Reflections on the Gowanus Canal on 1/2 sheet 140lb cold press Arches

Ah, the Gowanus Canal.  A local joke.  In 1636, Gowanus Bay was the site of the first settlement by Dutch farmers in what is now Brooklyn.

And look what we’ve gone and done.

Now it is a “Super Fund” designated by the Feds as being one of one of the nation’s most extensively contaminated water bodies. Contaminants include PCBs, coal tar wastes, heavy metals and volatile organics. The contamination poses a threat to the nearby residents who use the canal for fishing and recreation.  But that doesn’t stop realtors from calling it the “Venice of Brooklyn.”   Growing up it was known as the “Lavender Lake” and it was not unusual to hear about a criminal element getting rid of a body by dumping it into the Gowanus.

I do have to say that the Gowanus, the neighborhood around the canal, has become quite trendy with clubs, bars and restaurants opening all around the canal.  Those hipsters will party anywhere!

The reference photo was taken by the Husband on one of his walks.  For some reason it just struck me as funny knowing the history of the canal.

It’s always interesting when I go for a walk or a drive with the Husband.  On a trip to the Museum of the City of New York not long ago, he and I took the subway to 103rd Street on east side of Manhattan and began the walk up to 5th Ave.  As we walked across a large open parking lot attached to some projects urban developments, the Husband turned to me and said:  “we got called for two people shot here once.”

Yep,  that’s what you get when you’re out with him.  Another time our lovely nieces Caroline and Monica had visited us for dinner.  Since they are in their 20’s they were going out later that evening.  (I was going to bed.)  Monica was going to hear a band in Willaimsburg, the trendiest place in the city and Caroline was going back to her apartment on the lower east side in Manhattan.  As we drove them to their respective locations, the husband gave the girls a tour of a lifetime.  They got to see where their uncle got called for shootings, bomb threats, EDPs (Emotionally Disturbed Person) who barricaded themselves in apartments with weapons, sometimes with hostages.

And I complain about my job.   Hey,  I got a paper cut last week!   And another time I was bored out of my mind.

It’s dangerous out there.