An asbestos abatement notice, shuttered doors, and heaps of debris – this is what is left of Gowanus’ famous BBQ restaurant Pig Beach, one of the first businesses that closed its doors due to the rezoning outlined in the Gowanus Neighborhood Plan. The restaurant, a sprawling indoor-outdoor facility that has served as a community meeting spot for eight years, closed December 30 because the development group Tankhouse is beginning the process of building along the Gowanus canal. Shane McBride, co-owner of Pig Beach, said he will miss the original location, and hopes to be able to move the restaurant back into the area in a couple of years.
“We miss it. We miss our customers, we had tons of regulars, when we did actually close, there were families that came in for their final chicken wings,” McBride said. “We witnessed a lot of these kids grow up, so you know, it was bitter-sweet to leave that. We’ve been a part of people’s families for years now.”
The Gowanus Neighborhood Plan, the latest attempt to rezone the Gowanus neighborhood, was kicked off in 2013 by then Councilmember Brad Lander’s Bridging Gowanus. The Neighborhood Plan is a large-scale infrastructure project that aims to accomplish a cleanup of the Gowanus Canal, rezoning to allow for more housing development, and creating a new waterfront public space for Gowanus residents.
The rezoning was officially approved November 23, 2021 by the New York City Council and allows for residential buildings as tall as 30 stories in an area originally zoned for industrial six story buildings. In total, the development is slated to bring in 20,000 new residents in 8,500 new apartments, almost doubling the present population.
Tankhouse, a developer based in Dumbo, bought the development site in July 2022 for $40.65 million from the Pilot Real Estate Group. According to TheRealDeal, this project will be larger than the company’s previous biggest development on 450 Warren Street, a five-story 18-unit condo building. McBride said Tankhouse will tear down the old Pig House building this month. Though he said he will miss their original restaurant location, McBride said he is hopeful about the development.
“They’re putting a pretty substantial building, the ground floor and parts of the second floor are going to be commercial use,” McBride said. “They have a decent amount of space carved out for community members, it’s definitely going to be mixed-use. And the building looks pretty cool.”
The famous Green Building, a popular wedding venue for New Yorkers and Brooklanites across the road from Pig Beach, is also set to be demolished. Pilot, who owned the Green Building, had filed plans June of last year for an eight story building in the area. It is unclear whether Tankhouse will modify those plans and go higher.
According to Crain’s New York Business, Pilot secured a 421-a tax break right before the sale to Tankhouse, likely contributing to the 230% price increase from their original purchase of the land in 2014 for $12.3 million to the $40.65 million Tankhouse bought it for. A 421-a tax break, often given to developers that comply with an affordable housing minimum, ensures that Tankhouse will not have to pay property tax and other fees for multiple years. The Neighborhood Plan outlines that 20 to 30 percent out of the 8,500 newly built properties must be classified as affordable, but the exact terms are unclear.
Claire Weissberg, the creator and owner of Claireware Pottery, said she has doubts that the new development will be able to serve community members in need of affordable housing, and will instead bring in wealthier residents from outside the neighborhood.
“I don’t have faith that the affordable housing, the mandatory inclusionary housing, will be affordable. It sounds like the affordable housing they’re building over on that block, on the other side of the canal, is the only truly affordable housing,” Weissberg said. “But most of the time [rent] is based on the income of the neighborhood, and the median income of this neighborhood is well over $100,000.”
While the rezoning means that some businesses will close, other business owners in the area are certain that construction in the area will produce more revenue. Angel Guzman, owner of Smith Street Pizza and long-time Gowanus resident, said the development will bring in new customers to his store.
“More people is good for business. More people make more business, it’s going to be crowded but you know, that’s okay.” Guzman said.
Other community members in the area are not so optimistic. The development will alter the skyline of Gowanus, and according to Weissberg, this will change the feel of the neighborhood.
“It’s going to transform it,” Weissberg said. “The whole charm of this neighborhood was how low it was, and how light it was, and now there won’t be any light, and I assume that all the buildings are all going to be cookie-cutter hideous buildings, but I don’t know that.”
Community members are also unsure if the rezoning will be good for the neighborhood. Toni-Anne Acevedo, who has lived in Gowanus all her life, said she is worried that the development will bring a lot of traffic to the community.
“It’s too much. They’re building on every piece of land there is,” Acevedo said. “It doesn’t bring much, and it’s complicated.”
Greg Warner, an employee at the local wine shop Smith & Vine, said he does not like the newest Gowanus buildings on 365 Bond Street and thinks the new units will be similar, though the developments are headed by two different firms.
“Those apartments are lame,” Warner said. “It’s like adults who want the amenities and pampering of a dorm room but they live in New York City. It has no character, and every time they deliver wine there I’m annoyed by it.”
McBride said the neighborhood is about to go through a period of change, and that Gowanus will look as different during the construction period when certain restaurants and amenities will disappear, as it will after the development is finished.
“[Pig Beach] definitely had an impact on the neighborhood as a place to go and I would say that we were a part of the genesis of how the neighborhood became a better place,” McBride said. “It’s going to be a different neighborhood. Just like any new, growing neighborhood, it’s going to have a growing period where there will be a lack of stuff.”
