[Photo courtesy of bicyclist/flickr] Some news–mainly of the bad variety–from the Boerum Hill front: 1) Zoila is reported to be closing. The sandwich spot on Hoyt Street is said to be looking for a new space on Atlantic Avenue. Until then, where to go for something on a Ciabatta? 2) Locals continue to mourn the […]

[Read more →]

The technical term for what happens to the Gowanus during a storm is “CSOs.” The layman’s description of what happens is that sewers (both storm drains and toilets) flow right into the canal. On Sunday, the canal overflowed its banks in places during the Nor’easter, leaving behind filthy & toxics puddles.l This is what the […]

[Read more →]

A lot of people enjoyed the idea of a whale in the Gowanus, even though the Gowanus whale was really in Gowanus Bay rather than the canal itself, which is too narrow and shallow for such a creature. We don’t know who originally produced this image of a whale (which looks like a Killer Whale […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

We never thought we’d type words like “Gowanus Whale Tale,” but there we go. Yesterday was that kind of day. A young whale wandered near the beginning of the Gowanus Canal, off 21st Street on the Sunset Park side of Gowanus Bay near a ship that has been docked there forever. We saw a boat […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images. 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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

For a development that’s selling itself as offering suburban greenery and a “landscaped oasis,” Urban Green seems to also be creating a hazard to children, pets and moronic adults with impaired judgment on North 6th Street. Why? Its gate on N. 6th is often left open wide enough for a child to stroll through and […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

Something called the “Beach Impeach” is coming to Coney Island on April 28. What’s that? Well, organizers are trying to get people to spell out the word “Impeach” on the Coney beach and, then, photograph it from the air. It should be an interesting thing. The organizers write: We are looking for a thousand people […]

[Read more →]

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images: 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] […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

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.

[Read more →]

The Gowanus Canal did not disappoint yesterday. The pictures here show the Big G about one hour before high tide yesterday evening. The photos show the canal overflowing its banks at Second Street (above)and at Sackett Street. The other photo shows it within inches of doing the same elsewhere an hour before the high water […]

[Read more →]

As we spent yesterday looking out the window at the deluge–dismissing taking the camera down to Coney Island to shoot high water and wind or to search for a Gowanus Sewage Geyser (you have pics of either, email them to us and you will earn our undying gratitude)–our minds turned to the possibility of massive […]

[Read more →]