A Brooklyn Life

We took a bike ride over the weekend that involved scouring Red Hook’s nooks and crannies. One nook we got a peek at was the Waterfront Museum Barge. Though it’s not normally open on the weekends, a couple had an appointment to see the space for an event, so a man who I’m pretty sure was museum president David Sharpes let us onto the boat, too.

In addition to seeing the barge and getting some background on its history and recent restoration, we heard an impassioned argument for saving the dry dock where Ikea plans to build its parking lot. The shortened version of the argument says that it is one of three functional dry docks in the New York Harbor (dry docks lift ships out of the water so they can be repaired) and, as such, it could be an important part of continuing the shipping industry in this region–this in addition to it being a significant piece of history. Though no one has said it exactly, I’m sure part of the trouble is the indignity of something of this magnitude and importance being paved into a parking lot.

To further imprint the importance of saving the structure, today, while waiting for my slice to warm at Vinny’s on Court Street (love their slices!), I picked up the Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill Courier, and what’s on the paper’s page one and page two? Ikea and the Red Hook graving dock that the museum and Save the Graving Dock wants to protect. If you want to do your part in attempting to change Ikea’s plans, contact either organization, and they’ll point you in the right direction.

And do go down and check out the barge. Even if it’s not open, the public gardens on the waterfront are absolutely gorgeous, and it’s uber-close to Fairway. An added bonus: The day we were there, the fence on the water had a slight electrical charge, meaning one could touch it, get a shock, but then pass the shock onto one’s companion. Almost as much fun as when I discovered that if you lick batteries your tongue tingles!