We found this wonderful clip thanks to Kinetic Carnival, which is an excellent Coney Island Oracle, searching all over the place for Coney Island info and tidbits. It’s another fun vintage Coney Island vid, and you can watch it by clicking on this link, by going over to Kinetic Carnival or by clicking on the embed. Regardless of whether you click over to KC for the vid, you should go take a look!

Our general sense of foreboding about the Coney Island makeover–punctated by fears of gross high rises on the boardwalk and a Times Square-like shopping mall experience–is temporarily relieved by some of the drawings associated with the impending renovation of the New York Aquarium. The current complex is the result of Robert Moses and his single-minded determination to remove the aquarium from Battery Park and demolish Castle Clinton, which had been its home. Mr. Moses’ revenge was to conspire to stick it somewhere where people wouldn’t want to go see the fish–ie, Coney Island, where he was busy building public housing highrises. We like the aquarium, but it is one the most, depressing and butt-ugly things in all of New York. At least, its block-long concrete wall on the boardwalk–a spooky cousin of the kind of anti-human, anti-urban architecture you find in places like downtown Atlanta and Houston–is one of the most foul things you will run across. What sort of person surrounds an aquarium at the beach with a humongous concrete wall?

Please, God, let the change come quickly, without bureaucratic squabbling and funding challenges.

In any case, there are three finalists in aquarium makeover and the winning design will be chosen before the end of fall. While there is no such thing as a “final” design in New York City, the early signs are hopeful. The cool design above comes from WRT and Cloud9. There is a good article by Nicholas Confessore in today’s Times about the plans and Gothamist, as always, posted an excellent rundown too.

The one immediately below was created by Smith-Miller & Hawkinson Architects.

The one below is from West 8 in collaboration with Weisz & Yoes Architecture, and probably our least favorite of the three. We’re not feeling the big pink squid thing.

[Photo courtesy of bluesage on flickr]

Those of you who click over to us regularly–and we have really strong affection for you–may know that our alter-ego does time every day of the week over at Curbed. On Saturday, we do a bit of a round up of some of the things we’ve done there that are haven’t also bubbled up here in some way, shape or form. As always, we thank you for reading!

• Williamsburg Developer Turns to Red Hook
• When Developers Struck Oil in Greenpoint
• On the Market: Mystery Park Slope Building
• Less Gowanus Tire Shops, More G-Slope Condos
• How About Some Green Construction?
• Upon Further Reflection: The Park Slope Food Coop Bites
• Crappy Social Life? It’s Not Your Fault, It’s the Traffic

Yes, Fourth Avenue is coming on strong. Yesterday, a Curbed reader passed along this photo of the rendering that has gone up outside that hotel under construction on Fourth Avenue next to the taxi depot between Fifth and Sixth Streets. It is now billed as a “boutique hotel.” What’s amusing isn’t so much the thought of “boutique hotel” guests making their along Fourth Avenue and its tire shops and the like, so much as the difference between actual location and rendering (as can be seen here). The taxi depot next door? Gone. The U-Haul place and Pep Boys in the back? Invisible. And you have to dig that big blue Brooklyn sky. Just like in Montana.

Meanwhile, another reader writes of all the action:

That means within a two block radius, new (and sort-of new) construction includes…The Florentine (on 7th st b/w 3rd and 4th), Park Slope Towers and that extended stay hotel with the rooftop restaurant (next to Uhaul). I also heard that someone recently bought the one-story brick building next to the firehouse on the east side of 4th avenue at 6th street, but it doesn’t look like anything’s happening there yet. Rumor has it, they’ll put up a 12-story glass condo building.

Any thoughts on what these giant condos will do to the value of all the coops in the remaining 4-story brick buildings on the block? I mean, I’ll happy to no longer have guys changing their oil and blasting their radios in front of my apartment, but this new building is so, well, ugly.

Oh, and there’s a new Australian restaurant on Fourth Avenue too. Yes, things are changing.

For the Week of 02 October, 2006:

The first week of October was one in which we were reminded about some of the crime and mayhem in our midst. What else can you say about a psycho taking hostages on Smith Street and being gunned down in front of the store you sometimes pop into for groceries, across from an ATM you use? One of the victims advised us to “run like hell” if you sense other people fleeing something. Crime isn’t the only way to go, because you could be like this poor guy, justing hanging out in your neighborhood spot on Boerum Hill and get flattened by a van.

Of course, if you own a Honda Civic in Park Slope, you could end up running everywhere because they’re being stolen left and right. And, if you go for a walk in the Slope or Windsor Terrace, beware the muggers and robbers. If you’re a photoblogger, though, you might just knee the mugger in the balls and go on your way.

On the other hand, if you are a drunk that (legend has it) starts an epic conflagration that nearly burns down Greenpoint, you could end up with a judge that feels sorry for you and thinks about sentencing you to reading the Bible and going to rehab.

Thank God, we now have the ability to see all of the breaking mayhem in Brooklyn plotted out on a map.

On the nature and animals front, we were horrified to learn that some lowlifes are poaching Brooklyn’s flocks of wild Monk Parrots. Meanwhile, in Queens, the MTA is zapping pigeons to keep them from shitting on people. We’re a little ambivalent about this, being equally opposed to being shit on and jolting birds with electricity. Does it matter, though, when all of Brooklyn may be eaten away by corrosive dog piss? In better animal news, it turns out there are tons of hens and roosters in Red Hook. And, in semi-better news, Brooklyn’s squirrels are the bomb.

We’re amused to note that we weren’t the only ones to find Gov. Pataki‘s rejection of using eminent domain for the right-of-way for power lines that would run from upstate New York to the city was oozing with irony–apparently, eminent domain may be a no-no for electricity, but it’s just ducky for Atlantic Yards. Problems pointed out by comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement are starting to pile up too, and they’re not pretty, even tough none of it may matter because ESDC Chairman Charles Gargano says, “We cannot stop progress.” Meantime, it looks like it may be “no more Mr. Nice Guy time” in trying to get property in the project footprint and another Atlantic Yards flyer started showing up in the mail, and this one actually showed a building more than four stories tall. Our inner cynic was able to dine with gusto on Vince Carter’s appearance at a grade school, complete with usual athlete bromides for the kids about how education is good.

We conclude the week in chicken-friendly Red Hook, where Ikea‘s spokesperson pretty much said ‘bite me’ to supporters of preserving the Graving Dock on its property, and that traffic study that has to be done before any stop signs or traffic lights are installed on Van Brunt Street is finally underway.

Meantime, definitely look both ways before crossing the street, because we know for a fact that it’s brutal out there.

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related news articles, blog items and images.

More About Buildings:

• New Dept. of Buildings Excavation Rules: Better Late Than Never [Brownstoner]
• Field Trip to 16th Street Building Site [IMBY]
• Making the Old Loews Fit for a King [Brooklyn Papers]
• Lawsuit Alleges “Thug-Like Tactics” by Ratner and Friends [NYDN]
• A Multitude of Problems with Atlantic Yards [Brooklyn Papers]
• Assem. Brennan Asks ESDC for Atlantic Yards Financial Documents [AYR]

More About Food:

• Underwhelmed by Bocca Lupo [Chowhound]
• Polish Danish in Greenpoint [John J. Goddard]
• Zataar at Bedouin Tent on Atlantic [Gothamist]
• Aussie Eats on Fourth Avenue [Brooklyn Record]

More About Everything Else:

• Mugging or Hate Crime in Crown Heights? [NYDN]
• This Weekend in Dumbo [DumboNYC]
• A Slope Celeb Film Fest [OTBKB]
• Hell House Comes to Brooklyn [Sunset Parker]
• What’s New in Windsor Terrace [Brooklyn Record]
• New Gowanus Expressway by 2020? [Courier Life]

We overlooked this gem the other day that was included in No Land Grab’s “Eminent Domania” roundup. So, we thought we would offer it up here, because it’s wonderfully funny. And, very nicely done. This was created by Lumi at No Land Grab, who is responsible for helping to comb through and spread much information about Atlantic Yards and eminent domain into the blogosphere and who is also quite the graphic artist.

BONUS: Catching up on some eminent domain-related news, we want to make sure we note that Gov. Pataki is not always a fan of taking property. Earlier this week, rejected its use for a power line that would run from upstate to New York City. The Times article about it says that, it’s “an ideological departure for Mr. Pataki, who has supported energy deregulation and advocated business development throughout his tenure.”

DOUBLE BONUS: Check out the new Atlantic Yards lawsuit, Williams v. Ratner, which alleges, among other things that Forest City Ratner used “thuglike” tactics to try to pressure a property owner in the footprint of its project into selling, including keeping tabs on him with a video camera,

The Coney Island Film Festival is here. The sixth annual festival offers 81 films starting tonight (Oct. 6) and running through Sunday (Oct. 8). Most of the event associated with the festival and the films take place at the Coney Island Museum.

The “centerpiece film” is director Stephen Verona’s lost classic Boardwalk, starring film legends Ruth Gordon, Janet Leigh, and Lee Strasberg. It’s a look at life during Brighton Beach and Coney Island’s dark days of the late 1970s. There are documentary features, shorts and features.

You can find the full schedule by clicking here.

You probably don’t need us to tell us, but Open House New York Weekend is upon us again. That’s the weekend when you can get into a lot of very cool places in New York City, including a lot that aren’t normally open to the public. Brooklyn spots range from the Arch in Grand Army Plaza, which you can climb for a rare rooftop view, to Floyd Bennett Field. The full list of Brooklyn spots can be found here.

Also click on each of the following for the Manhattan, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island sites.

PortSide New York, the wondeful Red Hook group, has a new ship with a proud history. The ship is the Mary A. Whalen and she can be visited this weekend as part of Open House New York. A bit about her from PortSide:

She was built in 1938 for Ira Bushey & Sons, a famous shipyard and fuel terminal in Red Hook. She is 172’ long. The Whalen delivered fuel to terminals from Maine to Maryland and during her last years, she delivered fuel to ships in New York harbor. She went out of service in 1993. In 1995, she came back home to Red Hook where she served in Erie Basin as a dock and office.

John Quadrozzi has donated space for her first home as a public-access vessel. She will be at the southern end of Columbia Street after she returns from the shipyard for repairs. As Red Hook’s waterfront is re-planned, we would like to move her to a more central location and one that offers us space ashore; the new Atlantic Basin seems ideal. We submitted a response to the Atlantic Basin RFEI (deadline 9/1/06). We requested waterspace (docks), to include our partner, the non-profit historic Tug Pegasus, and upland space to include a waterfront museum, a Bait & Tackle shop, café, marine career center, tourism center, and youth and community programs.

Mariners today benefit from a legal case involving the The Mary Whalen. The case went to the Supreme Court which ruled in 1975 that in the cases of collisions at sea, damages should be apportioned according to blame. Sounds logical, but prior to this lawsuit, damages were split 50/50 regardless, and those at fault could shirk the financial consequences of their actions. This 1975 decision overturned US maritime law in effect since 1854.

Tours will be available on Saturday and Sunday (10/7 and 10/8) from 10AM to 4PM and will include a look at the tug Pegasus and the inside of the Red Hook Container Port (that place on the water with the containers and the big cranes). You can find a tremendous amount of information about the Mary Whalen, Portside’s plans for her and the tour by clicking here.

Very disturbing news from today’s Daily News: Something is happening to Brooklyn’s famed Monk Parrot colonies. The birds–which are concentrated near Brooklyn College, Green-Wood Cemetery and other locales–are disappearing and people suspect poachers:

“We heard them squawking,” he said. “At night, that’s not normal.”

Around midnight one day last month, Ovadia said, he saw a man with a huge net on a 25-foot pole. Accompanied by two teenagers, the suspected poacher even had pole extensions to reach high nests, he said.

The trapping of wild animals, including monk parrots, is illegal without a license.

Ovadia said he scared off the poachers twice, but the nests the parrots called home are now empty. “Only sparrows are going in there,” he said.

Besides Midwood, residents of Marine Park and Dyker Heights residents have also reported parrot disappearances.

The story of Brooklyn’s monk parrots has come full circle. Native to South America, the first birds were trapped to be brought north as pets.

But many of the original birds were either let loose by pet owners who no longer wanted them or, as legend has it, escaped from a broken container at Kennedy airport in the 1970s.

Large colonies of the birds now live on the walled Brooklyn College campus and Green-Wood Cemetery, where they are protected.

Not all borough residents are thrilled. Homeowners have complained the birds are loud and dirty.

Con Ed officials said the parrots have built their homes on their heat-emitting electrical transformers.

The birds have rebuilt the nests – even when the company has removed them to avoid a fire hazard.

“They don’t build nests; they build condos,” said Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert.

Brooklyn Parrot Society founder Steve Baldwin, who gives free wild-parrot safaris in Midwood, has heard three different reports of poaching – and he’s seen seen fewer parrots in recent months.

Our day is dampened before it even started.

Related Posts:

• Brooklyn Parrots Revisited

Court Street is one of those places in Brooklyn that has mercifully managed to somewhat withstand the onslaught of gentrification, meaning that some of the retailers–and our particular favorites, the bakeries–that have been there for decades are still there. There is good news and bad news this week for fans of the old Italian Court Street.

First, the good news: the Brooklyn Record is reporting that Monteleone’s is reopening. The good people at the Record have been following the twists, turns and rumors of the Monteleone’s situation closely. They now say that “It looks like renovations are finally underway.” They also found a tidbit on Chowhound: “A guy standing outside (identity unknown) told me that they are remodeling and that Monteleone’s will re-open for business in approximately a month.” All we can say, is Thank God. The thought that one of Brooklyn’s oldest bakeries had closed and that we had not been able to get in for some farewell treats and closure, had been haunting us every time we walked down Court Street.

Now the bad news: When going down Union Street, we glanced to the right down Court Street and noticed that Fratelli’s has a big “For Rent” sign in front. We’d noted with some alarm that it had been closed when it shouldn’t have been. There is an item and some comments over at A Brooklyn Life about it.

Some suggest that Fratelli’s isn’t neighborhood enough or old enough or family enough to count as a “neighborhood” loss, but it sure was a convenient place to stop for cannoli cream and pizza dough.

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related news stories, blog items and images. On Thuresday, we focus on Brooklyn eats.

RIP, Johnny:
R. W. Apple Dies at 71 [NYT]

Food:
Wednesday Food Roundup [Brooklyn Record]
Cobble Hill’s Bocca Lupo [New York]
Key Lime Steve on North of New Orleans in Park Slope [OTBKB]
Banana Leaf in Bay Ridge Closed [Chowhound]
Palo Santo is Feast for the Eyes [Brooklyn Record]
Enduro on Lincoln Rd. [Across the Park]
Taku to Manhattan, La Lunetta to Smith St. [New York/Openings]

Words:
421-a Tax Break Reform [AYR]
Piece of Ass [Brownstoner]
The Cadman Plaza Post Office [Brownstoner]
Brownstones Get New Colors [NYDN]
Graving Dock Update [Brooklyn Ramblings]
Get a Pedicure at Myrtle Ave Polish Bar, Fight Breast Cancer [Clinton Hill Blog]
After Death and Protest, Red Hook Traffic Study Underway [NYDN]

Non-Brooklyn, but Symbolically Important to Us:
Favorite T-Shirt I No Longer Wear: Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures [Ear Farm]

Huge thanks to Gawker for offering a statistical analysis of the Missed Connections section on Craigslist, and proving why interns are a valuable commodity. In terms of locales for missed connections, the subway is the most popular (35%), followed by restaurants/bars (17%) and the street (8%). After that, it’s a huge mishmash of place and situations.

In terms of the subway, we were a little surprised to find that the 6 Train spawns the most listings, with 12%, but the F Train is second with 11%. The biggest surprise was that the A, N and 1 (9% each) placed ahead of the L (8%). This threatens to erode the very foundation of our world view.

Really excellent pie charts too. Check out the location pie chart and the subway line pie chart, the latter being reproduced at reduced size here.

Related Posts:

• Disconnected in Brooklyn on Craigslist

A couple of interesting new regular events kick off tonight. First is The Stoop Series at the Rotunda Gallery. The new series of discussions with figures in Brooklyn’s art, film, mustic, theater and literary world is sponsored by Rotunda and New York magazine. The event starts at 7PM and is moderated by New York contributing editor and film critic Logan Hill. It will continue on the first Thursday of each month through next June. The first two featured guests are filmmaker Steven Shainberg of “Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus” and the man behind “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” Dito Montiel. The Rotunda Gallery is located at 33 Clinton Street.

Speaking of First Thursdays, tonight is also the kick off of Dumbo First Thursday. A large number of galleries and artists’ studios will be open from 5:30 to 8:30 tonight and on the first Thursday of every month. There will be special openings, music and more. Head on down to Dumbo and check it out.

We do sometimes cross the Brooklyn border, and having done so a couple of times in recent days, we’ll be featuring a couple of out-of-borough items, like these images of the massive construction site at Queens West in Long Island City. There are currently two buildings under construction there (going up at astounding speed). The crane on the left is the one putting up the Avalon Riverview North tower. The one on the right is working on one of Rockrose Development’s East Coast Long Island City buildings, a development that will include five luxury residential towers by 2010, at which point, formerly desolate LIC won’t be quite so desolate anymore.

Found this life-affirming item on the Daily Heights blog, which features it from the Prospect Heights Message Board, where intense discussion is ongoing. The gist of it is that a local blogger kept a mugger from stealing his camera, which is either a risky thing to do or a way to stand up for yourself. Us, we’d part with the camera before risking getting a screwdriver plunged into our side, but you have to give someone credit for kicking a mugger in the balls, instead. Here it is:

“Yesterday, while snapping photos for my blog near the corner of Eastern Parkway and Bedford, I got jumped. I was forced into a shadowy area between a wall and a parked semi-truck.”

“The guy got me in a headlock from behind, pressed a screwdriver against the back of my neck and repeatedly demanded “Lemme get that camera, motherfucker, lemme get that camera” as I kept walking, struggling …”

“Instinct took over (hey, youre gonna need alot more than a screwdriver to get my Leica at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon, asshole) and I immediately clutched the camera to my chest and dove forward to break the choke-hold while simultaneously kicking my feet backwards, hoping to land a square blow to his nuts.”

“I ended up catching my balance with my left foot but landing a fortuitously solid kick to his right knee, which I could feel snap backwards/sideways from the force….”

“I really just wanted to post this little story to say that when bad things like this happen in our neighborhood, its not always cowering victims, fear, paranoia and the police blame-game…”

Makes us think about how many sketchy and/or deserted places we constantly wander loaded down with expensive gear. There are many comments about this over at the discussion board.

The controversy swirling around the Atlantic Yards proposal, and the dramatic impact that it would have on the surrounding community and its residents has spawned an art show called “Footprints: Portraits: of a Brooklyn Neighborhood.” The new group show includes paintings, photos, drawings, videos, and collages and features some of those living in buildings and on streets that would cease to exist if the development goes foward. It opens on Saturday, October 7 at Grand Space, which is at 778 Bergen Street in Prospect Heights. The show runs through Nov. 3, with an opening reception on Thursday, October 12.

Images of work produced by 32 artists can be seen at the show’s website. The work above is, a print by Robert Massman. Among the standouts in the show are bold portrait of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn’s Daniel Goldstein, a portrait of a Pacific Street resident, some pretty cool photography and more.

The Sun ran a story about the show yesterday.

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related articles, blog items and images.

• Brooklyn Images and Thoughts [The Built Environment]
• Atlantic Yards Flyer Touts 137.5 Affordable Units a Year (and Shows Tall-ish Buildings) [AYR]
• Red Hook School Kids Help Causes With Bake Sales [AP/WNBC]
• Jihadi Kitty [newyorkshitty]
• The Effects of Dog Piss on Iron Gates [Brooklyn Record]
• October Events in Brooklyn [About Brooklyn]
• The Demolition of Greenpoint [My Brooklyn Year]
• Headlines and Mayhem, Now on a Gothamist Map [Gothamist]
• Partnership Working to Revitalize Downtown Brooklyn [Sun]
• Coney Island Without the Crowds [Runs Brooklyn]
• Squaring Up with the Park Circle [Brownstoner]
• 7th Avenue Mystery Building Up for Sale [Daily Slope]
• Bus Route Changes in Bay Ridge [Bay Ridge Blog]
• More on the Williamsburg Synagogue Miracle [Times Herald-Record]

Here’s a chance to get some good animal karma by helping Park Slope’s feral cats. (That’s right, we said Park Slope’s feral cats. Check out an earlier post on Slope Street Cats if this doesn’t ring a bell.) In any case, Slope Street Cats emailed us to say they’re having a wine and chocolate tasting at Cocoa Bar in Park Slope! It’s taking place on Monday, October 16 from 6:30PM-9:30PM at Cocoa Bar, which is at 228 7th Avenue. Tix are $22 in advance and $25 at the door and admission includes wine or hot cocoa, chocolate bon-bons and an entry for a door prize. (There will also be raffles and an auction.) Tickets are available by going to brownpapertickets.

Slope Street Cats is a nonprofit collective that works to reduce feline overpopulation in Brooklyn through Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). You can check out the Slope Street Cats website here and the group also has a blog called (of course) Slope Street Cats. They can help you adopt a cute-as-can-be kitty and lead you to tons of other sites and links.

Earn some kitty karma points. Help ’em out.

Related Posts:

• Slope Street Cats

The new sixth episode of the internet TV series, The Burg, is up. We hadn’t noticed it, so we thank the excellent blog Polis, produced by the New York Times’ Lisa Chamberlain, for bringing it to our attention. Episode 6 is called “Chemistry,” and Polis calls it a “must see” and “hilarious.” Check it out for yourselves by clicking over to The Burg’s website. The vid is available in a variety of formats.

As usual, the episode was shot around Williamsburg, and includes Bicycle Fetish Day at the City Reliquary, McCarren Park and Pool and the Bushwick Country Club. Some music was actually shot at Union Hall in Park Slope.

Among many other things, this week’s Brooklyn Papers offers a look at renderings of two new buildings planned for booming Fourth Avenue, the unofficial DMZ between Park Slope and Gowanus, over which there are frequent incursions. First, on the right, is a 12-story condo highrise that Ariella Cohen writes is going up at Fourth Avenue and Seventh Street “on the Gowanus end of Park Slope.” (Extra points and tips of the hat to her for identifying the location that way!) She adds that building, which will be located at 410 Fourth Avenue and be in an L-shape, will leave four-story building next door in shadow. The architect told her that, “In some some way, the shadows are OK. They cool things off.”

The other building is being built at 255 First St. right off Fourth Avenue. It rises to different heights because part of the property is in the upzoned Fourth Avenue district and the rest is not. And so, the building will be 120 feet tall on the west and only 50 feet on the other side. The architect of that building told Ms. Cohen, “We has to get creative to play by the rules.”

Both buildings seem, at first glance, to be more visually interesting than the two Boymelgreen towers rising on Fourth Avenue between Third Street and Fifth street. And, we are now indebted to the architect of the first building noted above for providing the upside to having your building covered in shadows from the highrise next door.

Keeps things cool.

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related news stories, blog items and images.

Internal Combustion Related:

• Park Slope’s Honda Civic Theft Problem [Park Slope Courier]
• Is Fresh Direct Destroying the World? [Daily Slope]
• Repaving Fourth Avenue [Sunset Parker]
• Curb Cutting Spreads in Carroll Gardens [Brownstoner]

Critters:

• Man Versus Squirrel in Brooklyn [NYT]
• More Dogs in Bad Places [Daily Heights]
• Playing Chicken in Red Hook [Brooklyn Record]

None of the Above:

• Community Board 2 Calls for Halving Atlantic Yards Density, No Eminent Domain [AYR]
• Changes Sought in 421-a Tax Break Program for Developers [Sun]
• Forbes Yacht From Brooklyn Heights [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
• October in the Hill [Clinton Hill Blog]
• Upon Further Reflection: The Park Slope Food Coop Bites [Curbed]
• Imported Iraqi Dates are Art Project [Metro]
• Crime on Smith Street and in Windsor Terrace [OTBKB]

We stumbled on a blog written last year by students at the New York Harbor School in Bushwick about the Gowanus Canal. If you have an interest in the Big G, it’s worth checking out, especially in light of discussions about whether Atlantic Yards will make a bad situation worse. Here’s part of an entry written by a student called “The Day at the Gowanus Canal”:

On our walk there, almost all the houses we passed had a American flag outside. That neighborhood is so patriotic. When we finally got to the…dirty canal it smelled like a dirty gas station’s bathroom. It was nasty. Some man was diving in the canal checking to see if the foundation was good so a building could be built there. When we got there, we had to wait for a man named Ludger from The Urban Divers . He took forever. When Ludger finally got there, he started explaining about the canal. he gave us a brief presentation about the canal. He told us about the background, an its location on the map. After he finished giving his presentgation about the canal, we ate our lunch. After, we went rowing on the boat. I didn’t want to go on the boat because I knew I was going to get wet. So I hustled Habiba while I had the chance to – I bet her that if I got on the boat, I would get wet. She said I wouldn’t. As soon as I got on the boat I got wet because some students splashed water in the boat while they were rowing – he wet me with the paddle. We rowed to both ends of the canal. It is so dirty. We finally got off the boat and I told Habiba that I got wet. so I hustled her for $1 dollar. We did our journal and then answered all the questions in the packet. We put the boats back. We cleaned up then our day was over.

There are other entries and they make for some interesting reading.

We’ve written a bit about water quality issues associated with the Gowanus Canal, especially the last few days as some light has been shined under the rock of the Atlantic Yards Draft Environmental Impact Statement. As it turns out, the DEIS is (pardon us for saying this) full of shit when it comes to the impact Atlantic Yards will have on the Gowanus. The development, it seems, could set Gowanus cleanup efforts back by years, if not decades.

All this got us to reading more background about the Gowanus and its water. One of the more things we found was a paper entitled “The Gowanus Problem” written by a CUNY student. It offers some good background on how the Gowanus got to be in such bad shape.

In the late nineteen century the Gowanus canal was a significant waterway for New York City’s commerce. Several industries lined its banks including heavy chemical, coal and gas manufacturing plants, oil refineries as well as a paint plant. By the turn of the century the government recognized the activities of the canal had caused it to become extremely polluted. In an effort to remove the pollutants, the city built a “Flushing Tunnel” in 1911 but unfortunately it shut down due to mechanical failure in the 1960’s. As the canal returned to its former polluted and stagnant state, it also became a source of discomfort and concern for the residents in the surrounding community. The main concern was the potential health risk the canal posed to its immediate environment. In the thirty-seven years following the tunnel shutdown the waterway was continuously abused without any form of release. As the water became more polluted it lost most of its beneficial uses as well.

The commercial use of the waterway was by far one of the main sources of pollutions. Shipping contributed to the vast amount of submerged and floating debris. The use of the canal by heavy chemical industries and the presence of both a metal and paint plant were detrimental factors that caused oil and grease floatables, pathogenic agents, toxicity to aquatic life and color, odor and turbidity problems. Wastewater disposal, which included the overflow of sewage treatment plants runoff due to heavy rains, emptied directly into the Gowanus. This was a main source of suspended material that contributed to the destruction of benthic communities and oxygen depletion. Fortunately, the opening of The Red Hook Pollution control Plant in 1987 reduced sewage flow into the canal. Garbage disposal including residents illegally dumping waste was aesthetically objectionable and may also have helped to destroy the benthic communities.

In the good old days, the canal was known for having an extremely large shellfish population and while these creatures were not a harmful factor, they did however require a low level of pathogenic microorganisms, suitable substrate and adequate food to survive. When these features were lost the shellfish died. Swimming also wasn’t a damaging factor but it too required low levels of pathogenic agents and aesthetic acceptability. Wildlife (birds, waterfowl) survival depended on an exclusive use of the canal as well as adequate food, while the survival of fish required adequate food and dissolved oxygen.

As the water quality became more undesirable, interest began to increase as people became aware of the water’s state. It became apparent that the aesthetic quality was becoming increasingly low. Wildlife was seen less, and since aesthetically unappealing conditions now existed, it was certain that problems associated with other beneficial uses of the water also existed. The fact that the water released a pungent aroma (as the result of decomposing sewage sludge) indicated that, dissolved oxygen was reduced so that a healthy biotic system was absent. The recreational potential of the water was basically eliminated as it became grossly polluted. Activities such as swimming were not even a consideration. To do so one would literally be risking death. This fact was confirmed in 1972 when tests discovered that there was live hepatitis, typhoid and a virulent strain of cholera in the canal. In October 1997, Ben Langstreth in an effort to repopulate the canal with oysters placed 120 oysters in a cylindrical net into the Gowanus. Two weeks later when he returned, he found the net void of all but a few empty shells. No conclusion was drawn from their disappearance or on the water’s ability to support life, however there are speculations that rats may have eaten the oysters during the low tide.

One thing is certain, Gowanus pollution occurred as a result of a series of complicated activities in it.

Next, a high school student’s comments.