The last smokestack

It’s funny, the things people get sentimental about. There used to be five Con Ed smokestacks in Vinegar Hill; now there are two (I think). They look okay from a distance – not totally unphotogenic, but not necessarily lovable. Vinegar Hill is a small area wedged between the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Corcoran Realty and others are trying to extend DUMBO’s development a few blocks north, so it’s all symbolic:  keep the industrial past and there will be fewer condos, more old-time neighborhood flavor.