> Those organizing efforts culminated in a February 2022 demand letter from 43 community members to local, state and federal officials about the conditions in the neighborhood. Chief among the demands were stormwater and wastewater sewer systems, green stormwater infrastructure and enforcement against illegal dumping and vehicle abandonment.<p>That sounds like a lot of expensive infrastructure to cater to 50 people (many of whom are squatters or homeless, it implies?). Maybe it would make more sense to condemn the area, and turn it into a large park intended for flooding. The NYC area as a whole is going to need much more flood capacity in the future, if projections are right, and this place has nothing of note and sounds like it's already 90% of the way there (to being both a park and a flood zone), whether you like it or not.
I love The Hole, it’s incredibly weird. Feels like the middle if nowhere but you’re near highrise projects.<p>If you go there by car, you need a 4x4 with some lift. The flooding and road quality are downplayed. It’s really something.
The Hole’s profile was recently raised by John Wilson[1].<p>It’s a very strange area. You can see it on the way to JFK; the dip in ground level is significant.<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/27/arts/television/how-to-with-john-wilson-season-3.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/27/arts/television/how-to-wi...</a>
For a place like New York City finding solitude would be nearly impossible. I really hope that anything the city does for the community doesn't destroy its sanctuary-like properties for the residents, but merely improves their quality of life. But I doubt it.<p>> Many residents of The Hole, long abandoned by the state, find peace in the isolation that The Hole provides.<p>> Then, he softens as he explains why he stays. “I stay here because it’s quiet. It’s peaceful,” Lopez says. “This place, it’s idyllic.”<p>My heartfelt respect to Richie Gonzalez for taking care of injured animals.
Nice article. I go next to that area all the time (there is a cluster of good South Asian grocery stores on the opposite side of Conduit from the Hole, plus the Hole is on the way to the beach or airport), but had never taken a walk through there. I always assumed all the broken down trucks and RVs belonged to a scrap yard - I did not realize they were simply abandoned and that there are people living in those RVs!
'forgotten community' seems like a strange way to paint what seems to be an area ranging from undeveloped to derelict, 'home' to approximately 50 homeless people/squatters?<p>I'm sure there are some forgotten communities near where I live too.
They make this sound like there is some abandoned city within New York City.
I accidentally drove into this area while trying to find the McDonald's(on Linden BLVD) in the area without using a GPS.<p>The street suddenly ran downhill, there was water accumulating at the end of a dead end block and the houses there looked a bit like they needed some work on done.
It was only later on here I found out what this area was called.
Reminds me of that street in Corona, Queens (under the shadow of Mets stadium) with small auto mechanic garages. Which reminded me of streets I’ve seen in Latin America where you would find metal workers and mechanics. The smell of oil, grease and iron heavy in the air.<p>That place in Corona is now gone.
Wow this is crazy, I took a cab from queens to Brooklyn once, and it was weirdly long and circuitous<p>Didn’t realize there were places like this though