Red Hook: Van Dyke, Beard, Coffey, Dikeman, Van Brunt, and the shoreline

I didn't really have a plan for Red Hook. I first considered taking the G to Smith-Ninth Streets and a bus toward IKEA, but in the end I drove and looked for a stop. Furthermore, I'd planned on doing Conover or Van Brunt Streets toward the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and back again, but I ended up doing two streets and a lot of shore line.

I posted this out of order. This walk took place on April 14. For whatever reason, I didn't get my usual screenshot and had to download a map after the fact.

I started on Coffey Street, just south of Conover (south being closer to Park Slope) and worked down to the waterfront.

I made it one block before I stumbled upon Widow Jane distillery. Of course, it wasn't open that early in the morning. I did make a not of the hours, and yet, I haven't made it back there yet. Now that I'm reviewing these pictures, I think I should rectify that!

I don't know what they were building here, but they're building something. Hey, this is waterfront property! But it's also industrial. Again, it's not easy to get here. I saw a proposal about rerouting the G train to Governor's Island, but that would be a massive undertaking not likely to happen this century. Plus, in this imaginary scenario, Governor's Island is expanded in the harbor toward Manhattan. Fantasy.

Still, I wouldn't be surprised if people wanted to buy down here. It's an insulated community, for now, but they do have a ferry just minutes away to bring people to DUMBO or Wall Street.

On the map, it says that this is Louis Valentino Jr. Park and Pier. I didn't know how that is but I got a picture of the sign. Google tells me that he was a firefighter and Parks lifeguard at Coney Island. He was a son of Brooklyn. He jogged the streets of Red Hook, loved sandwiches with eggplant and peppers. He went to the same high school as I did, graduating several years before I arrived there. On February 5, 1996, Valentino lost his life while searching for wounded firefighters in a three-alarm blaze in an illegal Flatlands garage.

The third picture is a flagpole dedicated in his memory.

A little history lesson follows:

Two selfies: the first is the Statue of Liberty, which look really close when you're standing there, but far, far away in a selfie; the second is the lower Manhattan skyline. And, yes, it was April, so I was wearing a hoodie.

And, of course, I shot some video.

After some time at the water, I started up Van Dyke Street (maybe making a Dick Van Dyke joke along the way) until I got to Barnell St, which doesn't look like much of anything. However, it was a named street, so I walked it, and that's where I found Strong Rope Brewery. The folks in Red Hook really like their alcohol! The taproom wasn't open ... yet. I figured that I could circle back later sometime before getting back to the car, which is what I did.

(Side note: Don't drink and drive. I had one beer about an hour or more before I drove home. End of PSA.)

Heading back up Van Dyke Street to Otsego Street and then over one block to Beard St brings us to IKEA. I didn't stop in for meatballs although I did think about using the bathroom. In the end, I didn't want to get lost in a warehouse looking for a Mens room.

This signpost at Erie Basin Park was interesting, so I took a couple of photos. On the right, it gives the distance, in miles, of (Brooklyn) Borough Hall, Gracie Mansion, and the Empire State Building. On the left, Tierra Del Fuego is 6,603 miles south (and a tiny bit east). In contrast, Peoria, IL is 932 miles away. Why Peoria? I haven't a clue.

The next named street on my left was the end of Van Brunt Street. (Side note: Van Brunt Station was the Post Office in my old neighborhood (11215). I'd been "in the back" many times as a kid because my father was a mailman even though I don't really remember exactly when he worked at that station.)

I followed the buildings to the water even though I was no longer walking a named street. Sometimes, you just want a photo. I decided then that I had to come back at some time to walk the rest of the shoreline.

An old trolley car was on display, but it isn't used for anything, except graffiti.

I saw a saw for a Waterfront Museum right near a closed gate on the pier. I didn't immediately see the arrow. The funny thing about the museum is that it look almost like a boxcar for a train instead of a ship with a museum on it. (Consider the floating light, the Ambrose, at the South Street Seaport Museum, which is something of a museum piece in itself!)

Apparently, it's something I could do on a Thursday afternoon, along with Widow Jane. (Thursday's just a couple days away now, isn't it...?)

A picture of the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge from Red Hook

I don't remember what this building was, but I liked the car outside.

And a few more pictures from the area. I have to get down there again and do a few more streets. Driving there wasn't too bad, so I might try that again.

Here's a bonus video filmed later than night in Greenwich Village. I had a ticket to a comedy club. Nothing special, unfortunately, not even the writer from Saturday Night Live. It was an enjoyable evening though. And I got pastries and ice cream!

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