The graphic below was posted by the Urban Divers. The images are, unfortunately, small, but they give a sense of what was going on during the storm. The verbiage that goes with the graphic notes, “The community was innundated by flooding. The Gowanus Canal cesspool flooded 50 ft upland at the site that our action took place. [2nd Street and the Canal] Hundreds on homes in the watershed experienced a flooding event.” The image was posted as part of Step it Up 2007’s flickr photostream.

The Gowanus whale has died. The sad news was reported early this evening. According to Newsday:

“I’m told the mammal swam into shallow waters and thrashed around and then died,” said Teri Frady, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

Frady said the cause of the whale’s death was unclear, and a necropsy was planned for tomorrow. But she said the whale’s foray this far inland portended trouble.

“In general, when animals are unexpectedly in an area where they’re not supposed to be, they’re either following something like food or there’s something wrong with them,” she said.

Earlier today, the whale was not reported to be showing signs of distress, but later reports said the whale had suffered additional cuts from banging into bulkheads along Gowanus Bay. Sludgie, as he/she had been nicknamed because of his/her proximity to the sewage-filled waters of the Gowanus, is said to have died a little after 5PM.

We’ve heard from a variety of people today about the Gowanus whale who’s been tentatively nicknamed Sludgie. The whale is still there. At one point it was reported to have moved further away from the entrance to the Gowanus Canal, toward 27th Street. More recently, it has been reported nearer to the Home Depot, which puts it closer to Hamilton Avenue. Marine biologists are on the scene and say the whale appears to be in good health. They also say the whale will be hard to coax away from the Gowanus unless he/she actually wants to leave.

The Brooklyn-Gowanus Whale is a baleen whale, which is so called because it has baleen plates to filter food from water. They’re actually quite large when adult sized and are known for their ability to jump fully out of the water. More on the whale over at Wikipedia. Experts are now apparently worried the whale will get stuck in Brooklyn waters.

We learned about the story, which looks like it broke on WNBC, when we got an email from a Daily News reporter asking us to call about the whale in the Gowanus. (In addition to straying into territory where whales normally don’t go, it came close enough to the Gowanus make you worry for its health.) In fact, we were quoted in the AP story that went out nationwide about the whale as follows:

Robert Guskind, founder of Gowanuslounge.com, a Web site that cover the canal, told the Daily News the recent storm probably sent sewage into the canal. “It’s probably the worst time to wander in there,” Guskind told the tabloid in Wednesday’s edition.

The quote came from the Daily News story on the whale, which was ironically first spotted by John Quadrozzi, who also first saw the Gowanus Harp Seal, Gowanda, several years ago.

The fact is that after Sunday’s Nor’easter the level of what they politely call fecal coliform must be astoundingly high. Raw sewage flows directly into the canal during heavy rains and the canal absorbed vast amounts of it on Sunday. Put crudely, fecal coliform is the bacterial count created by crap in the water.

Needless to say, the number of stories and blog posts on the wayward whale multiplied exponentially. You can catch some video shot by News Chopper 4 here and a report on WCBS here. amNY has some nice photos, one of which is pictured above, here.

[Photo Courtesy of amNY]

Related Post:
Brooklinks: Special Gowanus Whale Edition
Whale in the Gowanus Canal

As of this morning, stories about the Brooklyn/Gowanus Whale had appeared in 147 places. Here are links to some of the coverage:

• Whale Off Brooklyn [AP via Sun]
• A Whale Swims in Brooklyn [NYDN]
• A Young Whale Frolics in the Waters of NY Harbor Near Polluted Canal [AP via Newsday]
• Baby Whale Stranded in Brooklyn Canal [amNY]
• Distressed Whale in Brooklyn [NY Press]
• Whale Wanders Into Brooklyn Bay [WNBC]
• It’s Fin City [NYP]
• Whale of a Tale: Guess What’s in the Gowanus Canal? [Gothamist]
• CurbedWire: Whale…Yes, A Whale in the Gowanus Canal [Curbed]
• Just Krill Me [Dope on the Slope]

Bond No. 9, which has a New York fragrance line, and brought the world The Hamptons and Fire Island, is offering a new more proletarian eau de parfum: Coney Island. As this leaves us on the speechless side, we’ll turn to the press for Coney Island:

Bond No 9’s Coney Island conjures up both the magical history and the reawakening of this beachfront paradise. Combined in this contemporary gourmand delight are the sugar-cool notes of margarita mix, hypnotically seductive chocolate and caramel, plus cedarwood. The high-voltage blue bottle recalls the Coney Island’s expanse of sea and sky, while the contrasting gold neck evokes the thousands of electric lights that once lit up its night sky.

This is where we could insert the wisecracks about the new secret fragrance called Thor, which evokes the mysterious aura of Norse Gods, the astounding power of the bulldozer, the manic energy of the $2 billion development deal and the tingling drama of the mano a mano over plush, luxury condominiums between a Brooklyn developer and lowly public officials. Blended in this moderne Brooklyn fragrance are the evocative notes of salt water air, pineapple dacquiri and boardwalk wood.

No, we won’t do that. And we won’t suggest that we’ve heard a rumor that Bond’s next fragrance will be Gowanus, followed by Newtown Creek.

We will note that Coney Island hits the shelves June 1. No word on whether the bottles will be demolished at the end of the summer season and possibly replaced with a new model around 2012.

• Atlantic Yards Demolitions Postponed [AYR]
• Atlantic Yards Demolition and Demonstration Canceled Before Court Hearing [DDDB]
• It Came from the Blogosphere [No Land Grab]
• No Second Ave. Subway Love for Brooklyn [Brooklyn Record]
• The Steelworkers of 110 Livingston [110 Livingston]
• New Pratt Design Center Has Good Modern Design [Brownstoner]
• The Impossible Park Slope Brownstone Dream [Daily Intel]
• Dumbo Landmarking Meeting on Thursday [Dumbo NYC]
• Clinton Hill Events and Meetings [Clinton Hill Blog]
• Kensington Development Watch [Kensington Brooklyn]
• What’s Happening at Brooklyn Artist’s Gym [OTBKB]
• Will Propsect Park Alliance Allow Circus Noise to Drive PLG Nuts? [Across the Park]
• Inside During the Nor’easter [Mrs. Cleavage’s Blog]
• Throop Avenue’s Wall of Fame [Bed-Stuy Blog]
• 1st Annual Congress of Curious Peoples: Harley Newman [Kinetic Carnival]

Totally Non-Brooklyn Note:
A friend of Gowanus Lounge, forwarded this link about the plight of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, who was kidnapped in Gaza a month ago. You can sign a petition to support his cause here.

The artist that created the sketch above and the writer of the words below, apparently found his way to the little “park” at the edge of the Lowe’s parking lot on Ninth Street at the Gowanus Canal. Few people ever wander there because you’ve got to cross the entire Lowe’s lot to get there, but it does provide one of the more industrial views in New York City and an excellent vantage on the F Train, the scrap yard on the canal and the Gowanus Expressway. In any case, here are some of the words from a blog called Crack Skull Bob that go with the picture:

Amanda tells me those are condos over there. Like I believe her. The interesting thing about this scene, which you can’t see, is that someone has created a little park on the edge of the canal (I’m sitting on one of its benches) …with nothing to be seen except this pile of old factories, the elevated train tracks, and a huge scrap heap with monster-like cranes tossing giant prickly mouthfuls of scrap at each other (see Amanda’s sketch if you don’t believe me.) So I guess the park-builder’s hope was that people would wander down here and spend an hour or so contemplating how man has made a huge mess of the planet, and if so, I commend him or her.

We love Gowanus art and impressions of its charms.

The blog Bumpershine has posted an updated Celebrate Brooklyn schedule that they cobbled together from a variety of sources. You should head over there (a) because it’s a cool blog and (b) because they’ve also got the Summer Stage lineup. Their original listing of the schedule also has links to ticket sources in cases where they’re on sale.

06/14/07 – The Neville Brothers (Opening Night Gala)
06/16/07 – Joan Osborne
06/21/07 – Richard Thompson
06/22/07 – Ralph Stanley & the Cinch Mountain Boys, James Reams & the Barnstormers
06/26/07 – Manu Chao
06/27/07 – Manu Chao
06/29/07 – Ravi Coltrane, Groove Collective
06/30/07 – The Stills, Sam Roberts Band, Malajube (Canada Day Concert)
07/05/07 – Isaac Delgado
07/15/07 – Yiddish Fest w/ Frank London, Fyvush Finkel, the Klez Dispensers
07/18/07 – Ani DiFranco (Tickets)
07/19/07 – Morley, Blackmail with Alloy Orchestra
07/20/07 – Catherine Russell & Bobby “Blue” Bland
07/22/07 – Dan Zanes & Friends
08/09/07 – The Hold Steady, The Big Sleep, The Teenage Prayers
08/11/07 – African Festival w/ Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars
TBA – The Jazz Passengers – The Supremes Project
TBA – Brave New World Repertory Theatre – Whitman’s Crossing Brooklyn Ferry
TBA – Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company 25th Anniversary Performance
TBA – Noche Flamenca (Madrid-based Flamenco Dance Company)
TBA – Brooklyn Bollywood with DJ Rekha (Indian Gangster Film with Dance Party)
TBA – REwind: a Cantata (100 Voice South African/Brooklyn Choir)
TBA – Brooklyn Philharmonic with Mark O’Connor and Maya Beiser
TBA – Kassav (from French West Indies)
TBA – Laurel & Hardy / Millennial Territory Orchestra

The excellent vbs.tv series called “Toxic Brooklyn” on the environmental issues in Greenpoint and Williamsburg continues with a focus on the horrendous Exxon-Mobil Greenpoint Oil Spill, the impact on the health of residents and the virtual acceptance of the situation by local, state and federal government over many decades. Episode 6 is below. You can catch Episode 5 (also about the oil spill) here. They put a very human face on an environmental mess that has not gotten the attention it deserves.

If you’ve been to Coney Island, you know that it generally has baby waves–more New York Harbor than Atlantic Ocean. Not on Sunday during the nor’easter. There was both heavy surf and beach erosion. In any case, we just caught this on YouTube after our attention was pointed that way by someone on the Coney Island Message Board. If you didn’t see this report on WCBS and you’re not OD’d on nor’easter coverage, check it out.

That anti-Atlantic Yards demolition protest that had been scheduled for 8AM tomorrow has been postponed. Word comes via Atlantic Yards Report and Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn. Apparently, a judge is considering a Temporary Restraining Order to block demolitions and will rule on Friday. In light of that, Forest City Ratner agreed not to begin demolition this week and DDDB is holding off on the protest. If the judge doesn’t issue a temporary restraining order, the protest will be rescheduled, most likely for Monday.

A whale has wandered into the Gowanus Canal. WNBC TV is reporting on an attempt to rescue a whale in the canal. WNBC.com says “the that was spotted in distress near 22nd Street. Channel 4 helicopter got video of the whale breaching the surface of the water a few times.” News 4 first reported the story around 1:15 and we got an email from the Daily News about the whale around 3:15. While we don’t know what a whale’s tolerance (it’s said to be a Pilot Whale) is for polluted water, the poor creature couldn’t have had worse timing, given the amount of raw sewage that has flowed into the Gowanus because of the Nor’easter. The Gowanus suffers from what the experts call CSOs–or direct discharges of untreated sewage in heavy rain. We’re certain that news of the whale will be everywhere before long. We hope that he or she is okay.

This reminds of us the Harp Seal that showed up in the canal in 2003 that was rescued and named Gowanda.
[Photo courtesy of WNBC]

UPDATE: Newsday is reporting that it’s a baby whale, specifically a baleen whale, according to the Coast Guard. Officials from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Riverhead Foundation went to check on the whale with an underwater listening device.

Steve Sapp of the Coast Guard said it’s the first time in his five years he’s seen a baleen whale in New York’s harbors. “It may be isolated, it may have gotten separated from its mother,” he said.

Baleen whales differ from toothed whales in that they have a series of comb-like spires known as baleen that hang down from the roof of their mouth. As they swim open-mouthed through the water, taking in the fluid, the tiny zooplankton upon which they feed become stuck in the baleen. Humpback, North Atlantic and Fin whales are all baleen whales. Sperm and Killer whales are toothed whales, or Odonteceti.

We didn’t know that Red Hook “until recently wasn’t a neighborhood” until a GL reader pointed us in the direction of Time Out New York’s 2007 Eat Out Awards. And, there in the “Readers’ Choices section,” in the entry about Good Fork in Red Hook, appears the following curious–well, utterly freaking bizarre–statement: “It’s significant that this double winner is in Red Hook, which until recently wasn’t a neighborhood, much less a dining destination.”

So, we looked at the sentence over and over and over and each time we read it, it still said the same thing. To which all we can says is: WTF?

Did the writer mean to say that or is it a vanished adjective or phrase? It is, frankly, hard to think of any good possibilities here. Did it originally read “Red Hook wasn’t a nice neighborhood” or “Red Hook wasn’t a safe neighborhood” or “Red Hook wasn’t a neighborhood you’d want to visit“? Looks to us like someone cut something out, but forgot to cut the rest of the sentence. Our reader writes:

I wonder what the long-time residents of that not-neighborhood would say. So it’s only a neighborhood if trendy and often rich white people move in? As a long time resident (25 years) of Sunset Park (and, no, there really ISN’T a neighborhood called “Greenwood Heights” — it’s Sunset Park), I’m a little tired of the whole “I just DISCOVERED this precious little neighborhood” thing…I think Time Out owes the ‘hood a BIG apology.

Time Out actually ran an excellent story on Red Hook by Gabriel Cohen last year. For the record, Red Hook was settled in 1636 and was a village before being annexed to Brooklyn. (See image above, which is Red Hook in 1875.) It is, in point of fact, one of the oldest neighborhoods in all of New York City. Hey, we all make mistakes–there’s probably an idiotic typo in this item. But there are boo boos and, then, there are bigger ones and this is certainly an interesting one.

So, here’s our question: If so many construction sites are so poorly secured, is it safe to assume that it’s legal or that the city doesn’t consider enforcement of the law a priority? Will someone have to get hurt before there’s a crackdown like what happened after the post-KFC/Taco Bell Rat Olympics?

This our third time featuring the Urban Green site (you can find the other instances here and here), which saying something about both the developers and New York City’s nonfeasant Department of Buildings. What makes the Urban Green development site particularly frightening is that anyone that wanders onto the site through the huge opening in the gate can frolic in one of the biggest construction pits in Williamsburg.

If you’re wondering what’s going on in Gowanus, there are two key meetings coming up this week. The first is tonight (4/17). It’s a meeting of Community Board 6’s Economic/Waterfront Development, Housing/Human Services and Landmarks/Land Use Committees with representatives from the Departments of City Planning and Housing Preservation and Development about the toxic and empty Public Place site at the southeast corner of Smith/5th Streets. The meeting will take place at 250 Baltic Street (at Court and Clinton) in the auditorium at 6PM. There will be a follow up meeting on May 8.

The other meeting is Thursday night (4/19). That one is a meeting of the Landmarks/Land Use Committee with officials from the Department of City Planning about Gowanus planning issues. Topics are said to include “overall goals for mixed use and residential areas.” That one takes place at P.S. 32 at 317 Hoyt Street (at Union & President Streets) at 6PM.

You can always check out Community Board 6’s full calendar here.

If 1504 Eighth Avenue in the South Slope ever collapses into the construction site next door that destabilized it, it will really become a symbol of collateral damage in the Great Brooklyn Land Rush of the Early 2000s. Blogger IMBY notes that the project that has turned life for its neighbors into a small Brooklyn hell has marked its second anniversary and that it seems to be celebrating with more cracks in neighboring buildings. IMBY writes:

Wow, check out the new crack on the side of the now vacated 1504 8th Avenue. It formed over night. It’s the one starting just above the spray painted “B”. The one without any crack monitors on it. The massive crack that runs the entire height of the building has spread wide open, especially at the top near the parapet wall.

While the construction-battered South Slope is chock full of developments that have driven hundreds of people to the brink of insanity and undermined quality of life, the 15th Street project that has caused this frightening mess deserves special recognition. And, yes, the building is clearly more cracked out than it was.

Related Post:
South Slope Development Still Doing Crack

We are looking for a thousand people to form a giant human mural with their bodies on the beach at Coney Island. A plane towing a giant IMPEACH banner will circle the city and then fly over Coney Island to take aerial photos. Bring a beach towel or tarp to lie on, and dress warmly. Make a statement! Make new friends! Make history!

Check in is at 10AM, Rehearsal is at 11 and the Beach Impeach itself is at 1PM “sharp.” Check out the details at A28.org. We love giant human murals.

• More 9th Street Residents Weigh in on DOT Plan [Streets Blog]
• Development Watch: Urban Green [Brownstoner]
• 15 Story Carroll Gardens Tower is “Stunning” [Brooklyn Eagle]
• Former Atlantic Ave Bookseller Sentenced to 13 Years [Sun]
• Former Democratic Leader Clarence Norman Gets 1-3 Years for Extortion [NYT]
• Forest City Ratner Loans Nets $13 Million [AYR]
• Springing Into Green at Fort Greene Park [Brooklyn Record]
• Cobble Hill Inspires Kensington Anti-Poo Campaign? [Kensington Brooklyn]
• Gerritsen Beach Nor’easter Pics [Gerritsen Beach.Net]
• Sword Swallowing 101 in Coney Island [Coney Island Reporter]
• Visit to Aquarium During Nor’easter is Fun [Crosswords and Cupcakes]
• Dunkin’ Donuts Coming to Nostrand Ave [Bed-Stuy Blog]
• Best Brooklyn Bowling [1 Stop Over in Brooklyn]
• Teenager Shot and Killed in East New York [NYP]
• Brooklyn HS Chess Team Wins National Championship [NYT]
• Meet Aissatou Minthe of Clinton Hill [Clinton Hill Blog]

Forest City Ratner says it will start demolishing four buildings in Prospect Heights on Wednesday (4/18) morning and Develop Don’t Destroy is organizing a protest. Overall, 15 buildings are slated for demolition in the next two months, leaving Prospect Heights with large amounts of vacant land even as the lawsuits that will ultimately determine the fate of the Atlantic Yards Development are in court. DDDB writes:

Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Spitzer are allowing these demolitions to proceed before the project has been shown to be either legal and financially viable. Keep in mind, that though some demolitions may be start, there is an eminent domain lawsuit in federal court, challenging the abuse of eminent domain for “Atlantic Yards,” alleging that its use violates the United States Constitution.

If that lawsuit succeeds, it will make it impossible to build the arena, or the skyscraper-laden superblocks planned by the developer.

Come out Wednesday morning to demonstrate your opposition to the premature demolition of these buildings and to laying waste to our community before it has been determined whether or not the project can be built as proposed.

The protest is at 8AM. Meeting point is 191 Flatbush (between Fifth Avenue and Dean Street.) More information over at DDDB. You can read here about the Rally Against Demolition for Parking that took place on Sunday despite the Nor’easter and drew more than 200 people.

Have you seen Brooklyn Matters yet? There’s another opportunity coming up on Wednesday (4/18) night. The screening is co-sponsored by Park Slope Neighbors and is at Old First Church at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Carroll Street in Park Slope.

The Second Street photo is particularly noteworthy as it shows flooding at the location of what the Toll Brothers would like to develop as canal-side housing. The pictures were sent to us by Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus (FROGG), which braved the rain and the unsavory water to take these photos. We don’t know if the Whole Foods site, which is surrounded on two sides by the Gowanus, was rendered a sea of dirty water or not. The Gowanus Whole Foods will be beneath street level, meaning that, well…use your imagination. (There was additional significant flooding on Ninth Street, but we don’t have photos.)

FROGG notes, “City Planning will be meeting with the community this Thu, April 19 to discuss changes in land use around here at the bottom of the Slopes.” The meeting for those who are interested will happen at P.S. 32, which is located at 317 Hoyt Street, at 6:00 PM.

(Gowanus Lounge invites your storm stories and photos. Hit us off with an email or photos at gowanuslounge (at) gmail (dot) com. We will post them with gratitude.)

Sackett Street and the Canal

The Canal Between Carroll Street and Union Street Bridges

For a weird take on the ultimately watery fate of many Brooklyn neighborhoods, check out this article in the Brooklyn Rail. It has a good rundown of the possibilities, along with a bonus in the form of fascinating commentary from a real estate agent on Bedford Avenue:

We have zero influence on what’s going to happen. Take the Tsunami. Bad people live over there. Like, people in New Orleans were punished for all the prostitution, the gays and the lesbians. God doesn’t like that. So if the flood is going to come, it’s not from what we do.

Half of Brooklyn gets swamped in a Category Three hurricane, so we figured it useful to capture some images from the Hurricanes and NYC brochure produced by the Office of Emergency Management. (You can check out what should be in your Go Bag here.)

Note how especially screwed Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Gowanus, Red Hook and, of course, Coney Island are. Orange, by the way, is flooding in a Category One storm. Yellow is a Category Two and Green is a Category Three.

North Brooklyn Gloom–Williamsburg & Greenpoint Underwater

Gowanus and Red Hook Gloom–Very watery

Coney Island Coastal Gloom–Note how far inland water could reach

Related Posts:
The Amazing Underwater Borough
Ever Hear About Hog Island?

Ah, yes, it’s that time of year again. The Nor’easter and all the emails from the Office of Emergency Management got us to thinking about Go Bags. You know, the emergency bag you’re supposed to keep around in case you have to run for your life? (Brooklyn, take note, under the wrong circumstances, about one-third of the borough would have to high tail it to higher ground.)

Here’s what’s supposed to be in your Go Bag, as per OEM’s fun-filled website:

• Copies of your important documents in a waterproof and portable container (insurance cards, photo IDs, proof of address, etc.)
• Extra set of car and house keys
• Credit and ATM cards and cash, especially in small denominations. We recommend you keep at least $50-$100 on hand.
• Bottled water and non-perishable food such as energy or granola bars
• Flashlight
• Battery-operated AM/FM radio and extra batteries
• Keep a list of the medications each member of your household takes, why they take them, and their dosages. Medication information and other essential personal items. If you store extra medication in your Go Bag, be sure to refill it before it expires.
• First-aid kit
• Contact and meeting place information for your household, and a small regional map
• Child care supplies or other special care items

We’re, frankly, a little surprised that no one’s stepped in to fill the clear void for, you know, cool, hipster Go Bags. It’s always important to look good, even when you’re running for your life or lining up for food packages from the back of a Red Cross truck.