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Smelly "Brown Goo" Has Been Bubbling Up In Gowanus Sinks & Toilets
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 21, 2014
Modified Jul 21, 2014
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 21, 2014
Modified Jul 21, 2014
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Brooklyn's surprisingly hip Gowanus neighborhood—where an artisanal ice cream parlor just opened up next to a retro shuffleboard club—cannot easily escape the toxic legacy of its eponymous canal. An EPA study notes that odors described as "septic-like,” “sulfur-like,” and "hydrocarbon-like” are commonly detected in the area around the Gowanus Canal. And now a smelly "brown goo" is coming for local residents and businesses, oozing up through the sinks and toilets to smother them in their sleep.
“It comes out brown and you say, ‘Oh my God,'" landlord Joseph Internicola, who's in charge of a building on Union Street near Bond Street, tells the Post. And Kitty Hernandez, owner of the bar Brooklyn Colony on Fourth Avenue near Carroll Street, tells the tabloid, "It’s a very weird goop. Just yesterday, I had to pull a drain out because there was a foaming goo coming out of it... It overwhelmed the whole bar. I think it was sewage. The smell was horrible."
The goo, which also bubbled up at The Bell House, is likely the result of sewer overflow caused by heavy rains drenched the city last week. "We did have several reports of flooding and sewer backups in that area," an EPA spokesperson tell the Post. "Our engineers are investigating if any other factors besides heavy rain in short duration is causing this." Just something to contemplate as you savor Ample Hills' special new ice cream flavor "It Came From Gowanus" (nope hat is not a joke).
The Gowanus Canal is a designated Superfund site. It kills dolphins. A "sun drenched" one bedroom just steps from the canal in "Brooklyn's newest and most exclusive luxury rental building" can be yours for just $3,272 a month. For further reading, here is an interesting article examining what would happen if you drank water from the canal.
Would you rather have brown goo coming out of your toilet or a rat?
Tagged
brooklyn
canals
epa
gentrification
Gowanus
gowanus canal
superfund
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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