On the Hook

The New York Times has a dense article today about Red Hook and the competing interests at play there. On the one side, there's Greg O'Connell, the ex-cop and scourge of crooked politicians who is a proponent of the area's industrial use and is renovating an old warehouse right on the waterfront (pictured) that'll have a Fairway and some nice residential units, and John McGettrick, the co-president of the Red Hook Civic Association, who's pushing for more and more housing. The article also mentions controversial developments in the nabe such as 160 Imlay, the much-delayed luxury residential development sitting over the new cruise ship port (which, when completed, will service the Queen Mary 2), and Ikea's big-box store that'll occupy the southern portion of the waterfront. All in all, it's a good overview by reporters Joseph Berger and Charles V. Bagli, and essential to anyone trying to understand the many different forces working to shape this seaside neighborhood. (The New York Times) -Matthew Grace