06. The Second Visit in Vinegar Hill: Site Report #2
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Tag Archives: Downtown Brooklyn
05. Using RECAP to evaluate the reading – Eamon Loingsigh The Power of Family Lore: Uncovering Brooklynâs âAuld Irishtownâ
The things that Eamon talks about in this article are relevant to my topic since he is giving information about Irishtown that later on became Vinegar Hill. This source helps on the research of my assignment but doesnât fill all my needs. The author and the publisher are trusted sources. The author is a dedicated writer and researcher of this neighborhood.
Eamon comes from the Loingsigh family that has witnessed the history of this neighborhood, the changes areaâs names, and the tough times that Americans gave to Irish. The currency of the source information is pretty reliable even though it was published nowadays, the content of it was taken by trusted sources like history books and family personal experiences.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle website is up-to-date source since it is dedicated to write the Brooklynâs history and everything else that has to do with this borough from 1841. Eamon comes from an Irish emigrant family that moved to Irishtown, Brooklyn, New York in 19th century. His parents and grandparents told him stories about Irishtown, he read books about it and did research online. I looked up some of his sources like the book Gotham and I did verify them.
In that part of Brooklyn were known the neighborhoods like Dumbo, Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn Heights and Navy Yard, but Irishtown wasnât recognized as an actual place in official records. This made the author to write about it. Creating this source came down to his family, they told him stories about Irishtown. Nobody knew much about it at that time since the computers and internet didnât exist, so it wasnât easy to look things up.
Reflections #6: Hypothesizing Vinegar Hill during the 1920’s-1960’s
In the 1920’s- 1960’s Technology stimulated infrastructural growth, as well as the growth of the manufacturing industry. Examples of infrastructural growth would pertain to the addition of the BQE, and the extension of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge Extension Conditions. Growth of the manufacturing industry is also transparent through the use of the Navy Yard and through the structural methodology of steel and glass in architecture. Forms of technology that facilitated documentation during this growth period ranged from visual sources to verbal sources. Visual sources consist of photographs, varying from either aerial views or views at eye level as well as maps drawn from government agencies such as NYCHA or the Mayor’s Committee. Verbal sources consist of radio broadcasts and newspapers. Today, Vinegar Hill participates in the Brooklyn Tech Triangle, which is prevalent through it’s preservation of technologies and reinvention of construction and manufacturing methodologies i.e, CNC milling or 3D printing ship parts to design experimentation for facades etc.
Vinegar Hill has several entities contributing to it’s development, such as NYCHA, the Mayor’s Committee, Mayor LaGuardia and Robert Moses. Other agencies which participated in the growth of urbanism in Vinegar Hill would be the Department of Transportation, Department of Parks and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Each of these entitites are drivers whom revitalized vinegar hill, by created new infrastructures, parks, housing complexes etc. Today, transportation has been made much more accessible through the addition of buses and trains, as well as projected bike paths. The power authority has also continued it’s presence through the utilization of the Con Edison properties.Â
Information that may have not been captured around this time period probably related to agricultural exports, imports or inventory as well as energy simulation through gas or electricity. We hypothesized that water and food quality were also not surveyed around this time.
Vinegar Hill, DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn, and Brooklyn
When I think about the evolution of Brooklyn, after reading all of the information on the Wikipedia webpages, I wonder about the next step in its evolution. Will there be a next step that may even lead to a reversal towards a more environmentally friendly/sound plan, such as reestablishing ponds, lakes, wetlands, and forested areas? Will this development of a city be a predictor about if a city will be the end result of a developing community? Is it an example about how the future of the world will be like? Will there be a shift in the way that humans normally develop their communities, or will there always be the same variables in this âformulaâ for being a model for city planners to follow?
01. The reflection on the borough of Brooklyn and its neighborhoods Vinegar Hill, Downtown and Dumbo.
After the readings I found out that Brooklyn has so much history to offer by reading, but most interesting by visiting its neighborhoods and feel the past. It amazing how they have been able to keep this historic areas untouched until now days like Vinegar Hill neighborhood. I can’t say the same about Dumbo and Downtown Brooklyn since they have been modernized and very expensive, but some part of this neighborhoods are kept the same old way. One of the things that surprised me about Brooklyn was that it’s the second most densely populated boroughs not just in New York State, but in whole United States. Another surprising thing to me was that the name Breuckelen (Brooklyn) came from a Dutch farmer in 1646. Can’t wait to learn more about Brooklyn and looks like this class will do this in details.
Reflection #1: Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn, Downtown Brooklyn, and Dumbo
Class of 2/1
While reading through these Wikipedia articles on Brooklyn several things caught my attention. First, while reading the page on Vinegar Hill I had found it interesting how a small portion of the borough has been able to retract from modernization of its streets, sidewalk and small housing structures. These parts of the neighborhood date back to the early 1800’s and play a vital role in the the history and aura of this area in Brooklyn. It shows people they don’t need to watch television or browse the internet to get a glimpse of how life looked many years before they were born, They can walk outside and see things though the eyes of someone who lived more than a century ago and witness history in front of them. Second, while reading the page on Brooklyn I had found it interesting and notable information that Brooklyn was not considered a borough of New York until nearing the closing of the 19th century. I found that interesting because it shows how young our city really is. I guess this information strikes me as thought provoking because I am looking at it from a scientific standpoint. Lastly, while reading the page on Downtown Brooklyn I had never known this area held safe houses for slaves during the 19th century. I had also found it interesting to learn how the Brooklyn Academy of Music played a vital role in keeping Brooklyn’s economy strong in the face of deterioration.
Brooklyn Wikipedia Reflection
While reading the wikipedia articles I found many interesting facts. One thing that really stood out to me was that Brooklyn is the most populated borough. You would think Manhattan would be but Brooklyn consists of about 2,621,793 people while Manhattan consists of about 1,636,268. I also loved reading about Vinegar Hill and finding the different boundaries that were sold to different settlers. It was very interesting to read due to the familiarity of the boundaries. It was also interesting to learn the previous names of the now familiar places such as Rinnegokonk is now the Wallabout Bay. I also found that DUMBO is âBrooklyn’s most expensive neighborhood, as well as New York City’s fourth richest community overall.â The wikipedia articles were well written and understood but definitely still need to be fact checked.
First Word Reflection: Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn, Downtown Brooklyn, Dumbo
The history of Vinegar Hill was interesting, reading about the people that have been there, and how the land has been passed on was quite something. Although I did know a little about the history of Brooklyn, it was nice to learn so much more about the borough I dearly love.  I always saw Downtown Brooklyn as a version of Manhattan, and this reading confirmed it. Up until now, I actually wasn’t all that familiar with Dumbo even though I heard about it, I never paid it any attention. Overall, reading about the history of Brooklyn was an eye opener.
