Gowanus is a neighborhood in the New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 borough of Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 6

Brooklyn Community Board 6

Brooklyn Community Board 6 is a local governmental body in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that encompasses the neighborhoods of Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Gowanus, and Cobble Hill...

.

The Gowanus area has been an active center of industrial and shipping activity since the 1860s. It is zoned for light to mid-level manufacturing (M1, M2, and M3).

Recently, residential developers have been hindered by the industrial zoning and the problems of the sewage overflow through the canal water, but there have been rumors of rezoning by the New York City Department of City Planning.

History

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

Environmental Condition

The water and much of the land along the banks of the Gowanus Canal

Gowanus Canal

The Gowanus Canal, also known as the Gowanus Creek Canal, is a canal in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, geographically on the westernmost portion of Long Island...

 have been severely polluted from a combination of CSO's (combined sewer outflows) along the canal designed to relieve sewage and storm water when the sewer treatment plant is overwhelmed as well as from decades of industrial use and extensive coal gas manufacturing during the late 19th century. The Gowanus Canal was also an alleged Mafia dumping ground.

Transportation

The F, G, and R trains run through Gowanus. Bike routes

Cycling in New York City

New York City offers a mix of favorable cycling conditions — dense urban proximities, short distances and relatively flat terrain — along with significant cycling challenges: congested roadways with stop and go traffic, a sometimes unsympathetic regulatory environment, and streets with...

 cross the canal on the Union Street and 3rd Street bridges.

Landmarks

The Carrol Street bridge is the oldest of the four remaining retractable bridges in the country. It was built in 1889.
Also, in the early 1980s an old nineteenth century munitions factory at 230 3rd Street in Gowanus became the site of the massive Gowanus Memorial Artyard

Gowanus Memorial Artyard

The Gowanus Memorial Artyard was a non-profit, artist-organized group that organized massive outdoor and indoor art exhibitions in Gowanus, Brooklyn in the early 1980's. Founded by artists and curators Michael Keene, Frank Shifreen, and George Moore, the shows featured monumental sculpture parks...

, the remains of which can still be seen today.

Northwest: Cobble Hill Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Cobble Hill is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. Bordered by Atlantic Avenue on the north, Hicks Street to the west, Smith Street on the east and Degraw Street to the south, Cobble Hill sits adjacent to Boerum Hill and Brooklyn Heights with Carroll Gardens to the south...	North: Boerum Hill Boerum Hill Boerum Hill is a small neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn that occupies 36 blocks bounded by State Street to the north, 4th Avenue to the east, Smith Street to the west, and Warren Street to the south. Commercial strips line Smith Street and Atlantic...	Northeast: Fort Greene Fort Greene, Brooklyn Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Part of Brooklyn Community Board 2, Fort Greene is listed on the New York State Registry and on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a New York City-designated Historic District...
West: Carroll Gardens Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Carroll Gardens is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. The area is named for Charles Carroll, a revolutionary war veteran who was also the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence...	Gowanus	East: Park Slope Park Slope, Brooklyn Park Slope is a neighborhood in western Brooklyn, New York City's most populous borough. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush Avenue to the north, and 15th Street to the south, though other definitions are sometimes offered. Generally...
Southwest: Red Hook Red Hook, Brooklyn Red Hook is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 6. It is also the location where the transatlantic liner, the , docks in New York City.- History :...	South: Gowanus Bay