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• Water_Works Competition Exhibit Opens TONIGHT!

  In Exhibit / By B. Umanov / 22 May 2013 / 0 comments

  

  The Old American Can Factory Gallery at 232 Third Street (at Third Avenue) is hosting an opening tonight in which the winning entries from Gowanus by Design’s Water_Works competition will be on display. The competition’s goal was to field proposals for the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) retention facility that will occupy the current site of the Douglas Degraw pool; the pool will likely have to be razed during the EPA’s cleanup of canal contamination, although it will eventually be rebuilt with the CSO retention facility underneath it.

  The opening runs from 6:30-9pm tonight. Over 250 people entered, and the nine winning proposals will be on display. More info here.

   

• The New York Times Profiles Neighborhood Resistance to E.P.A. Gowanus Canal Clean-Up Plan

  In The Canal / By B. Umanov / 10 May 2013 / 0 comments

  

  The New York Times has published an article profiling neighborhood resistance to the various Gowanus Canal clean-up plans proposed by the E.P.A., from how the canal will be dredged to how the toxic sludge will eventually be used and how future canal contamination will be prevented.

  A particularly troublesome proposal calls for an 8-million gallon sewage storage tank to be built underground beneath the popular Double D Pool to prevent the canal from overflowing during rainstorms. Neighbors are obviously up in arms about the idea of their children swimming on top of a giant sewage tank, and as fans of the pool at Gowanus Your Face Off we’re not so stoked on that idea either.

  Read the story here.

   

• The Carroll Street Bridge Will Be Under Construction Through the End of August

  In Transportation / By B. Umanov / 9 May 2013 / 0 comments

  
  
  Well, this is certainly annoying. Residents of upper Gowanus who have been forced to walk north to Union Street or south to Third Street to cross the canal in recent weeks are gonna have to get used to wearing out their walking shoes for quite a bit longer; the Carroll Street Bridge is going to be out of commission until at least the end of August.

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• Construction Has Begun on The Royal Palms Shuffleboard Parlor

  In Shuffleboard Dispute / By B. Umanov / 9 May 2013 / 0 comments

  

  After months of neighborhood bickering culminating in the approval of a liquor license last September, construction has finally begun on the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Parlor on Union Street between Nevins Street and Third Avenue. A gray-painted wood construction barrier went up around the one-story property in early April and interior demolition began two weeks ago. See the above photo taken by Gowanus Your Face Off.

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• Root Hill Cafe Flooded by Yesterday’s Thunderstorm

  In Weather / By B. Umanov / 9 May 2013 / 0 comments

  

  Root Hill Cafe posted the above picture of a VERY flooded Fourth Avenue (at the intersection of Carroll Street) on their Twitter account yesterday morning at around 8:05am following the intense thunderstorm that rolled through the NYC area this morning. Gowanus Your Face Off called Root Hill and spoke with Maria, who verified that the cafe is open for business today with no significant damage.

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• More Information About the Greenhouse Atop the Gowanus Whole Foods

  In 3rd & 3rd - Whole Foods Site / By B. Umanov / 3 April 2013 / 0 comments

  Whole Foods has released a whole lot of new information about the 20,000 square foot greenhouse they’ll be building atop the soon-to-open Whole Foods in Gowanus [via Grub Street]. Gotham Greens – famous for their massive rooftop garden in Greenpoint – will operate the greenhouse, which they’re billing as “the nation’s first commercial scale greenhouse farm integrated within a retail grocery space.” Notably, the rooftop garden will operate year-round and supply fresh produce not only to the Gowanus store but to other Whole Foods retailers throughout NYC.

  Here’s Whole Foods trying to convince you how green and ethical they are:

  The new greenhouse will be designed, built and operated by Gotham Greens in partnership with Whole Foods Market. The specially designed rooftop farm will include advanced irrigation systems that use up to 20 times less water than conventional farming as well as enhanced glazing materials and electrical equipment to reduce overall energy demand. Based on the farm’s proximity to Whole Foods Market stores in New York City, the project will eliminate long distance food transport and its associated emissions, while ensuring product freshness, quality and nutrition for thousands of customers in the area.

  The rooftop greenhouse will be fully operational at the time of the new Whole Foods Market opening. Read the rest of Whole Foods’ marketing fluff, including the lulz-worthy phrase “green collar jobs,” here.