Gowanus Lounge would like to be among the first to welcome a cool new Brooklyn blog to the block. It’s called Brooklyn Ramblings, and it’s from Sonja Shield, whose work might be familiar to GL’s readers and to fans of her photography on flickr, where she posts as shield. The blog has some news about […]

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Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner has been winning the development war but taking it on the chin in the war for the hearts and minds of Brooklynites from his vociferous and resourceful opponents. (Celebrities signing on to Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, the less than enthusiastic welcome for Miss Brooklyn, etc.) So, in Ratnerian terms, yesterday […]

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Okay, so it’s Flushing Meadow Park and the 1964-65 World’s Fair Unisphere, but Gowanus Lounge finds something appealing about this juxtaposition of the marketing of soft-serve ice cream and the big globe that is one of Queens’ symbols. Last we heard from around Flushing-Corona way in early May, a group was making noises about launching […]

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Maybe Gowanus Lounge hasn’t been paying attention, but the Coney Island Development Corp., from which nothing has been heard since redevelopment plans were announced last September, seems to have gotten a new lease on life. First, they announced on Tuesday that they’re seeking proposals for 150 units of affordable housing and a community center. (Does […]

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Nothing like bad publicity about a rash of nasty muggings by gangs of teenagers in one of Brooklyn’s most affluent nabes to get action. After yesterday’s story in the Post about “teenage wolf packs” terrorizing people in and around Prospect Park, the NYPD announced a Task Force to stop the crimes. (There was a rash […]

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Yesterday, we posted and wrote on Curbed about new renderings of plans for the site of the flambéed Greenpoint Terminal Market. A spiffy drawing passed along to Curbed by a reader appears to the right. This morning, we heard from architect Karl Fischer‘s executive assistant, who pointed out the drawing is an old one and […]

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The New York Times digs a little deeper today into recently announced plans for a big waterfront park in Sunset Park, so we thought it as good as an excuse as any to unearth this photo of a tagged-up and abandoned caboose near 39th Street and the water. The new park site is currently a […]

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Fleet Week Comes to Coney Island. Gowanus Lounge spent some time on the Everyperson’s Riveria, aka Coney Island, late in the afternoon on Memorial Day. With a final redevelopment plan due from Thor Equities on July 1, and a push to get approval so that construction on the huge $1 billion hotel-retail-housing complex can start […]

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It was a little bit of a shock to Gowanus Lounge’s system to open this morning’s Post and see that “teenage wolf packs” have robbed nine people in and around Brooklyn’s Prospect Park in the past six weeks. (The specific headine, is: “Gangs’ Terror in the Park: Propsect Park Rob Blitz”). Three of the robberies […]

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Answer us this: How is it that the repairs to the Coney Island boardwalk, which have been underway since the dead of winter, aren’t complete yet? In fact, the badly-needed boardwalk upgrade seems to be so far from done that it appears it will be going most of the summer. (Or, maybe there will be […]

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What is at the bottom of the Gowanus Canal? Dead body and gun jokes aside, an awful lot of things. Gowanus Lounge shot this photo on Memorial Day of an unrecycled computer at the bottom of our favorite drink. The computer in question (manufacturer unknown, but we’re betting it’s a Gateway) is in the water […]

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As we speak, people are carrying the world’s biggest coolers of food and liquids into Prospect Park for Memorial Day barbecues. Us, we’re thinking about taking the the grill to the Big G where the crowds are sparse and the atmosphere is more post-industrial. Why not? Gowanus is one of several city “waterfront neighborhoods worth […]

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This van has been around Williamsburg for a bit, primarily on Driggs Avenue for the last two weeks. It originally belonged to the Park Slope Geriatic Day Center, which can lead one to a lot of commentary about North Brooklyn versus South Brooklyn, but we won’t go there. One can only assume that the van […]

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Sitting on Coney Island Boardwalk, originally uploaded by rsguskind. Gowanus Lounge loves Coney Island, especially the ease of getting there on the F Train. Who cares if the water is more New York Harbor than Atlantic Ocean? For 2006, all of our favorite attractions–like Shoot the Freak and Cha Cha’s–are back., saved from the wrecking […]

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Slowly but surely, the infamous Finger Building continues to rise on North 8th Street in Williamsburg. Work was halted for some time on Ye Olde Finger after permits were violated. Then, new plans were submitted to the Department of Buildings scaling back the building from 16 stories to a mere 10. Construction activity resumed and […]

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What better time than a sunny and warm Memorial Day weekend Sunday than to dig into Gowanus Lounge’s collection of brand new photos and bring you our latest installment in the Outdoor Living Series. We call this one “Making Creative Use of Brooklyn While it is Under Construction.” Today’s version of Outdoor Living features simplicity […]

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What better way to say Memorial Day Weekend than a photo that brings to mind all that Queens beachy goodness in the form of Rockway Beach and assorted neighbors? (Except for, perhaps, the waterfront dinner in Sheepshead Bay that GL enjoyed last night. Swans and sailboats in Brooklyn! Sadly, it was raining by the time […]

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Gentrification, Kent Avenue, originally uploaded by rsguskind. We found this little juxtaposition of construction and unhappy commentary on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, where the Attack of the 40-Story Luxury Condos has begun. This is the site of “The Edge” a multi-tower project that is now clearly under contruction. To the left is the now emptied […]

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end gowanus canal, originally uploaded by Shield. A look through the new flickr photos of our favorite photog, Sonja Shield, reveals this beautiful shot made where First Street meets the (now officially hipster) Big G. We call it “The End,” based on its simple, yet elegant, home made message. Very cutting edge. Check out Shield’s […]

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We love a cool map, so we figured, why not post the map of Gowanus and information that went with Mary Huhn’s wonderful Gowanus story in yesterday’s Post, about which we enthused at length yesterday both here and on Curbed? As you can see “Next Hipster Haven” (has a cool ring to it, no?) covers […]

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In case you haven’t ruminated upon Atlantic Yards in the last 24 hours, here are a couple of tidbits to keep you busy while you stare at traffic on the LIE or gaze at the water from the boardwalk in Coney Island: Item One: Sen. Charles Schumer, according to the Brooklyn Downtown Star, says that […]

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If you’re going to pitch one of the most outrageous, neighborhood-killing projects in all of Brooklyn (and there are a whole bunch that could claim the title), it helps to use heavy artillery. Quadriad Realty Partners, the folks who’d like to build the hideous monstrosity known as Williamsburgh Square (four towers of 12, 20, 36 […]

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It’s warm today, and the weekend should be decent, so the Spring Weekend Edition of our Outdoor Living Series bring Gowanus Lounge to Metroplitan Avenue in Williamsburg, the site of this wonderful example of La Vita al Fresco that includes chair, bottle of Saratoga and big black Coupe de Ville. Let’s hope that old Old […]

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It was only a matter of time before indie-minded Williamsburg objected to media conglomerate-produced concerts at McCarren pool. “Clear Channel paid off the parks department to take over the McCarren Park pool site for a series of 6-10 $30 concerts (+ $14 service fee) this summer,” writes one emailer from the Not an Alternative arts […]

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Okay, so Water Taxi Beach–the big parking lot on the East River in Hunters Point in Long Island City into which sand was trucked to create an urban “beach”–is last year’s news. But, as of 4PM today, the Beach is open for the season. Ah, summer! Hours on Memorial Day Weekend are Noon-Midnight. Admission to […]

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