One Year Ago: Remembering Gowanus Lounge Blogger Bob Guskind

Photo credit: Hugh Crawford

Robert Guskind 1958-2009

from Blue Barn Pictures, Inc.

Exactly a year ago today, Gowanus Lounge Blogger Bob Guskind passed away. His voice and his site is still very much missed here in Brooklyn, never more so than in this last week.

You see, Bob was passionate about the Gowanus Canal and would have been incredibly pleased by the recent news that the Environmental Protection Agency was placing the extremely polluted waterway on its list of Superfund sites.
Bob, I am sure, would have been elated by the announcement.
His outspokenness on the subject inspired many in the community to fight for a clean canal.
I know he inspired me.
I am sorry I did not get to celebrate this victory with him.
Here is to you, Bob!

The Carroll Gardens Coalition For Respectful Development (C.O.R.D.) just published a lovely tribute by Phil dePaolo . Please check t out here.

Related Reading:

Sad, Sad News From The Blogging Community: The Passing Of Bob Guskind

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Don't Forget About Red Hook's 3rd Annual Film Festival This Week-End

The 3rd Annual Red Hook Film Festival

****REMINDER***

As part of their film line-up, the organizers of the 3rd Annual Red Hook Film Festival are including Blue Barn Pictures's film on fellow blogger and friend Bob Guskind. Also included is the incredibly poignant "Lavender Lake: Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal" documentary.

The 2009, Red Hook International Film And Video Festival screenings

will take place on October 3rd & 4th at

The Brooklyn Waterfront Artist's Coalition's Screening Room,

499 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York

Click here for Directions and Travel options to the Festival

At 1:00 p.m.	On The Gowanus
	Robert Guskind: 1958-2009 Directed by Blue Barn Pictures Documentary, 2009, color, 6:30 minutes A tribute to Robert Guskind - aka "Brooklyn's Blogfather" - who for many years published The Gowanus Lounge, a local news website that offered unique coverage of Brooklyn's many neighborhoods. This year's Red Hook Film Festival is dedicated to Robert Guskind, to The Gowanus Lounge, and to local storytelling.
	Lavender Lake: Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal Directed by Alison Prete Documentary, 1999, color, 53 minutes A 10th anniversary screening of this classic Brooklyn documentary, which chronicles the gritty details of the decades-long struggle to clean up the Gowanus Canal. This film remains especially relevant today, as the Gowanus neighborhood faces a potential Superfund designation. What has changed on the canal - and what remains the same - in the ten years since this fascinating documentary was completed?

Full Schedule Here

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3rd Annual Red Hook Film Festival To Honor Blogger Bob Guskind

What a great tribute. The 3rd Annual Red Hook Film Festival is paying homage to my fellow blogger and friend Bob Guskind, who died unexpectedly this spring and who left a huge hole in the Brooklyn blog world.

As part of their film line-up, the organizers are including Blue Barn Pictures's film on Bob, Also included is the incredibly poignant "Lavender Lake: Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal" documentary.
Bob cared deeply about the dangerously toxic waterway. On many a day, I sit at my computer and think of Bob and what he would have thought of the EPA's willingness to step in to clean the area. He would have been all over that story, I can assure you. His voice is still missed in these parts!

The 3rd Annual Red Hook Film Festival

has just announced its schedule of films!

The Red Hook Film Festival will take place on October 3rd and 4th at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition screening room at 499 Van Brunt Street. Our screenings begin at 1pm on Saturday Oct. 3rd, with the tribute film "Robert Guskind: 1958-2009" by Blue Barn Pictures, followed by a special 10th anniversary screening of the seminal Brooklyn documentary "Lavender Lake: Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal" directed by Alison Prete. This year, our festival is "dedicated to Robert Guskind, to The Gowanus Lounge, and to local storytelling."

The rest of the weekend will feature short film gems from neighborhoods around Brooklyn, including pieces about a Bushwick tailor, rooftop farms in Greenpoint, the Atlantic Yards boondoggle, Coney Island's lost roller coaster, Williamsburg industry, and a whole program of films about Red Hook!

Our screening schedule can be seen online at www.redhookfilmfest.com and at www.myspace.com/redhookfilmfestival

We hope that you and your readers can make it to the festival!

Best -

The Red Hook Film Festival

Festival Founder and Chair: Daniel Durning
Festival Managers: David Spritzler & Aaron Sugiura
Festival Advisor: Nathan Kensinger
Festival Programmers: Daniel Maldonado, Meghan O'Hara, Joe Pacheco

web: www.redhookfilmfest.com
myspace: www.myspace.com/redhookfilmfestival
facebook: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=165019430983

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At Bob Guskind's Memorial

'Taking Flight Over the Gowanus Canal'
I took this photo back in February. Bob linked it to Gowanus Lounge
almost immediately. It would be one of the last times.

Memorials are always full of emotion. Celebrating someone's life after their passing is bittersweet and a wonderful tribute. Bob Guskind's memorial on Saturday at the Lycéum was exactly that, and so much more.
Organized by his dear friends Norman ( Atlantic Yards Report), Heather ( New York Shitty), Chris ( (Flatbush Gardener), Susan ( Park Slope Parents), Phil (New York Community Council) and many others, it was a lovely gathering to honor the author of Gowanus Lounge.

So many of his fellow bloggers attended. Some knew him personally, some had only corresponded with him. All feel his absence keenly. His blog was an online 'lounge' where Brooklynites who felt that their beloved borough was being taken over by the interests of politicians and developers could gather and exchange ideas.
And Bob was the perfect host, posting tirelessly, finding Brooklyn's beauty in the most decaying places and delighting in its many quirks.

Through all the wonderful tributes, a portrait of Bob emerged: that of a highly intelligent, talented and giving man, who may have had to battle his inner self just a bit more than the rest of us.

During the memorial, I had the incredible pleasure of meeting one of Bob's dearest and oldest friends, Marc Farre. We had exchanged a few emails after Bob's passing and it was clear that he was a kindred spirit. Meeting him in person yesterday confirmed this immediately.

I was also delighted to see Kristin (and her adorable baby daughter) of Best View In Brooklyn Louise of Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, Nate Kensinger of Nate Kensinger Photography, Lumi of No Land Grab , Brooks of Lost City , Triada Samaris of C.O.R.D., Jake of Gothamist, Lockhart of Curbed, to name just a very few.

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Robert Guskind Memorial Gathering On Saturday April 4

photo credit: Hugh Crawford

A memorial gathering to honor the memory of Robert Guskind will be held from 2 pm to 5 pm Saturday, April 4 at the Brooklyn Lyceum, 4th Avenue between Union and President Streets in Park Slope.

Please RSVP if you can. (There is an opportunity to sign up to speak.)

There will be an opportunity to donate to charities in Bob’s name.

Further details will be posted here.

Thanks to Eric Richmond of the Brooklyn Lyceum for generously donating the space.

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Sad, Sad News From The Blogging Community: The Passing Of Bob Guskind

Video, courtesy of Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn

First his blog went off the air, then the incredibly sad news that Bob Guskind, the man behind Gowanus Lounge, had passed away yesterday, March 4th.
Bob was known by everyone in the blogger community. He worked harder than any of us, published seven days a week and covered more of Brooklyn than any other borough blogger.

Over the last year and a half, Bob has been so wonderfully generous in helping Pardon Me For Asking reach a wider audience. I will forever be grateful to him and will miss the man as well as his online voice.
Rest in peace, Bob.

Please also see:

Bob Guskind's Flickr Photo Page

A walk around the blog with Gowanus Lounge (Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn)

Dedicated To A Friend (New York Shitty)

Robert Guskind, Founder Of Gowanus Lounge, Dies (Brownstoner)

Gowanus Lounge: Blog Creator Dies (Brit In Brooklyn)

Bob Guskind: Creator Of Gowanus Lounge 1958-2009 (Flatbush Gardener)

The Death Of A Journalist (Best View In Brooklyn)

Brooklyn Mourns (Brooklynometry)

Sad On A Thursday (Bad Advice)

The Death Of A Blogger (David Weiner at Huffington Post)


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