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June 10, 2009

Gowanus Gunk

Regardless of where you stand on the Superfund issue, everyone agrees that the Gowanus Canal needs a clean-up. In case anyone was still on the fence about it, this photo taken after this week's rains gives a good sense of just how gross it can get. "Pretty disgusting, no?" asks Pardon Me For Asking, which ran this photo and a few others this morning. On the bright side: At least folks in Gowanus are practicing safe sex.

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Comments

The Coney Island whitefish...

Posted by: Fjorder at June 10, 2009 10:55 AM

As my teen-age niece would say, "That picture is mad grainy."

Posted by: East New York at June 10, 2009 10:58 AM

serious question. is there a health risk to people who live around that canal? go ahead and abuse me for this comment, but once I put my zip code into a toxic sites map, and the thing lit up like a christmas tree. stuff that would scare the crap out of any suburbanite living within 20 miles of it. Now they are building "family friendly" condos right on top of it. Am I not getting something? are they building condos on a toxic dump? Could this get really, really bad?

Posted by: joe_the_bummer at June 10, 2009 11:00 AM

East new York - I don't think my teenage niece can say a single sentence without "mad" in it.

Posted by: dittoburg at June 10, 2009 11:08 AM

that picture is mad grainy!!!

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at June 10, 2009 11:13 AM

Superfund is not the same thing as sewer overflows -- EPA has said that Superfund won't help the sewer issues which cause stink and nastiness after rainstorms.

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/19/32_19_mm_superfund.html

Posted by: bklynite at June 10, 2009 11:20 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/science/earth/24gowanus.html:

The “garbage” in and along the mile-and-a-half-long canal includes pesticides, heavy metals and carcinogens like PCBs from more than a century’s worth of industrial activity. This month, the Environmental Protection Agency said that the contamination posed a public health hazard...

City officials and many residents fear that the Superfund label, reserved for the worst contamination in the country and evoking health emergencies like the Love Canal debacle of the 1970s, could deter new development in Gowanus, Carroll Gardens and Red Hook....

City officials said that the listing could jeopardize more than $500 million committed to the waterfront for two private projects involving more than 1,200 housing units.

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This sounds like the plot of a movie about sick, evil people. THESE "CITY OFFICIALS" SHOULD BE FORCED TO BATHE IN IT

Posted by: joe_the_bummer at June 10, 2009 11:21 AM

I say we turn Gracie Mansion into a canal-side palazzo.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at June 10, 2009 11:26 AM

Same with my niece, ditto. I'm mad mad about it, too.

Posted by: East New York at June 10, 2009 11:31 AM

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02152008/news/regionalnews/gowanus_condo_plan_97724.htm

"We're not only talking about bringing much needed housing, but building an esplanade that will finally open up public access to the canal for the first time in many years, the same way waterfront access is now being opened up in Williamsburg," said David Von Spreckelsen
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I highly recommend the article. David Von Spreckelsen drops in this little gem: "I like to go canoeing in the canal with my kids, so I'm not concerned about the contamination,"

Posted by: joe_the_bummer at June 10, 2009 11:35 AM

"esplanade???????" ROTFLMMFAO

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 10, 2009 11:40 AM

Cleaning the canal will not remove this gunk after the rain. Its a problem with runoff from the street which is a problem of the sewer system. You have to fix the infrastructure first- then you can clean the canal. Otherwise- you will be constantly cleaning the canal to deal with the runoff.

Posted by: panda10 at June 10, 2009 11:45 AM

my fave is "waterfront".

Posted by: joe_the_bummer at June 10, 2009 11:50 AM

true - according to wikipedia, the canal "has 13 sewer overflow points", which will be further strained by the atlantic yards project. but poop doesn't give you cancer. I'm really talking more about murcury, lead, and PCBs.

Posted by: joe_the_bummer at June 10, 2009 11:59 AM

joe...you can die quicker from exposure to E. coli & hepatitis than you can from mercury, lead & PCBs.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 10, 2009 12:02 PM

I stand corrected. and for the record, if I'm going to die from e-coli and hepatitis, I'm going to have some fun doing it. hey wait...did someone say "roof-deck?"

Posted by: joe_the_bummer at June 10, 2009 12:10 PM

It looks a bit like a condom laid out upon a tar roof.

The idea of "waterfront condos" and an esplanade along the canal is about as ridiculous as the pleasant outdoor/cafe seating that sprouts up all over midtown Manhattan's packed, congested and filthy streets every summer. Mmmmmmm, pass the muffins please!

Posted by: Nokilissa at June 10, 2009 12:28 PM

the last muffin I passed ended up in the canal

Posted by: joe_the_bummer at June 10, 2009 12:33 PM

Waterfront? there's water in that?

Posted by: dittoburg at June 10, 2009 12:37 PM

as my niece would say, that canal looks mad nasty, yo.

Posted by: roofrights at June 10, 2009 2:04 PM

Or as I'd say to Joe the Bummer: that last proclamation was mad nasty, yo.

Posted by: Nokilissa at June 10, 2009 2:27 PM

My impression is that the big argument against the Superfund status is that once given it the cleanup has to be coordinated by the EPA, and the city won't have control over the timing, and the EPA will be able to veto city rezoning plans.

Living close to the canal I'd love to see it cleaned up, but have no idea which of the two paths (city vs. epa superfund) would be the best option.

Posted by: melanarchy at June 10, 2009 2:35 PM

« Christie's Makes a Winning Bid for Red Hook More Renderings of New Arena Design »

June 10, 2009

Gowanus Gunk

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