The ferry brought Manhattan to Red Hook. Now locals are riding the tourist wave.

Today's newsletter is curated by Dana Binfet

Weather: ☀️ Mostly sunny, highs in the low 80s.

It's Wednesday in New York City, where young Manhattanites are making Red Hook a favorite summertime daycation.

For business owners in Red Hook, the ferry is proving a difference-maker for the arts community, entertainment, restaurants and jobs.

The ferry from Manhattan only started coming to Red Hook in 2017. After a slow start, ridership on a typical summer weekend day approached nearly a thousand last summer, almost triple the first summer’s count. 

Here’s what we know about the growing crowds at Brooklyn’s historic maritime port.

And here's what else is happening: 

• Forget the midterms, New Jersey’s entire Legislature will be up for election next year and progressives are actively recruiting candidates.
• New Yorkers gathered at country bars and other Dolly Parton-themed spots Tuesday to remember the singer, songwriter and pop culture icon.
• Volunteers in Ridgewood spent the summer restoring a hidden, neglected reservoir in Queens to its natural glory.
• Starting next month, the LIRR will begin direct service from Penn Station to Montauk, every weekday throughout the year.
• Several New York counties were subpoenaed Tuesday after resisting a new state immigration law limiting cooperation with ICE.
• Tornadoes are becoming an increasingly common occurrence in New Jersey, which has seen wild spikes over the last several years.
• Three teenagers were killed and two more were injured in a car crash on the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn Tuesday night.
• The NYPD is asking for the public's help finding a Bronx man they say fatally shot two men and wounded a third person over the last three days.

• Hot summer temperatures are straining New York’s power grid, and small energy projects might just beat the heat.
• Back-to-school season is almost here, but for early education providers, city funding is lacking.
• They paved paradise and are charging $250,000 for a parking spot in Park Slope.
• Wall Street’s Charging Bull statue is cloaked in mystery.
• Even the Empire State building is mourning the loss of Dolly Parton. 
• 30 Rock is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a live show at Radio City, as Liz Lemon famously said, “I want to go to there!”