To understand the history of Greenpoint and Williamsburg you have to grasp the massive role that refining played in this heavily industrial corner of North Brooklyn. Our area became the […]
Posts by Author Archives: Geoff Cobb
Geoffrey Cobb is a Brooklyn high school history teacher and writer of the blog historicgreenpoint.wordpress.com. He has lived in Greenpoint for over 20years and is the author of a book on the history of the area, "Greenpoint Brooklyn's Forgotten Past."
Posted inUncategorized
A Piece of Greenpoint History Faces Demolition
Recently, I did a series of stories for Greenpointers about the twenty-five most historic local buildings. One of the posts I wrote was about 85 Calyer Street, the residence of […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Greenpoint Doughboy: A Tragic Tale of A Greenpointer in World War I
November 11th will mark the ninety-ninth anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. Even though America entered the conflict late, declaring war in April of 1917, the “Great War” […]
Posted inEat & Drink
Pueblo Querido, A Passion for Colombian Coffee
There are a lot of people in Greenpoint who claim to know coffee, but I can safely say that no one in Greenpoint who knows more about coffee than owners […]
Posted inFilm
Greenpoint Power Couple Takes the Ultimate Cross Country Road Trip
A lot of people drive cross country from New York to California, but few people do it with a larger social and political message as a goal. On August 8th, […]
Posted inCommunity
Meet Ann Kansfield, Greenpoint’s Coolest Pastor
If you think that all pastors are uptight, judgmental, straight laced, bores, that only shows you never met Reverend Ann Kansfield. I spoke with Ann for an hour and a […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
The Illicit Affair That Brought Greenpoint’s own Mae West to Hollywood
In a previous piece I described how Mae West funded her scandalous 1927 play sex through her romance with the rich, handsome, but very dangerous gangster Owney Madden. However, it […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Patrick Keely, The Prolific Architect of Saint Anthony of Padua Church
For years I passed the graceful façade of Saint Anthony of Padua church (862 Manhattan Avenue) and admired its beauty, but never really thought much about the man who built […]
Posted inUncategorized
Greenpoint’s Notorious Sonny Franseze Released from Prison at Age 100
The reputed local crime boss, John “Sonny” Franzese was recently released from the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Massachusetts. The hundred-year-old reputed member of the Colombo crime family had been […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
How New York’s Most Notorious Gangster Bankrolled Mae West’s Broadway Hit
In my book about local history, Greenpoint Brooklyn’s Forgotten Past, I told the story about how in 1927, local Greenpoint gal Mae West scandalized New York by staging a play called […]