New York's Dangerous Gowanus Canal Situation

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The Gowanus Canal, situated in Brooklyn, New York, boasts a rich yet checkered history that mirrors the evolution of urban landscapes in America. Originally a serene tidal inlet surrounded by marshlands, the canal underwent a dramatic transformation in the 19th century when it was dredged and transformed into an industrial waterway to accommodate burgeoning commercial activities. The canal became a vital artery for Brooklyn's industrial expansion, serving industries ranging from shipping to manufacturing. However, this rapid development came at a cost, as the canal became heavily polluted due to industrial runoff and sewage discharge. Despite its ecological challenges, the Gowanus Canal remains an emblem of New York's industrial heritage and is undergoing extensive restoration efforts aimed at revitalizing its waterfront and addressing environmental concerns for future generations.
IT’S HISTORY - Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.
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» CREDIT
Editor - Karolina Szwata,
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Пікірлер: 492

  • @ITSHISTORY
    @ITSHISTORY26 күн бұрын

    Hey everyone, I’m sorry the audio is messed up on this one, I’ve been living in hotels for over 2 weeks. The cool thing is that the episode was recorded in a literal castle. I’ll be back in the real studio soon! Thank you all for watching! - Socash

  • @classic.cameras

    @classic.cameras

    25 күн бұрын

    I was wondering. But I do love when you do videos on location so its all cool man.

  • @jed-henrywitkowski6470

    @jed-henrywitkowski6470

    24 күн бұрын

    Everything good?

  • @mikezabo3134

    @mikezabo3134

    23 күн бұрын

    What about Coney Island canal between Sea Gate and Sheepshead Bay ?

  • @blubard6105

    @blubard6105

    23 күн бұрын

    I smoke pot.

  • @georgewetzel4380

    @georgewetzel4380

    20 күн бұрын

    What is a literal castle?

  • @georgebrill6549
    @georgebrill654924 күн бұрын

    When I started working on a tugboat in NYC , the captain told me not to fall overboard in the Gowanus Canal or they wouldn't let me back on the boat. I always thought Newtown Creek was worse. But they cleaned up Newtown Creek to the point that I saw Cormorants diving for fish in it before I retired in 2009.

  • @ATREZ0123
    @ATREZ012323 күн бұрын

    I grew up a few blocks fron the Canal. The smell back in the 1980's and early 90's was unlike anything I've ever smelled since. I would go as far to say that most young people that live in NYC today have never smelled such a stink! I still live in the neighborhood and can gladly say that the Gowanus Canal today is nothing like it used to be. Looks and smells much cleaner now. Compared to 30 years ago you wouldnt even believe that its the same waterway!

  • @ITSHISTORY

    @ITSHISTORY

    22 күн бұрын

    Good change !

  • @opaljk4835

    @opaljk4835

    15 күн бұрын

    It still has a purplish film. But it’s not nearly as stinky

  • @mikefagan6840

    @mikefagan6840

    8 күн бұрын

    Since the pumping station was fixed. My mom and Buddy Scotto (funeral parlor) tried to get the pumping station fixed in the early 70s.

  • @antoniokastrocarlisledemel6617
    @antoniokastrocarlisledemel661725 күн бұрын

    Ahhh the memories of Gowanus..when I was a kid back in the 90s my big brother used to have me thinking if I fell in there I'd come out a Swamp Thing a la what happened to Emil at the end of Robocop

  • @jasonwomack4064

    @jasonwomack4064

    22 күн бұрын

    One of the most underrated iconic film moments of the 80's.

  • @MiTBender

    @MiTBender

    22 күн бұрын

    Freaked me the heck out

  • @tinetannies4637
    @tinetannies463725 күн бұрын

    Only in NYC can multi-million $$$ condos facing an EPA Superfund site spin that as "waterfront property". I've lived in Carroll Gardens near the Gowanus for 30 years and have seen the changes.

  • @word42069

    @word42069

    21 күн бұрын

    progress baby

  • @ryanglaser5336

    @ryanglaser5336

    16 күн бұрын

    Fisher Island directly faces the Port of Miami 🎉

  • @warrcoww6717
    @warrcoww671724 күн бұрын

    My friend, Jack Armstrong, swam in the Gowanus Canal just downstream from the Union St bridge in 2015 and is still alive today somehow.

  • @robertgushue9845
    @robertgushue984525 күн бұрын

    I can still remember the horrible odor that originated from the canal when i was growing up in the area in the 1970's and 80's...

  • @lucasrem

    @lucasrem

    23 күн бұрын

    The old industry is gone, redevelop it !

  • @WilliamBurkard

    @WilliamBurkard

    21 күн бұрын

    its etched in our brains and nostrils.

  • @frankm496
    @frankm49625 күн бұрын

    You should do one on the Kill van Kull/ Arthur Kill. The waterway between Staten Island and New Jersey. There was raw sewage pumped into that waterway for over 100 years from factories along it. Very high levels of PCBs and others. It was reported as being one of the worst polluted waterways in the US. There is some good news in the improvement of the environment reported due some efforts from NJ/NY. Hopefully there is a positive trend. Anyway, thank you for another informative video

  • @gabegall

    @gabegall

    25 күн бұрын

    Not to mention all the medical waste dumped in the 1980s and 1990s... They finally removed the the "Warning - Do not Eat the Toxic Crabs" sign from when I was growing up.

  • @prodigalpriest

    @prodigalpriest

    24 күн бұрын

    Sounds like another Superfund Site, for sure.

  • @luisreyes1963
    @luisreyes196324 күн бұрын

    It's a miracle the Gowanus Canal didn't suffer the same fate that befell Cleveland's Cuyahoga River back in the 70's as it was so polluted, it caught fire. ☣️

  • @joestrike8537

    @joestrike8537

    22 күн бұрын

    As memorialized in a Randy Newman song with an extremely evocative name: "Burn On." (!)

  • @larry648

    @larry648

    21 күн бұрын

    The Rouge River in Detroit burned too, 1969.

  • @musicforaarre

    @musicforaarre

    20 күн бұрын

    If it caught fire, then that would only help to burn off the nasty chemicals, and make it cleaner. 😆🤣 Aarre Peltomaa of Mississauga, Ontario

  • @BigPoppieSeed

    @BigPoppieSeed

    19 күн бұрын

    @@musicforaarre okay, well then that makes all the polution acceptable...? "just burn it off, everything will be just fine."

  • @patentexperts1675

    @patentexperts1675

    18 күн бұрын

    Buffalo River in Buffalo NY

  • @jhardy0786
    @jhardy078625 күн бұрын

    I grew up in Brooklyn and lived there my whole life and when I was a kid we use to bet people to go in and swim for five minutes no one ever had the nerve to take the bet

  • @theequalizer9154

    @theequalizer9154

    25 күн бұрын

    I recall that Burt Reynolds did a movie around there called, "Shamus". You could actually see how run down the Gowanus Canal was in the early 1970s.

  • @roryoconnor4989

    @roryoconnor4989

    25 күн бұрын

    There was a whale that got turned around like 10 years ago and ended up in the canal. It became so poisoned and disoriented that it rammed its head into the walls until it died.

  • @vlosa2439

    @vlosa2439

    24 күн бұрын

    this guy that made the video doesn't know a damn thing about this area of Brooklyn. he said the dutch purchased this area when infact they killed off the Lenape that wanted to stay there and waged war on the lanape that wanted to defend themselves. this area still belongs to the Lenape of Marechkawick.

  • @Chrisk1330

    @Chrisk1330

    23 күн бұрын

    @@vlosa2439tell us how you really feel

  • @WilliamBurkard

    @WilliamBurkard

    21 күн бұрын

    but many mobsters took their final swim in the gowanus!

  • @snittykitty1
    @snittykitty125 күн бұрын

    I work in the neighborhood, yes, lots of construction everywhere and the water is super smelly while you cross the bridges. I do hope it gets the continued clean up.

  • @theequalizer9154

    @theequalizer9154

    25 күн бұрын

    Who knows if that Gowanus Canal will ever be cleaned. I read somewhere, sometime ago, that in the 1860s, captains used to take their sailing ships through the Gowanus Canal to kill Barnacles off the ships hulls.

  • @yankees29

    @yankees29

    25 күн бұрын

    I worked across the street from it a few years ago. It was like a gate with sanitation signs on it I think. I trying to remember.

  • @roryoconnor4989

    @roryoconnor4989

    25 күн бұрын

    They’d have to dredge the entire canal and replace all the soil surrounding it. Same thing in Wburg, when I lived there 15 years ago before it turned into Soho 2, every time a building broke ground you could smell the old Standard Oil petroleum in the dirt.

  • @applegal3058

    @applegal3058

    25 күн бұрын

    ​@@theequalizer9154wow, that's insane!

  • @richarddevenezia8186

    @richarddevenezia8186

    24 күн бұрын

    Cleaning it up and returning it to a brackish saltwater marsh -- still stinky

  • @christopherseivard8925
    @christopherseivard892519 күн бұрын

    Great story. I lived in Carroll Gardens, and rode my bike across the Gowanus daily,on my way to Prospect Park. This was1989, and it did stink! The scent from a nearby coffee roaster made it palatable! When the tidal access was restored, it all improved dramatically. I remember riding the drawbridge on my way to the park, and being waved down by the drawbridge operator. He excitedly pointed out that he had see a crab! Alive! The bridge op saw this as a sign! I remained skeptical.

  • @wmichaeldipaola9086
    @wmichaeldipaola908625 күн бұрын

    One pathogen you did not list is venereal bacteria! A few years back a car went into the Canal, the driver got out of the car before it went in. A passer-by not knowing this jumped into the Canal to rescue, only to find out nobody was in danger. He was admitted to the hospital and had to be treated, shots, etc. because anybody who is crazy enough to go in that water is required to get hospital treatment, according to the newspaper article I read at the time!

  • @jomama5186

    @jomama5186

    23 күн бұрын

    How interesting, sad, shameful, and scary !

  • @MADGUNSMONSTER

    @MADGUNSMONSTER

    22 күн бұрын

    The needles you have to get if you fall in that water is Iron Maiden like.

  • @marshalltito
    @marshalltito26 күн бұрын

    Gowanus is not connected to the Hudson River. It's below both the Hudson and East River in the upper bay. The gowanus is currently lined with multimillion dollar condos and a Whole Foods. Yes there's still some industry but that is shrinking while housing, entertainment and more craft type industries are growing. The intro makes more sense referring to late 20th century gowanus than the last 20 years

  • @stemdeckesupreme164

    @stemdeckesupreme164

    26 күн бұрын

    This guy Hudson rivers

  • @ITSHISTORY

    @ITSHISTORY

    26 күн бұрын

    I’m always amazed at how gritty places transform, I saw the same thing happen throughout Chicago. Thanks for your comment!

  • @nordisk1874

    @nordisk1874

    25 күн бұрын

    The Hudson isn’t even near Manhattan.

  • @theequalizer9154

    @theequalizer9154

    25 күн бұрын

    I can verify those observations. Seen it myself. Still, the legend of the four criminals who tried to escape the police by jumping into the Gowanus Canal, and shortly later died of poisonings, is still prevalent amongst people in Brooklyn, New York.

  • @pedropuckerstein4670

    @pedropuckerstein4670

    25 күн бұрын

    This is why I stopped watching hood videos. Too many errors or he doesn’t know how to read a map. Also video is too long.

  • @frankshifreen
    @frankshifreen24 күн бұрын

    The name Gowanus means the sleeper or dreamer in the Lenape language/ It was where the Canarsie Indians did their ceremonies

  • @comradecid
    @comradecid25 күн бұрын

    our local mascot is a three-eyed fish

  • @thechuckster6838
    @thechuckster683818 күн бұрын

    I used to live nearby the Canal. Upon walking near it, you could smell the odor of death coming from there. I didn't know the history of the canal until I watched this video. The story that we received was that there was no flow of the water and it was just a sitting pool with nowhere to go. Thanks for posting this video and clarifying the true nature of this site.

  • @jkryanspark
    @jkryanspark25 күн бұрын

    Thank goodness we had talented artists and illustrators from before the age of photography to show us what life was like in New York back in the day when it was still rural. The 'before and after' is startling.

  • @marcsarfati3291
    @marcsarfati329125 күн бұрын

    The FDNY fire house in the area is called The Cancer House

  • @leeannmcdermott8313

    @leeannmcdermott8313

    23 күн бұрын

    I knew a firefighter in the 90’s who worked there and ended up with cancer in his late 20’s but I didn’t know it was related to the firehouse.

  • @marcsarfati3291

    @marcsarfati3291

    23 күн бұрын

    @@leeannmcdermott8313 it’s not the firehouse but a lot firemen in the house get cancer. Also at young age 😢

  • @leeannmcdermott8313

    @leeannmcdermott8313

    23 күн бұрын

    @@marcsarfati3291 yea so the firehouse has to be toxic, prob water contamination. I wonder if the people who live in the surrounding area of the firehouse has the same problem?

  • @marcsarfati3291

    @marcsarfati3291

    23 күн бұрын

    @@leeannmcdermott8313 the surrounding area is “low income”. Most of the area is under a very busy highway as well. No homeless tents but very industrial

  • @markdagostino4891

    @markdagostino4891

    22 күн бұрын

    @@marcsarfati3291 lol it is not low income anymore what are you saying?

  • @adamdrake2020
    @adamdrake202023 күн бұрын

    My direct ancestor created the first mill on this site, and his mill is one of the pictures in the video. It’s cool to see that and I’d love to see this area become clean and vibrant again.

  • @daewooparts
    @daewooparts25 күн бұрын

    I remember several decades ago a whale 🐋 accidentally swam up the Gowanus & soon died ,we called him "Sludgie the Whale" a take on the Carvel icecream cake 🐳 called Fudgie the Whale

  • @ghost-ez2zn

    @ghost-ez2zn

    24 күн бұрын

    I remember both the whale and the ice cream cake. From Carvel.

  • @ekoller

    @ekoller

    20 күн бұрын

    Classic

  • @mikefagan6840

    @mikefagan6840

    8 күн бұрын

    Yep

  • @natal777
    @natal77720 күн бұрын

    I will never forget the way it smelled while driving over the Kosciuszko Bridge on the BQE

  • @harveywachtel1091

    @harveywachtel1091

    18 күн бұрын

    That's Newtown Creek.

  • @natal777

    @natal777

    18 күн бұрын

    @@harveywachtel1091 All I can remember was the stink I left NY in 1996

  • @n8spectacular
    @n8spectacular25 күн бұрын

    Ryan, you skipped the part about how in 2010, Whole Foods Market paid over $4 million to help clean up the Gowanus Canal, so they could open their first store in Brooklyn.

  • @howwitty

    @howwitty

    24 күн бұрын

    It was designated a superfund site in 2010. Why did Whole Foods have to pay that much if the Federal government was supposed to pay for the cleanup?

  • @RyshusMojo1

    @RyshusMojo1

    23 күн бұрын

    @@howwitty Whole Foods wasn't required to pay, they spent $4M+ for the Virtue Signaling points.

  • @user-vg6qv5jv3w

    @user-vg6qv5jv3w

    23 күн бұрын

    ​@@howwitty it's like a you scratch my back I'll scratch yours. The 4m probably went straight into some politicians pocket and whole foods probably gets a massive tax break or straight up exemption

  • @tlstechtalk

    @tlstechtalk

    10 күн бұрын

    Whole Foods also received massive tax breaks from NYC.

  • @birthdaynick80

    @birthdaynick80

    2 күн бұрын

    @@RyshusMojo1 $4M+ is just virtue signaling?? What would it take to make it meaningful for them to do help in the clean up?

  • @scottwooledge6387
    @scottwooledge638725 күн бұрын

    They are cutting so many clean up corners to convert this area to housing. Residents will have so many serious health problems and there will be much litigation.

  • @andrewstraub131

    @andrewstraub131

    18 күн бұрын

    I mean I grew up there during the 80s 90s and I’m 44 and I think it gave me super immune function and I can ignore any smell

  • @MissFoxification
    @MissFoxification24 күн бұрын

    Once they fix the flooding in the area and get it up to a liveable standard that land is going to be worth a fortune.

  • @tortuga7160
    @tortuga716025 күн бұрын

    Steps from the indstrial ravaged gowanus canal, in the heartland of america

  • @chiphill4856

    @chiphill4856

    22 күн бұрын

    TMR!!

  • @sjdtmv
    @sjdtmv25 күн бұрын

    Is it only me but I can see the word ANUS in Gowanus, which describes how it was treated for centuries

  • @pedropuckerstein4670

    @pedropuckerstein4670

    24 күн бұрын

    Not only you .....

  • @musicforaarre

    @musicforaarre

    20 күн бұрын

    Go Anus !! That's funny !! I'm going to remember that one. It's catchy. Aarre Peltomaa

  • @pfrstreetgang7511
    @pfrstreetgang751120 күн бұрын

    Only in NY would they build overly priced "luxury" apartments and get people silly enough to reside there.

  • @user-vs7el9wm3d

    @user-vs7el9wm3d

    19 күн бұрын

    I no longer live in Brooklyn, but I remember the canal very well. When they first started building the apartments my reaction was. “Why would anyone consider living by the Gowanus Canal a selling point?”

  • @dennismiddlebrooks7027

    @dennismiddlebrooks7027

    8 күн бұрын

    @@user-vs7el9wm3d The canal is not nearly as polluted now as it once was. The canal no longer smells and the surface is clear and no long multi-colored with contaminants.

  • @Comrade_Marius

    @Comrade_Marius

    4 күн бұрын

    I’m an environmental scientist that works in gowanus. There’s an insane amount of environmental cleanup required for these buildings to go up..but I still wouldn’t live here lol

  • @stephencurry8552
    @stephencurry855225 күн бұрын

    Pathetic how this nation treats its waterways.

  • @nenaj1

    @nenaj1

    23 күн бұрын

    Not everywhere

  • @lucasrem

    @lucasrem

    23 күн бұрын

    In Brooklyn, We need money to clean it, redevelop it. The industry is gone, but the Dutch never left.

  • @stephencurry8552

    @stephencurry8552

    23 күн бұрын

    @@lucasrem Given who will win the election. Ecology will continue to be taken seriously and hopefully, waterways get grants for repair.

  • @tj9585

    @tj9585

    23 күн бұрын

    Thank the Caucasians every piece of land they touch is ruined.

  • @cj.wijtmans

    @cj.wijtmans

    20 күн бұрын

    @@lucasrem the dutch left long ago what are you talking about.

  • @edsel762
    @edsel76225 күн бұрын

    Another great video. I can appreciate all of the work that goes into these videos. Thank you.

  • @ingibingi2000
    @ingibingi200025 күн бұрын

    Alright shoutout to majority report

  • @eltoppdog

    @eltoppdog

    20 күн бұрын

    Left is best!

  • @chillowl4me619
    @chillowl4me61925 күн бұрын

    Do you see at @ 6:14 that green building in the corner? Gone, you see the lots all around those blocks in the same frame? All gone, see the lots with the trucks? The next frame where you see all those white trucks? All these lots are gone, replaced with condos and high rent lofts. They’ve absolutely leveled this area without taking care of the water source right next to it. This should tell you about the greed in New York City, I live on Bond street within the 300s near Union street. I’ve lived here my whole life, I cannot tell you of another waterway I find more stinky, or more polluted than the Canal. My homies and me used to say if you fall in there you come out a ninja turtle. However if you do fall in there what you would need is immediate hospitalization. I wouldn’t ever call this a river or anything near a river. It is by far one of the most smelly things you will find in New York. Union street, (Carroll street used to have a bridge), and 3rd street all have bridges that go over it, tbh I would say that I’m so used to the smell that sometimes I can’t smell it, that should tell you something about my health. The truth is I love Gowanas, and Carroll park but I cannot continue to live here, tbh it has nothing to do with the canal! It’s the area in general, they have made this area condo city within the last 2 years out of nowhere, they’re pushing native New Yorkers out like me who can’t afford those kinds of rent, congestion, and bills. I love my little area next to the canal, but unfortunately I’m fleeing north brooklyn and trading it for south brooklyn. Thank you for making this video, my part of brooklyn doesn’t get enough love

  • @MADGUNSMONSTER

    @MADGUNSMONSTER

    22 күн бұрын

    Agreed with your entire post. If if ever REALLY FLOODS, it's going to be a Bacterial Nightmare. In regards to South Brooklyn, please do your research first. There are some areas that were decently middle class a couple of decades ago that are now low class to bordering lower middle class. (if that makes any sense)

  • @houseofsolomon2440
    @houseofsolomon244023 күн бұрын

    Ya think any stolen guns or ones used in the commission of a crime were dumped in the canal? 😂

  • @Lerf8

    @Lerf8

    16 күн бұрын

    Hudson

  • @bobbygermano9926
    @bobbygermano992625 күн бұрын

    The person who started the first real effort to clean up the GC, was the great Buddy Scotto. Ive seen people jump in, canoe, even jet ski. There are even dormant fans under the water, As well as other things.

  • @mariebelladonna437

    @mariebelladonna437

    25 күн бұрын

    Dormant fans?

  • @cathycoryell2351

    @cathycoryell2351

    21 күн бұрын

    What is a dormant fan, please?

  • @mikefagan6840

    @mikefagan6840

    8 күн бұрын

    My mom worked with Buddy on getting the pumping station fixed in the early 70s. Deaf eared politicians.

  • @robgrey6183
    @robgrey61835 күн бұрын

    I grew up in Brooklyn, maybe a mile southeast of Gowanus Bay. I got out of there as soon as I could. I now live in the mountains of Teton County, Wyoming. Thank you for validating my reasons to leave.

  • @tickticktickBOOOOM
    @tickticktickBOOOOM18 күн бұрын

    I remember stories of a monster living in the Gowanus Canal from back when I was a kid. I always said anything that can live in there can't die.

  • @ruthtallmer9506
    @ruthtallmer95068 күн бұрын

    It's been REALLY cleaned up & it's becoming a lovely waterway once again.

  • @tributarytraveler5510
    @tributarytraveler551025 күн бұрын

    Good stuff thx 4 the efforts

  • @The-NightWatchman
    @The-NightWatchman25 күн бұрын

    A very timely history, and message for NYC.

  • @ProG3rmanator
    @ProG3rmanator23 күн бұрын

    Really good doc! I’ve been to the Canals numerous times during my life. However, you did forget to mention a few interesting facts about the canal. For starters, the canal was instrumental in transporting much of the Brownstone used to build Brooklyn’s iconic Brownstone homes. Also, you didn’t mention sludgie the whale! Nor the beautiful Newtown creek nature walk along the canal. In addition, you will see ducks floating on the water from time to time. This signals that the water is getting cleaner, despite still being unsafe for humans. If you’re interested, check out an artist name George Trakkas. He was pretty influential in bringing attention to the canal back in the day.

  • @Jimbeast
    @Jimbeast11 күн бұрын

    I work in a studio in Gowanus and over the past year, several enormous residential towers have been constructed. Unfortunately, the water cleanup is not moving as quickly as the new construction. Architectural renders show people kayaking in the canal, but it still stinks and I will never touch that water. On the other hand, I watched a goose and a duck hunting thru the mud next to the Lowe’s parking lot

  • @Comrade_Marius

    @Comrade_Marius

    4 күн бұрын

    I’m an environmental scientists in gowanus. The main sources of contamination is not the canal itself but the former factories that once surrounded it which polluted the ground water. All construction here has to fully clean up the pollution on which the building stands on.

  • @towgod7985
    @towgod798525 күн бұрын

    I haven't been to NYC in years, and never heard of the river being mentioned. Thanks for the video. Cheers.

  • @ITSHISTORY

    @ITSHISTORY

    25 күн бұрын

    You bet!

  • @R2RO1
    @R2RO121 күн бұрын

    Hopefully, there's a future episode in the works for Newtown creek

  • @blackhillsrider2626
    @blackhillsrider262625 күн бұрын

    Thanks NY for giving us the worlds largest living petri dish.

  • @AgentGodzillaRP1
    @AgentGodzillaRP125 күн бұрын

    They need to build a temporary dam, drain the canal, and completely unearth the soil in it. Line the canal with metal/ cement walls and completely redevelop the area.

  • @ilovecatvideos1851

    @ilovecatvideos1851

    25 күн бұрын

    That would cost an enormous amount of money not to mention be a biohazardous nightmare. All that biofilm aerosolized as it is excavated? Then transported to create a Superfund site of biologic and chemical waste elsewhere. You could not just hire construction workers…people would need PPE and the EPA other agencies involved. Plus the cost of a dam and further construction?

  • @tj9585

    @tj9585

    23 күн бұрын

    ​@@ilovecatvideos1851They can afford it if they stop giving free money to foreign countries and illegal immigrants right?

  • @word42069

    @word42069

    21 күн бұрын

    they’ve refined and capped the thing. it’s literally a superfund site and has been worked on for years now. I don’t know why someone would make a video like this and leave out crucial information.

  • @cindys1819

    @cindys1819

    12 күн бұрын

    They (the Feds and NY State) have the money for anything they really want to do. Hey, how much did the #7 train extention to Javits Cyr or what about the cost of the 2nd Ave Subway? The money is there, just ask everyone in and around govt to stop stealing for a while.

  • @AgentGodzillaRP1

    @AgentGodzillaRP1

    10 күн бұрын

    @@tj9585 They can afford it while doing that at the same time

  • @James_1337
    @James_133725 күн бұрын

    Hey, Majority Report! Their intro is what made me click on this.

  • @rezn8

    @rezn8

    24 күн бұрын

    Same!

  • @mochynddu723

    @mochynddu723

    23 күн бұрын

    Me too.

  • @antondzajajurca7797
    @antondzajajurca779716 күн бұрын

    Really enjoyed this video. Greetings from Slovenia, EU.

  • @kevinmcdowell9074
    @kevinmcdowell907412 күн бұрын

    This just goes to show how absolutely fleeced we are as consumers. The most polluted areas on the east coast, is also one of the most expensive. Good job America.

  • @ocsrc
    @ocsrc19 күн бұрын

    You really should do a video about Cohoes NY and the water infrastructure and the mills and railroads and canals. The amount of history is incredible in this city and most of it has disappeared and is forgotten

  • @voidfilan5055
    @voidfilan505526 күн бұрын

    Remember this river🤔😜🤪from All in the Family episode ‼️

  • @atarian345
    @atarian34525 күн бұрын

    You can make some spicy seltzer using water from the Gowanus canal

  • @ottopartz1
    @ottopartz116 күн бұрын

    Reminds me of the bubbly creek down where the Chicago stockyards used to be! I remember seeing it gurgle on warm days years ago.

  • @ocsrc
    @ocsrc19 күн бұрын

    I love watching the CSOs ( Combined Sewer Overflows ) Especially when it rains as billions of gallons of raw sewage pours into the rivers every hour And the smell, you haven't lived till you smell the CSOs start flowing when it rains

  • @DT-wp4hk
    @DT-wp4hk21 күн бұрын

    8:48 pumping station at buttlerstreet😂 Nyc does have humor😂

  • @iorr98
    @iorr9815 күн бұрын

    That's free market economy 101, the freedom to pollute and passing on the burden and cost to the community.

  • @pbee73
    @pbee7325 күн бұрын

    You might hear some Brooklynites refer to that canal as “perfume bay”.

  • @BKDBut

    @BKDBut

    23 күн бұрын

    Literally never heard that

  • @mikefagan6840

    @mikefagan6840

    8 күн бұрын

    Lavender lake

  • @prawnstar9213
    @prawnstar921325 күн бұрын

    Don’t ever joke around and push someone in

  • @anthonymolden4684

    @anthonymolden4684

    19 күн бұрын

    People used to jump in from time to time in the 90s during parties over there, with death and other serious consequences.

  • @PepePupas
    @PepePupas18 күн бұрын

    I lived in Gowanus for years, right by the draw bridge on 3rd St and man, there were some days when you could smell it with every window and door shut. One of the saddest stories was about a dolphin that got trapped in the canal and died because there wasn't enough oxygen in the water. I miss and love NY but yeah... it's not for everyone... humans or dolphins.

  • @mtnman1984
    @mtnman198425 күн бұрын

    Man, Sam Seder isn't kidding

  • @jetsons101
    @jetsons10125 күн бұрын

    Ryan, good product placement for LOWE'S, that and Home Depot my two favorite stores. The cannal would probably burn with the toss of a match like the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland did years back.

  • @willrush1962
    @willrush196226 күн бұрын

    You should do a episode about dead horse bay

  • @marioncobaretti2280
    @marioncobaretti228021 күн бұрын

    Im sure in the colonial days it was mainly a septic system with an occasional brown breads floating by.

  • @musicforaarre

    @musicforaarre

    20 күн бұрын

    In London in the early 1800's, there were covered booths in which people could shit into the river 'Thamesis' Thames directly. The Thames estuary was a stenchy place. Because of the sewers built, no more turds float in the river. Aarre Peltomaa

  • @kennethvenezia4400
    @kennethvenezia440025 күн бұрын

    The canal is fine. I swim in it with my children 3 times a week. We also catch eel in there and eat it every day of the week. My son is growing fingers on his face, and I'm wondering why.

  • @hanzzarkov7690
    @hanzzarkov769011 күн бұрын

    'broadcasting steps from the industrially ravaged gowanus canal'. It's why Im watching this well presented tragic story, actually

  • @steveliveshere
    @steveliveshere2 күн бұрын

    Ah, so this is the canal mentioned in the Majority Report. “Steps from the industrially ravished Gowanus Canal in the heart of downtown New York”

  • @johnstraley9057
    @johnstraley905724 күн бұрын

    Years ago I worked one summer in Long Island City. The scene at 0:05 was very nearby my walking route from the Hunters Point subway station.

  • @BKDBut

    @BKDBut

    23 күн бұрын

    Huh? 0:05 is nowhere near LIC.

  • @johnstraley9057

    @johnstraley9057

    23 күн бұрын

    @@BKDBut curious which crossing is the scene in?

  • @BKDBut

    @BKDBut

    23 күн бұрын

    @@johnstraley9057 That's the BQE from the point of the Gowanus going out to the Bay. The picture is likely taken on the 9th street bridge, underneath the Smith-9th St station for F/G train

  • @JerryFisher
    @JerryFisher23 күн бұрын

    Does anyone know what that red/brown brick with white trim building is on the poster for this video? It's rather elegant, considering where it stands.

  • @scottstrang1583
    @scottstrang158325 күн бұрын

    I saw a piece on this water on Off Limits. Interesting.

  • @rezn8
    @rezn824 күн бұрын

    Love that you mentioned Sam! That is why I clicked on this video

  • @tweezerjam
    @tweezerjam20 күн бұрын

    Flying over the canal in 3d on google earth is pretty cool. Some rough neighborhoods but neat industry as well.

  • @fifteen8
    @fifteen813 күн бұрын

    Very good video. Actually, Sam Seder says "We are broadcasting live, steps from the industrially ravaged Gowanus Canal in the heartland of America - downtown Brooklyn, USA."

  • @musicforaarre
    @musicforaarre20 күн бұрын

    Excellent video. I had no idea that the Gowanus was 'that' nasty ! Would you also do a sister video about the Newtown Creek just to the north ? It has much history also. Aarre Peltomaa

  • @bindig1
    @bindig115 күн бұрын

    So that stuff growing in the canal is basically a mutant monster. Creepy

  • @toi_techno
    @toi_techno24 күн бұрын

    i'm amazed that in a city like NY there is any brown field land left More housing lowers rents for everyone

  • @SDWNJ
    @SDWNJ24 күн бұрын

    When we were kids my friend used to jokingly refer to it as the Iguanas.

  • @jangles1839
    @jangles183925 күн бұрын

    Thanks again for another interesting piece Ryan. I truly appreciate your attention to detail in each item that you bring us. I'm a huge history buff and enjoy just about anything I can get on different places around the nation and beyond! God bless! ~ Scott 💙🙏🏻

  • @oldsledpurgatory3595
    @oldsledpurgatory359525 күн бұрын

    I believe Mad Magazine refered to this as the "Yecch Factor" back in the 70's. Always seemed completely plausible to me.

  • @MrYlojelo
    @MrYlojelo20 күн бұрын

    so much torque!

  • @robertkent4929
    @robertkent492916 күн бұрын

    I would love to know how exactly this canal and the river are to be cleaned

  • @javonsteadman4276
    @javonsteadman427619 күн бұрын

    You have to do one on far rockaway

  • @JTCT371
    @JTCT37120 күн бұрын

    Wish I lived back in those days. NYC is a cesspool now.

  • @SkepticalMantisCHANNEL10

    @SkepticalMantisCHANNEL10

    10 күн бұрын

    NYC was way more dangerous back then. The worst thing about NYC today is #TheRentIsTooDamnHigh

  • @danielpayne3336
    @danielpayne333624 күн бұрын

    Is the new Gowanus bridge up sometime soon are is that too local?

  • @thomaspenny4183
    @thomaspenny418316 күн бұрын

    Rest in peace. New York City !

  • @georgeallen7667
    @georgeallen766724 күн бұрын

    Brown logs are still a hazard in the water

  • @choossuck7653
    @choossuck765325 күн бұрын

    Went to NYC for the first time ever last year in December. I did not want to go to times square at all. We started by going to WTC then they wanted times square. Ended up leaving by 3. Im not going with the same people again

  • @G_v._Losinj2_ImportantPlaylist

    @G_v._Losinj2_ImportantPlaylist

    8 күн бұрын

    If you want to go to BK you can go to bars and places near Williamsburg and Flatbush. Bushwick Ave Flatbush Ave area is hipstery w/ bars & restaurants. Being in Manhattan (the City) you can go to some cool museums and bars/restaurants. Downtown mainly. There’s a cool bar I sometimes stop at “169” a few blocks from the Bk Bridge. Uptown if you want Chimichurris or some coke/ecstasy lol.

  • @ShantyIrishman
    @ShantyIrishman26 күн бұрын

    11:58 - Luis Scola lived there

  • @redt4056
    @redt405611 күн бұрын

    Nice historical video, it’s amazing how the money allocated for improving Gowanus canal area was so little, yet the politicos managed to bypass the serious problem of Gowanus canal contamination by rezoning for residential use, crazy, the area still probably not fit to live in because of Gowanus canal. SMH!

  • @Mrch33ky
    @Mrch33ky16 күн бұрын

    It's a perfect metaphor for NYC.

  • @whatifum8154
    @whatifum815418 күн бұрын

    Is there a chance you’ll ever do a video about Las Vegas?

  • @yegsdems-kp8cq
    @yegsdems-kp8cq25 күн бұрын

    My grandfather fought at the Battle of Gowanus Canal.

  • @pbreedu
    @pbreedu7 күн бұрын

    Clean water is not just a nice thing to have; it is essential.

  • @windvale
    @windvale21 күн бұрын

    Gowanus is a perfect metaphor for New York in general. Gross...

  • @jordansbeard
    @jordansbeard10 сағат бұрын

    Despite its history the canal is cleaner than how it was years ago many new buildings have gone up around the canal. Even pig beach was a great place to enjoy the reclaimed building site. Unfortunately it closed due to its property being valuable for new construction.

  • @1fatcat65
    @1fatcat6525 күн бұрын

    So a bunch of politicians and their friends lined their pockets coming up with a stupid plan. Sad!

  • @Sirmenonottwo
    @Sirmenonottwo24 күн бұрын

    Declaring the canal as a "super fun site" sounds like it should attract people rather than scare them away lol

  • @chiphill4856

    @chiphill4856

    22 күн бұрын

    Fund

  • @danielajohn1106
    @danielajohn110625 күн бұрын

    I can't believe it's dirtier than I thought!! 😭

  • @mikefagan6840
    @mikefagan68408 күн бұрын

    Ferrara bros cement and Bayside fuel and oil were the MAIN traffic on the canal.

  • @kenneybis1097
    @kenneybis109725 күн бұрын

    Wow, I used to fish there. 😮

  • @deanstanley2125

    @deanstanley2125

    25 күн бұрын

    Hope you didn't eat anything from that canal

  • @ArthurBrooklyn
    @ArthurBrooklyn21 күн бұрын

    I fell into that canal launching a kayak. I live to tell the tale (I still feat turning into toxic avenger though).

  • @DLeadVox
    @DLeadVox25 күн бұрын

    💛💛💛