Friday, October 8, 2021 – A TRANQUIL INSTALLATION CLOSE TO THE NAVY YARD FERRY

By admin

HELP US MOUNT THIS HISTORIC PLAQUE IN THE KIOSK

We have just acquired this wonderful plaque from the Elevator Storehouse Building. We need your help to pay for the mounting of this 130 pound bronze tablet in the kiosk Your can send us a check or e-mail us and we will take your donation by charge card towards the $1000.00 charge to install the tablet. Help us add this wonderful to our collection of artifacts on view. Thank you R.I.H.S., P.O. BOX 5, NY NY 10044 or e-mail us at rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021

THE  489th EDITION

‘LAYERS’

ART INSTALLATION

AT THE BROOKLYN NAVY YARD

INVITES VISITORS TO

CONTEMPLATE THE HISTORY

BENEATH THEIR FEET

from UNTAPPED NEW YORK

Following a year of isolation and social restriction, the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative has invited artist Aaron Asis to create a site-specific installation designed to honor and celebrate the multifaceted history of the Naval Cemetery Landscape at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The installation, entitled ‘Layers’ is designed in two parts to showcase the past and remind us of the layered history beneath our feet — and to allow us to contemplate our layered past, to inform our shared future.

“It’s too easy to ignore the past and it’s far easier to look ahead than to look behind — but there is much we can learn from our history, we just need to pause long enough to consider its impact and appreciate its value,” says Aaron Asis.

Along the entrance facade a large-scale mural displays the pre-development landscape surrounding the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Naval Cemetery Landscape site. Inside, hundreds of stripes along the boardwalk evoke the history of the earth beneath it. Footprints left along these striped paths honor the lives historically laid to rest on these grounds. These temporary installations are designed to acknowledge our human impact on the land and to inspire public attention, inquiry, and contemplation into the layered history of this site, the city, and our lives.“The year-round beauty and unique history of the Naval Cemetery Landscape make it a particularly inspiring venue for site-specific art,” Terri Carta, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, notes. “Aaron Asis’ latest piece, Layers, interprets the site’s topography and natural history while inviting visitors to reflect on its cultural significance and meaning for the communities that interact with it.”

The Naval Cemetery Landscape is located in the southeast corner of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which was established on the shores of Wallabout Bay and was America’s premier naval shipbuilding facility from 1801 to 1966. Prior to the NCL, the Brooklyn Naval Hospital Cemetery was an active burial site from 1831 to 1910. In 1926, the Navy relocated individuals buried in the cemetery to Cypress Hills National Cemetery. However, in the 1990s, a series of archaeological investigations concluded that hundreds of burials were unaccounted for and are potentially still at the site.

“Art has a profound ability to inspire and engage and ‘Layers’ is a public invitation to explore a unique New York City history. We should all take a moment to consider the significance of this history and contemplate how understanding our past can improve our lives,” Asis continues.

WATCH THE YOU TUBE VIDEO:

Today the Naval Cemetery Landscape is a project of Brooklyn Greenway Initiative to create a place for retreat and remembrance while honoring its rich layers of natural and cultural history — without disturbing the hallowed ground.  ‘Layers’ is currently on display at the Naval Cemetery Landscape at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in Brooklyn NY — through October 2021.

Operating Hours

Monday: CLOSED

Tuesday: CLOSED

Wednesday: 10am-6pm

Thursday: 10am-6pm

Friday: 10am-6pm

Saturday: 10am-6pm

Sunday: 10am-6pm

The Naval Cemetery Landscape is following CDC and New York State COVID guidelines. 

Face coverings are required for all NCL program participants. 

Please note that bike and scooter riding is not permitted at the NCL. As our site is a wildlife habitat, dogs are also not permitted on our grounds.

Getting There

Located on the eastern edge of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and accessed from the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway at Williamsburg St West between Kent and Flushing Avenues. We highly recommend taking public transportation, biking or walking to NCL.

OUR OCTOBER PROGRAM AT THE RI BRANCH NYPL 

Here is the flyer and registration link.
https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2021/10/19/rihs-lecture-dead-queens

FRIDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY

SEND YOUR ANSWER TO:
ROOSEVELTISLANDHISTORY@GMAIL.COM

THURSDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY

KING COLE BAR AT THE ST. REGIS HOTEL
BY MAXFIELD PARRISH
GLORIA HERMAN, LINDA BECKER, LAURA HUSSEY, ARLENE BESSENOFF, THOM HEYER
ALL GOT IT RIGHT

Text by Judith Berdy
Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by Melanie Colter  and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c)

UNTAPPED NEW YORK

FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD

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rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com