Between 1980 and 1986 I was fortunate enough to have been a member of the US Army. As I traveled from place to place, around the country, it became apparent that the Children and Families of Brooklyn from previous generations have seeded and taken root nearly everywhere. It would never fail that every week or so, I would run into someone, and tell them in the course of conversation, that I was from Brooklyn.

Sometimes it seems that we have lost this feeling of pride. We at Brooklyn On Line try to instill within the community pride in our heritage, not only as Irish, Italians, Haitians or Jews, but as Brooklynites. We have been passed a mantle, whether we realize it or not, and what we make of that mantle for the next generation largely depends on our understanding of what makes THIS town special, how we came to live here, and what we bring to this mix of cultures, industry, community and history.

When I stand on the Waterfront, may it be at Coney, Canarsie, 1st Ave., or Downtown, I always feel as if the collective weight of the memories of all those folks I have met is upon my shoulders.

"Read, and one day all this may make sense to you" urged Captain Pickard to Young Wesley Crusher in an episode of Star Trek, as they glazed out over the stars. And I urge you likewise, Read, Learn and Explore, and all this will one day make sense to you, as we stand on the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights. Everyone who lives in Brooklyn should at least once in their lifetime walk over the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan, stand in the center span in rush hour, and read a poem.

Take the time out at least once, and go to Coney Island and wait for the sun to set on a summer evening. And glare out at the Boardwalk as the wind shifts and Coney lights up, remembering that we are only looking at a fraction of what once was here. Then walk up the boardwalk to Brighton Beach, and take in Odessa by the Sea, with Russian Music and old women in folding chairs spending quality time with their neighbors.

Walk to the Gowanas Canal, and wonder about the backbone of enterprise it once was, and conptemplate what it is today. Stand at 7th Ave. and 20th street, and see the Statue of Liberty over the Harbor, in the background of rundown tenement, with the sound of children's laughter in the air. Stand in mid afternoon at Fort Greene Park, at the vault where dead soldiers of the Revolutionary War lay, and glaze over the Navy Yard where 100's of American prisoners of war were allowed to slowly starve to death in the prison ship Jersey, just off Wallabout Bay.

If you experience these things, and it spurs you to read about our past as a city, then the pieces of the puzzle will come together in your mind, and the pride will begin to swell up in you.

You see, the future of our waterfront, and of our city itself, depends on our knowledge, and pride in ourselves as Brooklynites.

Brooklyn, without a doubt, sits on the greatest natural harbor in the world. We also have some of the finest beaches in the world, and a National Park on our south shore. We hope to provide this section of our web site as a place to exchange ideas on our waterfront. As of now, many plans are fighting it out, to shape our coast line. From Sanitation, to Park Lands are competing for our shore. Often people who have very little at stake in our Borough are making major decisions which can change the very shape of our lives.

Two of the largest currently proposed projects is the renewal project at Coney Island, and the needed freight tunnel between Brooklyn and Staten Island to put our docks back to work. Without a tunnel, it is likely that New York Harbor will die as a center of shipping and import export. When all is said and done, it is really that simple. And very little needs to be said about Coney Island. Bookmark this page to watch the development of these projects in the coming months.

• Coney Island Renewal Plans
• Gowanas Canal Clean Up
• Cross Harbor Feight tunnel Proposal