The Red Hook within our Veins

There are few things more pleasing to a lens than oxidized iron, and its alloys.  We all get to enjoy the benefits of it, and I'm not just referring to its aesthetic value; without it, we would be deceased.  The same iron oxide that consumes this structure delivers the oxygen we breathe to where its needed within each of us; unless of course, you're Vulcan, then a photo of a copper roof would be much more appropriate.  Not to get sidetracked here, this structure is one of the rapidly disappearing relics of Red Hook's past and sits near the Gowanus Expressway.

Get a Sandwich where the Wires Cross

Taken on Columbia Street in Red Hook.

Drawbridge Ahead

Taken under the Gowanus Expressway, but about the canal.

Clinton Café Arbitration

Taken near Hamilton Avenue, under the Gowanus Expressway in Red Hook…

All the Wire's a Mundane Stage

Looking up at a view of the elevated Gowanus Expressway that only Robert Moses could love. Taken from Red Hook, Brooklyn...

MoneyWedge

And just what where would a seedy street corner be without a check cashing establishment, a head shop, sex shop, a liquor stop veiled in 2 inches of bullet proof polycarbonate glass (admittedly, there’s one of these a few blocks from my place of residence), or all of the above? This mini-flatiron structure sits along side the Gowanus Expressway in Red Hook, Brooklyn…

The Scale of Perspective III

Taken a few blocks away from the previous post…

Scale of Perspective II

Under the Gowanus Expressway in Red Hook, Brooklyn...

The Grain Fleet

Taken from the Red Hook Recreational Area in South Brooklyn.

The Hangout

There are so many places to hangout in NYC.  This is my type of place; upon first glance, under the Gowanus expressway in Red Hook may not look like a pleasant place, but bear with me as I lay it out for you.  There are no drunk yuppies, no snarky hipsters, no tourists, no panhandlers, its free, and everyone minds their own business here.  Oh, and this my hangout, go get your own! ;)

The Great Barrier Fence

The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway taken from the Red Hook area, looking toward Downtown Brooklyn. I-278 cuts a major swath through the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens; the Gowanus Expressway, south of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to the north. Like many six lane urban limited access highways, the impact of the neighborhoods it separates can be seen by just walking the span of the expressway.

Many of the neighborhoods that were adversely affected by the expressway are beginning to see a resurgence as Brooklyn has been experiencing gentrification. Redhook and the Clinton Hill / Navy Yard area are good examples of this.

Van Brunt Street in Red Hook...

About two blocks from the Navy Yard in Clinton Hill...

Fun With Yellow

All of the shots in this post are all connected by one small factor, they prominently feature the color yellow. Yellow is not a favorite color of mine in particular, but I really do like the way it looks in photographs.

These first two shots were taken from the same intersection in Dumbo, Brooklyn; Jay and York Streets...

A yellow handrail in the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station in Downtown Brooklyn.

A yellow cab and sign stands out in front of Boss Tweeds Saloon on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. For some reason, the man to the left kind of reminds me of Boss Tweed, the 19th century of equivalent to Elvis; thought to be dead, but gets spotted on occasion...

Yellow Cab and an In God We Trust decal on the white van. Upon closer inspection of the large size of the this shot, you will also notice a Playboy Bunny decal on the side of the same van. Taken on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn...

More yellow vehicles on 6th Avenue in Greenwich Village, Manhattan...

Taken at the base of the Williamsburg Bridge on the Manhattan side of the East River...

Superfund Site in Progress

A small tributary of Gowanus Bay, near the mouth of the Gowanus Canal in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The only flow of the water being tidal, you can just image how putrid this water is...

Click the image to view larger sizes and Geotag information...

This is a shot I forgot to include with the Red Hook collection; this guy was walking through the neighborhood with a straw hat and a push cart. Taken on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook Brooklyn...

The Red Hook Manifesto

Well ok, this is not a manifesto at all, but isn't The Red Hook Manifesto a kick ass title? Well I think so anyway ;) In the New York City Borough of Brooklyn, just south of downtown is a neighborhood called Red Hook. Most of what I knew of Red Hook before becoming a New Yorker myself came mainly from Harlan Ellison's book Memo's From Purgatory, where brass knuckle and .22 caliber pistols (called 'zipguns') packing juvenile street gangs ran the streets with impunity.

Fast forward fifty some years and Red Hook no longer possesses such an image. Red Hook is home to Brooklyn's Ikea store and several art galleries and restaurants. Its an interesting neighborhood and much like the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, it has a unique character and feel all it own which is completely different than its surrounding neighborhoods. There is one issue that one can't help but notice when visiting; unlike the majority of Brooklyn, its rather undeserved by public transportation. The majority of transportation that serves the area, ostensibly serves customers visiting Ikea.

Old street cars on display...

Random Trivia, really the only place in New York City where you can see the Statue of Liberty head on without going to Liberty Island...

Looking toward Ikea...

All these shots have been geotagged and are best if viewed large. The layout of the area is quite interesting and definitely recommend looking at the map on a few of these shots...