Brooklyn’s Pier 11 Plan Deep-6'd

The Port Authority scuttled plans to build an upscale hotel, entertainment complex and marina for yachts next to it’s cruise-ship terminal in Red Hook. They were to consider other options so that it would remain a shipping port rather than permit it to become a location for housing, a second cruise-ship pier or the new home for Brooklyn Brewery. Only years from now will we know if they came up with the best answer for New York City.

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Ferry Foul Play?

IKEA’s new store on the Brooklyn waterfront offers free ferry service (courtesy of New York Water Taxi) between its store in Red Hook and Pier 11 in lower Manhattan. However, some Red Hook residents claim IKEA customers are being "hand-stamped" for priority boarding while local residents are denied service or forced to miss rides. As IKEA originally announced that ferry service would be complimentary and made no mention of purchase requirements, hand-stamping stories seem a bit odd. Let’s hope IKEA is being a good neighbor and isn’t caught red-handed, red-handing customer/ferry riders.

West Side Waste Plant Plan Passed

Mayor Bloomberg finally got state approval to build an $80 million trash-transfer facility near Gansevoort Street on the Hudson River in Manhattan. Construction is slated to begin in 2010. The station will process 128,000 tons of metal, paper, plastic and glass for shipment to the recycling plant in Red Hook, Brooklyn. This is the final piece to Bloomberg’s overhaul of New York City’s Solid Waste Management Plan. Mayor Rudy Giuliani initiated the city’s trash mess when he closed the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island. To his credit, Mayor Bloomberg has intelligently dug us out of the garbage around us. City residents can all breathe a bit easier once again.

IKEA Maybe Not Such A Great IDEA

Everyone loves IKEA stores and the products they sell. I've purchased items from them myself. That is not the problem here. The issue is that four years ago, the city sold an historic Red Hook "dry dock" to be used as a parking lot for IKEA’s newest store. Now, a study conducted by SUNY’s Maritime College has determined that New York City badly needs seven new graving docks to accommodate larger ships … docks just like the one it carelessly included in the land deal. It will cost NYC taxpayers an estimated $1 billion to build what we already had. The city defends itself by saying it used data from a 1991 study to make their 2004 decision. That’s a defense? Did IKEA really need waterfront property to open in Brooklyn? The Port of New York currently has 18 dry docks; four being the larger graving docks. With better city planning and common sense, we should have had one more dock on that list.

Firehouse Names Too Hot For FDNY Brass

Poor behavior and recent booze and broad scandals of some New York City firefighters is forcing officials in the Fire Department to try to clean up it’s public image. One way to do this, they believe, is to eliminate politically incorrect nicknames for firehouses. After a three year battle with a firehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn, the FDNY has prevailed. That means the “Happy Hookers” firehouse in Red Hook is no more. Gone too is the moniker “Southern Comfort” in Staten Island, “Animal House” in the Bronx and “Fosters” in Brooklyn. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta believes this is the right approach. Perhaps more severe punishment should be meted out to specific individuals who bring shame to the Fire Department rather than cutting out part of the spirit and camaraderie which all fire personnel and many neighborhood residents enjoy.

Red Hook Plans To "Ride" Into The Future

A scenic Brooklyn waterfront community with limited public transit is seeking to become the city’s most bike-friendly neighborhood. A competition is underway for designers and developers to conceive bikeways in Red Hook that offer far more than painted lines on busy streets. They hope to provide “bike stations” where riders may buy drinks and snacks, fix a flat or even safely park before hopping on a bus or train. More should be done throughout New York City to encourage bicycle riding and safety for bike riders and pedestrians they seek to steer clear of. This may lead to a wheel-thought-out idea we all could benefit from.