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Raquel Uy's avatar

😆👍 to the caption, “There goes the neighborhood” with the cyber truck.

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Hopefully they were just visiting

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Bill Amstutz's avatar

Great edition, Rob. I have cycled on Sands St. many times but had no idea of its history. Throughout the city, it's like every red brick public housing complex is a monument to the ghosts of an old neighborhood.

Given the number of distilleries that used to be in the area, it's fitting that the King's County Distillery is just inside the Navy Yard Sands St. entrance. I recommend their tour and tasting.

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Thanks Bill! I work in the Navy Yard and had no idea Sands Street was so happening either.

I've been to the Distillery but never for a tour, that's a good idea!

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Justin Difazzio's avatar

Wow! What a storied little patch. I have but one questions: Why are there signs warning people not to take photos of the Con Ed plant?

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Those signs are all over any kind of big city power infrastructure sites. You can see them if you use google street view and zoom in.... https://maps.app.goo.gl/oYRFvB5G6Bz3Hf3b6

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Justin Difazzio's avatar

It's even more weird that it's on friggin street view and yet they're worried about whatever they're worried about. Like...what's the issue?

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

exactly!

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Michael Holstein's avatar

Great stuff. A a displaced Brooklynite who grew up next to Ebbitts Field, lived in Crown Heights, Flatbush, Midwood and Canarsie, and worked in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, I really appreciate the posts and the pictures, Great photos. I edited the Crown Height Courier for three years. The audience was graduates for P.S. 161.

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

I may need to pick your brain when I attempt to cover Crown Heights. Happy you are following along. Thanks!

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David Perlmutter's avatar

Robert Moses strikes again! That man's revisionist footsteps are all over NYC now.

While he didn't explicitly set it in Irishtown, Stephen Crane's first book "Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets" depicts much of the raucous and reckless activities that would have happened in the area in the 19th century. The title character's mother is portrayed as a neglectful drunkard not unlike Mrs. Jordan.

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

I kept getting Stephen Crane and Hart Crane mixed up. Looks like they share more than just a surname. I was up in the Bronx today where Moses' handiwork is at its most egregious. He really is everywhere.

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Brooke Bartletta's avatar

could look at these all day... thank you.

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Anne Kadet's avatar

I want to be the Adam and Eve of something!

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

It's not too late. Camel Milk?

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Damn the neighborhood is so empty and peaceful now. It’s hard to imagine all this going on!

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Anne Kadet's avatar

I dunno…”Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub” sounds very 2022.

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Yeah, especially now that someone who thinks wind farms cause cancer is back in charge. Maybe it will become a $TRUMP mining operation.

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Will Cruttenden's avatar

Your photographs in this week’s piece felt especially moving. I’m not sure how you make images of abandoned cars and closed shops look romantic, but you do.

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Thanks, Will! The abandoned cars and closed storefronts are, in a way, low-hanging fruit; it's the meticulously maintained or brand-new neighborhoods that I dread. Thankfully, there is always something to see.

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Nat Kalbach's avatar

Love Vinegar Hill- thank you for the tour! I always intrigued by the story of the Mansion - I would love to see the inside. I also recommend King's County Distillery and a tour there - been a while since I was there but now you put it back on my list, thank you.

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Rumor has it that it was designed by the same architect as the US Capitol. Here are some more pics. I may need to make a followup article. http://catalog.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/record=b11197714

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Marty Levenson's avatar

Good work. Lovely to listen to the audio while looking at your photos. Live near Vancouver but next time in NYC we'll take a walk around your hood. Thank you!

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Thanks Marty! I'm glad I got the audio back and working especially when I hear that people are listening in. Glad you like it!

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Rodrigo Pocius's avatar

Thank you for this article. I have lived in Vinegar Hill since I was 5 years old. I always love to read new articles from people who discover this neighborhood.

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Walter Simson's avatar

Beautifully researched, written and presented. Many thanks.

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KewtieBird’s Photo Journey's avatar

Super enjoyable and informative read — and loved the images.

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