Semi-pro soccer in Red Hook starts soon! Can you guess the New Yorker's fav Italian sub? Rents go up again.

Hey Neighbors - 

Happy Saturday!   Henry Public’s outdoor dining shed is under construction. Things are happening!  

A few weeks ago, when I mentioned Love Story, the JFK Jr.-Carolyn Bessette miniseries, I completely forgot to look in my magazine collection (back when hardcopy magazines were the norm) for the George issue following the death of JFK Jr.  I hate to think what he would say about politicians today.

What’s a Ward 6 post without mentioning Court St.? But it’s not what you think. There was sooo little traffic this week! There are days, depending on my stress level, that I dred walking on Court St. with all the pent up road rage, including near-constant honking. But not this week. What’s going on?

Got a tip? Feedback? Please email me: [email protected]. I can’t do this without reader ideas!

Post #27: Bar Ferdinando’s, Red Hook semi-pro soccer starts soon, rents go up again, bet you can’t guess the New Yorker’s fav Italian sub, vaccine schedules for NY remain the same, the new jail is huge but not larger than proposed waterfront apartments towers, top five books in Ward 6, and so much more.

Another week, another article about the reopening of Ferdinando’s Focacceria as Bar Ferdinando’s on Union St. This one from NY Magazine. 

I’ve definitely contributed to the hype, but what I find funny is that so few people I know ever went there, including me. I went once and have no memory of the food. Though I do remember all the crazy rumors, but nothing I could verify, given its Italian OG status in the neighborhood.

My unscientific poll of 13 locals confirmed my suspicions. Two couples said they had eaten there. Two raved about the panelle sandwiches (“so yummy”), and the other couple went once and never went back.  The rest had never tried the food, even though the Focacceria is blocks from their apartment.

The real reason for all the hype? People love Cafe Spaghetti and Swooney’s and are eager to see what the chef/restaurateurs have planned for Bar Ferdinando’s. Plus, aside from Bored, a cafe on Columbia St., the neighborhood is in dire need of a cafe that doubles as a bar. 

Around this time of year, as Major League Soccer’s season begins, I get the occasional invite from my husband to trek the 16 miles to Yankee Stadium (yes, NYC does not have a soccer stadium, yet) to see New York City Football Club play. If it’s above 70 degrees, I take his offer seriously, but I’ve probably said no more times than I’ve said yes.

A few months ago, I got an intriguing email from the founder of Red Hook Football Club, Sacha Weiss, about a semi-professional team he started less than a mile from my apartment. Not that miles from home is my criterion for soccer allegiance, but I haven’t ruled it out. I eagerly responded to Weiss. 

Weiss, a Brooklyn native, started playing soccer at 5 years old for Downtown United Soccer Club. He played in college at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where he was also captain for two years. 

But when Weiss returned to Brooklyn after graduation, he was surprised at how few options were available to play competitively. He joined the semi-professional team, NY Braveheart, which practiced in Long Island. 

When Weiss wasn’t commuting to Long Island, he coached kids in Red Hook with the New York Parks Department, including a travel team. It was during this time that Weiss decided to start his own amateur team in Red Hook, a neighborhood he knew well and a community with deep soccer roots because of the ball fields east of IKEA.

Weiss also saw a Red Hook team as an opportunity to help grow U.S soccer. As Weiss discovered for himself, there are limited options for a talented player to continue playing competitive soccer after college if the goal is to play semi-pro or professional soccer. 

In 2024, Weiss started the Red Hook Football Club. Defonte’s and Strong Rope Brewery sponsor the team and Weiss is working on attracting investors. 

Last week, the team gathered at a Red Hook rec center for a season kickoff party, with many young neighborhood players Weiss coaches running around.  Lots of hugs and excitement about the start of the season.

Left-back Jaydon Humphries was one of the RHFC players who stopped by after work to pick up a jersey. Born in Sheffield, England, this is Humphries's first season with the RHFC, after playing Division 1 soccer at St. John’s University in Brooklyn.

Red Hook-raised Alpha Bah also showed up on a break from The University of the South in TN.  The midfielder graduates next month and plans to play for his hometown team.

The team's connection to Red Hook goes much deeper than the name. On a poster board, propped up by a table, there was a detailed description of their logo, rooted in Red Hook’s past, even down to the font they chose. Not only is the font found on shipping containers, but also “on luggage of the people arriving through Ellis Island.” The colors of the crest, “red and black are traditional Lenape colors, honoring the Indigenous nation that originally inhabited Red Hook.” Even the water lines in the logo have meaning: “water lines from the storm [Superstorm Sandy] can still be seen in many local establishments.”

April 11th marks the team’s third season. They’s had a lot of success so far, from amateur status to semi-professional - three promotions in three years.

“No other club has achieved this rate of success at the grassroots level,” Weiss told me over the phone a few weeks ago.  

The other distinction Weiss wanted to point out is that if a team has money, they can pay their way to semi-professional instead of working their way up like RHFC.

35 players, ranging in age from 16 to 30, play for the RHFC, representing about 20 nationalities. Many of them grew up in NYC and first met playing against one another in high school. 

Weiss recruited a coach from Martin Luther King High School, a New York soccer powerhouse (check out this mini-series about them), where many of his players also went to high school. 

Weiss is already seeing his efforts pay off. Player Davide Clarkson is now playing for the Grenada National team, and two other players were recruited to play on Guyana’s National team and Mexico United.

April 11th, come out to Red Hook field #5 at 4:00 PM to see the home opener. 

Corcoran’s February Rental Report is depressing as ever.  Take a look at the average rent by neighborhood: 

Rents are up across all apartment sizes. (Thanks to the Red Hook Star-Revue for flagging this)

Helen Rosner of the New Yorker had me at “...heft, bite, umami, complexity, funk, fat” when writing about her favorite Italian sandwich at Court St. Grocers–the Vegitalian.

“..a meatless Italian sub, a contradiction in terms, a thing that should not work and yet absolutely does.”  

Rosner is so convincing that a trek to the sandwich shop to try the Vegitalian is on my weekend to-do list.

Thank you, Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, for bringing this to our attention: 

What will the 15-story House of D on Atlantic Ave. look like when finished? The new jail gets bigger and bigger - it’s astonishing! 

With little notice, the EDC announced two virtual Zooms to share the 25 proposals for the new Brooklyn port this week. Many local residents questioned the timing, as final public comments for this stage of the entire waterfront “vision plan” are due March 31st (more below). You can watch here to learn more and as always, from the BK Eagle.

After the success of UK-based Skyports’ initial 11-day drone pilot that delivered goods from lower Manhattan to Pier 7 in Brooklyn, PANYNJ will now test one to two flights per hour for up to a year. 

CB1 board member: “Covering that middle mile in a way that gets cars and people off the roads will be a public benefit, if it works.” 

As I wrote a few weeks ago, Skyports envisions drone delivery, for example, to transport urgent medical samples from point A to point B.

Books Are Magic bestsellers:

TODAY! Coney Island opens.

TODAY! No Kings protest in Manhattan at 2 PM and Park Slope.

Tuesday, March 31st | Last day to submit comments about the proposed Brooklyn Marine Terminal development plan.  The Cobble Hill Association and the Col. St. Waterfront Association are two great resources if you are uncertain how to write and submit comments.  Since there were no impact studies commissioned before the Economic Development Corporation dreamed up its “vision plan,” we need to ensure they are completed now. Data is critical to understand what is feasible to build on the 122 acres of waterfront property.

A neighbor of mine made these renderings, which really visualize how large the proposed apartment buildings are.

Tuesday, April 7, 7:00 PM: Local author and Books are Magic owner, Emma Straub,, reads from her new book, American Fantasy, with Lin-Manuel Miranda. Get Tickets | Watch Live

Thank you for reading Ward 6! See you next week - JLH