Celebrating Community
Gowanus is a changing neighborhood. From once being an area with mostly light and heavy industries, the Gowanus Canal is now slowly becoming surrounded by residential and mixed-use buildings, a process which has significantly sped up since the rezoning of the area was approved in 2021. But the changing scenery has not come without difficulties. In the past decade-and-a-half, environmental […]
A big part of the EPA Superfund plan for the Gowanus Canal is preventing future pollution. One of the biggest polluters is the City of NY, due to the fact that when local sewers can’t handle a big rainstorm, raw sewage is pumped into the Canal. This has been happening for years and is a big part of what is […]
NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) held an informational webinar on August 12 regarding the future of the Columbia Street Piers. Over 120 acres of coastal land comprising the Red Hook Container Terminal, Erie Basin including the Cruise Terminal, Manhattan Beverage, the concrete recycling plant, the Waterfront and Port Authority building, and anyplace else in between were turned over to the […]
While this newspaper doesn’t always hear what our readers think of our articles, we have always been well received by our industry peers. In 11 of the 12 years that we’ve been a member of the NY State Press Association we have been winners in their Better Newspaper Contest. A personal highlight was the year that I was called up […]
UPDATE: The introductory webinar was held on August 12. As predicted below, it was an undemocratic neighborhood meeting. We were told that over 400 people were online, but there was no further information as to who they were, what they looked like, or whether they had anything to say. It was the kind of ZOOM meant for a one-way conversation, […]
In our July issue we wrote about the concrete recycling plant that temporarily occupies part of the Columbia Street Waterfront District docks. At the time, the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) told us that they “take all the necessary steps to mitigate dust and keep the public safe.” That is important because crystalline silica, a compound present in concrete, poses […]
(Editor’s note – Mr. Hang takes issue with our characterization of these events, and requested that we include his clarification: “Please note that we have NOT called for a “moratorium on new construction” in the Gowanus Canal Area. We respectfully wrote Governor Hochul: “Until the shortcomings of New York’s Brownfield program have been fully assessed and all applicable regulatory cleanup requirements […]
Harbor Middle School / PS 676 had their second annual Pride celebration and talent show on Friday, June 14. The auditorium was packed with parents, staff and the community. This year’s talent show drew inspiration from Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour which celebrated LGBTQ+ culture, vogue, ballroom and black queer joy. The Beyonce tour also focused on promoting inclusivity and fostering a […]
The Gowanus Oversight Task Force met for its second quarterly meeting of the year on Thursday evening, June 27. This time around, the public meeting tackled the issues of “community resources” and “streets and safety.” This task force took life as a condition of the Gowanus rezoning, which allowed for the building of high rise residential buildings in the formerly […]
A concrete recycling plant opened up along the Columbia Street waterfront earlier this year, raising concerns among some residents in the neighborhood and nearby Cobble Hill. The plant, located by the intersection of Columbia and Kane Streets, is only there temporarily, however. It was moved there in February to accommodate the city’s plans to develop offshore wind. Just next door […]