The Porto Rico Line regularly sailed from the Atlantic Basin's Pier 35 to Puerto Rico. The line transported cargo and tourists to and from the islands. Many Puerto Ricans migrated to New York on the line and established a community in Red Hook. In...
Brooklyn Waterfront: Berths or Boondoggle?
The 1970s were a tough economic time for the Brooklyn waterfront. Containerization of ship cargo had reduced the number of jobs, and many of those jobs had moved to facilities in New Jersey. The City and the Port Authority had a plan to build a new...
Encarnancion Armas, Puerto Rican, interviewed in 1974, talks about her WaterStories.
Encarnancion Armas discusses her time living in Red Hook. selection from interview: The Liberty Party Club. “It was the Liberal Party Club. And we had a party for the children, and we had in the Red Hook Stadium, and it, we caught about 2 thousand...
Magda Acosta, Puerto Rican, talks about her Red Hook WaterStories, 1974
Excerpt of a 1974 conversation between Magda Acosta and interviewer Jamie Barreto: And do you remember the name of the boat? “Yes, the San Juan.” Where did it dock? “ I don’t remember the muelle [dock] I know it was over there by Conover and...
Luis Marrero, Puerto Rican, talks about his WaterStories, 1974
Luis Marrero talks about his experience working on ships in Brooklyn and some of the racial tensions with Italians. His job on the boat . “A couple of friends and I were hired to paint ships because there wasn’t any money and a person had to...
Ramon Colon, Puerto Rican, interviewed in 1973, talks about his WaterStories
Ramon Colon recounts his experience of traveling by boat to Brooklyn. He also discusses why Brooklyn Puerto Ricans often moved to 'El Barrio' instead of staying in Brooklyn. Transcription of interview: His arrival to Brooklyn. “I came by ship. By...
Puerto Rican Presence in Columbia Street: Community Park turned Shantytown
"In a neighborhood where the Puerto Rican presence is all but completely forgotten, this paper tells the story of the last efforts of the pioneros of the community in trying to preserve their way of life against the rapid urban development that...
New York and Puerto Rico Steamship Company advertisement, 1917
The New York and Puerto Rico steamship company's ships traveled between San Juan, Puerto Rico and Pier 35, Atlantic Basin in Red Hook. [ The Brooklyn Daily Eagle , March 27, 1917] The SS COAMO, SS BRAZOS, and SS CAROLINA were all ships that took...
Jesus Colon: Stowaway. 1917
Jesus Colon, a Brooklyn Puerto Rican activist, traveled to New York from Puerto Rico on the S.S. Carolina in 1917. At 16 years old, he convinced his friends who worked on the crew to hide him in the linen closet in an effort to escape to New York...