Sunrise through the gantry cranes of the Red Hook Container terminal.  Photo courtesy of Bernie Ente

Sunrise through the gantry cranes of the Red Hook Container terminal.  Photo courtesy of Bernie Ente

PortSide works to increase use of the waterways, re-establish the connection between people ashore and people afloat, create activities and spaces for both, nurture economic connections between the two, and foster their mutual appreciation.  

Ashore

Red Hook

We are located in Red Hook, Brooklyn. October 2016, PortSide launched a digital maritime museum and in-depth neighborhood guide called Red Hook WaterStories.  This content about Red Hook is mapped, making the whole peninsula an attraction and educational site.  It’s a resource for locals, tourists, history buffs, urban-planners, educators, investors, flaneurs. It tells NYC's maritime story in microcosm. Red Hook was one of the first places in the region settled by the Dutch, and the local maritime story continues into the present.

Since superstorm Sandy hit in late October 2012, our Red Hook work has had a strong focus on hurricane Sandy aid and resiliency.  

PortSide won a White House award and honors from the NYS Senate for our Sandy recovery work. Our president Carolina Salguero was appointed by the State to be Red Hook's NY Rising Committee that created a resiliency plan for Red Hook. She made significant contributions to the final plan.

PortSide WaterStories programs and our historic ship attract local and foreign visitors. They support the underserved Red Hook community directly by increasing programs and services here, and indirectly by attracting visitors who in turn support local retail businesses.  PortSide has brought many visiting vessels to Red Hook.

Columbia Waterfront District

Open studio event where furniture designer Michael Whitney Studio teamed up with Gowanus Nursery.

Open studio event where furniture designer Michael Whitney Studio teamed up with Gowanus Nursery.

In 2012, PortSide created the first, free, comprehensive guide to the Columbia Waterfront District.  We gave the data to others who have continued this work. The Columbia Waterfront District is a thin ribbon lying between the Red Hook container terminal and and the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.  Red Hook is a storied peninsula, only a mile square, bounded by water on three sides. These two quirky neighborhoods have active working waterfronts and are part of Brooklyn's creative crescent. They were once considered one neighborhood, before some realtor name changes, and are re-uniting. 

SUNSET PARK

During 2015, our President Carolina Salguero was appointed to on the Sunset Park Task Force by Councilman Carlos Menchaca. The Task Force was formed to help shape the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYC EDC) RFP for South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) and foster better EDC-community relations.