To me, Red Hook Brooklyn is “homeport.” Not because I live there, but because it is
the New York Water Taxi’s Homeport.
Honestly – I don’t know that much about it beyond the fact that there is
delicious key lime pie there, Fairway, and an Ikea. So this blog entry is my attempt to learn
more.
Red Hook got its name from the Dutch colonists in 1636. They called it “Roode Hoek” which means “Red
Point.” Red Hook had red clay soil which
inspired the name.
Red Hook played an important role in the American
Revolution. It was home to “Fort
Defiance.” George Washington described
the fort as “Small but exceedingly strong.”
It was one to one three pound cannon and our eighteen pounders. (Whatever this means…anyone into military
weaponry care to expound?) Unfortunately
on July 12 1776, the English made it past Fort Defiance and took “The Battle of
Brooklyn.” From this point on until
1783, almost all of the New York metropolitan area was under British Military
occupation. November 23rd, 1783 was known
as evacuation day. (Evacuation day is a
super fun historical event in and of itself.
It’s the day the English left the newly independent New York. It’s the day George Washington triumphantly
marched the Continental Army down all of Manhattan to the Battery. The last shot of the war was fired on this
day. A British gunner fired a canon at
jeering crowds on Staten Island as the English left New York City. To rub salt in the English wounds, this shot
fell short and fell in the harbor. But
don’t think that the English didn’t get the last laugh. They left a Union Jack flag flying on top of
a flagpole at the Battery. They also
greased the flagpole so when the Americans tried to climb the flagpole to
remove the offensive flag, they kept sliding down. Gotta love a classy prank.) Speaking of classy, today, Fort Defiance is a
restaurant in Red Hook. It serves
breakfast, lunch, dinner, weekend brunch, and cocktails all day long.
After the Revolutionary War, Red Hook became important as
the “Offloading end” of the Eerie Canal.
By the 1920s, Red Hook was the busiest freight port in the world! That sadly ended with containerization. (This
is another thing I need to understand better.
Anyone? It has something to do
with intermodal steel containers that are easy to stack and put dock workers
out of business, but made the shipping industry far more economical.) As containerization began to rise after World
War II, Red Hook began to fall into economics despair – think “I coulda been a contender!” “On the Water Front” a film/play set in Red
Hook, Broolyn. (Although don’t be fooled
– it was filmed in New Jersey.) By the
end of the century – Red Hook had developed quite a negative reputation for
itself. In 1990, Red Hook was reported by
Life Magazine as one of the worst neighborhood in American to live in and the
“crack capital of the world.” The Public
School in Red Hook, in 1992, was the site of a school shooting. The beloved principle Patrick Daly was a shot
in while looking for a nine year old student who had left his school in tears
after a fight with a fellow fourth grader.
The student was missing, so the principle personally went to look for
the student. While out searching for
this missing student, he was struck in the cross-fire of a totally unrelated drug
gang shoot-off. Oh my goodness why would
anyone ever want to go to Red Hook!?!
And why would New York Water Taxi add a stop there!?!
Well, in true New York fashion, neighborhoods constantly
change – and Red hook is no exception. Much
like Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan, Red Hook, home to longshoremen not fit to mop
the floor of Hell’s Kitchen moved out when the shipping industry died. Then young couples and artists priced out of
other portions of New York City, looking for affordable housing, began to move
in. For example – in 1978 the BrooklynWaterfront Artists Coalition moved in to Red Hook. They took a Civil War Era storehouse on the
Brooklyn Water Front and transformed it into an art gallery that assists emerging
artists advancing in their careers and presents the art of today in an
accessible format. In 1994, the WaterFront Museum, which is actually located in a Railroad Barge, docked itself at
Red Hook and stayed! It is on the Leigh
Valley Railroad Barge #79 to be precise.
This railroad barge carried coffee beans and other merchandise until
around 1960 when she was sunk in the mud in Edgewater, NJ. She was rescued and brought to Red Hook as
the Water Front Museum in 1994. Going
into this museum will give you a taste of the vibrant flavor of Red Hook
Brooklyn in its shipping hey day, and illuminated many stories of the those who
worked these docks and the industrial railroads that serviced them.
Today, Red Hook is rather remote. Its not actually served by any subways. For many this is a negative, but for some
celebrities such as Michelle Williams and Jason Segal, this is a huge
positive. Much harder to be heckled by
crazed fans in the much more residential and isolated Red Hook. But don’t let
its remoteness fool you! Red Hook is
home to some pretty awesome things. It
is home to IKEA. The Ikea opened in 2008
and brought a lot of consumer traffic that is brought there from Manhattan by
none other than the New York Water Taxi Ikea Ferry Service! Where consumers go, inevitably restaurants
and shops pop up. Steve’s Key Lime Pie
is my personal favorite destination in Red Hook. Brooklyn Crab is a popular destination. Not only does Brooklyn Crab have delicious
seafood, it also has a mini golf course.
Don’t forget about the Red Hook Lobster Pound. Go there to get delicious Maine lobster rolls
that are so popular they now have a food truck that serves Manhattan! Red Hook
is also the only portion of New York City that faces the Statue of Liberty (who
is positioned to face France) head on!
You can go and get dinner at Fairway, and then sit out on dock and watch
the sunset behind the Statue of Liberty for an evening to remember.
Speaking of Fairway, this particular Fairway breathed new
life into Red Hook. Red Hook was
devastated by Hurricane Sandy. It is in
a flood 1 zone and even the home belonging to Michelle Williams and Jason
Segall was damaged. Fairway, a major
grocery store in New York City (in fact it is one of the highest grossing food
retailers per square foot in the United States!), had opened up a brand new Red
Hook branch in 1996 – right on the water.
When Hurricane Sandy hit New York City, five feet of water rushed
through the aisles of Fairway destroying dry good and carrying off crates of
fruit. This behemoth grocery store, one
of the major draws to Red Hook, was devastated by the storm just as much as the
rest of the community. Unlike the rest
of the community, Fairway had the resources to help Red Hook and itself bounce
back. A New York Times articles quotes
Howard Glickberg, the store’s vice chairman for development as saying “the only
things inside were the bare walls and the flood, but we made a decision when
this happened that when we came back, it wouldn’t just be about Fairway. It would be about Red Hook.” They kept their promise, advertising other
local Red Hook businesses such as the Dry Dock Wine Store and local art
galleries on their websites and on t-shirts at the Fairway grand re-opening
event. While you might think, how would
having your name on a t-shirt at a re-opening event for a grocery store help,
this was no ordinary re-opening. This
opening was a beacon of hope for the future of Red Hook and even then Mayor
Michael Bloomberg showed up to the party.
Fairway stands strong to this day, and in the summer time they have a
BBQ set up outside where you can grill anything from marshmallows, to burgers,
to lobster.
Red Hook may be far, but it is worth it. And don’t be intimidated by the lack of
subways, the New York Water Taxi Ikea Ferry and Hop On Hop Off boats will take
you there!:)
If you enjoyed this entry – you might also enjoy one of my
earliest entries about the Red Hook Trolley Cars. Today only one lone trolley car sits outside
of Fairway, a time capsule to the past.
