RED HOOK – The Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge is known, in addition to its collection of historical waterfront memorabilia and works by local artists, for its summer concert series and circus performances.

The barge’s historical mission and the popular “Circus Sundays� will continue, but the concerts, which have encompassed almost every form of music from a swing-era revival big band to a Southern solo blues guitarist, are now a thing of the past.

So says Capt. David Sharps, president of the historic former railroad barge, which is docked at Red Hook.

The reason, he says, is that he has been asked not to serve liquor at his concerts, due to liability concerns, by Greg O’Connell, the Red Hook developer who gives him space to dock his barge for free. Even if the concerts went on without liquor, he said, they would degenerate into a “BYOB [bring your own bottle] type of affair,� Sharps fears.

“When we first came here in 1990, there was nothing here,� he said. “Now Red Hook is a thriving area.� As far as the concerts are concerned, he adds, the barge/museum now competes with the Brooklyn Museum’s First Saturdays program, Prospect Park’s Celebrate Brooklyn series, the Coney Island summer concerts at Seaside Park, and numerous nightclubs and restaurants.

While Red Hook will continue to be the barge’s home port, at least until Sharps’ lease is up in 2012, Sharps wants to take the barge more often to festivals and cultural events in other areas along the Hudson River and on Long Island. The museum’s original mission of making people aware of the Red Hook waterfront, he says, has now been fulfilled.

The museum, said Sharps, will “continue our maritime education program for thousands of school and camp children as well as educators, preservationists, bike and walking tours.�

O’Connell, stressing his support of the barge/museum’s mission, said, “We were concerned about the barge’s liability and asked them to get additional liability insurance.� Sharps said that the museum acquired additional insurance, and is looking forward to serving the community – but with non-alcoholic events.

A board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday night.

The museum is housed on a 95-year-old covered railroad barge that transported goods across the harbor, powered by tugboats. This era began to wane when bridges were built across the Hudson, and especially after the advent of containerization.

“Up the river� from the Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge is BargeMusic, a barge docked at Fulton Ferry Landing that presents classical concerts.

When asked about the Waterfront Museum’s situation, Mark Peskanov, BargeMusic’s executive director said, “We never served liquor, so we never had that problem.� While BargeMusic does set up light refreshments for concert-goers, “we don’t sell anything,� he added.

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
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