Gowanus, Brooklyn

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A warehouse being redeveloped in Gowanus.

Gowanus is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, New York. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 6. It is situated roughly between Red Hook and Carroll Gardens on the west and Park Slope on the east. Bounded by Butler Street to the north, the neighborhood runs alongside and surrounds the Gowanus Canal, ending with the Gowanus Expressway to the south. Smith and Bond Street are generally considered the western boundaries, with Fourth Avenue as the eastern boundary. The neighborhood is marked by the elevated Smith-Ninth Street subway station.

The Gowanus area has been an active center of industrial activity since the 1870's. It is zoned for light to mid-level manufacturing (M1, M2, and M3).[1] However, in addition to the two housing project, Wycoff Gardens and Gowanus Houses where the majority of the neighborhood residents live, residential zoning is found near the eastern and western borders. These areas consist of mostly frame housing in contrast to the brownstone homes found in neighboring Park Slope. The few residents of Gowanus tend to say they live in the other neighborhoods that border it. The eastern area of Gowanus is nick-named "Lower Slope" or "G-Slope."[2]

Gowanus, one of the few remaining manufacturing neighborhoods in Brooklyn, is having a renaissance as it re-attracts new and vibrant small creative manufacturing business many owned by individuals who live in the adjoining residential neighborhoods and walk or bike to work. And, the demand for light-industrial space in Gowanus is on the rise as manufacturing districts in many other parts of the city are in the process of re-zoning or have already been re-zoned for residential use which has left innumerable businesses and individuals seeking available and affordable workspace elsewhere.

Recently, residential developers have been hindered by the industrial zoning, but there have been rumors of rezoning by the Department of City Planning. [3]

History

In 1636, Gowanus Bay was the site of the first settlement by Dutch farmers in what is now Brooklyn. [4]

In the late 19th and early 20th century the area was largely home to immigrants, then arriving from Ireland, Italy and Germany.

The Gowanus area has been an active center of industrial activity since the 1870’s. After World War II, with the decline of shipping at the port of Red Hook and the decrease of manufacturing around New York City in general, the vibrancy of industry in Gowanus began to change as larger industrial users continues to leave the city. However, during 1980’s and 1990’s, many larger buildings were successfully adapted for smaller, industrial and creative users, which by 2000 was the largest growing segment within the industrial sector.

Environmental Condition

The water and much of the land along the Gowanus Canal have been severely polluted from a combination of CSO's (combined sewer outflows) along the canal designed to relieve sewage and storm water when the sewer treatment plant is overwhelmed as well as from decades of heavy industrial use. There currently are several public and private sponsored programs in development aiming to remediate the land around the canal as well as the canal itself. Among these are FROGG (Friends and Residents of the Greater Gowanus) and the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation.

Transportation

The F, G, M and R trains run through Gowanus, as well as the B71.

Landmarks

The Carrol Street bridge is the oldest one of four remaining retractile bridges in the country. It was built in 1889. [5]

Northwest: Cobble Hill	North: Boerum Hill	Northeast: Fort Greene
West: Carroll Gardens	Gowanus	East: Park Slope
Southwest: Red Hook	South: Gowanus Bay

See also

• Gowanus Canal
• Gowanus Expressway

External links

• Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus
• Big Sky Brooklyn Blog