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Alfa Motors: A Neighborhood Story of Old Meets New

Alfa Motors has been on Hicks Street between Union and Sackett since 1982 and has gone through several big changes since that year, including new ownership, a new business model and (just last month!) a complete make over of the interior. All of this begins with a heartwarming story of two strangers, Ami and Sal, […]

Alf Dyrland, Captain of the MARY A. WHALEN, 1958-1978

Alf Dyrland Collection By The Red Hook WaterStories team Alf Dyrland was Captain of the MARY A. WHALEN from her rechristening in 1958 until 1978 when he retired. He was her first captain; she was his last boat. Alf loved the MARY deeply.  As he lay dying in 1996, what he said out loud revealed […]

News from The Longshoreman Bar.

We had posted a blog when we found out about our new neighbors taking over at 215 Columbia, which used to be Toby’s Public House. The Longshoreman, an Italian bistro who still has no social media or website we could find, is supposed to open sometime this fall. We wanted to post the latest news we […]

Winter Life on Canal Boats, 1915

By The Red Hook WaterStories team Residents of Erie Basin Celebrate the Holidays in Much the Same Fashion as Folk Ashore. Near Christmas time, 1915, a female reporter and an illustrator for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, visited a few of the many canal boats and barges moored for the winter in Erie Basin “in search […]

Title Fight: Louis Heineman vs. William Beard

By The Red Hook WaterStories team “No man ever, perhaps, got so much the best of old Beard as did Louis Heineman, the housemover of the Twelfth ward.” (The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 19, 1891) When Louis Heineman died in 1904, he was reportedly 104 years old, and likely the oldest man in Red Hook […]

New Tenants at 215 Columbia Street.

The space at 215 Columbia Street was most recently Toby’s Public House, a pizza restaurant with a couple of other locations around Brooklyn and Manhattan that are now closed as well. They were lovely neighbors with delicious pizza and were sorry to see them close up shop. The space was vacant then under renovations for […]

Valentine’s Day Shopping at Brooklyn Collective Tonight.

Here is a perfect opportunity to shop for your loved one for Valentine’s Day! Brooklyn Collective, on Columbia Street between Sackett and Union, has a variety of locally crafted jewelry, art, decor, clothing accessories and more! Tonight they are having a special shopping event with live music and complimentary cocktails! Show up between 6pm and […]

Brooklyn Spar Company By The Red Hook WaterStories Team

In 1921, the Brooklyn Spar Company advertised in The Marine Journal that it sold wooden masts and posts for derricks and flag poles, which the company made at its waterfront facility at the foot of Columbia Street. In O.R. Pilat’s 1929 article, John J. Murphy, a 40-year veteran of the Brooklyn spar business, said that during World War […]

New Italian Restaurant in Columbia Waterfront Brooklyn.

Those of us who live or work in the Columbia Waterfront District of Brooklyn know this lovely little section of the borough to be quiet, mostly residential, with a few scattered restaurants here and there.  When a new spot opens, it’s pretty big news! Especially if that new spot is getting good reviews! Sebastiano’s at […]

Volunteer for District 39!

In the wake of election day, where in some Brooklyn areas turnout exceeded expectations, many of you may be feeling energized and ready to get involved in local politics.  Attending your community board meetings is definitely a good place to start and we encourage all who can to do that.  Here is another way to […]