As you may know by now, we're pretty excited about shuffleboard around here, and soon after we declared our love of the game, we were given the scoop that a genuine shuffleboard club would be opening in Brooklyn next year. At the time we withheld some information about the club until details got firmed up (and also because we didn't want our heart rate to get too high) but now we can pass along a whole lot more, including the name of your new favorite club: The Royal Palms. And here is more exclusive info direct from co-founder Jonathan Schnapp: more ›

The fascinating Coignet Stone Company building, which stands isolated on the edge of a massive vacant lot at 360 Third Avenue in Brooklyn, will be preserved when Whole Foods opens at the location. But some preservationists are still unhappy with the popular supermarket's plans, because Whole Foods plans to build within five feet of the landmarked building. "Our building will almost wrap around that building," a Whole Foods spokesman tells the Daily News, adding that the store has agreed to fix up the 140-year-old building, which has fallen into disrepair. more ›

The proposal to build a massive, 52,000-square-foot Whole Foods in Gowanus was unanimously approved this afternoon by the Board of Standards and Appeals, Brownstoner reports. So it looks like some local residents will have their loyalties and values put to the test: Brooklyn's gentry loves buying stuff labeled organic , but they also hate chains and genetically engineered food. more ›

For over eight years now, Whole Foods has been trying to get a new location in Gowanus off the ground. The company removed the toxic waste from the 4.2-acre site on the corner of Third Street and Third Avenue, and promises the establishment will feature a 20,000-square-foot rooftop greenhouse, and a charging station for electric cars. You'd think it would be welcomed with open arms by those Brooklyn residents who don't belong to the Park Slope Food Co-Op, but Whole Foods is still trying to persuade the community it's going to be a great neighbor. more ›

The Environmental Protection Agency a.k.a. The Bureau of Bloodthirsty Job-Killing Werewolves released an expansive report [pdf] last month that recommends a 10-year plan to dredge and replace layers of matter kindly referred to as "sediment" in the Gowanus canal, costing close to $500 million. Per CERCLA, polluters are required to pick up Superfund bills, and as expected, gas companies and other businesses who dumped chemicals and had unprotected sex with the Gowanus Canal are doing their damndest to limit their liability. Add the City of New York to that list: the Department of Environmental Protection says the Gowanus' troubles have little to do with the tons of poop that it pumps into the canal each year. more ›

The Rat Pack's old haunts are making a comeback! First came news that a new Copacabana is reopening in July and now comes word that Monte's Venetian Room, the Italian restaurant by the Gowanus Canal which once claimed to be the oldest Italian restaurant in town, is aiming to reopen its doors in the next month. The wraparound murals of Venice, vintage phone booth and chandelier are long gone but the new owner—who once parked A-listers cars for the joint back in its heyday—is still hoping to bring some of the magic back. more ›

Whole Foods' on-again/off-again relationship with Gowanus is on again! The grocery store has officially declared that they'll be moving into the neighborhood, Superfund be damned. According to a letter Brownstoner posted, here's what locals can expect when the 52,000-square-foot shop sets up at the corner of 3rd Street and 3rd Avenue: more ›

We must admit we rolled our eyes at this Daily News lede: "A group of hipsters are suing the NYPD, accusing cops of busting up their bash, arresting them, and eating their pizza!" Again with the hipster? Look, just because they were arrested at a party in Gowanus doesn't necessarily mean they fall into that increasingly vague and meaningless category! And really Daily News, must you inform us that NYPD spokesman Paul Browne "dismissed the saucy allegations"? more ›

Regarding the old "baseball wall" in Gowanus that we received a photograph of yesterday, showing it in rough shape... there's no need to worry! A spokesman from Con Ed (the company that now owns the wall now) tells us: more ›

Earlier this year an investigation of sorts was underway, as the Landmark Preservation Commission tried to determine whether a wall in Gowanus was worthy of landmark designation. Some believe the 20-foot wall—which stands at 3rd Avenue between 1st and 3rd Streets—is part of the original Dodgers stadium (aka Washington Park stadium). As of last December Con Ed was slated to demo some buildings by the wall, but said they would preserve the wall itself. But today April from Brooklyn sent us the above photo and noted, "the last remaining section of the oldest baseball stadium in Brooklyn (now part of a Con Ed facility in Gowanus) seems to be coming down." more ›

The Brooklyn tornado took out a lot of trees earlier this month, but did you know it also transformed the Gowanus Canal into a flowing body of raw sewage? Check it out below, it's just like the chocolate river in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory except—strike that, reverse it—it is not at all like the chocolate river in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. [Warning: You may want to watch this after lunch.] more ›

In 2006 Whole Foods broke ground at what would be their first Brooklyn location, at 3rd Street and 3rd Avenue in Gowanus. By 2009 rumor spread that the company may pull out of the contaminated area, spurring Whole Foods manager Mark Mobley to make a statement saying: "recent reports of Whole Foods Market's demise in Brooklyn seem to have been greatly exaggerated!" And with that, a neighborhood has been patiently awaiting their grocery overlords to build an overpriced outlet for food atop the contaminated soil. more ›

Here are photos and video of flooding that submerged parts of Fourth Avenue at Carroll Street in Brooklyn this morning. There's considerable disagreement in the comments section of Brownstoner as to what caused this mess, but apparently this happens every couple of years in this little part of Gowanus. Is this Marty Markowitz's Katrina? more ›

One reason not everyone was supporting the EPA slapping a Superfund sticker on the Gowanus Canal was because of the stigma that comes along with that label. Bloomberg and certain developers were fearing the fallout of a decision to Superfund, and the Toll Brothers were even facing a multimillion dollar lawsuit after signing a $21.5 million contract with owner Joseph Phillips, which they refused to pay. more ›

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is bringing out the big guns Sunday morning to protest the city's closure of the "Double-D" public pool in Gowanus because of budget constraints. Joined by protesters and city council members, Markowitz will appear at the pool in broad daylight wearing nothing but a swim suit, presumably as a form of radical direct action protest. His press officer says, "Don’t worry, no Speedo!" But if the city doesn't agree to spend the $200,000 to open the pool—which is in walking distance to the Gowanus and Wyckoff Gardens public housing projects—we suspect Markowitz will surely take this thing to the next level. Please, Bloomberg, give the man whatever he wants. more ›

The BKLYN Yard may have shut down operations after their landlord wanted them out, but it seems one party that was being hosted there will be allowed to continue. According to the NY Times, Justin Carter's weekly Sunday Best deejay event will go on, with permission from the landlord, at the space which is now being called 400 Carroll Street. more ›

Sure, the Gowanus Canal may be a pollution-plagued strip of water running through Brooklyn now, but it used to be a busy cargo transportation hub! And before the canal, early settlers farmed on the shorelines of what they called "Gowanes Creek" after Gouwane, sachem of the Canarsee, a local Lenape tribe. Some older facts about the now-Superfunded Canal: more ›

Decontamination efforts are well underway for a toxic Gowanus site, slated to house Brooklyn's first Whole Foods. But though the hole should be contaminant-free by April, the upscale grocery purveyor won't confirm its move to the neighborhood. “Everything I know is that Whole Foods is committed to building on that site,” said John Bogdanski, an environmental consultant for the store. “Still, there is always the option to sell the property.” more ›

What's to be done about the Gowanus Canal? Any ideas? If so, the Department of Environmental Protection wants to hear them. The DEP sent out a notice indicating it is seeking proposals for how best to remove storm water from the sewer system and how best to treat it before it is discharged back into the Gowanus Canal watershed and Flushing Bay. The agency plans to award grants totaling $2.9 million to the potential projects, equally divided between the two areas. You better hurry though, because a retired engineer, Bart Chezar from Park Slope, thinks he has a plan that "will not only prevent raw sewage from continuing to foul the already polluted waterway, but also modify the behavior of local residents so that they do their part to keep the waterway clean." more ›

The wall in Gowanus that some believe is part of the original Dodgers stadium (aka Washington Park stadium) is now being investigated by the city to determine whether or not it should be landmarked. According to the NY Post, the Landmark Preservation Commission said it will review the 20-foot wall, which stands at 3rd Avenue between 1st and 3rd Streets. more ›