When people make shortlists for the Democratic Party’s likely nominees to run against Donald Trump in the 2020 election, Beto O’Rourke’s name is often near the top of those lists. […]
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 inCulture
GP81: Greenpoint’s Rock Climbing Mecca
Greenpoint is home to dozens of interesting, creative micro-communities, from potters and runners to actors and musicians, but none is more daring than the rock climbing community whose amazing ability […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint
Walt Whitman’s Writing About North Brooklyn
For most of us when we think about Brooklyn’s greatest poet Walt Whitman we think about his poetry and not about his prose. However, Whitman like many creative people today […]
Posted inCulture
Historic Documents Highlight Local History of Slavery
It’s February and Black History Month has started, a time when we recall the huge African-American contribution to our country. Ask many educated New Yorkers and you may find that […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint
New Artists Revive Greenpoint’s First Industry
Long before Greenpoint had the shipbuilding, oil refining or sugar refining industries, ceramicists had established Greenpoint as America’s first ceramic capital and it is more than a little ironic […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint
Dangerous Immigrants and Deportations? Not Trump’s America, but Greenpoint 100 Years Ago!
Sign for Long Gone Russian People’s Home on Clay Street The more things change the more they seem to stay the same. Today’s headlines feature stories about dangerous immigrants on […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint
Where Do The Names of Williamsburg Streets Come From?
The longest street in Brooklyn and the road that runs through the heart of Williamsburg is Bedford Avenue. The 10.19 mile-long street got its name from the village of Bedford, […]
Posted inCommunity
Transmitter Park: How Greenpoint’s Waterfront Oasis Finally Appeared
When Transmitter Park finally opened in 2012, many longtime Greenpoint residents were shocked to realize that for decades they had been denied amazing views of the East River. They wondered […]
Posted inNews
Greenpoint’s Landmark Clock Saved From Oblivion by Polizzi Family
The cast iron timepiece towering over Manhattan Avenue is a Greenpoint landmark, but it might not have survived at all. The only surviving cast iron street clock in the borough […]
Posted inCulture
Sister Francis Kress, Pioneer in Greenpoint Environmental Movement, Has Passed Away
Sister Francis Gerard Kress who Greenpointers profiled last year in its series on important local women passed away on January 17th in Brentwood, Long Island. She was 104 years old […]