Friday, June 12, 2009

PortSide New York - Fundraiser Tomorrow.

A slightly tangential subject to my usual ones, but wanted to send out a little reminder that the previously mentioned PortSide New York fundraiser is happening this Saturday at the Brooklyn Lyceum, 6-9pm.

PortSide, who you might know from (among other things) their staging of a Puccini Opera on their ship in 2007, providing tours of the same, and more recently providing kayaking valet at Valentino Pier are, in their own words, " a young, innovative non-profit. Our chief ambassador is a 172’ repurposed ship, the Mary A. Whalen. We are planning a maritime hub in Atlantic Basin, Red Hook, Brooklyn."

PortSide is one of the few remaining "people friendly" elements left in the EDC's plan for the Atlantic Basin, as I have written about recently in my post, (here), and also covered in the recent article in the Brooklyn Courier, by Gary Buiso (here) . Thankfully, PortSide's eventual presence at the Alantic Basin will provide another terrific addition to the cultural activities in Red Hook, along with the great galleries (think Kentler and many more), the BWAC exhibition, Dancing in the Streets, Falconworks and their "Off The Hook" series, Dance Theatre Etcetera, the Waterfront Museum and historic barge (Circus Sundays in June!) , and many others. PortSide will be also offering a small portion of much needed public access to the waterfront and with the docking of their ship, the Mary Whalen, will be allowing us to get a glimpse of what the Atlantic Basin used to be - and in my mind's eye, what it still could be - a vibrant harbor.

PortSide, after much uncertainty, seem to have found their home in the Atlantic Basin and seem destined to be residents of that harbor, whatever happens there, as they would also have been accommodated in the "compromise plan" that was put forward by Tom Fox's Red Hook based New York Water Taxi, supported widely in the community, but nonetheless rejected by the EDC and Port Authority. (I wrote a bout this at the end of my last post , starting from "A little P.S.").

Details of the fundraiser can be found on PortSide's website (here) , but the basic rundown is as follows.

Thanks to Chris at "The Word on Columbia Street" blog, from whom I pinched this information - you do it so well, Chris. (Here's a link to their post)

Sat 6/13/09, 6-9pm
Tickets $50
At Brooklyn Lyceum (227 Fourth Avenue at President Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Tickets available here

The event will include a large-format multimedia installation, robust cheese + charcuterie, beer and wine.

Their release about the site is as follows:
PortSide NewYork is thrilled to announce that we are soon to get our first publicly accessible home, your new home on the waterfront. The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is negotiating directly with PortSide NewYork to create a home for us in Atlantic Basin, next to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. This will include a berth for the Mary Whalen, a pier where we will host visiting vessels of every description, and an interior space that will house programs and interpretive spaces. Visible from PortSide will be huge cruise and container ships, gantry cranes at work, tugboats, charter, excursion and historic vessels.
Proceeds from PortSide’s first fundraiser will support planning and interim programming in Atlantic Basin.

There will also be an online auction of the following items:

(4) tours for two led by American Stevedoring up to the top of a gantry crane in the Red Hook containerport (government-issued photo ID needed to enter port). See the port from a spectacular vantage point!

(30) Tickets (in several packages) on SeaStreak ferry from Manhattan to Sandy Hook, NJ beach where nearby offerings include historic military base, Victorian seaside towns and a nude beach.

(2) tickets aboard NYC’s largest sailing charter vessel, and the newest one in town, The Clipper City. At 140’ long, this topsail schooner will take your breath away!

A piece of Red Hook history! 1916 six-burner Lafayette wood/coal cookstove from a house on Dikeman Street.

(1) dinner for two with waterbloggers Tugster and Bowsprite, Will Van Dorp and Christina Sun, two charming harbor savants, at a harborside location TBD.

2 hour introductory private blacksmithing lesson taught by Marsha Trattner at She-Weld, Van Dyke Street, Red Hook, NYC’s first and only blacksmithing classes.

Morgan 24 sailboat (reserve must be met)


Good luck Carolina - hope you have a blast!

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