Gowanus | |
|---|---|
 The formerpowerhouse (locally nicknamed "The Batcave"), currently vacant and owned by Verizon Communications | |
 Location within New York City | |
| Coordinates:40°40′31″N73°59′28″W / 40.6753°N 73.9911°W /40.6753; -73.9911 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New York |
| City | New York City |
| County/Borough | Brooklyn |
| Community District | Brooklyn 6[1] |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Code | 11215 |
| Area codes | 718, 347, 929, and917 |
Gowanus (/ɡəˈwɑːnəs/gə-WAH-nəs) is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of theNew York City borough ofBrooklyn, within the area once known asSouth Brooklyn. The neighborhood is part ofBrooklyn Community District 6. Gowanus is bounded by Wyckoff Street on the north,Fourth Avenue on the east, theGowanus Expressway to the south, and Bond Street to the west.[2]
In 1636, Gowanus Bay – named after Gauwane (Gouwane,lit. "the sleeper"), aCanarsee Indian[3][4] – was the site of the first settlement by Dutch farmers in what is now Brooklyn.[5] The ponds of Gowanus meadowlands served to drive early settlers' tide-poweredgristmills which were situated along the Gowanus Creek. During theAmerican Revolutionary War, Gowanus was the scene of fighting in theBattle of Long Island and American soldiers positioned themselves in Gowanus Heights (nowPark Slope), where they had full view of the British ships as they made landfall in the Bay.[6][7]
In the 1860s, the Gowanus Creek was turned into theGowanus Canal, and the area became a hub for manufacturing and shipping. As a result of the industry along the canal and the establishment of acombined sewer system that dumped waste water directly into a designated outflow at the head of the canal, the neighborhood came to be defined by the polluted canal.[8] AfterWorld War II, the decline of shipping at the port of Red Hook and of manufacturing around New York City prompted large industry to leave and changed the vibrancy of industry in Gowanus. In the late 1940s, the neighborhood became the site of severalNYCHA housing projects, which were built in part to house returning WWII veterans.[9]
The water and much of the land along the banks of the Gowanus Canal have been severely polluted by combined sewer outflows (CSOs) along the canal designed to relieve sewage and storm water when the sewer treatment plant is overwhelmed, as well as by decades of industrial use and extensivecoal gas manufacturing during the late 19th century. The Gowanus Canal was also an alleged Mafia dumping ground.[10] Even so, in the early 1980s, alongside the canal, an old 19th-century munitions factory at 230 3rd Street in Gowanus became the site of the massiveGowanus Memorial Artyard, whose remains are still visible.[11] In 2010, theEnvironmental Protection Agency designated the Gowanus Canal aSuperfund site, allocating $506 million for the cleanup of decades of industrial pollution and sewage contamination.[12] The completion date for the cleanup is set for 2022.[13]
The area is zoned for light to mid-level manufacturing.[14] In the first decade of the 21st century, residential developers were hindered by the industrial zoning and the problems of the sewage overflow through the canal water, but there have been rumors ofrezoning by theNew York City Department of City Planning.[15] Many residents and community groups have expressed concern over the sewage overflow that the rezoning could possibly create.[12] From 2013–2016, the City Planning Department, community groups, business owners, developers, arts organizations, and neighborhood residents participated in a "community planning process" called Bridging Gowanus intended to inform neighborhood rezoning processes with the intention of creating a land-use framework for the neighborhood.[16]
Many "coworking" spaces were formed in Gowanus in the 2010s.[17] More restaurants, bars, and art galleries moved to the neighborhood, and new real estate became available.[18]
On theNew York City Subway, theD, N, R, and W trains on theBMT Fourth Avenue Line and theF, <F>, and G trains on theIND Culver Line run through Gowanus.Bike routes cross the canal on the Union Street, 3rd Street and 9th Street bridges.[19] The elevatedGowanus Expressway runs through the southern edge of the neighborhood, crossing the canal at Hamilton Avenue. TheCarroll Street Bridge, built in 1889, is the oldest of the four remainingretractable bridges in the country.[20]
Canarsee [...] Gauwane: The owner of the Gowanus tract in Brooklyn, which still bears his name.
the land probably takes its name from the Indian who planted there, Gauwane's plantation. His name may be translated 'the sleeper,' or 'he rests.' It is cognate with theDelawaregauwin, "to sleep;"Massachusettkouweu, "he sleeps,"kouéuénin, "a sleeper."
Media related toGowanus, Brooklyn at Wikimedia Commons
Gowanus and Red Hook travel guide from WikivoyagePlaces adjacent to Gowanus, Brooklyn | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||
