One reader responded to a recent post on the problems involved in building a bridge over Newtown Creek, suggesting that the article was too negative toward the project and that […]
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 in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint, Culture, Historical Greenpoint
When Freedom of Expression and Censorship Battled on Manhattan Avenue!
The other day, I gave a talk on the Irish history of Greenpoint, and a long-time Greenpointer offered me a new twist on a famous old Greenpoint legend. Before diving […]
Posted inCommunity, Culture, Historical Greenpoint, News
The Return of the Greenpoint Trolley?
With Mayor de Blasio’s announcement of an imminent light rail line along the East River, history could be preparing to repeat itself. For many years, Greenpoint had only two mass […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Casting the Iwo Jima Memorial in Greenpoint
The Bedi-Makky building at 227 India Street looks like any other ordinary industrial Greenpoint building. However, it was here that the one of the largest bronze sculpture ever cast in […]
Posted inCommunity, News
Greenpoint Grande Dame Honored at St. Patrick’s Day Parade
If you are not Irish-American, it might be difficult to understand how important the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade is to the community here. It is actually far bigger here than it ever […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint, Community, Culture, Historical Greenpoint, News
The New East River Trolley: Abridged Version?
When plans were announced by the de Blasio administration for a light rail system running from Astoria to Red Hook, many of us Greenpointers wondered about an important, but perhaps […]
Posted inArt, Community
The Genius of Diamond Street
The recent tragic fire on Diamond Street made me think about one of the most fascinating characters from my book “ Greenpoint, Brooklyn’s Forgotten Past. “Joseph Bartnikowski, born in 1926 […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
A Gruesome Greenpoint Murder of Long Ago
Sometimes truth proves to be stranger than fiction. Not even the most ghoulish fiction writer could have created anything more macabre than the murder of William Simmons on January 26, […]
Posted inArt, Culture
118 Milton Street: The House of Famous Artists
Many famous people have lived on Milton Street. Former Governor of New York, Secretary of State and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Charles Evans Hughes once resided on the […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
The Tragic Tale of Artist John Mulvaney
As a local historian it always amazes me how rich Greenpoint history is and how much local history is forgotten. I wrote a book called Greenpoint Brooklyn’s Forgotten Past to […]