Vote-for-tug-Pegasus-&-Museum-Barge-to-win-big!

Vote to fund the only boats in the $3MM grant competition from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation that will fund sites in NYC!  

 

Vote for PortSide's friends and partners,the Tug Pegasus & Waterfront Museum Barge! 

Vote early and often!  Seriously! 

Vote every day from April 26 through May 21 at www.partnersinpreservation.com so that these two great historic ships can win a share of the grant money.

To make it easier to remember to vote AND to be eligible to win a July 4th fireworks cruise for two on the tug Tugboat Pegasus, visit the website of either the Tug Pegasus Preservation Project or the Waterfront Museum barge and sign-up to receive a daily reminder to vote and you will automatically be entered into the raffle. 

David Sharps (L) of Museum Barge, Pam Hepburn (R) of Tug Pegasus

Support NYC’s floating cultural heritage. Vote for historic ships!  Let American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation know that boats count!  

The fine print:

• American Express, partnering with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is committing $3 million in preservation grants to historic places in New York City through its community-based program, Partners in Preservation. 
• From April 26 May 21, 2012, the public is invited to vote for its favorite historic places from a diverse slate of 40 sites in the New York City area. Everyone is invited to vote (one vote per person per day)
• Guaranteed funding of $250,000 goes to the top three places, so get voting!  The tug and barge have been selected for this competition after a LONG process, so let's make it pay off!
• Additional grants will be awarded to a number of the other sites after review by American Express, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and an advisory committee composed of New York civic and preservation leaders. 

School group visiting the Museum Barge

 

Teens from Chinese American Planning Council during Maritime Adventure Program on the tug Pegasus

 
 

new-PortSide-SOS-pop-up-location!!!!

 

We have installed a "PortSide SOS Pop Up" at 145 Columbia Street where we have an office, garden and gallery space. From the latter we will de-acquisition the local maritime artifacts that would have been part of our off-ship maritime museum.

People can now walk right into PortSide's office to volunteer, sign our petition, or get information.  Many already have!  We encourage all to do so!

We moved in one day - an example of how well PortSide has learned to pop-up during six+ years without a publicly accessible home.

PortSide is very grateful for this donated space, thanks to property manager Beth Kenkel and the building owner. Beth Kenkel has lived on "this side of the highway" for 16 years, cannot imagine living anywhere else and is invested in her neighborhood. She has been supportive of community programs and local business owners over the years. She manages a building owned by a family friend, located at 145 Columbia Street, which in the past has been home to The Brooklyn Greenway Initiative and The Supermovers, a moving company owned by people that also live in the neighborhood. Since both of them found new spaces that met their growing business needs, Beth has been trying to sort out how to best utilize the commercial space so that it best serves the area. That is when the owners of home/made, friends of Beth who knew about the empty storefront, mentioned it to Carolina. Carolina called Beth and we both realized what a great match the pop up museum would be on so many levels. 

PortSide would also like to thank home/made who offered the incentive of free brunch to the first ten people who offered to help us move!

We are also setting up a small maritime gallery with photography and painting in addition to the artifacts. So far, we will be selling paintings and ropework by Frank Hanavan, illustrations and fabrics by Christina Sun, paintings by Dennis Doyle (a painter and dredge crew member) and photos by Carolina Salguero. We can also display the artwork donated to support our fundraising. 

Beth Kenkel has said we can host a fundraiser on site. Here is the garden. It has a grill and fire pit too! Please come visit us soon!

Buy a building and think of us!

Buy a building and think of us!


PortSide NewYork is one of five non-profits eligible to benefit from the Realty Collective's pledge to donate 10% of broker fees in May.

Brooklyn Brokerage Realty Collective to Sponsor ethikus “Shop Your Values Week”

May 3-10^th NYC-Wide Event Connects Committed Consumers with Sustainable Business

NEW YORK – April 18, 2012 – Realty Collective announced it will be sponsoring ethikus “Shop Your Values Week,” offering sustainable-dedicated consumers the opportunity to support charity with the Brooklyn-based real estate brokerage’s pledge to donate 10% of their broker fees. Spanning New York City, the “do good” event will connect thousands of conscientious consumers with hundreds of ethical and sustainable businesses in the five boroughs from May 3rd - 10th, 2012, by offering free samples, discounts, and special events to promote a healthier, happier NYC. Participants and sustainable businesses can visit www.ShopYourValuesWeek.com for learn more to get involved.

After Realty Collective wrote about ethikus’ work on its Brooklyn lifestyle blog, ethikus checked out the brokerage’s efforts to share space, compost, hire from within and “every day commitment” to donate 10% of profits to charity, and, finding them in sync with “Shop Your Values Week” mission of engaging with the community, supporting employees, addressing environmental impact and responsible sourcing of products/services, asked RC to participate as one of the 2012 sponsors.

“Realty Collective believes strongly in building a sustainable community, within an ethical world, and we understand better than anyone how this idea extends into the real estate market. We see our business as an opportunity to help people build communities from their ideals - from placing tenants in happy homes to finding the right spaces for small businesses to flourish. Our team strives to live our beliefs and ethikus ‘Shop Your Values Week,’ is one important step to raise awareness. We hope this business style becomes the norm,” said Victoria Hagman, Founder, Realty Collective.

To show the strength of Realty Collective’s support, the brokerage will extend the time period of the charitable contribution of 10% of broker fees generated through “Shop Your Values Week” clients beyond May 3-10^th, throughout the entire month of May. Clients who qualify can select which charity they wish their participation to benefit, from a pre-approved and thoroughly vetted list.

In order to participate, individuals will sign an online pledge at ShopYourValues.com to support businesses that “do good” with their everyday practices. By signing the pledge, participants agree to the following:

1. Pledge to shop locally, ethically, & sustainably from May 3rd - 10th in NYC
2. Search our database of participating businesses and their incentives
3. Feel good about contributing to a NYC economy that you believe in!

Shop Your Values Week is a city-wide event created by a collaboration of local non-profits, community organizers, small business groups and business improvement districts brought together by the Silicon Alley startup ethikus, which connects people with ethical and sustainable businesses across New York City. The ultimate mission for Shop Your Values Week is to create support for ethical, local, and sustainable economies in NYC.

About Realty Collective

Brooklyn-based real estate brokerage Realty Collective, http://realtycollective.com/, was founded in 2005 by agents who believed that dedicated professionals can have a creative life outside of their residential and commercial real estate careers, and that brokers with this kind of connection to their own creativity can, in turn, better serve their clientele. Like many Brooklynites, Realty Collective's agents are sculptors, dancers, producers, photographers, musicians, filmmakers, writers, and so much more. The business strategy for major firms has for too long been that of transactional volume. At Realty Collective, the strategy is different. The RC team passionately strives to maintain a hands-on approach, and to create a successful - but personal - atmosphere, not to attempt to achieve an ever-increasing sales goal, but instead, a consistent 100% rate of satisfaction. And in fact, many of the Realty Collective clients arrive through referrals from past customers.

About ethikus
Ethikus surveys and maintains a database of local NYC establishments based on their day-to-day practices in community engagement, employee care, product sourcing and environmental mitigation. With ethikus, conscientious consumers can find and choose local businesses that share their values, from composting to energy efficiency, employee healthcare to community donations, and more. The intention of ethikus is to inspire a movement towards sustainable consumption on a large scale by removing the primary barriers to better purchasing decisions, lack of information, perceived higher prices and complacency.

US-Customs-agrees-to-5-year-deal-at-Red-Hook-Container-Terminal

Governor Cuomo, Congressman Nadler, Port Authority Announce 5 Year Deal

to Keep Customs Inspection at Red Hook Container Terminal

Agreement will continue vital economic activity, protect jobs, and maintain security at Red Hook Container Terminal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, April 5, 2012

CONTACT: Robert Gottheim (Nadler), 917-689-7804

Albany, NY –  Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the signing of an agreement between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that will continue vital economic activity, protect jobs, and maintain security operations at Brooklyn's Red Hook Container Terminal through January 8, 2017.

The agreement, which followed extensive collaboration between the Port Authority and CBP, will enable CBP to secure the terminal and will maintain international trade at the location. The agreement took into account the unique location of the Red Hook terminal and the potential economic and environmental impact if certain aspects of CBP's operations ceased at the site.

The agreement safeguards the 700 jobs that are generated by the Red Hook Container Terminal and protects the over $240 million of public and private investment already made at the terminal and the Brooklyn waterfront.

"This agreement protects hundreds of jobs and preserves a vital commercial port that is critical to Brooklyn's economy," said Governor Cuomo. "Maintaining the Red Hook facility ensures that shipping to New York City continues without disruption. I thank Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye, and Congressman Jerry Nadler for working with our office to achieve this result."

"We applaud the efforts of our Congressional delegation for helping address this issue with U.S. Customs," said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye. "We thank U.S. Customs for its commitment to Red Hook and for doing the right thing for the region's port."

"Our collaboration with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a good example of Federal and State/Local authorities working together to increase security and safety, while reducing transaction costs and expediting trade to the benefit of the local and regional economy," said Robert E. Perez, Director of CBP's New York Field Operations. "We very much appreciate our outstanding working relationship with the Port Authority."

Senator Charles E. Schumer said, "I'm pleased Customs and Border Protection were willing to work with us and decided to keep this inspection site in Red Hook where it belongs. Shipping cargo from Brooklyn to Staten Island and New Jersey could have represented a security threat by sending uninspected, potentially dangerous cargo across New York City's already congested bridges."

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, "This is great news for Brooklyn's working waterfront. I am pleased that the Red Hook Container Terminal will remain an important regional economic driver and a top destination for goods from around the world."

Congressman Jerrold Nadler said, "The agreement to maintain a customs facility in Red Hook is terrific news for Brooklyn's only container port and for the 700 workers and many businesses that rely on its operations. I have worked for months, along with Governor Cuomo and Port Authority Director Foye, to resolve this crisis and ensure that shipping would not be disrupted. Needless to say, Red Hook's container port is critical to Brooklyn's economy and to our region's overall shipping capacity. This facility is the only container port on the East Side of the Hudson River, which houses 2/3 of our region's population, and it must be preserved."

Congressman Peter T. King said, "I am very pleased with today's announcement that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the Customs and Border Protection were able to come to an agreement on this important issue. The Red Hook Container Terminal is not only an important economic asset for the region, but it also serves as a critical inspection point for at-risk cargo. As Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, I have consistently worked hard to make certain that New York has the resources it needs to protect itself. Today's announcement ensures that at-risk cargo will not be transported throughout the New York metropolitan area without having undergone a thorough inspection by Customs and Border Protection officers. I commend both the Customs and Border Protection and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for their hard work to resolve this issue, and I look forward to continuing to work with them."

Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez said, "This announcement is tremendous news for Brooklyn and all of New York City. Maintaining the Red Hook Container Terminal will not only help keep our nation safe by examining products entering our country, but also retain an important hub of economic activity and local commerce in Red Hook."

Congressman Michael Grimm said, "Today's announcement brings welcomed news for the Brooklyn community and the City of New York, that will help preserve hundreds of local jobs and prevent an onslaught of trucks from congesting our already crowded streets. I applaud the efforts of Governor Cuomo, the PANYNJ, and the CBP for working in partnership to promote economic growth. For those of us fighting to keep Red Hook Terminal open and operating effectively, this five-year agreement is exactly the kind of solution we need to maintain the stability and security of the Terminal's operation."

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said, "The Red Hook Container Terminal is an important economic engine for New York City and the region. This agreement is crucial to keeping 700 jobs in our city, and thousands of trucks off the road. It will also allow for continued growth at the container terminal and for the City to revitalize our working waterfront."

The agreement with U.S. Customs provides the incentive for planned new investments at the terminal and along the Brooklyn waterfront over the next five years. Red Hook currently handles $3.8 billion in total retail value commodities. The terminal's primary imports are produce products and high end beverages; its primary exports are household goods, foodstuffs, and medical equipment.

# # #

NYC-Historic-ship-docking-issues-City-Council-Waterfronts-Hearing-3/16/12

NYC Historic Ships need greater and easier access to NYC piers!

 

Friday 3/16/12 the City Council Committee on Waterfronts held a hearing about the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) WAVES initiative.  WAVES includes this goal of the Mayor's office for 2012: 

"Create uniform landing protocol and application for City-owned properties to facilitate docking of historic vessels." 

If such a protocol were in place, PortSide would surely not be suffering our current real estate crisis. 

 

At th3 3/16/12 hearing, a noteworthy number of people testified solely on the theme of historic ships.

Many people mentioned PortSide's real estate crisis - we became the theme du jour - and supported having the MARY A. WHALEN get a new home fast.

The value and struggles of historic ships in NYC was affirmed by several members of the newly formed coalition of historic ships (a formal name, mission statement and website for the group are in the works).  Members of this coalition, which includes PortSide NewYork, testified in person or sent in written testimony.

Here are links to some of the testimony from that day (official City Council transcripts are not yet ready):

Carolina Salguero, Director, PortSide NewYork click

Capt. Maggie Flanagan, maritime educator & program developer click

Mary Habstritt, Museum Director, LILAC Preservation Project click

Capt. Pamela Hepburn, Director, Tug PEGASUS Preservation Project click 

David Sharps, President, Waterfront Museum Barge click

Please support our getting a new home and all historic ships in NYC by signing our petition at http://chn.ge/PortSideSOS

For a quick summary of our programs see this video click

Costa-Rica-Sea-Turtle-egg-collection-hoax-email

A photo is worth a thousand words -- sometimes.

We received an email this morning with a series of photos saying they depicted why sea turtles were endangered concluding "and it is not global warming!" [That explanation should set off warning bells...]

The sole other caption was "Costa Rica" and the photos showed dozens of people digging a beach and loading up sacks of eggs in front of, one imagines, forlorn turtles.

Some Googling finds that the photos are true, but the message is false:

The egg collection is part of a government-run program that allows a very short stint of egg collecting (to satisfy a traditional demand for the eggs and their presumed aphrodisiac powers) while also preventing the destruction of many eggs by the turtles themselves who come back to lay in another wave.

Anti-hoax explanation webpage http://www.hoax-slayer.com/costa-rica-turtle-eggs.shtml

Substantiated by a Costa Rican government website

http://www.costarica-nationalparks.com/ostionalwildliferefuge.html

Report by NPR journalist about the complex politics and economics of egg harvesting and environmental protection in a poor area on website of Sustainable Development Reporting Project (SDRP) http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/sdrp/tortugas.html

 

NPR's own website shows that Burnett did do a story in 1997 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1002800 but there is no audio on line). How is it that a story by an NPR journalist is not on NPR's website but is on the SDRP one (yes, we checked),  here is the reason offered by the SDRP website:

John Burnett, NPR

"The Sustainable Development Reporting Project is a year-long endeavor to look at the most promising and important sustainable development programs in Central America. It is made possible by a grant from the Mexico City office of the Ford Foundation. The topics include sustainable forestry, ecotourism, sustainable agriculture, biodiversity protection, and endangered species protection. The project is producing 10 stories to be aired on National Public Radio between August 1997 and March 1998. All stories are being rewritten in print format for UT-LANIC, the University of Texas at Austin's Latin American Network Information Center. 

The Project Director is John Burnett, for 12 years Southwest Correspondent for NPR based in Austin, Texas. Burnett took a year-long leave of absence from his regular duties covering Texas to travel in Central America, research the stories, write them and produce them."

Various Costa Rica B and B sites list the egg laying as a reason to visit.

So... please protect sea turtles and all of nature, but do not believe every action email you receive.  Always do your research!

PortSide-seeks-free-storefront-for-April-2012

Want to help a great non-profit?

Can you find PortSide NewYork a space that we could use for an office for one month?   We would also like to use this to sell off a collection of maritime artifacts, part of our fundraising endeavors. We cannot do that from the port where we are not accessible on a walk-up basis.

For owners/brokers of vacant storefronts:  it is easier to rent a space that is in use (that's why there are so many pop-up cultural centers).   Having PortSide in a space attract a lot of visitors, blog buzz, good press, and good kharma! We always return any space cleaner than we found it.  It would be a office for 3-4 people and visiting volunteers.  If you have a space or lead on a space, please email us at portsidenewyork(at)gmail.com or call 917-414-0565. 

We are looking for a temporary office because tightened Port Authority security regs (as of 2/13) are severely blocking volunteers trying to help us at a time we really need help (see our petition here)  Our office is on the historic ship MARY A. WHALEN in a Port Authority containerport where Homeland Security TWIC cards are needed to enter.

As of 2/13, our Director Carolina Salguero is the only PortSide person who can escort guests without TWIC cards to the tanker MARY A. WHALEN. Other PortSide holders of TWIC cards no longer have escort priveledges (including our Shipwork Volunteer Coordinator).  

This is a new Port Authority rule.  TWIC cards cost about $135, a federal background check and about 2 weeks to get, so we cannot get TWICs for all visitors or volunteers.  

So... this means that if Carolina Salguero is out of the office on PortSide business (visiting a potential pier, attending a meeting or conference) all the volunteers offering to help during our crisis have to get out of the office.  Last week, Carolina was out of the office almost four days on business.  

If Carolina is here, it means that her day is interrupted by biking back and forth six blocks to the gate to get volunteers or visitors coming for appointments.

Carolina can't leave a non-TWIC card holder alone on the boat (even though there are other TWIC card holders in the office), so if we have a guest coming after the first one, she has to take the 1st guest out with her to collect the 2nd guest, etc.  

In short, if PortSide had a publicly accessible office right now it would help HUGELY.  We don't need phone lines.  We run the office on cellphones. We need electricity to power computers and internet access.

If you have a space or lead on a space, please email us at portsidenewyork(at)gmail.com or call 917-414-0565.

Gowanus-superfund-dredging-&-Red-Hook

Red Hook  has a big role in the Gowanus Canal Superfund clean up, and two opportunities to get involved this week:

• Site visit Tues 3/20/12 5:30pm and 
• Public meeting Thursday, March 22, 2012, 7:00 PM.  download meeting PDF here

Details on both below.

Some background on the process up until now at  http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/gowanus/cag.html

Site visit Tues 3/20/12, 5:30pm

There will be a site visit Tuesday March 20th at 5:30pm of a location that looks like to play a key role in the superfund dredging.

The the property known informally in Red Hook as the Gowanus Industrial Park or the Columbia Street Grain Terminal. It is accessed from a gate opposite IKEA's entrance on Columbia Street.

The site has been discussed as a barge staging area, site where the dredge remediation plant could be installed, and a place where remediated dredged would be used as landfill (which could fill out to where Columbia Street makes the right angle turn to the SW for it's final stretch by the NYPD evidence lot).

Info on the site visit is below

From: Phaedra Thomas [mailto:phaedra_thomas@earthlink.net]
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2012 2:37 PM
To: Phaedra Thomas
Subject: Meeting Thursday, Site visit tomorrow

Hello Again, 

The EPA meeting is this Thursday March 22nd at 7:00pm at the MICCIO.  Sorry for any confusions.  

If possible John would like to have as many folks over to his property tomorrow, Tuesday March 20th at 5:30pm for a brief onsite review of where EPA activities could take place.  We were hoping to have EPA join us at the visit but they are otherwise busy.  We still wanted an opportunity to provide a visual perspective of what could happen, prior to Thursday's discussion.

Please let me know if you can make it tomorrow.  Very sorry about short notice.

Best -Phaedra (917) 859-2949

download PDF about meeting below here

[EPA logo here]

Meeting about Superfund plans for Gowanus

and how they may affect Red Hook

(we are a potential processing site for the toxic dredge material)

and opportunities for Red Hook to get involved

EPA invites you to a public information meeting on the GOWANUS CANAL SUPERFUND SITE
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites you to attend a public information meeting to discuss the cleanup of the Gowanus Canal and its potential impact on the residents of Red Hook. Representatives from EPA will be on hand to talk about possible clean up options to address the contamination in the Gowanus, followed by a question and answer session. The meeting will be held on:

Thursday, March 22, 2012
7:00 PM
Red Hook-Miccio Community Center
(Gymnasium)
110 West 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY

Site related documents are available online at:
http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/gowanus
If you have any questions regarding the meeting or any other site related issues you can contact Natalie Loney, Community Involvement Coordinator at loney.natalie@epa.gov, (212) 637-3639 or toll-free at1-800-346-5009.

Historic-ships-letter-to-NYC-Council-Committee-on-Waterfronts

PortSide has a crisis: we have looked for a home for 6+ years and had a real estate agreement fall through after 3+ years of work.   

We need a home confirmed by April 30th or we close and our historic ship, the tanker MARY A. WHALEN would likely be scrapped as there are few commercial uses for her.

Please help us by writing City Council members who are reviewing a city initiative that is supposed to make docking easier for historic ships.

The Mayor's office has declared a 2012 goal to created a uniform docking protocol for historic ships. This goal is embeded in the Economic Development Corporation’s Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy (WAVES).

Friday, 3/16/12, the City Council Committee on Waterfronts will be holding a hearing on at 1:00 pm, 14^th Floor Committee Room, 250 Broadway, Manhattan.  Please attend and testify if you can; but PLEASE write the committee at the following email addresses:

Chair, CM Michael C. Nelson (mnelson1@council.nyc.gov)

CM Gale A. Brewer (gbrewer@council.nyc.gov)

CM Brad S. Lander (lander@council.nyc.gov)

CM Eric A. Ulrich (eulrich@council.nyc.gov)

CM Peter F. Vallone (pvallonejr@council.nyc.gov) 

For inspiration, here is a sample letter 

< < < Date

re:  March 16, 2012 Council Committee on Waterfronts hearing

The plight of the non-profit PortSide NewYork and their home, the historic tanker MARY A. WHALEN is of particular concern to me.  I want to see the PortSide’s innovative waterfront-themed programs survive and grow and ensure that the MARY A. WHALEN is saved from being scrapped. PortSide NewYork needs to get a homeport secured immediately for these to happen.

I strongly urge you to help improve docking options for historic ships in NYC by creating a uniform landing protocol -- this will help PortSide and the MARY A. WHALEN.    

Without a clear set of rules and procedures that reflect the needs and operations of vessels, historic ships will continue to have difficulty finding usable berths and will be forced out of our waterfront.

I am writing now because there is a City Council Committee on Waterfronts hearing on March 16 to follow-up on the Waterfront Action Agenda (WAVES) of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC).  One goal of WAVES is: “Create uniform landing protocol and application for City-owned properties to facilitate docking of historic vessels (Mayor’s Office, 2012).”  

NYC’s historic ships offer a diverse range of experiences I value:  they teach about the past of this port and waterfront city, they offer great recreational, educational and workforce training opportunities for youth, they run wonderful cultural programs for people of all ages. Ships offer the most exciting and easy staycation options in New York City; being afloat is like nothing else!  Historic ships move around, linking and servicing service communities and boroughs in ways that land-based museums cannot.  

Please make piers easier for historic ships to use in NYC and historic ships to bring NYC’s revitalizing waterfront to life!  They are THE embodiment of “Vision 2020,” the city’s new waterfront plan.

< < < Add Any Additional Comments Here

Sincerely,

NAME
        < < < Be sure to include this information
ADDRESS

Donations-to-help-PortSide-NewYork-real-estate-crisis

2012 painting + frame donated by Frank Hanavan

PortSide NewYork is urgently seeking a new home after the deal for Atlantic Basin fell through so that we can continue to serve the public and save the historic ship tanker MARY A. WHALEN.  In the few weeks since announcing our crisis, we have received a groundswell of support from elected officials, mariners, local residents, artists, restaurants, bloggers and others.

Some of the offers of help we have received include:

Noted author/historian Mike Wallace and his wife Carmen Boullosa, offered to host a dinner on the Mary A. Whalen that she cooks and during which he talks about NYC's waterfront history.   

Michael Miscione, Manhattan Borough Historian is donating a tour or private history session.  

Fort Defiance

Fort Defiance bar/restaurant has offered their place for meetings and will plan a summer fundraiser for us.  

Charles Knapp, cheesemonger at the Red Hook Fairway, will run a cheese tasting fundraiser.

The band Deedle Deedle Dees will donate a concert

Maggie Flanagan, former Director of Marine Education at the old South Street Seaport Museum will run a free children's nautical event fundraiser for us.

A free cruise on the 97' luxury yacht Justine

Justine

SeaStreak ferry will let PortSide flyer their passengers and is willing to announce our cause to them.

Naima Raum print

Artists donating work:     

Bill Murphy limited edition print  

Frank Hanavan  new painting of the Mary Whalen 

Christina Sun new drawing of the the Mary Whalen

Barbara Mensch photograph
Naima Raum limited edition print

We seek:

• Venues to take advantage of some of the offers above. Our ship is not accessible while in the Red Hook Container Terminal, so we need places for the concert, children's maritime event, cheese tasting and more.
• A large boat for a fundraising cruise. The only way many people can see the MARY A. WHALEN is from the water.

 

Is there a service or place you can offer?

Crisis at PortSideCrisis at PortSide, help save us & MARY A. WHALEN

February 17, 2012 
Pier 9B

Posted by Carolina Salguero

Here is some urgent news and a call for your support so that PortSide NewYork can stay open and the tanker MARY A. WHALEN can be saved. Please read and forward this flyer about our meeting on Monday 2/27/12:

Mon 2/27, 6:30-8:30pm  directions
LICH Conference Rooms A & B
339 Hicks Street, Brooklyn NY 11201
 
After that, until 10:30pm at Montero's Bar
across Atlantic Ave from LICH just south of Hicks.

The Bad News:

We will not be getting a home in Atlantic Basin in time to keep us in business.  After six years of working on getting a home, and 3+ years working on Atlantic Basin, we finally need a place.

PortSide needs to have a home confirmed by April 30^th, or we will close and the tanker MARY A. WHALEN will likely be scrapped, as there are few commercial uses for her.

You may wonder why we cannot continue with the MARY A. WHALEN docked in the Red Hook Containerport.  PortSide is very grateful for that berth, but the need to secure the port means there are Homeland Security regulations and Port Authority rules that prevent us from using the ship for programs or revenue generating activities there. More on that at bottom of the post.

Without a location where YOU can visit us, PortSide cannot meet its goals for the community, or earn money with the ship, and cannot continue.

Some Good News:

We have have identified several locations that we think could work for us, including some nearby.  We are fully engaged in reaching out to those places

Help us continue programs like these!:

We created the public performance in a local container port, with the TankerOpera.  We created the first cultural program in GMD shipyard in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  We introduced the Dutch Flat Bottom Fleet to Atlantic Basin and created the first public programs there including 44 events during July and August 2010 and the free sails on the Clipper City earlier in the year.  We created the first free, public, bilingual historic ship tours in NYC during Concierto Tipico, a salsa concert in Sunset Park.   

We are redesigning the BoatBox used by the Red Hook Boaters in Valentino Park to make it an amenity for the whole community.  We invented Kayak Valet, now an established harbor term.   

We created an important 9/11 exhibit about how the marine industry evacuated hundreds of thousands of people on 9/11 and went on to help NYC recover from the attacks. 

And, PortSide NewYork is the first - and only - group to save a tanker ship in the USA for public use.  We did the paperwork to have the MARY A. WHALEN deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

More good news:

PortSide does not need to be in the new home by the end of April (though that would be a blessing); we just need it confirmed to enable fundraising. 

How real estate affects funding:

Funders want to see that an organization has a stable base of operations and that programs can occur on a predictable basis.  Up until now, PortSide has been forced to negotiate permits for every event we have ever done, and we have never received permission on more than 3 weeks notice!  After months of planning, one big event, the Dutch Flat Bottom Fleet Open House of 2009, was approved only nine days in advance. Our summer 2010 permit for Atlantic Basin took 7 months to negotiate and was only cleared 20 days in advance.

PortSide has been negotiating for a publicly accessible home for almost seven years. 

As you all know, homelessness is an exhausting proposition. It makes it hard to get things done. 

I am sharing this news with you in the hope that you will support PortSide and help us bring this real estate hunt to a speedy conclusion.  PortSide needs a real home for our ship so we can deliver the programs we have promised and I keenly want to deliver.

It’s been six years and nine months since we did our business plan funded by the Department of Small Business Services (SBS).  It is four years and five months since we responded to the EDC RFEI for Atlantic Basin, and five years since we responded to an EDC RFP for Atlantic Basin.

In late 2008, the EDC announced that PortSide would have a home in Atlantic Basin. They asked us to do programs there every year, which we did, but without the security of an underlying ongoing lease agreement, we did not have the ability to apply for grants, seek major donors and conduct fundraisers based on a known schedule of programs.  Under those conditions, planning and doing programming is not sustainable and we need to get into a situation that allows for proper capacity building.

Note that Atlantic Basin is owned by the Port Authority, and the EDC leases Atlantic Basin from the Port Authority which has ultimate say about activities there.

What we did do in Atlantic Basin and all our other temporary outposts is provide a taste of what we will do when we have a place where we can flourish.  If PortSide can do as much as we have while homeless, imagine how much more we can do with a proper home!

We have plans and the capability to do more for you in the future; we just need a place to do it.   I ask you to please come to PortSide’s meeting at 6:30pm on Monday 2/27 at LICH and help PortSide by speaking up and stepping up. 

Details about why staying in the Red Hook Containerport is not viable:

For example, if you don’t have a Homeland Security ID, a TWIC card, we have to escort you five blocks from the gate to the ship. Since the onset of TWIC cards in March 2009, each card holder could only escort five visitors who did not have a TWIC. It is pretty hard to get a school group here under such circumstances; and large audiences such as attended the 2007 opera are impossible.

As of new rules effective Monday February 13, I am now the only person at PortSide NewYork who can escort any visitors at all. That means only five non-TWIC card holders can come to a meeting at our office on the ship, or tour the boat, or work on a volunteer day.

Progress! MARY WHALEN before+after photos

Pier 9B
Posted by Carolina Salguero

This post is still under construction. Some more photos coming soon!


Looking something up in our files, I happened upon an old photo of the MARY WHALEN's bow as it looked before her haul out by GMD in January-February 2007, when this blog began. The photo of her bow looking so nasty really drove home how much work has been done around here. So for encouragement's sake, here is a series of before-and-after photos.

Fall 2006, before shipyard. Note that the anchor cannot be raised and is tied off with a line, and many fenders have been burned off leaving her bow snaggle-toothed with weldments. Weldments are not a Altoid product, they are the vestiges of where things were once welded.

2007 after shipyard.  The spirket place (Charlie Deroko introduced me to that term) was repainted white based on old photos of the tanker.  Charlie even forwarded a poem using the term spirket.

2005 before purchase, she was literally in the weeds in Erie Basin. The eagle on the front of the house is not original. That was a gift to Hughes Brothers and they removed it and kept it before selling the boat.

2008, after most of the house was repainted

Main deck and boom, 2005 before purchase.  In the midst of all that deck clutter was a marine toilet, possibly one removed from the boat.  Lying on deck to the right of the photo is a spud that is for sale at time of writing.

2011 Main deck and boom in final stages of refurbishing said post as reported in blog post about shipwork and pizza

2006 galley

2009 galley

2006 Captain's Cabin

2008 Captain's Cabin

wheelhouse before purchase 2005

Wheelhouse 2011

1/12/2008 First time her house lights were working since acquisition. Thank you Ed Fanuzzi for that work!

One loss:  The brass builder's plaque was was stolen from front of the house before the boat was purchased.    (So was a vintage safety sign from the fidley; we have no photos of that) Here is the plaque in April 2005.    Reward for retun of the plaque; no questions asked!   The MARY A. WHALEN began life as the S.T. KIDDOO, named for Solomon Thomas Kiddoo, then the Treasurer of Fairbanks Morse. Ira S. Bushey & Sons who had the tanker built, distributed Fairbanks Morse engine parts, and this boat has one of their engines.

Portrait of Carolina Salguero in NYC Waterfront book "New York" by MARE Verlag

A portrait of PortSide NewYork Founder and Director Carolina Salguero is included in the coffeetable book "New York" recently issued by MARE, an innovative and award-winning German publishing house specializing in maritime themes (as we do!).

The luscious and often surprsing book features images of the city by renowned Magnum photographer Paolo Pellegrin and portraits by acclaimed photographer Stefan Pielow of New Yorkers whose lived are defined by the water.
 

Photo (c) Stefan Pielo

A captain who stayed with his ship, Captain Kurt Carlsen, FLYING ENTERPRISE

Pier 9B

Posted by Carolina Salguero

The story of the Italian cruise ship COSTA CONCORDIA has had me chirping away on Twitter and posting on Facebook.  Maybe I'll consolidate those posts here at some point ...

In the meantime, on the subject of stricken vessels, we got word that PBS was looking to interview a captain who stayed with his stricken vessel. I asked PortSide's admiralty lawyer, the wonderfully named Charlie Brown of SNR Denton, if he knew any cases. He said the best was an old one, the captain of the FLYING ENTERPRISE.  

His heroism netted him a ticker tape parade in NYC in the 1950's.

Can you imagine a ship captain getting any kind of attention like that in NYC now?! 

Meet Captain  Kurt Carlsen of the FLYING ENTERPRISE.

The ship was hit by one rogue wave and damaged, and then hit by a second. He ordered crew and passengers off and stayed with his stricken vessel for 13 days, manning her alone, so that a growing fleet of salvage vessels could not lay claim to her. A rescue tug, astoundingly named TURMOIL came to tow her to safety, and the mate joined Carlsen on the FLYING ENTERPRISE.  A storm hit them, and they had to abandon ship. She sank soon thereafter. 

Vintage newsreels  here and  here

"He was offered $250,000 for his story by the British Daily Express newspaper, a half million dollars by Hollywood. Endorsement offers also came in. With riches his for the asking, Carlsen declined all offers. He said "I don't want a seaman's honest attempt to save his ship used for any commercial purpose." After honours from his king and a ticker tape parade in New York, Carlsen returned to the sea where he spent the rest of his career. He died, unnoticed, in 1989."

When he died years later in 1989, he was buried at sea over the wreck of the vessel at his request.

The book about it all "Simple Courage" is on Amazon. The review has more details of the story:

"Carlson stayed aboard, used a makeshift radio and his skills as a ham radio operator to communicate with the armada of ships that had gathered, and continued to run his disabled ship single-handedly for over a week. He risked his life moving about the listing boat, scavenged what little food and drink there was, wrote it all down in the store log, and maintained the ship's log and kept her 'legal.' As long as he was captain and on board, nobody could claim salvage. He arranged for a contract to be negotiated to get Flying Enterprise towed to port, all of this over a period of days in which she could have gone down at any minute. When the tug Turmoil arrived, after a day of trying to get a line to the lone captain in a large swell, Kenneth Dancy sprinted across the tug's deck and jumped across to Flying Enterprise to help Carlson secure the tow line. Dancy became First Mate and he saw the horrendous and terrifying conditions that Carlson had been living in, where some walls had become sloping floors, some walls had become sloping roofs, and sea water and diesel and oil was everywhere. Carlson had been working, eating, and sleeping in the middle of all this and remained calm and professional throughout."

85 pages of the book visible on line here

History compiled by a shipwreck blogger here

Report from a diver of the wreck here

First snow day of 2012 on MARY WHALEN, Chiclet asks for help shovelling the deck!

Pier 9B

Posted by Carolina Salguero

That's Chiclet coming in this morning after a night off the boat.

Soon after that, I sent an email blast out to volunteers for help shoveling at 3pm.  Chiclet asks for help!

I did that rather last minute, I know, but I wasn’t on the ball vis a vis work yesterday. It was my birthday and day 13 of a cold, two different excuses for being a dingbat.

Before shoveling, I'm relishing the cozy delights of snow day: Irish oatmeal with currants on the diesel stove.

Chiclet snoozing on her galley tuffet. 

Snowy light on silver polished by Jenny Kane for a Supper Club dinner; thank you Jenny!    

WBGO Rhythm Revue streaming. Dave Black, thanks for introducing me to that!

Here’s a snow day shot from 3 years ago, a stove multi-tasking, heating up the shovel so I can wax it and warming soup at the same time.  

This is also a sign of progress! In 2008, the fidley deck had not been repainted yet (note the peeling paint on floor) and we were using an old shovel with a taped handle (it was a classic though), and now we have mod Canadian shovels with plastic blades and carbon fiber handles. Come use one today! Stevedores will start plowing the pier next to the ship sometime after 1pm and deck shoveling starts at 3pm!


After that, I've invited people to join me at Montero's Bar at 6pm and raise a glass in honor of bar founder Pilar Montero who passed away at 90 this week and celebrate her and the great place she created.

Montero's   

73 Atlantic Ave @ Hicks

Brooklyn Heights