urban sparrows

Red Hook, Brooklyn
SUNDAY, JUNE 21TH 2009
AREA MAP

Once again I ventured to Brooklyn to visit Ikea, but this time I had the bus drop me off at the intersection of King Street and Van Brunt Street so that I could explore. My opinion of the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn is mixed. It looks abandoned no matter what time or day you visit, lined with dilapidated storefronts and trash, and I am not sure I would ride my bike by myself through the area. It explains the cheap land for Ikea, though!

Among the wreckage there are a few gems. Some boutique and thrift stores pop up here and there. Baked, a delicious little bakery livens the street with its orange storefront, Saipua has a new interior that is fresh and charming, Chelsea Garden Center offers some garden basics as the end of the street and it is adjacent to the large Fairway Market.

I didn't take pictures of any of this.

At the very tip of Van Brunt Street, extending out into the water is the Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition, which houses a 25,000 square foot gallery in a Civil War-era warehouse. I elected to wander around the fascinating building rather than go inside. It was an overcast day and it seemed appropriate for the forgotten waterfront. I have another close up of the beautiful numbered doors here.

Oh, and that cute kitty was sleeping on a table in the window of a closed thrift store. Cute, cute, cute.