The budget art supply store Pearl Paint is closing some of its locations—however its Canal Street shop will remain open. The Times reports that the discount art shop is shuttering storefronts nationwide, including its custom-framing shop on Lispenard Street, sparking "rumors that even the Canal Street store itself is in danger." However an employee at the Canal Street location told Gothamist "the frame shop is closing, but the main building is remaining open." Business experts told the paper that downsizing is "probably a wise move at this stage even though it's painful" because the art supply store operates "in an industry that's not really moving at the moment." more ›

The Gowanus Canal, currently in the midst of a battle over Superfund status, now has Riverkeeper watching its slimy, green, polluted back. Reportedly the folks at the organization are prepared to sue property owners along it, "including the city, for ongoing pollution problems ... [including] illegally dumping garbage into the already fetid corpse of water." The litterbugs have 60 days to clean up before they'll file the suit. more ›

Though most of the neighborhood around the Gowanus Canal has not yet been rezoned for residential construction, one development company has just won approval for a big condo project with buildings up to 12 stories high and a public park along the canal. Blogger Pardon Me For Asking sat through a "long and drawn out" Landmark/Land Use committee meeting last night (so we didn't have to). She calls the near-unanimous vote "a sad outcome for the community":

Let me just say that no amount of testimony from concerned residents at last month's meeting, no concerns about pathogens in the waters of the canal, nor warnings that the land is in a flood zone were able to sway a majority of our board members from voting yes for Toll's spot rezoning.

The development company that's pushing for a special rezoning approval to construct several residential buildings by the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn came under fire at a Neighborhood Association meeting in Carrol Gardens last night, with two local architects dismissing the project renderings as deceptive. Chris McVoy and John Hatheway maintained that the developer, Toll Brothers, has provided renderings that make their tallest building—which would be 12 stories and 125 feet high—look more like 85 feet. more ›

A bus crashed into a building, possibly a bank, near Canal and Bowery in Chinatown. Apparently a dump truck first hit the bus, which caused the bus driver to lose control and swerve into the building. Three people on the private bus were injured, as one person from the dump truck, and WNBC says a pedestrian was hit. One victim was reportedly in traumatic arrest. A reader points out that the Fung Wah bus stop is near that corner, though what kind of bus was involved in the accident hasn't been revealed. more ›