What I did this weekend

Community event sponsored by
GOWANUS ROOTS


Join us to learn about our work and how you can help ensure that
development decisions are made with local involvement


Saturday, September 18, 2004
1pm to 5pm


At Significant Steps
277 Third Ave, between President and Carroll


Informative presentation by the FROGGS
(friends and residents of the greater gowanus)
at 2:30pm and 4pm

Art on display by local artists
Works inspired by the Gowanus neighborhood and community

Art activities for kids of all ages


Inquiries: 718.596.6622 gowanusroots@hotmail.com   Gowanus, My heart   by Barbara R. Lee  

For years, I have taken solitary walks from Brooklyn heights to my home in Sunset Park.

I take various routes; sometimes I walk along Smith Street or down Union St.  Other times, I go down Third Street to Third Avenue and walk the avenue until I reach my block.

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I’m drawn to the Gowanus area, the factories, the remnants of immigrants that still hold on despite the influx of hipsters, artists and people fleeing Manhattan’s high rents.

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The factories may seem dirty and forbidding but I look at the old windows and the fading advertisements that covers some of the brick building walls and I imagine what it was like to be hard working laborer, making money to feed their families.  The camaraderie of friends as they leave work together to have a beer in a near by saloon before going home.

 

I live by Our Lady of Czestochowa, it’s a parish that is still steeped in Polish tradition.  From my window during Easter week, I see the parade of young Polish children dressed in traditional garb walking to the church with the rest of the parishioners.  I find it heartwarming and amazing to see old world customs still kept very much alive.    The same can be said for the Italians around Carroll Gardens, they still hold on to old traditions, from the Easter egg breads in the bakeries to the Virgin Mary statuettes that adorn many a garden in Carroll Gardens.<o:p></o:p>

I love the fact that despite the constant change around the Gowanus, crime and population, there are people who have endured, stayed and prospered in the Gowanus area.<o:p></o:p>

I know that as long as I can, I will stay, there are too many places I love about the Gowanus.

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My favorite place is the Hamilton Bridge at Sunset. The waning rays of the sun bathe the neighborhood in a soft light.   I lean a little over the bridge to look for schools of the little fish.   Lately, I’m noticing more aquatic life in the murky waters of the Gowanus Canal.  It’s a positive sign that change can be good.

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Boats in the canal that harkens back to the Gowanus shipping industry.  The Italian social clubs that still dot Third Avenue.   The elevated F train that always gives a wonderful panoramic view of the Gowanus and the harbor.

 

Its all there, historical, cultural, natural and I can take it all in as I walk the streets of my very special neighborhood of Brooklyn, Gowanus.

 

 

I also had the most lovely time with John at the Bronx Zoo.  We hung out all day and then we had a great meal at the Seashore Restaurant on City Island.  Yummmmmy!