the red hook
Fishes, Purple, Tiny... A 60's Tale, page 11
STAR REVUE
FREE FOR ALL
FEBRUARY 2024
L O C A L LY P R O D U C E D J O U R N A L I S M
New Skateboard Park opens in Red Hook!
Story by Brian Abate, page 5 WALKING WITH COFFEE A Boomer talks with a Millennial. Boomer– R.J. Cirillo Millennial – Jacob Cooper
We are drinking coffee in Fort Greene ( 2 cups $11) R.J. “The term ‘Boomer’ has become almost a put down, what’s your reaction to that?”
Jacob Cooper
Jacob- “It is a general stereotype because we feel the attitude of the ‘Boomers’ towards us is negative, all that “avocado toast” stuff. But it’s not a bad thing really. I actually have some very fun people older than me that I like to hang out with.
R.J.- “So there are a few of us you’ll tolerate.” Jacob- “Yes a few.” (laughs)
R.J. “So, as boomer I always sat down with a cup of coffee. Now I see people, couples walking down the street, drinking their coffee from takeout cups and travel mugs. Why is that.?”
Jacob- “I think my friends are often in a hurry and it’s part of the routine. Like you are walking to work, going to the subway. It’s not a special moment, just part of the day. You pick it up and move on to your next destination as quickly as possible.”
R.J.- “So it’s all part of the flow, because the old term “coffee break” has been absorbed. It was a pause in the workday which my view has been abandoned in the name of efficiency.” Jacob- “When I worked in an office, the coffee break would be walking to get coffee, coming back and drinking it at their desk.” R.J. – “Got it. I went to Hunter college in 1969, it cost $300 a semester.” Jacob- Jealous!”
R.J.- “So the question is, what’s your reaction the sky rocketing costs of college tuition today?” Jacob- “Actually it did not
affect me personally. As long as I worked hard and studied hard, my parents were willing to cover the costs. I have friends who are burdened with debt, and I understand how hard it is.” R.J.-BTW where did you go to college? Jacob- “I went to Cornell.”
R.J.- “Oh, like Andy Bernard.” Jacob- “Yeah, the Nard Dog, haaa!”
R.J.- “I moved out when I was 18, rented a one bedroom on Albermarle Road for $90 a month. I know what rents are now, reaction?
(continued on page 15)
the red hook
STAR REVUE
481 Van Brunt Street, 11AR Brooklyn, NY 11231 (917) 652-9128 www.star-revue.com george@redhookstar.com
Editor & Publisher George Fiala Reporters
Nathan Weiser Brian Abate Katherine Rivard
Features
Kelsey Sobel
Culture
Roderick Thomas
Overseas man
Dario Muccilli
Insights
Joe Enright
Music
Kurt Gottschalk
Jazz
George Grella
Film
Dante A. Ciampaglia
Books
Michael Quinn
Cartoons
Marc Jackson Sophie Furman
WebMaster
Tariq Manon
Kids Editor
Marie Hueston
Design
George Fiala
Merry Band of Contributors Taylor Herzlich Howard Graubard Nino Pantano R.J. Cirillo
“Best Community Publication”
FOR EDITORIAL, ADVERTISING OR EMPLOYMENT INQUIRIES, email gbrook@pipeline.com
The Red Hook Star-Revue is published every month. Founded June 2010 by George Fiala and Frank Galeano
POLITICS: The Past of Brooklyn is Golden (part one) by Howard Graubard
Note: I intended this to be just one piece, but to give former Borough President Howard Golden, whence he came from and where he went, his due turned out, even with heavy editing, to require far too many words for just one column, so, in this effort, I’m mostly going to set the scene for his eventual ascension as Brooklyn’s Leader and use a second column to cover most of his period as Beep.
H
owie Golden, who just passed away at 98, become Brooklyn Boro President in 1977 and served until 2001, but, in some ways, the best frame of reference for understating him may be to watch “Guys and Dolls.” The legend goes that when Marty Markowitz first arrived at Boro Hall during the transition to his administration from Golden’s, he couldn’t find a computer in the place, because Golden wouldn’t have them. Having gotten emails now and then during Golden’s tenure from Golden’s land use guru, Jon Benguiat, I’m thinking someone might have sneaked in a laptop now and then, but the legend, if it was indeed a legend, fit the image. Golden was a throwback even when I first met him back in 1983, attending a Young Dems dinner, cigarette and glass in hand, working the room, but mostly screaming over the top of his head about Ed Koch’s latest indignity (they hated each other) while visibly a little worse for the alcohol. Tales of Golden, and his old pal former Queens Councilman/County Leader Matty Troy loudly working the circuit while drinking the town dry were (and still are) a bit of a legend during their Council days, which had by then come to an end. Golden was like a Jimmy Breslin column come to life, with Court Street taking the place of Queens Boulevard. It was a side of him few saw soon later on, as Golden, a diabetic, quit the sauce in order to save his own life. I’m not sure that anyone ever saw him smile again. Not even Golden’s worst enemy would
say that Howie didn’t love Brooklyn, but, as I’ve observed before, the Brooklyn Howie loved no longer existed. As Borough President, his emblematic showpiece event was “Welcome Back to Brooklyn Day” a big festival in which every year the Borough debased itself by honoring people who made good after they left the place. It was pure Howie nostalgia, with a vision that ranged from Dubrow’s to Lundy’s to the Dodgers.
Howard Golden back in the 1980's giving an award to local newspaper publishers Mike and Dnynia Armstrong
Golden wanted to revive Brooklyn, but he wanted to do so by looking backwards rather than forward. Although, in fairness, many of the efforts to revitalize Brooklyn often credited to Marty Markowitz were in fact initiated by Golden, including downtown’s MetroTech.
Golden was a product of the clubhouse, back when clubhouses were clubhouses and the machine was really a machine. In their book, “The Abuse of Power,” Jack Newfield and Paul Dubrul portrayal of Golden as a “terminal cynic” give us some of the pungent flavor of the smokey backrooms: Our favorite insight into the mentality of a machine politician was given us inadvertently one night in September 1974. We ran into Brooklyn District Leader and City Councilman Howard Golden one night during a Democratic primary for a congressional seat. We asked the recklessly extroverted Golden why he and his political club were working so hard to re-elect Bertram Podell, when Podell was under indictment for bribery. “We’re for Bert only because we have inside information that he’s guilty and will be convicted,” Golden explained in a confidential whisper. We confessed we did not follow his reasoning. “Schmuck,” the Councilman said. “If
we help Podell win the primary and then he is convicted, that way we get to pick his replacement, and stop that kid Steve Solarz. We want to save this seat in Congress for our guy, Leonard Silverman,”… But the logic of I’m-for-him-becauseknow-he-is-corrupt remains the terminal absurdity of the clubhouse ethos. Howard Golden philosopher of the Brooklyn Democracy, has since risen to become borough president. He has the potential of becoming an unconscious Plunkett. And Golden was not merely a product of the clubhouse cultures, but of the white outer-borough reaction which sprung from the cultural upheaval of the 1960s, as well as from the demographic changes in his home turf. Golden came out of Boro Park’s Roosevelt club. In the 50s, the area was a bastion of New Deal Democrats whose leadership supported Adlai Stevenson for the Democratic Presidential nomination against NY’s own Governor, Averill Harriman, much to the consternation of the County Organization, but pretty much in response to their own constituents. Boro Park had been the site of treacherous political battles and infighting, and some of the tales I learned are worth a column of their own. The (continued on page 4)
with thanks to my folks
Page 2 Red Hook Star-Revue
www.star-revue.com
February 2024
GEORGE'S THOUGHTS
A lot to like here!
I
'm always proud of the monthly issues we produce, but I'm super proud of this one.
First of all - we introduce a brand new advertiser! St. Paul's Carroll Street is a historic church on Carroll and Clinton. Our Erin DeGregorio wrote about the restoration of their votive ship, a story which won both state and national press awards. They will be talking to you through our pages every month, keeping you informed of their services and events. Frank DiIorio, who owns Red Hook's bike shop bearing his name, is using our full back page to announce his move to Pioneer Street. Finally, one of Red Hook's biggest success story, Apotheke, has taken out a large ad to promote a special Valentine's Day event. What this enables me to do is to add more pages with more articles, making the paper a more interesting read. Among the new features this month is a highly interesting report from a community board meeting in which Victoria Alexander was able to effectively advocate for the community, as well told by H. Emad Ansari, a former community board member himself. Howard Graubard's remembrance of Howard Golden, who was a Brooklyn Borough President at a time when the BP's had real power, tells a very important story about his life, told in more detail here than anywhere else I've seen. Reporter Brian Abate offers timely suggestions about celebrating both Valentine's Day and Super Bowl Sunday, and we even were able to publish a poem that a reader sent us. Another new contributor is Jeremy Skehan, who some will know from behind the bar Sunny's, who contributes a great story about Sea and Sail, a unique new bakery in the Columbia
Waterfront District. Another story I really like is an interview that Brian had with Council Member Alexa Aviles. Despite being term limited (which is an idea that I'm increasingly less in favor of) she is using her time in office to do as much good as she can, both in Sunset Park and here. And in addition to our always provocative film and music coverage, we begin a serialization of a new book by Bob Racioppo, who spent some of his formative years playing bass for one of the major bands that emerged from CBGBs. His band, the Shirts, came from Sunset Park and achieved international acclaim.
Assemblyman Dan Squadron, Councilmember Brad Lander, and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez hold a press event advocating shore power in Red Hook, Jan. 3, 2011. The Queen Mary 2 is in the background.
Cruise Ship Pollution
B
ack in 2010, Red Hook resident Adam Armstrong began a mission to bring shore power here. Shore Power is a way to power berthed cruise ships with electricity rather than the fossil fuel they burn at sea. Twenty million dollars later a rarely used shore power apparatus was built on the pier. Armstrong was able to get all local politicians on board to raise the money. Ecology is a good vote getter. I asked Armstrong whether there had been a scientific study done to make sure the money was well spent, and he looked at me as if I were an idiot, saying "everybody knows" that ships cause pollution, and lots of people in Red Hook have asthma. I pressed the issue, probably because I went to Bronx Science, learning that science matters. He told me a measuring device would be too expensive, and besides, they've done studies in Oakland that prove it. I've been to Oakland, and they have many more ships than we do.
Feb 4, 11:04 am: readings in the green range-good.
Feb 4, 3:00 pm: readings are even better.
Last month the email newsletter for Red Hook Initiative proudly announced that they were now monitoring Red Hook air. They won a grant to install air pollution monitors throughout the neighborhood. It turns out the PurpleAir monitor they use only costs $300! Not that expensive anymore. RHI invited everybody to monitor pollution in real time. They gave the website URL, which is https://bit. ly/482zEUe
have been, and it seems that Red Hook air quality echoes the air quality in the region, sometimes bad, often good, probably depending on the weather.
So now everyone can monitor the air. I
From now on the Star-Revue will be tracking air whenever a cruise ship is in town, which is usually on Sundays (https://nycruise.com/brooklyn-terminal/schedule-bct/). A ship was in last Sunday. I took hourly readings, two of which are reproduced above. Green is good. I'll report again next month.
Cartoon Section with Marc and Sophie
Red Hook Star-Revue
www.star-revue.com
February 2024, Page 3
SHORT SHORTS: BY STAR-REVUE STAFF
Aviles chairs immigration
Councilmember Alexa Aviles has become chair of the Immigration Committee. “Now, as the incoming chair of the Committee on Immigration, I have some big shoes to fill and must acknowledge all of the work my predecessor, Shahana Hanif, has done on behalf of immigrant New Yorkers,” Aviles said. “At a time when we have a mayor dedicating precious time and resources to scapegoating immigrants every time the wind blows, I will continue Council Member Hanif’s bold legacy of cutting through the noise. I will fight for the rights of our city’s beautiful immigrant communities and their many aspirations, challenges, and needs.”
workers while undertaking this project. The program includes eight automatic monitoring stations around the perimeter of the construction site that operate continuously and monitor air quality for particulate matter and chemicals, including petroleum. To date, all air quality readings have been within public health guidelines except for the air qualities issues throughout the city from Canadian wildfires last summer.
HOWARD GOLDEN
kowitz became a reformer a year after Kottler and got beaten by Golden for Council; it wasn’t even close.
Roosevelt Club’s leadership never pretended to be reformers. It had its patronage appointees, and it made its judges, but the club’s Councilman, Julius Moskowitz (elected 1961), and its Assemblyman Joe Kottler (elected 1958), were outspoken and often courageous liberals.
Golden was perhaps the Council’s most outspoken Lindsay critic. When Lindsay, a liberal Republican, joined the Democrats, Golden publicly stated “He was a loser as a Republican. I never hear anybody say anything good about him now, and he’d be a loser as a Democrat.”
For more info write community construction liaison Valentina Mascaro GowanusCCL@johnson-asberry.com.
Kottler, a former Assistant DA, and a trained actor (most noteworthy as the doorman in “Rosemary’s Baby”) crusaded against prosecutorial overreach, and served as pro bono counsel for student demonstrators; Moskowitz was an outspoken supporter of methadone maintenance programs, outflanking liberal mayor John Lindsay from the left. Both tended to be mavericks, with Moskowitz often voting with Manhattan reformers in the face of organization pressure.
Reynoso on garbage
“Today, New York City is taking an important step toward its environmental sustainability goals and increased safety and worker protections in the commercial sanitation industry. For years, private sanitation workers, labor, environmental, and safe streets advocates have fought to reign in the private sanitation industry– an industry that has been dangerous, and even deadly, for far too long.
Progress on Gowanus sewage Today we are moving toward realizThe NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is making progress in constructing the underground storage tanks that will capture millions of gallons of combined sewage and rainwater that would otherwise overflow into the Gowanus Canal during rainstorms. DEP’s project will also create new public waterfront open space and amenities for the Gowanus community.
If you happen to be in New York City, don’t leave without stopping in Red Hook to see one of the best sculpture gardens, art galleries and blacksmithing studios in the world. You may see the blacksmith at work as well as some of his more than 60 metal sculptures, including a 22 foot dinosaur. Most of the sculptures are not for sale. Free refreshments wll be provided. Thank you, Tony Cuonzo
Sculpture Garden and Gallery
Blacksmithing and Antique Gates
The DEP has worked with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and has implemented a community air monitoring program to monitor emissions and protect residents and
ing the goals of the commercial waste zones legislation. It is important that DSNY continuously reassess implementation and course correct as needed so we can achieve the best iteration of the program possible. I stand ready to continue to support DSNY in their work of implementation so we can achieve the labor, environmental, and quality-of-life objectives laid out in the bill I sponsored. New York City must seize on this opportunity to create a private sanitation industry that delivers for workers and all New Yorkers.”
(718) 964-7422 tony.cuonzo@gmail.com 102 Dikeman Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231 Page 4 Red Hook Star-Revue
(continued from page 2)
Both were also born in the early part of century, and there were younger men with ambitions, mostly Court Street lawyers, who didn’t want to wait their turns, and didn’t share their liberal principles (or, if they did, could successfully suppress them). They included Howie Golden and his law partner and best friend, Gerry Garson. Gerry once overheard myself and my girlfriend at a political dinner, talking about the idealistic reasons we had been drawn to politics, and Gerry shot back, “we just got into politics because we wanted to meet judges.” By 1966, much of Jewish Brooklyn had soured on John Lindsay, to the extent they’d ever liked him at all. Moreover, the Stevenson-loving residents of Boro Park were being replaced by ultra-Orthodox Jews. Moskowitz and Kottler had just gotten their District Leader to the Civil Court, but rather than trying to placate the Young Turks in their midst, Moskowitz attempted to take the slot himself, but the two older men had, despite some gestures to their new constituents, pretty much lost touch with their changing district, and Golden, who could smell the changes in the zeitgeist, won the job and then took over the club, leaving Kottler and Moskowitz politically homeless. The two electeds, once the best of buddies, angrily blamed each other, only reconciling when it was too late to undo the damage. Kottler joined the reformers and, seeing the handwriting on the wall, made a kamikaze run for Congress in a district dominated by Staten Island; Mos-
Golden concentrated mostly on quality of life issues and local concerns, but rarely missed a chance to take a shot at Lindsay. Though smart enough to take up a liberal issue when he smelled it was a vote-getter, he was often an out and out reactionary; when the gay rights bill came up in 1978. Golden, took to the floor and quoted the Bible (a book one suspects was less close to his heart than “Plunkett of Tammany Hall”) “Homosexuality,” he said, “Is an abomination.” (His record on LGBT issues will be discussed further in Part Two). Now and then, Golden broke with the organization, most notably backing his friend, Hugh Carey, in the 1974 Democratic Primary for Governor, which ended up making him more valuable to the organization after Carey won. Most valuable though, was that, unlike much of the Brooklyn Council membership, Golden was super-smart and a shrewd player. No one ever called him incompetent. He worked hard and he played hard. When Boro President Sebastian Leone was elected a Judge, Golden wanted the job so badly and played it so well, he was able to resign his Council seat to a month early, his confidence scaring off his potential opponents. He knew his delegation would elevate him to the vacancy. Filling Golden’s Council seat revealed a chink in his armor at home. Still Boro Park’s District Leader, Golden had the seat filled by Eddie Rappaport, a Court Street crony who was so assimilated in his Judaism that he sent his kids to Ethical Culture School. One Boro Park Rabbi was alleged to scream upon learning this that “Ethical Culture ain’t ethical and it ain’t culture. Eddie Rappaport is a shaygets!” In the next year’s primary, the local ultra-Orthodox establishment backed Rappaport, but the community revolted, mostly supporting a former JDL leader named Dov Hikind. With Boro Park divided, Flatbush’s Susan Alter, an Orthodox, but decidedly non-Haredi candidate backed by reformers won the (continued on page 12)
wine | spirits | sake | cider vintage glassware
Gift Certificates Available
ORDER AT WETWHISTLEWINES.COM
357 Van Brunt 718-576-3143 Open Seven Days
www.star-revue.com
February 2024
Red Hook becomes a skateboard destination by Brian Abate
R
ed Hook has a brand new BMX bike and skatepark at Harold Ickes Playground on the corner of Van Brunt St. and Hamilton Avenue. The project was first announced byBorough President Eric Adams in 2017 after kids from Red Hook called for a skatepark in the neighborhood. After a few years with a temporary skatepark but no construction, construction abruptly started early in 2023. The work went quickly and was finished before the anticipated completion date, which was March 2024— the park is already open and filled with skateboarders. We brought Ian Clarke, founder of the NYC Skateboard Coalition to the park. He told us about the three elements that skateparks can have. "They are a park/flow bowl, a pool, and a street area. Skateparks like this are built all over the world, but we don’t have one in New York City with all three. There is a skatepark in Montauk that recently opened that has all three elements. NYC still hasn’t done that. “The Red Hook Skatepark has the street elements and a small to medium-sized flow bowl so it has one and a half of the elements. I think they did a really nice job within the space they had to work with. “A skatepark is more than concrete, it’s a community. A skatepark with these elements builds a great community with a full range of New York skateboarders from ages 6 to 60. Clarke offered some history: “Back in California in the ‘70s, there was a drought and people were banned from
Aviles brings Red Hook together with EDC to discuss Cruise Ships by Brian Abate District 38 Council Member Alexa Aviles, representatives of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC,) and members of the Red Hook community met at the Miccio Center on Jan. 16 for a community meeting. Approximately 50 people attended. In December 2022, Mayor Adams announced that MSC cruises would be coming to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. The announcement was a complete surprise to the community, to this paper, and even to Council Member Aviles. Last September, again with no community input, the EDC reached an agreement to expand cruise operations with cruise companies Norwegian and Carnival. In response, Aviles and other politicians proposed Intro 1050, a bill that would require the use of shore power by cruise terminal operators as well as
Red Hook Star-Revue
filling up their swimming pools with water. People started skating in these empty pools and that became a thing. That’s how skating a pool got started.” Clarke is originally from England and he began skateboarding in 1975. He now lives in Harlem and in 2017 he founded NYC Skateboard Coalition which “advocates for New York City’s skateparks and hosts NYC-based skateboard events.” He led a campaign to repair Riverside skatepark which was in bad shape in the early 2010s. He also organized the annual Riverside Skate Jam starting in 2013 to bring attention to the park. In 2019 the NYC Skateboard Coalition petitioned to have the park renamed after Andy Kessler, who created the park which opened up in 1996. Kessler died in 2009 when he was just 48 after suffering an allergic reaction to a wasp sting. In 2020, Community Board 7 approved the renaming of the skatepark to Andy Kessler Skatepark. “It’s a good skatepark because they’ve got transition [going from the ground to a vertical ramp or another incline] and then regular street,” said Sultan Abbasi, another skateboarder. “I started skating about four or five years ago. One day my friend just said ‘Want to go learn how to skate?’ That’s how I got started.” Clarke, who was one of about six people using the park at the time of this interview, offered: “One of the great things about skateboarding is the community. “This is part of the skateboard culture. I’m going to be 62 this year and Sultan is probably a teenager. I’m not sure where he’s from but as soon as I walk in, he says ‘What’s up buddy, how are you doing? What do you think of the park?’ Right
community traffic mitigation plans. Shore power is a way of supplying electrical power to a docked ship so they don't have to burn fuel. The four topics discussed were traffic mitigation, facilitated by Matias Kalwill, shore power, facilitated by Adam Armstrong, economic development, facilitated by Victoria Alexander, and transparency, facilitated by Kiki Valentine Rakowsky. Kalwill asked EDC about traffic. EDC's Mikelle Adgate responded. “What we did beginning in the summer was we immediately began to bring in assistance with traffic enforcement agents and we hired 13 agents to supplement the NYPD.” Members of EDC also said they were collecting and studying traffic data. The response from those in attendance as well as Kalwill was that while those were positive steps they wanted to see more. “We appreciate what has been done but I don’t think it’s enough,” Kalwill said. “As a neighborhood, we’re dealing with a lot between the big Amazon facilities and the cruise terminal, and we need to see bigger steps taken.”
away we’re friends and there’s an authentic bond that is struck.” Clarke said that one of the big reasons he wants New York City to have skateparks with all three elements is because that would mean the park would have something for all skateboarders and it would bring many different people together. Clarke was excited about an announcement at Mayor Adams's recent State of the City address detailing $24 million to be allocated for creating two new parks and renovating two others. One of the renovated parks will be Brower Skate Park in Crown Heights, and one of the new skateparks will be in Mount Prospect Park, which is close to Prospect Park, next to the Central Library at Grand Army Plaza. “I’m really excited about Mount Prospect because it’s going to be 40,000 square feet,” Clarke said. “This could become a huge moment and I hope we start seeing more skateparks with all three elements: flow bowl, pool, and street. This new Prospect Park skatepark is due to the efforts of Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Martin Maher and the Brooklyn Skate Garden. “For the longest time, the Parks Department had this three-foot policy and they were just building little skateparks. For several years, the NYC Skateboard Coalition worked to challenge the three-foot rule and finally found a champion in Commissioner Maher. We were finally able to break down that rule which we announced to the skateboarding community back in 2019. Now we’re pushing to get better skateparks built.” The three-foot rule means that banks couldn’t be more than three feet tall.
Regarding the ships themselves, one of the big concerns and frustrations for both Armstrong and those in attendance was a New York Times study that found that just 30 of 96 ships used shore power between 2016 and 2019. This happened because there are no laws requiring cruise ships to plug in and use the existing facility. “What the EDC should take away from this portion of the conversation is we cannot allow this pollution to continue, and we must be more collaborative,” Armstrong said. “We ensure that if a shore-power-capable ship docks into Brooklyn, they make every attempt to connect,” said Sudhir Puthran of the EDC. The cruise companies have said they will make new ships capable of using shore power by 2028. New York City is officially giving the companies until 2035 as the year they will have to start plugging in. This led to confusion with those in the audience demanding clarity on the issue. One of the most important things to come out of the meeting was that EDC officially gave its word that they will
www.star-revue.com
Ian Clarke, founder of the NYC Skateboard Coalition
The rule was not official but for years it was generally accepted by the NYC Parks Department. Now, that is no longer the case. He spoke about the sport. “Once you get a prebuilt skateboard, you can start off slowly,” Abbasi said. “First just start learning how to push and then after that, you can start to learn some tricks.” “Skateboarding isn’t for everyone,” Clarke said. “It’s really difficult to master and I like that part of it. It’s not something you can pick up and learn in a second. You have to put a lot of work in. It’s something that you earn by putting in the work and you can’t fake it. “Stay in school. Don’t give up on other things because you want to become a professional skateboarder. Do it because you love it.” In addition to the well built skating area, the new park includes benches, chess tables, nice landscaping and even a sculpture.
enforce the 2028 date. This also relates to the call for transparency. Everyone wants to have a clear idea of what is being done and when changes will happen and in this case, the EDC gave a clear and transparent answer. Alexander, who spoke in behalf of the Red Hook Business Alliance, expressed frustration that EDC and cruise companies have not done much to help the neighborhood from an economic standpoint. “Formula E [which held a race in Red Hook for six consecutive years from 2017-2022] worked for years to build neighborhood relationships,” she said. “Most importantly they learned from mistakes made in the beginning. These are not qualities we have seen from the EDC or the cruise companies. “We lost Formula E because of the city’s cruise contract. Formula E had measurable positive impacts for much of the Red Hook community. This cruise agreement must recognize that it begins with a net negative economic impact due to taking away For(continued on page 6)
February 2024, Page 5
CRUISE TERMINAL (continued from page 5)
mula E from our economy. “The terminal is a terrible tourist experience and this has negative conse-
Find Sanctuary in the City
"Alexander expressed frustration that EDC has not done much to help the neighborhood from an economic standpoint." quences. When passengers arrive to blank walls featuring Marty Markowitz [whose terms as Brooklyn borough president ended in 2013] and a large parking lot with no information about local attractions it actively communicates that there is nothing here," said Alexander, pointedly. In response, Adgate acknowledged,
“We do need to improve the cruise terminal to emphasize the local businesses and things that Red Hook has to offer to folks coming off of the cruises. We’re very interested in doing a walkthrough with community members and local businesses. We want to improve signage and learn what activities we should be promoting. We know we have to do more.” The meeting ended up lasting more than the scheduled two hours as the audience was very engaged, asking a lot of questions and making their opinions clear. Aviles gave closing remarks at the end of the meeting. “We want to figure out how we can bring these next steps into action,” Aviles said. “We want a more aggressive timeframe and 2028 doesn’t work for us. We want 100 percent shore power and we want to continue this conversation in earnest. We want a functional, working waterfront. We are going to keep pushing.”
We are a parish of The Episcopal Church, a part of the Anglican Communion throughout the world, dedicated to the worship of God and to the care of God’s people. Come share in our mission to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.
Mass on Sundays at 11:00 am
✠ Find us on social media @stpaulscarrollst Congress Member Alexa Aviles leading the Red Hook meeting. (photo by Abate)
2023
Page 6 Red Hook Star-Revue
www.star-revue.com
February 2024
Carshare reduces pollution and is here to stay by Katherine Rivard
B
eginning at the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, Clinton Street stretches northward through Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and up to Cadman Plaza beside the Brooklyn Bridge. Iconic brownstones line the street, gaining in elegance and value as you move towards Brooklyn Heights. But look at one of these stately houses from across the street and you’ll realize that your view is almost certainly obscured by a short curtain of parked cars. Attempting to provide an alternative to personal car ownership—something that could make a dent in our crowded curb lanes—the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) implemented the city’s curbside carshare program in 2018. Like many transformative programs that the city fears receiving pushback for, the curbside carshare program began as a pilot. The city partnered with several private carshare companies and designated over 280 parking spaces across the five boroughs for use by the companies, though this number dropped to closer to 230 spaces by 2023. Although some of the reserved spaces are in municipal parking facilities, all of the locations within the 11231 ZIP code are curbside and managed by Zipcar. To use the cars, drivers sign up for a membership, provide payment and driver’s license information, and reserve a vehicle. Cars must be picked up and dropped off in the same location, and while drivers are responsible for any tolls, traffic, or parking tickets incurred while using the vehicle, members do not have to worry about finding a parking spot or car insurance. Cars in the neighborhood start at about $15.50 an hour or $110 a day, with additional discounts available for NYCHA residents and SNAP Program participants. There are currently about five vehicles listed in Red Hook spread across three locations: 1 Beard Street, 135 Coffey Street, and 110 Dykeman. There are about seven other locations throughout Carroll
My Top 8 Podcast Recommendations by Kelsey Sobel
B
etween cleaning the house, taking my dog for walks, or commuting to work, I’m in constant need of a fresh pod recommendation. The only thing worse than a cliffhanger or a podcast with advertisements is not knowing which one to select. In today’s content saturated world, it can be overwhelming to find quality podcasts for every mood and occasion. Below are eight of my top recommendations - from true crime to fashion commentary, these podcasts will keep you entertained through the winter months.
Red Hook Star-Revue
Gardens and Cobble Hill.
Pandemic changes car ownership numbers
Much has changed since the pilot cum program began (it became an official DOT program and expanded in 2023). The pandemic caused a significant increase in car purchases across the city. In 2021, the New York Times reported the increase, noting that Boerum Hill residents sometimes circled the neighborhood for 15-45 minutes before finding a spot. Just a few months before, between August and October 2020, the Department of Motor Vehicles saw a 45% increase in vehicles registered in Brooklyn. This increase in car ownership occurred despite the slow return to in-person work, suggesting that many of these cars spend their lives parked in the curb lanes for weekend use or the occasional big grocery haul. While car ownership trends have shifted over the years, the program’s goals have remained the same. Carsharing is meant to improve local air quality, reduce congestion, lower household transportation costs, and improve mobility options for New Yorkers. In general, the city continues to push for more efficient uses of its streets and to nudge residents to walk, bike and take transit over driving. In a 2017 presentation to Brooklyn Community Board 6, DOT noted that it believed shared-use mobility complemented “greener” and healthier transportation options. The idea is that carshares can help reduce the number of total cars, reserving driving only for necessary trips like the occasional weekend jaunt out of town or a large Wegmans haul. In some neighborhoods, there has been a staunch pushback against the removal of parking spaces for the program. A 2023 article from The City was critical of the program, and noted that DOT had failed to do adequate outreach to businesses and organizations when selecting private parking spaces to use in the Bronx. The com-
Bone Valley
Your classic true crime 101, yet elegantly reported and narrated over the course of six meaty episodes by the earnest author Gilbert King, (and his very green assistant) this story follows the conviction of Leo Schofield, who was accused of murdering his wife in 1987. Although grisly in the depiction of Michelle Schofield’s murder, the podcast captures the nuances of the justice system, the power of forgiveness, and those who persevere to find justice against all odds. All set against a steamy Florida backdrop, you’ll find yourself thinking about Leo long after the story ends.
Too Far With Rachel Kaly and Robby Hoffman
Admittedly not to everyone’s taste, these two queer Jewish comedians are
munity board featured in the article also recommended that DOT use private parking spaces, as car ownership in the neighborhood is high; the article does not expand on this idea, though that recommendation seems to directly oppose one of the potential benefits of the program—residents switching from car ownership (and parking on the street) to using carshares when necessary.
Companies pay per spot
The article also quotes a community board member who was particularly perplexed that the companies were paying the city for on-street parking spots instead of parking elsewhere, thus taking parking spaces from residents. From another angle though, non-car owning residents can always make a similar argument—why do residents with cars get free space on the street, taking away potential public space from everyone? While the companies receive permits for exclusive use of the spaces, they pay $475 a year per spot. According to DOT, the carshare program has been relatively successful. Between the first and second year of the pilot, trips increased by 35% and the number of users per space increased by 33%. A 2021 report shared by DOT suggests that the pilot led to about 1,140 cars being shed or suppressed, though because a high percentage of the study’s participants did not own cars, the program likely helps to prevent new car purchases more than it leads to car owners “shedding” their cars. Given its success, DOT announced last March that an additional 270 parking spaces would be added in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
Advertising needed
Despite the claimed wins, there are still some flaws in the program. Updates on the program and research on its effectiveness seem few and far between. A bigger concern may be DOT’s lack of marketing around the
wildly adept at burning an hour talking about anything from hematomas to cake. In their world, nothing is sacred and Robby Hoffman has a bitingly sharp and fantastically irreverent sense of humor. The tension and forward momentum in the show comes from the dynamic and often prickly energy between the two hosts, who bicker, insult one another, or simply talk out of turn. If you come from a boisterous family or enjoy some interpersonal tension, this pod is for you.
Every Outfit
Laura Gerroni and Chelsea Fairless, both born and raised in Los Angeles, first began the podcast as a rewatch series for Sex in The City but have branched out to all areas of pop culture—commentary on the Kardashians, every TV show and movie you should be watching, as well as im-
www.star-revue.com
program. According to DOT’s website, there are up to 353 locations at this time, 267 of which are operated by Zipcar, yet many residents do not know about the program. Rather than hoping residents see the spaces or read the signs next to them, marketing these spots and highlighting the benefits of carsharing would help ensure the program is accepted as a legitimate mode of transportation. Ultimately though, the goal is not to simply swap the rows of parked privately owned cars with carshare vehicles: there are many alternative uses for NYC’s curb space. What if an entire parking lane on Clinton Street was lifted up to the level of the sidewalk, doubling the currently narrow walking area, or adding extra space for benches, hopscotch, and jump rope? What if a permanent, protected bike lane was added in the extra space, making the street safer and potentially encouraging would-be cyclists? While a majority of the cars parked on the street in our neighborhood are not used daily, some only being moved for alternate side parking, newly opened public space formerly used by private cars could provide more space for people. To share your own ideas of how you’d transform our streets, contact me at Katherine.Rivard1@gmail.com.
pressively detailed commentary on high fashion. The women are the best of friends and their genuine appreciation for one another makes the show an addictive and easy weekly listen. (Highlight episodes include Titanic and Clueless - and yes, they’re talking about the movies).
All There Is With Anderson Cooper - Season Two
If you don’t like crying in public settings, make sure you’re alone for the podcast, the follow up to Anderson Cooper’s first season, which found Anderson diving headfirst into his raw grief after the death of his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt. Not only does Cooper usher us into the invitingly rarefied air of his cultured New York world, but his honesty and vulner(continued on page 8)
February 2024, Page 7
PODCASTS
along with a genuine look into the unshakeable power of female friendship makes this a binge worthy listen.
ability makes for a refreshingly real listen. No matter where you are on your grief or loss journey, you’re sure to find something that resonates.
The Turning Room of Mirrors - Season Two
(continued from page 8)
The Girlfriends
This incredibly moving and somehow funny podcast follows the story of a Jewish doctor, Bob Bierenbaum, and the subsequent women he dates after murdering his wife. The murder, while devastating, is sharply set against the vivacious group of women who band together to take the doctor down. The deceased woman’s sister, Alayne Katz, has a seductively gravelly voice and the personality to go along with it - the fierceness with which she advocates for women will give you chills. A notably excellent original score,
Page 8 Red Hook Star-Revue
This underrated gem, produced by the Lanz sisters is a delicate and sensitive exploration into the psychological grip George Balanchine established in the ballet world. Interviewing several of Balanchine’s former ballerinas and providing a detailed look into the intricacies of the professional dance world, the host, Erica Lanz, herself a former dancer, captures the exquisite pain and exquisite beauty Balanchine created. In a touching episode, Erica discusses her own career with her sister, gently probing into her complicated feelings towards ballet.
Scamanda
Make sure you cancel your weekend plans because the deeper you get into this story of lies, Christ and cancer, the more you’ll want to hear the conclusion. Without too many spoilers, this is the story of a young woman and the twisted web of lies she spreads across her tight knit California community. Embezzlement, an overworked but dogged detective, the FBI - this story has it all. Hosted by Charlie Webster, who provides excellent pacing and narration throughout.
Benita Alexander, the woman he begins a relationship with, is a force to be reckoned with, and following her story is devastating and inspiring. Alexander leaves no stone unturned in her hunt for the truth, and turns an unflinching eye on her own part in the atrocious crimes committed.
Doctor Death: Season Two This stranger than fiction story, part medical mystery, part romance/thriller follows the charismatic and cosmopolitan Italian doctor, Paolo Macchiarini, and his quest to pioneer synthetic bronchial transplants. TV producer
www.star-revue.com
February 2024
Civic Association's first meeting of 2024
T
by Nathan Weiser
here were 12 people at the meeting at the Red Hook Rec Center, plus reps from Dan Goldman and Alexa Aviles.
Red Hook Civic Association,” Kean said. “It is one person. They are very beholden to the way things had been done until now.”
Mayra Molina, the new field representative for Congressman Dan Goldman, and Christina Bottego, the legislative and budget director in Council Member Alexa Aviles’s office, came to hear what Red Hook's concerns.
People have asked what the other group is about.
Nico Kean stated that at they have previously voted on six position statements, which are available on the forum and on their website (redhookcivic.org). The organization has a Facebook and Instagram presence.
“I think for me what is exciting about considering a new name is the sense of writing our own story and our own history without casting judgements or comparisons to the previous history,” Matias Kalwill said. “We can write our own history in terms of Civic here and perhaps our own name helps with that.”
Position statements include an interim library, an express bus to Manhattan, safe streets, Truckpocalypse, Hamilton Avenue and second weekends in Red Hook, a way to promote arts, Red Hook businesses and Red Hook as a destination. The Civic Association has discussed second weekend with Red Hook Business Alliance. They proposed voting on a vision statement at the next meeting. People can still offer suggestions. This is the current statement: “We see a caring and united Red Hook that celebrates its diversity, and provides a green and healthy urban environment for all its citizens. This includes well maintained housing, equal and ample educational and cultural opportunities, clean air and water, safe streets and adequate public transit, high quality parkland for physical and recreational activity, and protection from flooding.” They next discussed exploring a new name for the organization. The Red Hook Civic Association has existed for decades but it’s a much different today than it used to be. “There is in existence another organization calling itself the "Original"
Community Board 6 looks at Red Hook by H. Emad Ansari On a cold wet Thursday night at the end of January, the CB6 Landmarks and Land Use Committee meeting seemed reasonably well-attended at first, about thirty-five present in a presentation space at the back of the Van Alen Institute. Most of those present, however, represented the City’s various agencies and were in attendance to support the City’s joint presentation of the Red Hook Coastal Resiliency Project, which is now open for public comment. The Resiliency Project—a large-scale land reclamation and development project along the Red Hook waterfront—was prefaced by the more routine Committee business of approving modifications to residences in Historic Districts and, in the case of 92 King St. in Red Hook, deliberating upon a proposed exception to land use rules for the development of a vacant lot.
Red Hook Star-Revue
“What I understand is they are fact gatherers presenting events that are coming up, police meetings, things like that,” Kean said.
“A huge goal for me personally is just to promote engagement with all the various issues because we all have more in common than not,” Kean said. One possible name that was brought up was Red Hook Assembly. Another was emphasizing the word neighborhood in the name since they are all neighbors and the word would be welcoming. It was added that having the word neighborhood is important so it’s known that it’s for the whole community. Another suggestion was Red Hook Organized Citizens (ROC). They will wait until March to vote, which will be the one year anniversary of this new Civic Association. This will give time for more conversations. Imre Kovacs, who chairs the services committee, gave an update on the search for a backup library location while Red Hook Library is being renovated. It has been difficult finding an interim site. Recently they have heard that there might be a site on Columbia Street that could be available. “The first action that this association took was to support the work of This last proved more contentious, and perhaps illustrated the various tensions that surround the Community Board’s relationship with a part of the District that has been gentrifying. Community mistrust of developers’ intentions and a desire to retain control over the type of development that is occurring is on one side. A developer who believes that the community board is at worst a thorn in the side of eventual approval in the convulted ULURP process is on the other side. In the middle is a community board’s limitations over the process, sometimes resulting in an escalation of tensions and community frustrations. 92 King Street was represented by attorney Chris Wright. It is a vacant lot by Coffey Park. The lot, described by Mr. Wright as an unusual lot, measures about 25 feet wide and 75 feet in length. The current owner and developer acquired the lot in July 2021, using the corporate alias Dream SDS LLC. The owner wished to develop a three-floor, single-family occupancy residence. The proposed develop-
the Friends of the Library, which has been around for a long time,” Kovacs said. "Aviles went to bat on this extensively towards the end of last year and revealed to us that they had considered shipping containers and churches,” Kean said. There was a property identified that seemed perfect as a reading room that could have been supplemented by
"Lutz said that DOT said at the first truck study meeting they could make low cost changes to the streets quickly but it’s a year and a half later and none have been done." the book mobile. Aviles advised making noise about the issue. The BASIS school had a search committee to find a library which was unsuccessful. Next was the bus to Manhattan. The previous association almost made it happen in 2007, but the MTA quashed it after a financial crash. “This organization passed a resolution demanding a bus to Manhattan and we have been working with our Assemblywoman to make it happen,” Kovacs said. “There was a hearing in Albany and they were informed through Marcela Mitaynes’s office that the head of the MTA said there is no fiscal limitation towards having a bus go through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, which is progress. Dave Lutz gave an update on the infrastructure committee. Pedestrian traffic safety and truck routes are issues. They are focusing on the 9th Street crossing near the train station, the area between the Houses and the ball fields since children do not ment is constrained by current zoning that mandates five foot wide side yards, a standard front yard or parking space of 18 yards, and a back yard measuring 30 yards in depth. The lot is in an R5 district, Mr. Wright attested, and if forced to adhere to those strict requirements, he argued, would not qualify for financing because subtracting for those requirements would leave little room for a residential development. Mr. Wright, whose failure to provide a formal presentation became a sticking point for the Committee, noted that the City’s Board of Standards and Appeals had completed its study based on the developer’s application for an exception and found that the lot did sufficiently present a “unique physical hardship.” The exception in question is for the developer to completely eliminate the 5 ft wide yards on either side of the lot and reduce the back yard to 16 feet. Community representatives, invited by the Land Use committee to present public comments and questions,
www.star-revue.com
have traffic lights and the Van Brunt and Hamilton intersection. There is a skate park at that intersection. Lutz said that DOT said at the first truck study meeting they could make low cost changes to the streets quickly but it’s a year and a half later and none have been done. They are hoping to have a proposal on flooding for the next general meeting and are putting together a position paper on flooding. Goldman wrote a letter with Nydia Velazquez that said they could see visions that are more holistic on the different types of floods and not just mitigation types of efforts that focus on one type of flood concern. Rebuild by Design has done a rainfall study. They established focus groups that will meet from January until June. Their website is rebuildbydesign.org. Molina said she was at this meeting to learn more about what is going on. Bottego said they recently published land use principles that were developed in conjunction with community members and stakeholders. “The idea is if you are approached by development, public or private, we refer them to these principles and say if you come to us with a project proposal here is what our community would like to see.” There is a free tax prep program in Aviles’s office from February 5 until April 14. She said that the hearing addressing Intro 1050 will be on February 13 at 10 am. You can offer testimony in person and there is a link for written testimony if you can’t attend. There was a high pressure gas main break recently at 16 Mill Street and she said that 114 apartments had been restored. They were working on getting the rest of the apartments restored.
"Making an exception for a singlefamily residence, therefore, would be unwarranted, contributing to the trend of rapid gentrification." interrogated the development and ultimately seemed to sway the Committee’s opinion on the proposal. Victoria Alexander, a community member who proved the lead critic of the developer’s request for an exception, questioned why the Committee should authorize exceptions for single-family residences when the greater and evident need is for the neighborhood to have more apartments available. Other community members pointed to the trend, along King St. in particular, of single-family homes being constructed, leading to the creation of a low-density community of higher-income residents in Red Hook. The unique nature of the neighborhood, a third critic and (continued on page 10)
February 2024, Page 9
CB 6 REPORT
(continued from page 9)
community member argued, is characterized by multi-family residences. Making an exception for a single-family residence, therefore, would be unwarranted, contributing to the trend of rapid gentrification. Prior to that input, the Committee seemed more amenable to granting the exception. The developer’s representative attempted to rebut the community concerns, arguing that the proposed development would be consistent with the single-family residences on the opposite side of King St., all of which have been permitted exceptions to the side yard requirement, and that the development, being on a presently unused lot, would not displace any existing residents. Mr. Wright, declined, however, when asked by Ms. Alexander, the vocal community member, to name the developer of the lot. The Committee, fol-
PRE-ORDER YOUR WINGS
are you Ready
lowing this extended exchange between the developer’s representative and the set of community members present, moved to table the decision, requesting the representative to return with a fuller presentation and include in that drawings of the proposed development and provide evidence that this development would match the character of the existing neighborhood. Wright left the meeting evidently disappointed, shaking his head in disbelief, evidently at the fact that the Committee had rejected what was in his considered view a most reasonable and uncomplicated request. Community members left the meeting jubilant in contrast. The hearing on 92 King St. will resume at a later date, only the latest flashpoint in an extended struggle between actively disempowered residents, a marginally empowered Community Board, and developers with their plans for a re-imagined Red Hook.
Game time!
WING TRAY & 4 PACK $100
JOIN US FOR
happy Hour Mon - Fri 4 -6 pm & Daily FOOD & BEER Specials
SUPER BOWL 2024
158 BeARD st Brooklyn, Ny11231
Page 10 Red Hook Star-Revue
www.star-revue.com
FIRST COME FIRST SERVE
February 2024
BOOK SERIAL: Fishes, Purple, Tiny
Introduction “Fishes, Purple,Tiny…a “60s tale” is a somewhat anthropological snapshot of a time before the digital revolution of computers and cell phones. Today’s reader may find it hard to imagine a world with only 5 tv channels, milk deliveries, and neighbors whom you knew. People of this era would never walk while they drank coffee, they would sit with a cup during what was called a “coffee break”. There was little warning when the 1950s, a conservative post war decade, collided with the “peace and love 1960s.” Many, especially those coming of age at that time were caught in the turbulent zeitgeist. Zak Wozny was one of them.
1 – Meeting Miss Kemp
Zak Wozny spent his first 17 years on a 20 block patch of working-class streets in a Brooklyn neighborhood called Sunset Park, named for the large park in the middle of it. He was a little kid in the 1950’s and a teenager in the sixties. Had eight years of Sisters of St. Joseph at St. Michaels grammar school on Fourth Avenue, followed by four years of black robed Franciscan Brothers, at Bishop Ford High School, which was up the hill next to Green-wood Cemetery. There wasn’t much different between the two except that if you weren’t ready for it, a brother’s slap in the face could land you on the floor. The nuns used rulers and humiliation to keep kids in line. When Zak was scheduled to graduate high school, the last thing he wanted to do was sign up for another four years of college. He was gonna hang out, smoke pot, listen to all the great music that was happening. The Beatles were still together, the Doors were on AM radio! However, hovering over the class of ’69 was the draft, and the scourge of Vietnam. Most of Zak’s classmates wound up going to Brooklyn College – it was cheap, easy to get into – and kept you from being drafted. Zak put off any post-high school plans, just didn’t want to think about it. That changed one day in April. He was standing on his stoop at 451 40th Street, when he saw a ragged looking figure coming up the block from Fourth Avenue. It turned out to be a local guy, Joey Riccardi, who was about four years older. He didn’t look good, nothing like the muscled greaser type Zak remembered. “Hey Woz… I thought that was you.” “Hey Joey.” “How you doing, Woz?” Before Zak could answer, Joey continued. “yeah man… ya know… fuck… I’m livin’ down there now.” He pointed down the block towards the Gowanus Expressway. “Under the highway… fuck.” Joey paused to rub his face. “My parents threw me out… you dig that! Threw me out… say I stole their stereo. You believe that shit… fuck.. .so how you doin’?” “I’m…”
Red Hook Star-Revue
“Yeah, ya know, they don’t know, nobody knows what it’s like over there. Nam… the jungle, never a second to relax. Now I’m down there, with the junkies… fuckin’ animals.” “So how you doin, Woz.” “Uhh…” “Listen, ya got five bucks you could spare?” He gave Joey the seven dollars he had on him. The next day at school, Zak Wozny went to his guidance counselor and told him he was ready to start thinking about college. With his help, Zak got into the city university system. He was too late for Brooklyn College and wound up getting admitted to Hunter College. Hunter was in Manhattan, or as the Sunset Park natives called it… “The City.” The summer of ’69 was a blur, not just to Zak, who was working a few parttime jobs and getting high at night with his friends, but to the whole world. Men walking on the moon, Woodstock Nation, peace and love, Mets winning the world series, and of course Vietnam. The war raged on and on, no matter what the hippies did with sit ins and protest marches. There was a wake for Jimmy Dalton, a local kid who had been drafted earlier that year. Zak, who was friends with his younger brother Tommy, went. The coffin was closed and he stayed in the back. Didn’t stay long, didn’t get high that night. He was feeling something different, something new. What exactly was it? It took a while to figure out, but turning up 40th Street from Fourth Avenue it came to him. It was guilt. Early one morning in September, Zak caught the N train at the 36th Street BMT station. Took it one express stop to Pacific Street, walked through a series of crowded tunnels to connect with the IRT express, which took him to the “City,” the upper east side of Manhattan. On registration day, Zak wandered around the Hunter College auditorium signing up for 101’s at random: English, German, Geography and one class which he thought from the description was creative writing, but turned out to be “English as a second language.” This was the first time in a school setting that he didn’t know ANYONE. He felt strange being out of the little village of Sunset Park. It was a drag, a real drag, and he had to be there by 8 am every morning. The alarm clock his mother bought him would go off at 6:30 with a grinding screech, and since the ‘snooze’ button hadn’t been invented yet, he had to get up right then, cross the room, and shut it off. Coffee, buttered roll, N train to the 4 Train… “Better than ‘Nam’ everybody told him when he’d complain, but to Zak it felt like a slow death. Geography 101, at 1 pm was his last class of the day and the most tiresome of all. Professor Miller would talk for fifty minutes, sometimes using a pointer on a map, explaining the importance of geographic formations
by Bob Racioppo
on world events and culture. Usually Zak would doze off during these presentations. But not on this day in his second week at Hunter. On this day he decided that the tab of synthetic mescaline in his little jeans pocket, which he was saving for the evening hangout would be swallowed, Now. With a sip from the hallway fountain just before class this was done. Within 15 minutes, Geography 101 became the most mind-blowing, fascinating fount of knowledge and understanding he had ever experienced. Mr. Miller was laying out foundations of universal constructs, illuminations, terrestrial epiphanies. Zak, who up until now had never uttered a word in class, raised his hand. Mr. Miller scanned the attendance sheet for his name. “yes Mr…” “Wozny, Zak Wozny.” “Yes, Mr. Wozny.” “Is it possible that a mountain range separating two valleys, could, over time, create an evolutionary effect upon the developing species that would…” He went on for a while in a mescaline infused rant, at the end of which Mr. Miller replied: “Possibly…” Mercifully for all concerned, the bell rang and the class, mostly kids Zak’s age in jeans and tee-shirts, filed out quickly. Zak, by now stoned, was moving slowly. As he rose to leave, a woman approached him. “Mr. Wozny,” she began, extending her hand. “I’m Susan Kemp.” A mescaline-induced pause later, he shook it and said hello. “I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your observation in class today.” He could only stare, she was so very different from the jeans-and-tee-shirt girls he was used to. She wore a pink skirt and blouse, a matching hat, and kept talking about geography. Zak didn’t do much more than nod and notice that she was wearing high heels and stockings and was pretty, with perfectly straight light brown hair. “Would you like to get some coffee?” she said after a while. Zak Wozny and Susan Kemp walked one block west to a Chock Full of Nuts on Madison and 69th. “May I call you Zak?” Her English was crisp, like the people on television newscasts. “Sure… that’s my name.” Zak wasn’t intending to be funny, but she laughed. “Please, call me Susan… that’s my name.” And she laughed a little more. They sat at the counter. Susan ordered coffee. At this stage of his mescaline high Zak felt no hunger, he could barely feel his body. The fluorescent lights in the restaurant seemed shockingly bright and gave the chewing diners sitting across from him a greenish pallor. The uniformed waiter stood, slightly annoyed, until Zak, realizing he had
www.star-revue.com
to order something, said “A glass of milk, please.” “And a whole wheat doughnut,” Susan added. “You’ll like it.” Zak nodded. The waiter served Miss Kemp a mug of coffee and placed an empty tall glass in front of Zak. He touched the glass and it was warm, almost hot, having just come out of the dishwasher. The waiter returned with a doughnut and a metal pitcher of cold milk. He then filled the glass, which instantly exploded with a high-pitched cracking sound. Milk and shards of glass were sent flying in all directions. “My dress – my dress!” Miss Kemp began shrieking. Zak, being high, fell into wide eyed laughter The manager came over to apologize and assured them there would be no charge. “No charge?!” screamed Miss Kemp. “What do you usually charge to cover someone in milk and broken glass?!!” And then to Zak, “I have to change. Come with me; I’m just down on Park and 68th.” As they headed east, Zak picked small pieces of glass out of his tie-dye tee shirt. It’s different up here than in Brooklyn, he thought to himself. They came to one of the tall grey buildings on Park Avenue. As they approached the metal grilled door, it was opened for them by a small, middleaged man in a military outfit, complete with a brimmed cap and trousers with red stripes running down the legs. “Good afternoon, Miss Kemp!” he greeted her. To Zak, he directed a dirty look. “Hello Harry – this way, Zak.” She led him down a dim, wood-paneled hallway to an ancient-looking elevator operated by another small man in military garb. He also greeted Miss Kemp with a “good afternoon” and Zak with a dirty look. He pulled shut a shiny brass grilled door, turned a wood handled crank, and took them swiftly up to the eleventh floor. Zak followed Miss Kemp down a silent, plush-carpeted hallway, past faded landscape paintings, to 11 J. While Miss Kemp went to change, he stood in the parlor looking out at the East River. Mescaline high or not, this was an amazing view. Zak had only seen Manhattan, with its glimmering towers shining in the distance, from the top of Sunset Park. Now he was in one of those towers. “I don’t have much to offer you,” she called out from the bedroom. “My parents are in Europe, and I usually eat out.”
Continued Next Month Robert Racioppo is a founding member of the Shirts, a New York-based American punk band that formed in 1975. In addition to music, Robert is an accomplished fine artist. This is his first novel. He grew up in Sunset Park and now lives in Windsor Terrace. To order a copy of the full book text 917 652-9128.
February 2024, Page 11
Super Bowl specialists by Brian Abate
Valentine’s Day tips by Brian Abate
The Chocolate Room (269 Court St.) is located right next to Cobble Hill Cinemas so it’s a great place to go before or after a movie. There is also seating in the back with a similar vibe to a coffee shop, and it is a nice spot to relax and enjoy your sweets. The shop was founded in 2005 and has become a go-to spot in Carroll Gardens.
“This is where I always go for a treat after a rough day,” said Deborah from Carroll Gardens. “I’ve been coming here for years and they’ve never let me down.” If you’re looking to get your Valentine chocolates, there are a lot of options. There are cakes, cookies, brownies, bonbons, truffles, as well as confections including chocolate bark, s’mores, and peanut butter cups. The Chocolate Room also has award-winning hot chocolate which is especially nice on the cold, winter days. While it may not be a classic Valentine’s Day treat, there is also ice cream for all-season ice cream lovers, like myself. The Chocolate Room is open from noon to 10 pm every day. 718-246-2600. Le Petit Cafe (502 Court St.) opened up as a coffee house and juice bar in 1999 but has expanded into a full restaurant. The indoor dining is pretty with a cozy cafe-type area in the front and restaurant seating in the back.
HOWARD GOLDEN (continued from page 4)
election, with the Italian vote going to a 4th candidate. Rappaport ran third, but was consoled with a judgeship. The next year, the local Senate and Assembly seats came up and Hikind ran a strong race for Senate, with another religious Jew, Sam Hirsch, on the ticket for Assembly. For Assembly, Golden ran a deeply closeted non-Orthodox member of his club who held a patronage job. Hirsch challenged him on his residency, Golden’s club challenged Hirsch on his signatures, But the overeagerness of Golden to trade his weak signature challenge for Hirsch’s weak residence challenge made the claque of Talmudic students surrounding Hirsh and Hikind eager to see what was behind door number three, The transcript of the subsequent trial, revealing Golden’s candidate’s living arrangements with his “friend,” was then distributed to only a few dozen select Rabbis for their edification. Hirsch won. Now, no longer controlling his Assembly seat, Golden suddenly got wise, picking one of his Orthodox flunkies, Noach Dear, as a Council candidate. Hirsch eventually got himself in trouble voting for Medicaid abortion, and then explaining to a group of Rabbis and political leaders that it was OK, be-
Page 12 Red Hook Star-Revue
You can go there for a full meal or get something lighter in the front.
Most importantly there are a lot of options for food and they serve breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. The menu includes salads, pasta, burgers, steaks, wraps, salmon, and duck. Le Petit is known for its many paninis including prosciutto, mozzarella, chicken, tuna fish, catfish, pork, salmon, and more. In the front, there are scones, croissants, pies, muffins, and pastries. There are also a lot of different types of coffee. Le Petit is open from 7 am to 4 pm seven days a week and has dinner hours from 5-10:30 pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. 718-596-7060.
Jasmine’s Floral Design (543 5th Ave.) is a great spot to go for Valentine’s Day flowers and gifts. The shop has bouquets for different occasions including anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas, funerals/sympathy, get well, new babies, thank you, and of course Valentine’s Day. Options include red roses, with a “White Beauty,” white roses option, and a “Dazzling Delight” option with a rose, gerbera daisy, red hypericum, and more.
Keg & Lantern (158 Beard St.) will have a pitcher and nacho special (as they do every Sunday) and will also have wings for takeout on Super Bowl Sunday. The brewery is well-known for its craft beer including Golden Ale, Greeneyes, Daydreamer Sour Ale, Beyond the Haze, and Fiesta Mexican Lager. Keg & Lantern also has wine options and food options including chicken wings, cheeseballs, quesadillas, burgers, and nachos.
$110. All of the specials are cash only and the deals expire on Feb. 28.
Mark’s Red Hook Pizza (326 Van Brunt St.) is a staple of the Red Hook community and always has special deals for the Super Bowl. This year is no exception. Special #1 is a 16” plain pie,10 wings and a two-liter soda for $30. Special #2 is two 16” pies with one topping each, 10 wings, and a two-liter soda for $50. Special #3 is a chicken parm hero, a meatball parm hero, and a sausage parm hero for $30. Special #4 is a 16” plain pie, 24 wings, and a two-liter soda for $45. Special #5 is 50 wings and a two-liter soda for $55. Special #6 is 100 wings, 12 garlic knots, and a two-liter soda for
The House of Pizza is open day. 718-6249107.
The brewery is open Wednesdays to Sundays usually to around 11. 718-852-3692.
Mark’s is open from 10:15 am to 9:30 pm seven days a week. 718-624-0690. The House of Pizza & Calzone (132 Union St.) is a good option for pizza or heroes for people in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and parts of Red Hook. The spot is known for its grandma slices with fresh sliced mozzarella as well as the Red Hook Special, which is Italian sausage and broccoli rabe made with or without pizza sauce. A nice dining area is in the back.
B61 Bar (187 Columbia St.) is a fun spot to watch a game and that certainly includes the Super Bowl. There are tequilas, cocktails, spirits, draft and canned beer including Golden Ale from keg & Lantern, and food options including tacos and bocaditos. Sunday Funday at B61 includes deals on tacos, chips with salsa, wings, margaritas, wines, and $2 off on beer.
Jasmine’s Floral Designs is open from 9 am to 7 pm every day except Sunday when it is open from 9 am to 3 pm. The phone number is 718-965-0259.
cause such abortions were only used by minorities. Golden, smelling a chance for revenge, decided Hikind was the lesser evil and ran him against Hirsch. For Hikind, third time was the charm, and Golden’s club retook the seat. Meanwhile, Golden assumed the Beep’s office, but his actions contained some surprises. Over the years, Golden’s office not only contained skilled political operatives like Marcie Feigenbaum, Marily Mosely and Ed Towns, but also government pros of the highest quality like Bill Thompson, Jr., Harvey Schultz, Marilyn Gelber, John Benguiat, Greg Brooks, Nannette Rainone, Richie Bearak and George Synefakis. Golden’s office was notable for its competence. And Howie handled his duties with relish, coming to meetings well prepared, though in his later years, his preparation took the form of index cards he would read off if. He would use Boro Service cabinets and other forums to lace into city bureaucrats with relish, often reshaping the way things were being done. Running with the slogan “The Future of Brooklyn is Golden,” Golden faced his first primary as beep later that year. Assemblyman Frank Barbaro, a reformer, ran as a fiery populist, who swung a bit more to his left than some of his fellow reformers might have preferred, and was considered by many to be show
horse rather than a workhorse. Also in the fray were Ross Dilorenzo, a former a district leader and judge, who was widely suspected of being put in by the organization to take Italian votes from Barbaro, but who ran a serious race from Golden’s right, which may have cost Golden as many votes as it did Barbaro; another opponent was Rabbi Marvin Schick, a former Lindsay Jewish liaison, who probably took more Jewish votes from Golden than liberal votes from Barbaro, but had limited impact. John Dereszewski, a reformer who was (by virtue of his connections with the local Councilman originally elected as a reformer) the Bushwick Community Board’s District Manager, put the race in perspective: “1977 gave me the opportunity to view Howard Golden in action as BP, especially after I became Bushwick’s District Manager. I was greatly impressed by his strong and seemingly sincere support for the interests of our borough and, especially, his insistence that the newly formed community boards receive the assistance they merited and were not receiving from the Beame administration. And the support his office provided to Bushwick during that terrible summer of the blackout and all hands fire was greatly appreciated. 1977 was also an election year and Golden was challenged by reform candidate Assemblyman Frank Barbaro.
www.star-revue.com
While Barbaro had compiled an impeccable record as a fighting reformer in the Assembly, I was increasingly put off by the vacuous nature of his BP campaign which failed to articulate a clear message. This was in stark contrast to the very strong performance that Golden was clearly exhibiting.” The Times agreed: In Brooklyn, we believe incumbent Howard Golden should be selected by his party for his first full term. He was named by the Council in January to fill the vacancy created when former Borough President Sebastian Leone went to the Supreme Court and has filled the post with the energy that marked his tenure as councilman. He forced the city’s attention to the Bushwick housing crisis. He succeeded in modifying development plans for a shopping center in the Gowanus area to meet local wishes. He has fought effectively on the Board of Estimate to increase Brooklyn’s share of city funds. His opponents, Marvin Schick and Frank Barbaro, have good qualities. Mr. Schick combines scholarship with good sense; Mr. Barbaro is dedicated to populist ideals, particularly as they affect tenants and workers. But their experience is too limited to justify replacing an incumbent who has demonstrated a grasp of the problems that affect all parts of the borough.” The borough’s voters agreed as well.
February 2024
How much should you pay for a good sandwich in Brooklyn?
G
aby Gignoux-Wolfsohn and Noah Wolf, the founders of Sea and Soil Sandwich Shop, believe the answer might be different for every customer, and even change day to day. That’s why, from the start, their workerowned co-op has employed a sliding scale to allow each customer to choose the price that best fits their budget. “We use a sliding scale to make our prices more affordable while still being sustainable for us,” says Noah. “Our sliding scale starts at $9. It would be great to just offer a sandwich for $9 or less, but with the ingredients we use and our desire to pay a real living wage it really wouldn’t be possible.”
Customers choose their own price between $9 and $16 for each sandwich from the shop. The aim is for those with more means to help subsidize the cost of freshly baked, locally sourced breakfast and lunch options for customers who can’t as easily afford them.
“Bread is the people’s food. Sandwiches are the people’s food, certainly I think in many ways in New York,” he adds. “We want as much as we can to make food affordable to as many people as possible.” Gaby says that while the concept is met with curiosity by many first-time customers, their regulars have come to embrace it. Some will change their price day to day, based on how they are doing that week.
“It opens up conversations and it’s cool how open people are to talking about how we all are doing financially, which is not something we expected at all, and obviously that is an important community issue.” Their six month old storefront and kitchen on President Street is the culmination of years of preparation. Both have spent long careers working in restaurants, but Sea and Soil started as a weekend project while both were employed in second careers as teaching artists through the Sunset Park based Center for Family Life. During the spring of 2020 they set up sandwich popups in Prospect Park, baking and preparing sandwiches on weekends. The takers were few at first but they immediately began to make connections and earn followers.
A search for a more permanent home led them to a storefront owned by recently retired neighborhood baker Margaret Palca, and they were delight-
Red Hook Star-Revue
by Jeremy Skehan
ed to find not just a viable commercial kitchen but a shop to sell from as well, and a kindred spirit in a landlord. They acquired equipment from Palca and used every dollar they could put together to build out the store themselves. “We ran out of every last penny right before we opened,” says Noah.
"They make amazing stuff –and they’re nice!” They bake their own naturally leavened bread in house and source ingredients locally whenever possible. The goal is to create fresh, well balanced sandwiches in unexpected but inviting combinations. “The main thing is wanting them to be interesting combinations and in some way kind of different,” says Gaby. “A lot of our sandwiches also feature a lot of veggies, which makes you feel good after you finish it,” she adds. Many of the sandwiches are old favorites, and they are constantly brainstorming new ideas.
“I really think of it, as someone who played in bands for a long time, as a very similar collaborative process. Someone brings an idea, sometimes it’s very fleshed out, sometimes it’s just a riff essentially,” Noah says. “You could have a sandwich place on every corner because sandwiches are amazing and I always love to be near a sandwich. We are very open-minded to what can be on a sandwich.”
Neighbor Andrea Michelcic stopped in to warm up one rainy day and has been coming back nearly daily since. “How can you not love them?” she asks.”The delightful energy the storefront brings, and the delicious, thoughtful baked goods. Everything is good!” Her favorite sandwich is the Laith, a combination of smoked trout, beet pickled eggs and manchego on sesame arbol bread.”
Arif Mansuri travels from Carroll Gardens. “It’s such a unique place. They make amazing stuff –and they’re nice!” His favorite is the Rafa, a popular breakfast sandwich of herbed eggs and cheese on olive bread.
The shop also offers house baked pastries, muffins, breakfast sandwiches, and a few surprises. A standout original creation, the scallion pancake croissant,
sells out every Saturday morning, and Sea and Soil has begun making doughnuts every Sunday, which have sold out every week as well. The first Wednesday of every month they are now open late to offer a collection of traditional and more adventurous pizzas, with vegan options available as always. Despite the long hours, they are having fun and feel welcomed in the neighborhood. “The level of trust that people have given us to try us out and consistently come back is really cool and a really special feeling,” Gaby says. “It feels like a great honor.”
Built from scratch
Noah feels grateful to finally have a home for their shop. “We came in with nothing. We were at the entrances to Prospect Park yelling out “sandwiches!” and we’d sell like 4 and call that a win. We started from zero with a couple hundred dollars for ingredients and rolled over the money. We truly built it from scratch and so it feels like an incredible honor to do it and an incredible miracle in a certain way that we have a brick and mortar space in New York which I didn’t think we’d ever be able to do because it’s so expensive. It’s incredible!” There is also pride in having helped create a community for like minded neighbors and regulars.
Words From Above A poem by Michael Colon
Falling upwards into the blue abyss. The ocean above fills me with bliss. Water particles suspended in midair. My mind rains away all thoughts of despair. Swimming past the clouds with no set destination. I don’t ever want to wake up from my imagination. A blue dream that goes on to what my heart is beating too. A void of miracles that always offers something new. The heavens welcome me with open arms. This is what it means to be amongst the stars. The eternal human spirit manifested in
www.star-revue.com
“We’ve now built something that is honest enough that, one, it’s attracted a group of people that we care about and who hold similar values in the world, and, two, those people come often enough that they find each other here,” he says.
As they continue to grow they are planning to bring in more co-op workers, who will also share equal ownership with them in the company. Creating a new model for worker owned businesses in what can often be a low-paying, exploitative sector inspires them as much as the quest for the next perfect sauce. “As many people as possible need to be doing things a little differently and what’s really special is the connections we’ve made with other co-ops,” Gaby says. Sea and Soil is their opportunity to do things a little differently and show that this model can be successful.
“With a sliding scale or worker ownership or paying people a living wage there’s an idea that those things just don’t work and I do believe that we can make these things work - we just have to build a world in which they’re supported,” Noah says. “And you do that by doing it. The examples have to be set. The mistakes have to be made. The lessons have to be learned. Yes, of course, it’s a business. We sell things. But we do hope to do something a little beyond that as well.” Sea and Soil 102 President St, between Hicks and Columbia, (347) 294-4442 the sky. The changes of rise and sets cause this canvas to dye. This milky paradise is the ultimate getaway. To exist on a higher plane is to be beautifully left astray. A sapphire world that is a masterpiece. Lifes art sculpted in a cerulean fantasy. The atmosphere doesn’t just allow us to breathe. It’s a blanket of repeated continuity to believe. Following the simple pleasures are linked to ascension. We end up in a world we’re complexity gives us attention. Even if the sky falls tomorrow. The view is still one to behold and follow.
February 2024, Page 13
The European Union must back Ukraine “T by Dario Pio Muccilli, EU correspondent
he European Union has to make bold decisions to defend Ukraine, preempting any US decision to withhold or reduce its military support”, said Emmanuel Macron during a speech in Sweden on January 30th.
The US decision he mentions is of course the one Trump could take were he to win the November Elections. There is indeed a widespread fear, if not a certainty, that a Trump 2.0 would deeply harm the transatlantic relationship. The reason for these beliefs are the memories of the first Trump administration. The Tycoon and Brussels had different ideas on several issues, even
though the European bloc does not always have defined common opinions. Nevertheless, today the EU agrees to support Ukraine (even Trump’s Hungarian friend Orban), Trump does not; most of the EU does share the struggle against Climate Change, Trump does not; the EU wants an active NATO, Trump… you get it.
mission in the Red Sea against the Houthi rebels’ attempt at blocking international trade, Italy, France and Germany started their own operations independently. That move probably hid the fear that the US is no more considered a stable and reliable military partner, immune to electoral cycles.
While the evidence may make it clear to most commentators that a catastrophe may befall Europe, Macron’s statement shows how someone else is seeing the Republican takeover as an opportunity for Europe to free itself from Washington.
Across Europe, France and Germany are cooperating to increase military expenses and to cement the other European countries around the Paris-Berlin defense axis. Biden’s leadership has not been able so far to halt this process, which before Trump was always dominated by the US.
Many signals are already there. While the US and UK jointly launched their
center of the world, an independent EU military, favored by Trump’s possible withdrawal from NATO, would be a change in the world order whose consequences are all but certain. A regionalization of the defense is a clear alarm, as it shows how the international relations are no more driven by diplomacy but by fear. We are basically going back to the mutual threat model, with multiple poles arming themselves and mutually not trusting each other. If not scary, this phenomenon should be at the heart of every reasoning on the wars going on today, which could be just a prelude to a much bigger international conflict.
As Europe is again at the geopolitical
Talking to Alexa Aviles about land use
B
etween last-mile warehouses moving into Red Hook and the possibility of rezoning, which is currently transforming the formerly industrial Gowanus, land use has always been an important topic in Red Hook. I interviewed District 38 Council Member Alexa Aviles on land use and some of the other important issues for the community. I started off by asking her about member deference. This refers to the power of the local council member when it comes to zoning changes in their district. In most cases, the entire City Council, which takes the final vote on a rezoning proposal, will follow the wishes of the local member. A couple years ago, the Council approved a rezoning in Manhattan involving the NY Blood Bank, despite the opposition of the Council Member Ben Kallos. “I think from my own perspective in District 38, member deference is important because I know our community the best. We know what we need and what we want or don’t want in our community. I also recognize we have to balance those needs for our community with city-wide needs and mandates. “I recognize the pros and cons of member deference but I would bristle at a council member from another district telling me what’s best for our community without knowing how our community operates or what it values. I’m in support of member deference but I do acknowledge that it has its limitations. As far as I know, I don’t think member deference is going away any time soon.” “We haven’t had any requests for rezoning in Red Hook except for one proposal at 41 Richards St. which is a building that is going to be used for industrial purposes. I feel like most people think about residential rezoning when they hear rezoning but we haven’t had any of those requests here in Red Hook at all.
Page 14 Red Hook Star-Revue
by Brian Abate Housing is of course a much talked about issue throughout the country. Aviles spoke about Good Cause Eviction, not yet passed in the State Legislature that would protect tenants from unreasonable rent hikes and retaliatory or discriminatory evictions. “Our housing policy is unfortunately determined totally by the state and Good Cause is important because it protects residents who are not protected by, let’s say, rent stabilization laws. We’ve been talking to a lot of tenants about it at a grassroots level and working with Assembly Member
"It’s really hard when your commercial rent doubles and just like a resident, your salary isn’t doubling and it’s tough to make it work." Marcela Mitaynes who has really been pushing for this at the state level. "In addition to protection for tenants, Aviles said, “I would be a supporter of some kind of commercial rent stabilization to help businesses and nonprofits stay in commercial spaces. It is not a regulated area, so often when we see affordable commercial spaces it is either where the landlord is just a nice person or when they come to an agreement around development for a period of time. “This is not the case most of the time though, and rent for commercial spaces is too high. There are very few if any protections for commercial tenants. We refer them to a city program that does help with lease renewals
so the city does provide support but there are very few protections. It’s really hard when rent doubles and just like a resident, your salary isn’t doubling and it’s tough to make it work.” “We’ve had a few events that were really to educate tenants on what all of their rights are but because this is not a legislation at the city level, it’s not the full bulk of what we’re focused on. We have seen a lot of constituents with housing issues and we’ve been working with them on how they can advocate for themselves.” Many of the concerns Red Hook residents have are pollution-related, including dealing with last-mile warehouses which have opened up in Red Hook. Aviles explained what she is doing to address those concerns. “One part of it is working on legislation that will mandate cruise ships using shore power. Shore power uses electricity to power the ships while in port. Red Hook’s Cruise Terminal is equipped with it but ships are not currently required to use it. “It has been very hard to get legislation around the last-mile facilities so one of the things we’ve been doing is working on getting truck route legislation passed. We’ve had the truck and traffic study in Red Hook going on and one of the big things we’re pushing for is the DOT [Department of Transportation] to engage community voices and work together to determine what will work best for the people who live in the neighborhood when it comes to the truck routes these last-mile facilities are relying on. “For the last-mile warehouses, we want to have a special permitting process so that can slow the process down and we can have an opportunity to see environmental impacts rather than what we have now. Right now, they just go up and we have to deal with the issues afterward.” Last year Aviles sponsored two bills related to these issues. Intro 923 requires
www.star-revue.com
Council Member Alexa Aviles
the city to study the impact that truck and delivery traffic generated by lastmile facilities have on local communities and infrastructure. Intro 924 requires the Department of Transportation to study street design as a means to limit or reduce the use of commercial vehicles on streets in residential neighborhoods. As of yet, the bills have not yet been taken up. “Community engagement happens in a lot of different ways,” Aviles said. “It is certainly not just social media and it can always be better. I wish I could double my staff and do more because it is so important. With our staff resources, I think it looks like community conversations like what we’re having with the EDC [Economic Development Corporation] on Jan. 16, or it could be smaller group conversations. It could mean meeting with the teachers association or the PTA [Parent-Teacher Association] or one-onone conversations or talking to local or citywide media like this. “I think we haven’t done enough of it. We have 177,000 residents across multiple neighborhoods with unique needs and values and we have a staff of eight. We do a lot of outreach but I feel like we can do better, and it’s so important. “There are a lot of different people who bring unique perspectives and different flavors to this community and I’m very proud to represent District 38.”
February 2024
The Craft Corner
Turn old t-shirts into Valentine’s Day friendship bracelets! by Marie Hueston and Sage Hueston
Valentine’s Day is coming up and we have a cute and simple craft you can make for your friends or classmates. All you’ll need is old t-shirts and a pair of scissors. Here’s how to get started!
Cut your strips.
Finish your bracelet.
Using your scissors, cut inch-wide strips of your t-shirts starting from the bottom hem and moving up. Each strip doesn’t need to be exactly the same width. If you have fabric scissors, use those for an easier cut. Once you have enough to work with, cut the ends of your fabric loops so they become long strips and sort them by color.
Once your braid is long enough to wrap around your wrist (leaving extra space for it to fit over your hand), close the loop by tying your open end around your knotted end. Cut off excess strips and you’re all done!
March Preview: Save yogurt cups for a firstday-of spring craft.
Pick your t-shirts. Choose t-shirts you have grown out of, stained, ripped, or just don’t love anymore. We happened to have Valentine’s colors we could use, but you can use any colors you like. If you need shirts or particular colors, a thrift shop can be a great place to look.
Share your designs with us! Send photos of your creations to our editor at gbrook8344@gmail.com
Start braiding! Choose three strips and knot them together at one end. Alternate bringing outside strips to the center to create a braid. Pull tightly as you go to keep your braid an even width as your working.
Red Hook Star-Revue
www.star-revue.com
February 2024, Page 15
Back to “Brighton Beach” with Filmmakers Carol Stein and Susan Wittenberg
A
uthor Nelson Algren wrote in 1951 about Chicago that, “once you’ve come to this particular patch, you’ll never love another. Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies. But never a lovely so real.” That sentiment could also apply to the Brighton Beach neighborhood filmmakers Carol Stein and Susan Wittenberg captured some 30 years later. Their 60-minute documentary Brighton Beach, released in 1980 and screening this month in a 4K restoration at Anthology Film Archives, finds the community grappling with absentee slum lords, the first notes of housing insecurity, and a tidal wave of Russian immigrants encroaching on “natives.” That’s on top of the systemic struggles facing New York post-bankruptcy.
Stein and Wittenberg (and a small crew that included a young sound guy named Ken Burns) spent four years documenting this hinge moment through the experiences of indelible personalities: Lorraine and Pedro Colon, a married couple in a complex relationship existing on the most frayed fringes of the neighborhood; Asia Gamil, a Russian emigre trying to make sense of her present and future; the regulars and performers at Brighton Beach Baths, now a private condo-complex amenity but then a center of civic life; teenagers playing forgotten beach games; young people at pool halls; boardwalk denizens. Through these eyes we see a challenged community burbling with the angst and racism that defined — and defines — how too many New Yorkers respond to change. But we also find, as Stein and Wittenberg describe, “a corner of gentleness and relief in a tough town.” People gather, mingle, party, gab, gossip, kvetch, boast, mourn, celebrate. It’s a coastal melting pot that could only exist in New York. As one boardwalk Algren says, “I’ve traveled all over the world, and I never found anything as nice as Brighton.”
The film, too, is beautiful. But it has remained mostly unseen for decades. It originally aired on PBS, played some festivals, and in the ‘80s had a TV run in Europe. In 1992, it played at Anthology, where it was praised for delving into place and unpeeling “layers of this bizarre neighborhood; its organized anarchy, its exquisite ugliness, its funny sadness.” And then it disappeared, prints, negatives, and soundtracks sitting in closets and film labs. It was almost lost a couple times. But after four years of work by IndieCollect, Brighton Beach has a new life — looking more lovely and real than ever. Stein and Wittenberg spoke with the Star-Revue about making the film, the people and community, and why the documentary is maybe more relevant to-
Page 16 Red Hook Star-Revue
by Dante A. Ciampaglia day than it was in 1980. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. How did you come to Brighton Beach as a subject for a film?
Carol Stein: We both studied film in college — I went to Sarah Lawrence and MIT and Hampshire; Susan went to Hampshire and MIT. One of the photographers I worshiped was Helen Levitt. She did a film in 1948 called In the Street and I remember seeing it and thinking, “Oh, my God, I want to make films like that.” My mother was from Brooklyn. I didn’t go to Brighton Beach as a kid, but Brooklyn always held a lot of magic for me. And somehow this all came together and I thought I want to do a real film about this place.
Susan Wittenberg: Remember, in the late ‘70s, it was tough in New York. Manhattan was tough. Brighton Beach was frozen in time. It was like an oasis of calm, and it always felt nice to go there. It was a magnet. When we started the film, some of it was connected to both what was going on in the moment, what it felt like, and memories. My grandparents went to Brighton Beach Baths. I wanted to preserve that. While we were there, after a year or so, the Russians started moving in, and all of a sudden it changed. So the film changed. And we kept staying. We filmed it over four years. That’s why it feels so complex. You don’t get the chance to do that very often and have the luxury of time. And it just seemed like the most special place. We got a chance to be with characters over the years. They got to know us, we got to know them. We were influenced by cinema verité, we were influenced by Helen, and we were influenced by... We love Fellini, and it had that Felliniesque feeling to us: the light, the colors, the sounds. We’re talking about it now, but then we were on our own trip. How did people respond to you? Today, everyone is so aware of their appearance and being photographed or filmed that it seems unlikely you’d ever be able to make something as Levitt-like now.
Stein: We tried our best to be invisible, which is hard with a 16mm camera. Sometimes we’d stand in front of each other and we’d shoot around each other’s shoulders. A lot of people sort of thought it was great that they were being filmed. One old lady, though, did get so mad that I was filming that she hit me with a cane. We were also up on rooftops and running all over the place. But we just tried our best to be invisible. How did you find your subjects, like the Colons, who really opened their lives and home to you? Wittenberg: Lorraine Colon worked in that thrift store, which was on the street. You walk in and start talking to
people and you just don’t know. You have a lot of attempts that don’t work out. But then you find people who have a story they want to share. That’s why they invite you in. Harry Molbert, who swam in the ocean in the winter; Asia, the Russian woman — it meant a lot to them to be able to talk about themselves. It was dignified, it elevated them. Most — especially people who were very poor — no one was listening to them. So together they brought in all these different perspectives. We loved all the characters in the film and tried so hard during this restoration process to find people. We haven’t been able to. I’d love to meet them again to see what they thought and to see what happened. I keep hoping that will occur. New York today is not the city it was then. I imagine many of the places you captured are gone, but the people too, either because of housing affordability or gentrification or something else that gets called “progress.”
Stein: It’s very different now in New York, in almost every conceivable way. I remember when Michael Bloomberg was mayor and he said [in 2003] New York is a luxury product. At that time, New York was not a luxury product. It was New York. It was a gritty city. So that is definitely gone. But I also see a lot of continuity, like the theme of everybody wanting to close the door behind them to new immigrants. It’s so today, that sort of inherent, I guess, racism or, you know, just stay away from me. It’s just human nature. So, yes, it’s different — it’s now really a Russian neighborhood; all the old Jews who we were like our grandparents at the time are all gone — but also still somehow the same. Wittenberg: Except for Brighton Beach Baths being privatized and the condo complex, it does feel the same. It’s a little rough around the edges, so it’s not like Rockaway, for example, which has been so transformed or redeveloped that you couldn’t go back to some places. Maybe because it’s so removed from Manhattan, you get to these places like Coney Island, Rockaway, the last stop on a train line that it has its own aesthetic. We know they’re different people now; 40 years went by. But somehow there they are. They have the white plastic thing on their nose so they don’t get sunburned. They’re still wearing it. I think that’s amazing. You mentioned that inherent racism, the way people like Lorraine talk in the film about the incoming Russians pushing “locals” out. It’s impossible to watch the film and not think about how New Yorkers are treating arriving migrants right now — or the way people talked about Italians in the 1920s or the Irish and Germans even farther back. Wittenberg: It’s timely. We hadn’t seen it for ages, then in the past two years we’ve seen it 1,000 times because of
www.star-revue.com
the restoration, and that’s something I realized right away. People are saying the same things. That is both fascinating and disturbing. That’s our reality. It’s ugly. Back then, even though they all felt that way, it was a live and let live neighborhood. They were all mixing up and saying bad things about each other. But now it’s just so deadly and vicious Can the film help guide us to a more “live and let live” mindset? I mean, immigration and changing demographics — these are going to happen.
Stein: Absolutely. To me, that’s the main theme of the film. Stop all this. Stop it. Everybody’s the same. They came here for the same reason you came here, and why should you have it and not them? The first few lines of the film are a woman saying, “Brighton is lovely. I’ve traveled all over the world, and I never found anything as nice as Brighton.” And then someone interrupts her and says, “But it’s a different element altogether.” And then the first woman says, “Yes, it’s different. Naturally, it changes, but it’s still very lovely.” That’s the attitude I wish most people had. You write that the film is about a “corner of gentleness and relief in a tough town.” How so?
Stein: The fact that people with very little money could go there and have such a great time. The ocean and the ocean air and the strolling down the boardwalk — it kind of calms people down, you know? It’s a corner of pleasure. And even though it’s poor, it’s very nurturing. I don’t know so much now, but then... It’s a gentleness that was there for everyone, not just wealthy people, to come and enjoy the ocean, rest, relax, play. Wittenberg: When you walk around in a bathing suit and not a leather jacket and heavy shoes, you make yourself more open to people. And that’s something that draws people from all over the city. That’s what they share with that place, and that’s something that has not changed. That’s why I love going there. I mean, it’s the same ocean down the boardwalk at Coney Island, which is not a corner of gentleness. So there’s something about Brighton Beach that is just fundamentally different. It’s just its own little universe somehow. Right. This is an urban beach, the backyard for apartment buildings, not some resort in Florida or California. Normal people go to hang out in bathing suits that aren’t necessarily meant to be lusted over. It’s an experience in empathy. Yes, they’re open, but you have to be open, too. It’s democratizing. Stein: That’s the word exactly. Some of these characters are so funny. That’s the other aspect to it that we’ve found. We were making this film right out of col-
(continued on next page)
February 2024
Something in 4/4 time. Late last year, Robert Fripp—the lynchpin between ambient music and prog rock—appeared on an episode of Daryl Hall’s home cooking and barn jam show Live From Daryl’s House. The series has been airing intermittently since 2007 and is generally a pleasure. (All of the episodes can be found on YouTube.) The reason episode 87 matters to purveyors of rock minutiae is that it constituted a revisiting of a great moment that never happened. Long story sorta short, Fripp produced Hall’s album Sacred Songs in 1977, the same year he produced Peter Gabriel’s second solo album and his own Exposure. The three albums were envisioned as a loose trilogy, but RCA sat on Hall’s panel of the triptych until 1980, thinking (probably rightly) that it was too weird for Hall & Oates fans. Fripp’s appearance at Daryl’s House in November was the closest thing to a celebration of the excellent album they made together since its moribund release—it climbed to #58 on the charts with no hit single in the same year Hall & Oates charted with “Kiss On My List,” “You Make My Dreams” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.” Hall’s crackerjack house band shines on several songs from the album, plus David Bowie’s “Heroes” (on which Fripp played guitar) and a blazing version of “Red,” a key composition for Fripp and his King Crimson.
Sabbath or later Roxy Music along the way. While his previous records were built from piano, voice and loops, the slow churns on Bloom come from programmed beats, disembodied voices and other, indistinguishable sounds, along with his own morose baritone. There’s a lot going on for such a relatively sparse album, and it rather remarkably comes together as a gloomy and coherent whole.
It’s well worth watching, but the reason I belatedly bring it up is The Bloom of Performance, the third album by Hudson Valley songwriter Mark Trecka (cassette and download Feb. 23 via Beacon Sound). Its moody melodicism and eerie soundscapes put the album in line with that long ago, temporary realm of Fripp, Gabriel and Hall, although you might hear lines reminiscent of early Black
Trecka says he wanted to make “the kind of record that might alchemize pain and anxiety and madness,” although he doesn’t pinpoint the source of his malaise. Hunter Prueger, on the other hand, couldn’t be more specific. The emotive force behind Tendencies, the remarkable debut album by his band Middle Sattre (CD, cassette and download out Feb. 9 from Sad Tree Records). The album is a direct confrontation of internalized homophobia, ending in his coming out.
BRIGHTON BEACH
stories resonate today. That’s why I love — and still love — those characters.
(continued from previous page)
lege and going there on the weekends, and we found it so hysterically funny all the time. There was so much humor there. It’s so kooky and nutty.
Wittenberg: Another thing is that documentaries from that era were very much issue-driven films. That was a big category. Another big one, particularly for women, was personal films, where filmmakers put themselves in the film telling a story. We didn’t want to do that. And it gave women like Lorraine and Asia the voice to tell their stories. That was important then, and the
Red Hook Star-Revue
Stein: It’s a film with a very feminine sensibility. And feminist. In a gentle, not kind of diatribey kind of way, it’s a very feminist film. In revisiting the film, has it changed? Does anything hit differently 40 years later?
Stein: This isn’t directly answering your question, but the fact that young people dig it makes me very happy and makes me feel like it’s alive today. I still see tremendous humor in it. It just cracks me up. I think it’s entertaining, which is not a word I would have applied to it in the past. I’ve seen images 1,000 times
Prueger grew up in the Mormon church but slowly, and apparently painfully, shed that skin. He studied composition, earning a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and has scored films, played saxophone in a circus band performing for children in war-afflicted regions around the world. For Middle Sattre, he writes thoughtful, acoustic chamber pop for a band that includes lots of plucked and bowed strings, along with accordion and trumpet and multiple voices. There’s a catchy sophistication to the songs that sometimes calls Paul Simon to mind. Despite the difficult journey the album details, it’s a surprisingly easy listen.
workbench. The digital flipside is an instrumental version, perhaps intended for more personal rumination.
Completing this accidental trilogy of downtempo downers is a bittersweet single by the Columbus, Ohio–based composer Brian Harnetty. “The Workbench” (download out now on Winesap Records) is a somber, 11-minute meditation on loss, using telephone messages from his father. Harnetty doesn’t build the music around the cadences of his father’s voice, nor does he cut the phone messages into verse format. Rather, the everyday updates serve as simple interjections that drive the piece. The elegiac music is scored for piano, violin, cello and bass clarinet, and based on Harnetty imagining sonic memories embedded in the objects her inherited: tools, radios, speakers, a typewriter and the titular
The thrill of the Chaser. But enough of these cold, wet, February listens. Last month, NYC’s Chaser (not to be confused with some skate punks from the other coast) released their second album, and it’s a searing, controlled frenzy. Planned Obsolence (LP, CD, download from Decoherence Records) cuts like broken glass, with eight tracks speeding past in under half an hour, and is good enough to restart once it’s over. The band is made up of musicians who have played together around the NYC improv scene (Dominika Em, vocals; Chris Welcome, guitar; Shayna Dulberger, bass; and Oran Canfield, drums). At least some of them have also played with that arbiter of all that is brutal Weael Walter, who nailed some PR hype for the record: “The band does not conform to previous conventions of ‘noise rock,’ ‘no wave,’ ‘math rock,’ ‘postpunk’ and all that sort of stuff., but they do creep stealthily around all of them in a refreshingly singular fashion.” Em screams along with Welcome’s guitar in an anguished duet. Canfield and Dulberger march in metered clamor. It’s just the album to chase away your seasonal affective disorder and replace it with something worse.
and still think, “Oh, wow, that’s pretty beautiful.” That place, these people, that face, whatever it might be. It stimulates my eyes still.
Stein: I’m having a blast with it coming back and people enjoying it and talking about it. It’s very gratifying. It’s just a wonderful moment for me.
Wittenberg: I love Lorraine and I love Asia. I’m so happy that we filmed them and that their story lives. And I love little tiny things, like on the beach, there are people on a blanket and one of them has a shopping bag that says “Herman Badillo.” So it has the big things, like the characters, and those little touches that if you love New York... I feel like it’s just such a New York Film — not just a Brooklyn film, but a New York Film, and that’s important to me.
www.star-revue.com
Wittenberg: And having it at Anthology now is just so extra meaningful. It feels like it belongs there. And that’s perfect.
Brighton Beach screens at Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave in Manhattan, February 9-15, with filmmakers Carol Stein and Susan Wittenberg in attendance at select screenings. Visit anthologyfilmarchives.org for showtimes.
February 2024, Page 17
Quinn on Books I Gotta Feeling Review of “The Premonition,” by Banana Yoshimoto; translated from Japanese by Asa Yoneda Review by Michael Quinn
A
uthors sometimes see renewed interest in their old work, especially if they’ve made a name for themselves. These older titles may not be as good as their most popular books (though occasionally, they’re better). Yet it’s always interesting to dip into an author’s back catalog to see how they’ve evolved. Early attempts often have a freshness that embodies what we love about an author in the books we know best.
Such is the case with Banana Yoshimoto. If you’re familiar with the Japanese writer, it’s likely due to her 1988 book “Kitchen.” Megan Backus’ 1993 translation introduced English readers to Yoshimoto’s unique sensibility. This lively pair of stories features offbeat characters (including a transexual mother) propelled by grief and guided by dreams, gut feelings and a longing for love. It was an international best-seller.
Yoshimoto has published several books since, but not all have been available in English. Counterpoint Press has recently released a translation by Asa Yoneda of another work Yoshimoto published in 1988, “The Premonition.” Like “Kitchen,” it’s focused on a family and the fluid relationships within and around it. But while “Kitchen” is endearingly kooky, “The Premonition” is almost offputtingly strange.
The novel revolves around 19-year-old Yanoi. Dad’s a doctor, Mom’s a nurse, and Yanoi has a close relationship with her younger brother, Tetsuo. They live in a comfortable home and are preparing to welcome a new puppy. Yet Yanoi feels weighed down by things she can’t remember. Searching for the root cause of her malaise, she realizes she has no clear memories of her childhood and a persistent feeling that she doesn’t belong. Periodically, she runs away. One place she’s drawn to is the rundown house where her eccentric aunt, Yukino, lives. Cultivating her spinster reputation, the 30-yearold dresses plainly and lives alone, shunning the rest of the world. Yet when Yanoi shows up unexpectedly at her door one night, Yanoi pushes aside her messy piles to make room for her.
In close quarters, Yanoi observes Yukino’s strangeness up close. Yukino works as a music teacher yet refuses to leave the house on rainy days. She endlessly watches the “Friday the 13th” movies, paying close attention to the gruesome scenes. She stays up late drinking and eats only if and when she feels like it, sleeping wherever the urge strikes her. Often, she drifts through the house like a sleepwalker, sitting down at her dusty piano to play a haunting melody.
Despite the chaos, Yanoi starts to feel at home. Yukino’s total acceptance of herself invites Yanoi to begin acknowledging things about herself, including her powers of extrasensory perception. As a child, she knew who was calling when the phone rang. But she senses other kinds of things as well. Taking a bath in an unfamiliar house, Yanoi feels something bumping up against her back. She discovers it to be a rubber ducky, which soon vanishes. She later learns that a woman had drowned her baby there. “The Premonition” is full of things like that rubber ducky: almost comical yet connected to something dark. Central to the novel are two kinds of forbidden love: incest and a relationship with a minor. Yet Yoshimoto’s sensibility is such that she doesn’t take a moral stance. She treats taboo topics with respect and compassion, doodling her scenes with little romantic flourishes like “darkly sparkling raindrops.”
Yoshimoto lets her characters come to terms with discovering what’s right for them, however unconventional. In some way, this journey to self-awareness and self-acceptance is ultimately what all her stories are about. In “The Premonition,” when Yanoi finally uncovers the truth about her background, she releases long-held beliefs about how life is “supposed” to be. The future, she realizes, is “a dream belonging to my other self. But that me had already lost her chance in this life.” Reading Yoshimoto helps us understand that it’s not just life that changes—it’s us.
Page 18 Red Hook Star-Revue
www.star-revue.com
February 2024
Jazz by Grella
Crime Jazz
M
oral panics have been around long before Socrates was forced to commit suicide for corrupting the youth of Athens. Since civilization began, there’s been an endless cycle of social/political/artistic change provoking reaction from those who are fearful of any change whatsoever, or even, in Mencken’s immortal words, “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”
The challenge for the ones who are doing the panicking is to keep the cycle fresh, to try and hold the line of today’s rear guard even as the previous ones have broken. This is a particular problem with American politics in society, because there’s too, too many well-funded, frightened, insecure, mean-spirited, and anti-humanist busybodies and God-botherers like Christopher Rufo and Moms for Liberty who get all worked up over the notion that all men are created equal—not to mention that anyone who doesn’t look like them (white), practice the same religion (Christianity), or have the same sexuality (although here it’s bit tricky because Mom’s for Liberty seems to be a bisexual swinger’s club for suburban wives) might, somewhere, be happy.
For normal, balanced people like you and I, those things barely earn a shrug. But to inadequate, insecure people who identify themselves as central to an established order, any challenge to the status quo is something to panic over. And so Eric Adams thinks that the fundamental problem in New York City is that people listen to drill rap, and in Georgia the criminal prosecution system is using rap lyrics as evidence in a trial against the Young Slime Life record label (the latest instance in an ongoing practice). I wonder if any of those attorneys ever read crime fiction.
In 1955 Johnny Cash recorded and released “Folsom Prison Blues,” with the lyric: “But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.” It was part of his supposed outlaw image, which was never real except for some overnight jail stays for misdemeanors—the “outlaw country” idea of musical style had nothing to do with criminality, it was a movement to buck the Nashville system and make more individualized music. The line never sounded serious, especially when Cash sang it at Folsom Prison, nothing like the threat of John Lee Hooker purring “I’’m Bad Like Jesse James.” For Cash, it was just a brand, but there have been
Red Hook Star-Revue
by George Grella
real outlaws in music, like Leadbelly and Joe Hill. And music itself has been outlawed time and time again (good luck with that Mayor Adams!). As Ted Gioia proves in his great revisionist history, Music, the eternal story of musical developments is that of how important, revolutionary ideas come up from the streets and threaten both the musical and political status quo. Atavistic yes, just like reactionary politics in every other way, but not archaic: from the 20th century alone there was Louis Armstrong’s insulting reaction to be-bop, Stanley Crouch’s insulting reaction to Miles Davis’ comeback, not to mention music fascists considered “degenerate,” usually because it was Black/Jewish/jazz.
Plenty of jazz musicians served time in jail or prison, many because during the middle of last century it was a crime to be a drug addict, i.e. being addicted was illegal. Dexter Gordon, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Jackie McLean, Frank Morgan, all served time behind bars. Morgan was in San Quentin where he crossed paths and played with one of the great post-Charlie Parker alto saxophonist and the premiere criminal jazz musician, Art Pepper. Pepper, who came up in the big bands of Benny Carter and Sten Kenton, was a fiery player, almost compulsively inventive as an improviser, chasing after his own notes with something just this side of musical logorrhea. He was a unique and devastating ballad player, using slow tempos and minor keys to dig into a jagged and abrading psychological despair. If you want to start with one track, make it “Here’s That Rainy Day” on Living Legend, and if you want to take in a whole album, try Winter Moon, one of the greatest jazz-with-strings discs ever made.
But if you read his astonishing memoir, Straight Life, one of the most honest and withering (even terrifying) biographical books ever published, you’ll find that Pepper thought of himself less as musician than as a junkie and a convict. A heroin addict, Pepper spent four separate stretches imprisoned for crimes that included armed robbery, ending with two stretches in San Quentin, 1961-1964 and 1964-1965. The seriousness of his addiction is marked by the brief 1964 interval, where after release from prison he immediately went back to robbery and heroin. (After prison he entered Synanon, where he met his wife Laurie, and his time there might be the scariest part of his story.)
www.star-revue.com
One of the complex and insoluble parts of Pepper’s life, one that’s inseparable from his playing, is his own insecurity and self-consciousness about being a white musician playing music pioneered by Blacks. He looked up to the great Black musicians and felt he didn’t belong with them, yet played brilliantly and with ease in their company, as on his classic Meets the Rhythm Section album, with pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones, and in his post-prison years he was often accompanied by the great pianist George Cables (with whom he had a clear rapport) and for his fantastic The Complete Village Vanguard Sessions, he’s got Elvin Jones on drums.
Yet that insecurity, and drugs and prison, fucked up his personality to the point where he turned racist, something he managed to fix within himself (though never the addiction, which returned in numerous ways after prison and was the fundamental cause of his death in 1982, at the age of 56. What you get with Pepper is outlaw jazz in the sense that the traits and foibles that led to his criminal life come out through his playing. Again, the key word with him is honesty, and the notes he played are as honest as the memoir. Better put, his discography through the years follows his story, a junkie trying to pass himself off as together, a white jazz musician trying to keep the confidence to play with his Black peers. Then, out of prison, he’s a musician trying to get it back together. There’s a great new document of this, produced by Laurie Pepper on Omnivore Recordings, Art Pepper: The Complete Maiden Voyage Recordings. These are the full live sets from three straight nights at the Maiden Voyage jazz club in Los Angeles, August 13-15, 1981 (some of these tracks have been released before).
It’s Pepper, complete. His rambling chatter with the audience comes off as a man who’s simultaneously trying to convince himself that he belongs and is overjoyed to be there. Then he counts off the tunes and puts the horn to his lips, and there’s honest, jagged life, line after line from a man who sounds like if he keeps the notes coming, he’ll keep himself afloat and make something so beautiful and meaningful that he’ll convince the universe he belongs. Not that there’s anything wasted or superfluous, when you’re this honest, everything matters. And when you’re this honest, you belong.
February 2024, Page 19
WE’VE MOVED TO PIONEER!!!
Frank's 929-329-8367 RED HOOK - BROOKLYN
Tune ups Overhauls Flat tire repair/change Accessories ASK US ABOUT BIKE STORAGE!! Bicycle sales Frank’s Bike Shop T-shirts
FRANKS BIKE SHOP 138 Pioneer St., Brooklyn NY 11231 off Van Brunt
Page 20 Red Hook Star-Revue
www.star-revue.com
February 2024