A community empowerment center on red hook’s waterfront
Red Hook is a small neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY that has been shaped historically by different
actors, resulting in an urban fabric that is isolated both physically and socially. On one hand
there is an intriguing waterfront once dominated by warehouses and large scale infrastructure
that connects Brooklyn to the larger metropolitan area. On the other hand there is a fragmented
community that has to deal with high poverty rates, unemployment, a lack of facilities and
gentrification phenomena. A community empowerment facility located on a waterfront parcel will
provide a place for education, recreation and rehabilitation, building upon community involvement,
social interaction and instructional programs. Through a mixture of program, atmosphere and
relations between spaces, the willingness of the community to improve life conditions will become
tangible on a location that has always been excluded to the neighborhood.
