burger joint called Brooklyn Ice House is slated to open in the old Pioneer Bar-B-Q space on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. And according to Time Out, Appertivo (279 Fifth Avenue at 1st Street) — part of Sotto Voce's mini-empire in Park Slope— is now offering a menu of "pastas like linguine with a chicken liver, sage, white wine and cream sauce," but their liquor license is still pending.
Best Outdoor Bites
Brooklyn Based shares a list of all their favorite restaurants and bars with outdoor seating, calling Rocky Sullivan's "the only rooftop bar in the city that can actually be called serene" and describing the table for two beside the fountain in Palo Santo's tiny backyard as the most romantic outdoor table in Brooklyn.
After the jump: Fresh Direct expands delivery range, the Voice says Barrio is overpriced, Gothamist hits Shachis and the Times visits Jake Walk...
April 25, 2008
Red Hook Stevedores Get a 10-Year Lease
It's official: The Port Authority and American Stevedoring Inc. have agreed to a $41 million, 10-year lease that will allow the stevedores to continue operating Piers 7 through 10 in Red Hook. The deal means the city's plans to redevelop the piers with housing and restaurants is kaput. “We saved the Brooklyn port,” Congressman Jerrold L. Nadler told the Times. “This is a great day for jobs in Brooklyn and for the future of maritime commerce on this side of the river. No one can turn it into a condo anymore.”
Lease Ends Uncertainty for Red Hook Cargo Docks [NY Times]
Red Hook Dock Union Triumphs [NY Post]
Red Hook Containerport to Stay [Brownstoner]
Photo by lj lindhurst.
April 23, 2008
House of the Day: 36 Otsego Street
This two-story house at 36 Otsego Street in Red Hook ain't much to look at from the outside but given the recent price cut(s), it might be getting kinda interesting. The 1,600-square-foot house started out asking $1,200,000 back in January. It was reduced to $995,000 within two weeks (!) where it sat until last Friday when it was axed again to $850,000. While the interior of the house looks a little better than the exterior, the interesting part of the story is the adjacent lot with an existing two-car garage and 1,800 square feet of air rights. Waddya think?
36 Otsego Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
Angry Wade's Gets a Makeover
224 Smith Street (at Butler Street); (718) 488-7253
Haven't been inside in a while, but doesn't this place look better in red?
Five Guys Burgers in Park Slope: Hot or Not?
Says one Chowhound: "I was walking past the corner of 7th Ave and 6th street (where that ugly Bank of America is going in) and I saw a work permit on the space next door (the old D'Agostino's) that says a Five Guys is going in. Yea!"
But another replies: "Or is it another nail in the coffin for the charm of Park Slope?"
Opening and Closing Report
According to Eater, Jesse's Brooklyn Kitchen will be closing shop on Smith Street, and Manhattan's Cheyenne Diner will reopen in Red Hook, but Red Hook's 360 is officially gone for good.
After the jump: Luz turns out the lights for Earth Day (and today), bargains at Barrio, and Andrea Strong's move to Brooklyn...