Thank you to everyone who came to the event on June 26th. Red Hook based CBO (that’s lingo for Community Based Organization) Added Value paired up with three incredible poets, Kathleen Graber, Amy Holman and Anna Moschavakis, to present a meaningful and powerful evening. Ian Marvy, Executive Director of Added Value, opened up the night by beginning a discussion of what folks initially thought of when they heard “Red Hook, Brooklyn”. Many of the typical Red Hook folk staples were mentioned including Steve’s Key Lime Pies, the Ikea, the soccer field vendors, and the shifting real estate lines, as portions of Red Hook go from being called Carroll Gardens to Red Hook to Carroll Gardens once again. Ian provided more insight into the community, the history of the neighborhood, and what Added Value, in conjunction with members of the Red Hook Houses and the greater community, is doing to help improve neighborhood conditions for the people who live there. All three poets linked, in their own writing, to the issues concerning the community of Red Hook, returning again and again to the issue of sustainability.

It was a perfect way to end our season, as it feels that the series is beginning to become what we hoped it would be since its inception: an opportunity for conversation, introduction, and the building of a broader community. We are very pleased to announce that we raised over $140 for Added Value– a special thank you to everyone who attended that evening to help make it the night that it was.

We will be taking a brief hiatus for June and July but don’t despair …