Well Made, Well Done: Inside Industry with Bien Hecho

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We recently had the opportunity to visit a unique business in the Brooklyn Navy Yard that will be a featured tenant on our Inside Industry Tour series, Bien Hecho, a woodworking outfit that specializes in making furniture, millwork, cabinetry, and other custom carpentry from reclaimed and sustainably-sourced wood. Founder John Randall sat down with us to talk about their business making beautiful work, and the Bien Hecho Academy.

Bien Hecho was founded by John nine years ago. Inspired by his travels to Spanish-speaking countries, and his efforts to master the language as an adult, John strives to live up to both meanings of his company’s name – create well-made (hecho bien) projects, and do a job well done (bien hecho). Located inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Building 3, their workshop is filled with wood and machinery that you won’t find in most of the other shops clustered in this part of the building. With a small team of just two full-time staff and a few part-timers, the company has nevertheless taken on some big and beautiful projects.>> Continue reading

Longtime Yard Photographer John Bartelstone to Judge Fall Photo Tour

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Each season, we offer a special opportunity for photographers to explore the Brooklyn Navy Yard with us. Our next Seasonal Photography Tour is taking place this Saturday, October 10 at 11am, departing from BLDG 92. 

For this special tour, we’ll be exploring the industrial and maritime features of the waterfront at the Yard, including close-up views of the many ships that are currently berthed at the Yard awaiting repairs, a pier that will soon be redeveloped for new construction, and the landmark 1851 dry dock. Unlike previous tours, we will not be visiting the Naval Hospital Campus, though you can still step inside the 1838 building until October 24 as part of a special art exhibition there following the tour.>> Continue reading

Brooklyn Greenway Initiative’s Naval Cemetery Landscape

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With all the major development projects underway at the Brooklyn Navy Yard (the Green Manufacturing Center, Wegman’s, Building 77, Steiner Studios expansion – the list goes on …), it is easy to forget a very exciting, if comparatively modest, project in a quiet corner of the Yard.

For the last several years, the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative has been working to transform a portion of the Yard into a publicly-accessible greenspace. After years of planning, construction is now well underway of the Naval Cemetery Landscape, built on the site of the former Brooklyn Naval Hospital Cemetery. Located at the corner of Williamsburg St West and Kent Ave, this park will be a beautiful pocket of nature and civic history along the planned Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, a 14-mile bicycle and pedestrian path which will run from Greenpoint all the way to Bay Ridge.>> Continue reading

Natacha Mankowski Brings Out What Goes On Inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard

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Each season, we offer a special opportunity for photographers to explore the Brooklyn Navy Yard with us. Our next Seasonal Photography Tour is taking place this Sunday, April 19 at 11am, departing from the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92, and visiting sites including the Naval Hospital Campus, one of the Yard’s working dry docks, and other working waterfront sites.

Our judge for this season’s photo contest is one of BLDG 92’s 2015 Visiting Artists. Natacha Mankowski is an architect and painter who has had a long fascination with the Yard and what goes on behind its gates. She used it as the inspiration for an ambitious urban planning proposal, and as part of this year’s project, she is examining creative ways to turn the Yard inside out – to showcase its inner workings and history to the public, through her art. We’ll let Natacha explain it herself:>> Continue reading

Explainer: The Brooklyn Navy Yard and the National Register of Historic Places

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Last month, we were so excited to learn that the Brooklyn Navy Yard has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. But this raises an important question: what on earth does this mean, exactly?

Historic preservation often involves a complicated maze of local, state, and federal legal requirements, so we thought we would explain what the National Register is, what the benefits are, and what impact this will have on the Brooklyn Navy Yard. To get a better understanding of the National Register and its implications for the Yard, we spoke to Shani Leibowitz, Senior Vice President of Development and Planning at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, who was a tremendous help.>> Continue reading

Meet Our Team: Sustainability Guide Doug Chapman

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Over the next several weeks, we will be posting brief interviews with all of our great team members at Turnstile Tours. From historians to actors, special education professionals to artists, our team possesses a wide range of experience and expertise that help to make our tours well-crafted, engaging, and accessible to any audience.

Meet Doug Chapman, head of Sustainability Programming and leader of our Sustainability Tours of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Where are you from originally, Doug?

I grew up in Toronto, Canada and went to high school in Interlochen, MI.>> Continue reading

The Brooklyn Navy Yard’s “Lincoln” Photo

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One of our favorite photographs of the Brooklyn Navy Yard is affectionately referred to as the “Lincoln photo.” We will be examining this photo more closely, and the scene depicted in it, on Saturday’s Seasonal Photography Tour of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

As far as we know, the man pictured in the foreground with the giant stovepipe hat and chin beard is not Abraham Lincoln. Though it sure does look like him – at least, the construction-paper-hat-and-beard Lincoln of our elementary school book reports.When this picture was taken in 1846, Lincoln was just a candidate for the House of Representatives from Illinois. Who that man is, we don’t know [Ed. note: See update below], but what is going on in the background of this picture would play a large role in the coming Civil War and the presidency of Mr. Lincoln.>> Continue reading

Navy Yard Manufacturer IceStone Uses Crowdsourcing to Recover from Sandy

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We all know that glass is made of sand, but Hurricane Sandy was no friend to recycled glass countertop manufacturer IceStone. The Brooklyn Navy Yard tenant was hit hard by the storm, with their manufacturing and warehouse floor submerged by almost four feet of water, causing damage to their facility and materials. The East River water that washed through the yard stained valuable slabs of finished countertop, contaminated high-grade raw materials, wreaked havoc with floor-level electrical systems, and disabled the conveying and fabrication machinery. In addition, the heart of the company’s marketing campaign – hundreds of beautiful sample pieces and 2000 purpose-built sample boxes and intricately designed binder displays – were completely destroyed.

>> Continue reading

Pouring Concrete: The Brooklyn Navy Yard Prepares for War

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Times of war have always brought the biggest transformations to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and none were bigger than those that took place during World War II. But long before the attack on Pearl Harbor plunged America into the global war, US military planners saw the need to expand the country’s navy in order to fight on two oceanic fronts. A larger navy required larger facilities not just to build ships, but to outfit, service, and repair them. In short, the navy needed more dry docks in more places around the world.

>> Continue reading

AIANY Around Manhattan Architecture Boat Tours

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Upcoming Tours led by Andrew Gustafson:

  • Saturday, Apr 15, 1pm
  • Sunday, Apr 16, 1:45pm
  • Wednesday, Apr 19, 12:45pm
  • Thursday, Apr 20, 12:45pm
  • Thursday, Apr 27, 12:45pm

Explore NYC’s new and enduring architecture, engineering marvels, and the revitalized waterfront from the teak decks of Classic Harbor Line’s elegant motor yachts. Hosted by the guides of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter, this 2 hour and 45 minute circumnavigation tour offers insightful narration about the city’s built environment, from the Hudson and the Battery to the Hell Gate and Spuyten Duyvil. The story of NYC’s development is described as a broad overview for visitors, yet includes deeper insights to satisfy knowledgeable locals and architecture and design professionals. Learn about architectural icons and new and alluring sites, including Little Island at Pier 55, the mega-project Hudson Yards, and the continuing ascent of “supertall” luxury residential towers. Turnstile’s Andrew Gustafson is now part of the AIANY team leading these tours, and you can find his schedule above (subject to change), or join any of the wonderful AIANY boat tours with their engaging and knowledgeable guides.