For many Greenpointers there is no more iconic local image than the façade of St. Anthony of Padua church on Manhattan Avenue at Milton Street. The 240-foot-high church steeple is […]
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 inHistorical Greenpoint
The Unlikely Story of The White Greenpoint Woman Who Co-Founded America’s Most Influential Black Political Organization
Sometimes an unexpected event is a turning point in a person’s life. The story of Mary White Ovington’s trip to Prospect Park was just such a turning point. Ovington was […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Women’s History Month: Peter McGuinness and Dangerous Smoking Women
Local lawmaker Peter J. McGuinness began his first term as alderman at the end of World War I when female behavior was rapidly changing, outraging conceptions of proper female behavior. […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
The Richest Man Who Ever Lived in Greenpoint: Henry H. Rogers
Today Henry H. Rogers is a largely forgotten figure in American history, but this self-made tycoon became one of the twenty-five or so richest men ever in the history of […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Greenpoint’s Most Famous Reputed Living Gangster Turns One Hundred Years Old
John “Sonny” Franzese turned 100 in federal prison on February 6, 2017. Franzese, from Leonard Street, is the oldest inmate in the Federal Prison system and was denied compassionate release last […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Elegance Lost: Greenpoint’s Colonnade Row on Humboldt Street
For years I had admired Manhattan’s Greek Revival Colonnade Row, the imposing landmark row houses with their austere, yet graceful Doric columns on Astor Place in NoHo, never imagining that […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
A History of Greenpoint in 25 Buildings: 95 Commercial Street
Greenpoint became home to five industrial “black arts” in the 19th century, and one of those black arts was glass production. (Printing, pottery making, oil refining, and cast iron manufacturing are the […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Greenpoint’s Long, But Forgotten African-American History
It’s Black History Month when we celebrate African-American contributions to our country, but many born and raised Greenpointers who pride themselves on knowing local history would be shocked to learn […]
Posted inNews
Greenpointer Withdrawing as Secretary of The Army Nominee
So, a local hero will not be serving in the Trump Administration after all. Vincent Viola, the billionaire owner of the Florida Panthers ice hockey team and St. Cecilia’s graduate, […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
A History of Greenpoint in 25 Buildings: St. Stanislaus Kostka Church
Perhaps no local building defines Polish Greenpoint than St. Stanislaus Kostka Church at 607 Humboldt Street. St Stanislaus Kostka is home to the largest Polish Catholic congregation in Brooklyn. Each […]