Red Hook, Brooklyn: The Rope that Binds a Community
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- A hollow building stands against the brooding sky, a relic from the past.
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- A pier from the past, no longer fit to stand on.
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- Plans for the construction of waterfront condominiums are in the works.
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- Carmen Torres, 67, has lived in Red Hook since 1958. She and her husband have owned 5 buildings and a corner store on the same block. They have since sold all but one.
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- Building Where Jovan, Carmen’s grandson, was born. The Torres’ bought the building from the city for $22,000 in 1987. It was sold in 2006.
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- Carmen stands by one of her former buildings. Now the site of an art gallery, this was where the Torres’ deli once stood. They sold the building to the gallery owner in 2003.
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- The store was located on the corner of Wolcott & Richards streets. Carmen recalls when all but one house was burnt to the ground on Wolcott during the rampant drug use of the 1980’s.
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- Carmen’s son and grandson, both born and raised in Red Hook.
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- Advendizo (Benny) Torres, Carmen’s son, was born in 1963 in the Red Hook Houses. He remembers his community’s reaction to the assassination of Dr. King during his young life, and was an involved community organizer in his adulthood.
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- Among the shared victories, the denizens of Red Hook are also bound by shared tragedies that pull on the collective heart strings of a community. Tree planted by Patrick Daley, slain principle of P.S. 15
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- Sunset Walk
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- A view of the sunset from the Red Hook pier.
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- A floating reminder of Red Hook’s past.
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- The Red Hook Houses: Carmen and Tonio’s first home, Benny’s birthplace, and the scene of the 1992 shooting of Principal Daly.
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- The Towers
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- Richie Soto was in the third grade at P.S. 15 in 1992. He was born and raised in the Red Hook Houses.
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- “When I was 14, my grandmother died in my arms.” Richie’s tattoo honors both his heritage and his grandmother’s memory.
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- Richie’s first tattoo, done at the age of 14, covered over with another tattoo.
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- The view of the Red Hook Houses from above.
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- Glen Eaddy, 38, and his ferret “Fatboy.” Glen is a musician and artist who has lived in Red Hook since the age of 2.
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- Glen started playing the keyboard and violin at the age of 11, and recalls staying out of trouble and keeping to himself as a child.
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- The Abandoned Warehouse
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- Ship in the Night
Red Hook Brooklyn, named for the red clay it was built upon and the Dutch word Hoek, meaning “point” or “corner,” juts out upon the East River. As I sit on the pier in late summer, a familiar chill cuts through the warmth of the season, characteristic of the air above bodies of water. It is evening time, and looking out upon the water and landscape, I feel as though I have discovered a secret. Lady Liberty, glowing green, appears as a sentinel, granting me permission to stay for awhile. This area, the only part of New York City that, on land, has a full frontal view of the Statue, is locally known as The Back.
I was brought here by a friend, who walked me down a long and lonely block, which seemed to be deserted and abandoned. Shuttered warehouses loomed ominously, and dogs barked from somewhere within the darkness. My friend, Jovan Torres, is a local who after a brief stint living with his father in long island, had recently returned to his hometown, and said he wanted to show me this place. I couldn’t imagine what kind of surprise lay beyond the rusted grey metal of the warehouse doors.
As we walk, the darkness gives way, and the water appears. It’s beautiful from a distance, and I am now eager to proceed. He greets a group of high-school aged kids, their voices and laughter echoing after us as we continue on to the edge. I see the statue of liberty and can’t believe how close she seems. A group of men approach with fishing rods, greeting each other as though this has been a nightly summer ritual. One man pulls out a radio, and my friend and I take a seat. He tells me stories about jumping into the river as kids, and hopping from post to post.
As early as the 19th century, Red Hook’s port made it a booming industrial center, loaning itself to the shipping and containerization industries. The Red Hook Houses, one of the largest housing projects in the city, were initially built for the Irish and Italian dockworkers and their families to live in. By the 1950’s, these initial residents began to fade and the town became one of the first Puerto Rican neighborhoods in the city.
