How Healthy Is Your Neighborhood?
Red Hook
Score: 36/50
Available Green Space: 7
Red Hook, at least east of Dwight, is mostly two things: public housing and parks. From Court to Columbia, Bush to Bryant, there’s quite a bit of open space, including a swimming pool and soccer fields. There’s also the charming Coffey Park in the middle of the small neighborhood, and the new waterfront parks (by Ikea) and pier (in the southwest corner) developed in recent years.
Fresh Air: 7
Red Hook’s northern boundary is the Gowanus Expressway, another Moses monstrosity that cut off the neighborhood from the rest of the borough and its once contiguous communities. Other than that, though, the rest of Red Hook’s boundaries are natural; it’s a waterfront community, and though most of it’s still relegated to commerce and industry as in eras past, more of it’s starting to open up, too.
Bicycling Infrastructure: 6
If ever a neighborhood needed bike sharing, it’s this one, cut off from the subway access most New Yorkers take for granted. That it hasn’t gotten it yet is ridiculous! There are bike lanes to get you just inside of Red Hook, though they don’t extend deep into the neighborhood. That’s ok, though: as long as you avoid the heavily Fairway trafficked roads, Red Hook’s streets are often pretty deserted, making them better for bicycling. Unfortunately, though, many of these can be Belgian-blocked, which makes them, ahem, a pain in the butt.Gyms: 7
Aside from housing the popular Red Hook Pool in summer, the parks department’s Red Hook Recreation Center is also home to athletic fields, a gym, a fitness room, a cardio room, a basketball court, even community resources like computers. A yoga and pilates studio just opened on Van Brunt Street (took ya long enough), plus the end of Columbia Street is the longest block in New York City; linking to the ball fields and Ikea park, it boasts great views of the Gowanus Inlet, Sunset Park and the harbor—it’s pretty much the perfect scenic jogging track.
Healthy Food Availability: 9
Fairway. Need we say more? Well, there’s also a working farm that supplies its own CSA.