Hoping for the best as Gowanus builds up

An asbestos abatement notice, shuttered doors, and heaps of debris–this is what is left of Gowanus’ famous BBQ restaurant Pig Beach, one of the first businesses that closed its doors due to the 2021 rezoning that allows for taller residential buildings in Gowanus and some adjacent areas.

The restaurant, a sprawling indooroutdoor facility that served as a community meeting spot for eight years, closed December 30 because the development group Tankhouse is beginning the process of building along the Gowanus canal. Shane McBride, coowner of Pig Beach, said he will miss the original location, and hopes to be able to move the restaurant back into the area in a couple of years.

“We miss it. We miss our customers, we had tons of regulars, when we did actually close, there were families that came in for their final chicken wings,” McBride said. “We witnessed a lot of these kids grow up, so you know, it was bitter-sweet to leave that. We’ve been a part of people’s families for years now."

The Gowanus Neighborhood Plan, which was only the latest attempt to rezone the Gowanus neighborhood, was kicked off in 2013 by then Councilmember Brad Lander’s Bridging Gowanus series of community meeting, drawn up originally by Lander’s former employer Pratt Institute.

The final rezoning was officially approved November 23, 2021 by the NY City Council. The rezoning allows for residential buildings as tall as 30 stories, in an area originally zoned for six story buildings, much of which was industrial. In total, the development is slated to bring in 20,000 new residents in 8,500 new apartments, almost doubling the present population.

Tankhouse, a real estate developer based in Dumbo, bought the development site in July 2022 for $40.65 million from the Pilot Real Estate Group. According to TheRealDeal, this project will be larger than the company’s previous biggest development

Brooklyn Bridge Park to be recreated in Gowanus

by George Fiala

February's CB6 Land Use committee was host to a couple of presentation by designers of two small park areas that are part of the Gowanus rezoning. The first presentation for a park that will be on part of the Pig Beach property was made by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates who are the designers of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, a much celebrated public space that actually served as taxpayer built selling points for the condos and hotel built in the park by private developers.

The second presentation was made by Scape Landscape Architects, whose

by Oona Milliken

on 450 Warren Street, a five-story 18unit condo building. McBride said Tankhouse will tear down the old Pig House building this month. Though he said he will miss their original restaurant location, McBride said he is hopeful about the development.

“They’re putting a pretty substantial building, the ground floor and parts of the second floor are going to be commercial use,” McBride said. “They have a decent amount of space carved out for community members, it’s definitely going to be mixed-use. And the building looks pretty cool.”

According to Crain’s New York Business, Pilot secured a 421-a tax break for the property, which also includes the neighboring Green Building, right before the sale to Tankhouse, likely contributing to the 230% price increase from their original purchase of the land in 2014 for $12.3 million to the $40.65 million Tankhouse bought it for. A 421-a tax break, given to developers that comply with an affordable housing minimum, ensures that Tankhouse will not have to pay property tax and other fees for multiple years. The terms of the rezoning mandates that 20 to 30 percent out of the 8,500 newly built properties must be classified as affordable. It's probably that the new owners will file new plans for a taller building.

Claire Weissberg, the creator and owner of Claireware Pottery, said she has doubts that the new development will be able to serve community members in need of affordable housing, and will instead bring in wealthier residents from outside the neighborhood.

“I don’t have faith that the affordable housing, the mandatory inclusionary housing, will be affordable. It sounds like the affordable housing they’re building over on that block, on the other side of the canal, is the only truly affordable housing,” Weissberg said. “But most of the time [rent] is based on the income of the neighborhood, and the median income of this neighborhood is well over $100,000.” motto says that they "create positive change in communities by combining regenerative living infrastructure and new forms of public space.

There project is a controversial part of the rezoning that puts schools and parks and affordable housing units on top of land that many think still contains toxic pollution, a topic addressed by the EPA, who guarantees that the project will not go forward until they believe it is safe.

What the members of the Land Use committee were mostly concerned about were much more innocent.

The planners presented things such as swinging play elements for kids that invoke the neighborhood's industrial past (somebody questioned whether they might not be vulnerable to mischief by bad boys), hammocks for resting (won't

While the rezoning means that some businesses will close, other business owners in the area are certain that construction in the area will produce more revenue. Angel Guzman, owner of Smith Street Pizza and long-time Gowanus resident, said the development will bring in new customers to his store.

“More people is good for business. More people make more business, it’s going to be crowded but you know, that’s okay.” Guzman said.

Other community members in the area are not so optimistic. The development will alter the skyline of Gowanus, and according to Weissberg, this will permanently change the feel of the neighborhood.

“It’s going to transform it,” Weissberg said. “The whole charm of this neighborhood was how low it was, and how light it was, and now there won’t be any light, and I assume that all the buildings are all going to be cookiecutter hideous buildings, but I don’t know that.” homeless people turn them into beds), pavers that celebrate the Gowanus legacy, and special features in the paths that will deter skateboarders.

Community members are also unsure if the rezoning will be good for the neighborhood. Toni-Anne Acevedo, who has lived in Gowanus all her life, said she is worried that the development will bring a lot of traffic to the community.

Member Jerry Armer questioned whether the pavement under the play element might not get too hot in the sun. Somebody else asked about the permeability of that pavement as the ground underneath may still end up with some toxins (of course it won't be permeable was the answer, as far as the heat there will be trees around for shade).

Other members wanted to make sure there were plenty of bike racks, whether they might be boat access near the canal, whether the dog run would be raised up, exposing passerbys to possible smells, will there be seating with backs for those who have tender ones, and other type aesthetic questions.

“It’s too much. They’re building on every piece of land there is,” Acevedo said. “It doesn’t bring much, and it’s complicated.”

Greg Warner, an employee at the local wine shop Smith & Vine, said he does not like the newest Gowanus buildings at 365 Bond Street and thinks the new units will be similar, though the developments are headed by different firms.

“Those apartments are lame,” Warner said. “It’s like adults who want the amenities and pampering of a dorm room but they live in New York City. It has no character, and every time they deliver wine there I’m annoyed by it.”

McBride said the neighborhood is about to go through a period of change, and that Gowanus will look as different during the construction period when certain restaurants and amenities will disappear, as it will after the development is finished.

“[Pig Beach] definitely had an impact on the neighborhood as a place to go and I would say that we were a part of the genesis of how the neighborhood became a better place,” McBride said. “It’s going to be a different neighborhood. Just like any new, growing neighborhood, it’s going to have a growing period where there will be a lack of stuff.”

Only at the end, when the questioning was opened up to non CB6 members, were questions about possible environmental problems raised.

A week later, at the monthly Superfund meeting, Chief Engineer Christos Tsiamis said that all of a sudden, the DEC, which had been criticized for lax remediation standards, has switched gears and, just like the City DEP, is suddenly cooperative in shepherding a safe cleanup—most probably to the relief of all the developers.