Celebrating Community
The world knew Buddy Scotto for almost 92 years, I was his friend for the past seven. I first heard about him when I worked for the Brooklyn Phoenix newspaper in the early 1980’s. He was known in the office for getting rid of the ‘stench’ that permeated Carroll Gardens when the wind blew in from the Gowanus Canal. […]
In its contentious rezoning proposal, the Department of City Planning reimagines Gowanus as an urban Venice—or something vaguely resembling Miami. The sketches in the Waterfront Access Plan the city presented last year show pedestrians crossing bridges with scenic views of the canal. They show children frolicking in waterfront parks shaded by trees and new residential highrises that shine with glassy, […]
Thanks to donations from Queens-based food importer Redi-Fresh Produce Inc. (RFP), more than 100,000 pounds of pineapples and bananas have made their way to the needy in New York and New Jersey. RFP is a produce importer that receives containers at the Red Hook Container Terminal (RHCT). RHCT President Mike Stamatis and RFP President Peter Malo felt they could be […]
On January 10, the New York City Police Department released footage from an officer-involved shooting that took place in the Gowanus Houses on October 15, 2019. Plainclothesmen Henry Neumann and Matthew Schmalix interrupted a gunfight in progress between 30-year-old Nasheem Prioleau and an unnamed civilian on Baltic Street and fired 31 shots at Prioleau, who subsequently died at Brooklyn Hospital. […]
On December 2, in the auditorium of PS 32, Community Board 6 (CB6) got to hear the latest on Gowanus Green, the long-delayed project that’ll convert 247,877 square feet of polluted land into a mixed-use development topping out at 28 stories, with housing, green space, and a public school. For a variety of reasons, a lot of Gowanus residents in […]
EPA officials rejected New York City’s proposal to build a long tunnel to prevent sewage overflows into the Gowanus Canal. Instead, the original plan to build two holding tanks will continue uninterrupted. This was the main topic of the September Gowanus Community Advisory Group (CAG) public meeting, held the last Tuesday of the month as usual at the Cabrini residence, […]
In June, the Gowanus Landmarking Coalition, an advocacy group for historic preservation, earned a significant victory – albeit an incomplete one – when the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) agreed to calendar five buildings in Gowanus. This decision increased the likelihood that, in the form of longstanding anchors like the American Can Factory and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Powerhouse, some of […]
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced funding for the Gowanus Houses Community Center and Wyckoff Gardens Community Center with local group leaders, advocates and politicians – including Council Member Brad Lander, Committee on General Welfare Chair Stephen Levin, and Public Housing Committee Chair Alicka Ampry-Samuel. The two centers will receive nearly $9 million from NYCHA and the City Council’s Fiscal […]
Two electric generating stations on six power barges, floating along the shoreline of Gowanus and Sunset Park, are looking to be replaced and updated by 2024. Collectively they provide enough energy between one and 1.5 million residential customers in Brooklyn. The barges continued operating during Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and were only offline for two hours, due personnel evacuations, according […]
Question: “Where should we meet for drinks?” Answer: Gowanus Beat the heat and bask in the toxic fumes of Brooklyn’s best-kept secret. Gowanus exists right between the middle of nowhere and the middle of everything. The constant growl of the F/G train, low-to-the-ground buildings, and a general air of unfinished business has given the sprawling central Brooklyn neighborhood a bad […]