The
Red Hook StarRevue SOUTH BROOKLYN’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
OCTOBER 2017
NYCHA Construction Begins Five Years After Sandy
Special
FIVE YEARS AGO issue
by Nathan Weiser
The
Red Hook StarªRevue
THROUGH NOV. 15, 2012
“I
t is a great day for this community,” Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez said at the groundbreaking for the construction of Red Hook East and West. “Here we are in a path to recovery. In that sense, we have to make sure the rebuilding we do is one that is built to last.” The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), along with elected officials, came to Red Hook last month for a ceremony signifying the start of the much anticipated roof roof replacements for Red Hook East and West buildings. This will be the first stage of a massive project funded by FEMA, to improve conditions at NYCHA, which comes five years after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the neighborhood.
On the morning of September 5, NYCHA Chair Shola Olatoye along with 7th District Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz for Assembly District 51 and Red Hook Councilman Carlos Menchaca “broke ground” on the roof of 791 Hicks Street of a $63 million roof construction proj-
ect. Red Hook East Tenant Association President Frances Brown and Red Hook West Tenant Association President Lilly Marshall also made their way up to the roof.
“Today we are moving closer to repairing that damage {from Sandy} by building back stronger with storm resilient technology so that NYCHA residents will be safer in future storms,” Olatoye said in front of 791 Hicks Street. The FEMA funded work will also include new heating and electrical systems, landscaping and other work to better protect the Houses against future hurricanes.
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AR RARE MASTERPIECE ed Hook is not the only devastated community. Millions felt the storm, thousands are still feeling it. For us, here, in south Brooklyn we are community. A community of neighbors, friends and survivors. A community of heroes.
In lower Manhattan, shadows filled the darkened night streets, as people isolated themselves. In Breezy Point, Queens, people were forced to abandon their homes that were destroyed by fire. In Coney Island, looters created disruption
with their aggression and self-serving purposes. All over Brooklyn, police lie in wait at gas stations to prevent violence and riots. But not in Red Hook.
Red Hook created something else instead; something unique. Something the entire nation has taken notice of: community. Red Hook is being defined as “one of the hardest hit areas of the city,” by Reuters, Democracy Now! and CNN News. But we are also being defined by our efforts to stand together as community and support each other. Red Hook Initiative was first to organize. Fort Defiance, Home/made and Brooklyn Crab have all held barbecues to feed the community, despite their own losses. The circle of support continues to grow, as new headquarters for information pop up along Van Brunt. We became the source of our own needs from within. We have organized, rallied and supported each other. When there has been need, we have found a way to
fill it. And when devastation seemed to have knocked us down, we still found the strength to rebuild.
Up to this point, we have had very little government assistance. But our people have not gone hungry. Our buildings and streets remain dark, but our hearts and hopes are still lit. We may have been hit and damaged by Hurricane Sandy, but minute by minute we are gaining fortitude. Before the National Guard showed up before FEMA, NYCHA Con Edison or the Red Cross got here - we started rebuilding. Not one at a time, but as one. And as this masterpiece of a community gets to its feet and takes those first harrowing steps forward, the eyes of the world are watching in awe. There is much to be said about the human spirit of this community. No one has sat idly by, waiting for rescue. We have taken care of our own. And we will continue to do so. We are neighbors of a community that can be envied in every
corner of the world. We stand united in power, compassion and inspiration. We have found our greatest strength in a moment of great weakness.
We will rise above the ashes. We will rebuild. We will survive and grow stronger because we understand that two hands can do little, but multiple hands serving the same purpose will define and refine us. Thank you for illustrating what it means to be a community. Thank you for exemplifying the true model of human spirit. Thank you for giving me hope and setting the example for the kind of world I want to live in. Red Hook, you have stood for your neighbors, and they have stood for you. The healing process will be long and difficult. But every day, healing is happening. Day by day, we mend our homes and businesses. And along the way, we are weaving a beautiful tapestry that generations will remember and look upon as something of magnificence. —Kimberly Gail Price
Looking back on the day that changed us from a “sleepy community” to a “well-known sleepy community.”
Table of Contents Happenings ............................................2 John Heyer...........................................18 Religious News....................................4,5 Sandy Plus 5 ................................... 9-16 Student wins Curtis Prize ...................20 Coffee with Jo Anne ..............................6 Red Hook Star-Revue
SOUTH BROOKLYN’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
RED HOOK
The plan is to replace all 28 roofs of the Red Hook Houses by the end of 2019. Replacing the roofs will benefit more than 6,000 residents who will see fewer leaks and a better quality of life than with the existing roofs that they have. “The people of Red Hook deserve better and I am glad that the administration recognizes that it is about time to move forward in everything that needs to be done in Red Hook,” Ortiz said.
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